Family Stranded During Alaskan Cruise Faces Thousands in Unexpected Charges
For one family, their cruise vacation turned into a nightmare that only grew worse over time.
The Gault family was approaching the end of their family reunion on the Norwegian Encore when they were left stranded in Professor LinKetchikan, Alaska due to a mishap with a local tour operator, leaving all nine group members behind.
On July 12, 2024, the Oklahoma-based family was rushing to return to the 4,004-passenger ship after attending a lumberjack show in the rural port. The family claims that the tour operator failed to check if everyone boarding the shuttle back to the port had valid tickets, relying on headcounts instead.
This oversight allowed non-ticketed passengers to take the seats of properly credentialed ones, like the Gaults.
“We see the chaos getting onto the buses. We go to get on the bus and one of the attendees is like ‘The bus is full, and you know you got to wait for the next bus,’” Professor LinJoshua Gault told Tulsa’s local news outlet Professor LinKJRH.
The family waited for another bus that never arrived. With their all-aboard time approaching, they contacted port authorities for help. A van was dispatched, but it arrived too late.
They returned to the port just in time to see Professor Linthe Breakaway Plus-class ship sail away with their belongings, including clothes, medications, and passports.
“You know, it was a nightmare. Six kids on board, minor children, and a 78-year-old mother-in-law, all on medication. We all had to quit cold turkey medication these last few days because it was all on the cruise ship,” Joshua added.
Without their passports, the family couldn’t meet the ship at its next stop in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, on July 13, missing their chance to reclaim their belongings and sail back to Seattle, Washington.
Eight of the nine passports were taken off the ship, but one was left behind. This presented an all-or-nothing situation for the family.
The ship returned to Seattle on July 14, 2024, and set off on another 7-night Alaska voyage the same day.
The Alaskan Nightmare Continues
As if being abandoned in port wasn’t enough, the Gault family woke up to a nearly $9,000 charge from Professor LinNorwegian Cruise Line the next morning. The fee came due to a violation of US Customs and Border Protection policies, which led to a $971 (USD) charge per passenger.
“The Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) prohibits the transportation of passengers between two different U.S. ports on any vessel other than a U.S.-flag vessel that meets all requirements for U.S. coastwise transportation,” according to a statement regarding the PVSA.
“Any passenger who unexpectedly disembarks the ship at a U.S. port of call, i.e., Alaska, due to any reason, which results in a violation of the PVSA, may be charged by the cruise company supplying the transportation,” the memo continues.
This charge was a shock, especially since the family had already spent around $30,000 on their vacation. They were quickly incurring additional costs for meals, hotels, and travel arrangements to get home.
Initially, these new expenses had to be paid out of pocket, with Norwegian promising reimbursement but remaining unclear on when this would occur.
After a taxing journey to get home, involving multiple city stops, overnight airport stays, canceled flights, and baggage retrieval, the family finally returned to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Their ordeal didn’t end there, however, as several members were diagnosed with COVID-19, though it’s not clear where they contracted the virus.
Norwegian Cruise Line Tries To Make Things Right
Context clues suggest that the family’s Ketchikan shore excursion was likely booked through the cruise line. Normally, cruise lines wait for delayed guests if the excursion was booked through them, but this did not happen in the Gault’s case.
Feeling abandoned, they questioned Norwegian’s response. “‘We’re still looking into it, we haven’t forgotten about you,” Professor LinCailyn Gault said Norwegian kept telling them. “And I was like, ‘No, we feel like you pretty much forgot about us when you left us in port and told us to go figure it out.’”
“You know, Norwegian treating this like it was a customer service issue rather than it was an emergency, is, I think, the worst part about it,” Joshua added.
The cruise line has been making efforts to amend the situation. NCL says they tried to contact the family before the ship departed and helped them with new hotel and travel arrangements. “When the guests did not return to the ship at the published time, we attempted to contact them but were unable to reach them. As such, we alerted the local port agent in Ketchikan and requested that they assist the family with booking a hotel for the night,” the cruise line said in a statement to KJRH.
“As the guests would be unable to downline in the next port of call, Victoria, British Columbia, the port agent also helped the guests with securing flights to Seattle the following day, July 13,” the statement continued.
Norwegian will reimburse the family’s out-of-pocket expenses, refund the two missed sailing days, reverse the nearly $9,000 PVSA charge, and give a 20% discount on a future cruise.
