A group of passengers found themselves stranded on São Tomé and Príncipe, an island nation off West Africa, after missing the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship’s boarding deadline by over an hour. Despite efforts by the São Tomé and Príncipe Coast Guard to ferry the passengers to the ship, adverse weather conditions and tidal restrictions prevented them from reboarding. As a result, the group had to return to land.
The passengers then attempted to re-embark in Banjul, Gambia, but were unsuccessful due to unsafe docking conditions caused by adverse weather and tidal restrictions. They were forced to chase the ship to Dakar, Senegal, a distance of 100 miles further, for another attempt to re-embark. Norwegian Cruise Line assisted the passengers by facilitating their visas and reimbursing them for the trip from Gambia to Senegal.
After six days of trying to catch up with the cruise ship, the eight passengers, including Jill Campbell and her husband, finally succeeded in re-embarking in Senegal on Tuesday. Despite considering not rejoining the ship due to feeling that the cruise line had failed in its duty of care, the passengers were relieved to be back on board after their unexpected adventure.
