Family’s dream vacation turns nightmare.
Picture this: an Oklahoma family of nine left stranded in the wilds of remote Alaska.
Their dream cruise turned into a nightmare thanks to Norwegian Cruise Lines.
Gault family’s Alaskan adventure.
Joshua and Cailyn Gault, their six young kids, and 78-year-old grandma were on the trip of a lifetime.
But it quickly turned into a horror show on July 12 in Ketchikan, Alaska.
The Gaults had just enjoyed a lively lumberjack show, unaware of the chaos that awaited.
Shuttle mishap leads to chaos.
They boarded a local shuttle back to their ship, the Norwegian Encore, only to be told to wait for another.
As the first bus left, panic set in. The second bus never arrived.
Ship sails away without them.
Their cruise ship departed, stranding them with no passports, medications, or clothes.
“We watched the Norwegian Encore sailing away,” Joshua told 2 News. “We were stunned.”
Norwegian’s stranding history.
The Gaults are far from alone. Norwegian has a history of stranding passengers.
In April, eight passengers were left behind in Africa after a tour returned late.
They had to cobble together a new itinerary to catch up with the ship.
Norwegian partially refunded their expenses after public outcry.
The rigid policy of leaving behind late passengers faces growing criticism.
Passengers who miss the boat typically face enormous personal costs.
Cruise line hits stranded family with fee.
The chaos escalated. Norwegian Cruise Lines slapped them with a $9,000 fee.
This fee stemmed from a US Customs law they accidentally violated by missing their foreign port.
The Gaults, having spent $30,000 on the trip, were now stranded with a massive bill.
Without their passports, catching up with the ship in Canada was impossible.
Emergency accommodations needed.
Scrambling, they booked emergency lodging, flights, and food—costs skyrocketing by the minute.
“We had to find new accommodations for nine people in hours,” Joshua explained.
Travel nightmare unfolds.
They navigated a maze of canceled flights and sleepless nights in airports.
Exhausted and strung out, the family finally made it back to Tulsa.
Along the way, they picked up COVID, adding insult to injury.
“We’re beaten down, unhealthy, and tired,” Joshua lamented.
Norwegian’s lukewarm response.
Norwegian Cruise Lines offered a lukewarm response, promising to “look into it.”
“They said, ‘We haven’t forgotten about you,'” Cailyn recounted, feeling otherwise.
Partial refund promised.
Norwegian agreed to refund the $9,000 fee and reimburse travel expenses—after receiving receipts.
They claimed a “misstep by a local tour operator” caused the chaos.
Promising a 20% discount on a future cruise seemed a weak consolation.
Will Norwegian Cruise Lines change its rigid policies? Only time will tell.
For now, the Gaults are left picking up the pieces of their shattered dream vacation.