A doctor is making travellers think again before booking a cruise for one disturbing reason.
A pediatrician known for dispensing sharp-witted medical insights on TikTok has stirred unease with a cautionary tale that has nothing to do with seasickness or cinematic pirate invasions.
Dr. Rubin, whose videos often blend clinical wisdom with plainspoken urgency, dropped an unsettling reason why cruise ships are entirely off his travel itinerary—and he’s urging others to pause before booking their own floating vacations.
“Here’s why you won’t catch me anywhere near a cruise ship anytime soon,” he announced in a now-viral TikTok clip. “And I think it’s something everyone should really think about before locking in that trip.”
His concern isn’t rooted in folklore or waves—it’s grounded in policy.
“You’ve probably heard about the sweeping budget cuts hammering federal public health institutions lately. One major casualty? The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program. This is the very initiative that used to carry out biannual inspections on cruise liners, holding them accountable for hygiene and health standards.”
Without this layer of oversight, Dr. Rubin implies, the pristine illusion of cruise life may mask more murky—and potentially dangerous—realities.
The doctor says a cruise may not be all it cracks up to be (Getty Images)
To drive his point home, Dr. Rubin included an excerpt from a CBC News report revealing that cruise ship health inspectors have been “laid off amid a bad year for outbreaks.”
Why does this matter for your tropical escape or luxury voyage? The doctor didn’t mince words: “These teams are the ones who track disease outbreaks and help stop them from spreading further. Without them, the system loses its immune response.”
Even more unsettling is the sharp rise in onboard illness that’s followed the staffing cuts.
“We’re only partway through the year and we’ve already seen 12 Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships,” he said gravely. “That’s compared to just eight over the entire previous year.”
In other words, with weakened oversight, the floating paradise you’ve booked might be more petri dish than pleasure cruise.
He said it comes down to a sanitation issue (Getty Images)
Norovirus—grimly nicknamed the winter vomiting bug—isn’t just an inconvenient stomach bug, it’s a full-on physiological ambush. According to the NHS, symptoms include relentless vomiting, watery diarrhoea, searing body aches, fever spikes, and splitting headaches.
Its real menace lies in how ferociously it spreads—especially in tight, enclosed quarters. A cruise ship, with its labyrinth of cabins and buffet lines, is the perfect breeding ground.
And let’s be honest—being trapped at sea with a contagious illness is no one’s idea of a holiday.
This warning grows more urgent in light of a recent outbreak on the Coral Princess, which reportedly turned a three-week voyage from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale into a medical scramble. As reported by VT, 69 passengers and 13 crew members fell ill during the trip.
Those affected were swiftly quarantined, while cleaning crews moved to sanitize communal areas.
Disturbingly, this wasn’t an isolated event. The CDC revealed the Coral Princess had already faced another Norovirus outbreak earlier in January. If anything, it seems the vessel has become an unwelcome host to more than just vacationers.
Dozens are saying they wouldn’t consider a cruise anymore (Getty Images)
Dr. Rubin didn’t hold back in his criticism of the budget slashes, calling the decision “senseless,” especially given that the program isn’t even taxpayer-funded.
“These inspections aren’t paid for by public funds—the cruise lines foot the bill,” he emphasized. “So from a fiscal standpoint, there’s zero savings for taxpayers. This cut just defies logic.”
His blunt assessment struck a chord, and the comments on his video quickly became a chorus of agreement.
“Cruises are just massive floating petri dishes. Ain’t worth it,” one viewer wrote with dismay.
Another echoed the dread: “Norovirus on LAND is bad enough. Being stuck in a tiny cabin, on a ship, with other passengers? No thank you.”
A third didn’t mince words: “You couldn’t pay me to get on a cruise.”
As the feedback piled up, one thing became clear—Dr. Rubin’s message was more than a medical warning. For many, it was a wake-up call.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/David Sacks