Guests who are into hiding ducks will have to find one less place to play this hide-and-seek game during their next cruise on Royal Caribbean.
The line has banned the hiding of ducks in the Central Park neighborhood on its Oasis and Quantum class ships, as shared in a post on the Cruise Critic message boards.
According to a message on the Royal Caribbean forum, the cruise line has banned hiding ducks in Central Park to protect the plants. A member named ‘rrraydon’ who originally posted the topic, along with a photo from another cruiser, said, “It’s about time. Central Park plants and flowers have been getting tore up by the adults and the kids placing and hunting for ducks.”
A sign banning ducks in Central Park on Utopia of the Seas was captured by a cruise guest who said, “Please Help Us Protect the Plants. This is a duck-free zone. Please don’t hide ducks in Central Park.”
Though Royal Caribbean has not yet responded to Cruise Critic’s request for comment, plenty of other cruisers have something to say about the ban. “Don’t blame the ducks!” said ‘yogimax.’ “I’d rather they made it an ‘Obnoxious People Free Zone’ to ban parents who allowed their kids to trample the plants.”
Another cruiser ‘lovesthebeach2’ added, “I’m so glad they finally did something to stop the plants and flowers from getting trampled.”
Cruise ducks are small rubber ducks that passengers hide throughout the ships when sailing. Ducks have info cards bearing the names and locations of people who’ve hidden them. Cruisers can either keep them or re-hide them, but are asked to take photos of the duck to post on social media.
The practice, however, has become controversial as some cruisers, like ‘Queen of Oakville’ said, “Good move…now make the entire ship a duck-free zone. I understand that some people enjoy looking for those little rubber duckies, but it’s a pass for me, especially when it involves damage…”
As a general rule, regardless of cruise line, passengers are not supposed to place ducks in pools, hot tubs or retail stores onboard. According to the sign in Central Park, this area has now been added to the banned list.
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