It had to be one vacation dream, but then turned into a real nightmare for eight tourists, including two elderly people and a pregnant woman, who were left stranded on a remote island after the cruise ship Norwegian Cruise Line on which they were traveling left, without returning to pick them up despite their requests for help. This (mis)adventure was told by a married couple, Jay And Jill Campbellwho told KSNB4 how, even today, they find themselves stranded on the island penniless and without care.
Alone on the island of São Tomé
The protagonists of this story are eight tourists, six Americans and two Australians, who were having a peaceful holiday on board the Norwegian Cruise Line, until they were left on the coast of the island of Sao Tomein the’Central Africa, from the shipping company. The story was told by the elderly Campbell couple, who said: «We were touring the island, but then we had a problem during the tour and they didn’t take us back in time. We were convinced that they would come back for us, especially because there was a pregnant woman among us, but then no one showed up. And, even today, we are stuck here.”
The Campbells had been on holiday for only eight days and the ship, which departed from South Africa, had stopped on the island for tourist visits. After seeing that the crew was not returning, the visitors tried to ask the coast guard for help, but the ship refused to go back for them. So they are on the island without their personal belongings, which were left inside their cabins, money and medicines. Jill Campbell explained: “We are trying to get permission to board the ship at another African port, but it’s really difficult. Let’s hope that everything turns out well, because there are several elderly people here, one of whom also suffers from heart problems. We paid a lot for this trip, so we hope to conduct the rest of the trip and get to Spain », she concluded.
The ship’s company defends itself
Following the episode, the Norwegian Cruise Line company released a long statement, in which it explained its position: «On the afternoon of March 27, eight passengers who were on the island alone or with a private tour lost the last tender to return to the ship, therefore not respecting the scheduled departure time of 3pm. Although this is a very unpleasant situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time, which is widely communicated over the ship’s intercom, in daily communications and posted shortly before leaving the ship. We are in contact with guests and will provide further information as it becomes available.”
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Read the full article at
Leggo.it
