A couple in their 80s say they were left in Spain by Norweigan Cruise Line a month after the same cruise company sailed off from an African island, leaving eight passengers behind.
Richard and Claudene Gordon, ages 84 and 81, had left their home in Salt Lake City, Utah, to embark on a vacation around the Mediterranean aboard the Norweigan Viva cruise ship, along with their family and friends to celebrate Mr Gordon’s 85th birthday, this week.
However, their trip took a drastic turn on Monday when the couple booked an independent excursion, not organised by the cruise line, while docked in Motril, Spain, to the historic city of Granada, the pair told CNN.
On their return back, their bus was delayed for an hour while a rain storm hit the region, meaning the couple missed the ship’s all-aboard time of 5.30pm to sail away at around 6pm.
“I am a very experienced traveller and have probably been on as many as 30 cruises during my lifetime,” Mr Gordon told the outlet. “Never before have we ever missed catching a ship on time at a port. So we are not someone who abuses the system.”
Along with the rest of their party, the ship sailed away to its next destination with Ms Gordon’s medication, Mr Gordon’s eyeglasses and both their spare hearing aid batteries and phone chargers.
The incident occured almost a month after eight passengers with Norweigan Cruise Line were left on the island nation of São Tomé and Principe after a private tour overran.
While the passengers claim they had to spend thousands in attempts to catch up with the ship, the cruise line said the passengers were “responsible” for returning to the vessel at the designated all-aboard time.
The Gordons told the outlet that they eventually made it to the dock by taxi at 6.10pm, but their cruise ship had already started to set sail.
At around 5.45pm, Mr Gordon said he phoned a relative on board, who told the cruise staff that they were nearby but running late; however, the staff allegedly replied that the ship needed to sail on time and nothing could be done.
“Our cruise began in Lisbon and we departed from Lisbon about one and a half hours after the scheduled departure at 4pm,” Mr Gordon told CNN. “Then the next night or two, at least a half-hour late from the dock, so it is clear that they do not always leave on the exact moment scheduled.”
Stranded on the
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