Reports of rubber-ducky sightings have been rolling in from across all major cruise lines—including, but not limited to Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Princess and Crystal Cruises. It’s an unofficial game of hide-and-seek, but these lighthearted antics have undeniably become an onboard trend among cruise-goers of all ages.
Reportedly, the duck hunt began back in 2018 by a ten-year-old girl named Abby from Liberty, Texas, who started secreting the quacky little characters in inconspicuous spots aboard the Carnival Breeze for her fellow passengers to find. Whether or not the playful practice was in place prior to Abby’s particular departure, she’s nonetheless now widely credited with fanning the spark of this fad into a full-blown flame.
MORE Cruise Line & Cruise Ship
Of course, on the grander scale, the Cruising Ducks phenomenon has gone global thanks to the scale and reach of social media. Although there are several groups now devoted to the trend, the most widely recognized is the “original” Cruising Ducks Facebook Page, which currently boasts over 26,000 members.
Duck finders are urged to take selfies with the critters they’ve discovered and post them online, as well as indicating when and whether they decide to re-hide the little guys. The Facebook fan page states, “Our goal is to see how far our Ducks will travel and where their journey might take them.”
Most people simply purchase their duckies to smuggle aboard and then stash them in clever nooks and crannies around the ship, but some folks even take the time to craft or crochet their own little characters, often emblazoned with the hider’s name, hometown, ship’s name and departure date.
Those who really get into the game tie tiny “passports” onto their ducks, for a running log of the people and places that each delightful little duck has encountered on its journey.
Apparently, the options aren’t limited to just ducks either—all kinds of small toys and animal figurines are popping up. In an interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, one of the Facebook group’s administrators, Amy Coon Tobey, sanctioned the substitution of several other kinds of treasures: “Plush, stuffed, key chains, clips, homemade, candy—you name it. And, any type of animals. I even did a bunch of water Pokemon.”
Many have been wondering what the cruise lines’ official responses to these onboard shenanigans might be. On March 9, 2019, Carnival Cruise Line’s official brand ambassador, John Heald, responded to a message he’d received regarding the presence of the duckies, saying, “Well the ducks have certainly taken off and I love seeing people’s faces when they find one, they quack me up.”
He followed this up with a users-poll that posed the broader question, “Have you found a duck on your cruises?” Out of 30,000 respondents, nineteen percent answered, “yes,” while 81 percent said, “no.”
While it’s an informal affair, there are some general guidelines to go by, and Facebook page moderators instruct:
—Attach a tag to your duck that reads, “Keep or hide, you decide! FB #CruisingDucks,” (or place it on the bottom) so that others know how to track its course.
—Do not hide ducks in the shops onboard the ship. No one wants to unintentionally send a child the message that it’s ever okay to take anything from inside a store.
—When hiding the ducks in public areas, avoid hot tubs, swimming pools and any place where a gust of wind might send the duck flying into the ocean.
—Feel free to stash them somewhere in your stateroom as a surprise for the next guest!
