Carnival Cruise passengers angry over call for duck-hiding ban
Hiding ducks has become incredibly popular but not all of 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, and they buy rubber ducks of various sizes before their trips, decorate them, and then hide them around the ship. Some people go as far as attaching a card to the duck with a social media site where the finder can post pictures of their new ducks.
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This has been a growing hobby that has become very popular on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, and Disney Cruise Line ships. Most cruise lines sort of look the other way and don't officially embrace duck hiding, but Carnival has tacitly accepted it by adopting a duck-hiding-related onboard character back in Nov.
“I would like to introduce you to a brilliant and fun addition to the ships. 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," Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald shared at the time.
Despite that endorsement, some passengers still do not like the ducks, which 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, however, also 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. 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?" he asked.
Heald did acknowledge that he might be missing something and asked for feedback from his over 500,000 Facebook followers.
"Maybe I’m missing something here. 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 did not understand why some people don't like the ducks and want them banned.
"John, some people are not happy if they don’t have something to complain about. 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," posted Luann Mirabelli.
Jennifer Brooks takes a live-and-let-live approach.
"I never got into the duck thing. Not hiding them nor finding them. 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," she wrote.
Heald's post and a related one got over 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. 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," wrote Amber Fuller.
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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. It is not like the crew is hiding ducks in the food or your ice bucket. Let it go duck haters," shared William Blanton.
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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