ST. LUCIA, CARIBBEAN. (THECOUNT) — “Freewinds,” a cruise ship belonging to the Church of Scientology, is currently quarantined in a Caribbean port over a possible measles outbreak.
The elite luxury retreat for followers of the church only, is holdup by the government of St. Lucia in the Caribbean who ordered all 300 passengers and crew quarantined for 21 days.
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The quarantine came after a female crew member came down with measles.
Investigative journalist Tony Ortega, an expert on Scientology, spoke to Inside Edition about the ship.
“It’s sort of a floating cathedral, its meant to be the culminating experience for Scientologists who have years and spent millions of dollars to get to the top level of Scientology,” he told Inside Edition.
The ship left Curacao Saturday and has been docked at St. Lucia since Monday morning. It was scheduled to sail to Dominica next, reports News4Jax.
It’s being speculated that David Miscavige, the Church of Scientology’s leader, may be on board celebrating his birthday.
“In past years Miscavige has gone to the ship for his birthday. His birthday was Tuesday,” Ortega said.
A Scientology promotional video claims Freewinds has all the amenities of a first-class cruise ship, including five-star gourmet cuisine.
Scientology’s annual convention, known as “Maiden Voyage,” is scheduled for next month and was supposed to have been held on the vessel. But the measles outbreak has thrown planning for that event into chaos.
The Church of Scientology has not commented on the quarantine of the ship.
Geo quick facts: Saint Lucia is an Eastern Caribbean island nation with a pair of dramatically tapered mountains, the Pitons, on its west coast. Its coast is home to volcanic beaches, reef-diving sites, luxury resorts and fishing villages. Trails in the interior rainforest lead to waterfalls like the 15m-high Toraille, which pours over a cliff into a garden. The capital, Castries, is a popular cruise port – wikipedia.