A fire incident aboard the Carnival Freedom this weekend has led to the disruption of the cruise for the second time in less than two years, resulting in the cancellation of the ship’s next two sailings. The Florida-based vessel, scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral, will require immediate repairs following damage to its exhaust funnel.
Initially, Carnival had anticipated no changes to its upcoming cruises. However, after a thorough assessment by the technical team during the ship’s visit to Freeport in the Bahamas on Sunday, it became apparent that repairs were necessary.
Matt Lupoli, Carnival Cruise Line’s senior manager of public relations, stated, “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.”
Passengers scheduled for the affected cruises will receive full refunds and a 100% future cruise credit as compensation for the inconvenience caused. Carnival expressed gratitude to the current guests onboard for their cooperation and support during this unforeseen circumstance.
The fire, confined to the funnel area, occurred around 3:15 p.m. Saturday while the ship was en route to Freeport. Prompt action by the ship’s fire response team and the captain ensured the flames were extinguished by 5:20 p.m. Eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike, which is currently under investigation.
Despite the incident, Carnival assured that all areas of the ship, except for open decks, remain fully functional. The U.S. Coast Guard has been notified, and Carnival activated its incident response team to assist the ship’s crew.
This marks the second fire-related incident for the Carnival Freedom, with a previous occurrence in May 2022. The ship had undergone refurbishment in October 2023, debuting a new iconic winged funnel after a dry-dock refurbishment in Cadiz, Spain.
While the Carnival Freedom’s next voyage was slated for Monday afternoon, with port-of-call stops in the Eastern Caribbean, both this sailing and a subsequent Friday sailing have been cancelled. The cancellation affects thousands of passengers during a busy spring break period for Carnival and other cruise lines.
