Carnival Cruise Lines’ Carnival Splendor is adrift following an engine room fire.
The ship, which is carrying 3,000 passengers, was on a voyage from Los Angeles to Mexico when the blaze broke out at around 06.00 yesterday (local time).
The two year old, 110,000-tonne vessel was about 55 miles off the coast of Mexico at the time.
Carnival confirmed that a fire detected in the aft engine room had been extinguished.
Passengers were asked to move from their cabins to the ship’s upper deck in the fire alert.
“There were no injuries to guests or crew,” the company said.
There are 16 British passengers on board.
The air conditioning, hot food service, toilets and telephones are not working although the crew is “actively working to restore partial services”.
“The ship has been operating on auxiliary generators throughout the day and engineers have been unable to restore additional power to the vessel,” Carnival said. “As a result, the current voyage has been terminated.
“Tugboats are currently en route to the ship which is located off the coast of Mexico, approximately 150 miles south of San Diego.
“The tugs will tow the vessel to Ensenada, Mexico, in an effort to get the guests home as quickly as possible.”
Carnival added: “At this time, guests have access to their cabins and are able to move about the ship. Bottled water and cold food items are being provided.”
The vessel is in contact with the US Coastguard, which has deployed aircraft to the ship.
Passengers will receive a full refund, a free cruise and reimbursement for transportation costs.
Carnival Cruise Lines president and CEO Gerry Cahill said: “We know this has been an extremely trying situation for our guests and we sincerely thank them for their patience.
“Conditions on board the ship are very challenging and we sincerely apologise for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority and we are working to get our guests home as quickly as possible.”