Radio silence: Couple of octogenarians still left behind by Norwegian cruise line

A pair of American octogenarians who narrowly missed re-boarding on their Norwegian Cruise Line cruise ship were once again left to their own devices by the company, having to fend for themselves to return to the ship after two days of radio silence.

“We were left at the dock with no one to tell us where to go. They said that they have already complained to the port captain and they want to support them in every way. But the ship didn't contact us for two days, that doesn't work in their favor,” Richard Gordon, 85, lamented to CNN on Wednesday.

The man and his wife, 81-year-old Claudine Gordon, booked two places on a Norwegian Viva cruise from Norwegian Cruise Line departing from Lisbon, Portugal, to celebrate the American's 85th birthday this week.

Except on Monday, two cruise enthusiasts with nearly thirty cruises, taking an independent cruise from Motril to the southern Spanish town of Granada, their return bus would have been terribly delayed. Rain, they told the American media.

At 5:45 p.m. they informed relatives on board that they were well aware that the Norwegian Cruise Line ship was due to weigh at 6 p.m. But did not reach the dock till 6:10 pm.

The problem was that their cruise started more than an hour and a half late on the first day, and the anchor weighed half an hour after departure on the next two stops, they said – they told CNN.

“So it's clear that they don't always have to leave exactly on time,” the octogenarian noted. Never failed to catch a ship in port on time before. We are not people who abuse the system.

But what he regrets most of all is the radio silence of the organization that allegedly offered no help to the couple, who were left without medication or batteries for their hearing aids for two days.

The couple's daughter, Marilee Barker, set out to find them a flight from Granada to Palma de Mallorca, where the ferry will stop on Wednesday, as well as hotels and AirBnBs to accommodate them. In the meantime.

However, during Wednesday's re-embarkation, the company will roll out the red carpet by sending a BMW limousine to pick up the couple at their hotel, before escorting them to the boat's general manager, followed by lunch: “royal treatment” according to the octogenarian.

For its part, the company insisted that the couple had arrived at the port an hour late, exceeding the deadline for accommodating latecomers, and had tried to contact them “several times” on their cell phones and at the emergency number provided. A couple, to no avail.

“We have not been able to speak to them directly. However, we have worked with local port authorities to make arrangements for guests to board the ship,” a CNN spokesperson said.

The incident comes a month after eight passengers from another cruise line ship were left to fend for themselves on the African island on March 27.