Passengers of Carnival Freedom cruise ship return to Port Canaveral after fire extended their stay
PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. - Passengers of the Carnival Freedom cruise ship have returned to Port Canaveral Monday morning after a fire on the ship's funnel extended their stay until a second ship could pick them up.
A spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line said the ship's signature red funnel, sometimes referred to as a ship's whale tale, was docked in Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands Thursday when it caught fire, sending dark black smoke into the air.
Its emergency response team was able to quickly put out the fire and there were no injuries, according to the cruise line.
Carnival sent another cruise ship — Carnival Conquest — to Grand Turk to pick up the 2,504 passengers and 972 crew members who were on the Carnival Freedom cruise ship.
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Passengers returned on the Conquest around 6 a.m.:
The fire has impacted multiple cruises out of Port Canaveral and even a cruise in Miami.
The cruise line had to cancel other cruises scheduled to depart on Carnival Freedom from Port Canaveral on May 28, June 2 and June 6 while the ship undergoes repairs.
Vacationers who were hoping to sail out of Miami Monday on the Carnival Conquest will have to wait until all the Carnival Freedom passengers exit the ship, before it can head to South Florida.
Carnival has not released an update about what caused the fire.