Royal Caribbean says yes to sexually-charged cougar cruise
Is Royal Caribbean the new bad boy of the cruise industry?
The world's second largest cruise line says it will pick up where industry leader Carnival left off in hosting a "cougar cruise" organized by California-based Singles Travel Company.
The Second International Cougar Cruise, as it's being called, will take place May 16-23 on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas.
Carnival hosted what was billed as the world's first cougar cruise last month on the 2,056-passenger Carnival Elation -- a three-night romp that drew international headlines -- but said last week it has decided to ban the concept for the future, despite what is reportedly huge demand for the voyages.
The controversial escapade, which took place Dec. 4-7, was aimed at older woman who pursue younger men -- or "cougars," in contemporary lingo.
The new cougar cruise on the 3,114-passenger Mariner will be a longer, seven-night voyage from Los Angeles to Mexico with stops in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta.
Like Carnival, Royal Caribbean only is hosting the event, not marketing or organizing it. The trip is the brainchild of the Singles Travel Company, which has blocked group space on the ship. The company is selling cabins starting at $399 per person, based on double occupancy, not including taxes and fees.
"We have no reason to deny this group the opportunity to sail on our ship," Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez tells USA TODAY. "We assume this group will follow our guest conduct policy, just like any other guest. We have no reason to think otherwise."
Carnival's De la Cruz didn't say why Carnival had banned future cougar cruises. The International Cougar Cruise's organizers have said the first voyage was a smash sell-out with a lengthy waiting list of people wanting to get on board.
Details of what occurred on board are scanty. Singles Travel Company had promised three days of singles meet-ups, dancing and "partying" inspired by Valerie Gibson's 2001 book Cougar: A Guide for Older Women Dating Younger Men -- a pitch that was filled with innuendo. As the firm had noted in a press release, a cougar "knows exactly what she wants ... (and) what she doesn't want is children, cohabitation or commitment."
Organizers had noted 2009 was "the year of the cougar," according to a recent story in Newsweek. The term has gone ever more mainstream with TV shows like Courteney Cox's recently launched Cougar Town on ABC and the Bachelor-like reality dating show The Cougar.
