Cruise companies have had a bumpy road since the pandemic hit. Some cruises were canceled, while others were perpetually stuck due to COVID-19 outbreaks. Now cruise travel is back in full swing, and although it’s statistically a very safe way to travel, there’s one particular historical event that may be hard to get out of your mind. Passengers aboard the Carnival Freedom found black smoke and flames coming out of the ship’s tail funnel, and TikTok user @mecca_kelly posted a video of the fire on TikTok and took the moment to compare the trip to the Titanic sinking.
Photo: Mecca_kelly/TikTok
Watch: A Massive Cruise Ship in the Caribbean Caught Fire
@mecca_kelly POV: You’re riding the Titanic in 2022
♬ My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme from "Titanic") – Céline Dion
According to a news statement from Carnival, the emergency response team acted quickly to put out the fire, and all 2504 guests and 972 crew members were safe. Most of the ship’s guests were shoreside in Grand Turks as the ship was docked when the fire broke out. Guests still on the ship were instructed to put on life jackets just in case.
a little bit of the panic on the boat as we had to put on life jackets and go to mustar areas #carnivalfreedom #carnivalcruise #fire pic.twitter.com/JYmEWg46Y8
— jen (@jenuienlyhappy) May 26, 2022
Carnival Conquest, which was expected to depart on May 27 from Miami, was canceled so the ship could sail to Grand Turk to transport Freedom guests in Grand Turk back to Port Canaveral. The boat will arrive in Grand Turk on May 28 and voyage back to Port Canaveral, and the Conquest will then return to Miami for another departure on May 31.
Carnival also apologized to guests impacted by the accident. But TikTok user @meccakelly didn’t seem to mind the delay; in a follow-up video, she explained the bright side was two extra days in Turks and Caicos. 