A family of nine who were left behind in Alaska after missing their ship have been charged $9,000 by Norwegian Cruise Lines.
The Gault family - which includes six young children and a 78-year-old grandmother - disembarked from the Norwegian Encore in Ketchikan on July 12 to watch a lumberjack show.
When they tried to return, a local tour operator conducting head counts instead of ticket checks told them to wait for another shuttle due to a full bus.
“We see the chaos getting onto the buses. 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 Gault told 2 News.
However, they say that the next bus never arrived.
After frantically calling the port authority, they reached the docks just as the Norwegian Encore was sailing away with their passports, medication, and clothes on board.
“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,” Joshua said.
The situation quickly worsened. The family - having already spent around $30,000 on the trip - was immediately hit with nearly a $9,000 charge from the cruise line ($971 per passenger) for missing the boat.
This fee was due to violating the US Customs and Border Protection’s Passenger Vessel Services Act, which they did by not visiting a foreign port as planned.
Without their passports, catching up with the vessel at its next Canadian port was impossible. The Gaults had to find new lodging, book flights home, and feed their family, with costs escalating each day.
“All the flights for nine people, all the food for nine people, all the hotel stays,” Gault recalled to 2 News, listing the unexpected expenses they incurred.
After days of chaotic travel through multiple cities, canceled flights, and overnight stays in airports, the family finally returned home to Tulsa, exhausted and ill with Covid.
“So yeah, we’re beat down right now. We’re unhealthy and beaten down,” Joshua said.
The family is now working with Norwegian Cruise Lines to rectify the situation. Despite their ordeal, they feel the cruise line has much to do to make things right.
“‘We’re still looking into it, we haven’t forgotten about you,’” Cailyn Gault said Norwegian kept telling them during their struggle to get home.
“And I was like, ‘No, we feel like you pretty much forgot about us when you left us in port and told us to go figure it out,’” she added.
Speaking to the New York Post, Norwegian Cruise Lines have stated that they will refund the $9,000 alongside travel expenses once they receive the necessary documents.
The cruise line also stated it tried to contact the Gaults after they missed their bus due to “a misstep by a local tour operator,” and worked with the local port authority to arrange lodging for the family before their flight to Seattle the next day.
“In addition, these guests will be receiving a pro-rated refund for the two cruise days they missed,” a Norwegian Cruise Line representative said.
“As a gesture of goodwill, the company will also be providing each of the nine guests with a Future Cruise Credit in the form of a 20 percent discount of their cruise fare that can be used towards their next voyage,” Norwegian added.
So, it looks like Norwegian Cruises is doing what it can to make things right. Let's just hope the Gaults are still up for a cruise after the ordeal they've been through.
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