South Carolina couple stranded in Africa, cruise ship left without them

A couple from Garden City, South Carolina, took a cruise to Africa and ended up stranded there because the cruise ship left without them when their tour guide was late getting them back to the ship.

Jill and Jay Campbell boarded a Norwegian cruise on March 20.

A week later, they and seven other passengers were left stranded 5,960 miles from their South Carolina home.

Jill Campbell said it was supposed to be a memorable cruise. Now it is, but for the wrong reason.

"We have never had an experience like this before," Jill Campbell said.

On Wednesday the Campbells and six other people were on a tour in Soa Tome and Principe, a small island off of western Africa. The tour was longer than expected.

"We were like, our time is getting really short, and they were like, no problem, we can get you back within an hour," Jay Campbell recalls.

The Campbells said the tour operator had contacted the captain to let them know eight passengers were going to be late.

When the group arrived to the port, the ship was still anchored, but the Campbells said the captain refused to let them on board.

"The Harbor Master tried to call the ship, the captain refused the call," Jay Campbell said. "We sent emails to Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the NCL customer service emergency number, and they said, well, the only way for us to get in touch with the ship is to send them e-mails, and they're not responding to our emails."

Eventually the Sao Tome coast guard loaded all eight passengers on a boat and took them to the anchored ship, but the captain told the coast guard to take the passengers back to the island.

"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," Jay Campbell said. "They had no port to call for the next day, they were simply going to be at sea."

The group consists of seven Americans and two Australians, four of which are elderly. One passenger has a heart condition, and another is a paraplegic.

There is also a married couple from Delaware, and the wife is pregnant.

While stranded, the group even met an 80-year-old woman who got a concussion and lost part of her vision following a different cruise line tour.

The Campbells said she was left at the hospital without any money or her belongings, and her emergency contact was never notified by the cruise line. They were able to help her.

"I truly believe sometimes we're put in certain places for a reason, and I believe we were put in this place for the 80-year-old woman that was left alone. God forbid what would have happened to that lady if we were not here," Jay Campbell said.

None of the other passengers have their medications or credit cards that are accepted on the island.

The Campbells said they are the only ones in the group with a Visa card, and they've paid over $5,000 in food, toiletries and hotels for the group while they're almost 6,000 miles away from home.

Jay Campbell is just happy to have his wife by his side.

"This woman has been a saint," he said. "I don't know where the whole group would be without her strength, guidance and compassion for others. I'm honored and blessed that I have the smartest woman in the world next to me."

The Campbells said they are getting help from the U.S. Embassy in Angola.

On Sunday, the group is expected to fly to Gambia. However, the stranded passengers can only get on the ship if the cruise line approves their request.

The Campbells said they have not heard back from Norwegian Cruise Line about the incident.