Carnival Cruise Line passengers push back on duck-hiding ban
Hiding ducks has become incredibly popular but not all the cruise line's fans like the practice.
Hiding ducks has become a huge thing on cruise ships, at least on the family-friendly lines.
Some passengers are really into it: Before they cruise, they buy rubber ducks of various sizes, decorate them, and then hide them around the ship. Some people go so far as to attach cards to the ducks, listing social media sites where the finders can post pictures of their new ducks.
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This hobby has become very popular on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, and Disney Cruise Line ships. Most cruise lines don't officially embrace duck hiding and just look the other way, but Carnival tacitly accepted it in November by adopting a duck-hiding-related on-board character.
“I would like to introduce you to a brilliant and fun addition to the ships," Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald wrote at the time.
"Coming soon to your cruise you’re going to see the continuation of the duck phenomenon. Here with Carnival Jubilee Hotel Director Pierre and Hotel Director and Director of Guest Operations Greg please meet ummmm…Ducky the Duck."
Despite that endorsement, some passengers still do not like the ducks, a matter that Heald addressed in a recent post.
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Carnival's Heald asks for cruise-duck thoughts
"People that hide ducks for others to find do so because they love to give other people a little dollop of happiness and joy," Heald wrote. "I understand that it’s not for everyone."
The brand ambassador acknowledged that some people simply do not like the ducks.
"I do not understand why some people are so adamant that we ban this now cruise phenomenon immediately," he wrote. "I do not understand why it upsets them so much. Isn’t this just one of those things where you can just walk on by?"
Heald thought he might be missing something, and he asked for feedback from his more than 500,000 Facebook followers.
"Why do people keep writing to me, saying they want them banned? Thoughts please?" he added.
Carnival passengers have a lot to say about ducks
Many of Heald's followers also did not understand why some people don't like the ducks.
"John, some people are not happy if they don’t have something to complain about," posted Luann Mirabelli. "A few years back, I was going through cancer treatment, and we took a cruise. It made me so happy to find them. I hide them now."
Jennifer Brooks takes a live-and-let-live approach.
"I never got into the duck thing. Not hiding them nor finding them," she wrote. "But it brings others joy; it doesn’t affect me, so go right ahead. It’s not like there are ducks everywhere. They are 'hidden.' That’s the whole purpose."
Heald's post and a related one got more than 5,000 comments, and it was hard to find any comments that were anti-duck. Most were either pro-duck or shared this sentiment.
"Some people cannot be happy. They have to find something to complain about," wrote Amber Fuller. "I personally don’t hide ducks. But when I find one, it makes me smile! I don’t usually take any ducks because I want a kid or someone else to find it and smile, too. It’s all in good fun."
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It's reasonable to think that anyone who is anti-duck would probably express those thoughts privately to Heald as the public sentiment was heavily pro-duck.
"Ducks are fine. Ban people that complain about stuff that doesn’t impact them," William Blanton proposed. "It is not like the crew is hiding ducks in the food or your ice bucket. Let it go duck haters."
Leslie Aguilla shared a similar sentiment.
"Can we just ban the people who are constantly complaining about something so minimal? Especially when all they need to do is mind their own business," she added.
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