Monday, May 30, 8:30 a.m. ET —
We are grateful to our guests for their support as our team worked this weekend to get them back to Port Canaveral on Carnival Conquest, and we remain proud of our Carnival Freedom crew for handling the situation on board effectively and according to protocols of security.
Work on Carnival Freedom’s hull began while the ship was still in Grand Turk and will continue at the Grand Bahama Shipyard in Freeport. The ship is on May 28, June 2 AND June 6 departures were canceled so that repairs could be made. The Carnival Freedom crew looks forward to welcoming guests soon.
picture: Work to repair Carnival Freedom’s funnel began in Grand Turk and will continue in Freeport.
Friday, May 27, 3:30 PM ET –
On Thursday morning, while in port in Grand Turk, Carnival Freedom’s emergency response team quickly activated and extinguished a fire inside the ship’s funnel. All guests and crew are safe, and all other ship, hotel and guest services, along with safety equipment are fully operational.
As the majority of Carnival Freedom guests disembarked in Grand Turk today, Carnival’s technical team completed an initial evaluation of the funnel and related features, and the shore team completed a plan to return our guests to Port Canaveral .
There are 2504 guests and 972 crew on board. Carnival Conquest’s next sailing, departing May 27 from Miami, has been canceled and that ship will dock in Grand Turk to ferry Freedom guests to Port Canaveral. Carnival Conquest will arrive in Grand Turk on Saturday, May 28 and guests aboard Carnival Freedom will transfer to Carnival Conquest for the return trip to Port Canaveral, arriving on Monday, May 30. Carnival Conquest will then return to Miami and her May 30 departure will be shortened by one day, with guests departing on May 31.
After guests are transferred from the Carnival Freedom, the ship will proceed to Freeport for a funnel repair. Carnival Freedom’s May 28, June 2 and June 6 departures from Port Canaveral have been canceled. Guests booked on affected cruises on Carnival Conquest and Carnival Freedom voyages have been notified of these changes.
Carnival apologized to all those guests who were affected and gave special thanks to the crew who handled the situation on the ship effectively and according to safety protocols.
Thursday, May 26, 10:15 a.m. ET –
PHOTO: Carnival Freedom guests are on land in Grand Turk along with guests from Mardi Grasas planned.
Thursday, May 26, 8:45 a.m. ET –
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 released by local authorities to go ashore.
We continue to assess the situation. Carnival Freedom left Port Canaveral on Monday on a five-day cruise.
