Carnival Freedom cruise ship fire: ship's funnel catches fire, second time in 2 years
Carnival had to cancel two upcoming voyages on its Carnival Freedom cruise ship after the ship's signature red and blue funnel exhaust pipe caught fire over the weekend, possibly due to a lightning strike, according to the mega cruise line. The damage was more severe than Carnival initial expected and had to cancel upcoming trips to make repairs to the ship.
It's the second time in two years that the funnel on this ship has caught fire.
Photos and videos shared with FOX 35 and on social media showed flames spewing out of the left side of the ship's exhaust funnel, as dark smoke billowed into the air.
Carnival said the port side (left side) of the ship's exhaust funnel – easy to spot due to its tail-like shape – caught fire on Saturday as the cruise was sailing near the Bahamas.
"Our onboard team acted quickly to contain and put out the fire. While we continue to investigate multiple eyewitness reports of a lightning strike, our technical team completed a thorough assessment during the ship’s visit to Freeport on Sunday. Regrettably, the damage is more than we first thought and will require an immediate repair to stabilize the funnel, resulting in the cancellation of the March 25 and March 29 cruises from Port Canaveral," Carnival said in a statement.
The Carnival Freedom returned to Port Canaveral in Florida on Monday morning, where passengers were able to get off the ship. It will then sail back to the Freeport Cruise Port in The Bahamas for repairs.
"We sincerely regret the impact to our embarking guests, as we know they have been looking forward to their spring break vacation. We are providing all guests on both cancelled cruises a full refund and a 100% future cruise credit so they can come back and enjoy a future cruise with us," Carnival said.
Carnival Freedom experienced a fire in 2022
It's not the first time that the Carnival Freedom has caught fire. Coincidentally, in 2022 while docked at Grand Turks, part of the ship's funnel also caught fire. That time, however, it was on the starboard side (the right side), according to photos shared with FOX 35 at the time. That's the opposite side compared this most recent incident.
In the 2022 incident, Carnival told FOX 35 in a statement that all guests and crew were safe. A second ship, Carnival Conquest, was sent to pick up the 2,500 passengers and 972-person crew.