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WELCOME TO THE FREEWINDS

The Freewinds is a religious retreat that marks for Scientologists the pinnacle of their journey to total spiritual freedom. Its position at sea is designed to provide an aesthetic, distraction-free environment off the crossroads of everyday life. As a center of spiritual enlightenment, it is a place where lives are transformed.

Its calm and friendly atmosphere comes from within, from dedicated officers and crew whose work aboard the Freewinds provides an incomparable sailing experience. Amid its service and amenities that begin at the gangway, everyday challenges of life seem to vanish.

Scientologists not only progress upward on their spiritual journey upon the high seas, they contribute tens of thousands of volunteer hours to Church-supported humanitarian missions that are implemented by the Freewinds wherever it sails.

Civic and religious leaders from throughout the islands and Latin America recognize the Freewinds as a place of profound personal renewal, but also as a source of solutions to meet their needs through the Church’s humanitarian programs and interfaith initiatives. Drug education , human rights , literacy , learning and ethics are part of the broader social mission through which the Freewinds has spawned partnerships. With the help of island port and civic officials, national police and military services in Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, the message of human rights and humanitarian action is coming to all.

To the maritime community, the Freewinds is a model of quality, service and safety. The highly trained and experienced Freewinds officers and crew have provided safety and security training for more than 100 Caribbean port authorities, coast guards and maritime organizations.

The beacon of the Freewinds shines with the promise of a better life, a better world and the accomplishment of dreams. It carries a signal of hope when seas are stormy and when the path is unclear, bringing a meaning to the spirituality that underlies its larger mission—to light the way toward an infinitely better existence.

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Inside stranded Scientology cruise ship MV Freewinds

Hundreds of Scientologists remain trapped on a mysterious luxury cruise ship after a measles outbreak. Here’s what it looks like inside.

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Hundreds of Scientologists remain stranded aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean after a measles outbreak forced authorities to board the vessel and jab unvaccinated crew and passengers.

More than 300 people have been trapped aboard the MV Freewinds, the only ship in operation from the church’s original flotilla, since a Danish crew member tested positive for the disease on April 29 .

Authorities had been hoping to disembark all passengers by Wednesday this week but Curacao’s chief health officer, Dr Marlene Fredericks-James, said the vessel would remain quarantined for the duration of the measles incubation period, which is up to 12 days.

The 216 crew and 102 passengers belong to Scientology’s most mysterious and dedicated branch — the Sea Organisation, which requires members to sign billion-year contracts and

work 365 days a year for little or no wages.

Scientologists aiming for the church’s spiritual climax, Operating Thetan Level 8 (or OT8 for short), are sent aboard the Freewinds.

The ship is the only place in the whole organisation that offers the OT8 course, which can set devotees back between $US500,000 ($A714,000) to $US2 million ($A2.86 million) and take years to complete.

At first glance, it might not seem a bad place to be stuck.

The 134 metre “religious retreat” is fitted out with five-star restaurants, luxury cabins, a cinema, panoramic sun deck and shiny, state-of-the-art control rooms.

Then there’s the glittering Starlight Lounge, where church mascot Tom Cruise famously belted out a rendition of Bob Seger‘s Old Time Rock and Roll with X Factor contestant Stacy Francis on his birthday.

The lounge features a stylised portrait of church founder, former sci fi writer L Ron Hubbard, wearing a captain’s hat behind the stage.

The Mission Impossible actor is not the only celebrity to have spent time on the Freewinds. Cruise’s former wife Katie Holmes, John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston have all celebrated birthdays on board.

Others known to have taken a sail include jazz great Chick Corea, Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie Presley, actors Catherine Bell and Juliette Lewis, as well as longtime Australian devotee Kate Ceberano.

There are also whispers Scientology’s leader David Miscavige, whose wife mysteriously vanished from the public eye years ago amid an alleged mental health crisis, is on-board.

“Miscavige turned 59 on Tuesday,” former Scientologist Tony Ortega wrote on his cult-busting website The Underground Bunker last week .

“Was he aboard the Freewinds for a birthday party when it was quarantined in St Lucia on Monday morning? We think the chances are low that Miscavige is aboard, but we’d love to know one way or the other.”

Former Church executive Tom DeVocht said if the elusive leader was on the ship “he will be micromanaging the crisis, and Scientology will do its best to appear to be co-operating fully with (government officials).”

It’s not the first crisis to hit the Freewinds.

In 2006, a Sea Org member reportedly contracted chickenpox, passing it onto at least one other crew member before the infected pair were offloaded at a hotel ashore, according to bombshell claims by Sea Org whistleblower Valeska Paris.

“What I can say is that the Sea Org member who got measles will be in serious trouble,” Ms Paris told The Underground Bunker .

“When I was on the Freewinds in 2006, a Sea Org member named Angela got chickenpox. “She passed it to another Sea Org member named Isabel. All crew members were asked if they were vaccinated for chickenpox and if they had had it before.

“There were a handful of us who had never been vaccinated and had never had chickenpox, including myself. It was right before maiden voyage, and we should have been quarantined.

“We all had to have blood tests to confirm whether we were immune or not. I wasn’t immune, and there were about four other Sea Org members who were not. The ship’s doctor got vaccinations for us, and we were all vaccinated on the ship.

“Then Isabel, Angela and everyone who hadn’t had chickenpox were sent ashore to stay in a hotel. Isabel still had chickenpox when she was sent ashore. They were there the entire maiden voyage week and came back after (Scientology leader David) Miscavige left the ship.”

Authorities say the source of the latest outbreak, a Dutch woman, boarded the Freewinds in Curacao as a crew member on April 17. She went to the ship’s doctor complaining of cold symptoms on April 22 and was immediately isolated from others on board.

A blood sample was taken and sent to nearby Aruba, where officials confirmed it was measles on April 29. By that time the ship had already departed for St Lucia.

Curacao officials alerted their counterparts in St Lucia who quarantined the vessel upon arrival before turning it back to its home port

On May 4, a medical team led by Curacao’s chief epidemiologist Dr Izzy Gerstenbluth boarded the Freewinds and examined 216 crew members and 102 passengers — a process that took up most of the weekend.

At least 31 crew members and 10 passengers were able to provide proof of vaccination or immunity, but the remaining 277 were awaiting the results of blood tests being conducted in the Netherlands.

“There’s nobody on the boat that did anything wrong,” Dr Gerstenbluth told AFP.

“Somebody came from Europe, and after a couple of days had the sniffles and was isolated and turned out to have measles. We’re trying to contain.”

Dr Gerstenbluth said passengers would be allowed off the vessel once the samples had all come back negative. The outbreak has forced Freewinds officials to cancel scheduled trips to Dominica on Friday and Aruba on Sunday.

Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states this year, with federal officials saying the resurgence is driven by misinformation about vaccines. Symptoms include runny nose, fever and a red-spotted rash.

Most people recover, but measles can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and even death in

some cases.

An Australian tourist has been injured in a deadly shooting incident in central Afghanistan.

A dad and his two adult children were killed when the small plane they were in broke apart in the air – just days before an important milestone.

An instructor pilot has died after an ejector seat went off during ground operations.

Inside Freewinds, the luxurious Scientology cruise ship under quarantine

In case you missed it, a Church of Scientology cruise ship – Freewinds – has been quarantined following a measles outbreak, with authorities ordering 28 people to stay onboard.

The remaining 318 crew members have been given the all clear to leave the ship, which docked at the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.

Curious to know what goes on inside a ship like this?

While not all ex-members have dished positive reviews of the MV Freewinds (according to one unhappy passenger, a two-week holiday turned into a  12-year sentence ), there's no denying the ship was built with luxury in mind.

The floating retreat features a slew of five-star restaurants, luxe cabins, state-of-the-art tech and resort-style spaces. Click through for a look inside.

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Freewinds began service as a Church of Scientology religious retreat in 1988.

The 134-metre-long motor vessel accomodates up to 540 passengers and “provides a distraction-free environment for Scientology worshippers to study and experience the highest level of spiritual counselling available in the Scientology religion,” according to the Church of Scientology website .

The ship welcomes thousands of Scientologists and guests from more than 100 nations around the world every year.

Onboard, the church hosts religious services, conventions and special events.

The ship’s bookstore is kitted out with Scientology books, lectures and other scriptural materials.

The Starlight Cabaret holds weekly graduation ceremonies and other programs for passengers, including the annual convocation known as the Maiden Voyage Anniversary of the Freewinds – a week-long celebration for leading Scientologists from around the world.

It also hosts special seminars for officials, military, police and interfaith groups from throughout the islands and across Central and South America.

In La Paloma Blanca — The White Dove — passengers and guests gather after graduations, concerts, recitals, seminars and other events held in the adjoining Starlight Cabaret.

La Paloma Blanca also serves passengers daily during breaks in their studies and spiritual counselling sessions, known as auditing.

Freewinds claims to be the “ultimate distraction-free environment” and is “devoted to seeing that every Scientologist attains their goal of spiritual freedom,” according to its website.

The Sky Lounge acts as in formal place for passengers to gather and eat.

It seems as though the days on Freewinds aren't entirely spent worshiping -- on the pool deck, passengers can drink from the bar and enjoy the sun.

For more information, visit the website .

• Infectious Disease

A Scientology Cruise Ship Has Been Quarantined for Measles. Here’s What to Know

T he Church of Scientology’s cruise ship Freewinds with 300 passengers aboard has been quarantined in port by the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia for measles after a female crew member was diagnosed with the highly contagious, preventable disease.

MarineTraffic.com lists the vessel in port at St. Lucia as the Freewinds. A ship with that name is owned by a Panamanian company linked to the Church of Scientology. NBC News also reported that a St. Lucia coast guard official confirmed that the quarantined vessel belonged to the church.

The Church of Scientology did not respond to TIME’s requests for comment.

St. Lucia is providing the ship with 100 doses of measles vaccine at the request of the ship’s doctor, St. Lucia’s Department of Health and Wellness said in a statement. The ship’s doctor is currently monitoring the condition of the ship’s crew and passengers.

“Given the highly infectious nature of Measles, along with the possibility that other persons onboard the vessel may have been in contact with and are now possibly infectious due to this disease, a decision was made not to allow persons to disembark. This decision to [quarantine] the ship is in keeping with the health laws of St. Lucia,” the St. Lucia health department said.

Neither the passengers nor the ship’s crew are permitted to disembark, officials say. St. Lucia learned about the crew member’s condition from a International Health Regulation focal point official in the Dutch Caribbean and then verified the diagnosis through other health agencies, the St. Lucia health department said.

The ship is permitted to leave the port if it chooses to, Merlene Fredericks-James, St. Lucia’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.

Scientology does not have an official position on vaccines, Rev. John Carmichael, the president of the Church of Scientology in New York, said in an interview with Beliefnet . However, the church emphasizes the “harmful effects of drugs, toxins and other chemicals that lodge in the body and create a biochemical barrier to spiritual well-being,” according to its website . Some prominent opponents of mandatory vaccinations, including Kirstie Alley and Jenna Elfman, are also Scientologists.

The Freewinds plays an important spiritual role for Scientologists, according to the church. Passengers receive training and the spiritual practice of “auditing.” The ship is staffed by members of the Sea Organization (Sea Org), an order of Scientologists who have agreed to “work long hours” and “live communally” for the church for life, in exchange for housing and other benefits, including an “allowance to purchase personal items.”

“To a Scientologist, boarding the Freewinds for New OT VIII is the pinnacle of a deeply spiritual journey. Years of training and auditing have brought him to this ultimate point. It is the most significant spiritual accomplishment of his lifetime and brings with it the full realization of his immortality,” the church’s website says .

St. Lucia, which became independent from the United Kingdom in the 1970s, can decide to either detain the ship or let the vessel go says John Paul Jones, a professor emeritus law at the University of Richmond School of Law who has taught maritime law. If the country asks the ship to leave, the vessel would then return to the nearest international port of the country where it is registered.

The vessel’s home port is Curaçao , a Dutch Caribbean island, but it sails under a Panamanian flag, according to MarineVessels.com .

“They’re subject to the sovereignty of St. Lucia,” Jones says of the ship. “To the extent that St. Lucia has the ordinary range of public health laws that everyone else in the Caribbean has, I’m sure that there is national legal authority for [quarantine] and no international objection to it.”

Although measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, there have been a number of outbreaks in recent years in part because growing numbers of children have not been vaccinated. This year has already broken infection records. As of April 26, 704 people have contracted measles in 22 states – the greatest number of measles cases reported in the U.S. since 1994.

Arthur Caplan, the head of the division of medical ethics at the New York University School of Medicine, told TIME that in a high-risk situation like a quarantine, officials can be be “more aggressive and compulsory” with vaccination.

“Measles is not only highly contagious, but people are asymptomatic for a few days and can still spread it,” Caplan says. “That’s what makes it so troubling in terms of trying to be aggressive once you have an outbreak. It’s partly due to this stealth factor. That weighs into the moral equation.”

Measles has an incubation period of about 10 to 12 days, according to the CDC.

Experts say that the anti-vaccination movement, which has often spread information that defies scientific consensus, has eroded public trust in vaccinating children. Anti-vaccination advocates have particularly campaigned against the MMR vaccine, which inoculates children against measles, mumps and rubella, arguing that the vaccine causes autism. Scientists have found no evidence that the vaccine causes autism.

–– With reporting by Jamie Ducharme

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Freewinds is a Finnhansa Class cruise ship currently operated by Church of Scientology. The ship has been in active service for 56 years. View Freewinds' current position, recent track, speed, course, next port destination, estimated time of arrival (ETA) and more in the cruise ship tracker map below.

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Religion in the American West

The Freewinds cruise ship is a grand cathedral for Scientology , and houses the Flag Ship Service Organization (FSSO) ( Westbrook, 91 ).  The Freewinds  hosts one of the most powerful organizations in the western-born religion.  The 440-foot vessel is based in the Caribbean and is where veteran scientologists go to achieve the highest available level of “Operating Thetan,” OT VIII.  (One’s level of Operating Thetan is essentially one’s ranking in the religion, or how much progress one has made through auditing sessions.)  The ship also provides all services up to that level and is open to any Scientologist who is interested.  Preparatory and on board counseling costs between fifteen and thirty thousand dollars, and an additional one thousand dollars per week for accommodations ( Palmer, “What Happens” ).

The Freewinds is a vessel that provides a distraction-free environment for those looking to work on their spiritual self-development.  In 2008, the ship was completely refurbished for future voyages ( Church, “All Are Welcome” ).  The Freewinds  website, run by the Church of Scientology, states that “[The Freewinds’ ] position at sea is designed to provide an aesthetic, distraction-free environment off the crossroads of everyday life.”  The facilitators aboard the Freewinds try and give the Scientologists being audited and lectured to the best experience possible as they finally reach the top of the “Bridge,” which is a metaphor used by the Church of Scientology to describe their believers’ advancement in the religion. They boast in their video on the same website about all of the luxuries on board, like the five-star restaurant “Horizon” ( Church, “All Are Welcome” ).

In the end, OT VIIIs have learned enough to finally realize the goal of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard that they become like him.  At this point, they are poised to function like bodhisattvas, which is to say as embodiments of the “end phenomena” of pilgrimage up the Bridge ( Westbrook, 91 ).  Returning home around the world, they can  bear witness to the efficacy of Hubbard’s technologies, encouraging less prestigious Scientologists in their communities to likewise walk in Hubbard’s footsteps ( Westbrook, 91 ).

Controversies

There has been some controversy that has arisen due to events that allegedly took place on the Freewinds .  In 2008, the ship had a blue asbestos leak.  The Freewinds was under seal at Curacao after asbestos fibers were found.  There was suspicion that passengers may have come in contact with blue asbestos fibers, which was very bad news.  Even brief exposure to asbestos can lead to mesothelioma ( Gibb, “Bad Drug” ).

Although not confirmed, one ex-Scientologist woman claims to have been kept on the ship against her will for 12 years.  She says that the Church of Scientology’s leader, David Miscavige, sent her to the ship when she was 18 to prevent her mother from taking her away from the religion.  Her mother publicly denounced Scientology after her ex husband committed suicide, who had blamed the church for fleecing him of his fortune ( Cannane, “Woman ‘Imprisoned'” ).

– Donald Holley, 2018

Suggestions for Further Reading:

Church of Scientology International, “All Are Welcome!” Freewinds – Flag Ship Service Organization. June 25 2018. https://www.freewinds.org/#slide2 .

Palmer, Brian. “ What Happens on a Scientology Cruise? ” Slate Magazine , December 1, 2011.

Westbrook, Donald A. “Walking in Ron’s Footsteps: ‘Pilgrimage’ Sites of the Church of Scientology,” in  NVMEN, the Academic Study of Religion, and the IAHR: Past, Present and Prospects , edited by Tim Jensen, 71-94. Leiden: Brill, 2016.

Featured Image:  Freewinds , by Mary-Austin & Scott(2004).  Creative Commons License.

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The Freewinds is a religious retreat that marks for Scientologists the pinnacle of their journey to total spiritual freedom. Its position at sea is designed to provide an aesthetic, distraction-free environment off the crossroads of everyday life. As a center of spiritual enlightenment, it is a place where lives are transformed.

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Scientology Cruise Ship Heads To Curaçao After St. Lucia Quarantines It For Measles

Laurel Wamsley

The Freewinds, a cruise ship owned by the Church of Scientology, is seen docked in quarantine in Castries, St. Lucia, on Thursday. The ship is now headed to the island of Curaçao, site of its home port. Kirk Elliott/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

The Freewinds, a cruise ship owned by the Church of Scientology, is seen docked in quarantine in Castries, St. Lucia, on Thursday. The ship is now headed to the island of Curaçao, site of its home port.

The cruise ship that was placed under quarantine by St. Lucia because of a confirmed case of measles onboard is bound for Curaçao. It's not clear what will happen when the vessel, called the Freewinds, arrives there.

The Church of Scientology operates the ship and calls Curaçao its home port. Nearly 300 passengers and crew are onboard, NBC News reports .

A tracking map on MarineTraffic.com shows the vessel left the port city of Castries on St. Lucia Thursday night and is due to arrive at Willemstad, Curaçao, on Saturday morning.

St. Lucia Quarantines Cruise Ship After Measles Case Occurs On Board

Health authorities in St. Lucia made the decision to quarantine the Freewinds after a female crew member was confirmed to have measles. There was concern that others onboard might have been infected and that measles could spread to the Caribbean island, which has been free of local transmission of the disease since 1990. St. Lucia's Ministry of Health and Wellness said on Thursday it had provided 100 doses of measles vaccine to people on the ship.

The disease is extremely contagious. An unvaccinated person can catch it simply by being in the same room an infected person was in, for up to two hours after the infected person left.

In its most recent update , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed more than 700 individual cases of measles in the U.S. so far this year. New York has been one epicenter of the outbreak, where there have been 493 cases this year.

CDC Reports Largest U.S. Measles Outbreak Since Year 2000

On its website, the Church of Scientology explains that for a Scientologist, boarding the Freewinds is "the pinnacle of a deeply spiritual journey."

As we reported Thursday , the Church of Scientology says its members rely on the advice and treatment of medical doctors, but several high-profile Scientologists have spoken out against vaccination.

Curaçao's vaccination rate is 97% in children born since 2007, according to the Pan American Health Organization.

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Cruise ship linked to Church of Scientology amid measles scare heads to Curacao

A cruise ship in the Caribbean that had been quarantined in St. Lucia over a measles scare has set sail for Curacao, maritime tracking records showed.

The vessel, which St. Lucia Coast Guard Sgt. Victor Theodore said is named Freewinds, left St. Lucia at 11:18 p.m. Thursday and is expected to pull into Willemstad port in Curacao, almost 500 nautical miles west, at 6 a.m. local time Saturday, according to the site MarineTraffic .

The ship was quarantined on Monday when local health officials confirmed a female staffer on board contracted the highly infectious disease.

Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth, director of epidemiology at the University of Curacao, told NBC News that authorities would screen each passenger's health status before anyone is permitted to leave the ship.

"The ship doctor has been asked to take down a passenger's health history, whether or not they had measles and/or the vaccination before," Gerstenbluth said. "We have to verify whether the information is true, may need to consult vaccination records."

Curacao has a fairly high rate of vaccination and is not currently at risk for an outbreak, Gerstenbluth said. He also said that the ship's doctor has been advised to start vaccinating those on board who may be at risk. Gerstenbluth said some passengers may have to stay on the ship for 21 days, the full incubation period for the measles virus.

A 440-foot cruise ship owned and operated by the Church of Scientology is also named Freewinds. Officials with the St. Lucia Health Department declined to comment on the name of the quarantined cruise ship, but Sgt. Theodore with the St. Lucia Coast Guard identified it to NBC News as the same one listed on the church's website .

Actress Leah Remini, who has spoken out publicly against Scientology since leaving the church, on Friday called the Freewinds vessel a "ship of horrors" on Twitter .

Thank you @Newsweek @JenniFink_ for starting this conversation. This is just the tip of the iceberg for what staff members of The Freewinds, Scientology’s ship of horrors, have to endure while serving people like Tom Cruise & David Miscavige https://t.co/q8CBm9rAvw — Leah Remini (@LeahRemini) May 2, 2019

Scientology officials have not returned multiple messages left for the church this week by NBC News.

Before leaving St. Lucia, a doctor aboard the Freewinds requested 100 doses of the measles vaccine , an island health official said.

While St. Lucia ordered Freewinds passengers and crew to stay aboard, the island's government didn't have authority to keep the vessel from leaving, officials said earlier this week.

A representative for the health ministry in Curacao could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday.

David K. Li is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Doha Madani is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Pronouns: she/her.

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Measles Case on Cruise Ship Leads to Quarantine in St. Lucia

By Daniel Victor

• May 2, 2019

The Caribbean nation of St. Lucia quarantined a cruise ship on the island for several days after identifying a confirmed case of measles on board, a health official said.

Passengers and crew members aboard the large ship were not permitted to leave, Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James, the nation’s chief medical officer, said on Tuesday. The ship remained moored at St. Lucia until around midnight Thursday, when it departed to the west of the island.

The highly infectious disease, which can be mostly prevented by a common vaccination, is in the midst of its largest outbreak in a quarter-century in the United States, with more than 700 cases reported.

“Because of the risk of potential infection, not just from the confirmed measles case but from other persons who may be on the boat at the time, we thought it prudent to make a decision not to allow anyone to disembark,” she said in a statement.

The ship’s doctor requested and received 100 doses of the measles vaccine from the St. Lucia Department of Health and Wellness, the department said in a statement on Thursday. It said all crew members and passengers were stable.

Dr. Fredericks-James did not name the ship. But Victor Theodore, a St. Lucia Coast Guard sergeant, told NBC News that it was identified as Freewinds, which is reportedly owned and operated by the Church of Scientology. A ship by the same name was moored in St. Lucia on Thursday morning, according to online records .

The church describes the 440-foot ship online as “a religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling” that can carry several hundred passengers. The Church of Scientology did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Largest U.S. Measles Outbreak in 25 Years Surpasses 980 Cases

Mapping where every case has been reported.

Records show that the ship moored in St. Lucia changed its name to Freewinds from Boheme in 1986. The Freewinds took its maiden voyage as a Scientology retreat in 1988, according to the church.

Despite the church’s outspoken opposition to psychiatry and psychiatric drugs, Scientologists use prescription drugs and are treated by medical doctors , according to the church’s website.

But the church has not expressed a specific position on vaccinations. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter in 2016, the church said it “takes no position one way or the other on this issue,” despite several high-profile celebrities in the church speaking out against vaccines.

[Everything you need to know about measles.]

John Carmichael, the president of the Church of Scientology in New York, told the Beliefnet website in 2006 that the church had not taken a stance on vaccinations “as a religious principle.”

“Scientologists are pretty independent people, though I will say this: They tend to do a little more research, perhaps, on the effect of various medical procedures or whatever,” he said. “They make their own decisions, but those aren’t decisions that the church tries to influence in any way.”

Scientology advertises the Freewinds , which is based in Curaçao, off the coast of Venezuela, as “the pinnacle of a deeply spiritual journey.” It is used to carry out “ humanitarian missions ” across the world, the church said.

“The Freewinds is a very special place,” the church’s website said. “It is the one place a Scientologist may go and be certain he will be able to devote himself entirely to his religious practice and in the company of people who share his religious commitment and outlook on life in general.”

In 2011, an Australian woman said she was held against her will on the ship for years, which the church denied.

A single person infected with measles can easily spread it to others who are not vaccinated. One woman who was under quarantine endangered dozens of moviegoers in Fullerton, Calif., last week by attending a screening of “Avengers: Endgame.”

Niraj Chokshi contributed reporting.

Come Sail Away

Love them or hate them, cruises can provide a unique perspective on travel..

 Cruise Ship Surprises: Here are five unexpected features on ships , some of which you hopefully won’t discover on your own.

 Icon of the Seas: Our reporter joined thousands of passengers on the inaugural sailing of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas . The most surprising thing she found? Some actual peace and quiet .

Th ree-Year Cruise, Unraveled:  The Life at Sea cruise was supposed to be the ultimate bucket-list experience : 382 port calls over 1,095 days. Here’s why  those who signed up are seeking fraud charges  instead.

TikTok’s Favorite New ‘Reality Show’:  People on social media have turned the unwitting passengers of a nine-month world cruise  into  “cast members”  overnight.

Dipping Their Toes: Younger generations of travelers are venturing onto ships for the first time . Many are saving money.

Cult Cruisers: These devoted cruise fanatics, most of them retirees, have one main goal: to almost never touch dry land .

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DAVID MISCAVIGE: THE FREEWINDS SCIENTOLOGY’S RELIGIOUS RETREAT AT SEA

The Freewinds began service as a Church of Scientology religious retreat in 1988. The 440-foot motor vessel provided a distraction-free environment for parishioners to study and experience the highest level of spiritual counseling available in the Scientology religion.

After the ship's first 20 years of service, she underwent a full refit and restoration.

The refit was the largest in her history. Far more than a cosmetic upgrade, the ship was stripped from stem to stern, below the water line to the top of her stacks—all six decks. She emerged a fully redesigned, technologically advanced vessel—the ideal religious retreat for ministering religious services.

In June 2008, Mr. Miscavige was joined by the current and former Prime Ministers of the Netherlands Antilles in the Freewinds home port of Curacao to rechristen the Freewinds on her 20th anniversary and commemorate her Maiden Voyage as a wholly refit ship.

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Passenger (Cruise) Ship, IMO 6810811

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The current position of FREEWINDS is at Caribbean Sea reported 5 hours ago by AIS. The vessel FREEWINDS (IMO 6810811, MMSI 354993000) is a Passenger (Cruise) Ship built in 1968 (56 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Panama .

Position & Voyage Data

Map position & weather, recent port calls, vessel particulars, similar vessels.

FREEWINDS current position and history of port calls are received by AIS. Technical specifications, tonnages and management details are derived from VesselFinder database. The data is for informational purposes only and VesselFinder is not responsible for the accuracy and reliability of FREEWINDS data.

Former Scientologists Have Revealed (In A Lawsuit) That Their Cruise Ship Life Was More Hellish Than One Can Imagine

If spending your days and nights traveling the world one port at a time aboard a luxurious cruise ship sounds like a dream job, three former Scientologists have got news for you. As The Daily Beast reports , Gawain Baxter, Laura Baxter, and Valeska Paris — who have lived and worked on the organization’s Freewinds cruise ship for more than a decade — have filed a lawsuit against Church leader David Miscavige and five related organizations for alleged human trafficking.

All three individuals were born into the organization and claim that such early indoctrination made it impossible to leave what they described as “a world filled with abuse, violence, intimidation, and fear.” According to the Sydney Morning Herald , the trio were all part of the group’s Sea Org and Cadet Org, subdivisions within the Church that require members to sign one of those famous “billion-year” contracts, in which they agree to provide free or cheap labor.

In exchange and according to their legal complaint (which was filed in Florida), they endured more than a decade of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse.

As Ben Schneiders wrote for the Herald :

One of the plaintiffs alleged they were confined to a hot engine room for days after being accused of “monopolizing” the attention of a prominent celebrity who had their birthday on the ship in 2004, and who is believed to be actor Tom Cruise. There is no suggestion Cruise was aware of the plaintiff’s situation. The case, brought by leading US plaintiff law firms, alleges the free labor on the cruise ship allowed Scientology leader Miscavige to “maintain a facade of legitimacy, a luxurious lifestyle … and influence over members including celebrities.”

The 86-page filing details how parents hand over custody of their children, some of them as young as six, and are only allowed to see each other once a week. Plaintiff Gawain Baxter was just six when he became a member of Cadet Org. By the time he was 10, he would see his parents for just a few hours a week and spent up to 10 hours per day providing free labor.

When he began working on the Freewinds, which the Herald notes “never docks in U.S. ports or territorial waters,” Gawain had his passport confiscated and would sometimes work 24 hours per day.

“To this day, there are completely defenseless minors being mistreated by Scientology leadership,” Baxter said in a statement . “Just as I was, they are isolated from family and have no way to protect themselves. Scientology must be held accountable for the human rights abuses and trauma it has inflicted without a shred of remorse.”

Fellow plaintiff Valeska Paris also became a member of Cadet Org at the age of six, and she says that she was sexually assaulted on several occasions over the next decade. By the time she was 15, Paris was working as a personal assistant to Miscavige, a role that required her to regularly work 16-hour days.

“Scientology is a system that is designed to perpetuate fear, and I continue to struggle with the trauma,” she said . “No person–child or adult–should have to go through the daily abuse and manipulation I faced.”

The Herald reached out to the Church of Scientology for comment, but had not received one by press time.

(Via The Daily Beast & Sydney Morning Herald )

Carnival Freedom cancels next 2 cruises following exhaust fire from ship’s tail

T AMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Carnival Cruise Lines have announced the cancellation of the next two voyages on the Carnival Freedom after the ship’s exhaust funnel caught fire off the coast of the Bahamas on Saturday.

In a statement to WFLA.com, Carnival said that the damage was more than they initially thought, as it requires immediate repair for the stabilization of the funnel.

Consequently, they have canceled the next two voyages, departing March 25 and March 29, out of Port Canaveral.

All guests sailing on these dates will be issued a full refund and “a 100% future cruise credit so they can come back and enjoy a future cruise with us.”

Carnival said the funnel was stabilized for the ship’s return to Port Canaveral overnight to disembark their guests.

“While we continue to investigate multiple eyewitness reports of a lightning strike, our technical team completed a thorough assessment during the ship’s visit to Freeport today,” the company added.

On Monday, the ship will go to the Freeport shipyard to undergo the required repairs.

Around 3:15 p.m. Saturday, the port side of the ship’s exhaust funnel caught fire, with a portion of the tail falling onto Deck 10.

Rumors swirled that a lightning strike from severe weather caused the fire, but that has not been confirmed. Two crew members were treated for minor smoke inhalation, and no guests were injured.

The U.S. Coast Guard was alerted and has activated their response team.

Carnival added that they appreciate all their guests currently sailing with them and for their cooperation and support.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.