A FAMILY were trapped on board a burning cruise ship for three hours – even though it had already docked.

An engine room blaze broke out in the Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas cruise liner on Wednesday morning as the ship came into port in Falmouth, Jamaica.

Peter Schofield, his wife Amanda and 12-year-old daughter Samantha, were among thousands of passengers told to wait at emergency muster stations while the fire raged. The family had already enjoyed ten days in Orlando before departing on the £3,000 seven-night west Caribbean cruise from Cape Canaveral on July 19.

Mr Schofield booked the holiday to celebrate his 60th birthday, which was earlier this year, and his wife’s upcoming 50th birthday.

He said passengers were told the fire was “small” – and it was only when he saw footage of black smoke billowing from the ship two days later that he realised how serious the blaze had been.

Mr Schofield, a project manager, said: “We were given scant information, and did not have a clue what was going on.

“When I looked online several days later I saw world news outlets reporting the fire had travelled through 15 decks of the ship and video footage of thick black smoke coming from it. That was when I realised how serious the danger had been.

“They kept about 4,000 people on board a floating bomb. We could all have been dead, and I am disgusted by what happened.”

The seven-night cruise departed from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 19 and took in parts of the western Caribbean – stopping at Labadee in Haiti, Falmouth in Jamaica, George Town in Grand Cayman and Cozumel in Mexico.

The Freedom of the Seas weighs 154,407 tonnes and was the world’s largest cruise ship when it was unveiled in 2006. It is currently sixth largest.

Video footage taken on Falmouth pier shows plumes of black smoke billowing from the towering 15-deck, 1,112-foot vessel – which can carry 3,600 passengers and 1,300 crew.

Mr Schofield said when passengers were allowed to depart after about three hours they noticed black burn marks around the top of the ship, the funnel and exhaust pipes.

The family, who arrived back home to Lostock on Monday, said the rest of their cruise was spoiled by the experience.

Mr Schofield said: “If people had got off that ship straight away and seen the smoke and the damage, would they have wanted to get back on? I think they kept us on board so people would not panic while they cleared up. I don't understand why they kept us on board.”

Every room was credited $150 to their on board account as compensation.

Some media reports suggest the vessel, which continued on with its itinerary, should not have been permitted to continue with its itinerary without a thorough investigation and check for seaworthiness.

In a statement released several hours after the blaze broke out, Royal Caribbean International said all the ship’s systems were fully functioning.

A spokesman for the Miami-based company said: “On July 22, 2015, at approximately 9.15am, Freedom of the Seas experienced a fire in a mechanical space as the ship was pulling into Falmouth, Jamaica. The ship’s fire suppression system was immediately activated, which contained and extinguished the fire. In an abundance of caution, the Captain mustered all guests at their assembly stations. All guests and crew were accounted for.

“There were no reported injuries to any guests, but one crew member was treated for first degree burns.”

In a tweet, a spokesman said passengers were able to leave the ship to explore Falmouth at 1pm.