Rawr?

'Cougars,' 'cubs' unwelcome on Carnival cruises :: WRAL.com

Hello friends,

First, I've decided to cut the blog down to three days a week (Tuesday through Thursday) for a little while. I'm working on two major projects right now (finding a job and starting a small business), and I've found that my Mondays and Fridays tend to be overwhelmed by related tasks. Once life settles down a bit, I'll be happy to expand this back to five days a week if my readers are interested. I'm sorry for not mentioning it last week, before my little disappearance.

Now on with the show! I'm sharing a link to an article about how the Carnival Cruise Line will no longer welcome parties with a "cougar" theme. In case you've somehow missed it, the terms 'cougars' and 'cubs' refer to women who date younger men and young gents who date older women. A notable example is Courtney Cox-Arquette and David Arquette.

I'm sharing the article because it caught my interest as a business actively choosing the atmosphere it offers its clients. They're not saying they won't allow older single women or younger single men to book trips on the cruises; they're just saying they won't let travel organizations book parties specifically targeting cougar life to their liners. As mentioned in the article, a party booked last month drew approximately 300 guests; I imagine this would be a noticeable group aboard the ship.

Over the next few months, I imagine people will come out of the woodwork either praising Carnival's family values or decrying their closed-mindedness. I will do neither here; my personal opinion is that they can do what they want with their business. Whether you agree with the policy or not, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, Carnival offers a luxury product, not a necessity. Second, they by no means have a monopoly. Third, they are a "private" business; the stock is publicly traded, but they are not a government organization.

My point, dear readers, is that this is an example of the wonderful variety available in a capitalist society. If you want a family-oriented cruise, Carnival may be the way to go. If you want something a bit more exotic, you might want to check out their competitors; the article names two such companies. If the Carnival shareholders decide they don't like this new policy, they can vote to change it. If the public decides this is a big enough issue to be worth mass boycotting, we'll see it reflected in the stock price.

Perhaps there will be more to come on this as the spring cruise season progresses. In any case, I just wanted to share an example of a business exercising its right to decide for itself what it will and will not allow on its premises. If only we could make the NC General Assembly see the beauty of this idea...

Until tomorrow,
MK