Carnival cruise ship that set sail from Florida catches fire in Grand Turk

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• Carnival Freedom cruise ship catches fire for second time in less than 2 years
• Fire, death of crew members aboard two cruise ships that departed from Florida
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• crew members die on Holland America ship; fire breaks out on Carnival cruise
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• Bill Maher Compares Nickelodeon To Neverland Ranch After Watching ‘Quiet on Set’
• Which Carnival Freedom cruises have been canceled?

The 948-foot Carnival Freedom, built in 2007, can hold just over 3,500 passengers, according to Cruise Mapper. In May 2022, the Carnival Freedom caught fire during a five-day cruise to Turks and Caicos. Built in 2007, the 948-foot Carnival Freedom can carry just over 3,500 passengers, according to Cruise Mapper. Carnival Freedom departed from Port Canaveral in Florida on Monday for a five-day cruise, according to the company. Dutch government inspectors determined the vessel to be "fully operable," and this was "confirmed" by the U.S.

Carnival Freedom cruise ship catches fire for second time in less than 2 years

They were aware of the fire, though, and issued a Captain of the Port order to the cruise ship before it was scheduled to enter Port Canaveral, Florida, on Monday. Photos and videos shared with FOX 35 and on social media showed flames spewing out of the left side of the ship's exhaust funnel, as dark smoke billowed into the air. "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," Carnival Cruises said. Carnival initially had said it expected no changes in its upcoming cruises, but on Sunday afternoon said the cancellations would be required.

Fire, death of crew members aboard two cruise ships that departed from Florida

Carnival said the ship's captain made multiple announcements to passengers and crew, and advised all but essential safety personnel to stay away from balconies and all open decks. The cruise line said there are no reports of injuries to passengers. Two firefighting crew members were treated for minor smoke inhalation.

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"On Thursday morning while in port at Grand Turk, Carnival Freedom’s emergency response team quickly activated and extinguished a fire inside the ship’s funnel," said the cruise line in a statement. "All guests and crew are safe, and all other ship, hotel, and guest services, along with safety equipment are fully functioning." "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 ship’s fire response team was quickly activated, and the ship’s captain also turned the vessel towards the heavy rain in the area to maximize the efforts to put out the flames," an earlier Carnival statement said. "Eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike, and that is being investigated, but cannot yet be confirmed." The Carnival Freedom cruise ship experienced its second fire in less than two years, and passenger footage caught the flames with smoke coming from the ship’s exhaust funnel Saturday afternoon.

crew members die on Holland America ship; fire breaks out on Carnival cruise

VIDEO: Carnival Freedom catches on fire - WFLA

VIDEO: Carnival Freedom catches on fire.

Posted: Sat, 23 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The Carnival Freedom left from Port Canaveral, Florida, on Thursday and was supposed to travel for several days through the Bahamas before returning Monday to Port Canaveral. It was not immediately clear how many passengers and crew were on board the Freedom when the fire erupted, but the cruise ship can accommodate 2,980 guests and 1,150 crew members at capacity. "All guests and crew are safe, and the ship's guests were cleared by local authorities to go ashore," Carnival said added. The damage was more severe than Carnival initial expected and had to cancel upcoming trips to make repairs to the ship. Thousands of passengers with scheduled cruises will be affected by the canceled cruises during a busy spring break period for Carnival and other cruise lines.

The fire was reported around the same time as another Carnival Cruise ship, Carnival Magic, docked in Norfolk, Virginia, after passengers began vomiting and complaining of nausea caused by a chemical smell. Dramatic videos emerged on social media Thursday, showing flames and thick black smoke pouring out of the smokestack of a Carnival Cruise ship in the Turks and Caicos. The Freedom ship will be taken to Freeport for a "repair to the funnel," Carnival said.

A Carnival cruise ship caught fire as it was docked in Grand Turk on Thursday morning, officials said. What caused the most recent incident is still being investigated, according to the cruise company. No one on board the ship was injured, but Carnival said two fire crew members were treated for minor smoke inhalation.

While initially the cruise line said the schedule would not be affected, further investigation found more damage than suspected. Scheduled cruises for Monday, March 25 and Friday, March 29 have been canceled. It was intended to call on the Carnival private island of Princess Cay but had rerouted toward Freeport due to adverse weather. A Carnival Cruise Line ship caught fire Thursday morning during a visit to the Turks and Caicos islands, the company has confirmed. Coincidentally, in 2022 while docked at Grand Turks, part of the ship's funnel also caught fire. That time, however, it was on the starboard side (the right side), according to photos shared with FOX 35 at the time.

In a Facebook post, Carnival's widely followed brand ambassador, John Heald, conceded that many people who booked one of the canceled cruises are "feeling very disappointed," and he apologized for the turn of events. Carnival said it made the decision after "our technical team completed a thorough assessment" during the ship’s visit Sunday to Freeport in the Bahamas. Damage to the funnel will require the cancellation of Carnival's next two cruises out of Port Canaveral, which were scheduled to depart Monday and Friday. Carnival Freedom set sail from Port Canaveral, Florida, on May 23 on a five-day cruise. The vessel was 20 miles off Eleuthera Island, Bahamas, and heading to Freeport following a canceled port stop at Princess Cay due to bad weather, the company said.

The damage would "require an immediate repair to stabilize the funnel" after disembarking guests in Port Canaveral on Monday, the company said in an updated statement following the assessment. A Carnival cruise ship’s exhaust funnel caught fire on Saturday during a trip to the Bahamas, causing the company to cancel its next two voyages. A cruise ship exhaust funnel works as a smokestack to lift emissions away from the deck and from passengers and crew. As photos and video taken aboard the Carnival Freedom illustrate, black smoke and flames poured out of the ship’s funnel as passengers donned life jackets and were evacuated from the vessel’s upper decks.

Last month, passengers on a Carnival cruise from Miami to Seattle were forced to quarantine after people onboard tested positive for COVID-19. Carnival didn't say how many of the approximately 2,100 passengers aboard were infected. Upon docking, all infected passengers were moved to area hotels for isolation. Another ship, the Carnival Conquest, will travel from Miami to pick everyone up from Grand Turk on Saturday. "Eyewitnesses reported the possibility of a lightning strike, and that is being investigated," Carnival said, "but cannot yet be confirmed."

Scary moments were caught on camera when passengers witnessed the Carnival Freedom cruise ship catch on fire. It’s the second time this has happened on this specific ship in two years. Friday's five-night sailing also was scheduled to stop at those two ports of call, but in reverse order. The Carnival Freedom's next voyage was scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral on Monday afternoon on a five-night Eastern Caribbean cruise. That cruise had port-of-call stops scheduled at Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic and at Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. On Saturday evening, "Carnival Freedom guests enjoyed the Elegant Night dinner as planned, and, with the exception of the open decks, all areas of the ship are fully functioning," Carnival said in its statement.

“No guests were hurt, and the ship remained fully operational,” said Matt Lupoli, a spokesman for Carnival Cruise Line. But he said two members of the carrier’s fire response team were treated for minor smoke inhalation. Plans were soon made to get all guests back to Port Canaveral in Florida, where they originally set sail from Monday for what was meant to be a 5-day cruise. But since Freedom won't be seaworthy in time for an already delayed departure, those arrangements required the cancellation of another Carnival cruise.