DAmerican Jay Campbell and his wife Jill saw more of Africa than planned. A South Carolina couple told NBC on Tuesday that they spent several days in the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe after a cruise ship refused to let them board after an excursion.
Campbell and his wife left the Norwegian Dawn for a shore leave last Wednesday with four passengers from the US and two Australians. If the group's return to the ship was delayed, the tour operator informed the captain and the Coast Guard. But to their surprise, Jay Campbell said, the captain refused to take the eight passengers back on board. According to the cruise company, the group was delayed by more than an hour.
In order to catch up with the Norwegian Dawn, which anchored in Banjul, The Gambia last Monday, and continue their journey to Spain, the couple traveled through seven African countries in 48 hours last weekend. “We organized flights. “The whole thing was more than complicated just because of the different languages and currencies,” Jay Campbell said.
When Norwegian Dawn was unable to dock in Gambia's capital, Banjul, as expected due to low water levels, the group traveled to Senegal, the cruise ship's next stop. A spokesperson for Norwegian called the incident an “unfortunate situation”. But he also reminded passengers of their responsibility to return on board at the agreed time after disembarking. It was initially unclear whether the group made it back to Africa in the Norwegian Dawn.