Anyone who has been paying attention to the increasing list of budget cuts, tariff talks, and book bans can attest to the fact that this is all feeling more like a randomized Bingo card than actual strategy.
But one area that's really going to impact the average citizen's quality of life is their ability to enjoy spending time with their families and experiencing new places by way of safe travel options and vacation plans.
TikToker, immunologist, and allergist Dr. Rubin, MD, who previously dazzled us with the proper way to blow our noses, recently came forward, cautioning people from booking cruises in the next few years—and for those who have already booked, to consider canceling them.
Rubin explained:
"Here is why you're not going to see me on a cruise ship anytime soon, and I encourage everyone to consider this before they book a cruise."
"You know how there's been all these cuts at federal public health agencies lately? Well, one of them is to the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program, which conducts health inspections on cruise ships at least twice a year."
"And they trace outbreaks to help reduce the chances of more people getting sick."
"We've already had 12 Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships this year [as of April 2025] compared to eight last year [with all of 2024's cases combined]."
Rubin goes on to argue that these cuts "make no sense," because while they are directly impacting taxpayer travel options, the cuts are not saving taxpayer dollars since the cruise ship companies actually pay for the health inspections themselves.
Unfortunately, it looks like if you were thinking of decompressing from the stresses of everyday life, taking a cruise will not be a safe option this year.
You can watch the video here:
Many agreed with Dr. Rubin that none of this made sense.
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Others specifically agreed that cruise ships have too many germs floating around to make the journey worth it.
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@rubin_allergy/TikTok
While going on cruises is not everyone's "boat of tea," it's unfortunate to imagine that a favorite, relaxing pastime for some individuals and families has been taken out of the equation for an already stressful time.
But with Norovirus numbers already at 150% of last year's total numbers in just April of 2025, it doesn't seem like the safety concerns are going to get better for a while, and it might be safer for people to take their money—and immune systems—elsewhere.
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