Everything had to be ship-shape for Mr. Jerry Helbrig before he set sail to celebrate his parents 50th wedding anniversary - even to the point of a reassuring call from a company president.

Mr. Helbrig wanted to make sure the Royal Majesty was sailing on time after its grounding more than two weeks ago, so he faxed Majesty Cruise Line.

He explained that 21 relatives were coming from eight different US states and the trip had been in the planning for a year.

In return, he had a personal call from the Majesty Cruise Line president assuring him the vessel was in top condition after the minor damage it sustained in the grounding.

Mr. Helbrig arrived in Bermuda on board the 34,000-tonne ship which was out of action for more than two weeks following the incident, which is being investigated.

"Twenty-one relatives were coming to go on this trip so my only concern was that the ship would be sailing,'' said Mr. Helbrig, of Massachusetts.

"My family has been planning this trip to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary for a year now.'' Yesterday, other passengers arriving on the Island told The Royal Gazette the ship's grounding two weeks ago was the least of their worries.

Some of those interviewed were first-time passengers aboard the vessel which ran aground 10 miles from Nantucket Island on June 10 upon its return to Boston.

The ship was eventually freed by tugs using their propellers to dig a channel in the sand bank. The luxury liner was kept in Boston for two weeks due to damage to its hull.

Mr. Adam Kelly, of Connecticut, and Miss Emi Kondo, of Japan -- who were also part of the Helbrig group -- said they were worried when they heard about the problem mainly because they were not sure if the ship would be able to sail.

But Mrs. Diane Beaton and her daughter Andrea, of Massachusetts, said they had no worries about travelling on the ship.

"What will be will be,'' Mrs. Beaton said. "We don't let things like that stop us when we are travelling.'' They both agreed that the entertainment, service and food aboard the ship, which arrived on Tuesday, were top class.

And seasoned cruise passenger Ms Karyn Stranberg -- who was aboard the Royal Majesty for the first time -- praised the Royal Majesty for its "excellent'' service.

"I would have been disappointed if we hadn't sailed,'' she said.

"Everything has been just fine and the service is excellent.'' Mr. Tom Benson, of Massachusetts, who was also on his first trip aboard the Royal Majesty , said he also had no apprehensions and was having a wonderful time aboard the ship.

His neighbours Mr. and Mrs. Flahity Paul said the only thing they feared was that the ship would not be able to sail.

Crew member Mr. Ireneusz Standura said the problem experienced two weeks ago was a very small one and he stressed that "everything was okay now''.

"There are no problems and the passengers are happy,'' he said.