Carnival Freedom cruise ship catches fire, 20 miles off coast of Bahamas

A fire broke out on a Carnival Freedom ship just 20 miles from the Bahamas, resulting in the cancellation of two cruises at the end of March.

The ship was heading to Freeport after a canceled call to Princess Cay when a fire started on the port side of the ship's exhaust funnel just 20 miles off Eleuthera in the Bahamas. 

The ship's captain turned the boat towards the heavy rain to try to help with the flames from the fire, while the ship's fire response team was activated. 

According to Carnival, eyewitnesses said the fire possibly started from a lightning strike and that is now being investigated.

Photos below show the aftermath of the fire. 

Carnival said the fire is worse than they originally thought, resulting in cruise cancellations out of Port Canaveral through the end of March.

The cruises scheduled for March 25 and 29 have been canceled.  

In a statement, Carnival said:

"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. We also greatly appreciate the terrific guests who are currently sailing with us, for their outstanding cooperation and support."

Those who made plans to cruise at the end of March will get all of their money refunded along with plane ticket reimbursement up to $200 per person, Carnival sent in a letter to cruisers. 

No one onboard was injured. 

Repairs on the ship will begin Monday afternoon.