The travel industry as a whole is suffering due to the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus , which as of Wednesday had infected more than 120,000 people globally. But its cruise ships , in particular, that have become notorious hotbeds for the disease.

Last month, a Diamond Princess cruise ship was quarantined at a port in Japan for two weeks due to positive tests for coronavirus among passengers. Ultimately, there were nearly 700 people with confirmed cases stemming from the ship, six of whom have died. According to The New York Times , that cruise ship is the fourth-highest cause of coronavirus contraction among Americans. Similar outbreaks have occurred in the weeks following.

As a result, Princess Cruise Lines announced Thursday that it is halting its global ship operations for the next 60 days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Department recommend that Americans avoid cruise ships right now, especially older adults and those with compromised immune systems.

Right now, it is not safe to take a cruise, said Patrick Hardy, a certified risk manager, former FEMA representative and CEO of the disaster preparedness planning app Disaster Hawk . When you are confined to an enclosed area like a ship with passengers, there is little that personal disaster plans and preparedness can do for you ... People should avoid cruises until the pandemic is controlled, not one second earlier.