Carnival Freedom has a new look following last Saturday’s fire. But the new design may look familiar if you aren’t new to cruising.
What happened to Carnival Freedom?
Last Saturday, due to high winds, the ship had to spend a day at sea instead of visiting its private destination, Princess Cay. While at sea, the ship encountered a severe thunderstorm.
As the ship was sailing northbound to Freeport, Bahamas, lightning struck the vessel, igniting fire to the funnel’s port side.
Along with the ship’s firefighting team, the captain brought the ship into an area of heavy rain bands to help extinguish the fire, which was successful.
The all-clear was given shortly after, and the ship proceeded to its next scheduled stop in Freeport and then onto Port Canaveral, Florida, on Monday to debark guests.
On Sunday, Carnival Cruise Line sent letters to booked guests advising them that the next two cruises were cancelled so the ship’s funnel could be repaired in Freeport, axing the March 25 and March 29 voyages.
The ship left Port Canaveral on Monday afternoon bound for Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport, arriving early Tuesday to start work.
Heavy-duty machinery and shipyard workers were atop the funnel throughout the week, prepping for the smokestack redesign.
This process involved separating and rerouting the exhaust pipes, eventually removing the winged portion of the funnel, and recreating its 2022 look.
Carnival Freedom Ship Fire in 2022
In May 2022, Carnival Freedom’s smokestack caught fire while the ship was docked at the Grand Turk Cruise Center.
In October 2023, Carnival Freedom underwent a dry dock in Cadiz, Spain, to receive a new funnel after the 2022 blaze.
Carnival has not released how much of a financial hit they took for pulling the ship out of service for two sailings.
The ship is scheduled to return to service in early April.
