Cruise culture: Why people hide rubber ducks on ships

I packed a lot of unnecessary things for my family's first cruise on the Norwegian Escape this past spring: extra clothes, portable fans, a waterproof phone case I never used – you get the idea.

My in-laws, who are avid cruisers, packed what may seem like the least necessary things of all: rubber ducks.

Having never taken a real cruise before, I had no idea people hide rubber ducks on ships for fellow passengers and crew to find.

Like pixie dust at Disney parks, these little trinkets serve no purpose other than spreading joy to strangers. My in-laws were happy to get my kids involved in that, and I was too.

Here's what you should know about rubber ducks on cruises.

According to Cruising Ducks, it started a few years ago when family duo Ashley and Abby Davis bought 50 rubber ducks for a spring break cruise. According to their website, they hid several each day, "found people of all ages finding the ducks" and had "the best trip ever."

There are now multiple Facebook groups dedicated to the activity. The Cruising Ducks - Original group page alone has more than 192,000 members. Many post duck photos, ask questions and share tips.

You can order all sorts of rubber ducks online. For this trip, my in-laws bought an assorted bag of ducks with different themes and colors on Amazon.

People can get really creative. On a previous cruise, my in-laws found a duck in a face mask hammock with a tiny face mask over its bill. They also found a duck with a homemade sombrero and tiny guitar.

3 tips for your first cruise:What to know before stepping foot on the ship

A tag tied around the ducks’ necks often shares the name of the person or people behind the duck, as well as their sailing.

Our family's tags said: "Oh what luck! You found a duck! ... Keep or hide, you decide. (Not in shops, pools or hot tubs.) Please take a selfie with your duck and post it to Cruising Ducks on Facebook."

Ducks can generally be hidden in public spaces on cruise ships except pools, spas or shops. Bathrooms may also be discouraged.

My kids hid their ducks around the atrium, near elevators and stairs, along the corridor to our cabin and outside restaurants. Some people may be more stealth with their hiding spots, but my kids wanted their ducks to be fairly easily found.

Not going to lie, it takes a little money and some time. Thankfully my in-laws took care of everything: buying the ducks, making the tags, working with the kids to tie them on and hide ducks on the ship.

We didn't find any ducks ourselves, though several other fellow passengers hid some, too.

It was still fun for the kids and a great lesson in doing things for others, with nothing expected in return. And we did get some payback. Several passengers posted photos of the ducks in a Facebook group we joined for the cruise, and the smiles on their faces were totally worth it.