A doctor has shared why he would never go on a cruise – encouraging anyone looking to book a vacation on the sea to be careful.
Dr. Rubin, a pediatrician who often shares information about allergies and how to combat them, posted a recent TikTok clip detailing why he won’t be boarding a cruise.
‘Here’s why you’re not gonna see me on a cruise ship anytime soon, and I encourage people to consider this before they book a cruise,’ he urged in the video.
Dr. Rubin then spoke about the cuts made to federal agencies recently, and how that has impacted overall health and safety checks on the ships.
‘Well one of [the cuts] 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,’ he explained.
Dr. Rubin continued saying there has already been 12 norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships so far this year alone, in comparison to eight last year.
‘These cuts make no sense because its not funded by taxpayer dollars,’ he continued.
‘Then cruise ships pay for these health inspections so it’s not like we’re saving any money from the taxpayers perspective,’ the medical professional insisted, before declaring: ‘This makes absolutely no sense.’
Dr. Rubin (pictured) a pediatrician who often shares information about allergies and how to combat them, posted a recent TikTok clip detailing why he won’t be boarding a cruise
The response to Dr. Rubin’s video was divided, with some accusing him of ‘fear mongering.’
‘We cruise every year and just went in mid February, which is prime time for norovirus. We were on Carnival’s biggest ship and were fine,’ one user responded.
‘I’m a travel agent and you’re fine,’ declared another.
Other users agreed wtih Dr. Rubin’s assessment.
‘I’m anti-cruise even in normal times. Ships are just one giant Petri dish and it’s a hard pass for me,’ one user wrote.
‘They call Norovirus “cruise ship virus” for a reason,’ someone else chimed in.
‘I caught covid on last one. Never again,’ swore another.
In March, a contagious virus outbreak on the the Coral Princess cruise ship left dozens of passengers and crew ill and in isolation during their nearly three-week-long voyage.
Rubin the spoke about the cuts made to federal agencies recently, and how that has affected the overall health on the ships (stock image)
The ship set sail from California on February 21, with 69 of the over 1,000 passengers and 13 of the 895 crew members struck down by norovirus.
Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea. It causes acute gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach or intestines, as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The ship was travelling from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, calling at ports along the west coast of Mexico before travelling through the Panama canal into the Caribbean.
According to the CDC, this is the second outbreak of the virus on the cruise liner this year after the Coral Princess reported cases back in January.
Passengers and workers who were struck down were isolated to try and contain the outbreak, public areas were thoroughly disinfected, The New York Post reported.
Last year, was the worst year ever for stomach flu outbreaks on cruise ships in the US.
According to the CDC, there were 16 outbreaks in 2024.
A staggering five of those incidents took place in December 2024 alone – causing 890 cases.
The last time there were that many outbreaks in one year was in 2012.
