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All 3,200 passengers have now disembarked from crippled Carnival Triumph cruise ship that reached the US coast four days after an engine fire knocked out power.

The Carnival Triumph docked in Mobile, Alabama, at 21:15 on Thursday.

Disembarking the passengers took more than four hours and many still face a long bus journey home or to the port of departure, Galveston.

Passengers had reported sewage on the floors, poor sanitation and access to toilets, and lengthy queues for food.

Some lined the decks as the 900-ft ship docked, waving and cheering at people on shore.

Chants of “Let me off, let me off!” could be heard coming from the ship as they waited to disembark.

One homemade sign read: “Sweet Home Alabama!” and another: “The ship’s afloat, so is the sewage.”

Disembarking passenger Brittany Ferguson said: “I’m feeling awesome just to see land and buildings. The scariest part was just not knowing when we’d get back.”

Carnival Corp which operates the ship, was also the owner of Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that ran aground off the Italian coast and sank last year, killing 32 people.

The Carnival Triumph took six hours to be towed through the 30-mile channel to the docks at Mobile – the largest ship ever to dock there.

The passengers are being taken by bus either to Galveston in Texas, which is about seven hours away, or to New Orleans, where the firm said it had booked 1,500 hotel rooms. New Orleans is two hours away.

All 3,200 passengers have now disembarked from crippled Carnival Triumph cruise ship that reached the US coast four days after an engine fire knocked out power

All 3,200 passengers have now disembarked from crippled Carnival Triumph cruise ship that reached the US coast four days after an engine fire knocked out power

Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill apologized again for the “very poor” conditions on board.

“We pride ourselves on providing our guests with a great vacation experience, and clearly we failed in this particular case,” he said.

Hospitality staff will be sent on early holiday with full pay or transferred to other ships, depending on the length remaining in their contracts, senior vice-president Terry Thornton said.

Passenger Janie Baker told NBC by phone on Thursday that conditions on the ship were “extremely terrible”. There was no electricity and few working toilets, she said.

Janie Baker described using plastic bags to go to the toilet and that she had seen a woman pass out while waiting for food.

The stench from overflowing toilets and drainpipes made some cabins uninhabitable and many people slept in corridors, while others took bedding out into the open to escape the heat and foul smell.

Passengers will be offered a full refund and discounts on future cruises. Carnival announced on Wednesday passengers would each get an additional $500 in compensation.

But the firm has disputed the accounts describing the ship as filthy, saying employees were doing everything they could to ensure people were comfortable.

Carnival has cancelled more than a dozen planned voyages aboard the Triumph, while acknowledging that the crippled ship had other mechanical problems in the weeks before the fire.

Spokesman Vance Gulliksen said Triumph had an earlier electrical problem with the ship’s alternator but that repairs were completed by February 2. He said there was no evidence linking the previous problem to Sunday’s fire.

The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the fire.

No-one was injured in the blaze, but one passenger with a pre-existing medical condition was taken off the ship as a precaution.

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Stranded Carnival Triumph cruise ship with more than 4,000 people aboard is within sight of land four days after an engine fire knocked out the vessel’s power.

Pulled by tugboats, the Carnival Triumph is due later to reach Mobile, Alabama, although it is still hours from shore.

Buses will be waiting for the vessel’s passengers when they arrive.

Passengers have reported sewage on the floors, poor sanitation and access to toilets, and lengthy queues for food.

Carnival Cruise Lines, which operates the ship, says the Triumph’s 3,000 passengers would have the option of boarding buses to New Orleans or going to Texas.

Galveston, Texas, from where the cruise embarked last Thursday, is seven hours from Mobile. New Orleans, where the firm said it booked 1,500 hotel rooms, is two hours away.

Those staying in New Orleans will be flown on Friday to Houston, Texas.

The powerless vessel is expected to dock between 20:00 and 23:00 local time on Tuesday.

A former cruise terminal was being preparing to help passengers go through customs.

Carnival employees, of whom there are more than 1,000 aboard the ship, will be staying in Mobile.

Mayor Sam Jones said the city had more than enough hotel rooms, as well as two airports near the cruise terminal.

Stranded Carnival Triumph cruise ship with more than 4,000 people aboard is within sight of land four days after an engine fire knocked out the vessel's power

Stranded Carnival Triumph cruise ship with more than 4,000 people aboard is within sight of land four days after an engine fire knocked out the vessel’s power

Passenger Janie Baker told NBC by phone on Thursday that conditions on the ship were “extremely terrible”. There has been no electricity and few working toilets, she said.

Janie Baker described using plastic bags to go to the bathroom and that she had seen a woman pass out while waiting for food.

“It’s just a nightmare,” she said.

Janie Baker said she and her friends slept with their life vests one night because the ship was listing.

Passengers are supposed to get a full refund and discounts on future cruises. Carnival announced on Wednesday they would each get an additional $500 in compensation.

But the firm has disputed the accounts of passengers who describe the ship as filthy, saying employees are doing everything to ensure people are comfortable.

A spokesman, Vance Gulliksen, said the company was choosing to bus passengers to New Orleans because it “offered additional capacity and flexibility, which was important to us given that the complexity of the towing operation creates an uncertain arrival time in Mobile”.

Carnival has cancelled more than a dozen planned voyages aboard the Triumph, while acknowledging that the crippled ship had other mechanical problems in the weeks before the fire.

Vance Gulliksen said Triumph had an earlier electrical problem with the ship’s alternator but that repairs were completed by February 2. He said there was no evidence linking the previous problem to Sunday’s fire.

The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the fire.

No-one was injured in the blaze, but one passenger with a pre-existing condition was taken off the ship as a precaution.

“We know it has been a longer journey back than we anticipated at the beginning of the week under very challenging circumstances,” Carnival president and chief executive Gary Cahill said in a statement.

“We are very sorry for what our guests have had to endure.”

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