A fire broke out in the exhaust funnel of the Carnival Freedom cruise ship near the Bahamas on Saturday, according to a news release.
Officials said the fire was quickly extinguished, but the damage is worse than originally anticipated. As a result, the cruise line announced the March 25 and 29 Freedom cruises from Port Canaveral have been canceled.
According to the release, witnesses reported seeing a lightning strike, but the the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
“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 release read in part. “We sincerely regret the impact to our embarking guests, as we know they have been looking forward to their spring break vacation. We are providing all guests on both cancelled cruises a full refund and a 100% future cruise credit so they can come back and enjoy a future cruise with us.”
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This is the second time in the past two years that a fire broke out on the Freedom. In May of 2022, the ship was docked in Grand Turk when flames erupted from the exhaust funnel.
The Carnival Freedom is back at Port Canaveral after its exhaust funnel caught fire this weekend. https://t.co/Tr8v8lGlTz pic.twitter.com/bP99dESaVR
— Mark Lehman (@MarkLehman6) March 25, 2024
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