A rubber duck sitting on a boat. Credit: Luca Riboldi/Getty Images

Another cruise line is asking vacationers to leave the rubber ducks at home.

British cruise operator Marella Cruises asked its guests not to engage in the quirky game of rubber duck hide-and-seek on board. The company primarily sails in Europe and the Caribbean.

“As much as we love a bit of personality, the ducks have started to drive us quackers,” the cruise line wrote in an onboard newsletter, according to a Facebook post from earlier this month, adding, “We kindly ask that toys, novelty items and other personal bits aren’t left or hidden around the ship or at our destinations.”

“While it’s all meant in good spirit, these can become hazards and are usually disposed of by our crew,” the cruise line added.

The company positioned the request as an environmental issue tied to its efforts to reduce plastic waste “so leaving things behind doesn’t quite match that effort.”

Similar messages were written in newsletters distributed to guests on other Marella ships, Cruise Hive reported.

Avid cruisers have been playing a plucky game of hide-and-seek with rubber ducks for years, according to Cruise Critic. What started in 2018 as a fun family activity on a week-long spring break cruise from Texas has grown into a cultural experience for cruisers, who’ve become accustomed to stashing their little plastic friends in plants, on bookshelves, and in other nooks and crannies on board ships. A Facebook group dedicated to rubber duck hide-and-seek now boasts more than 300,000 members.

People hiding the ducks often put a lot of effort into finding the perfect duck or duck-themed item for the sailing, and label the ducks with their name, ship name, and sailing date. People finding the ducks are instructed to keep or leave them and tag their finds online using hashtags like #cruisingducks.

Disney Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean have already asked guests not to leave rubber ducks around the ship, per Cruise Hive. Neither has yet issued a formal ban on the quacky practice.

Marella’s instructions go beyond just standard rubber ducks. The cruise line has also asked passengers to refrain from engaging in another die-hard cruiser tradition: decorating cabin doors.

“We also ask that public areas and cabin doors are left as they are, without added decorations like flags, banners, posters, stickers or magnets,” the company wrote in the newsletter. “It helps keep the ship looking its best for everyone and ensures we [are] on top of safety. If anything is left where it shouldn’t be, our crew may quietly remove it.”

Meena Thiruvengadam

Another Cruise Line Is Cracking Down on a Popular Passenger Tradition—and Says It’s Become a Safety Issue