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A family of nine found themselves stranded in Alaska after a mix-up with a local tour operator caused them to miss their scheduled cruise departure.
What was intended to be a memorable trip of a lifetime might now be recalled for very different reasons as the Gault family faced hefty costs to make their way back to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when the ship containing their clothes, passports and medication sailed off from Ketchikan port without them.
The family, comprising two parents, six children and a 78-year old grandmother, were also hit with an immediate fine of almost $9,000, working out at $971 per passenger, by Norwegian Cruise Lines for missing the vessel.
That fee stemmed from the US Customs and Border Protection’s Passenger Vessel Services Act, which they violated by not visiting a foreign port before they returned to the US.
The family’s nightmare started when they went on an excursion to see a lumberjack show when the ship they were travelling on, Norwegian Encore, docked in Ketchikan in Alaska.
After watching the show, the group tried to catch a bus back to the port by a local tour operator, but were told that the bus was full and they had to wait for another one.
“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 recounted to KJRH.
However, that bus never came, and after frantically calling the port authority to arrange transportation, they finally arrived back at the docks to see Norwegian Encore sailing away — taking with it their passports, medication and clothes.
“We all had to quit cold turkey medication these last few days, because it was all on the cruise ship,” Joshua added.
Starnded in Ketchikan, a remote port located 300 miles from Alaska’s capital of Juneau with no accommodation or transportation, the family worked out how they could arrange transportation back to where they live in Tulsa. But as they looked into booking flights, they found that Joshua’s credit card had already been charged the customs fee of almost $9,000.
Joshua claims that they had to pay for flights for nine people, hotel stays along the way, and food. The trip ultimately took them several days in which they had cancelled flights and overnight airport stays, during which time some family members caught Covid.
After having arrived back in Oklahoma, Joshua added: “So yeah, we’re beat down right now. We’re unhealthy and beaten down.”
Cruise line officials said they would reimburse the family for the out-of-pocket expenses they incurred, the fee they incurred from US Customs and Border Patrol and a pro-rated refund for the two cruise days they missed.
A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Lines said: “On the afternoon of Friday, 12 July, a family of nine guests missed the ship’s all aboard time in Ketchikan, Alaska due to a misstep by a local tour operator. When 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 and requested that they assist the family with booking a hotel for the night.
“As the guests would be unable to downline in the next port of call, Victoria, British Columbia, the port agent also helped the guests with securing flights to Seattle the following day, 13 July.
“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. Reimbursements will be processed once receipts for these expenses are provided to us. Additionally, we have already initiated the process to refund the family for the fee imposed by the US Customs and Border Patrol, as a result of the guests not visiting a foreign port prior to returning to the US, as required when an itinerary originates from the US in accordance with the Passenger Vessel Services Act.
“In addition, these guests will be receiving a pro-rated refund for the two cruise days they missed. 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 per cent discount of their cruise fare that can be used towards their next voyage.”
