Carnival Cruise Line’s iconic red-white-and-blue funnel is being restored onboard Carnival Freedom during her dry dock at a shipyard in Spain.
The funnel, along with its two fins, was temporarily replaced after the starboard fin caught fire in May 2022.
Carnival Freedom to Sport ‘Fun Ship’ Emblem
Carnival Freedom will soon look like a Carnival Cruise Line Fun Ship once again, following the restoration of the ship’s funnel at the Navantia shipyard in Cadiz, Spain.
The ship’s winged funnel, or whale-tail funnel, seen atop all of the line’s ships, was damaged by a fire the erupted while Carnival Freedom was docked during a port call in Grand Turk on May 26, 2022.
The blaze destroyed the starboard fin of the funnel, but caused no injuries to guests or crew. Following the fire, Carnival Freedom, which was home-ported at Port Canaveral, sailed from Turks & Caicos to a shipyard in Freeport, Bahamas, where the funnel was temporarily replaced.
Fast forward to October 5, 2023, and Carnival Freedom has arrived at her scheduled dry dock in Cadiz, where the cruise line’s top deck emblem is being constructed and will soon be in place. The ship will remain in dry dock until October 22, 2023, undergoing routine maintenance and upgrades.
Exterior and Interior Upgrades in the Works
While at the Spanish shipyard, which is constructing a Carnival funnel for the first time, the ship will receive other exterior work as well as interior upgrades, including a new hull design and the addition of the Heroes Tribute Bar, a venue that honors veterans and active-duty military personnel.
“Carnival Freedom is about to get a new Whale Tail and that’s brilliant. In addition to the funnel’s replacement, several other refurbishments are also planned for the ship’s exterior, including the installation of new decking and the addition of the now-signature Carnival red, white and blue hull design that is a feature of most of the ships in the fleet,” posted John Heald, Carnival Cruise Line’s brand ambassador.
“More details will be shared about the enhancements made to Carnival Freedom once the work at the shipyard is completed,” Heald added.
Carnival Freedom, a 2,980-guest Conquest-class ship that entered service in 2007, was last refurbished during a 2019 dry dock, when the line’s popular WaterWorks aqua park was added.
Read Also: Carnival Freedom Cruise Ship – Overview and Things to Do
Five years earlier, the ship received her Fun Ship 2.0 upgrades, which saw the addition of several venues, such as the RefFrog Rum Bar, the Blue Iguana Tequila Bar, Guy’s Burger Joint, and the Blue Iguana Cantina, among other eateries and bars.
Serious Fire Prompted Guests to Muster
The fire in 2022 caused the ship to cancel its current cruise and three additional sailings, returning to service on June 11, 2022.
At the time of the fire, Carnival Cruise Line deployed Carnival Conquest to Grand Turk, canceling her next sailing and transferring Carnival Freedom guests to that ship for their return to Port Canaveral.
Guests were required to report to their muster stations after the fire began, but were not evacuated from the ship, as crews were able to bring the blaze under control.
The fire, with its billowing black smoke and flames, could be seen from a distance and was widely reported across social media and news outlets.
Following her dry dock in Spain, Carnival Freedom will return to her year-round homeport at Port Canaveral On November 6, 2023, where she sails 4-day Bahamas cruises and 5-day Eastern Caribbean cruises. Bahamas sailings call at Princess Cays, while Eastern Caribbean itineraries call at Grand Turk and Amber Cove.
