Passengers furious about how Carnival cruise ship fire was handled

Table Of Content

• Construction on Second Chinese-Built Cruise Ship Well Underway
• Footage shows a Carnival Cruise ship on fire in Turks and Caicos
• Carnival Freedom's next two sailings canceled after funnel fire, second within 2 years
• Bill Maher Compares Nickelodeon To Neverland Ranch After Watching ‘Quiet on Set’
• Amazon’s Mother’s Day Shop has all the gifting inspo …
• Parent hopes Polk Co. will challenge state law set to change school start times
• School districts work to change future start times …

In recent months, Carnival has seen a spike in booking following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) decision to rescind its COVID-19 advisory for cruise travel in late March. User @AirborneJM posted a series of photos of the fire, including one that shows crew members working to put it out. "We are continuing to monitor the situation," the Coast Guard said in a statement. Built in 2007, the 948-foot Carnival Freedom can carry just over 3,500 passengers, according to Cruise Mapper. Carnival’s flagship, Mardi Gras, is also in Grand Turk today, alongside Carnival Freedom.

Construction on Second Chinese-Built Cruise Ship Well Underway

Video shows flames, heavy black smoke after Carnival Freedom exhaust funnel catches fire near Bahamas - NBC 6 South Florida

Video shows flames, heavy black smoke after Carnival Freedom exhaust funnel catches fire near Bahamas.

Posted: Mon, 25 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

"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 damage was more severe than Carnival initial expected and had to cancel upcoming trips to make repairs to the ship. The Carnival Freedom's exhaust funnel last went up in flames less than two years ago, in May 2022. It was in Grand Turk at the time, during a planned five-day trip from Port Canaveral.

Footage shows a Carnival Cruise ship on fire in Turks and Caicos

The fire was contained after about 20 minutes, but took somewhat longer to fully extinguish. Emergency personnel will continue to assess the ship to determine the cause of the fire, as well as to ensure the safety of the vessel. And Kelly Booth, a three-time Carnival cruiser, said she's already canceled a future Carnival trip and booked with one of their competitors. Many of the people posting in the group are outraged that Carnival isn't offering a partial cruise credit or anything else to make up for the stress and inconvenience. Passenger Gemma Phillips is one of several who told ABC Action News that Carnival brushed them off when her family asked for cruise credit or some sort of compensation for the trip’s interruption.

Carnival Freedom's next two sailings canceled after funnel fire, second within 2 years

Repairs are set to begin on the ship's funnel after all passengers are off the ship. According to the statement, most of the ship's 2,504 passengers were ashore at the time the fire broke out. 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. Carnival initially had said it expected no changes in its upcoming cruises, but on Sunday afternoon said the cancellations would be required.

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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. Mardi Gras, which arrived in port just before Carnival Freedom, experienced no delays with its own schedule for guests to debark and visit the port. No other cruise ships are visiting Grand Turk today, and the fire caused no damage to port facilities. A Carnival cruise ship that set sail from Port Canaveral in Florida caught fire on Thursday. The Carnival Freedom ship was in Grand Turk on a five-day cruise when a fire inside the ships funnel started, according to a press release from Carnival. “And I want to add my apologies and my assurances that when you rebook using your full refund and your 100% future cruise credit, that the crew will be standing by to give you all the Fun you deserve,” he added.

“The way Carnival has handled this and the way Carnival has treated the guests that were on board has ruined what I think of them as a company,” she said. "#carnivalfreedom we have a problem!" he posted early Thursday on Instagram. They reached Port Canaveral on May 30, two days later than previously scheduled. In fact, following a fire in May 2022, Carnival Freedom ran without either wing of her funnel until the structure was be replaced just five months ago, during a dry dock in October 2023. The Carnival Freedom, in its current itinerary, is expected to return to Florida on Saturday.

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Another ship, the Carnival Conquest, will travel from Miami to pick everyone up from Grand Turk on Saturday. Social media posts show flames spewing from the funnel of the ship and black smoke billowing in the air. Veteran travel agent Tammy Levent, owner of Elite Travel, said there is no regulatory agency to advocate on passengers’ behalf when things go south on board. She recommended cruisers purchase travel interruption insurance, which could apply in cases where part of a trip is interrupted. Passengers chronicled the drama that played out on board in hundreds of social media posts.

Video shows scary moments after a cruise ship caught fire

"Carnival Conquest will arrive to Grand Turk on Saturday, May 28 and guests aboard Carnival Freedom will transfer to Carnival Conquest for the voyage back to Port Canaveral, arriving on Monday, May 30." In May 2022, a fire broke out in the funnel area of the Carnival Freedom while it was docked in Grand Turk. Carnival then canceled three scheduled sailings of the Carnival Freedom out of Port Canaveral because of the need to repair the ship's fire damage at a shipyard in Grand Bahama. A cruise ship funnel generally serves as a smokestack to lift emissions above the deck, thus away from passengers and crew. The next Carnival Freedom cruise, scheduled for Saturday from Port Canaveral, has been canceled.

A Carnival cruise ship caught fire as it was docked in Grand Turk on Thursday morning, officials said. 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. Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. We make sure cruisers are fully prepared for their cruise vacation with tips on ships and ports.Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world.

Carnival Freedom returns to cruising within 2 weeks of funnel fire - WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando

Carnival Freedom returns to cruising within 2 weeks of funnel fire.

Posted: Thu, 04 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

And the two upcoming sailings, which were canceled, likely would have had a similar passenger count amid the busy Spring Break season. The Freedom passengers’ situation is reminiscent of the experience guests had on the Norwegian Escape in March. In that incident, the ship ran aground and passengers ended up being flown home under sometimes-chaotic circumstances days later. Many who were stuck on land awaiting flights watched the ship depart without them.

In 2016, more than 500 passengers and crew were evacuated from a burning ship about a mile off Puerto Rico's north coast. Many aboard the Caribbean Fantasy ship required medical care, though there were no reported fatalities. "All guests and crew are safe, and the ship's guests were cleared by local authorities to go ashore," Carnival added. “Carnival apologized to all those guests who are impacted and offered special thanks to the crew who handled the situation on the ship effectively and according to safety protocols,” the company’s statement said.

The Carnival Freedom cruise ship caught fire during a port visit in Grand Turk. FLORIDA — Midway through a five-day cruise in March, the tail of the Carnival Freedom cruise ship caught fire. The ship sailed to Freeport, Bahamas, after passengers disembarked; it is currently undergoing repairs there. Passengers were transferred to Carnival Conquest for their return home, allowing Carnival Freedom to sail to Freeport, Bahamas, where it is now docked for repairs.

After that incident, the ship was not able to sail and the next cruise was cancelled, while guests onboard were transferred to Carnival Conquest to return to Florida. Ultimately, four cruises were cancelled before Carnival Freedom returned to service on June 11, 2022. Footage posted to Twitter showed the starboard side of the ship’s funnel – referred to by some as the whale tail – consumed by flames and smoke. A video of raging fire onboard the Carnival Freedom has emerged Thursday as the cruise ship was docked at Grand Turk Island in Turks and Caicos.