Hiding ducks on the cruise?

[jkester]

Ya'll don't need to worry about the ducks. My wife will protect you.

 

[MomOTwins]

I have an update from our latest Wish cruise—I’m even more solidly in the anti duck camp now. Yes people put these ducks in stupid places. They put them on stairs where someone could trip. They put them out on the windy promenade deck where they can roll out to sea and probably be swallowed by some poor sea creature. But mostly, they disappeared—people said they hid hundreds but only a handful were reported found in our facebook group, and there were lots of parents posting how sad their kids were they searched and searched but never found one. Likely in the incinerator as posted earlier. I don’t believe in making extra work for the overworked crew and I don’t like the idea of getting up little kids” hopes only to have them be disappointed. I prefer to give out pixie dust to cabins who post in our group they were too late/too overwhelmed by the fish extender process but would welcome pixie dust. That way I know someone my gifts are going where they will be welcome.

 

[Karin1984]

people said they hid hundreds but only a handful were reported found in our facebook group

That's another thing by the hiders. They overestimate how eager people are to share what they have found. And there will be people who find ducks who are not on facebook/social media. Just because the tag says "Let us know", there is no guarantee people will.

Hiders need to adjust their expectations ;-) I think hiders (especially if they hide many) get a kick out of hiding ducks in difficult to reach/find places. With the possibility that they are indeed not found.

Good point about hiding them outside and end up in the ocean.

 

[rainbowredpanda]

wait, what now??? I'm at a loss to understand how your issues with people who don't have kids or who cruise without kids are relevant to a conversation about hiding ducks on cruise ships.

I saw plenty of adults on my cruise a few weeks ago enjoying hiding and finding ducks. Its not an activity exclusively for kids.

All we are saying is that something that started as a fun activity enjoyed by a few passengers on a cruise has grown into an expectation of being a necessary part of the cruise experience. And that not everyone has an interest or wants to participate.

Its got NOTHING to do with passengers not having children or cruising without children.

I think adults and children can enjoy these sorts of activities. They're fun, they don't hurt anyone, it's no different to fish extenders, pin trading, the old Vinylmation trading (I miss this one so much in the Parks) If you enjoy it, do it. If you don't, don't do it. I think there are people who like to ruin the fun and be critical. While yes, social media can make things get out of control, the ducks aren't it. The problem isn't those who don't want to participate, it's more the people who even in this thread, take great delight in telling people how their ducks are getting burned (they're not, lets be honest here). If you don't like it, move on with your life and just enjoy your cruise. And those who want to hide or search for ducks will continue to do so.

 

[Mags2002]

I think adults and children can enjoy these sorts of activities. They're fun, they don't hurt anyone, it's no different to fish extenders, pin trading, the old Vinylmation trading (I miss this one so much in the Parks) If you enjoy it, do it. If you don't, don't do it. I think there are people who like to ruin the fun and be critical. While yes, social media can make things get out of control, the ducks aren't it. The problem isn't those who don't want to participate, it's more the people who even in this thread, take great delight in telling people how their ducks are getting burned (they're not, lets be honest here). If you don't like it, move on with your life and just enjoy your cruise. And those who want to hide or search for ducks will continue to do so.

I am not saying that people should or should not participate in this. I have found a few cute ducks myself that now live in my cabin.
I’m not sure how many are hidden or how many of these hidden are found each cruise, but a percentage of them definitely end up in the trash each cruise

 

[Mags2002]

It depends on the ship and how much a manager cares about this stuff but I hear it's a real pain to end your shift and have to open trash bags to rescue garbage ducks since they can't be recycled and be splashed with occasional trash juice

OMG TRASH JUICE
I thought people were joking about this being a thing. The first time I encountered trash juice I was horrified!!!!

 

[algae]

...it's no different to fish extenders, pin trading, the old Vinylmation trading (I miss this one so much in the Parks) If you enjoy it, do it. If you don't, don't do it.

Those activities are fine in that they take place in a specific time/location or with specific people, as opposed to the duck hiding. On my last sailing, I saw ducks in potentially not good places like: on top of picture frames in the stairs out of reach of most people; on top of those small white boxes in the stateroom hallways (I hope they are WiFi hubs and not smoke detectors or some safety-related box); jammed into the circular door knobs of service door/panels. Those kinda cross the line of harmless fun places and can be problematic IMHO. Duck-hiders, please use some discretion on the quantity and placement of the ducks so it doesn't get too crazy.

 

[Mags2002]

If DCL is so negative with their employees about cute ducks, you can only imagine how they feel about passengers.

Actually, Disney rates Guests above all else and as long as the Guests are not doing something that is a safety concern, there is nothing to worry about

 

[Snowwhyt]

Went back to my Amazon order and upon the advice left here last week, I have removed the pyrotechnics, smoke bombs, and Mickey Mouse confetti I plan to leave with the ducks to celebrate the duck rehoming. Good point, I could’ve hurt somebody. The ducks are still gonna be ordered though.

 

[MalvernPa]

Hi. Just curios, are tags required when hiding ducks or can they be hidden without?

 

[Mommb]

Hi. Just curios, are tags required when hiding ducks or can they be hidden without?

The duck hiding is entirely optional, so there are no set rules. When I found a duck on my recent cruise, it has a small label attached describing what it was and asking me to re-hide it, but no link to track it.

Having a label would be helpful for people whose first thought is “Some kid lost this duck — I need to get it back to them” but isn’t essential.

 

[MalvernPa]

The duck hiding is entirely optional, so there are no set rules. When I found a duck on my recent cruise, it has a small label attached describing what it was and asking me to re-hide it, but no link to track it.

Having a label would be helpful for people whose first thought is “Some kid lost this duck — I need to get it back to them” but isn’t essential.

I have an upcoming Halloween cruise from NYC , and I have a few Halloween ducks I am considering to hide.

 

[mousefan73]

You honestly couldn't walk down the hallway about dozens of ducks in your way?

Well, someone with messed up, ligaments in my left ankle, the idea of not seeing one stepping on it as a horror situation that would ruin my vacation. My mother who has imbalance issues to begin with plus knee problems would have an issue having to step around things down the hall

 

[Flcruising]

I have an update from our latest Wish cruise—I’m even more solidly in the anti duck camp now. Yes people put these ducks in stupid places. They put them on stairs where someone could trip. They put them out on the windy promenade deck where they can roll out to sea and probably be swallowed by some poor sea creature. But mostly, they disappeared—people said they hid hundreds but only a handful were reported found in our facebook group, and there were lots of parents posting how sad their kids were they searched and searched but never found one. Likely in the incinerator as posted earlier. I don’t believe in making extra work for the overworked crew and I don’t like the idea of getting up little kids” hopes only to have them be disappointed. I prefer to give out pixie dust to cabins who post in our group they were too late/too overwhelmed by the fish extender process but would welcome pixie dust. That way I know someone my gifts are going where they will be welcome.

I assume when you saw ducks in dangerous places you moved them. Or did you just go on by? Maybe you picked them up so nobody got hurt coming behind you and then gave them to a child who couldn't find one. That would be a nice thing for you to do. If you did congratulations on spreading pixie dust.
As far as tracking them we have never posted we found one. So you can't assume if ducks aren't tracked they have been thrown away. We keep the original label on and put them out again on the next cruise.

 

[DMMarla07860]

Someone I know who just got off the Dream said they were fine, till the last night going from Bermuda to NYC where they saw a few rolling across the floors, supposedly it was rough seas. No he wasn't joking

 

[MomOTwins]

I assume when you saw ducks in dangerous places you moved them. Or did you just go on by? Maybe you picked them up so nobody got hurt coming behind you and then gave them to a child who couldn't find one. That would be a nice thing for you to do. If you did congratulations on spreading pixie dust.
As far as tracking them we have never posted we found one. So you can't assume if ducks aren't tracked they have been thrown away. We keep the original label on and put them out again on the next cruise.

Yes I moved them.

 

[rainbowredpanda]

Well, someone with messed up, ligaments in my left ankle, the idea of not seeing one stepping on it as a horror situation that would ruin my vacation. My mother who has imbalance issues to begin with plus knee problems would have an issue having to step around things down the hall

If things were on the floor, it's a trip hazard. I've never seen them left on the floor but a simple solution is just to pick it up and move it, which is exactly what I do for anything on the floor that shouldn't be there. But the hallway wasn't full of them, at best perhaps 1 or 2 during an entire cruise.

 

[OpieDoodle]

our last cruise on Fantasy you could hardly get down the hallways with the billions of ducks everywhere. Made it almost impossible to walk.

Wow! I wish I could have seen a photo! Must have been a sight for sure! I've been on numerous cruises with many being on Carnival where duck hiding is HUGE and I've never seen anything like that. I mean since there are 1250 cabins on the Fantasy that would mean each cabin would have brought like 800,000 ducks on board and hid them all in the hallways at the same time. Sheesh.

Only time I ever have a problem with walking in the hallways is all the room service trays during busy times with lots of people walking back and forth. Never had a problem with a billion ducks in the hallway making it so I couldn't walk!

 

[Flcruising]

Wow! I wish I could have seen a photo! Must have been a sight for sure! I've been on numerous cruises with many being on Carnival where duck hiding is HUGE and I've never seen anything like that. I mean since there are 1250 cabins on the Fantasy that would mean each cabin would have brought like 800,000 ducks on board and hid them all in the hallways at the same time. Sheesh.

Only time I ever have a problem with walking in the hallways is all the room service trays during busy times with lots of people walking back and forth. Never had a problem with a billion ducks in the hallway making it so I couldn't walk!

I have never seen ducks on a floor or even below a child's eye level. I have encountered many trays, glasses, cups, plates and suitcases protruding beyond the room space out into the hallway. Should we ban those items?

 

[RedHead0186]

I have never seen ducks on a floor or even below a child's eye level. I have encountered many trays, glasses, cups, plates and suitcases protruding beyond the room space out into the hallway. Should we ban those items?

Well, there is conflicting information on whether room service wants you to put empty trays/service items out in the hallway or not. So not necessarily ban those items, but ban putting them in the hallway.