(WSVN) - Passengers’ plans were turned upside down when their cruise ship ran aground, turning their Caribbean vacation into a nightmare.
Passenger Laura Smith said her family cruise on the Norwegian Escape turned into a nightmare of a trip.
“Dumping people off on the dock and then, ‘Oh, well, hopefully the bus will come. The ship’s leaving. See you guys later.’ I mean, that’s the stuff that’s happening,” she said.
Smith recorded a video of towboats trying to get the ship out of the ground.
When the ship ran aground in the Dominican Republic last week, Smith said, they had no idea what was happening.
“When they’re calling out ‘fire,’ obviously that’s going to cause a lot of anxiety. The emergency lights in the hallways were lit up,” she said.
“But they weren’t telling us to do anything,” said Ashley Gaut, another passenger on the Norwegian Escape.
Smith said passengers were stuck on the ship with nothing to do for days as crews worked to free it.
“In the middle of the night, I woke up to us literally almost tipping over,” said Gaut.
Norwegian Cruise Line finally flew people home in groups on charter planes to Orlando.
Smith and her family made it back to the U.S., but then their flight home to Kansas City was canceled, leaving them stranded.
“Norwegian’s saying, ‘Oh, it’s Delta’s problem. They need to rebook you. We’re not going to do anything. We can’t help you. We’re not going to put you up in a hotel. You’re stuck,'” said Smith.
With no flights available because of spring break, Smith said, she is exhausted from it all.
“I feel like the people on the ship did a really great job. I feel like Norwegian corporate has really epically failed,” she said.
Norwegian officials said they have promised a full refund for all the passengers.
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