CANBERRA, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- A South Pacific cruise ship has returned to Australia after a 10-day voyage which passengers described as a "nightmare."

The Carnival Legend ship docked in Melbourne on Saturday morning following an unscheduled stop in New South Wales (NSW) where six adult and three teenage males from one family were evicted from the vessel by police.

The nine men allegedly assaulted and abused other passengers on the ship throughout the last three days of the 10-day Pacific Island cruise.

Another 14 passengers, all of whom were related to the nine evicted, also disembarked the ship on Friday night, police said.

Jarrah Bolitho, a holidaymaker who was on the ship, said he witnessed three fights and locked himself in his cabin after being threatened by the family.

"One guy was having a smoke right next to the stairs on the top deck," Bolitho told reporters after disembarking on Saturday.

"Three of the gang members came down and started attacking him for no reason, one was from behind strangling him, the guy on the left was punching him in the head and the right was just trying to rip his shirt off."

Other passengers have expressed disappointment with how staff handled the situation.

In a statement issued to those on board, Carnival Cruise Line's Australian General Manager Jennifer Vandekreeke said that the company would offer support to those affected.

"We sincerely apologise to our guests who were impacted by the disruptive behaviour of the group removed from the ship by the NSW Police in Eden," she said.

"We want to reassure all embarking guests today, and in the future, that the safety and security of our guests and crew is our number one priority."