Fire on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship forced it to dock at Freeport, Bahamas, on Monday, with all passengers and crew safe but the rest of the trip cancelled, the cruise company reported.

I slept on the deck with hundreds of others ... I was terrified, with it being my first cruise

Grandeur of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, was on a seven-night trip that left Baltimore on Friday. The 280-metre ship was en route to CocoCay, Bahamas, when a fire occurred in its mooring area early on Monday.

The fire was extinguished in about two hours and the 17-year-old vessel was redirected to Freeport.

As a result of the damage, the rest of the trip was cancelled and passengers were refunded their fares and offered a free cruise in the future.

“Royal Caribbean Inter-national is deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests’ vacation,” the statement said.

The incident was the latest in a string of bad news for the cruise industry.

In March, 108 people fell sick with a gastro-intestinal illness on Vision of the Seas, another Royal Caribbean Cruises ship.

In February, thousands of passengers spent nearly five days on the disabled Carnival Triumph cruise ship operated by Carnival Corp. in the Gulf of Mexico, after an engine-room fire knocked out power and plumbing throughout most of the ship.

In the most recent mishap, all 2,224 guests and 796 crew on the Royal Caribbean trip were accounted for on Monday itself.

Only minor medical incidents were reported, including fainting and an ankle sprain, the company said.

Passenger Andrea Sanders said she slept on the deck with hundreds of others as smoke billowed out of the ship’s stern.

“I was terrified, with it being my first cruise,” she told The Freeport News.

Photos show a substantial area of the stern burned on several decks, and burned-out equipment visible.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in a tweet that it will join the US Coast Guard in investigating the fire.