Key Aspects:
- One cruise fan raised an interesting question about the cruising ducks game: What happens when the rubber ducks are not immediately found?
- While some cruisers had active imaginations regarding this answer, the ducks are usually left for guests or crew members onboard the next voyage to find.
- The cruising ducks game continues to grow in popularity.
The point of hiding rubber ducks on a cruise ship is to bring joy to the other passengers or crew members who find the adorable toys – but what happens to ducks that aren’t found before the cruise disembarks?
“Does anyone know what staff does with any unfound ducks after the ship empties?” one cruise fan inquired in a Royal Caribbean forum on Reddit.
Personally, I was quite impressed with how creative – and on theme with the Halloween season – some of the responses got.
“They gather them in a circle, light candles and perform a RC Séance. Summoning good seas and high tips on the next cruise,” one person joked.
“Séance of the Seas confirmed?” someone chimed in next, referencing Royal Caribbean’s naming convention for its fleet.
But all jokes aside, the real answer is actually a lot less exciting.
As long as the ducks aren’t somewhere dangerous or creating an obstruction, they will typically be left in their hiding spots for guests embarking on the upcoming voyage to discover.
In fact, one option in the cruising ducks game is actually to re-hide the ducks for other guests to find instead of taking them home.
Most people label their ducks with their hometown and voyage, and it can be fun to see how far and long the ducks you find have sailed.
“A couple cruises ago, we found a duck that was dated from 4 months earlier. If they’re hidden well enough that other cruisers don’t find them, they’ll just sit there until someone does,” one recent passenger shared.
Alternatively, sometimes crew members will also pick up the odd duck to brighten their day and/or as a souvenir for a child or loved one waiting for them at home.
Popularity of Cruising Ducks Soars
While cruising ducks have been around for a long time, it’s really only in recent years that the game’s popularity has truly begun to take flight.
Highlighting this, some cruisers have started to bring giant ducks on their sailings in addition to the small, rubber variety.
In August, a giant 3-4-foot duck was spotted on a private balcony onboard Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas.
And just days ago, Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald shared a photo on his public Facebook page of another giant duck.
This time, a guest of Carnival Valor was wearing an inflatable duck costume while pretending to hide.
“I hid the biggest duck on Valor for Halloween!” the guest wrote to Heald.
“And people say the duck thing is out of control. Nonsense,” the brand ambassador cheekily replied.
Large Cruise Ducks
Read Also: Cruise Ducks: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know!
There are occasionally times when duck hiding crosses the line from good fun into annoying or dangerous.
Most recently, Carnival publicly asked guests to stop a cruel prank where guests would hide ducks with fake tags that said the finder had won one free drink.
This joke unfortunately only led to frustration and confusion when the finders realized that they weren’t actually entitled to their drink.
Alternatively, Royal Caribbean has banned duck hiding in the Central Park area on Oasis-class and Icon-class cruise ships.
The purpose of the ban is to protect the plants that beautify Central Park, which can be damaged when guests hunt for the small toys.
Finally, Disney Cruise Line is really the first and only cruise line to outright discourage the game.
But considering I’ve found at least a quarter of my duck collection on Disney ships, the game appears to be alive and well onboard the most magical ships at sea.
Appeared first on: Cruisehive.com
