The son of a Vancouver couple that was stranded on the disabled Costa Allegra cruise ship says he's anxious to have his parents home safe Friday night.
James Yang, an accountant, said his parents were in Paris on Friday morning and were expected to fly back to Toronto by the end of the day.
Jackson and Peggy Yang were aboard the ship when an electrical fire broke out in the engine room on Monday, disabling the engines, water system and generators hundreds of kilometres off the coast of Africa in waters where pirate attacks are known to take place.
The ship was adrift for some time before a French fishing vessel and a tugboat arrived and the ship was towed to the Seychelles -- a process that took three days.
Yang told CTV's Canada AM he received a call from the cruise company on Monday morning and immediately assumed the worst. Just six weeks earlier the Costa Concordia, a ship owned by the same company, capsized and 25 people were killed, with another seven still missing.
"When I got the phone call my initial reaction was 'are they going to be OK? What's the condition like on the boat? And I think as more information flew through my siblings and I began to realize the seriousness of the situation."
Yang said he received daily phone calls from the cruise line operator, but did not hear from his parents directly until they were able to send a brief text message when they arrived safely in the Seychelles.
At first, Yang and his siblings expected their parents and the other passengers to be rescued from the ship on the day of the breakdown. That didn't happen, and it soon became clear the passengers would have to deal with uncomfortable circumstances for several days.
Passengers had to deal with stifling heat, no air conditioning, toilets that wouldn't flush and a limited food supply.
However, Yang said his parents are doing well.
"My dad used the term 'perfect condition.' I'm not so sure that's the appropriate term but I think they're exhausted," Yang said.
There were more than 600 passengers and 400 crew members aboard the ship. Among them were 14 Canadians.
Yang said he was kept up to date on the situation as the ship was towed across the Indian Ocean.
"I can't comment on the way they handled it on board the cruise but from a more administrative perspective I received calls every day from the cruise ship company so in terms of keeping us informed at our end, I think they handed it pretty well."
Yang said his parents have been travelling for years, and have been on many cruises. However, he said it's "safe to assume in the coming months I don't think they'll be taking a cruise any time."
Among the most frightening moments on the ship was immediately after the fire broke out, when passengers were told to go to muster stations, get life jackets, and prepare to board life rafts and abandon ship.
That order was later cancelled when the fire was brought under control.
The ship was pulled into port in the exclusive Seychelles Islands on Thursday morning with its 413 crew members and 627 passengers.
About half the passengers aboard the ship accepted the cruise line's offer of a free vacation in the Seychelles. The rest accepted a plane ticket home.
Both the Costa Allegra and Costa Concordia are operated by Costa Crociere SpA, which is owned by Florida-based Carnival.
