A story in yesterday's paper on a cruise ship fire in Miami incorrectly identyified the name of a hotel where the passengers were staying . It is the Fontainebleau Hilton.

Honeymoon heaven turned into a night of hell for a local couple when their luxury cruise ship erupted in flames.

Jody and Michael Powell of North Court Avenue, Pembroke, were married just four days ago Saturday.

And the newlyweds left the Island the next day to spend the night in Miami, Florida.

After boarding the Carnival Cruise Lines' ship Ecstasy on Monday morning, Mr.

and Mrs. Powell took to the deck -- in their swimsuits -- to enjoy the sun and sea.

But less than an hour later, before even leaving port, black plumes of smoke began billowing out of the ship.

Mrs. Powell told The Royal Gazette of her ordeal yesterday.

"It was terrible, especially when the alarms went off,'' she said.

"Everybody was running to get life jackets. Everybody was screaming and crying.

"Everybody went haywire, it was awful.'' And Mrs. Powell said she and her husband had to wait for hours without life jackets because they could not reach their cabin through the thick smoke.

"All the cabins were smoked out, we had to go back out,'' she said. "We were some of the few people who didn't have life jackets.'' Cruise ship personnel quickly took control of the near disaster and used cabin numbers to guide the 2,000 passengers to large halls at the front of the ship, Mrs. Powell explained. The panicked crowds were eventually calmed, but had to endure a gruelling, sweaty wait from 5 p.m. until 2 a.m.

"It was really awful,'' said Mrs. Powell. "The air-conditioner was off and we couldn't move.'' Regular announcements kept the harried passengers abreast of developments, but Mrs. Powell admitted she did not know how bad the fire was until seeing news reports.

Carnival's president Bob Dickinson later told the Associated Press that a welder's spark in a laundry room may have ignited a lint and touched off an "explosive-type'' fire.

The flames moved from the second deck of the ten-level ship and spread along nylon ropes in an outside mooring area.

Emergency crews eventually allowed the exhausted passengers out of the safety zones and back to their cabins.

And the newlyweds said they were given the option of spending the night on board the smoky vessel or being transported to the Fountain Blue Hilton Hotel in Miami.

Not surprisingly, Mr. and Mrs. Powell opted for dry land. "We just wanted off the boat, everybody did,'' Mrs. Powell said.

But even then the unlucky couple's misadventure was far from over. After carrying their own bags -- fortunately undamaged by the heat and smoke -- Mrs.

Powell said it was a "real scramble getting off the boat''.

Picture: Page 10 Honeymoon cruise ends in fire terror As they were taken ashore they were treated to the spectacle of fireboats still spraying water over the ship "to make sure all the hot spots were out.'' And when they finally returned to dry land, the weary passengers had to fight their way through hordes of news and television reporters.

"I've had absolutely no sleep at all,'' said Mrs. Powell.

But she had positive words for the cruise officials.

"They handled it as best they could,'' she said. "For the volume of passengers, they did very well.'' According to an AP report, no deaths were caused by the fire, but 54 people were treated for smoke inhalation. One person had an undisclosed heart problem.

Carnival Cruises Lines paid for one night at the Hilton Hotel, gave full refunds for the doomed voyage, and have offered a free cruise to all passengers.

HOT CRUISE -- The Ecstasy sits off Miami Beach on Monday while the Coast Guard and tug boats work to put out an on board fire.