Eight passengers stranded on African island after Norwegian Cruise leaves them behind

A pregnant woman and an elderly man with a heart condition are among eight passengers stranded on an African island without money and medications after their Norwegian Cruise left port without them.

The New York Post reported that the six Americans and two Australians were not allowed to board the ship after reportedly returning late to the port.

Jill and Jay Campbell from South Carolina in the US admitted that their tour guide was partly to blame for the reason they could not reach the port 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 was quoted as saying about the guide.

No money

A spokesperson for the cruise line claimed the passengers were left on the island “on their own or with a private tour” and missed the “all-aboard time.”

“Guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time,” the spokesperson said.

The eight stranded tourists, including a married couple, a paraplegic and an elderly man with a heart condition, are now without their belongings from the cabin including money, medicine and travel documents

The Campbells paid more than 5,000 US dollars in food, toiletries and hotels for the group because they were the only one with a Visa card, the report said.

Bad luck

The group then moved to Gambia in West Africa to board the ship but the cruise liner could not dock to low ties.

The passengers are now headed to Senegal, where the cruise is set to dock on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the cruise said they were in communication with the guests and working closely with local authorities to understand their needs and necessary visas if the guests were to join the ship at the next available port of call.