Carnival Ship Returns to Homeport With a New Look

Carnival Freedom has returned to her year-round homeport at Port Canaveral with a whole new look following her recent dry dock in Cadiz, Spain.

The ship arrived in Florida looking much different than when she departed, now having a brand new whale-tail funnel as well as the new red-white-and-blue hull livery being added to the entire Carnival fleet.

Welcome Home, Carnival Freedom!

Carnival Freedom sailed smoothly into Port Canaveral in the early morning hours of Monday, November 6, 2023 after completing her transatlantic cruise from Barcelona, Spain. The ship spent 16 days in dry dock in Cadiz undergoing extensive refurbishment inside and out, but is now home again and has already set sail on her first post-dry-dock regular sailing.

The 110,000-gross-ton, Conquest-class ship returned to Port Canaveral via a 14-night transatlantic sailing from Barcelona that called on Valencia and Malaga in Spain, Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, and Kings Wharf in Bermuda. Carnival Freedom departed Barcelona on Monday, October 23, 2023.

Now, the ship returns to her regular deployment offering 4- and 5-night Eastern Caribbean and Bahamas itineraries. Depending on the cruise length and departure date, the refreshed ship will be visiting popular destinations like Bimini, Grand Turk, Nassau and Puerto Plata.

Carnival Freedom‘s return to Port Canaveral was a busy 5-ship day at the world’s busiest cruise port, with her sister ship Carnival Liberty also in port along with Royal Caribbean International’s Oasis-class Allure of the Seas and Voyager-class Mariner of the Seas as well as Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, Disney Wish.

The first post-dry-dock sailing of Carnival Freedom has already departed – a 5-night Eastern Caribbean cruise to Grand Turk and Bimini, with two full days at sea for guests to enjoy the refreshed vessel.

Also on various itineraries are private island destinations, including Half Moon Cay as well as Princess Cays. In 2025, the ship will also begin visiting Carnival Cruise Line’s upcoming exclusive port of call on Grand Bahama Island, Celebration Key.

Carnival Freedom will remain homeported from Port Canaveral at least through early April 2026.

Brand New Look

The most notable renovation is the ship’s new, iconic whale-tail funnel. Carnival Freedom‘s original funnel was severely damaged by a fire in May 2022, which melted the starboard wing. After the fire, the funnel’s wings were removed, and the ship sailed with a fully-functional but less recognizable straight funnel until this dry dock, which included the full wing replacement.

The ship’s exterior was also repainted with the new livery that debuted with Mardi Gras in 2021 and has been gradually rolled out across the Fun Ship fleet with dry dock renovations. All news ships are being delivered with the new hull colors.

Other renovations completed during Carnival Freedom‘s dry dock include refreshing public areas, replacing worn decking, expanding the onboard casino, and renovating guest staterooms.

The Heroes Tribute Bar has been added just in time for Veterans Day, and is now located on Deck 5, midship, on the port side near the Fun Shops in the Millennium Atrium. Formerly, the venue was the Skybox Sports Bar.

The addition of the dedicated bar is timely, just as Carnival Cruise Line celebrates hometown veterans with special tributes aboard six vessels at various homeports. For Port Canaveral, the special celebration Veterans Day tribute event will be aboard Mardi Gras on Saturday, November 11.