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Cruise passenger who fell overboard tells how he survived 15 hours in the water and battled ‘sea creature’

A coast guard rescuer who saved mr grimes estimated the man had at most a minute left before he succumbed to the waves when they found him, article bookmarked.

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James Michael Grimes’ Thanksgiving was unorthodox.

After winning an air guitar contest, he toppled off the side of a cruise ship , battled a "sea creature," treaded water for more than half a day, and survived on bamboo — or maybe just some kind of stick — until the Coast Guard picked him up the next day.

And, according to him, though alcohol was consumed, it did not play a part in the chain of events.

Mr Grimes, 28, survived a harrowing 15 hours at sea that could have turned tragic had he not managed to keep himself afloat while waves washed over him in the Gulf of Mexico .

Mr Grimes and his sister were on a Carnival cruise ship departing from New Orleans and bound for Cozumel, Mexico on 23 November. At some point that evening, Mr Grimes’ sister noticed he had left to use the restroom and had not returned. After failing to return the following day, she reported him missing and, a few hours later, the Coast Guard was notified that the man had vanished.

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According to Mr Grimes, who gave an interview to ABC News’ Good Morning America about his ordeal, that night he had just won an air guitar competition in one of the ship’s lounges and had hit the bar to celebrate.

He said he did not have "tons" of drinks and that he "couldn’t really say" how much booze he had actually consumed, but assured the interviewer he was not drunk at the time.

Whatever the case, the next thing he remembers is floating around in the Gulf of Mexico without a ship in sight.

He treaded water for hours, noting during the interview that he was terrified of drowning and was desperate to see his family again.

"I wanted to see my family and I was dead set on making it out of there, you know. I was never accepting that this is it. This is going to be the end of my life," he said during the interview.

As he fought to stay above the waves, Mr Grimes claims he had an encounter with a "sea creature" that he initially worried could have been a shark. He claims the creature had a fin and bumped his leg, spooking him to the point where he felt the need to kick at the animal.

"I thought it was a shark. I mean, I was swimming in one direction and looked around I seen it out the corner of my eye and it came up on me really quick and went under and I could see it and it wasn’t a shark," he said.

He saw the fish had a "flat mouth" just before it bumped him, prompting him to kick at it.

Mr Grimes had nothing to eat or drink for the duration of his time floating in the Gulf. That’s why when a stick that he says "looked like bamboo" floated by him he scooped it up and began chewing on it. Though he has no idea if it provided any nutritional value, he did note that it at least provided the comfort of tasting something other than salt water.

He began to worry as night fell — the water’s temperature cooled, and his body was running out of energy — but he says he remained positive, believing he had survived for a reason.

"You know, the fall didn’t kill me, you know, sea creatures didn’t eat me, I felt like I was meant to get out of there," he said.

And he did; he was eventually spotted by a passing tanker, which notified the US Coast Guard rescuers. The Coast Guard units arrived on scene and, according to one rescuer, likely found Mr Grimes just in time.

Richard Hoefle, a US Coast Guard Aviation Survival Technician, told 4WWL News that Mr Grimes was "at his limit" when they found him.

"Some people break down and cry, some people are in shock, and they don’t know what’s going on, some people are ecstatic and they act a little crazy because they are so happy to be out of the situation that they’re in," Mr Hoefle said, describing typical reactions of individuals who are rescued. "Mr Grimes had nothing left. He had no energy. He had nothing left to give. My best guess is that he had between a minute and 30 seconds left before we lost him completely."

Mr Grimes said he recalled being secured by Mr Hoefle and remembers "just thinking ‘thank you, you are like a guardian angel.’"

The Coast Guard transported Mr Grimes to a hospital in New Orleans. He was treated for hypothermia and dehydration, and has since been released.

Mr Grimes told Good Morning America that the experience "opened my eyes" and taught him to be mindful of that which he takes for granted. It also left him lacking a proper cruise experience.

"I definitely would be open to go on another cruise," he said, "because I really didn’t get to go on this one."

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Passengers see dramatic raft rescue from cruise ship balcony: 'Heart-wrenching experience'

Cruise passengers see dramatic raft rescue.

A Port Canaveral-based cruise ship saved six men stranded in the ocean. It happened near the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, and people on board the Carnival Vista watched the rescue unfold from their balconies.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - A Port Canaveral-based cruise ship saved six men stranded in the ocean. It happened near the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, and people on board the Carnival Vista watched the rescue unfold from their balconies.  

The cruise ship saved six people, and the U.S. Coast Guard saved six others who were drifting in the ocean. Passengers on board are still in shock, but thankful everyone is alive. 

An orange life raft was nearly swallowed by the sea after a boat sank off the coast of the Dominican Republic.

Passengers came out to see the rough seas from their balconies and ended up seeing a rescue unfold on their vacation. 

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"It was something we’ve never seen, and hopefully we don’t ever see it again," said Lacey Farrington. 

She says the entire rescue took about an hour, and she wasn’t sure if they’d make it to safety.  

"I was worried about it because the water looked like it kept getting closer and closer to the ring of the raft, and was like – I hope they get over here," she exclaimed. 

The cruise ship rescued six people from the flimsy orange raft, but six others were still out there. Victoria Foster captured the others floating away. 

"It was definitely a heart-wrenching experience," said Victoria Foster who was worried the others wouldn’t be saved. 

The Coast Guard stepped in and was able to find and save the other stranded men using a helicopter and lift them to safety.  

"It was a relief to know that they were safe. It was, that was all I was worried about," Foster concluded.

The men were taken to the hospital, and the coast guard says, all 12 survivors are doing okay after a terrifying ordeal in the ocean. 

There’s still no official word on what exactly caused the men’s boat to sink in the first place. The coast guard says the weather was less than ideal for a rescue like this and credits training and hard work to the successful mission. 

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Cruise Ship Rescues 14 People Stranded at Sea for 8 Days as Passengers Look on in 'Shock': WATCH

'We could see in the waves a tiny boat," passenger Alessandra Amodio tells PEOPLE of the incident that happened aboard the Icon of the Seas on Sunday

A cruise ship’s voyage to Mexico and the Bahamas turned into a rescue mission when the boat spotted a small vessel in the waves.

On Sunday, Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas , the new world's largest cruise ship that launched in January, rescued 14 people who had been stranded at sea for over a week.

Icon passenger Alessandra Amodio told PEOPLE that the cruise ship was in the midst of an eight-day Caribbean itinerary when they spotted the individuals.

"I was in the lunch buffet with my family when we heard a coded announcement over the loud speakers," Amodio told PEOPLE, adding that the announcement came at around 3 p.m. local time. "A few minutes later people started gathering at the windows and then the captain came on and announced that they had found a distressed vessel and we would be turning around to investigate. We all rushed to the windows and in the nearish distance we could see in the waves a tiny boat waving either a large white flag or sheet."

Shortly after, the ship turned around and pulled up next to the boat and "deployed a small zodiac-type rescue boat," she recalls.

@alessandra_rosee/ LOCAL NEWS X/ TMX

"Eventually we saw Royal Caribbean crew helping about two people from the distressed boat onto the rescue boat before returning to the vessel. They then made a few more trips to safely bring everyone on board."

According to Amodio, they later found out that the passengers on the small boat had been "lost at sea for eight days."

Royal Caribibean

"We got a final announcement once they were all on board safely telling us there was 14 people on board," she said, adding that passengers clapped and cheered upon hearing everyone had been rescued safely.

"Our first reaction was shock, I’ve been on six or so cruises and I’ve never experienced anything even close to this," Amodio continued. "During the rescue everyone was more shocked and the general consensus was that this wasn’t something anyone ever thought would be happening. It was crazy to see, even knowing where they were in the water, once they dropped the flag, they were hard to spot. Just seeing this small boat you knew was filled with people surrounded by the vastness of the water was enough to freak you out. "

Royal Caribbean

The ship was on its first full day of sailing and it was between Cozumel, Mexico and western Cuba when the incident happened.

"We weren’t told by the captain or crew what happened to them," Amodio added of the rescued individuals.  

The cruise liner, which departed from Miami, Florida, was headed to Roatán, Honduras, and Royal Caribbean's private Bahamian island, CocoCay, during its voyage.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Royal Caribbean told PEOPLE in a statement, "On March 3, 2024, Icon of the Seas encountered a small vessel adrift and in need of assistance. The ship's crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 14 people onboard. The crew provided them with medical attention, and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard."

A U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson told Newsweek that the rescue occurred in Mexico's search-and-rescue area of responsibility.

The Icon of the Seas made its maiden voyage out of South Florida in late January. The ship departed from Port Miami and docked at ports including Puerto Costa Maya in Mexico, Basseterre in St. Kitts & Nevis and Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas.

Along with the world’s largest pool and water park at sea, Icon also boasts eight "neighborhoods" to explore and an open-air "Central Park."

The record-breaking vessel overtook Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas , which formerly held the title of largest cruise ship in the world.

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Father of 20-year-old man who 'jumped off' cruise ship in front of family believes he's still alive

Levion parker has now been missing for more than a week, but his dad remains hopeful.

Emily Brown

The father of a 20-year-old man thought to have jumped overboard from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship has shared his belief that he's still alive.

Levion Parker, from North Port, Florida, has been missing since he disappeared from the Liberty of the Seas ship traveling between Cuba and the Bahamas’ Grand Inagua Island on April 4.

The former high school footballer is thought to have been drunk when he went overboard, according to one passenger who'd witnessed the incident.

Speaking to The New York Post, Bryan Sims said : “He was pretty drunk. As we were walking from the hot tub back to the elevators, his dad and brother were walking towards us. His dad was fussing at him for being drunk, I guess.

“When we got to them, he said to his dad, ‘I’ll fix this right now.’ And he jumped out the window in front of us all.”

It was around 4am when Parker went missing, and another passenger, Deborah Morrison, told the Post the crew was alerted 'immediately'.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Southeast division confirmed the launch of the search and rescue mission on April 4, saying: "#Breaking @USCG crews are searching for a 20-year-old man who went overboard from the Liberty of the Seas cruise ship 57 miles from Great Inagua this morning. USCG Cutter Seneca and Air Station Miami HC-144 crews are conducting the search."

Unfortunately, the search for Parker has so far proved unsuccessful, and on Tuesday (April 9), the US Coast Guard said it had called off its search for Parker.

A spokesperson for the US Coast Guard 7th District Public Affairs Team confirmed to UNILAD that the search had been 'suspended'.

One week on from Parker's disappearance, his father, Francel Parker, told the Daily Sun that he's still holding out hope for his son.

“As soon as he went off the side, I prayed over him," he said. "I was confident the prayers I said over my son were heard. I stand on the word of God. I believe he is alive."

Francel also denied claims that he was arguing with Parker before he went overboard.

He recalled throwing six life rings off the ship in a bid to save his son, who he described as a skilled diver who works on a commercial fishing boat.

Royal Caribbean said it 'immediately' launched search boats to look for the passenger, though it wasn't until approximately 20 minutes after Parker went missing that the ship was able to come to a stop.

A Royal Caribbean spokesperson told LADbible Group: "Our hearts go out to the family, and we continue to offer them our support and assistance during this difficult time.

"Our policies strictly prohibit guests under the age of 21 from being served alcohol onboard."

Topics:  Royal Caribbean , US News

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.

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Eight passengers stranded on African island after Norwegian cruise ship left without them

A dream cruise vacation has turned into a nightmare for eight passengers left stranded on the African island of São Tomé and Príncipe after their ship left without them because they were late to return from a private tour.

The tourists — six from the U.S. and two from Australia — were aboard the Norwegian Dawn, a Norwegian cruise line ship , which departed from Cape Town, South Africa, on March 20 for a 21-day voyage up the coast of Africa set to end in Barcelona, Spain, on April 10.

But on Wednesday, the group of eight tourists was late to return to the ship by more than an hour for the all-aboard time of 3 p.m. from a private excursion on the island, which was not organized by the cruise line.

Jay and Jill Campbell of South Carolina were part of the group that was left behind.

They said that their tour’s operator notified the cruise captain that they were going to be late to rejoin the ship and that the local Coast Guard tried to get them on the vessel but that they weren’t allowed to board.

As a result, the couple and the rest of the group have been stranded for days on the island off Nigeria, grappling with language, currency issues and complicated travel to catch up with the ship.

“The lovely people of São Tomé were very gracious, very hospitable. They had reached out as much as they could to help us find hotels,” Jay Campbell said on NBC's "TODAY" show Tuesday morning.

“We were able to get to a tour agency there to arrange flights to the next port of call. ... Very difficult process — you’re dealing with multiple languages, language barriers, you’re dealing with different currencies ... finding someone that even has dollars ... trying to get an agent to understand where we need to get to.

"It’s one of those ‘You can’t get there from here,’" he added.

A Norwegian spokesperson called the incident a “very unfortunate situation” and said, “Guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time.”

The cruise line said that after the guests failed to return, their passports were delivered to local port agents, in line with protocol. The company said it was working with local authorities to understand “the requirements and visas needed for the guests to reboard the ship at the next available port of call.”

On Monday, the guests had made arrangements to rejoin the ship in Banjul, Gambia, but the ship was unable to safely dock there because of “adverse weather conditions” and “tidal restrictions,” Norwegian said. The guests were then contacted and provided with information to rejoin the ship at Dakar, Senegal, on Tuesday. 

Jill Campbell said they traveled through seven countries in 48 hours to arrive in Senegal on Monday night.

But the couple was reconsidering whether they even wanted to return to the cruise.

"We are considering whether or not we are going to board the ship. It is in dock here in Senegal," she said. "We believe there was a basic duty of care that they had forgotten about, so it does concern us."

"After what we witnessed, we truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed, they followed those rules too rigidly. I believe that they really forgot that they are people working in the hospitality industry and really the safety and well-being of the customers should be their first priority," she added.

Ultimately, the eight passengers did rejoin the cruise before 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in Dakar, Senegal, Norwegian told NBC News in an e-mail Tuesday evening, after this story originally published.

Norwegian said the passengers were responsible for making their own travel arrangements to rejoin the ship.

"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," a cruise line spokesperson said in a statement. "We remain in communication with the guests and are providing additional information as it becomes available."

A silver lining of the catastrophe was that the Campbells were able to connect with another Norwegian Dawn passenger — Julia Lenkoff, 80 — who was also left on the island, but for a medical reason.

Lenkoff was on a different day tour Wednesday. She had "medically disembarked" from the cruise to seek local treatment on that day, Norwegian said.

Norwegian said that its care team tried to call Lenkoff several times and was unable to reach her and that it worked with its port agent in São Tomé and Príncipe for updates on her health.

The Campbells met Lenkoff and were able to put her in contact with her family in California, who flew her home — a move Lenkoff's daughter said "saved her life."

"She's a world traveler. She travels all the time. So this was going to be one of her bucket list trips, because she's been to 120 countries so far, and she wanted to get to 130," her daughter, Lana Lenkoff Geis, said in an interview that aired Tuesday on "TODAY."

Norwegian said Lenkoff was escorted on a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, then put in the care of airport staff members to continue her journey back to the U.S., where she has safely returned.

Breaking News Reporter

Why falling off a cruise ship is so deadly

A 35-year-old Australian man who fell overboard on his way back to Brisbane. A Louisiana teen who jumped ship on a dare. A 7-year-old boy who died after falling into the ocean, followed by his mother, who tried to save him.

Overboard incidents on cruise ships are incredibly rare. But when they happen, they usually end in death, experts say.

The Coast Guard said last week it had given up on its search for 30-year-old Jaylen Hill, who went overboard during a four-day Carnival Cruise trip from Florida to the Bahamas. It searched more than 1,300 square miles for him.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the Hill family,” the Coast Guard said on Twitter.

Hill was reported missing by a travel companion hours after he was last seen. Experts say such time gaps between a fall and the start of a search are a big part of why overboard incidents are so deadly.

Even if crew members are immediately aware of the incident, it takes the average ship at least a mile to turn around. The ship usually dispatches life boats and alerts authorities, such as the Coast Guard, which may not be close enough to assist, said Ross Klein, a cruise industry researcher and retired professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland. In many cases, ships are not aware that someone has gone overboard until a travel partner reports them missing, which could be hours or days later.

By then, it’s often too late.

“It’s a huge ocean. Just being found at all would be incredible,” Klein said. “The longer you are out there, whether you’re alive or not, the lower the possibility of being recovered. The vast majority of people are gone forever.”

Even in cases where a fall is noticed immediately, a lot can go wrong.

“The fall itself can kill you, a cruise ship engine can suck you underneath the water, fear and anxiety or intoxication could prevent you from swimming — there’s many different scenarios,” said Brett Rivkind, a Miami lawyer who specializes in maritime law and represents families in overboard cases. A person can also become unconscious from hypothermia in as little as 15 minutes , depending on sea temperatures.

At least 386 people were reported to have gone overboard, voluntarily or by accident, from 2000 to 2020, according to data Klein compiled. He began tracking overboard cases in 1995 using media reports, tips, information requests and other methods, later serving as an expert witness before Congress.

“People overboard was an area that hadn’t been studied, and, really, there was no data,” he said. “Even within the industry, they said back in 2012 and 2013 before Congress that they don’t keep track of this.”

While it’s true that tens of millions of people vacation on cruise ships every year without incident, experts say a combination of mitigatable risks and loose safety regulations are contributing to deaths.

In a 2020 study , a professor examined more than 620 cruise deaths from 2000 through the end of 2019. He found that overboard incidents — falling, jumping or being thrown — were the leading cause of death among passengers and crew members, accounting for 23 percent of all deaths.

“It’s a lot more common than people think,” said the professor, Travis Heggie, who tracks tourist deaths around the world at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Death rates for overboard incidents vary significantly among cruise lines, according to Klein’s calculations, which he said proves more can be done to protect passengers.

Only a handful of cruise lines have installed man-overboard systems, which use sensors or other technology to immediately detect when a person has fallen or jumped off the vessel, Klein said. (The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010 requires vessels to “integrate technology” for detecting falls overboard “to the extent that such technology is available,” and some operators have argued that existing technology is not reliable enough yet.)

The safest cruise lines were able to rescue only 40 percent of overboard passengers, and most save far fewer, he said. The rescue rate was as low as 6 percent on at least one cruise line.

7 facts about the world's biggest cruise ship

The amount of alcohol being served on cruise ships is also a concern cited by several experts, who said passengers are being overserved. Alcohol is involved in up to 60 percent of overboard cases, according to Klein, and alcoholic drinks have become one of the leading sources of onboard revenue for cruise lines in recent years.

“Cruise lines make a lot of money serving alcohol,” Rivkind said, “and what they’ve done over the years is, they’ve moved to all-you-can-drink policies. They often allow them to drink as many as 15 alcoholic beverages a day. To me, that’s a big source of the problem.”

Defenders of the industry often characterize cruise ships as a microcosm of a city, with the same problems that come up on land. But Heggie and others disagree.

“Nobody is saying 23 percent of hotel client deaths are from falling off balconies,” he said.

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Americans stranded by Norwegian Cruise Line after island excursion, left without money, vital meds: report

Six American cruise passengers , including a pregnant woman, and two Australians were stranded on an African island during a vacation getaway, according to reports.

And it's only gotten worse.

A South Carolina couple – Jill and Jay Campbell – said Norwegian Cruise Line left the group on the island of São Tomé, a Central African island nearly 6,000 miles from their home, without their belongings, and allegedly refused to let them board, despite the Coast Guard's help.

They worked with the U.S. Embassy in Angola and planned to fly to the Gambia in West Africa to meet them at the next port, but the ship wasn't able to dock because of low tides, according to ABC 15 News, so the group remains in scramble mode.

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Norwegian Cruise Line didn't immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The cruise line said in a statement to news outlets over the weekend that the passengers were left on the island "on their own or with a private tour" and missed the all-aboard time.

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The Campbells, who live in Garden City, South Carolina, said they were eight days into a 21-day cruise and touring the beautiful tourist island when there was "an issue" and the tour guide "didn't get us back" to the cruise in time on Friday.

Despite their tardiness, the cruise was still anchored on the island when they returned and the island's Coast Guard took them on a boat to the ship, but the captain refused to let the group board, WRAL.com reported.

The U.S. couple said they're with some elderly passengers, including one passenger with a heart condition who's been without his medicine for five days, a paraplegic and a pregnant woman from Delaware, according to Fox Carolina.

"We were waiting for the tender boats to come back and get us because our boat was anchored off the harbor, but they didn’t come back to get us. So, we’re stranded here," Jay Campbell told Local 4 KSNB Hastings .

It seemed like the situation was going to be rectified by Sunday, but the cruise wasn't able to dock at the meetup point in the Gambia and now they're headed to a port in Senegal, where the cruise is scheduled to dock on Tuesday, ABC 15 reported.

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They're going through the logistics of that headache.

"What we looked at was some type of van transportation for eight people, the quadriplegic woman included, driving from here," Jay Campbell told ABC 15 News. "We have to cross the ferry to get into Senegal.

"We just learned from the gentleman that the ferry hadn’t been working, but he said no problem, if the ferry is not working we will get another little boat and then pick up a car on the other side. And then once we get on the other side of Senegal, it’s another four-hour drive."

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The cruise line responded to the accusations on Friday – before the latest docking issue in the Gambia – saying it's "a very unfortunate situation" in a statement to the local South Carolina Fox outlet.

"Guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time, which is communicated broadly over the ship’s intercom, in the daily communication and posted just before exiting the vessel," a spokesperson for the cruise line said.

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But many of the passengers were separated from their belongings that are still in their cabins, including money, medicine, vaccination certifications required by immigration, among other important items, according to Fox Carolina.

"We have never had an experience like this before," Jill Campbell told WRAL News.

The cruise line released this statement to the media over the weekend.

"While this is a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time, which is communicated broadly over the ship’s intercom, in the daily communication and posted just before exiting the vessel.

"Guests are responsible for any necessary travel costs to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call. When the guests did not return to the vessel at the all-aboard time, their passports were delivered to the local port agents to retrieve when they returned to the port.

"Our team has been working closely with the local authorities to understand the requirements and necessary visas needed if the guests were to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call. We are in communication with the guests and providing additional information as it becomes available."

Original article source: Americans stranded by Norwegian Cruise Line after island excursion, left without money, vital meds: report

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E xperienced cruisers probably know lots of tips and tricks for traveling on cruise ships: make your dining reservations early, do laundry on board instead of overpacking , and don’t fill your days at sea with back-to-back activities.

But even first-time cruisers know one major rule that applies to all cruise lines, all cruises, and all ships, no matter where in the world you are: don’t miss the boat.

Unfortunately for eight travelers on an African cruise stopped in São Tomé and Príncipe, an island just to the east of Equatorial Guinea, they found out the hard way what happens when you break that rule. When they were late returning to their ship after a day on land, it did what it warned would happen — they were left behind by the cruise.

Eight passengers on the Norwegian Dawn were left stranded in Säo Tome, roughly 300 miles off the coast of mainland Africa, when they failed to return to port in time for the ship’s departure. Photo: mbrand85 /Shutterstock

The group of travelers had booked a daytime excursions through an independent company, rather than booking one directly through their ship, the Norwegian Dawn. While independent tours can be a great way to save money and have a more unique adventure, they come with one major downside, which is that ships won’t wait for passengers who are late. If you book an excursion through your cruise company, the ship is guaranteed to wait for you — but no such offer is made if you book an independent tour.

In various interviews with media outlets, the group recounted that they claimed they told their guide they were running late, causing the guide to call the ship to inform it that passengers would miss the “return to ship” time. By the time the guests finally returned to the port, the ship had finished boarding, though it was still anchored in the harbor. Harbor employees called the ship, and when they got no response, decided to ferry the passengers to the Norwegian Dawn. But the captain did not let them on board, the Daily Mail reports. Per various media sources, the ship did give the passengers their passports, which they had not taken with them.

Two Americans in the group told reporters that they thought the ship should have made an exception, seemingly implying that the following day at sea without a stop meant that it could leave late without consequence. “The captain could have made an easy decision to turn one of the tender boats back, pick us up, safely load us and then go on the way,” passenger Jay Campbell said. “They had no port to call for the next day, they were simply going to be at sea.”

Photo: Norwegian Cruise Lines

Per Norwegian Cruises’ online documents , it’s the guest’s responsibility to be back to the ship on time. “In all ports of call, it is also the guest’s responsibility to be back onboard the ship no later than one (1) hour prior to the ship’s scheduled departure time. Please be aware that shipboard time may differ from the port of call and it is the guest’s responsibility to follow the shipboard time. In the event a guest misses the ship, it will be the guest’s responsibility to pay all expenses incurred to rejoin the ship,” reads the company’s “Frequent Asked Questions” page.

The travelers are now having to do just that, with the American couple claiming they’ve spent more than $6,000 to cover the group’s time on the island and travel to rejoin the ship in Gambia or Senegal, depending on logistics. Per People Magazine , four of the travelers are older individuals, and one has an unspecified heart condition.

Matador Network recently asked a cruise line exec what happens if passengers miss their ships , and the answer is pretty straightforward across all lines and sailings: they have to pay their way to the next port.

Why ships can’t wait on late passengers

The Norwegian Dawn carries more than 2,000 guests and 1,000 passengers, all of whom need to be accounted for before the ship can leave a port. Photo: Dennis MacDonald /Shutterstock

I sailed on the Norwegian Dawn in February 2024, and while it had its ups and downs , the ship does make it very, very clear that it will leave without you if you’re late. It holds about 2,000 people, each of whom has to be accounted before prior to the ship’s departure — which is why the “ return to ship ” time at various ports is often an hour or two earlier than the actual departure time . That gives the crew and captain time to ready for departure. Large cruises like the Norwegian Dawn have to stick to a strict schedule, and can’t easily make changes.

I know this not because I’m a frequent cruiser — in fact, the Dawn was my first big cruise — but because Norwegian Cruise Lines informs you of this non-stop. The evening before you arrive, there’s a ship-wide announcement with arrival and departure times for the next day. The information is repeated — repeatedly — the morning you arrive in a port. The return to ship time is printed on the daily newsletter handed out in each room, on the free Norwegian phone app, and on all the various message boards around the ship. There’s usually a buffer time built into this window to accommodate guests who are only a few minutes late.

All cruise companies have fixed times by which passengers must return to the ship at each port. Photo: byvalet /Shutterstock

It’s also a fact listed on Norwegian’s excursion’s page. It’s one of the main reasons many cruisers exclusively book official cruise excursions, because they’re the only way to guarantee the ship will wait for you if you’re late. (Third-party and independent activity operators are also unlikely to refund you if the ship makes a last-minute change and skips a port of call).

While I support booking excursions with local operators, it comes with the known risk that you’ll be left behind by the cruise ship if you’re late. That’s exactly what happened in this case, exactly as Norwegian’s website said would happen. While it’s unfortunate and understandably stressful for the travelers, it’s hardly the cruise line’s fault, and I know I’d be a little annoyed if I had made it back in time, only to have the whole ship delayed for a small group people who made a poor decision.

By the way: guests getting left behind at a port is very, very rare — hence why this one occasion is making global headlines.

How to avoid getting left behind by cruise ships

Independent excursions offer plenty of benefits — but come with the downside that the ship won’t wait if you’re late. Photo: Suzie Dundas

The easiest way for travelers to make sure they don’t get left behind at a port is to book an official excursion through the cruise line. However, official excursions are often more expensive, and a much smaller amount of the cost goes directly to local communities. Without knowing what company or excursions the stranded passengers booked, it’s impossible to know if they followed the rules below. But the following guidelines can help ensure you don’t end up waiving your ship goodbye from land.

• Book with a company that does offer a return to ship guarantee : Third-party companies can’t make the ship wait for you, but they can handle all the logistics if you do miss it. ShoreExcursioner.com will pay up to $500 in travel fees if an excursion booked through them causes you to miss your ship, and ToursByLocals will pay for your accommodations and transportation to the next port if you miss your ship. According to their website, it’s only happened twice — ever.
• Read the online reviews : Plenty of independent operators are reputable and responsible, which means they’re very unlikely to play fast and loose with your return time. The best way to determine if an operator seems reputable is to look at online reviews. Feedback from actual past guests can help you gauge how established and professional the company or tour guide is.
• Talk to your operator in advance: Reputable operators will be familiar with hosting cruise guests and understand the ins and outs of cruise ship scheduling. If you’re worried about, message your operator in advance. Ask them if they’ve ever has issues with being back on time, whether they’ve served guests on your cruise before, and how much of a buffer they build in for traffic and other potential delays.

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Stranded Norwegian Cruise Lines passengers missed ship ‘by more than an hour,’ company claims

T he six Americans and two Australian passengers who were stranded on an African island when a Norwegian Cruise Line ship sailed off without them have now returned to the vessel to continue their African voyage, as the cruise line revealed the group caused their travel headaches over the past few days by missing their departure time by over an hour.

The eight passengers reboarded the ship making a 20-day journey across Africa on Tuesday morning in Dakar, Senegal, a spokesperson for Norwegian confirmed to The Post.

The crew had to race through seven different countries in 48 hours to meet the ship in Senegal on Tuesday.

But by the time South Carolina couple Jill and Jay Campbell arrived in the country, they said they weren’t sure whether they would even want to get back on the ship.

“After what we witnessed, we truly believe there is a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed — they followed those rules too rigidly,” Jill Campbell  told “The Today Show.”

“I really feel that they forgot they are people working in the hospitality industry and that really the safety and wellbeing of their customers should be their first priority,” she added, claiming the crew of the ship had a “basic duty of care that they had forgotten about.”

The eight passengers — including a pregnant woman and an elderly man with a heart condition — claimed they were left behind with no money and without vital medications after the Norwegian Dawn left São Tomé without them.

The Campbells claimed the ship was still anchored off the coast of the Central African island when they showed up on Friday, but the skipper refused to let them board.

A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line, however, said the group had missed the all-aboard time by more than an hour after taking a private tour of the island.

“When they missed the all-aboard time of 3 p.m. by more than an hour, their passports were left with the local port agent for retrieval when they returned to the port from their private tour (not organized by us), per the protocol,” the  spokesperson   said.

The  Campbells have acknowledged there was “an issue” on their tour of the island, and that the guide “didn’t get us back” to the ship in time on Friday.

“We were like, our time is getting really short, and they were like ‘No problem, we can get you back within an hour,” Jay said, adding that the tour operator contacted the captain to let them know about the delay.

In its statement, the company said that “once the guests did not make it back to the ship at the previously communicated all aboard time, we worked with them and the local port agent to assist with obtaining the necessary visas for them to rejoin the ship at the next available port.”

Attorney James Diamond from TWC Lawyers said it is a “hard and fast rule” that a ship can leave once a final call has been made.

“They pay a lot of money for docking fees, and renting out the space,” he told ”Seven’s Sunrise.”

“They have times that they have to leave, those times are published and unfortunately, I know it’s morally incorrect, but they do have the right to leave,” he said.

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Spain to deport dozens of Bolivians whose false visas held up cruise ship in Barcelona

FILE - Passengers are photographed on the cruise ship MSC Armony, moored in the port of Barcelona, Spain, on April 3, 2024. Spain is to deport more than 60 Bolivians who arrived last week by cruise ship in Barcelona but were not allowed to disembark because their visas were false. Spanish government officials said 65 of the 69 Bolivians that arrived would be flown to the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

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MADRID (AP) — Spain will on Thursday deport more than 60 Bolivians who arrived last week by cruise ship in the northeastern port of Barcelona but were not allowed to disembark because their visas were false.

The Spanish government’s office in Barcelona said 65 of the 69 Bolivians who arrived will be flown to the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz. The plane will be paid for by MSC Cruises, which owns the ship in which they arrived from Brazil.

Four members of a family with Spanish relatives will be allowed to enter Spain.

Spanish authorities said the Bolivian passengers had false visas to enter the European border-free Schengen area, an ID-check-free travel zone comprising 29 European countries.

The Bolivians’ visa problems meant that the cruise ship with more than 1,000 passengers was stuck for two days in Barcelona and unable to continue on its route in the Mediterranean Sea until the situation was resolved.

The cruise ship set sail after the Bolivians were temporarily accommodated in another boat while police interviewed them.

MSC Cruises said last week the Bolivian passengers’ documentation appeared correct upon boarding in Brazil.

A cruise ship stuck in Barcelona resumes sailing after passengers accused of having fake visas were removed and investigated by authorities

• A cruise ship carrying 1,500 passengers was stuck in Barcelona because of a visa dispute.
• Spanish authorities suspected that the visas of 69 Bolivian passengers were fake.
• The passengers are being held on another boat while authorities investigate. 

A cruise ship carrying 1,500 passengers was stuck in port in Barcelona after Spanish authorities investigated 69 Bolivian passengers.

The police believed that the Bolivian passengers' visas were fake and are investigating, Spanish police authorities told news agency Efe .

The MSC Armonia cruise ship set off from Brazil and was due to continue through the Mediterranean, with some passengers switching over in Barcelona, Efe reported.

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The delay has meant that planned stops in France, Greece, and Croatia have been canceled which has caused some disgruntled passengers to leave the boat early, Reuters reported.

Barcelona was meant to be the final destination for the Bolivian passengers. However, the ship had to stay in port until the situation was resolved.

In a statement shared with Business Insider, MSC Cruises confirmed that the cruise would resume sailing on Thursday.

"Thanks to the cooperation with the Spanish authorities, the group of Bolivian guests has been disembarked and will now follow the immigration process as required by law. We are fully assisting with this process," they said.

The spokesperson confirmed that the passengers' visas were found to be not valid for entry and that the Spanish authorities are investigating.

The passengers' will be held on another boat while Spanish authorities decide whether they will be deported or granted asylum, Reuters reported, citing the government's regional delegation in Catalonia.

Solange Duarte, a Bolivian diplomat in Barcelona, told the AP that she had received reports that some of the Bolivian passengers had been duped into obtaining fake visas.

MSC Cruises is one of the world's largest cruise lines, known for its long luxury trips that can set sail for months at a time.

Its new four-month-long world cruise, which will set off in 2026, is expected to cost passengers between $15,800 and $38,210 per person, depending on their cabin.

Watch: Inside the world's biggest cruise ship that just set sail

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