
The Carnival Freedom's funnel caught fire on Saturday, March 23, 2024 as the ship was 20 miles off Eleuthera Island, Bahamas. At the time of the fire the Carnival Freedom was on its way to Freeport, Bahamas for a port of call stop due to a stop in Princess Cay being cancelled.
The Fire Is Out! However, there is damage to the ship. Carnival has announced some cancellations due to the fire as of 3/24/2024. See picture from Carnival included below.
Timeline of Events
Saturday, March 23, 2024:
According to Carnival the ship reported a fire at 3:15pm EDT on the port side of the ship's exhaust funnel. Carnival told RyG's Cruise Guide that the ship's fire response team was activated and the captain onboard positioned the ship towards heavy rain to help with the efforts to put out the flames. Additionally, Carnival noted there are reports from eyewitness onboard that lightening strike could be the cause, but this is not confirmed.
As of 5:20pm EDT the ship's fire is fully extinguished. Guests have been asked to stay away from the balconies and open decks. A portion of the funnel did fall into Deck 10 and the Carnival Freedom's fire team has put out the associated flames.
According to a letter Carnival sent Carnival Freedom guests embarking on the next cruise, the current guests of the Carnival Freedom were able to enjoy the Cruise Elegant evening dinner as planned. The ship's systems are fully functioning, except the outside decks are closed.
Carnival reported there are no injuries to guests and two firefighting team members are being treated for minor smoke inhalation.
Sunday, March 24, 2024:
As of 3/24/2024 in the afternoon, the Carnival Freedom's March 25 and March 29, 2024 cruises from Port Canaveral, Florida have been cancelled. This was posted on Facebook by Carnival's brand ambassador, John Heald. Guests on these cruises should check the communication sent by Carnival regarding refund & future credits.
The Carnival Freedom's teams used the time the ship spent in Freeport on 3/24/2024 to assess the ship. The funnel has been stabilized to allow the ship to sail back to Port Canaveral to debark the current cruise on 3/25/2024. However, Carnival found the damage was worse than initially thought and will require immediate repair. Carnival is sailing the Carnival Freedom to Freeport after the ship drops off the debarking guests to begin needed repairs.
The Fire Is Out! However, there is damage to the ship. Carnival has announced some cancellations due to the fire as of 3/24/2024. See picture from Carnival included below.
Timeline of Events
Saturday, March 23, 2024:
According to Carnival the ship reported a fire at 3:15pm EDT on the port side of the ship's exhaust funnel. Carnival told RyG's Cruise Guide that the ship's fire response team was activated and the captain onboard positioned the ship towards heavy rain to help with the efforts to put out the flames. Additionally, Carnival noted there are reports from eyewitness onboard that lightening strike could be the cause, but this is not confirmed.
As of 5:20pm EDT the ship's fire is fully extinguished. Guests have been asked to stay away from the balconies and open decks. A portion of the funnel did fall into Deck 10 and the Carnival Freedom's fire team has put out the associated flames.
According to a letter Carnival sent Carnival Freedom guests embarking on the next cruise, the current guests of the Carnival Freedom were able to enjoy the Cruise Elegant evening dinner as planned. The ship's systems are fully functioning, except the outside decks are closed.
Carnival reported there are no injuries to guests and two firefighting team members are being treated for minor smoke inhalation.
Sunday, March 24, 2024:
As of 3/24/2024 in the afternoon, the Carnival Freedom's March 25 and March 29, 2024 cruises from Port Canaveral, Florida have been cancelled. This was posted on Facebook by Carnival's brand ambassador, John Heald. Guests on these cruises should check the communication sent by Carnival regarding refund & future credits.
The Carnival Freedom's teams used the time the ship spent in Freeport on 3/24/2024 to assess the ship. The funnel has been stabilized to allow the ship to sail back to Port Canaveral to debark the current cruise on 3/25/2024. However, Carnival found the damage was worse than initially thought and will require immediate repair. Carnival is sailing the Carnival Freedom to Freeport after the ship drops off the debarking guests to begin needed repairs.
Cruise Cancellations or Future Dry-Dock
As of March 24, 2024, the Carnival Freedom's cruises that were scheduled for Monday, March 25th and Friday, March 29th are cancelled. The damage to the funnel was worse than initially thought and Carnival mentioned immediate repairs are needed.
Guests on these cancelled cruises should check their communications from Carnival. Additionally, guests on any future sailings should monitor for communications from Carnival in-case plans to future cruises change.
As of March 24, 2024, the Carnival Freedom's cruises that were scheduled for Monday, March 25th and Friday, March 29th are cancelled. The damage to the funnel was worse than initially thought and Carnival mentioned immediate repairs are needed.
Guests on these cancelled cruises should check their communications from Carnival. Additionally, guests on any future sailings should monitor for communications from Carnival in-case plans to future cruises change.
Picture of Fire After Extinguishment
Carnival Cruise's Public Relations department has generously shared the below image with RyG's Cruise Guide that shows the flames are extinguished. This image was provided to RyG's Cruise Guide at 6:22pm EDT.
Carnival Cruise's Public Relations department has generously shared the below image with RyG's Cruise Guide that shows the flames are extinguished. This image was provided to RyG's Cruise Guide at 6:22pm EDT.
Past Funnel Fire
The Carnival Freedom suffered a funnel fire in 2022. The ship's funnel had to be modified after the fire, but the Carnival Freedom was repaired in an October 2023 dry-dock to fix this fire.
The Carnival Freedom suffered a funnel fire in 2022. The ship's funnel had to be modified after the fire, but the Carnival Freedom was repaired in an October 2023 dry-dock to fix this fire.
Stay tuned for future information! Thank you to Carnival for providing a statement with information & an image.