The Carnival Cruise Lines cruise ship C/V Splendor is towed into San Diego harbour November 11, 2010. The luxury liner and its 3,300 vacationers had been left stranded off the Mexican coast by an engine-room fire on Monday. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

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About 200 Canadians aboard a cruise ship stranded off Mexico since earlier this week by an engine fire finally stepped on dry land again after the liner was brought back to a San Diego port under tow Thursday.

The passengers – 3,299 in total - and 1,167 crew members aboard the luxury liner had spent three days at sea without hot water, air conditioning or cooked meals.

Canadian foreign affairs department confirmed Wednesday that there were 196 Canadians aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines ship.

The 290-metre vessel left Long Beach, Calif., Sunday for a seven-day voyage.

But the ship was marooned the next day about 320 kilometres south of San Diego and 80 kilometres off the Mexican coast by an engine fire that crippled its propulsion system and knocked out most power supplies.

The blaze was confined to the engine room and was put out in three hours.

There were no injuries, but several people were reported to have suffered panic attacks as passengers were initially ushered to the ship’s upper decks as a precaution.

One of the first off the boat, Ken King, told CNN that he and other passengers were unaware of the exact nature of the emergency until they were back in port.

“Actually, just now, they told us there was a fire on the boat,” he said.

Passengers disembark the Carnival Cruise Lines cruise ship C/V Splendor after it was towed into San Diego harbour, November 11, 2010. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

“They never told us what the issue was. All they told us was that there was smoke.”

Toilet service was restored Monday night, but air conditioning remained out, as did hot water and hot food.

With food and fresh water running low, the Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was diverted from training exercises in the Pacific on Tuesday to help deliver 600,000 pounds of water and other provisions - including cans of Spam.

John Heald, the ship’s senior cruise director, wrote in a blog post Wednesday from the vessel that, with laundry facilities broken, he smelled “like Paris on a hot summer’s day” - but that the passengers and crew were coping well.

“One thing is for certain though - I doubt anyone on board will ever ever want to eat a sandwich ever again,” he wrote.

Doing their best to keep up spirits, the crew plied its adult passengers with alcoholic beverages for free while offering games and other activities for the kids.

Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines, a unit of the world’s largest cruise line, Carnival Corp., said passengers from the disabled ship would receive a full refund and reimbursement for transportation costs, as well as a complimentary future cruise of equal value.

-with files from Reuters