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Ladies, your ship. |
Just days ago, older single ladies across America sat bereaved over the news that Carnival was dropping the Cougar Cruise. Well, ladies, time to get your growl back. Royal Caribbean has jumped in and said yes to hosting the licentious romp, organized by Los Gatos, CA-based Singles Travel Company.
Billled The Second International Cougar Cruise, it will take place May 16-23 on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas. Carnival had hosted the cruise on the 2,056 Carnival Elation, December 4-7, but told Travel Agent it no longer would going forward, though it was purely a business decision.
Note: Royal Caribbean will only be hosting the event, not marketing or organizing it. So, "The Nation of Why Not" won't anytime soon become "The Nation of Older Women Looking for Younger Men to Satisfy Their Every Whim"—though it does have a nice ring.
USA TODAY reports that Singles Travel Company has blocked group space on the ship and is selling cabins starting at $399 per person.
"We have no reason to deny this group the opportunity to sail on our ship," Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez told USA TODAY. "We assume this group will follow our guest conduct policy, just like any other guest. We have no reason to think otherwise."
Singles Travel Company has said the cruise was inspired by Valerie Gibson's 2001 book "Cougar: A Guide for Older Women Dating Younger Men."
USA TODAY referred to a recent story by Newsweek that stated 2009 as the "year of the cougar." Cougar is now a mainstream term, having even infiltrated the ranks of primetime TV with shows like Courteney Cox's Cougar Town on ABC.