Eight passengers were stranded on the small African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe after a private tour ran over time, causing them to miss the all-aboard time of their cruise ship, the Norwegian Dawn. Despite efforts by the local Coast Guard to ferry them back to the ship in tender boats, they were unable to reboard and had to turn back to land.
The passengers embarked on an unexpected journey through seven countries in just 48 hours, traveling from São Tomé and Príncipe to Senegal in order to catch up with their ship. Initially, they considered not rejoining the cruise due to feeling that Norwegian Cruise Line had not fulfilled their duty of care. However, after six days of being stranded on land, they finally decided to re-embark in Senegal on Tuesday.
Norwegian Cruise Line confirmed that they helped facilitate the passengers’ visas and would reimburse them for the trip from Gambia to Senegal. The passengers faced many challenges during their journey, but ultimately were able to overcome them and reunite with their cruise ship.
