Carnival Freedom catches fire, cancels Monday, Friday Florida cruises

Table Of Content

• Carnival Freedom cruise ship fire: ship's funnel catches fire, second time in 2 years
• Passengers safe on Carnival Freedom
• Which Carnival Freedom cruises have been canceled?
• Fire breaks out on Carnival cruise and 2 crew members killed aboard Holland America ship
• Carnival Freedom cruise ship catches fire for second time in less than 2 years
• Was anyone hurt in the Carnival Freedom fire?

This is the second time in less than two years this cruise ship's funnel has caught on fire and disrupted the schedule. Carnival said there were no other operational issues with the ship’s systems, and the ship, which was on a four-night cruise, was visiting Freeport on Sunday. The Carnival Freedom was in Freeport as scheduled Sunday, according to CruiseMapper. Carnival said there are no operational issues with the ship’s systems.

Carnival Freedom cruise ship fire: ship's funnel catches fire, second time in 2 years

The company said its "emergency response team quickly activated and extinguished" the flames. A Carnival cruise ship that set sail from Port Canaveral in Florida caught fire on Thursday. The Carnival Freedom ship was in Grand Turk on a five-day cruise when a fire inside the ships funnel started, according to a press release from Carnival. The ship was carrying about 2,500 passengers at the time and a crew of about 1,100, according to the cruise line. The cruise line said there were no reports of passenger injuries, although two firefighting crew members were treated for minor smoke inhalation and part of the funnel fell onto Deck 10, according to Carnival.

Passengers safe on Carnival Freedom

The Carnival Freedom debuted a new stylized winged funnel in October last year after a 16-day dry-dock refurbishment in Cadiz, Spain. The ship had left Port Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida, on Monday for a five-day cruise, officials said. One passenger told WESH 2 News that passengers onboard the ship put on life jackets, but said no evacuations were ultimately ordered. "I mean, I looked out there and you're not supposed to see black smoke and fire shooting out of the tail end of the cruise." Passenger Heath Barnes said the ship was on a detoured path, destined for an unscheduled stop in Freeport, as a result of stormy weather and high winds when fire started.

Which Carnival Freedom cruises have been canceled?

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A fire broke out in the funnel area in May 2022 while it was docked in Grand Turk. Three scheduled sailings were canceled while the ship was repaired at a shipyard in Grand Bahama. The Carnival Freedom's next two sailings have been canceled after the cruise ship, based out of Florida, caught fire.

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Carnival said the ship's captain made multiple announcements to passengers and crew, and advised all but essential safety personnel to stay away from balconies and all open decks. The cruise line said there are no reports of injuries to passengers. Two firefighting crew members were treated for minor smoke inhalation.

It has a capacity for nearly 3,000 guests but the company did not specify how many were on the current trip. Carnival says the fire was quickly extinguished by emergency response teams, and that all guests and crew are safe. "We sincerely regret the impact to our embarking guests, as we know they have been looking forward to their spring break vacation." The cruise line said a technical team determined the ship sustained enough damage that it will need repairs before it can be returned to scheduled cruises. The funnel was stabilized, passengers were expected to be returned to Port Canaveral, and the ship will set off to Freeport for repairs, it said.

Fire breaks out on Carnival cruise and 2 crew members killed aboard Holland America ship

"On Thursday morning while in port at Grand Turk, Carnival Freedom’s emergency response team quickly activated and extinguished a fire inside the ship’s funnel," said the cruise line in a statement. "All guests and crew are safe, and all other ship, hotel, and guest services, along with safety equipment are fully functioning." "The funnel has been stabilized for the ship’s return to Port Canaveral overnight to disembark guests, and then it will go to the Freeport shipyard on Monday afternoon to begin the required repairs." "The ship’s fire response team was quickly activated, and the ship’s captain also turned the vessel towards the heavy rain in the area to maximize the efforts to put out the flames," an earlier Carnival statement said. "Eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike, and that is being investigated, but cannot yet be confirmed." The Carnival Freedom cruise ship experienced its second fire in less than two years, and passenger footage caught the flames with smoke coming from the ship’s exhaust funnel Saturday afternoon.

Carnival Freedom cruise ship catches fire for second time in less than 2 years

The damage would "require an immediate repair to stabilize the funnel" after disembarking guests in Port Canaveral on Monday, the company said in an updated statement following the assessment. A Carnival cruise ship’s exhaust funnel caught fire on Saturday during a trip to the Bahamas, causing the company to cancel its next two voyages. A cruise ship exhaust funnel works as a smokestack to lift emissions away from the deck and from passengers and crew. As photos and video taken aboard the Carnival Freedom illustrate, black smoke and flames poured out of the ship’s funnel as passengers donned life jackets and were evacuated from the vessel’s upper decks.

Was anyone hurt in the Carnival Freedom fire?

At the time of the fire, the vessel was carrying about 2,500 passengers and 1,100 crew members, according to the cruise line. It measures 952 feet in length, has 13 decks and can accommodate up to 2,980 passengers and 1,150 crew. No injuries were reported and the ship was not evacuated during the emergency. PortMiami, Florida’s largest port, served 7.3 million passengers during the 12-month fiscal year 2023. That was tops for cruise ports worldwide, nearly twice the four million passengers seen the prior year and more than its previous record of 6.8 million passengers set in 2019. On Friday, the Nieuw Amsterdam operated by Holland America experienced what it says was an accidental steam release in an engineering space on board while at Half Moon Cay, The Bahamas.

All guests impacted by the changes in upcoming trips have been notified. Social media posts show flames spewing from the funnel of the ship and black smoke billowing in the air. On Jan. 13, 2012, the Costa Concordia struck a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio. The ship, which was owned by a Carnival Corporation subsidiary, when the captain steered the 952-foot, 13-deck ship close to the shore to "impress the passengers" and tore a 160-foot gash in the port hull. Carnival initially said there were no expected changes in its schedule but on Sunday afternoon announced cancellations of the Monday and Friday cruises out of Port Canaveral, which come during a busy spring break period.

Passengers scheduled for those late-March cruises are being offered full refunds and credit that can be used for a future cruise, it said. In a statement Sunday, Carnival Cruises acknowledged witness reports of a lightning strike or the sound of thunder before the fire erupted. The ship set sail out of Fort Lauderdale on March 16 for a seven-night trip. "All of us at Holland America Line are deeply saddened by this event," the cruise line said. "We’ve been in contact with the families of both team members and are offering our support to them and to all of our crew at this difficult time." The Nieuw Amsterdam returned Saturday to its home port of Fort Lauderdale, guests disembarked, and the vessel has embarked on a cruise with a stop in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, on Monday, Holland America said.

MIAMI — Two crew members died on board a Holland America cruise ship, and a fire broke out on a Carnival ship while both of the ships were in the Bahamas this weekend, officials said. Still photos and cellphone recordings that have been circulating on Twitter depicted smoke billowing from the right fin of the smokestack, painted red, white and blue, as reported by ClickOrlando. The cruise line confirmed that a part of Carnival Freedom caught fire after the ship docked at Grand Turk. The incidents come as the cruise industry is breaking records for number of passengers. Then it quickly left on its next tour that same evening, the company said.

They were aware of the fire, though, and issued a Captain of the Port order to the cruise ship before it was scheduled to enter Port Canaveral, Florida, on Monday. 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. "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 Cruises said. Carnival initially had said it expected no changes in its upcoming cruises, but on Sunday afternoon said the cancellations would be required.

In 2016, more than 500 passengers and crew were evacuated from a burning ship about a mile off Puerto Rico's north coast. Many aboard the Caribbean Fantasy ship required medical care, though there were no reported fatalities. Fire on the port-side exhaust funnel of another Florida-based cruise ship in the Bahamas, the Carnival Freedom, rocked some passengers Saturday and took the ship out of commission for repairs, the cruise line said. A cruise ship funnel generally serves as a smokestack to lift emissions above the deck, thus away from passengers and crew. But, Heald added that he wanted to assure affected passengers that, "when you rebook, using your full refund and your 100% future cruise credit, that the crew will be standing by to give you all the fun you deserve."

Carnival subsequently canceled cruises on Carnival Freedom leaving Port Canaveral on March 25 and on March 29. Repairs are set to begin on the ship's funnel after all passengers are off the ship. According to the statement, most of the ship's 2,504 passengers were ashore at the time the fire broke out. The Conquest's next trip, scheduled to depart from Miami on Friday, has been canceled, as was the Freedom's next trip, scheduled to begin Saturday. Captain Francesco Schettino was found guilty of manslaughter in 2015 and sentenced to 16 years in prison for the deaths of 32 passengers and crewmembers.

The fire was reported around the same time as another Carnival Cruise ship, Carnival Magic, docked in Norfolk, Virginia, after passengers began vomiting and complaining of nausea caused by a chemical smell. Dramatic videos emerged on social media Thursday, showing flames and thick black smoke pouring out of the smokestack of a Carnival Cruise ship in the Turks and Caicos. The Freedom ship will be taken to Freeport for a "repair to the funnel," Carnival said.