A family from Oklahoma was left stranded in a remote part of Alaska after their Norwegian Cruise Line ship departed without them, leaving them with an unexpected bill of $9,000 for customs violations.
The Gault family, made up of nine people including six young kids and a 78-year-old grandmother, left the Norwegian Encore in Ketchikan on July 12 to attend a lumberjack performance. Their trouble began when they attempted to return to the ship.
According to the family, the transportation provider in charge of shuttling passengers back to the vessel only conducted a headcount and did not check boarding passes. As a result, the Gaults were informed the bus was full and were told to wait for the next one.
“There was a lot of confusion getting on the buses,” Joshua Gault explained in an interview with 2 News. “We tried to board and were told there was no room. We had to wait for another shuttle.”
That shuttle never came. After making several urgent calls to local authorities, the family rushed back to the pier, only to witness their ship sailing away—along with their passports, prescription medications, and all of their luggage.
“We were stuck with six kids, including minors, and my elderly mother-in-law, who all rely on medication,” said Joshua. “We had to abruptly stop taking them because everything was left on board.”
On top of the stress, the cruise line charged the family nearly $9,000—about $971 per person—for missing the ship’s scheduled foreign port stop, which is a requirement under the Passenger Vessel Services Act enforced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Without access to their passports, they couldn’t travel to meet the ship in Canada. Left with no alternative, the Gaults had to organize new lodging, buy airline tickets, and cover meal costs for all nine family members—an unplanned financial burden.
“Flights, food, hotel stays—it all added up fast,” Joshua said.
The family eventually made it back to their home in Tulsa after enduring a difficult journey that included canceled flights, nights spent in airports, and exposure to COVID-19.
“We’re just drained—physically and mentally,” Joshua added.
The Gaults are currently in discussions with Norwegian Cruise Line to seek compensation. They feel the cruise line needs to take responsibility for the mishap.
“They kept saying, ‘We’re still reviewing everything, we haven’t forgotten you,’” Cailyn Gault recounted. “But honestly, it felt like they abandoned us the moment they left us at the dock.”
In response, Norwegian Cruise Line told The Post they have initiated a refund for the $9,000 customs fee and will reimburse the family’s travel-related expenses once receipts are submitted.
The company acknowledged the issue stemmed from a “miscommunication involving a local tour operator” and said they attempted to reach the family after realizing they missed their bus. Norwegian also stated they worked with port authorities to arrange overnight lodging in Ketchikan before the family flew to Seattle.
“As part of our response, the family will also receive a partial refund for the two cruise days they missed,” a spokesperson said.
Additionally, Norwegian is offering each of the nine family members a 20% discount on a future cruise as a goodwill gesture.
This isn’t the first time Norwegian has come under scrutiny for leaving guests behind. In a separate incident in April, eight travelers were left in Africa after an independently booked tour ran late. Those passengers also had to find their own way to rejoin the cruise, prompting criticism of the company’s strict adherence to departure times.
While most cruise lines enforce a policy of leaving behind late-returning guests to stay on schedule, they often make exceptions when delays are caused by excursions organized or endorsed by the cruise company. In the African case, Norwegian later agreed to partially reimburse the affected passengers.