Carnival Cruise Lines' decision to drop any further International Cougar Cruises groups from its ships, after hosting the first group last month on the Carnival Elation, was curious.
That sailing was successful enough to spawn two additional "cougar" cruises this year: One will be held on Royal Caribbean International's Mariner of the Seas in May, and the other will be on Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Sky in December.
"Cougars," the popular term for older women who pursue younger men, called "cubs," are hot in pop culture right now and are featured in prime-time television shows like the ABC show "Cougar Town," starring Courteney Cox.
Carnival did not give much of a reason for dropping the cougar-themed groups, saying only, "We made the decision in late 2009 not to allow any future groups on our ships to be marketed under this theme. It was a business decision."
Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean stated: "We have no reason to deny this group the opportunity to sail on our ship. We assume this group will follow our guest conduct policy, just like any other guest. We have no reason to think otherwise."
Carnival's decision would not be curious if it had given a more thorough explanation for it. Instead, it leaves the press and industry to speculate. And one industry insider said that there were no issues during the cruise with the first group, hosted by Singles Travel Company and the Society of Single Professionals, which said the cruise included singles get-togethers, dancing and socializing events, and a cocktail party.
Howard Moses, who started the website ThemeCruiseFinder.com, said that Carnival's move was likely part of the line's shift towards being more family-friendly.
"My guess is that Carnival has been trying to shake their party image for years, and having this group on board doesn't really help with that," he said.
Carnival's new TV ads, for example, definitely show that family focus.
The first spot, retaining the line's "Fun for all. All for fun." tagline, shows a family on a Carnival cruise. The dad decides to cut a rug on the dance floor as the song "Bang the Drum All Day" plays, prompting "The Office" star John Krasinski, in a voiceover, to say: "What's going on with Dad? He seems different. He's not talking about work, he's not tucking in his shirt, he's not checking messages every nine seconds. And now this?"
A dad busting a move with his wife on the dance floor may be about as wild as Carnival wants it ships to get.