Church of Scientology Flag Ship Service Organization All Are Welcome!

Table Of Content

• Ships and land bases
• Here’s what happens on Scientology’s cruise ship, the Freewinds
• ▼ Global Social Betterment & Humanitarian Programs Supported by the Church of Scientology
• Views on Hubbard
• Millennials Are Ready For a Four-Day Week
• Track Freewinds Current Position / Location - Freewinds Cruise Ship Tracker - Church of Scientology - Cruising Earth
• 'Ship of Horrors': Leah Remini Says Scientology Cruise Ship's Measles Quarantine Could Be Chance to Flee

The church denied that Valeska was held captive, and Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw’s statement (available below) made no mention of Dienes-Browning. It looks like you may be utilizing ad blocking software or another ad filtering technology while visiting Cruising Earth. Certain areas of this site may not work properly because of this, particularly live updates of ship trackers and webcams. If you know another ship you want to track, enter the ship name or ship line name in the search box below.

Ships and land bases

Discipline was harsh and bizarre, with running laps of the ship assigned for the slightest infraction like failing to address a senior with "Sir". Work was hard and the schedule rigid with seven hours' sleep time from lights out to lights on, short meal breaks, no liberties and no free time ... Newsweek reached out to the Church of Scientology but did not receive a response in time for publication. The Church regularly denies the claims made both by Remini and those who appear on her show. However, over the years, multiple people have gone to extraordinary measures to get off the Freewinds. Freewinds, a 440-foot ship, is touted by the Church as the "pinnacle of a deeply spiritual journey," where Scientologists can reach New OT VIII, the highest level of spirituality.

Scientologists' Cruise Ship Quarantined for Measles - The Maritime Executive

Scientologists' Cruise Ship Quarantined for Measles.

Posted: Wed, 01 May 2019 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Here’s what happens on Scientology’s cruise ship, the Freewinds

NBC News cited a St. Lucia Coast Guard sergeant, who confirmed the ship was the 440-foot Freewinds owned and operated by the Church of Scientology. 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. 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. Remini also said that the apparent measles outbreak this week aboard the Freewinds poses a challenge to Scientologists’ beliefs about their supernatural powers. Scientologists compare the ” Sea Org ” to members of a religious order, like monks and nuns, who devote their lives to the faith, often working long hours for no pay and living communally. The Freewinds is entirely staffed by the Sea Org, the church says, who dress in spiffy naval uniforms.

▼ Global Social Betterment & Humanitarian Programs Supported by the Church of Scientology

Dishing out punishments to CMOs who weren’t doing what they were supposed to be doing,” she says. When the CO left the ship for periods, Ramana stepped in to run the CMO of the entire ship. Ramana and her mother returned to Australia, and she immediately prepared to return to the ship. I managed to scrape the money together to fly to America. And then I started to do the EPF”–the Estates Project Force, the boot-camp training for new Sea Org members. Her mother had no idea this was going on, Ramana says, because she was too busy with her own coursework somewhere else on the ship.

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. 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. When Laura Baxter was accused of monopolising the attention of actor Tom Cruise aboard Scientology’s Caribbean cruise ship in 2004, she says her punishment was to be locked in an “extremely hot” engine room of the Freewinds ship. A significant portion of the ship is given over to its use as a religious retreat for Scientologists. Ron Hubbard books, Freewinds has areas given over to the Religious Technology Center, Sea Org and International Association of Scientologists.

One thing that got her through it was her promise to return to the man she was in love with. But while she worked to get her freedom, he was being told that she had changed her mind, wasn’t going to leave the Sea Org, and “hated” him. “They agreed initially, but then they said David Miscavige was on his way to Saint Hill and they didn’t want any ‘ethics particles’ around — that’s what they called you when you were in trouble, an ethics particle,” she says. She would go to an org and set up an event, inviting all of the “publics” (non-staff Scientologists) to attend. “We would show a video and would give a talk about the ship.

Currently, the top end of Scientology’s pricey “bridge” to spiritual enlightenment ends at OT 8, which members only reach after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years. Hubbard was supposed to have written these even higher levels of spiritual expansion before he died, but they have never been released. The only person I was able to talk to was her, and only in writing.

But for whatever reason, her husband’s statistics were down, and that meant he had to be interrogated by ethics officers. The measles case brought the ship into the national spotlight and Rinder told Newsweek he hopes it's a chance to highlight the stories that exist from what he called the "ship of horrors." Health officials probably checked whether each person had gotten the measles vaccine, because that's how you prevent the measles. If someone didn't get vaccine then receiving the measles vaccine within 72 hours of initial exposure to the measles virus and immunoglobulin (IG) within six days of exposure could help protect the person or reduce symptoms. But again, it's not as good as getting the vaccine beforehand, as most people have done for years. "I took to always carrying a pocket knife with me as the idea that I could take my life at any time was the only way I could feel some sense of empowerment," Dienes-Browning wrote.

She described her life aboard the ship under those conditions to being an "animal in a cage," and feeling there was no escape, she became suicidal. The church said in a statement dated May 5 that the woman, who had been "isolated, per ship protocol, in a single-patient medical room with a special controlled-air ventilation system," was "symptom-free." Psychology Today, a Substack entitled "Minded by Science" and have written articles for The New York Times, Time, The Guardian, The HuffPost, STAT, the MIT Technology Review and others.

Valeska Paris spoke to us last week of the hardships of the engine room. She endured it for a couple of months when she first arrived on the ship, and then, near the end of her tenure in 2007, during another time in the engine room, she passed out from the stifling heat. “I filled it out myself and forged the captain’s signature. I took it to the office and lied, telling them I had a mission to go to Clearwater.” Ramana timed her request carefully. She had planned it so the Commander Officer of the CMO would be in an auditing (counseling) session, and the ship was about to leave port.

She was shouted at by church officials and then for three days she says she was only allowed to leave to eat for a few minutes at a time or return to her room to sleep for a few hours. She had to urinate in a bin out of fear of being punished for going to the bathroom unaccompanied, she alleges. 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. “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.

They thought it would be disastrous because her mother was a suppressive person. SPs are seen to be deterring others from being Scientologists and therefore actually stopping people from achieving spiritual freedom. Ramana remembers that soon after Valeska arrived, news about how much she hated being there was the talk of the ship. “One of the arguments was talked about a lot, that she was screaming and out of control.

Hubbard created many symbolism concepts, including the eight dynamics, the ARC and KRC triangles, the "S and double triangle" symbol, the Scientology cross, and many others. Paris added that the impending arrival of Scientology leader David Miscavige triggered frantic preparations onboard. She said crew members would be up "until 4 in the morning" cleans and painting. "When the ship is docked, you have to go via the gangway to get off the ship and there's a big security guard there, which will stop you from getting off if you're not allowed to get off," she said. "I was supposed to go for two weeks and I ended up being there for over 11 years."

He’s a familiar character actor who has appeared in films (Monkey Shines, G.I. Jane) and television series (Melrose Place, Californication). “It’s like training for the Army, but you don’t get to use guns. You do heavy labor — I remember breaking through walls with sledgehammers, and the person who runs it is like an Army sergeant,” she says. Eventually, under intense pressure, she made a concession. She told them that after her professional dancing career was over, at 30 to 35 years of age, she might be ready to join the Sea Org. They seemed happy with that offer, she says, and asked her to go ahead and sign a contract now, even though she might not be ready to join their ranks for 20 years.

The ship welcomes thousands of Scientologists and guests from more than 100 nations around the world every year. The remaining 318 crew members have been given the all clear to leave the ship, which docked at the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao. After the ship's first 20 years of service, she underwent a full refit and restoration. ” Thus Hubbard’s shift to a sea-based organization during these years was clearly in part a response to his inability to operate freely in many nations, ” Urban writes.