The son-in-law of an 80-year-old cruise passenger who suffered a stroke on a Norwegian Cruise Line-sponsored tour of an African island and was left to find her way back to the US has slammed the company for failing to take responsibility for “completely” abandoning the elderly woman — or return any of his or his wife’s many calls.

“Norwegian’s been silent,” Kurt Gies told The Post on Wednesday, rebutting the cruise line’s claims that its crew supported his mother-in-law, Julie Lankoff, and instead “completely abandoned this person in need.”

Gies said he and his wife, Lana, became concerned about his mother-in-law when they noticed that an Apple AirTag they had been using to track her was still on the island of São Tomé and Principe even though the ship had departed for its next stop.

He said they tried to call the cruise line 15 different times over the course of two days, but they didn’t receive a response.

Fortunately, in the meantime, Lenkoff was able to connect with eight other passengers who were left behind from the same cruise when their private tour ran late.

The other passengers were able to call the Gieses to let them know they were with her.

Gies said it was only then that they found out that Lenkoff — who saved up about $20,000 for her “big dream trip” on the cruise around Africa — collapsed while on a tour of the island.

She experienced “numbness and weakness” across her right side, and when she came to, Gies said, she could not speak English and was only communicating in French.

Lenkoff was transported to a local hospital, but was discharged just 24 hours later, at which point the vessel had left without her.

She had no way to get back on the ship or join her family back in the US because she had left her credit cards back on the vessel as cruise ship personnel had suggested, Gies explained.

Keep up with The Post's coverage of the Norwegian Cruise debacle

• Eight Norwegian Cruise passengers, including a pregnant woman and an elderly man with a heart condition, were stranded on an African island without money and vital medications after the vessel left port without them.
• A spokesperson for the cruise line claimed the passengers were left on the island “on their own or with a private tour” and missed the “all-aboard time” by over an hour, according to the company.
• Americans Jill Campbell and her husband, Jay Campbell, said they are unsure whether they even want to resume the 20-day voyage after Norwegian Cruise Lines forgot about its “basic duty of care.”
• The eight passengers raced through seven different countries over a span of 48 hours to make it to Senegal, where the ship docked Tuesday morning,
• Doug and Violeta Sanders, a stranded Australian couple, have spoken out about their ordeal, saying it was “the worst experience of our lives.”
• Julie Lenkoff, 80, suffered a stroke during an excursion on the cruise — and was left “alone” and “helpless” to find her way back to the US, according to her family.
• COLUMN: Cruise ship was right to ditch the late passengers in Africa

Check out The Post’s tips on what to do if you’re left stranded like the Norwegian Cruise passengers

He also denied Norwegian’s claims that its medical team had assessed Lenkoff before the ship docked at São Tomé and Principe.

In its statement, Norwegian claimed its policy 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.”

“We attempted to call the guest several times, and as we were unable to reach her, we worked directly with our port agents in São Tomé and Principe, an African island nation, to receive updates about the guest,” the cruise line claimed.

The group took care of Lenkoff for three days, Gies said, but had planned to meet back up with the ship when it was scheduled to dock in Gambia on Easter Sunday.

The Gieses then arranged for Lenkoff to fly from Africa to Portugal, from Portugal to Toronto, Canada, and from Canada to San Francisco.

They wanted to get her first-class tickets to ensure she remained comfortable because they still did not know what her condition was — but the flight to Lisbon was out of first-class tickets.

“We were very concerned,” Gies said, claiming there “could have potentially been catastrophic consequences.”

But Lenkoff was able to make it home on Sunday, and is recovering at the Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., where Gies said she suffered an additional stroke.

“She knows she’s in peril,” Gies said of his mother-in-law, who he said is “normally very independent.”

Doctors now say it appears she suffered a “significant stroke and potential heart attack” during the trip.

Gies claimed that his mother-in-law was in good health before the trip, having recently recovered from COVID.

“She just wanted to experience the world,” he said, noting that he and his wife are “eternally indebted and grateful” to the Campbells.

“They have become part of our family and I’ve never met them.”