A family of nine from Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, witnessed their dream Alaskan vacation turn into a nightmare after their cruise liner left them stranded due to a bus mix-up. Things only got worse when the trio of adventurers were fined an eye-watering $9,000 the next day.
Caitlyn and Joshua Gault, parents of six, and grandma Sharron McElmurry made a combined Facebook post on Sunday (July 14), revealing how Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) had left their group behind in Ketchikan, Alaska, while on a liner-sponsored excursion.
An Oklahoma family of nine’s Alaskan dream trip turned into a nightmare when their cruise ship left them stranded.
The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, according to NCL, has the world’s greatest lumberjacks competing “in exciting events such as chopping, sawing, relay races, axe throwing, log rolling, and of course the 50-foot speed climb.”
Tickets for the concert are roughly $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 their shared Facebook post, the family recalled: “We contacted the port authority to inform them that we had been left behind by the excursion operator, and they dispatched a vehicle to pick up all nine of us at the authorized pick-up site, 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.”
Parents-of-six Caitlyn, Joshua Gault, and grandma Sharron McElmurry wrote a united post about their ordeal.
Some of the family’s passports were missing, so the nine members were unable to meet the ship at the next port in Canada.
KJRH-TV reported that it was a long, multi-day journey home, with stops in multiple locations, luggage collection, canceled flights, and overnight airport stays.
“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 stated in a joint posting to Facebook.
The family paid for everything, including “all the flights for nine people, all the food for nine people, and all the hotel stays,” Joshua informed the local media.
The family was left stranded following a bus mix-up and fined nearly $9,000 the following day
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.
“I’d be getting a lawyer,” one reader commented.
