BOSTON -- An Amherst, Mass., couple that was on a cruise ship attacked by pirates off the coast of Africa a few weeks ago will be having a very thankful holiday this week. They made it home safe and sound.

Terrified passengers hit the deck as grenades were fired at the ship during the attack, and Realtor Richard Eagan and his wife, Betsy, told Boston TV station WCVB that it was a trip they will never forget. The cruise down the east coast of Africa was Richard's 70th birthday present and he's glad it wasn't his last.

"It's funny. When we got home our grandson said, 'Grammy, Grammy, did the pirates have swords?' and we had to chuckle on that one," Betsy said.

The Eagans were on board the luxury cruise ship Seaborne Spirit 100 miles off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean when a dozen pirates armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades struck. For the Eagans, the memories of their real-life brush with pirates began with a sudden, early-morning wake-up call from their ship's captain.

"'We're under attack.' And then, four or five minutes later, he says, 'Everyone to the dining room,'" Richard recalled.

"You could hear the noise of the rockets and the grenade launchers and the bullets," Betsy said.

"One rocket hit about Room 313, up around there, and I looked at it and it was sticking out," Richard said.

A grenade hit the cabin next to theirs, but fortunately for the Eagans, it was a dud.

The lounge area was riddled with bullets as 150 passengers huddled in the dining room as the crew fought back, foiling the attack by firing a sonic weapon that blasted an ear-splitting noise at the pirates before the ship sped away to safety. The sea battle lasted an hour. Only one crew member was injured by shrapnel.

"When that happens, you think of it afterward, more than you think about it when it's happening," Betsy said.

The Eagans are sure to be thinking about the dangerous adventure as they retell the story at Thanksgiving gatherings. They said despite the scare, they had a wonderful trip and would do it all over again.