Carnival Freedom accidents and incidents

23 March 2024Fire Accident

In the afternoon of March 23, 2024, (at ~15:15 EST/~19:15 UTC) the ship reported a fire in the exhaust funnel (its portside section) while en route to Freeport (Bahamas) and approx 20 mi/30 km off Eleuthera Island.

The ship's fire response team extinguished it by 17:20 EST (21:20 UTC). Reportedly, the fire was caused by a lightning strike. The smokestack's port side fell onto Deck 10.

No injuries were reported. Two firefighting crew were treated for minor smoke inhalation.

The accident occurred during the 4-day "The Bahamas Cruise" (itinerary March 21-25, roundtrip from Port Canaveral/Orlando, Florida USA) with scheduled visits to Nassau (Mar 22) and Princess Cays (Mar 23/canceled due to weather).

According to CruiseMapper's satellite AIS data, Carnival Freedom arrived in Freeport on Mar 24 (11:30 UTS) and stayed overnight (left on Mar 25 at 02:03 UTC).

The next two scheduled voyages (departures March 25th and March 30th) were canceled.

To all affected bookings was provided a full refund plus a 100% FCC/future cruise credit. Both canceled voyages were 5-day roundtrips from Port Canaveral (5-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary) visiting Grand Turk  and Amber Cove (Dominicana).

26 May 2022Fire Accident

On May 26, 2022, at ~7:30 local time (~ 12:30 UTC) while approaching berthing position (coming alongside the dock) at Cockburn Harbour (Grand Turk Island, Turks and Caicos), the ship suffered a fire in the funnel's starboard wing section. As a result, the smokestack was completely destroyed.

The fire was extinguished by Carnival Freedom's emergency response crew assisted by crew from the next docked Mardi Gras.

No injuries were reported. All onboard safety systems functioned normally, hotel services remained unchanged, and all passengers were cleared to disembark for land tours/shore excursions.

CCL-Carnival Cruise Line didn't release an official statement about the cause of the fire. The ship was carrying a total of 2504 passengers plus 972 staff/crew.

The accident occurred during the 5-day "Eastern Caribbean Cruise" (itinerary May 23-28, roundtrip from Port Canaveral) with call ports in Dominicana (Amber Cove/May 25) and Grand Turk (May 26, scheduled port stay 8 am - 4 pm). Due to the fire, the ship remained at Grand Turk overnight (May 26-27).

On May 27th, from Miami (where is CCL's Fleet Operations Center) to Grand Turk was flown a technical team for a damage assessment and to plan for the funnel repairs as Freedom was booked for wetdocking at Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport Bahamas. Due to the necessary repairs, three scheduled voyages/roundtrip departures from Port Canaveral were canceled - May 28th (5-day to Nassau, Princess Cays, Grand Turk), June 2nd (4-day to Nassau and Princess Cays) and June 6th (5-day to Amber Cove and Grand Turk).

On May 27th, CCL sent a replacement ship (Carnival Conquest) to pick up Freedom's passengers, arriving in Grand Turk on May 28th, and arriving in Port Canaveral on May 30th. Due to the replacement, Conquest's May 27th cruise from Miami (3-day to Nassau Bahamas/May 27-30) was canceled.

Carnival Freedom returned to service on June 11 (5-day Eastern Caribbean). To minimize the out-of-service time, the damaged funnel/smokestack was trimmed down temporarily, with the "whale tail" to be added during the next regular drydock.

As compensation, Carnival Freedom passengers with purchased WiFi and drink packages received complimentary extended packages. All affected by the cancellations passengers received US$200 per cabin in OBC/onboard credit and 100% in FCC/future cruise credit (based on the fares paid, redeemable through May 31, 2023/any CCL itinerary open for sale). Extended parking fees (at Port Canaveral) were waived. Reimbursement of max US$200 per person was offered to affected passengers with independently booked non-refundable flights for airline change fees.

UPDATE: On September 26, 2023, NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) released an investigation report.

About the time when the fire erupted, personnel in the engine control room saw on the ship’s CCTV thick, black smoke and flames coming from the funnel’s external starboard exhaust wing. The Navigation Bridge was immediately notified. The Captain deployed an emergency response team to the scene, who connected fire hoses providing cooling water to the open deck and areas under the funnel. At 07:36 am, a fire team arrived and entered the funnel with hoses to combat the fire internally. At 8:09, the fire was under control, localized to the starboard wing tip. At 8:40 am, Carnival Freedom was safely docked/moored. Via the PA system, the Captain informed that the fire was extinguished.

The following day [May 27th] all passengers were transferred to other vessels [Carnival Conquest]. The funnel’s starboard wing section (constructed of fiberglass-reinforced plastic over framing, with core materials of plywood and polyurethane closed-cell foam) was destroyed. Due to the fire, several horizontal sections of the steel exhaust gas piping (passing through the funnel wing) collapsed.

Based on the NTSB's investigation, the USCG (Coast Guard Office of Investigations & Casualty Analysis) determined that the accident didn't warrant further investigation, and recommended NTSB to close this investigation.

Note: The article was updated on March 26, 2024, after receiving feedback from John Dunham.

Per the NTSB incident report, the ship was not at dock, it was coming alongside the dock when the fire broke out. My wife corroborated this. She was on the walking track below the funnel and noted the fire breaking out while the ship was making its approach to the dock

29 September 2018Other Incidents

On September 29, 2018, ship's homeport departure was delayed due to city flooding. Final boarding was rescheduled for 6 pm, and the liner left port at 8:30 pm (instead of 4 pm). The flooding was due to heavy rains in Galveston TX the night before (Sept 28).

City streets were flooded, stranding disembarking passengers at the cruise terminal. Meanwhile, embarking passengers had great difficulty reaching the seaport, as most streets were blocked off by the police due to standing water (depth approx 18 inches / 45 cm).

The accident occurred at the beginning of 7-day Western Caribbean cruise (itinerary Sept 29 - Oct 6) roundtrip from Galveston TX to Jamaica (Montego Bay), Grand Cayman Island and Mexico (Cozumel).

20 January 2017Crew / Passenger Crimes

On January 20, 2017, a 23-years-old male passenger was arrested and detained for 2 days in George Town (Grand Cayman) on charges of purchasing marijuana. The man appeared in Summary Court where pleaded guilty to buying a small quantity of marijuana in the harbor area on January 18th.

December 2015Other Incidents

On December 14, 2015, Carnival Cruise Lines company suffered bad publicity after the online news media Yahoo Travel reported a disgraceful incident involving two US passengers on the Freedom ship. They were forced to leave the cruise and offloaded in a foreign port (against their will) after the man suffered a fall.

Mary Rosenberg and her travel companion (church member) were disembarked in Cozumel Mexico just 2 days into their 7-day Western Caribbean cruise (itinerary Dec 12-19) from Galveston TX, with call ports Cozumel, Roatan, Belize City. Both passengers were left in Mexico helpless. It cost them USD 1800 to get back to the US.

30 January 2013Crew / Passenger Deaths

On January 30, 2013, a male passenger was found dead in his cabin (death from natural causes).

04 December 2012Crew / Passenger Deaths

On December 4, 2012, a male passenger died in his cabin (death by natural causes). His wife disembarked the same day, while the body remained on the ship until voyage's completion (Dec 9).

29 August 2012Crew / Passenger Deaths

On August 29, 2012, a male passenger died at the ship’s infirmary. The man had a medical history (preexisting condition/death from natural causes). When visited the onboard hospital, he was suffering from severe abdominal pains, also from vomiting and nausea. His condition worsened and he stopped breathing. The performed CPR was unsuccessful.

11 August 2012Other Incidents

On August 11, 2012, a 50-year-old male passenger (of German origin) was reported missing after he disembarked the ship in call port Ocho Rios (Jamaica).

10 May 2012Crew / Passenger Deaths

On May 10, 2012, a female passenger died in her cabin. She was found by her husband. Medical staff attempted CPR unsuccessfully. The woman suffered from a preexisting medical condition (death by natural causes).

21 August 2011Propulsion / Power Loss

On August 21, 2011, upon entering homeport Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades), the crew was conducting various CFR tests when the ship suddenly lost propulsion as the pod motors’ breakers tripped. The system was reset and tested again. Testing showed a bad thyristor (semiconductor) was causing the erratic current in the bridge. Upon departure, engineering staff loaded new software into all PECs (4 pulse energy converters). Tests were satisfactory.

21 July 2011Crew / Passenger Deaths

On July 21, 2011, a male passenger traveling with his family (wife and two kids) committed suicide on board. The man’s body was left in St Thomas (USVI) while his family remained on the vessel. The incident happened on a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale.

25 June 2011Propulsion / Power Loss

On June 25, 2011, while en-route to homeport Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale FL), the ship suffered total power loss due to emergency generator failure. Investigation showed the incident was caused by fuel pollution (sediments and other materials mixed in the fuel oil). The problem was fixed after the crew cleaned the filters, started the purifiers and added chemical agents to fuel tanks.

21 June 2011Crew / Passenger Deaths

On June 21, 2011, a male passenger died (committed suicide using a leather belt) in his cabin. The man was found by his family (wife and son) after the cabin’s door was opened by a security crew.

13 March 2011Coast Guard Medevacs

On March 13, 2011, a female passenger took some Aspirin to alleviate cramping and later vomited blood. She was medevaced via USCG Helicopter to Key West FL and transferred to Lower Keys Medical Center.

20 January 2011Crew / Passenger Deaths

On January 22, 2011, a male passenger died from natural causes (cardiac arrest /preexisting medical condition).

06 February 2010Fire Accident

On February 6, 2010, two intoxicated Carnival Shore Excursions staff members caused a fire in their cabin (#505 on crew deck 2). The fire didn’t spread to other staterooms/facilities, and was quickly extinguished by duty personnel using a wet towel. Both crew members were removed from their cabin, relieved of all duties and discharged from service.

11 January 2010Crew / Passenger Deaths

On January 11, 2010, while the ship was en-route to Key West FL from homeport Fort Lauderdale Florida, a male passenger was found dead. The medical staff performed CPR but resuscitation was unsuccessful. The man’s family reported later a preexisting medical condition (history of cardiac arrest /death by natural causes).

April 2009Crew / Passenger Crimes

(sexual) In April 2009, a 30-year-old male crew sexually assaulted a 14-year-old female passenger. The man (Hery Krispiyanto, of Indonesian origin) worked on the ship as a bartender. During dinner time, the girl was alone in her family’s cabin, when he entered the stateroom, took her to a crew-only room and raped her. The girl told her mother about the incident 1 year later.

(law news) On June 2, 2010, the man was arrested and charged with sex abuse of a minor. In May 2011, he was indicted in US federal court in Orlando FL, and in September 2011 sentenced to 3 years in jail after pleading guilty. On Feb 21, 2011, the case was aired on ABC News’ Nightline.

14 November 2007Fire Accident

On November 14, 2007, a small fire broke out on crew deck 2 (in the linen room). It was quickly extinguished and without injuries.