Hiding ducks on the cruise?

[ngtod]

I think the duck thing is a bit out of control. Seems like people bring a whole bunch of ducks to hide, but then don't get a chance to do that until the end of the sailing. So on the last night, there are a billion ducks all over the ship. It's not that special if you bring 10 (or more!) of the same kind of duck to hide. And if you get a few people who also bring 10 ducks, it can add up to too many ducks in too few public spaces... Exercise some moderation, please. But, some of the small squishy ducks are pretty cool, though--the tiny hard plastic ones, not so much.

My $0.02.

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

 

[lilsonicfan]

I'd sure hate to be the owner of a duck that caused injury or death. Imagine the criminal prosecution or lawsuit that might occur.

You would not expect selfies or gender reveal parties to cause injury or death, but they do! Someone will always take it too far.

This reminds me of the Parks & Rec episode where a lady complains to Ron: "Excuse me, there's a sign a Ramsett Park that says 'do not drink the sprinkler water", so I made sun tea with it and now I have an infection."

Dang, that duck tag said to re-hide it, so I ate it and now I've choked!

 

[Lord Manhammer]

the current Youth Activities manager seems to find joy in picking these up around the ship and keeping them all for himself

what a **** (insert your own expletive)

 

[imbelle]

This reminds me of the Parks & Rec episode where a lady complains to Ron: "Excuse me, there's a sign a Ramsett Park that says 'do not drink the sprinkler water", so I made sun tea with it and now I have an infection."

Dang, that duck tag said to re-hide it, so I ate it and now I've choked!

The heretofore unrealized duck danger made me think of an episode of "Dead Like Me". Two Reapers, sent to pick up a soul in a bank lobby, bet on how the person is going to die. The victim ends up slipping on a discarded banana peel and falls into the floor of the revolving door which whacks him in the head. What are the odds?
I saw a hidden duck on my last DCL cruise but didn't pick it up. I'll never know how close I came to certain annihilation.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I think guests have no idea how many of these end up in the incinerator room. (As crew members on board we're responsible for bringing our own trash to sort out and there are always buckets of these getting processed.)

It's an unspoken secret that Crew Members may be able to sneak and keep them on their own to avoid their fate in the trash, but when these are found by crew in public areas the USPH policy onboard is to dispose/offload them for recycling after the cruise (without letting guests know). *Edited to add that obviously like any job there are people who will care more than others, and managers who are more strict about it and other departments who aren't. But if the ship is about to undergo a USPH inspection soon you can bet that anything left around that cruise gets removed so they don't get dinged/points off*

It's a bit of a downer reality to think about that might kill the fun, but imagine if the crew were to just let guests plant random objects in hidden locations on board whenever they wanted and the danger this could present. We do safety drills on a regular basis to locate objects hidden within our spaces for this reason. On the bright side, most crew members are usually not so heartless and if a duck is in their designated work space and hasn't been immediately discovered, they move it to a more conspicuous areas for another guest to take to avoid having to throw it out.

If you ever get a chance, ask the ship's Chief Safety Officer or Environmental Officer what they think about ducks on board and prepare for a lecture!

Good grief. Working on dcl sounds downright soul killing.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I was ambivalent about hiding ducks until I read this. Thanks for your perspective and sharing the info. I don't begrudge people the fun they have hiding and finding ducks, but maybe we (as in, all of us) can focus on other more sustainable methods of spreading joy.

Those ducks sustain a lot of joy. Better not touch one.

 

[RetiredChipmunk]

what a **** (insert your own expletive)

if it's the one I'm thinking of, can confirm

 

[RetiredChipmunk]

Good grief. Working on dcl sounds downright soul killing.

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

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I agree, its getting out of hand. Before my Spain cruise in August, so many people were posting online that they had up to 100 ducks to hide on the ship.

It was turning into a bit of who can out do who with the amount and type of ducks they were bringing. As so many people were either driving or getting public transport to the cruise, there was no airline checked bag restrictions, so people could bring as many bags as they liked.

Then after the cruise people posted photos of all the ducks they collected on the ship during the cruise. Many people had quiet a lot while others were disappointed they didnt find any.

I get that it brings happiness to some, both the creating and hiding and the finding, but its being turned into another who is better than who culture and people are now expecting the ducks to be part of their cruise experience.

 

[RetiredChipmunk]

Truth be told anything is all in good fun until it just grows to be a bigger pain for us crew (but you can always immediately tell if someone really cares about the crew vs their own enjoyment).

Here's what happened with Star Wars droids on board and why they were quietly added to the restricted items list (go see for yourself):
Guest does whatever they want because it's fun and there's no specific rule against it, crew don't mind -> management doesn't like it but makes crew deal with it -> guests continue to have fun and management wants to keep scores high -> some really dumb avoidable accident happens and a guest wants to sue -> item gets added to the prohibited items list

 

[rainbowredpanda]

Truth be told anything is all in good fun until it just grows to be a bigger pain for us crew (but you can always immediately tell if someone really cares about the crew vs their own enjoyment).

Here's what happened with Star Wars droids on board and why they were quietly added to the restricted items list (go see for yourself):
Guest does whatever they want because it's fun and there's no specific rule against it, crew don't mind -> management doesn't like it but makes crew deal with it -> guests continue to have fun and management wants to keep scores high -> some really dumb avoidable accident happens and a guest wants to sue -> item gets added to the prohibited items list

But ducks aren't really going to cause a hazard, given where they're bring left. People aren't leaving them in the middle of walkways. It feels more like sour grapes, people just like complaining about something that brings people joy. The same people complain about magnets on doors and pin trading and anything else they can come up with.

 

[rainbowredpanda]

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

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

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

But ducks aren't really going to cause a hazard, given where they're bring left. People aren't leaving them in the middle of walkways. It feels more like sour grapes, people just like complaining about something that brings people joy. The same people complain about magnets on doors and pin trading and anything else they can come up with.

I agree. And I suspect none of these people have kids. Or their kids are long grown. I really see a shift in society to erase kids as people have stopped having them and become more and more self focused. Most of these people don’t want to be reminded of kids. ( I’m no psychologist but…) And they love to use the pretext of “sustainability” lol and “safety” as ways to control other people and stop other people from having fun. It is CHILDREN who love hide and seek duck games. It is CHILDREN who get shear joy in finding a silly duck tucked away on a windowsill. If DCL is so negative with their employees about cute ducks, you can only imagine how they feel about passengers. It is shocking how nihilist and negative people can be. People need to think about what they are saying and why they feel the way they do.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

I agree. And I suspect none of these people have kids. Or their kids are long grown. I really see a shift in society to erase kids as people have stopped having them and become more and more self focused. Most of these people don’t want to be reminded of kids. ( I’m no psychologist but…) And they love to use the pretext of “sustainability” lol and “safety” as ways to control other people and stop other people from having fun. It is CHILDREN who love hide and seek duck games. It is CHILDREN who get shear joy in finding a silly duck tucked away on a windowsill. If DCL is so negative with their employees about cute ducks, you can only imagine how they feel about passengers. It is shocking how nihilist and negative people can be. People need to think about what they are saying and why they feel the way they do.

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.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

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.

It has every to do with it. Sure some adults enjoy the ducks, but it is children who experience real joy in finding the ducks. Do a little analysis. Be reflective instead of just reactive. Any psychologist will tell you it’s not really the ducks that are the issue. It’s always something else. I’m not saying people should have children. That’s a personal choice. I’m just pointing out the obvious. The ducks are for kids.

 

[Karin1984]

I have found one duck on my transatlantic and I took it with me (Solo traveller, no kids), I enjoyed finding it. Especially because it's a tuxedo duck and it was formal night.

I think it's adults who decide to bring ducks on cruises to hide for others, I do not believe it's kids. Usually the parents are in charge of packing and thinking about baggage allowance. Kids might get more fun from it IN THE MOMENT, Adults before and after.

I also think it is something that can get out of hand due to social media. To me it's on the same level as Fish Extender gifts. For some it's bringing something small & cheap, others spend hundreds of dollars on it. And I think that it can fool first-time-cruisers who think this is what they need to do to enjoy their cruise.

Either way, if it's something that prevents crew members to do their job properly or it's a safety thing, it has to go.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

It has every to do with it. Sure some adults enjoy the ducks, but it is children who experience real joy in finding the ducks. Do a little analysis. Be reflective instead of just reactive. Any psychologist will tell you it’s not really the ducks that are the issue. It’s always something else. I’m not saying people should have children. That’s a personal choice. I’m just pointing out the obvious. The ducks are for kids.

Wow this is wild, so adults who hide and find ducks don't experience real joy, only children can experience real joy.

Now you are wanting to control who can participate in hiding and finding ducks. The ducks are not just for kids, you can not dictate who finds and hides ducks. You are not the gatekeeper of this activity.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Wow this is wild, so adults who hide and find ducks don't experience real joy, only children can experience real joy.

Now you are wanting to control who can participate in hiding and finding ducks. The ducks are not just for kids, you can not dictate who finds and hides ducks. You are not the gatekeeper of this activity.

Lol. This isn’t personal. It’s just ducks. I am going to go out on a limb and say that yes, hide and seek was more fun when I was a kid. It can still be fun as an adult, but yes, it was more fun as a kid. I suspect kids get more joy out of the duck deal than adults do. Im personally not interested in the ducks. But a few years ago, my kids were over the moon when they found a couple of ducks on a carnival cruise. They kept their eyes open for more ducks for the rest of that cruise. I didn’t. If I didn’t have kids, I would not care about the ducks. Heck I have kids and I don’t care about the ducks. My kids are teens and no longer care about the ducks. Obviously I’m not saying adults can’t play the duck game. Play away. I’m saying that people need to remember what it was like to be a kid and appreciate that kids REALLY like the ducks. If you have kids, it is easier to remember what it was like to be a kid because it is in front of your face every day (driving you crazy). There is a lot of get off my lawn on here.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I have found one duck on my transatlantic and I took it with me (Solo traveller, no kids), I enjoyed finding it. Especially because it's a tuxedo duck and it was formal night.

I think it's adults who decide to bring ducks on cruises to hide for others, I do not believe it's kids. Usually the parents are in charge of packing and thinking about baggage allowance. Kids might get more fun from it IN THE MOMENT, Adults before and after.

I also think it is something that can get out of hand due to social media. To me it's on the same level as Fish Extender gifts. For some it's bringing something small & cheap, others spend hundreds of dollars on it. And I think that it can fool first-time-cruisers who think this is what they need to do to enjoy their cruise.

Either way, if it's something that prevents crew members to do their job properly or it's a safety thing, it has to go.

Yes, it could end up like a monty python skit where the ducks start attacking Disney employees and make it impossible for them to do their jobs.

 

[Karin1984]

Yes, it could end up like a monty python skit where the ducks start attacking Disney employees and make it impossible for them to do their jobs.

I was more thinking of blocking pipes, ventilation, those kinda things, but sure why not.