Indytraveler83

My understanding is that the funnel was a Farkus element inspired by the winged funnel design of the SS Norway/France: The design on the Norway was supposedly to push exhaust fumes away from the ship to better keep the passengers from getting caught in the ships exhaust. (No idea if it actually worked that well or not) The Carnival version seems to be a part of the larger Farkus branding that was massive, bold and designed to make Carnival instantly recognizable as they tried to build a brand identity as most of the original Carnival branding/designs was just reworked Canadian Pacific designs from the original Mardi Gras. I too would be curious to see chengkp's thoughts on actual design functionality.

On other social media. But again, rumors. Nothing substantiated or official.

I agree that they'll probably just try to patch her and safely modify the current funnel to get the ship back out ASAP. She's got the old white hull, so there's got to already be plans to drydock at some point for repainting. They can replace the funnel then. Still wonder if there's anything more to the damage beyond the funnel. I keep hearing rumors about engine damage and struggles to restart, but nothing more than rumors as far as I know...

The Conquest coming to rescue passengers was clearly the best solution here. As that ship is only on 3-4 day cruises right now, it was certainly the best solution financially for Carnival, as well as logistically for the stranded passengers. This was a particularly unique situation (fortunately) in that the ship had this fire while at the dock. Most past situations involving damaged or disabled ships happened at sea, and they had no choice but to leave passengers onboard and try to limp/tow the ship home with passengers still there. Planning contingencies for the future is nearly impossible, as you don't know what the exact situation or emergency will be. Having a good chunk of the fleet sailing close together is likely the best they can hope for, so they can provide some sort of assistance in the event of future emergencies.

I haven't been on the Spirit specifically, but I've sailed the Spirit class. My thoughts: The Spirit class is the best of "old" Carnival. They are laid out perfectly, have tons of space and are amongst some of the most relaxed feeling ships in the fleet. To me, I'll sail Spirit class over anything Dream class and older. Horizon is a very good representation of "new" Carnival, with tons of food and beverage options, tons of different things to do, and all put together in a huge ship package. If space is your main concern, go Spirit. If activities are your main concern, go Horizon.

That seems far more likely, especially if they see the Spirit class as a long term part of the fleet.

In my honest opinion: There's a risk, Carnival or otherwise, when you travel thousands of miles through the ocean for something to go wrong. NCL recently had an engine fire, and you see smaller private vessels have issues all the time. If you can accept the overall risk of these types of travels, incidents like these shouldn't be surprising. If anything, Carnival will double down to be sure this same thing doesn't happen again, then offer discounts and sales to be sure it doesn't cause slips in the overall passenger count. I'll be honest, I usually take advantage of sales when Carnival has a struggle to book cruises for the future.

I really can't see Carnival "Sunshining" the Spirit class. The most attractive thing about that class to Carnival, with the Fantasy class mostly cut up, is that they meet certain size requirements to go under various bridges and into places that other ships cannot go. If you add much to them, it defeats that purpose. Various (totally non scientific) reports seem to suggest the least popular ships in the fleet are the Sunshine, Sunrise and Conquest, with both of the "Sun" ships being older than the Spirit class. If Carnival is going to start cutting up more ships, I wouldn't be surprised to see them go after the Fantasy Class is done.

For raw layout I'll take the Spirit class. It's the least crowded feeling class in the fleet. For features and overall visual design I'll go Vista class. (Haven't sailed Excell class yet). My least favorite so far has been Dream class. To me, they feel crowded, but offer little extra in amenities than the much older members of the fleet.

There may be extended wait time with the Freedom/Conquest cancellations going on right now. If you can, get a PVP. They are excellent for these sorts of things and you rarely have to wait at all to speak with them.

This feels like a lesson from past mistakes. If the Freedom suffers a failure on its way back, it would be the Triumph situation all over again (possibly worse). With passengers off the ship when it heads for repairs, they can be very tight lipped about what is or isn't going wrong onboard. It sounds likey they are hoping to downplay the entire incident, and this is likely the best way to achieve that (not to mention the safest, most comfortable and most reasonable path for all the guests).

Curious if this is just a fire in the funnel (maybe build up?) or if it's an engine fire that erupted out the funnel.

This right here. A lot of folks get really upset when newbies get offers and they don't. It has nothing to do with the guest, and everything to do with demand for that room. In a cheap inside room that's nearly sold out, while balconies are selling slow? You'll get an offer. But if your already in a balcony on that sailing, Carnival has little to no interest in moving you. In my own experience, I've never gotten an upgrade offer when booking a balcony. When I've booked an Oceanview, I've gotten an offer nearly every time (less inventory of these).