Carnival Freedom Returns to Sea After Fire

The Carnival Freedom is back where it belongs – sailing through the Atlantic Ocean with thousands of happy guests aboard.

A little more than two weeks after a fire interrupted a cruise and forced passengers to move to a sister ship, the Freedom returned to the water on Saturday, June 11.

The boat departed its home port of Port Canaveral, Florida, on a five-day cruise to the Bahamas, according to several media reports.

The only thing that changed about the ship was that part of its iconic red, white blue ‘funnel’ – a recognizable feature of Carnival ships that looks like a whale’s tail – was missing, The Maritime Executive reported. That was where the bulk of the fire took place.

Carnival said the funnel will be fully repaired at a future date.

There were no injuries to passengers or crew from the May 26 fire, which happened while the ship was in port in Turks & Caicos.

The fire was quickly extinguished but looked far worse with its billowing black smoke.

Carnival released a statement immediately after the fire, saying “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.”

After passengers disembarked to another Carnival ship, the Freedom – still able to sail – went directly to a shipyard in the Grand Bahamas for repair.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.