Ewwwww.

That about sums up how people are describing conditions aboard the Carnival Triumph on Tuesday as tugboats slowly drag the stricken cruise ship toward Alabama -- and freedom for its 3,143 passengers.

Some on the ship reported sewage sloshing around in hallways, flooded rooms and trouble getting enough to eat after a fire in the ship's engine room Sunday left it drifting in the Gulf of Mexico. Passengers dragged their mattresses onto the ship's open deck to stay cool and get away from the nasty smells inside.

"The odor is so bad, people are getting sick and they're throwing up everywhere," said Brent Nutt, whose wife is aboard the ship.

But not all passengers share the same dire view of the situation.

A poster on the cruising forum cruisecritic.com said her sister reported passengers have enough food and are "enjoying the extended vacation."

The fire is at least the second problem for the ship since late January, when it had an issue with its propulsion system, according to a notice posted to Carnival senior cruise director John Heald's website.

The company also recently repaired one of Triumph's alternators, the company said Tuesday.

However, there's no evidence the alternator problem and the fire are linked, cruise line spokesman Vance Gulliksen said.

Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill told reporters on Tuesday evening that the cruise line is using its full resources to assist passengers and family members in a "very challenging" situation.

"No one here at Carnival is happy about conditions on board the ship," Cahill said. "We are very sorry about what is taking place."

Carnival expects the ship to arrive in Mobile on Thursday afternoon.

Sunday's fire came as the Triumph steamed about 150 miles off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on the way back to Galveston, Texas. The ship was on the third day of a four-day cruise.

"We all woke up and panicked," passenger Donna Gutzman told CNN affiliate KPRC. "A couple other alarms went off and we started seeing smoke."

Triumph's automatic fire extinguishing system kicked in and soon contained the flames, and no injuries were reported, Carnival said.

But the fire knocked out the ship's propulsion system and left the vessel slowly drifting in the Gulf until a second tugboat arrived Tuesday, joining one that had come earlier. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Vigorous is also sailing nearby to provide assistance if necessary.

The tugboats are towing the Triumph toward Mobile at a rate of 5 mph to 8 mph, Vigorous Cmdr. Greg Magee told CNN Tuesday.

The cruise line said the ship was listing at 2 degrees, an improvement from a previous 4.5-degrees reading. Winds are causing the list, it said.

Technicians aboard the ship were trying to restore power and provide more onboard facilities, Gulliksen said.

Passenger Ann Barlow said the staff on the Triumph was doing a good job, but flooded rooms, hot, humid conditions, long lines for food and overwhelming odors were making things tough for passengers.

"It's disgusting. It's the worst thing ever," she told CNN Monday.

Barlow's husband, Toby, said she told him there was "sewage running down the walls and floors" with passengers being asked to defecate in bags and urinate in showers due to the lack of functioning toilets. The air conditioning is also out.

But things were getting better, according to Nutt and Gulliksen.

Gulliksen said Tuesday that there is running water -- cold only -- in some cabins. Most of the 23 public restrooms are working, said Cahill, along with some toilets in forward and midship cabins.

The ship's poolside restaurant was open until 10 p.m. Monday night and reopened again at 7 a.m. Tuesday.