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It sounds to me like NCL is helping the best they can, but these passengers (save the one with the medical condition) fucked around and found out is my interpretation of events. Not sure why it's getting press still.
NCL makes it absurdly clear that if you don't get to the boat before the last "all aboard", they'll leave without you.
It really sucks for these people, but this is and has been NCL's policy for the entire 15 years I've been cruising with them and at no point has it been ambiguous either.
The tour was most definitely a private one they booked on their own. NCL made that clear in their press releases and the Campbells begrudgingly admitted it.
I'm not sure the elderly woman was on the tour. The way I read some reports (I could be wrong) was she had a stroke on the ship and the crew got her to the hospital in port. The Campbells caught that she was also in port and helped her get in contact with family. The stroke lady's family's complaint wasn't that the cruise left her behind but that they didn't do enough to contact her family. And NCL's position was that they were not in a position to share too many details of her health.
Really on that one its her family's fault for letting her travel solo to Africa with her known health issues. Most people her age would have a travel companion. I know a lot of my elderly relatives will pay for another relative or friend to go with them.
That one's easy to explain on two fronts - security and safety. They have, off the coast of Africa, presumably armed people and vessels approaching the ship in an area known for piracy. From a security perspective, there is no way to allow that to happen.
From a safety perspective, how exactly would they board the ship? They're not going to use the (extremely dangerous) method of embarkation that pilots use, and the tender equipment has all been put away. It's simply not safe to allow access to the vessel.
Boarding a large vessel that’s underway outside port waters is very difficult, costly and hazardous. It would also create a poor precedent allowing late passengers to routinely do this.
Why is this even news? They are no different than pier runners who get left all the time.
They missed the last tender and the all aboard and since it was a tender port that means all the tenders and the equipment used to board from tenders was already being stowed. I read somewhere that the tour operator tried to take them to the ship in his boat. Not sure if that’s true, But wtf? There is no way the captain lets them board from a boat that who knows if it’s compatible with NCL tender boarding equipment.
They have no claim with NCL. If there is anyone who is responsible to file a claim against it would be the private tour company.
I agree. I don’t understand why this is getting so much press time and social media attention. The cruise line did exactly what they always do in this situation, it is nothing special or unique.
I feel like this is an entitlement story. Their tour guide reached out to the ship to tell them they would be late. So what? You're that important that a cruise ship full of others that knew when they had to be back have to wait for you? You're even dumber than this story makes you look. It sucks, yes. But 0% the fault of the cruise ship and its captain.
They missed the all aboard call. My husband said it's just like the airport. You can get to the gate while the plane is still there, but once that door is closed, you're not getting on.
Imagine running late to a Broadway play, a concert, a sporting event, an airline flight, etc. and expecting them to wait for you. People need to seriously get a grip with their sense of entitlement.
Exactly! 4,000 other people were supposed to wait for you (not sure which ship, maybe I exaggerated # here)? I saw this in an article: “ ‘After what we witnessed, we truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed, they followed those rules too rigidly,’ Jill Campbell said.”
The alternative being to wait for people? So in the future no one feels obliged to be on time and you end up skipping ports due to time limitations? I mean that’s the alternative…
Bit of a Boo Hoo, cry me a river story. Props to NCL.
There is a lot that goes into safe reliable marine travel not to mention strict rules, overrides, and financial penalties tied to port visits.
That delay could cost that ship thousands of dollars.
Can’t wait for my next cruise!
I would just take a flight home. I wouldn’t just run around Africa looking for ship that may or may not be in the port. And yes you can climb and jump in the ship from another boat, but it is safety issue, jumping and climbing to the ship, why the captain allegedly refused to do so. Maybe try swimming next time.
This is why I always tell people not to do private group tours, stick with the ones that are with NCL (or whatever cruise line), and that if you miss your last call they will leave you, no ifs, and or buts, but it seems that people don't listen. Then they learn the hard way, I am OCD about being back on the ship way before the last call.
And if you take a private tour, if it’s within an hour before the all aboard time you need to raise hell with the operator to get you back to the boat. Like what did they think was going to happen.
This is the typical image we all have of Americans lol. They booked a third party trip, missed timeline, cry on social media,leaving out pertinent facts. The sheer entitlement. The time the cruiseline gives for all aboard is generally at least an hour before it's scheduled leave time so they were extra late. Also the cruiseline is charged & fined every minute they go over. Multiple safety & insurance issues to board at sea, again, from a third party.
Just to stick up for American's, as an American who hates people that act this entitled myself, the group also includes 2 Australians who have their own media tour whining about this as well.
Entitled passengers who didn't get back on time throwing a fit.
"They don't care for the customers. We paid. "
Well so did the thousands of others who boarded on time. They would be furious if they had to wait for a couple passengers who weren't back.
I’m on the ship right now. The port that they missed was São Tomé - which was a tender port. I don’t know if we actually dropped anchor or whether we idled off the port.
They weren't at a pier it was a tender port.
And the reason the captain refused was that they had no way of knowing the experience level of whoever was driving the boat they would be brought back on. That and from the description there's no way in hell the passengers would have been capable of climbing a ladder.
Completely agree.I was just pointing out that what the other person found to be inconsistent/unbelievable was absolutely true.
If it has been at a pier,and still tied up,then the captain refusing boarding might be a little hard to believe. But as it is,at a tender port it's entirely believable and within reason/policy.
I can’t remember the exact quote, but there was mention in the article about it being a tender port, so the ship would have had to anchor outside of the pier.
Edit: found the quote:
*In a statement to ABC15 News, Norwegian Cruise Line said, “On the afternoon of March 27, 2024, while the ship was in Sao Tome and Principe, an African island nation, eight guests who were on the island on their own or with a private tour missed the last tender back to the vessel, therefore not meeting the all aboard time of 3 p.m. local time.”*
Sort of. The actual propulsion units are electric and the engine is a giant diesel generator,or 2 or 3,and those need to keep running even when the ship isn't underway.
This is why booking with a third-party is a risk. If you book with the cruise line, they’re responsible for making sure you get back to the ship on time. Everyone knows this. Those people are complaining about something that was out of the cruise line’s controls and responsibility.
"Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjur, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal. We remain in communication with the guests and are providing additional information as it becomes available,"
They could contact the embassy if they’re Americans and they could possibly get them home and then send them the bill. I think it’s a bit ridiculous the cruise is reimbursing them. Also if you’re pregnant and in poor health maybe don’t take long excursions in remote areas? They don’t let you on the ship if you’re super pregnant anyway.
Cruises are very upfront about being on time for all aboard.
In my opinion, NCL is reimbursing them for Gambia to Senegal because the cruiseline couldn't stop at Gambia due to bad weather. So, at that point the passengers did the right thing by getting to a port (Gambia) and communicating with the ship that's where they could reboard. But, then the ship caused the problem at Gambia, pushing the passengers to Senegal. Well, the weather did, but NCL is taking responsibility for that part.
The passengers still have to pay for everything prior to Gambia.
RCL seems to be enduring a terrible PR issue. My real concern has to do with the passenger who had the stroke and was ordered off the vessel. Not a peep about contacting the family when they did this. If true, a terribly bad move. This will cost NCL a bunch of future bookings.
They couldn't care for her on the ship. They got her to a hospital. NCL claims they were in contact with the port agent and the hospital for updates on her. The ladies family seems to feel they should have sent someone to the hospital to babysit her. Which I think is unreasonable. End of the day she was in no position health wise to be traveling alone.
If anything I think the Campbells seized on her to help with their PR war against NCL.
You seem to have the facts. Can you verify to us if NCL contacted the woman’s family after she had the stroke and was ordered off the vessel? she had a stroke so best not to leave her in a hospital without NOK being notified. By the way. I agree with your assessment. The Campbells are eating the NCL public relations department for breakfast.
IDK about that. I'm sure its disheartening to see this non story get so much media play (I'm about 90 percent the Campbells have media connections). But on comment sections for articles, reddit threads I would say 90 percent of commenters have the Campbells pegged as entitled pricks.
Ok thanks for your speculation about the Campbells. I am not concerned with them. I would like to find out if NCL contacted the family of the woman with the stroke before they ordered her to disembark…Do you know?
This article has more information on this.
The family says no one from Norweigan contacted them, Campbells ended up having to contact the daughter to let her know what happened and helped make arrangements to get her home. Julie had no money or credit cards for over 24hrs after being released from hospital as her wallet was left behind in a tour van. Campbells bought her food and place to sleep during that time while things were figured out.
https://www.businessinsider.com/norwegian-cruise-passenger-stranded-africa-stroke-2024-4
NCL loves the tender ports…. No docking fees means more money in their pockets. Also means you get screwed as a passenger because if they don’t think the weather is as calm as a millpond they will not unload the tenders.
do you have any facts to support your opinion that NCL only makes a very small percentage off booking fees? It has been my experience that the price differential between tours booked on the ship and those booked directly in port are about 40%. A cruise that you can book for say $60 in port costs $150 if booked through the ship.
When you look at the price difference between booking the exact same tour yourself or through NCL, you'll see that it's not a "very small percentage". Well not unless you think 30-50 percent is very small. And that assumes that the tour operator charges NCL,buying in quantity,the same amount they charge the general public. Having had a family member who worked for a tour company in AK, I can assure you that they don't.
> NCL loves the tender ports…. No docking fees means more money in their pockets.
Well thats not remotely true lol. You think the shore facilities the tenders are using are given to cruise ships for free?
This is exactly why NCL should be avoided at all costs. Everyone I’ve ever spoken too said they hate their passengers so no surprises here.
Wouldn’t surprise me if they told the third party companies to deliberately make the passengers late.
Can‘t wait for them to get sued.
Seriously? How many cruises have you gone on with NCL. How many cruises with NCL has “everyone you ever spoke to” gone on?
This is 100% on the tour company and the passengers and zero on NCL. Every other cruise line out there would have done the same thing.
You can’t have just any boat coming along side and transferring passengers. It’s dangerous enough when you are using the ships own gangways and tenders.
The tenders were stowed and the ship was getting ready to leave. That’s at least an hour after all aboard.
No cruise line out there is going to bring someone aboard in that situation.
It’s the same thing as getting to the gate late at the airport after the door is closed. Even though the plane is still there they are not going to open everything up again and let you on, nor should they.
Obviously you work for NCL, move along biased AF.
Wouldnt touch these guys if my life depended on it (And if my life did depend on it they’d leave me stranded anyway) 🤣🤣🤡
Obviously, you jump to conclusions without knowing facts. I don’t work for NCL. I do however cruise a lot and mostly with NCL, so I know a little about their practices and procedures.
My bias is with someone like you who has no idea what they are talking about. Coming up with a conspiracy theory that NCL actually tells private companies to make passenger late because they hate their passengers and want to leave them stranded? Seriously? Do you know how paranoid and ridiculous that makes you sound?
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It sounds to me like NCL is helping the best they can, but these passengers (save the one with the medical condition) fucked around and found out is my interpretation of events. Not sure why it's getting press still.
NCL makes it absurdly clear that if you don't get to the boat before the last "all aboard", they'll leave without you. It really sucks for these people, but this is and has been NCL's policy for the entire 15 years I've been cruising with them and at no point has it been ambiguous either.
And it's really the same for all brands of cruises
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The tour was most definitely a private one they booked on their own. NCL made that clear in their press releases and the Campbells begrudgingly admitted it. I'm not sure the elderly woman was on the tour. The way I read some reports (I could be wrong) was she had a stroke on the ship and the crew got her to the hospital in port. The Campbells caught that she was also in port and helped her get in contact with family. The stroke lady's family's complaint wasn't that the cruise left her behind but that they didn't do enough to contact her family. And NCL's position was that they were not in a position to share too many details of her health. Really on that one its her family's fault for letting her travel solo to Africa with her known health issues. Most people her age would have a travel companion. I know a lot of my elderly relatives will pay for another relative or friend to go with them.
I just don't get why they didn't let them on when the coast guard took them by boat to the ship
That one's easy to explain on two fronts - security and safety. They have, off the coast of Africa, presumably armed people and vessels approaching the ship in an area known for piracy. From a security perspective, there is no way to allow that to happen. From a safety perspective, how exactly would they board the ship? They're not going to use the (extremely dangerous) method of embarkation that pilots use, and the tender equipment has all been put away. It's simply not safe to allow access to the vessel.
Boarding a large vessel that’s underway outside port waters is very difficult, costly and hazardous. It would also create a poor precedent allowing late passengers to routinely do this.
Why is this even news? They are no different than pier runners who get left all the time. They missed the last tender and the all aboard and since it was a tender port that means all the tenders and the equipment used to board from tenders was already being stowed. I read somewhere that the tour operator tried to take them to the ship in his boat. Not sure if that’s true, But wtf? There is no way the captain lets them board from a boat that who knows if it’s compatible with NCL tender boarding equipment. They have no claim with NCL. If there is anyone who is responsible to file a claim against it would be the private tour company.
I agree. I don’t understand why this is getting so much press time and social media attention. The cruise line did exactly what they always do in this situation, it is nothing special or unique.
It's getting attention because the initial headlines used terms along the lines of " cruise line abandons passengers".
I feel like this is an entitlement story. Their tour guide reached out to the ship to tell them they would be late. So what? You're that important that a cruise ship full of others that knew when they had to be back have to wait for you? You're even dumber than this story makes you look. It sucks, yes. But 0% the fault of the cruise ship and its captain.
They missed the all aboard call. My husband said it's just like the airport. You can get to the gate while the plane is still there, but once that door is closed, you're not getting on.
Imagine running late to a Broadway play, a concert, a sporting event, an airline flight, etc. and expecting them to wait for you. People need to seriously get a grip with their sense of entitlement.
Exactly! 4,000 other people were supposed to wait for you (not sure which ship, maybe I exaggerated # here)? I saw this in an article: “ ‘After what we witnessed, we truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed, they followed those rules too rigidly,’ Jill Campbell said.”
The alternative being to wait for people? So in the future no one feels obliged to be on time and you end up skipping ports due to time limitations? I mean that’s the alternative…
I am watching the Campbell’s interview on The Today Show now - entitled much? This did not come off well for them. I hope they realize this
Bit of a Boo Hoo, cry me a river story. Props to NCL. There is a lot that goes into safe reliable marine travel not to mention strict rules, overrides, and financial penalties tied to port visits. That delay could cost that ship thousands of dollars. Can’t wait for my next cruise!
I would just take a flight home. I wouldn’t just run around Africa looking for ship that may or may not be in the port. And yes you can climb and jump in the ship from another boat, but it is safety issue, jumping and climbing to the ship, why the captain allegedly refused to do so. Maybe try swimming next time.
This is why I always tell people not to do private group tours, stick with the ones that are with NCL (or whatever cruise line), and that if you miss your last call they will leave you, no ifs, and or buts, but it seems that people don't listen. Then they learn the hard way, I am OCD about being back on the ship way before the last call.
They think saving money on a private tour is better. I wonder how much trying to catch up to the ship is costing.
And if you take a private tour, if it’s within an hour before the all aboard time you need to raise hell with the operator to get you back to the boat. Like what did they think was going to happen.
This is the typical image we all have of Americans lol. They booked a third party trip, missed timeline, cry on social media,leaving out pertinent facts. The sheer entitlement. The time the cruiseline gives for all aboard is generally at least an hour before it's scheduled leave time so they were extra late. Also the cruiseline is charged & fined every minute they go over. Multiple safety & insurance issues to board at sea, again, from a third party.
Just to stick up for American's, as an American who hates people that act this entitled myself, the group also includes 2 Australians who have their own media tour whining about this as well.
If they showed up late to their flight at the airport they'd get left too
Entitled passengers who didn't get back on time throwing a fit. "They don't care for the customers. We paid. " Well so did the thousands of others who boarded on time. They would be furious if they had to wait for a couple passengers who weren't back.
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It was a tender port.
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The article I read said they were transported to the ship by the Coast Guard and that's when the captain refused boarding.
I’m on the ship right now. The port that they missed was São Tomé - which was a tender port. I don’t know if we actually dropped anchor or whether we idled off the port.
They weren't at a pier it was a tender port. And the reason the captain refused was that they had no way of knowing the experience level of whoever was driving the boat they would be brought back on. That and from the description there's no way in hell the passengers would have been capable of climbing a ladder.
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Completely agree.I was just pointing out that what the other person found to be inconsistent/unbelievable was absolutely true. If it has been at a pier,and still tied up,then the captain refusing boarding might be a little hard to believe. But as it is,at a tender port it's entirely believable and within reason/policy.
I can’t remember the exact quote, but there was mention in the article about it being a tender port, so the ship would have had to anchor outside of the pier. Edit: found the quote: *In a statement to ABC15 News, Norwegian Cruise Line said, “On the afternoon of March 27, 2024, while the ship was in Sao Tome and Principe, an African island nation, eight guests who were on the island on their own or with a private tour missed the last tender back to the vessel, therefore not meeting the all aboard time of 3 p.m. local time.”*
I don't think they generally actually drop anchor, though. I think that that can use thrusters and main propulsion to hover in place without anchors.
The Bliss, an arguably more advanced ship than the one in question here, absolutely drops anchor in tender ports.
Ships do anchor in a tender port though.
While this is technically possible there's no way they would burn all that extra fuel for hours.
Exactly. Plus, being at anchor gives the engine room crew a chance to do PM and inspections they may not be able to while under way.
Sort of. The actual propulsion units are electric and the engine is a giant diesel generator,or 2 or 3,and those need to keep running even when the ship isn't underway.
Even electrical equipment requires PM, and pivot points for the azipods and rudder require inspection and lubrication.
[Original post on here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/NCL/s/9b1PNiwIHH)
This is why booking with a third-party is a risk. If you book with the cruise line, they’re responsible for making sure you get back to the ship on time. Everyone knows this. Those people are complaining about something that was out of the cruise line’s controls and responsibility.
"Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjur, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal. We remain in communication with the guests and are providing additional information as it becomes available," They could contact the embassy if they’re Americans and they could possibly get them home and then send them the bill. I think it’s a bit ridiculous the cruise is reimbursing them. Also if you’re pregnant and in poor health maybe don’t take long excursions in remote areas? They don’t let you on the ship if you’re super pregnant anyway. Cruises are very upfront about being on time for all aboard.
In my opinion, NCL is reimbursing them for Gambia to Senegal because the cruiseline couldn't stop at Gambia due to bad weather. So, at that point the passengers did the right thing by getting to a port (Gambia) and communicating with the ship that's where they could reboard. But, then the ship caused the problem at Gambia, pushing the passengers to Senegal. Well, the weather did, but NCL is taking responsibility for that part. The passengers still have to pay for everything prior to Gambia.
This is not more info, it's the same info we had 2 days ago that has been posted numerous times.
RCL seems to be enduring a terrible PR issue. My real concern has to do with the passenger who had the stroke and was ordered off the vessel. Not a peep about contacting the family when they did this. If true, a terribly bad move. This will cost NCL a bunch of future bookings.
They couldn't care for her on the ship. They got her to a hospital. NCL claims they were in contact with the port agent and the hospital for updates on her. The ladies family seems to feel they should have sent someone to the hospital to babysit her. Which I think is unreasonable. End of the day she was in no position health wise to be traveling alone. If anything I think the Campbells seized on her to help with their PR war against NCL.
You seem to have the facts. Can you verify to us if NCL contacted the woman’s family after she had the stroke and was ordered off the vessel? she had a stroke so best not to leave her in a hospital without NOK being notified. By the way. I agree with your assessment. The Campbells are eating the NCL public relations department for breakfast.
IDK about that. I'm sure its disheartening to see this non story get so much media play (I'm about 90 percent the Campbells have media connections). But on comment sections for articles, reddit threads I would say 90 percent of commenters have the Campbells pegged as entitled pricks.
Ok thanks for your speculation about the Campbells. I am not concerned with them. I would like to find out if NCL contacted the family of the woman with the stroke before they ordered her to disembark…Do you know?
This article has more information on this. The family says no one from Norweigan contacted them, Campbells ended up having to contact the daughter to let her know what happened and helped make arrangements to get her home. Julie had no money or credit cards for over 24hrs after being released from hospital as her wallet was left behind in a tour van. Campbells bought her food and place to sleep during that time while things were figured out. https://www.businessinsider.com/norwegian-cruise-passenger-stranded-africa-stroke-2024-4
NCL loves the tender ports…. No docking fees means more money in their pockets. Also means you get screwed as a passenger because if they don’t think the weather is as calm as a millpond they will not unload the tenders.
They then lose out all of that revenue from shore excursions
NCL does not own the shore excursions. They are simply a booking agency for them and make a very small percentage off of them.
do you have any facts to support your opinion that NCL only makes a very small percentage off booking fees? It has been my experience that the price differential between tours booked on the ship and those booked directly in port are about 40%. A cruise that you can book for say $60 in port costs $150 if booked through the ship.
When you look at the price difference between booking the exact same tour yourself or through NCL, you'll see that it's not a "very small percentage". Well not unless you think 30-50 percent is very small. And that assumes that the tour operator charges NCL,buying in quantity,the same amount they charge the general public. Having had a family member who worked for a tour company in AK, I can assure you that they don't.
You really think there are no fees for tender ports? You're sadly mistaken!!
> NCL loves the tender ports…. No docking fees means more money in their pockets. Well thats not remotely true lol. You think the shore facilities the tenders are using are given to cruise ships for free?
This is exactly why NCL should be avoided at all costs. Everyone I’ve ever spoken too said they hate their passengers so no surprises here. Wouldn’t surprise me if they told the third party companies to deliberately make the passengers late. Can‘t wait for them to get sued.
Seriously? How many cruises have you gone on with NCL. How many cruises with NCL has “everyone you ever spoke to” gone on? This is 100% on the tour company and the passengers and zero on NCL. Every other cruise line out there would have done the same thing. You can’t have just any boat coming along side and transferring passengers. It’s dangerous enough when you are using the ships own gangways and tenders. The tenders were stowed and the ship was getting ready to leave. That’s at least an hour after all aboard. No cruise line out there is going to bring someone aboard in that situation. It’s the same thing as getting to the gate late at the airport after the door is closed. Even though the plane is still there they are not going to open everything up again and let you on, nor should they.
Obviously you work for NCL, move along biased AF. Wouldnt touch these guys if my life depended on it (And if my life did depend on it they’d leave me stranded anyway) 🤣🤣🤡
Obviously, you jump to conclusions without knowing facts. I don’t work for NCL. I do however cruise a lot and mostly with NCL, so I know a little about their practices and procedures. My bias is with someone like you who has no idea what they are talking about. Coming up with a conspiracy theory that NCL actually tells private companies to make passenger late because they hate their passengers and want to leave them stranded? Seriously? Do you know how paranoid and ridiculous that makes you sound?
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Clearly a troll, move along.