''Carnival Freedom'' is a operated by
Carnival Cruise Line. She is the 22nd operating vessel in the fleet, and the last of the ''Conquest''-class ships. The ship was built as part of a four-ship deal with
Fincantieri's
Marghera shipyard and was launched in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
,
Italy on April 28, 2006. She was delivered to Carnival on February 28, 2007.
History
The ship was built by
Fincantieri at its
Marghera shipyard in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, Italy. She was
floated out on April 28, 2006, delivered to Carnival on February 28, 2007, and formally named in Venice by American model, actress, author and entrepreneur
Kathy Ireland on March 4, 2007.
The ship is also one of the first of the Carnival Cruise Line fleet to get a complete to maintain of the kids’ program.
The ship has 1,150 crew, 1,487 cabins and is able to carry 2,974 passengers traveling at a speed of .
''Carnival Freedom'' entered a three-week routine drydock in Freeport, Bahamas on March 30, 2014 for refurbishment and completed another dry dock in March 2019. In 2019 March, the ship debuted with its water park and major renovation.
Areas of operation
''Carnival Freedom'' initially sailed from her homeport in
Civitavecchia near
Rome on Mediterranean cruises until the Fall of 2007 when she sailed the
Caribbean Sea from the
Port of Miami. In the summer of 2008, she returned to Europe and sailed in the Mediterranean again. In the fall of 2008, she sailed the Caribbean again but out of
Port Everglades
Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2019, Port Eve ...
until February 2015 when she changed her home port to
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
. ''Carnival Freedom'' resumed port calls to
Grand Bahama in November 2019 when
Hurricane Dorian ravaged the country. The ship will reposition to
Seattle and sail at
Alaska in 2021.
Incidents
In 2019, a photographer took a picture of the ship emitting black smoke in
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...
. The cruise line told the media that the smoke was caused by an engine turbocharger malfunction.
COVID-19
On March 23, 2020, a crew member who had sailed on the six day March 8 cruise out of
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
was hospitalized in
Gulfport, Mississippi after experiencing flu-like symptoms. On March 25 they received a positive test result for COVID-19 and passengers from the cruise were subsequently asked to quarantine for 14 days by the cruise line. The passengers had disembarked in
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
on March 14 – a day after
Carnival Cruise Line suspended operations due to coronavirus.
May 26, 2022 funnel fire
On May 26, 2022, ''Carnival Freedom'' suffered a large fire in her funnel while she was docked in
Grand Turk
Grand Turk Island is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is the largest island in the Turks Islands (the smaller of the two archipelagos that make up the island territory) with . Grand Turk contains the territory's capital, Cockburn To ...
.The fire was extinguished with no injuries reported. Significant damage was sustained to part of the funnel, on the starboard side. Guests and crew members were allowed to go ashore, as originally planned in Grand Turk. It was announced in the evening of May 26, 2022, by Carnival through a letter to guests that the ''Carnival Freedom'' would remain in Grand Turk with passengers on board. was scheduled to embark passengers from ''Carnival Freedom'' as the ship would not be returning to Port Canaveral. Following the incident, ''Carnival Freedom'' underwent an emergency drydock in Grand Bahama for repairs, which included the removal of the funnel's damaged wings. As for
compensation, Carnival gave a $100 per stateroom onboard credit and a 50 percent off future cruise credit. Any additional parking fees at the Port Canaveral parking garage were waived, and Carnival would cover fees related to changed flights up to $200 per person.
The ship resumed normal service on June 11, 2022, with the altered funnel.
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
External links
Official website
{{Carnival Cruise Line
Freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
Ships built in Venice
Ships built by Fincantieri
2006 ships