A family of nine found their dream vacation turned into a sea of nightmares when their cruise ship decided to sail off without them. The Gault family splurged $30,000 on a Norwegian Encore cruise for 16. Nine of them went to a Lumberjack show in Ketchikan, Alaska, but had a "timber" of a time getting back to port.
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"We see the chaos getting onto the buses," Joshua Gault told KJRH. "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.'"
However, there would be no "next bus" for the doomed Gault family.
The Gault family alleges that the ticket attendant was not thoroughly verifying passengers' documents, allowing individuals from another ship to occupy their seats.
When they realized another bus wouldn't arrive, Joshua contacted the port authority. They sent a van to pick up the group of nine. Unfortunately, by the time they reached the port, the cruise ship had already left the family behind.
More Complications Arise For the Family Left Behind on Their Dream Cruise
To add insult to injury, the family couldn't catch the ship at the next port in Canada. This was because someone left a crucial passport onboard.
"It was a nightmare," Joshua recalled. To make matters worse, many of his family members were on daily meds. "Six kids on board, minor children, and a 78-year-old mother-in-law, all on medication. We all had to quit cold turkey medication these last few days because it was all on the cruise ship."
On top of that, Joshua learned of a gut-wrenching $971 fine for each passenger who missed the ship. He discovered the fee while attempting to book flights home with his credit card, only to find he'd been charged nearly $9,000.
Consequently, it took the Gaults several days to return home. They had to cover the costs of accommodation, travel, and food. Since returning home, the family has contacted the cruise line to file a complaint.
In the meantime, Norwegian Cruise has released a statement.
"On the afternoon of Friday, July 12, a family of nine guests missed the ship's all aboard time in Ketchikan, Alaska due to a misstep by a local tour operator," it reads. "Then the guests did not return to the ship at the published time. We attempted to contact them but were unable to reach them. As such, we alerted the local port agent in Ketchikan. [We] requested that they assist the family with booking a hotel for the night."
They added that guests unable to disembark at Victoria, BC, were assisted by the port agent in securing flights to Seattle for July 13. The family will be reimbursed for all incurred out-of-pocket expenses.
The statement also mentioned that the fines imposed on them would be refunded. The family would receive a pro-rated reimbursement for the two missed cruise days.
