Second Fire Incident Occurs on a Carnival Cruise Ship in Two Years

After experiencing a fire for the second time in less than two years, the Carnival Freedom cruise ship has been temporarily taken out of service for repairs. During a trip to the Bahamas, the ship’s exhaust funnel caught fire and partially collapsed, resulting in the current incident on Saturday.

Although eyewitnesses speculate that a lightning strike may have caused the recent tragedy, the cause is still being investigated. Thankfully, none of the passengers were hurt, but two members of the fire team had minor smoke inhalation injuries. When the fire broke out, the ship—which had sailed from Port Canaveral, Florida—was headed for the Bahamas and had to change its course to Freeport for safety.

A part of the funnel crashed onto one of the ship’s decks, although Carnival said that the fire was quickly put out with the help of a fire response crew. Although early analyses suggested that there would be little effect on future trips, further technical analyses conducted in Freeport showed greater harm than was initially thought.

Because of this, Carnival has canceled the Carnival Freedom’s planned voyages for this week. Affected guests will receive full refunds and credits for future cruises.

This event is reminiscent of one that happened in May 2022 on the Carnival Freedom, when there was a fire in the exhaust funnel as the ship was sailing in Grand Turk. No crew members or passengers were hurt on any of the two occurrences.

In spite of these unanticipated difficulties, Carnival is working with the authorities to guarantee the security and welfare of its visitors and employees.