A fire broke out in the exhaust funnel of the Carnival Freedom cruise ship near the Bahamas on Saturday, according to a news release.
Officials said the fire was quickly extinguished, but the damage is worse than originally anticipated. As a result, the cruise line announced the March 25 and 29 Freedom cruises from Port Canaveral have been canceled.
According to the release, witnesses reported seeing a lightning strike, but the the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
This is the second time in the past two years that a fire broke out on the Freedom. In May of 2022, the ship was docked in Grand Turk when flames erupted from the exhaust funnel.