A blaze broke out in the stern of a cruise ship this morning shortly after it set sail from Miami with hundreds of passengers on board. Live television images showed thick black smoke billowing from the vessel, Carnival Corp's Ecstasy - Carnival Corp is the world's largest cruise-ship operator.
Passengers donned life jackets and lined up on the decks at the front of the vessel as crew members fought the fire and firefighting tugboats attacked it from the water.
Passenger Mr Jeff Gold, talking from the ship by phone to local television news, said officials were telling them everything was under control.
Another passenger, Mr George Gonzalez, added: "They're doing a pretty good job of keeping us calm."
He said there had been little panic although "initially there was lot of confusion, only an hour earlier we'd gone though the emergency procedure".
Coast Guard Lieut Cmdr Marcus Woodring said he had no information of any casualties on board.
Carnival officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Media reports said the white 855-foot long ship could carry 2,040 passengers and had a crew and staff of 920, although it was not known exactly how many people were on board at the time.
It had just left port for Mexico via Key West when the fire broke out in the laundryroom. The blaze was apparently contained to the stern because of firedoors on the vessel.
"This fire started in the main laundry area" of the ship, Lieut Woodring told news reporters.
"The Coast Guard has cutters proceeding to the position. Fighting a fire is a very difficult proposition as you can imagine," Lieut Woodring added.
"It would be much easier to fight the fire if the ship can be brought into port."
The drama unfolded within sight of Miami Beach. Crowds of bystanders lined the beachfront to watch the blaze.
The Ecstasy has 10 decks, a casino, two dining rooms, a library, a gymnasium, and three outside swimming pools, according to a company profile.
It was built at the Kvaerner Masa-Yards in Finland at a cost of $275 million, coming into service in June 1991, and is registered in Liberia.