Eight cruise ship passengers marooned on an African island. Among them, a pregnant woman and a disabled person

Eight cruise ship passengers marooned on an African island are trying to catch the ship that deliberately left them behind on their own after they were late returning from a private tour, according to CNN. Among them is a pregnant woman and a disabled person.

For several days, the eight cruise passengers left behind on an island in São Tomé and Príncipe – an island nation located in the Gulf of Guinea, off the west equatorial coast of Central Africa – have been struggling to catch up with the Norwegian Cruise Line ship, in while this is heading towards the west coast of Africa.

The passengers ended up in this situation after they were late returning to the ship on March 27, according to a statement from Norwegian Cruise Line.

“Eight guests who were on the island on a private tour, not organized through us, missed the last ride back to the ship and therefore missed the boarding time for all on board, 3pm local time,” it is shown in the press release.

Norwegian Cruise Line states that although this is “a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the announced time, which is widely communicated via the ship’s intercom, in the daily communication and displayed even before disembarking the ship“.

Passengers’ passports were handed over by Norwegian Cruise Line to local port agents for tourists to pick up.

Travel costs to the next available port of call to return to the ship are borne by delayed passengers, according to the cruise line, which said it is working with local authorities and communicating with stranded tourists.

They traveled through six countries for 15 hours to catch the ship, but to no avail

A South Carolina couple – Jill and Jay Campbell – who were among the group of eight passengers left on the African island – told CNN affiliate WPDE that the group left behind spent 15 hours traveling through six countries to try to find alongside the vessel on Sunday in Gambia.

However, the ship was unable to dock that day due to adverse weather conditions and tidal restrictions, which require a specific time for a safe passage, according to the cruise line.

The group is still trying to reach Senegal, where the ship has a scheduled stopover, the Campbell family told WPD.

According to the two husbands, several members of the group are elderly, another is paraplegic, one woman is pregnant, and one person has not taken her heart medication for five days and is feeling sick.

The Campbells also said another passenger who was not part of their private tour had a medical emergency and was hospitalized in São Tomé, also staying behind.

The cruise line said it had contacted the group about adjusting the itinerary and offered permission to join the ship in Senegal, specifying that it would only reimburse guests for travel costs from Sanju, Gambia, to Dakar, Senegal, according to CNN.