Weary passengers disembarked from a crippled cruise ship Thursday in the Seychelles, three days after a fire stranded the vessel in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa.
The Costa Allegra and its more than 1,000 passengers and crew -- including 14 Canadians -- were towed by a French fishing vessel over the course of three days and nights to the Seychelles.
Though the passengers appeared hot and tired and many were in need of a shower and a hot meal, they arrived safe and with no major injuries and many appeared ready to put the ordeal behind them, said ABC's Jeffrey Kofman, reporting from the Seychelles.
When the fire first broke out on Monday, he said, passengers were told to board the life rafts and prepare to abandon ship.
However, the fire was quickly controlled and the order to abandon ship was cancelled.
"You have to understand this ship was off the coast of Africa, hundreds of miles off shore in waters where Somali pirates prey on ships," Kofman told CTV's Canada AM.
"So there was a lot at risk here, they were far from anywhere and they could easily have become victims so it came very close to being a much worse story."
The ship was without electricity, working toilets or air conditioning while it was being towed to the Seychelles, and passengers slept on the deck of the cruise liner rather than in their unlit cabins.
Eleanor Bradwell, an American, said the crew's initial response to the alarm seemed disorganized but overall she and her husband felt the emergency had been handled well.
"It could have been worse than it was," said Gordon Bradwell. "It could have been disastrous ... we're here, we're alive."
The couple, along with the other passengers, ate cold sandwiches for three days and moved their bedding onto the deck to escape the stifling heat in the cabins.
After they made landfall early Thursday, all passengers were offered either a plane ticket home or a vacation in the exclusive chain of islands.
About 375 of the passengers, who were in the early days of a month-long cruise when the fire broke out, opted for the vacation.
"The fact we have a carnival on, the weather is great, and the fact they want to continue their holidays is great for them and great for us," said Srdjana Janosevic, spokeswoman for the president of the Seychelles. "It means this potentially tragic situation has a happy ending."
The liner was carrying 413 crew members and 627 passengers, including 212 Italians, 31 Britons and eight Americans.
The Costa Allegra is owned by the same cruise line that owns the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that ran aground and capsized off the coast of Italy six weeks ago, with 25 people confirmed dead and more still missing.
Both the Allegra and Concordia are operated by Costa Crociere SpA, which is owned by Florida-based Carnival.
Kofman said the company now has a major image problem to correct.
"One passenger from Athens, Ga., I asked her 'will you ever go on a cruise again?' She said 'absolutely I will go on a cruise again but never again with Costa.'"
The Seychelles Red Cross set up tents to assist any passengers needing medical help. Embassy and consular officials representing various countries were at the port to receive their citizens.
The cause of the fire is still not known.
