November 10, 2004 -- Though the presidential election is over (barring any new scandals), the general mania for polling is still going strong, as are some of the issues it raised. Recently, Royal Caribbean International surveyed 1,500 women nationwide to learn their thoughts on "girlfriend-only trips." The results? Close to half the women surveyed (48 percent) have taken a girlfriends-only trip in the past three years, and nearly 9 out of 10 said they either have plans for a such a trip in the near future (33 percent) or would like to take one (56 percent).
Is the concept of same-sex vacations too much for America to handle? While Royal Caribbean conducted their survey to attract a bigger chunk of this growing market, the results also say something about the biggest division our country faces today: the one between women and men.
The question is, would similar numbers of men choose to vacation together, if given the chance?
"We host more women than men each year and see many groups of women cruising to enjoy time together and share new experiences," said Dan Hanrahan, Royal Caribbean's senior vice president of marketing and sales. "This new survey confirms this popular trend."
To assess the question more fully, I conducted a thoroughly scientific poll of my own, surveying Ed, Dan, John, Ralph, Carl, Nick and the guy at the donut shop. The answers to question #1 ("Would you consider going on a cruise with another guy or guys?") were mixed, with half the respondents saying, "Sure, why not?" and the other half saying, "No way. Everybody'd think we were gay -- unless maybe it was a football cruise."
"I'd consider going on a cruise with buddies," said Ralph G. of Asheville, NC, "but we'd have to make it clear that we were not gay. In the disco, for example, if the DJ spun anything by Donna Summer, the Village People, or (god forbid) Cher, we'd boo and turn over tables. We also wouldn't have our picture taken together at dinner, formal nights, upon boarding the ship or at any other time. If we found a picture of us together in the photo gallery, we'd pummel the photographer."
Ed S. of Warwick, NY, had a compromise position ("Actually, I'd rather go on the girlfriends-only cruise. Is that a possibility?"), while John R. of Santa Monica, CA, said, "There's not much on a cruise I'd like to do with other guys. There's no golf, softball, or porn -- at least not on the cruises I'm familiar with." (Note to John: There's actually a lot of golf. Click here for details.)
Delving deeper into Royal Caribbean's survey data, results showed that girlfriends who travel together are most interested in sharing a special spa retreat (66 percent), a beach vacation (65 percent), or a shopping trip (57 percent). For guys, the results are substantially different.
Unsurprisingly, the number-one activity favored by guys forced to travel together is "drinking," with some respondents offering variations such as "partying," "beer," "holding a beer funnel for my buddies then stepping up to take my turn" and "drinking beer and thinking about women sharing a special spa retreat."
Runners-up included "talking about sports," "talking about sex," "gambling" and "belching words and/or songs."
On another topic, women in Royal Caribbean's poll indicated that though destinations are important, their main reasons for going on girlfriends-only trips are bonding with friends and family (70 percent), sharing new experiences (45 percent), and taking a break from their significant other (39 percent). As an interesting corollary to answer #3, fully 86 percent of women surveyed said the most popular topic of conversation was "men," followed by reminiscing (69 percent), sex (59 percent), children (57 percent) and the future (57 percent).
"Getting away from the wife" ranked equally high among the men I surveyed, though all of them flatly rejected "the future" as a topic of conversation.
"I'm just not willing to commit to that," said Carl D. of Red Bank, NJ.
Meanwhile, Dan D. of Easton, PA, reprised the theme of question #2 by citing "drinking" as the main reason for going on a guys-only vacation. California's John R. amplified on this angle, noting that "Beer is cheap in the Caribbean, and arrest in the Bahamas doesn't count on your 'three strikes' record."
Nick T. of Brooklyn, NY, took a practical approach: "I can see going if we could call it a business trip and write it off on our taxes -- sort of the way getting the company luxury box at a football game is 'working.'"
Finally, Royal Caribbean's survey concluded that the vast majority of women traveling together noted problems with packing, saying they'd prefer to be able to bring "more money, more makeup, more clothes," and "old photos of friends on the trip and current photos of loved ones." Guys, predictably, expressed simpler needs when asked what they'd pack.
"Money for drinking, gambling, and, uh, 'ogling,'" said Nick T., "plus some kind of sports reference book. What else do you really need?"
Ralph G. of Ashville answered the question more simply.
"Clothes, you idiot. Duh!"
This column offered in hopes of patching up the Blue State-Red State rift. C'mon guys, if we don't stick together the women are going to totally take over. Remember, they talk to each other! Oh, and for information on the best ships for drinking beer, click here. See ya there after the women head for the spa.
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