Fire Reported in Funnel of Carnival Cruise Line Ship

Latest Update: May 27, 2022

On Thursday, May 26, 2022, a fire broke out in the funnel (aka whale tail) of Carnival Freedom as it was docking in Grand Turk. The fire is currently reported as extinguished, and all passengers and crew reported safe. All guest services and safety equipment are reported by Carnival as 'fully functioning'.

Carnival Cruise Line released the following statement immediately following the fire, “Carnival Freedom’s emergency response team quickly activated and extinguished a fire inside the ship’s funnel while the ship was in Grand Turk. All guests and crew are safe, and the ship’s guests were cleared by local authorities to go ashore. We continue to assess the situation. Carnival Freedom left Port Canaveral on Monday on a five-day cruise.”

Video Credit: WFLA-TV

Carnival Freedom was on day four of a 5-night Caribbean cruise. The ship departed Port Canaveral on Sunday, May 23, 2022, and is scheduled to return this Saturday. A port stop was made yesterday in Amber Cove, Dominican Republic. 

All cruise line crew and onboard personnel undergo extensive training for emergencies such as fire. Onboard staff must obtain a certificate in basic firefighting, survival at sea, and first aid. In addition, they perform frequent drills to ensure the safety of passengers and crew. While incidents and accidents do happen, it’s very rare, thankfully. 

Once the fire was extinguished, several Twitter users posted pictures. @Oma5Bonnie posted a picture of the (remaining) whale tail:  

Carnival Freedom- fire onboard This morning in Grand Turks - all safe. Just photos pic.twitter.com/1kDvlnAIbW

— mindy Girl (@Oma5Bonnie) May 26, 2022

User @twcruiseships posted a photo following the fire: 

Fire is now under control. https://t.co/fF9SL3ZNjW pic.twitter.com/aROUZNwQTO

— theworldofcruiseships (@twcruiseships) May 26, 2022

According to an official statement from Carnival at the end of the day on May 26, the majority of Carnival Freedom’s guests went ashore in Grand Turk while the cruise line's technical team completed an initial assessment of the funnel and related features. 

Carnival has made the decision to deploy Carnival Conquest to Grand Turk to transport Carnival Freedom guests back to Port Canaveral. As a result, it will cancel the next voyage on Carnival Conquest which was slated to depart on Friday, May 27. Carnival Conquest will arrive in Grand Turk on Saturday, May 28, and Carnival Freedom passengers will transfer to Carnival Conquest for the voyage back to Port Canaveral, arriving on Monday, May 30. Carnival Conquest will return to Miami, with its May 30 voyage shortening by one day. The May 28 departure of Carnival Freedom from Port Canaveral has been canceled. All guests booked on impacted sailings on Carnival Conquest and Carnival Freedom have been notified of the changes.

Additionally, all impacted guests will receive a full refund as well as a 100% future cruise credit. If you are holding reservations on upcoming sailings, check your email and online account for updates from Carnival. Additionally, your travel agent may be able to assist with information.

This is a breaking news story. We will continue to provide updates as they become available.