This is interesting!
BREAKING: RFK Jr.’s HHS just exposed deep corruption inside the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel (ACIP).
— Dr. Simone Gold (@drsimonegold) November 8, 2025
97% of members never filed conflict-of-interest waivers.
None ever voted against a vaccine.
And several took money from Pfizer, Merck, and GSK.
This is shocking. pic.twitter.com/JWbJWWI5XF
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| Above, bathers in the pool area on a cruise to the Bahamas. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
I have been on three cruises and I have contracted a virus during two of them. Luckily, they were relatively minor.
Taking a cruise may seem like a great idea, but having thousands of people in a limited amount of space is bound to spread illnesses. Frankly, cruise ships are floating petri dishes.
This year has been a record year for outbreaks.
According to SFGate:
Cruise ships are seeing a record year for outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses. So far, there have been 20 outbreaks on the vessels, mostly of norovirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year, which was also a record year for outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness, there were 18.
The latest outbreak involved the Oceania Insignia of Oceania Cruises on an 11-day (October 16-27) Montreal to Boston cruise, the CDC reported. The outbreak affected 75 people: 74 passengers out of 637 passengers (11.6%) and 1 crew member out of 391 (0.3%). Those afflicted saw symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, the Royal Caribbean ship, Majesty of the Seas, in Havana Port. I caught a cold on this cruise ship. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
There is one main reason that cruise ship traveling is not my favorite way to vacation: diseases.
Two out of three cruises I have taken had me get sick. They were relatively minor, one a 24-hour flu and the other a head cold.
With the trend of cruise lines introducing bigger cruise ships, carrying around 5,000 passengers and crew, they are floating petri dishes.
It has happened again. An outbreak of norovirus occurred on board a Royal Caribbean ship
According to NBC News:
Over 70 people aboard a 13-day Royal Caribbean cruise have reportedly fallen ill from norovirus ahead of its final destination in Miami, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The outbreak on the Royal Caribbean International ship Serenade of the Seas, which departed from San Diego on Sept. 19 and is scheduled to arrive in Miami on Thursday, was reported to the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program on Sunday. The program is set to help prevent and control the introduction and spread of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships.
The CDC reported that 71 out of 1,874 passengers and one of 883 crew members have "reported being ill during the voyage" and noted that predominant symptoms included diarrhea and vomiting.
To read more, go here.
The CDC once stood as the world’s most trusted guardian of public health. But bureaucracy, politicized science, and mission creep corroded its mission and destroyed public trust.
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) September 3, 2025
My mission is clear: restore the CDC’s focus on infectious disease, drive innovation, and rebuild… pic.twitter.com/wpqB7fO5UG
Win/win! https://t.co/GDCt4swZ1I
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) November 17, 2024
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| Above, the Norwegian Sky scored a perfect 100 for sanitation in May. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
It is nice to know that a ship I took a cruise on scored well in the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vessel Sanitation Program.
Maybe that's why I didn't contract any illness during the cruise.
USA Today reported:
Gastrointestinal illnesses like norovirus can be unfortunate anywhere, but they can be especially miserable on cruise ships, where they can easily spread without proper sanitation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program is specifically designed to help keep GI illnesses from spreading on cruises by inspecting vessels, responding to outbreaks, training ship supervisors, and more.
So far, this year, only two cruise ships have failed inspection, but several others have been close to the edge. Here’s how to find the sanitation reports for any ship sailing to the U.S.
How are ships scored?
Ships are scored on a scale of 100 for how well they’re keeping standards set in the VSP Operations Manual and given recommendations for addressing any issues.
A score of 86 or above is considered satisfactory. Anything below that is considered failing.
The ship I took on a cruise to the Bahamas in August had scored a perfect 100:
- Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Sky in May
It was one of twenty ships that scored 100.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, dinnertime aboard the Majesty of the Seas in 2019 while en route to Cuba. |
The CDC ended it COVID-19 program for cruise ships.
Never mind that cruise ships are floating petri dishes anyway. I've been on two cruises (one to Alaska and one to Cuba) and both times I've caught a bug.
USA Today reported:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended its COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships on Monday.
"CDC has worked closely with the cruise industry, state, territorial, and local health authorities, and federal and seaport partners to provide a safer and healthier environment for cruise passengers and crew," the agency's website reads. "Cruise ships have access to guidance and tools to manage their own COVID-19 mitigation programs."
The CDC added that "while cruising poses some risk of COVID-19 transmission, CDC will continue to publish guidance to help cruise ships continue to provide a safer and healthier environment for crew, passengers, and communities going forward."
To read the full article, go here.
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| Above, the Albuquerque Sunport terminal. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The following does not come as a surprise since liberals despise losing power over people.
Source New Mexico reported:
UPDATE: Tuesday, April 19, at 4:30 p.m.
The U.S. Department of Justice and CDC released a statement Tuesday evening saying the entities, “disagree with the district court’s decision and will appeal, subject to CDC’s conclusion that the order remains necessary for public health.” NBC News reports that the DOJ will not seek an emergency stay while it appeals the court’s ruling, meaning the mask mandate will not be in effect during the appeals process.
Rail Runner and the Albuquerque Sunport are doing away with mask requirements in keeping with the decision to void the federal mask mandate of yesterday.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, yours truly aboard an Amtrak train in 2020. |
A Florida federal judge voided the public transportation mask mandate.
This is both a victory for limited government and the constitutional checks and balances the framers intended.
According to AOL News:
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge in Florida has voided the national mask mandate covering airplanes and other public transportation as exceeding the authority of U.S. health officials in the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision Monday by U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle in Tampa, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, also said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention improperly failed to justify its decision and did not follow proper rulemaking.
In her 59-page ruling, Mizelle said the only remedy was to vacate the rule entirely across the country because it would be impossible to end it for the limited group of people who objected in the lawsuit.
The judge said “a limited remedy would be no remedy at all” and that the courts have full authority to make a decision such as this — even if the goals of the CDC in fighting the virus are laudable.
Since I have a trip coming up this year by airplane, this is definitely welcome news. I have flown when the wearing of masks were mandatory for the entire flight. Not fun!
To read more, go here.
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| Above, yours truly at the Albuquerque Sunport. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky. |
Here we go again!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (or is it the Centers for People Control and Tyranny?) has extended the transportation mask mandate for two more weeks. Apparently, they think masks are effective. They are as effective as keeping mosquitoes out of your yard with a chain-link fence.
The Epoch Times reported:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has extended the federal mask mandate for transportation for two more weeks, citing the small recent increase in COVID-19 cases.
The order will remain in place another 15 days, until May 3, to let officials at the agency assess whether the BA.2 virus subvariant drives a fresh wave of cases.
“In order to assess the potential impact the rise of cases has on severe disease, including hospitalizations and deaths, and health care system capacity, the CDC order will remain in place at this time,” the CDC said in a statement.
The order was first imposed in January 2021 and applies to trains, airplanes, and other modes of transportation under purview of federal officials, as well as transportation hubs like airports.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, the pool area of the Sheraton Waikiki. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
There's some good news for people who are planning to take a vacation trip to Hawaii.
The governor of Hawaii has ended the state's Safe Travels Program as of today.
According to TravelPulse:
Hawaii's governor David Ige has announced that the state's current emergency proclamation will expire on March 25, 2022.
The end of the proclamation means an end to the Safe Travels Hawaii program and the end of the state’s indoor mask requirement. However, the governor noted that the CDC and Dept. of Health continue to recommend mask use while indoors for certain populations.
The governor also noted that businesses have the right to create their own rules to ensure safety for both their customers and their workers.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, American tourists waiting to board a Havana, Cuba tour bus. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supposedly has the final say on diseases.
With this being the third year of the coronavirus pandemic, more and more people are ignoring the CDC and their travel warnings.
Rich Thomaselli wrote an opinion piece on this at TravelPulse.
He starts it off with:
In an article I wrote for TravelPulse last week about the latest travel warnings issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, I noted it would be easier to count the few nations and territories that were not on the list than the plethora of countries that were in the CDC’s crosshairs.
I wasn’t trying to be glib; there’s nothing even remotely humorous about a pandemic that has caused millions of deaths over the last two years. Rather, I was trying to point out the disparity between countries that the CDC considers safe, and the areas that they don’t.
But it got me wondering: At this point, do people even care about the CDC travel warnings anymore?
In a word... Nope.
Not at all.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, Grand Teton National Park's Coulter Bay Visitor Center. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Whether or not masks are effective in stopping or slowing the spread of COVID-19 is still up for debate. Some say they're as effective as keeping mosquitoes out of a yard with a chain-link fence.
But there's some good news concerning those pesky masks and national parks.
RV Travel reported:
WASHINGTON, March 4, 2022 – The National Park Service has updated its masking guidance to align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) new COVID-19 Community Levels tool, which helps communities decide what prevention steps to take. Effective immediately, masking requirements will vary by park based on local conditions; however, masks are still required on all forms of enclosed public transportation. Updates will be posted on individual park websites to help visitors plan their visit and on signs in parks.
In areas CDC identifies as high COVID-19 community level, masks are required for everyone in all NPS buildings, regardless of vaccination status. In most low and medium COVID-19 community level areas, masks are optional, but visitors should follow signs and instructions from park staff and volunteers. Visitors and employees are always welcome to wear a mask if it makes them more comfortable.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, the federal airline mask mandate doesn't come up for debate until March 18. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidance. Travel groups, with the guidance as a roadmap, are asking the Biden Administration to end travel restrictions and regulations.
But will they listen?
TravelPulse posted:
Major travel-related agencies are calling on the Biden Administration to end COVID-19 restrictions and regulations that inhibit the near $2 trillion U.S. tourism industry.
The move comes just a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance that relaxes many of the policies enacted in the wake of the virus. The new guidance drops restrictions for 70 percent of the country.
But not on airplanes.
The federal mask mandate doesn’t come up for debate again until March 18 but the U.S. Travel Association, the American Hotel and Lodging Association, Airlines for America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are asking to rescind mask-wearing and several other key restrictions.
The group sent a letter to White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients that urges the Biden administration to replace pandemic-era travel advisories, requirements and restrictions with endemic-focused policies that enable travel to resume fully and safely and the American economy to accelerate its recovery.
The groups cited key figures to back their request, noting that business travel spending was approximately 50 percent below 2019 levels, and international travel spending was down a staggering 78 percent compared to 2019.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, our group aboard a Cuba-bound Royal Caribbean cruise ship in 2019. |
Several cruise ship lines are dropping mask mandates. While they are doing so, some of them are still recommending masks while on board.
TravelPulse has posted an article on what each cruise lines are doing.
They start with (with two of several cruise lines spotlighted):
As the vast majority of cruise lines met Friday’s deadline to opt into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 Cruise Ship Program, several major companies announced they would ease mask mandates onboard.
According to Reuters, Carnival Cruise Line announced last week facial coverings would no longer be mandatory on voyages starting on March 1, but the masks would still be recommended overall and required at specified venues and events.
Carnival officials also said they would offer more flexibility in pre-cruise testing requirements and permit children under five to sail without any need for vaccine or exemption.
Royal Caribbean International lifted onboard mask protocols for areas of ships that only permit vaccinated passengers, saying that “venues designated for vaccinated guests only, such as select bars, lounges, restaurants, shows and Casino Royale” would no longer require masks.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, cruise passengers doing some onboard shopping. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
For good reason, many of us are skeptical about the warnings churned out by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But, there is some interesting news concerning cruise ships.
Travel Weekly reported:
The CDC eased off its warning that even vaccinated Americans should avoid cruise ships on Tuesday by downgrading its Travel Health Notice to a Level 3.
The decision comes as the Covid-19 positivity rates recede in the U.S. However, the CDC last week unveiled a set of Covid regulations that encouraged lines to require nearly all passengers to be boosted before sailing.
Cruise travel is now graded at Level 3, the third-highest in a four-level system that indicates health threats for travelers. The CDC upped the health notice to Level 4 in December, as the Covid-19 omicron variant began to sweep the country.
To read more, go here.
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| Above, the Christ of Havana statue. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Well, we're really into the third year of coronavirus.
Again, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued another advisory on what countries Americans should avoid.
According to Reuters:
WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday advised against travel to six countries including Japan, Cuba, Libya, Armenia, Oman and the Democratic Republic of Congo over COVID-19 cases.
The CDC now lists more than 130 countries and territories with COVID-19 cases as "Level Four: Very High." It lists just over 50 countries as "Level Three: High," discouraging non-essential travel by unvaccinated Americans.
I don't think the CDC has too much to worry about concerning Japan and Cuba. Japan's borders has been closed to foreign tourists since 2020 and it is very difficult to visit Cuba (even in normal times) since June 2019.
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| Above, Osaka Castle. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
To read more, go here.
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| Above, cruise ship passengers on deck for an emergency drill. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Well, this is certainly not any kind of a surprise.
The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just raised their travel warning for cruise ships up to Level 4 due to the outbreak of the Omicron coronavirus variant. This is not a surprise since cruise ships are floating petri dishes anyway.
TravelPulse reported:
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) elevated its travel warning for cruise ships from Level 3 to Level 4, the highest level, on Thursday.
The latest update advises people to avoid traveling by cruise ship regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status and comes on the heels of a recent uptick in positive coronavirus cases as the Omicron variant continues to spread worldwide.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats.
The CDC's latest guidance warns that the virus spreads quickly and easily between people sharing close quarters such as some environments onboard a cruise ship.
Isn't life grand?
To read more, go here.
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| Above, despite my best efforts, I still caught a cold on my cruise to Havana, Cuba. Cruise ships ae essentially floating petri dishes. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky. |
Floating petri dishes, a.k.a. cruise ships, are seeing clusters of COVID-19 infections in recent days.
This is all happening despite strict requirements of passengers of being vaccinated and having negative tests before boarding. In all actuality, having so many people (1,500+) on board a ship with limited areas is an invitation for sickness.
According to TravelPulse:
With the highly-transmissible and possibly vaccine-resistant Omicron variant fueling a new wave of COVID-19 across the nation, infections are beginning to crop up on cruise ships. This, despite the fact that cruise companies’ policies require that all eligible passengers be fully vaccinated and test negative prior to boarding, and that all crew also be fully vaccinated.
Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises have all seen clusters of cases emerge aboard one or more of their vessels in recent days. While it’s suspected that Omicron is responsible for causing the breakthrough infections, it hasn’t been definitively identified.
Because the cruise lines already have comprehensive protections in place, including vaccination and testing requirements, designed to avoid allowing COVID-19 onboard, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has begun investigations into the sudden rash of cruise-ship cases.
To read more, go here.
Wuhan Chinese nano-bots?
International travel is not the smartest thing to do right now. Anyone planning an overseas trip at this time should have their head examined. Imagine getting sick with COVID-19 overseas and the travel insurance one purchased doesn't cover it?
The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added more countries to their list of highest travel risks.
According to TravelPulse:
Spain and seven other destinations have been now designated by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with the highest travel risk level, encouraging American travelers to not travel to these countries.
The CDC has been measuring the travel risks of each country due to the coronavirus pandemic. The greater the transmission in a country, the higher their risk level. The highest level, Level 4, is given to a country that sees more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents within the past 28 days.
To read more, go here.
