For about a year and a half, Carnival Cruise Line’s last Conquest-class ship has not looked quite right. After a fire in 2024 that burned off the fins on the whale tail funnel, the ship remained with that look up until a few days ago.
A recent video from the shipyard in Marseille, France showed the old funnel being removed and the new funnel being installed.
Carnival Freedom has had some bad luck with her whale tail after two separate incidents changed her iconic Carnival look.
The problems started back in May 2022 when the original funnel caught fire while docked in Grand Turk. Images went viral as the iconic red, white, and blue structure melted, leaving crew members with no choice but to trim off the damaged fins so the ship could safely keep sailing with a straight-pipe exhaust stack.
The ship was eventually fitted with a brand-new custom whale tail in late 2023, but unfortunately this look lasted only about five months.
In March 2024, bad luck struck again in the Bahamas when a lightning strike caused a fire inside the funnel during severe weather.
Once again, crews had to trim off the damaged parts of the funnel, leaving her with the bare stack that cruise goers affectionately named the “Whale-less Tail.”
Because the second fire hit right at the start of a packed sailing season, pulling her out of service immediately for weeks of major reconstruction wasn’t an option.
Carnival Freedom ended up sailing out of Port Canaveral without her whale tail for roughly 17 months.
Now, the wait is finally over. Footage in the video below shows heavy shipyard cranes lifting a newly made whale tail section into place to complete the look Carnival fans have all been waiting for.
On top of fixing the funnel, the current dry dock visit gives Carnival a chance to run routine maintenance and refresh interior guest spaces before sending the ship back out on her itineraries.
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