After six days stranded at sea, the Carnival "Triumph" is docking along Mobile port, though passengers have hours-long wait to disembark.
Warm food, blankets, and cellphones await passengers.
Officials said the ship would be taken Friday to a nearby repair facility to be assessed.
Four days ago, the 893-foot ship was crippled by an engine-room fire in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.
More than 4,000 people are on board.
A Coast Guard official says the disabled cruise ship stopped temporarily off the coast of Alabama because a towline attached to one of the boats towing the vessel broke.
The Triumph was being pulled by four tugs Thursday, and the Coast Guard said it had been moving about 5 mph. Before the towline broke, the ship and the 4,000-plus passengers were expected to arrive at the Mobile cruise terminal late Thursday night.
It's now estimated the ship would arrive in port around 10 p.m.- midnight.
When passengers can finally get off the ship, it will take some time: only one elevator is working, and passengers will have to carry their own luggage.
The problems began Sunday when a fire broke out in the ship's engine room. That caused a power outage which left the boat without propulsion and without air conditioning.
A clearer picture of the scene aboard the ship began to emerge as passengers who have been mostly out cellphone reach described overflowing toilets, sewage backed up in showers, scarce food and people getting sick. What began as a four-day voyage in the Gulf of Mexico has turned into a vacation nightmare, not at all the luxury cruise touted in brochures. Officials are hearing nightmarish stories from people aboard as they are trickling back to land.
Conditions deteriorated during the week for the 3,000-plus passengers and 1,000 crew members as only a few of the bathrooms on board have been operational.
Kim McKerreghan's daughter and former husband are on board.
"He (her former husband) told me that they had just eaten onion sandwiches," McKerreghan said. "And they were asking to use the red plastic bags to use the restroom in, and they had some fruit. They did have some water, but it was warm bottled water."
Supplies have been ferried out to the crippled ship all week by other Carnival ships, including the legend out of Tampa.
Meanwhile, Carnival Cruise President and CEO Gerry Cahill has offered an apology.
"No one here from Carnival is happy about the conditions on board this ship and we obviously are very sorry about what has taken place," Cahill said.
The company is offering passengers full refunds, discounts on future cruises and even $500.
Being pulled by three tugboats, Triumph is scheduled to return to port Thursday at 10 p.m.
Carnival Paradise returns to Tampa
Meanwhile, thousands of passengers onboard the Carnival Paradise returned to Tampa Thursday morning.
Fortunately, there were no problems with their trip. But there was a bit of concern after news spread about what was going on aboard the stranded cruise ship the Triumph.
The Paradise is scheduled to go back out this evening.
Passengers say while there is some concern after watching the events unfold, it's just a risk you take when embarking on a cruise.
"If it happens, it happens. The big thing is staying calm and knowing eventually you will get back home," said Carnival Paradise passenger Tracy Pearce.