Norwegian Cruise Line slams passengers for being 'more than an hour late' after they were stranded on remote African island - as the eight castaways finally rejoin vessel in Senegal following 2,000-mile odyssey

Norwegian Cruise Line is hitting back at passengers who were stranded on a remote African island for being 'more than an hour' late to re-board the ship on the day they were left behind.

A spokesperson from the cruise line confirmed to DailyMail.com that the eight passengers 'missed the all aboard time of 3pm by more than an hour' after they returned from a private tour on March 27.

Their passports were turned over to local port agents, and the group of six Americans and two Australians were left behind on the island of São Tomé and Príncipe. 

They launched a desperate bid to rejoin the ship in the following days, flying through six countries to reach Banjul, the Gambia, where the vessel was set to dock on April 1. However, adverse weather conditions meant the ship never reached shore.

The group concluded their nearly 2,000-mile-long voyage to Dakar, Senegal, on April 2, where the cruise line confirmed they embarked Tuesday morning.

Hours before, however, it was unclear whether all of the passengers would get back on board.

Speaking to USA TODAY, Jill and Jay Campbell, a couple from South Carolina, slammed Norwegian for failing to meet 'a basic duty of care.'

'After what we witnessed, we truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed, they followed those rules too rigidly,' Jill Campbell said.

'I believe that they really forgot that they are people working in the hospitality industry and that really the safety and the well-being of the customers should be their first priority, and that should be placed first.

'We believe there was a basic duty of care that they’ve forgotten about so it does concern us.'

Their cross-Africa journey concluded days after the ninth member of their party, 80-year-old Julie Lenkoff, was sent home seeking medical treatment.

Lenkoff suffered a stroke during a different tour and, following an evaluation by on-board medical staff, was sent to a local hospital.

She has since rejoined her family in the United States, but her daughter and son-in-law are slamming the cruise line for 'abandoning' the elderly woman.

Lenkoff was 'disoriented and had trouble speaking, seeing or moving her left side of her body' when she woke up, according to her daughter.

Despite her condition, Lenkoff was released from the hospital 24 hours later and turned onto the streets of an unfamiliar city, leaving family to wonder why they were never contacted.

A Norwegian spokesperson claimed the woman was released in a 'coherent state,' adding that the cruise line's protocol is to 'contact the guest directly, as we would not have the authority to share any medical details with anyone else without their expressed consent.'

Upon landing in California, she was taken to Stanford University Medical Center, where doctors deduced she may have suffered a heart attack in addition to a stroke.

Also among the stranded passengers was a man with a heart condition and an expectant mother.

A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line told DailyMail.com that the eight remaining guests were provided authorization to rejoin the ship in Senegal on April 2.

'Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjul, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal,' the spokesperson said.

The cruise firm reiterated that guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time, 'which is communicated broadly over the ship’s intercom, in the daily print communication and posted just before exiting the vessel.'