Elderly couple left stranded by cruise ship
An elderly American couple was left behind by a Norwegian Cruise Line while on holiday in Spain this week.
Richard and Claudene Gordon- aged 84 and 81 - were on a Mediterranean cruise aboard the Norwegian Viva with plans to celebrate Richard's birthday before things went downhill.
The couple decided to take an independent excursion by themselves while the ship was docked in Motril, Spain, but on their return, their bus was delayed for an hour due to poor weather, so they ran late for the 5:30pm all-aboard time ahead of a scheduled 6pm departure.
“I am a very experienced traveler and have probably been on as many as 30 cruises during my lifetime,” Richard told CNN.
“Never before have we ever missed catching a ship on time at a port. So we are not someone who abuses the system.”
Richard claimed that at 5:45pm they notified a relative on board who raised the alarm that they were nearby and running late, but nothing could be done at that point as the ship had to leave on time.
By the time the couple arrived at 6:10pm, the boat had left the harbour, but Richard claimed that the cruise line had a tendency to depart behind schedule, and made no attempt to contact them until late Tuesday.
“Our cruise began in Lisbon and we departed from Lisbon about one and a half hours after the scheduled departure at 4pm,” he claimed.
“Then the next night or two, at least a half-hour late from the dock, so it is clear that they do not always leave on the exact moment scheduled.”
The couple were left stranded without their medication, eyeglasses and spare hearing aid batteries, which were left on board.
Their daughter ended up having to book her parents a flight to Palma de Mallorca, where the boat was making its next call Wednesday morning, according to the publication.
By the time the couple got to Mallorca, they were met with "a beautiful black BMW limousine" which took them back to their ship.
"There we were met by the head of ship services who escorted us inside the ship to meet the general manager of the ship, then they escorted us to breakfast, then they escorted us to our cabin.They said they have already complained about the harbour master who was supposed to take care of things for them.
"But of course the ship had not contacted us directly for two days so that doesn’t speak so well for them.”
The Norwegian Cruise Line disputed the couple’s account of what happened.
“After several attempts to contact these guests with the phone numbers provided, as well as trying to phone their emergency contact, we were unable to speak to them directly. However, we worked closely with the local port agents to make arrangements for the guests to rejoin the vessel,” a spokesperson said.
“It is important to note that a delayed departure has the potential to impact the ship’s ability to deliver its planned itinerary and thus influence the experience for all guests on-board. While this was a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time.”
Image: Getty