Photo courtesy of cruiseradio.net
Did you know ducks on cruises are a thing? They totally are!
You may have even found this page because you found one of Joyvoya's cruising ducks on board. If so, con-quack-ulations!
So, what's up with the ducks?
Maybe on land you’ve found painted rocks before while in a public outdoor space. These rocks were painted by people who then set them out with the sole purpose of brightening a stranger’s day. Cruising ducks are the same idea, only on cruise ships.
Legend has it that a 10-year-old girl named Abby was the first to hide ducks on a Carnival ship in 2018. Since then her sweet gesture of fun has exploded into a full-fledged fanfare of duck hiding. Not just kids, but adults of all ages, have made hiding and/or hunting for ducks one of the key fun-features of their cruise vacations.
If you want to add more zest to your next cruise, bring a few ducks on board to hide! Like people, ducks come in all varieties. While mostly you’ll find classic rubber duckies, don’t be surprised to spy duck keychains, postcards, Lego kits, and even hand-crocheted mallards.
Photo courtesy of foreverkaren.com
Keep in mind a few imperative guidelines for duck-hiding (yes! There are rules):
- Hide ducks in public areas only.
- Never hide ducks in a shop on board.
- Be sure they’re not placed where they could be knocked into the ocean.
- Tag your ducks with words appropriate for all ages.
Most ducks are tagged with a little info about the person who hid them and may provide a Web link (or even a QR code) where you can post a selfie (a duckie?) of you and your duck to share with the world.
Is this for real, you ask? Are cruisers really this quackers?
Yes, and yes! You’ll find several Facebook group pages where duck-hiders and -finders gather, the largest of which is “Cruising Ducks – Original”, which has over 125,000 members and nearly 5,000 new posts each month.
Photo courtesy of lifewellcruised.com
If you’re not ready to bring a suitcase of ducks on your next cruise, no worries. You can still join in the fun by being on the lookout for duck friends throughout the ship. And, if you decide not to keep the duck, just take your “duckie” (selfie?), post it to the world, and then re-hide it for another cruiser to find.
Have you hidden or found ducks on your cruise?