Cruise ship passengers has told of the horrific condition on board the stricken cruise ship Carnival Triumph
ALL passengers are off the crippled Triumph cruise ship, which was stranded for days without power or running water.
Buses are carrying passengers from the disabled cruise ship to take them to the next stop on their odyssey.
The Triumph, disabled for five nightmarish days in the Gulf of Mexico, limped under tow into port with more than 4000 people aboard late Thursday (2.30pm Friday AEDT).
Passengers raucously cheered the end to an ocean voyage they say was marked by overflowing toilets, food shortages and foul odors.
''Sweet Home Alabama!'' read one of the homemade signs passengers affixed alongside the 14-storey ship as many raucously cheered at deck rails lining several levels of the stricken ship Triumph.
Kendall Jenkins shows she is relieved and happy to be on dry land. Picture: AFP
''Hello, Mobile!'' someone aboard shouted amid the cheering. Some danced in celebration on one of the balconies.
''Happy V-Day'' read one of the homemade signs made for the Valentine's Day arrival and another, more starkly: ''The ship's afloat, so is the sewage.''
A few dozen relatives on the top floor of the parking deck of the terminal were waving lights at the Carnival Triumph ship as it was carefully making its way alongside.
Kendall Jenkins celebrates after stepping off the Carnival ship Triumph at the Alabama Cruise terminal in Mobile, Alabama, on February 14, 2013. Picture: AFP
It's not the first time something like this has happened on board a Carnival ship
Those about were screaming, whistling and taking pictures.
Hundreds gawked from dockside at the arrival at the Alabama cruise terminal in Mobile, the state's only seaport, as the Triumph inched into port about 9.15pm US time.
It took six grueling hours navigating the 30-odd-mile ship channel to dock, guided by at least four towboats.
Kendall Jenkins shed some tears while talking to the media. Picture: AFP
Nearly 900 feet in length, it was the largest cruise ship ever to dock at Mobile.
And even once it is stable, it will take four to five hours for all the 3000 passengers to be off, said Carnival senior vice president of marketing Terry Thornton.
Passengers on board in texts and flitting cellphone calls described miserable conditions while at sea, many anxious to walk on solid ground.
Speaking by phone to NBC on Thursday morning, passenger Janie Baker called conditions ''extremely terrible'', with no electricity and few working toilets.
The cruise ship Carnival Triumph is towed up the Mobile River in Mobile, Alabama. The ship with more than 4,200 passengers and crew members has been idled for nearly a week in the Gulf of Mexico following an engine room fire. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
She described having to use plastic bags to go to the bathroom and wait in line for hours to get food.'
''It's just a nightmare,'' she said.
Baker said she and her friends slept with their life vests one night because the ship was listing and they feared it would tip over.
But for now, they waved towels at the throng at dockside and even motorists who stopped on the shoulder of major Interstate 10 near the port to watch the ship come in.
Triumph passengers make their way to their buses after docking at the cruise terminal in Mobile, Alabama. Picture: AFP
Carnival have the option of a seven-hour bus ride to the Texas cities of Galveston or Houston or a two-hour trip to New Orleans. Some also can stay in Mobile.
''I can't imagine being on that ship this morning and then getting on a bus,'' said Kirk Hill, whose 30-year-old daughter, Kalin Christine Hill, is on the cruise.
''If I hit land in Mobile, you'd have a hard time getting me on a bus.''
Buses are standing by to take them to their next stop.
A passenger cheers after steping off the Triumph at the Alabama Cruise terminal. Picture: AFP
But Carnival officials said earlier that even after Triumph docked, it could be several hours before all passengers disembarked, and some would face long bus or car rides back to Texas or other far flung destinations.
The Triumph lost power in an engine-room fire on Sunday some 150 miles of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula.
It was the end of a cruise that wasn't at all what it should look like in a brochure.
Thornton said the ship had been fully cleared by customs and Border Patrol, and that should speed up the process.
Passengers watch from their balconies and hold up signs aboard the Carnival Triumph after it was towed to the cruise terminal in Mobile, Alabama.
Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill apologised at a news conference.
''I appreciate the patience of our guests and their ability to cope with the situation. And I'd like to reiterate the apology I made earlier. I know the conditions on board were every poor,'' he said.
''We pride ourselves on providing our guests with a great vacation experience, and clearly we failed in this particular case.''
He said he planned to go aboard and personally apologise to everyone.
An Instagram photo provided by a Triumph passenger identifying himself as Mikemoonpie shows passengers laying on mattresses on the third deck of the ship as she is towed toward Mobile, Alabama, on February 13.
Dozens of chartered buses - with markings from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas - have gathered in Mobile.
Carnival said 100 buses had been reserved and that it will cover transportation costs.
While the passengers are headed home, Triumph will be headed to a Mobile shipyard for assessment, Thornton said.
Earlier Thursday - four days after the 893-foot ship was crippled by an engine-room fire in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico - the more than 4200 passengers and crew members suffered another setback with towline issues that brought the vessel to a dead stop for about an hour just when it was getting close to port.
An Instagram photo provided by a Triumph passenger identifying himself as Mikemoonpie shows mattresses being placed at the elevators area on one of the floors of the ship as she is towed toward Mobile, Alabama, on February 13.
As the vessel drew within cellphone range Thursday, passengers vented their anger.
Renee Shanar, of Houston, was on board with her husband, who she said has heart trouble.
They were told they will be among the first to disembark, she said.
''I don't believe them; they've been lying to us from the beginning,'' Shanar said.
An Instagram photo provided by a Triumph passenger identifying himself as Clarkaj shows the tents made of bed sheets at the deck of the ship as it is towed by tug vessels toward Mobile, Alabama, on February 13.
Disgusted by the foul air and heat on the lower decks, many passengers hauled mattresses and bed sheets onto the top deck and slept there, even staying put in a soaking rain.
As the ship approached the coast, a slew of Carnival workers removed the bedding and took it downstairs.
''Today they cleaned the ship, they're serving better food, covering up basically, but at least they're making it more bearable,'' said Kalin Hill, of Houston, who boarded the Triumph as part of a bachelorette party.
In a text message, though, she described deplorable conditions over the past few days.
Carnival Cruise Lines CEO Gerry Cahill (left) gives a press conference in front of the Alabama Cruise Terminal after Triumph docs in Mobile, Alabama. Picture: AFP
''The lower floors had it the worst, the floors 'squish' when you walk and lots of the lower rooms have flooding from above floors,'' Hill wrote.
''Half the bachelorette party was on two; the smell down there literally chokes you and hurts your eyes.''
She said ''there's poop and urine all along the floor. The floor is flooded with sewer water ... and we had to poop in bags.''
The company disputed the accounts of passengers who described the ship as filthy, saying employees were doing everything to ensure people were comfortable.
Pictures are now starting to circulate from Triumph passengers. Here passengers sit around a makeshift charging station. Picture: Twitter/Braden Bishop
Some travel agents said cruise prices and bookings have not been affected by the disabled Carnival ship, but others in the industry say it's too early to tell.
Thelbert Lanier was waiting at the Mobile port for his wife, who texted him early Thursday.
''Room smells like an outhouse. Cold water only, toilets haven't work in 3 1/2 days. Happy Valentines Day!!! I love u & wish I was there,'' she said in the text message, which was viewed by The Associated Press.
''It's 4:00 am. Can't sleep...it's cold & I'm starting to get sick.''
Carnival clarifies that all passengers get complimentary robes. Picture: Twitter/Cheryl Preheim
No one was injured in the fire aboard, but a passenger with a pre-existing medical condition was taken off the ship as a precaution.
In addition, the Coast Guard said in a statement Thursday that it evacuated a passenger who reportedly suffered a stroke.
Carnival said the original plan was to tow the ship to Progreso, Mexico, because it was the closest port, but by the time tugboats arrived, the ship had drifted about 90 miles north due to strong currents, putting it nearly equidistant to Mobile.
It was also logistically easier for the company, which said costs were not a factor.
An Instagram photo provided by a Triumph passenger identifying himself as Clarkaj shows passengers posing with a handmade banner at the deck of the ship as it is towed by the tug vessels toward Mobile, Alabama, on February 13. Picture: AFP
Carnival Cruise Lines has cancelled a dozen more planned voyages aboard the Triumph and acknowledged the crippled ship had been plagued by other mechanical problems in the weeks before the engine-room blaze.
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation.
Gulliksen said the Triumph's recent mechanical woes involved an electrical problem with the ship's alternator on the previous voyage.
Repairs were completed February 2, and the problem was not related to the fire, he said.
Passengers were supposed to get a full refund and discounts on future cruises, and Carnival announced Wednesday they would each get an additional $500 in compensation.
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