If a cruise has always sounded like a terrible vacation to you (all those people stuck on a big boat with water slides but also germs and disco parties for middle-aged men in Hawaiian shirts) it’s about to sound even worse.
The Church of Scientology has its very own cruise ship - and nearly 300 passengers and crew members aboard were quarantined in St Lucia because of a measles outbreak during a recent trip on the high seas.
This isn't the typical glamorous vacation to St Lucia. According to NBC News, St. Lucia health officials confirmed that the ship has been under quarantine since Monday morning after they found that a female crew member contracted the highly contagious disease. Hopefully, no one gets seasick along with the measles outbreak. While the confirmed case is currently in isolation, it’s highly contagious and if people have not been immunized, it’s more than likely they’ll contract it.
At least they’ll be comfortable during the quarantine. The Tom Cruise-approved cruise ship, Freewinds, is a 440-foot cruise ship that’s reportedly home to a “religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the Scientology religion.”
The great measles outbreak of 2019 isn’t the first time that an event on the good ship Scientology has been newsworthy. Tom Cruise celebrated his 42nd birthday on the ship, where he was serenaded with “Old Time Rock and Roll,” the song he famously danced to pantsless in Risky Business. Cruise even got in on the action by dancing along, although he kept his pants on for the performance.
This isn't the first major measles outbreak this year. New York declared a "measles emergency" after the infection started spreading in Brooklyn.
It's all a very helpful reminder to get vaccinated - and to avoid cruise ships, even if they are Risky Business approved.
