Hunting season is over at Carnival Cruises.
The “fun ship” line has announced that it will ban the concept of “cougar cruises,” even though spots on the maiden voyage sold like hot cakes.
Imaginations have been running wild over what in the world happened aboard that boat to make Carnival say “no mas,” but the cruise line has remained very buttoned-up on the subject.
Keep reading to find out more about the world’s first “International Cougar Cruise.”
Carnival Cruises did not organize the voyage or market it as a “cougar cruise.” That was actually the brainchild of Rich Gosse, chairman of The Society of Single Professionals. Gosse teamed up with the Singles Travel Company to book 300 spaces on the 2,052-capacity ship.
The concept was so popular that the travel company had to put people on a waiting list and hire more employees just to answer the phones. People reportedly flew in from places as far away as Italy, Denmark and France to attend.
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Many people typically picture “cougars” as aggressive older women on the prowl for younger men. Some women who signed up may have fit that bill, but organizers say that “cubs,” or young men who like to date older women, actually outnumbered cougars on the cruise.
Before the event, Gosse said that he wanted to “prove to our youth-oriented society” that many men find older women attractive—based on the turnout, he was correct.
Those numbers were likely aided by a salacious marketing campaign that promised three nights of singles meet-ups, dancing and partying. The firm made sure to point out that cougars are not particularly interested in “children, cohabitation or commitment.”
The jaunt from San Diego, California, to Ensenada, Mexico, lasted three nights in the first week of December. Gosse has said that he received positive feedback from the other passengers who had not booked with the idea that they were going on a cougar cruise.
But Carnival is pulling the plug on future cougar cruises. “Carnival has made the decision not to allow future groups booked on our ships to be marketed under this theme,” said Carnival spokesperson Jennifer de la Cruz. “It was simply a business decision.”
In the meantime, the Singles Travel Company is planning two more cougar cruises this spring on other lines. In response to high demand on the East Coast, they are planning a 3-night voyage with Norwegian. They are also planning a 7-night cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship for people on the West Coast.
By Dan Bence for PeterGreenberg.com.
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