Is Cruising Safe in 2022?
CruiseReport’s 2022 Policy Position on Covid-19 and Cruise Travel
DISCLAIMER: The following article represents my personal opinions about the Covid-19 virus, vaccines and how they impact cruise travel. I am not a medical professional and many of my personal beliefs may be contrary to current public policy. Facebook has labeled my thoughts as dangerous with the potential to cause physical harm and/or injury. Read the words on this page at your own risk.
At this particular time in history, there are a lot of cruise enthusiasts who are concerned about the safety of cruise travel, as it pertains to Covid-19. As I am writing this, the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is on the decline. We recently disembarked a 7-night cruise which took place right in the middle of the Omicron outbreak. As a result, the ship was just over half full since many guests cancelled their cruise. The CDC has even issued a warning about cruise travel, advising Americans not to cruise, regardless of their vaccination status.
When we returned from our cruise, I attempted to explain on our Facebook page why we felt safe on Celebrity Cruises. My post was deleted by Facebook with a stern warning that the post was dangerous and the misinformation could contribute to physical harm.
We felt safe aboard our cruise because of the sanitation measures put in place by Celebrity Cruises, not because of any vaccine or mask requirements. These sanitation measures included having crew members serve food in the buffets (so that guests are not handling utensils), extensive cleaning of contact areas throughout the ship, and the prolific placement of hand sanitizer stations throughout the vessel. Most of these measures have been in place for quite some time to limit exposure to Norovirus and other intestinal viruses. And, while Norovirus is much more common in restaurants or hotels than on cruise lines, when there are cases aboard a cruise ship it gets national attention.
The same could be said for Covid-19. When there are cases of Covid on a cruise ship, it makes news. In part, this is because cruise lines are the only industry of which I am aware that report Covid cases to the CDC. For example, airlines do not. Restaurants do not. Theme parks do not. In spite of the CDC warnings, I personally believe the cleanest, safest place you can be is on a cruise ship.
While there is evidence to suggest that the vaccines do provide some protection from serious illness, hospitalizations and death from Covid-19, it is now accepted science that they do not prevent the spread of the virus. A vaccinated individual can still get, and spread, Covid-19 to others. For this reason, we can conclude that an unvaccinated individual poses no more of a threat to someone than a person who is vaccinated.
The current data, as well as scientific studies, also shows that the wearing of paper and/or cloth masks is ineffective at stopping the spread of the virus. N95 masks are more effective; however, wearing these masks for extended periods of time can restrict airflow and, with long-term use, could cause other health risks. Common sense would tell us that it makes no sense for cruise lines to enforce a mask policy that asks guests to wear a mask when walking around the ship, but allows them to remove masks when sitting in a bar or restaurant. These are some of the most crowded venues on a cruise ship.
I have also taken into consideration the actual threat posed by current variants of Covid-19. The Omicron variant appears to be more communicable, while at the same time, less virulent than previous variants. Some in the medical field suggest that this could be good news. The Omicron variant may spread rapidly, cause very little serious illness, while at the same time, leaving a massive amount of immunity in its wake.
It is not misinformation to claim that there has been insufficient long-term testing of these vaccines to indicate their safety or even their potential long-term side effects. Many doctors and scientists (and, of course, politicians and media) were saying that the vaccines were “safe and effective” before they were even released. I felt at the time that such claims were not credible. It normally takes years of testing and peer-reviewed studies to determine the safety of a drug, and that simply has not been the case with these medications. In addition, there has been a lack of transparency on the part of the drug companies to show their raw data and test results to the public. The big tech companies and big pharma are simply not allowing peer review of the data, or even allowing scientists and medical professionals with a different opinion to share their thoughts. And, that raises a concern.
I did get fully vaccinated, back when “fully vaccinated” was defined as two Pfizer jabs (or comparable). Now it appears the definition of “fully vaccinated” is changing, just like the definition of a “vaccine” was changed. Historically, according to the CDC’s website, a vaccine delivered “immunity” from a virus or disease. Once it became apparent that the Covid-19 vaccines DID NOT kill the virus thereby not providing immunity, the definition on the CDC website was modified by removing the word “immunity” and replacing it with “protection”. By comparison, the Smallpox vaccine kills the Smallpox virus and provides immunity from Smallpox. The same is true for the Polio vaccine and dozens of others. The Smallpox vaccine virtually eradicated Smallpox, but the current Covid-19 vaccines will not eradicate Covid-19. Therefore, claims that “if everyone would just get vaccinated, Covid will go away” are not based in science. And, anyone who has made this claim publicly is certainly guilty of spreading misinformation. Covid may go away, but it will not be because of the current “vaccines.”
Like millions of other Americans, I have concerns about these experimental drugs and their potential long-term effects. And, because the story has changed so many times over the past two years, I can no longer trust the CDC to deliver competent or accurate information. Originally, we were told that the vaccines would stop the spread of the virus. Now, the CDC says the vaccines DO NOT prevent the spread of the virus. That is a BIG DEAL in my mind. How did these life-long scientists and professionals get that wrong? Originally, we were told that masks were ineffective against the spread of the virus, then they changed the story to say that masks were necessary to stop the spread of the virus. Now, they are back to saying that the masks (non-N95) are ineffective. It makes one wonder if anyone at the CDC or NIH knows what the hell they are doing!
The popular narrative is that Americans who refuse to get the jab or boosters are crazy, irresponsible and have no concern for the health and safety of others. But, the vaccines only provide some protection for the vaccinated and do not prevent the spread of the virus. They also try to marginalize concerned Americans by calling them names like “Anti-Vaxxer”. I am not anti-vaccine. For one thing, I do not consider these experimental drugs to be vaccines. In my opinion, they are no different than the annual flu shot. But, I am not Anti-Jab or Anti-Vax. As I stated previously, I have been fully vaccinated (two Pfizer jabs). What big tech, politicians, and the media apparently do not want to accept is that millions of Americans DO NOT TRUST them to provide accurate information. In other words, they have often been the source of misinformation.
BOOSTERS
After careful consideration of the risks versus benefits of the booster shots, I have decided against getting additional booster shots at this time. I reserve the right to change my mind should additional data and science suggest that the boosters actually provide significant protection against future, more dangerous variants of Covid-19 than Omicron.
As it pertains to cruising, if a cruise line requires a booster for me to sail on their vessels, I will sadly have to decline that opportunity. I refuse to be injected with more experimental drugs which have not been fully tested or peer reviewed just so I can go on a cruise. My wish would be that the cruise industry would follow the real science and data and not blindly follow guidelines from the CDC, which tend to change every month.
