Emerson Phillips
Passengers on the Carnival Freedom cruise ship were evacuated from the ship after a fire broke out in the funnel of the vessel while it was docked in Grand Turk Island.
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There were 2,504 passengers on the ship. But the cruise line issued a statement that said most of them were ashore when the fire started.
“On Thursday morning while in port at Grand Turk, Carnival Freedom’s emergency response team quickly activated and extinguished a fire inside the ship’s funnel,” the statement read. “All guests and crew are safe, and all other ship, hotel, and guest services, along with safety equipment are fully functioning.”
Freedom set sail from Port Canaveral in Florida on Monday for what was scheduled to be a 5-day cruise. But now that the ship is not seaworthy, arrangements were made to get all the passengers back to Port Canaveral.
The damage to the ship has scrambled the company’s cruise schedule.
“Carnival Conquest’s next cruise, departing May 27 from Miami has been cancelled and that ship will be deployed to Grand Turk to transport Freedom guests back to Port Canaveral,” the company said. “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.”
