This is part of Global Sounds, a collection of stories spotlighting the music trends forging connections in 2024.
31.07.2024 - 13:56 / nytimes.com
Dressed in sailor uniforms or cowboy hats or painted in bright pinks, blues and reds, rubber duckies — the kind usually found floating in a toddler’s tub — are now bobbing to faraway places as part of a global scavenger hunt taking over cruise ships.
If you’re cruising this summer, you might find a duck in any number of places on your ship — behind potted plants, balancing on door knobs or poised on top of signs. They’re part of a whimsical trend among people who frequently vacation on the seas.
The cruising duck enthusiasts, who at times refer to themselves as “quackers,” have been packing rubber ducks onto ships by the dozens, sometimes hundreds, to hide and leave for other passengers to find. The fad is believed to have begun in 2018, when a 10-year-old girl hid toy ducks for fellow cruisers to find during a family vacation. Her parents created what is considered the original “Cruising Ducks” Facebook page, which has ballooned into a large online community.
The Facebook page has attracted nearly 275,000 quackers and has close to 100 posts a day about hiding, finding, decorating and just loving the ducks. Spinoff pages for specific cruise lines have tens of thousands of members as well.
There are only a couple of simple rules to the game: hide a duck and find a duck. Once a duck is found, a player can choose to hide it again or keep it as a souvenir. Many of the lucky quackers post their finds on Facebook pages for the original owners to see.
“It’s not just for kids to find,” said Kelly May, 60, of Huntington Beach, Calif., who jumped on the duck-finding trend in 2022. “When I found my first one, it was a yippee moment.”
This is part of Global Sounds, a collection of stories spotlighting the music trends forging connections in 2024.
Tara Cannon and her husband Rann began traveling with kids when their firstborn was just 4 months old.
After visiting 59 of the 63 major United States national parks, it's easy to see how each earned the prestigious designation — which makes picking favorites feel wrong. Each park is unique in its own way, with incredible diversity and sights that are well worth visiting.
Qatar Airways’ over-the-top business class suite is about to get even more luxurious thanks to a new caviar service.
The condors appeared at 5,000 meters. They were not real.
When it comes to flying, flying with children can be both exciting (their excitement!) and challenging. From the logistics of getting on a plane to actually getting settled, it can all be a bit of an Olympic sport. Even before you get on the plane, though, it takes a lot of effort to figure out where the best seat is.
Heartland Travel, purveyors of private tours of Scotland, has partnered with Scotland Folk Tours to deliver a one-of-a-kind tour experience.
Like many TPGers, I've been sucked into credit cards with annual fees, but when I'm out and about, I use just two credit cards in my daily life.
Aug 7, 2024 • 8 min read
On Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ newest ship, the Seven Seas Grandeur, I admired not one, but three, Picassos: Toros y Toreros, Antes de picar al toro, and Picador picando al toro, con matador al quite—each displayed on the nailhead leather walls of the cruise ship's steakhouse.
Two dozen new sites were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List this month, ranging from cultural treasures to natural wonders.
British couple Lily Davison and Nik Dorward are the faces that'll greet you when you board the Sailing Location, a private luxury yacht that takes passengers around the Bahamas for $34,000 per trip.