(WSVN) - Passengers arrived at Port Canaveral days after their cruise ship caught fire.
Flames ignited on the Carnival Cruise ship while docked at Grand Turk on Thursday morning.
The fire was contained, but travelers needed to get back to land.
The cruise line sent another ship, Carnival Conquest, to rescue the passengers from the burning vessel.
Passengers were relieved that they made it back in one piece.
“I wanted to kiss the ground I was walking on,” said one passenger after disembarking Monday morning.
Another passenger was glad to see another craft gather them to safety.
“Happy to see Conquest and now, we’re happy to be back on land,” said another passenger.
Pamela Mullen recalls the moment the ship caught fire.
“I think that was the scariest bit, that the banging on the door was so loud, so ferocious, so obviously we got up,” said Mullen. “There’s also humor even in disaster. I went straight into the bathroom, started to wash my face and he, Martin, said to me, ‘Are you serious? Are you serious? Really, Pamela?’ I went, ‘I gotta be awake if there’s a disaster, I gotta be awake.'”
Her husband believes this situation brought them closer as a married couple.
“I held her hand because she’s very important,” said Mr. Mullen. “I love her to bits.”
The passengers stayed on Grand Turk Island for two additional days after the fire was extinguished.
Jillian McElvy saw the silver lining in the situation.
“We were actually in Grand Turks on my birthday, and we got a couple more days in Grand Turk, so it was perfect,” said McElvy. “It was, like, honestly, the greatest birthday gift ever.”
It remains unknown what caused the fire on the ship.
This incident forced the cruise line to cancel upcoming trips in June to repair the damages.
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