The passengers of Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas arrived in Baltimore today The ship, however, did not. Their seven-night cruise was forced to end early when a fire erupted on board. Royal Caribbean International was kind enough to arrange flights home from the dock in Freeport, the Bahamas, for all 2,224 guests, who recounted the commotion when the fire broke out early Monday morning, charring the stern of the ship.

Passengers told ABC News they heard "big explosions," including Luke Sluscher, 20, who said he stepped outside his room and "heard crew yelling 'mayday, mayday,' as they ran to put out the fire." Still shaken from the ordeal, passenger Marlene Sluscher said she was 20 feet away from where the fire broke out. "I was awake before I even heard the very first noises," she said.

Royal Caribbean said the fire was discovered at 2:50 a.m. ET Monday on the mooring area on deck three of its 11 decks. The ship was at sea at the time but made it to dock under its own propulsion. The cruise line said the fire was extinguished and the affected area was cordoned off. Guests were allowed to return to their staterooms, the company said, at 7:15 a.m. ET. No injuries were reported. The ship docked a few hours later.

After assessing the damage, which gutted the rear of the ship on at least one deck, RCI officials decided to end the cruise in Freeport to make repairs. It's not clear when the ship will be able to serve passengers again. The May 31 cruise out of Baltimore has been cancelled.

Passenger Dan McTigue was one of the many frightened passengers hustling to muster stations near lifeboats during the ordeal. "I heard these big explosions and saw the fire jump out of the ship. We couldn't get to the muster station because it was on fire," McTigue said.

When asked about reports of explosions, an RCI spokesperson said, "The cause of the fire is still under investigation. We are working closely with the various agencies that are looking into it."