Todays Humor: Hiding Ducks on A Cruise Ship.

[4x4bob]

From time to time the topic of Hiding Cruising Ducks on the ship during the Cruise pops up for a short time.

 

So, let me report on my experience on the Discovery Princess, 27 April to 04 May, out of San Pedro, Ca.

 

But first let me review the rules for hiding Cruising Ducks, which are small about 2 inch size plastic ducks think bath tub toys.  Never hide a duck that will: Interfere with the crew, Interfere with the operation of the ship, on open decks, in shops, or in pools.

 

Also, experienced Duck Hiders also attach a small pass port on the duck with the first name and home state of the person doing the hiding, the name of the ship, and the date of the cruise.  Also a copy of the above rules on hiding the ducks. And this statement: Conquackulations, you have found a Cruising Duck, yours to keep or to hide again. (add your name to the passport if you hide it again)

 

For this cruise I brought along 13 ducks to hide. (that is all of the space in the suit cases that she who must be obeyed allowed me 😁)

 

My plan was to hide the ducks early before too many people would be moving about.  To successfully hide one, you must not be observed such as being down on your hands and knees pushing a plastic Duck under the bottom step of the stairs. 

 

Since I also get up at 5:00 AM to take photos of the sunrise I would take 2 ducks with me each morning. 

 

I quickly identified several other Duck Hunters moving about the ship seeking the hidden treasures.  They were easy to spot. Narrow between the eyes, long pointed noises, buck teeth, and long bony fingers to pluck the Ducks from the hiding spots. OR maybe it was the finger prints on my glasses that made them look that way.  Any way I knew I had to up my game so I did not make too easy to find my ducks.

 

 

Most amature duck hiders place their ducks into one of the plants around the ship, so that is were the duck hunter first look. 

 

Here is some of the spots that I selected: Shelf in the laundry room; behind the rail in elevators; behind the holder, with holds a napkin wrapped around silverware, on the table in the buffet with the salt and pepper shaker pulled up close; under the bottom step of the stairs on Deck 5; in open space along side of the stairs  on deck 5; I made a V out of drink list book on a table on Deck 7 outside the Princess Live Theater with the open side toward the wall; In a plant out side of the Casino; in a plant outside of the door to Sabitinis Restaurant, Etc,

 

From time to time I would walk past the hiding spots to check on the Ducks that I had hid.  Every one of them was found by some lucky person. 

 

Do to the stiff  computation this Cruise, I only found one Duck my self. Sadly, the person who hid the duck I found did not put his/her name or home state on the passport. So, now it is on display in our curio cabinet along with other ducks that I have found over the years. 

 

Finally, I left one of the Ducks in the cabin on the desk for Cabin Steward.

Bob

 

 

[suzyed]

1 hour ago, 4x4bob said:

From time to time the topic of Hiding Cruising Ducks on the ship during the Cruise pops up for a short time.

 

So, let me report on my experience on the Discovery Princess, 27 April to 04 May, out of San Pedro, Ca.

 

But first let me review the rules for hiding Cruising Ducks, which are small about 2 inch size plastic ducks think bath tub toys.  Never hide a duck that will: Interfere with the crew, Interfere with the operation of the ship, on open decks, in shops, or in pools.

 

Also, experienced Duck Hiders also attach a small pass port on the duck with the first name and home state of the person doing the hiding, the name of the ship, and the date of the cruise.  Also a copy of the above rules on hiding the ducks. And this statement: Conquackulations, you have found a Cruising Duck, yours to keep or to hide again. (add your name to the passport if you hide it again)

 

For this cruise I brought along 13 ducks to hide. (that is all of the space in the suit cases that she who must be obeyed allowed me 😁)

 

My plan was to hide the ducks early before too many people would be moving about.  To successfully hide one, you must not be observed such as being down on your hands and knees pushing a plastic Duck under the bottom step of the stairs. 

 

Since I also get up at 5:00 AM to take photos of the sunrise I would take 2 ducks with me each morning. 

 

I quickly identified several other Duck Hunters moving about the ship seeking the hidden treasures.  They were easy to spot. Narrow between the eyes, long pointed noises, buck teeth, and long bony fingers to pluck the Ducks from the hiding spots. OR maybe it was the finger prints on my glasses that made them look that way.  Any way I knew I had to up my game so I did not make too easy to find my ducks.

 

 

Most amature duck hiders place their ducks into one of the plants around the ship, so that is were the duck hunter first look. 

 

Here is some of the spots that I selected: Shelf in the laundry room; behind the rail in elevators; behind the holder, with holds a napkin wrapped around silverware, on the table in the buffet with the salt and pepper shaker pulled up close; under the bottom step of the stairs on Deck 5; in open space along side of the stairs  on deck 5; I made a V out of drink list book on a table on Deck 7 outside the Princess Live Theater with the open side toward the wall; In a plant out side of the Casino; in a plant outside of the door to Sabitinis Restaurant, Etc,

 

From time to time I would walk past the hiding spots to check on the Ducks that I had hid.  Every one of them was found by some lucky person. 

 

Do to the stiff  computation this Cruise, I only found one Duck my self. Sadly, the person who hid the duck I found did not put his/her name or home state on the passport. So, now it is on display in our curio cabinet along with other ducks that I have found over the years. 

 

Finally, I left one of the Ducks in the cabin on the desk for Cabin Steward.

Bob

 

 

The only duck that I ever found  was on the Regal last fall. 
It was very cute and while I was showing DH, the young lady in the Gelato shop saw it and loved it.  So I "hid" it behind the napkin holder on the counter and of course she found it and was so happy!

[In Toronto]

It may seem silly, but I have to say that I was SO excited when I stumbled upon a little duck behind the railing in the glass elevator on the Sky Princess.  I took it back to the cabin for a couple of days and then hid it in the buffet.  Ha Ha.

[galensgrl]

I found a duck once on our last Celebrity cruise in 2018. It didn't have a passport so I thought it was a child's toy that got lost. It was behind a plant pot and not so noticeable. I left it there, and noticed it was still there a couple of days later, so I took it. It's a black duck with cat ears, so cute. I kept it as a souvenir.  

[dahling8]

Never found any ducks, but I never really tried that hard either.  My first exposure to cruise ducks was on my last cruise, Royal Princess.  Our ship naturalist was a fiend, posted new clues during his presentations and berated us for not finding his ducks!  But I love the idea of paying it forward!

[qoap24]

I had never heard of hiding ducks until last year. I ended up bringing some with us for our last cruise on Regal. I had a good time hiding them and tried to sit around to watch, but I started to feel like a creeper lol. When I went back to all of my hiding places the ducks were gone. But I did end up finding a duck from someone else. I think it is a cute idea, I just wish I could have seen the people that found them. 

 

My daughter works at a hotel and sometimes she will hide ducks. Sometimes employees will find them and they will come up to show her what they found (not knowing she is the one that hid them) and it makes her smile because they are excited to have found them. 

[doghog]

This thread quacks me up. 

[Canuker]

Are they the classic 'bath-tub' yellow ones?

If yellow, they must be quite hard to hide.

Or is the idea to allow people to find them fairly easily?

Do children get involved?

[Teechur]

4 minutes ago, Canuker said:

Are they the classic 'bath-tub' yellow ones?

If yellow, they must be quite hard to hide.

Or is the idea to allow people to find them fairly easily?

Do children get involved?

Rubber snakes would add an element of excitement! 🐍

[4x4bob]

53 minutes ago, Canuker said:

Are they the classic 'bath-tub' yellow ones?

If yellow, they must be quite hard to hide.

Or is the idea to allow people to find them fairly easily?

Do children get involved?

No the ducks come in a wide variety of designs.  The ones I hid were dressed in white sailor  suits holding a ships wheel.  Amazon really has a large selection to chose from.  One year my ducks were of a viking theme.

Anyone who finds them are involved which of course includes the crew who really like to find them to keep in their cabins. 

Bob

[Wulfwyn]

I am a duck hunter and a duck hider.   What I love about finding the ducks is that I will take them on another cruise, I add a new passport tag and hide them.  So now they have 2 tags.  

I also bring on extra ducks to hide.  It is fun. Let the hunting begin.

Wulfwyn 

[Mud_Shark]

Luckily, we found 3 ducks on the Enchanted Princess in March of this year.  We were travelling with our 3 grandchildren.  It looked dicey for a moment, as the 4 year old found one, and the two year old girl found one, leaving just the two year old boy without one, and with a pout!  But then Mom helped him find a blue one, and he was thrilled with his "boy" duckie.

[Pine Man]

9 hours ago, In Toronto said:

It may seem silly,

You said it🙄

[aussielozzie18]

I like finding a single duck on board - it’s a nice memento of the cruise.  Some people are very passionate about duck hiding - they take 100+ ducks on board of all different sizes and designs.
 

Now  Princess Cruises are getting in on the craze, they are releasing their own branded rubber duckies.  It was announced by our Cruise Director 2 weeks ago in Alaska.

[Esprit]

If I came across a duck, it would go straight in the bin!😂

I could say some people need to get a life, but each to their own.

I'd rather go seek out every ship bar and see if I can max' out my 15 drinks limit 🍺🍷🥂🤪

 

[Potstech]

Talk about needing a life.

[tonit964]

11 hours ago, Canuker said:

Are they the classic 'bath-tub' yellow ones?

If yellow, they must be quite hard to hide.

Or is the idea to allow people to find them fairly easily?

Do children get involved?

They’re about the size of a golf ball I would say and come in so many designs & colors. Here are a couple I’ve found and kept. 

[doghog]

35 minutes ago, tonit964 said:

They’re about the size of a golf ball I would say and come in so many designs & colors. Here are a couple I’ve found and kept. 

Hard to believe some duck hiders actually put their names and where they live on the duck tag. Then it ends up here on CC or another social media site. 

Edited May 21 by doghog

[4x4bob]

58 minutes ago, doghog said:

Hard to believe some duck hiders actually put their names and where they live on the duck tag. Then it ends up here on CC or another social media site. 

When I filled out the passport I used my Screen name and home state.

Bob

[doghog]

1 minute ago, 4x4bob said:

When I filled out the passport I used my Screen name and home state.

Bob

A much better idea. As a lot of posters do here on CC. 

[kpgibbs]

3 hours ago, Potstech said:

Talk about needing a life.

No one said you have to participate.  A lot of people find this to be a fun activity.  Nothing wrong with it.  I see no need in putting these people down for their fun activity.  

[555]

28 minutes ago, kpgibbs said:

No one said you have to participate.  A lot of people find this to be a fun activity.  Nothing wrong with it.  I see no need in putting these people down for their fun activity.  

That response was meant for comment #15. 

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, tonit964 said:

They’re about the size of a golf ball I would say and come in so many designs & colors. Here are a couple I’ve found and kept. 

 

A passport isn't needed on closed loop cruises! 😀

[wolfie11]

I predict ducks will be banned on cruise ships within the next few years because some people are idiots who ruin it for others.  I’ve seen people brag about bringing 100-200 ducks on a one week cruise.  The ducks are cheap plastic trinkets and a threat to the ocean (yes, people throw them overboard) as well as a potential liability risk if a passenger gets injured trying to extricate one from its hiding place. If, say 15% of passengers bring a conservative 20 ducks each onboard a 4000 passenger ship, that’s 1200 ducks a week.  If 2% bring their 200 ducks, that’s another 1200 ducks.  At the moment, many ships are telling staff to collect and throw away any that they find.  It started out as cute and harmless but as more and more people bring more and more ducks onboard, it becomes a problem for the ship.

[Eno]

I brought ducks dressed as sharks on the sky. I put 3 on the window ledge behind 3 kids that were acting up at dinner. Parents smiled as they kept them busy……. for 5 mins.  Placed some by future cruise desk, plants, two shop workers raced to get one so I added another. They are fun within reason. Bring about 15 not 150.