A family of nine from Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, saw their dream Alaskan holiday turn into a total nightmare after their cruise ship left them stranded following a bus mix-up. Things only got worse after the group of adventurers were fined an eye-watering $9,000 the following day.

Taking to their Facebook pages on Sunday (July 14), parents-of-six Caitlyn and Joshua Gault, along with grandmother Sharron McElmurry, shared a joint post explaining how Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) had left their group behind in Ketchikan, Alaska, while on an excursion sponsored by the liner.

Describing the incident as a “horrible ordeal,” the family’s adults explained that they had been on a lumberjack show excursion, booked through NCL, but they found themselves left behind when non-ticketed passengers from another ship were given their seats on the dedicated excursion bus back to the port.

The trip started as a family reunion on the Norwegian Encore, a breakaway plus-class cruise ship operated by NCL. The family told KJRH-TV on Tuesday (July 16) that the voyage cost around $30,000 for a group of 16.

When nine people out of the group of 16 family members —Caitlyn, Joshua, their six children, and Sharron — came back from the lumberjack show excursion, struggles were unveiled once they came back to the port.

An Oklahoma family of nine saw their Alaskan dream trip turn into a nightmare when their cruise ship left them stranded 

Image credits: ncl

According to NCL, The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show features the world’s best lumberjacks going head-to-head “in exciting events such as chopping, sawing, relay races, axe throwing, log rolling, and of course the 50-foot speed climb.”

Tickets for the show cost around $90.

“We see the chaos getting onto the buses,” Joshua told the Oklahoma-based broadcaster. “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.'”

On the family’s joint Facebook post, they recalled: “We reached out to the port authority to let them know we were left behind by the excursion operator and they sent a van to retrieve all nine of us at the designated pick-up location, where we had been waiting since the last full bus left. 

“Just minutes from port, our driver got a call that the ship refused to wait and pulled the gangway.”

Image credits: Joshua Gault

A later report by KJRH-TV alleged that the excursion’s initial bus never came back despite the family having tickets.

Moreover, the family said the ticket attendant wasn’t checking tickets and only doing a head count before letting people from another ship take their seats. 

Upon calling the port authority and getting collected by the van, the family learned that it was too late, and they watched from the port as their clothes, medication, passports, and the rest of their belongings left without them.

Joshua told the Oklahoman outlet: “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.”

Parents-of-six Caitlyn and Joshua Gault, along with grandmother Sharron McElmurry, shared a joint post about their ordeal

Image credits: Joshua Gault

Some of the family’s passports were missing, which meant that the nine members couldn’t meet the ship at the next port in Canada.

It turned into a long, multi-day journey home, including numerous cities, baggage pickup, canceled flights, and overnight airport stays, KJRH-TV reported.

“NCL has told us to save receipts for reimbursement but has not assisted with the financial and logistical challenges, of which are significant traveling so many people, six of which are minor children,” the family wrote in their joint Facebook post.

The family paid for everything, “all the flights for nine people, all the food for nine people, all the hotel stays,” Joshua told the local news outlet.

The dad-of-six further claimed that the cruise line also issued a $971 fine per person for missing the ship.

Image credits: Joshua Gault

As a result, the credit cards were charged nearly $9,000 the morning after. This was as they were reportedly purchasing flights and hotels to get home.

“To add insult to injury, NCL charged our credit cards $8,500 in port fines,” the family’s Facebook post read. “Needless to say, this has been a nightmare.” 

Joshua later told KJRH-TV: “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.”

At the time of sharing their Facebook post, the Gaults and Sharron had reached out to NCL for assistance and resolution, but they were told that they had to “wait for someone from the customer care team to reach out to [them], which could take days.”

Now, the family is reportedly relieved to be home, even though they face new challenges, as Joshua informed the broadcaster that some of the family members contracted COVID-19.

The family was left stranded following a bus mix-up and fined nearly $9,000 the following day

Image credits: Joshua Gault

He said: “So yeah, we’re beat down right now. We’re unhealthy and beaten down.” 

NCL has since confirmed that it was a local tour operator’s misstep that was responsible for the family being left stranded in Ketchikan.

Nevertheless, NCL claimed that they had attempted to contact the family when they did not return to the ship.

“We alerted the local port agent in Ketchikan and requested that they assist the family with booking a hotel for the night,” NCL said in a statement to KJRH-TV.

As per the cruise business, the port agent helped the family secure flights to Seattle the day following the incident after they were unable to downline in the next port of call, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Image credits: Joshua Gault

“We will be reimbursing the family for all of the out-of-pocket expenses they incurred over these two days, as a result of missing the ship in Ketchikan, including meals, accommodations, etc,” NCL said. 

The company added: “Reimbursements will be processed once receipts for these expenses are provided to us. 

“Additionally, we have already initiated the process to refund the family for the fee imposed by the US Customs and Border Patrol, as a result of the guests not visiting a foreign port prior to returning to the US, as required when an itinerary originates from the US in accordance with the Passenger Vessel Services Act.”

NCL also revealed they would issue a pro-rated refund for the two cruise days the family missed.

The cruise line concluded: “As a gesture of goodwill, the company will also be providing each of the nine guests with a Future Cruise Credit in the form of a 20 percent discount of their cruise fare that can be used towards their next voyage.”

“I’d be getting an attorney,” a reader commented

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