Afamilyof ninefrom Tulsa, Oklahoma,USA, saw their dreamAlaskanholidayturn into a total nightmare after theircruise shipleft themstrandedfollowing a bus mix-up. Things only got worse after the group of adventurers werefinedan eye-watering $9,000 the following day.
HighlightsA family of nine from Tulsa, Oklahoma was left stranded after their cruise ship departed without them due to a bus mix-up in Alaska.The family incurred a $9,000 fine from Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) after being left behind during an excursion.The cruise line blamed a local tour operator for the mistake and promised to reimburse the family’s out-of-pocket expenses.
Describing the incident as a “horrible ordeal,” thefamily’s adults explained that they had been on a lumberjack show excursion, booked through NCL, but they found themselves left behind when non-ticketed passengers from another ship were given their seats on the dedicated excursion bus back to the port.
When nine people out of the group of 16 family members —Caitlyn, Joshua, their sixchildren, and Sharron — came back from the lumberjack show excursion, struggles were unveiled once they came back to the port.
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An Oklahoma family of nine saw their Alaskan dream trip turn into a nightmare when their cruise ship left them stranded
Image credits:ncl
According toNCL,The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Showfeatures the world’s best lumberjacks going head-to-head “in exciting events such as chopping, sawing, relay races, axe throwing, log rolling, and of course the 50-foot speed climb.”
Tickets for the show cost around $90.
“We see the chaos getting onto the buses,” Joshua told the Oklahoma-based broadcaster. “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 nextbus.'”
“Just minutes from port, our driver got a call that the ship refused to wait and pulled the gangway.”
Image credits:Joshua Gault
Moreover, the family said the ticket attendant wasn’t checking tickets and only doing a head count before letting people from another ship take their seats.
Joshua told the Oklahoman outlet: “You know, it was a nightmare. Six kids on board, minor children, and a 78-year-old mother-in-law, all onmedication.
“We all had to quit cold turkey medication these last few days because it was all on the cruise ship.”
Parents-of-six Caitlyn and Joshua Gault, along with grandmother Sharron McElmurry, shared a joint post about their ordeal
Some of the family’s passports were missing, which meant that the nine members couldn’t meet the ship at the next port inCanada.
“NCL has told us to save receipts for reimbursement but has not assisted with the financial and logistical challenges, of which are significant traveling so many people, six of which are minor children,” the family wrote in their joint Facebook post.
The family paid for everything, “all the flights for nine people, all the food for nine people, all the hotel stays,” Joshua told the local news outlet.
The dad-of-six further claimed that thecruise linealso issued a $971 fine per person for missing the ship.
As a result, the credit cards were charged nearly $9,000 the morning after. This was as they were reportedly purchasing flights and hotels to get home.
“To add insult to injury, NCL charged our credit cards $8,500 in port fines,” the family’s Facebook post read. “Needless to say, this has been a nightmare.”
At the time of sharing their Facebook post, the Gaults and Sharron had reached out to NCL for assistance and resolution, but they were told that they had to “wait for someone from the customer care team to reach out to [them], which could take days.”
Now, the family is reportedly relieved to be home, even though they face new challenges, as Joshua informed the broadcaster that some of the family members contractedCOVID-19.
The family was left stranded following a bus mix-up and fined nearly $9,000 the following day
He said: “So yeah, we’re beat down right now. We’reunhealthyand beaten down.”
NCL has since confirmed that it was a local tour operator’s misstep that was responsible for the family being left stranded in Ketchikan.
Nevertheless, NCL claimed that they had attempted to contact the family when they did not return to the ship.
As per the cruise business, the port agent helped the family secure flights to Seattle the day following the incident after they were unable to downline in the next port of call, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
“We will be reimbursing the family for all of the out-of-pocket expenses they incurred over these two days, as a result of missing the ship in Ketchikan, including meals, accommodations, etc,” NCL said.
The company added: “Reimbursements will be processed once receipts for these expenses are provided to us.
NCL also revealed they would issue a pro-rated refund for the two cruise days the family missed.
The cruise line concluded: “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.”
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