Hello everyone. Have we got a story for you. In what can only be described as a nightmare vacation, the Gault family from Oklahoma was left stranded in Ketchikan, Alaska, after their cruise ship, the Norwegian Encore, sailed away without them. The family, consisting of nine members, was left behind following a Norwegian Cruise Line excursion to a LumberJack show.
Joshua Gault recounted the chaos that ensued when they tried to board a bus back to the ship. “We go to get on the bus, and one of the attendees is like, ‘The bus is full, and you know, you got to wait for the next bus,’” Joshua said. That next bus, however, never showed up.
The Gaults claim that the ticket attendant wasn’t checking stubs, allowing people from another ship to take their seats. By the time they realized another bus wasn’t coming, it was too late. They arrived at the port just in time to watch their belongings, including clothes, medication, and passports, sail away without them.
“It was a nightmare,” Joshua said, describing the ordeal of being left with six young children and his 78-year-old mother-in-law, all of whom were on daily medication. “We all had to quit cold turkey medication these last few days because it was all on the cruise ship.”
Making matters worse, while most of their passports were transported off the ship, one was left behind, preventing the family from rejoining the Norwegian Encore at its next destination in Canada. To add insult to injury, the cruise line slapped the Gaults with a $971 fine per person for missing the ship, totaling nearly $9,000 charged to their credit cards.
The family spent several days navigating canceled flights, overnight airport stays, and significant out-of-pocket expenses for food, hotels, and transportation. They eventually made it back to Oklahoma, only to find that some family members had tested positive for COVID.
Family of 9 with 6 young children are stranded in remote Alaska after cruise ship left them behind
The Gaults, of Oklahoma, decided to join extended family members for a reunion onboard the Norwegian Encore – costing the group of 16 about $30,000.
But their trip ended abruptly pic.twitter.com/4fyR4BOsZ7
— MassiVeMaC (@SchengenStory) July 18, 2024
Joshua and his wife, Cailyn, have been pressing Norwegian Cruise Line for answers. The cruise officials’ response? “We’re still looking into it, we haven’t forgotten about you,” they told Cailyn. Her retort: “No, we feel like you pretty much forgot about us when you left us in port and told us to go figure it out.”
Norwegian Cruise Line officials acknowledged the family’s predicament, citing a “misstep by a local tour operator” for their delay. They claimed to have attempted to contact the Gaults and arranged for a local port agent to assist with booking a hotel for the night and securing flights to Seattle.
The cruise line promised to reimburse the family for their out-of-pocket expenses, US Customs and Border Patrol fees, and a pro-rated refund for the missed cruise days. As a gesture of goodwill, they offered each family member a 20 percent discount on a future cruise.
This fiasco comes on the heels of another Norwegian Cruise Line incident, where a group of eight passengers was left stranded on a remote African island. It’s clear Norwegian Cruise Line has some serious issues to address.