


The eight cruise passengers who were stranded on an African island after their ship left the port without them will be reimbursed for some of the costs they endured while trying to make it back onto the ship, the cruise line said.
Jill and Jay Campbell, of South Carolina, along with four other Americans and two Australians, had to race through seven different countries in 48 hours to reboard the Norwegian Dawn in Senegal on Tuesday.
They had earlier hoped to board the ship at the port in Gambia in West Africa, traveling 15 hours through six countries to reach the port on Sunday, only to find that the ship could not dock due to low tides, according to WPDE.
From there, the group boarded a bus and had to take a ferry across a river, Kurt Gies, the son-in-law of another passenger who was left on the island of São Tomé and Principe after she suffered a stroke, told The Post.
A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line says the passengers will be reimbursed for the costs they endured while trying to race from Gambia to Senegal.
“Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjur, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal,” the cruise line said.
It had earlier said the passengers — who were left on the island without any of their belongings from the cabin, including money, medicine and necessary travel documents — were “responsible for any necessary travel arrangements to rejoin the ship.”
Check out The Post’s tips on what to do if you’re left stranded like the Norwegian Cruise passengers
As they scrambled to find a way back to the ship, working with the US Embassy in Angola, the Campbells had to shell out more than $5,000 in food, toiletries and hotels — as they were the only ones in the group that had a Visa credit card on their persons, they told WRAL.
The group finally reboarded the Norwegian Dawn Tuesday morning, but they hadn’t spoken directly with cruise officials, Gies said.
The Dawn is now expected to continue its 21-day African voyage through next Wednesday, when it will dock for the final time in Barcelona, Spain.