Just two weeks after his official intro-duck-tion, Carnival Cruise Line’s newest fun photo op character has officially set sail aboard the line’s newest ship, Carnival Jubilee, and met the massive ship’s top Fun crew member.
Among the first to snap fun photos with Ducky is Carnival Jubilee’s top-rated cruise director, Knydall “Fire” Magyar, who posts frequently on her Facebook page and other social media about all the activities and fun aboard Carnival’s current flagship.
“Officer Ducky on Duty!” she exclaimed. “Finally got a picture with our newest team member here on the Carnival Jubilee. For all our duck hunting fans out there make sure you are on the look out for them when you get here! Photos or it didn’t happen!”
Ducky was first introduced by the cruise line’s Brand Ambassador, John Heald, in early November. At that time, the quack-tastic new character’s first official photo was taken with Carnival Jubilee’s Hotel Director, Pierre, and Director of Guest Operations, Greg.
While a ship’s Cruise Director is the official “Face of Fun” onboard, a packed schedule and Ducky’s less frequent appearances have kept Kyndall Fire from snapping a pic with the duck.
In fact, Kyndall Fire was on vacation when Ducky first embarked on Carnival Jubilee; she returned to the ship on November 9, 2024, sharing what a cruise director’s “Sign on Day” is like through a detailed video.
But she has finally met the new crew member and gotten great pics, both of them complete in Carnival uniforms and big smiles for all the fun to come onboard.
While Ducky is not an official mascot of the cruise line, he has quickly flown to the head of the lineup of fun characters offered for photo ops throughout most cruises.
Other characters who can be spotted onboard for great photos with guests are beloved Dr. Seuss characters, giant-sized towel animals, and during holiday sailings, the Grinch and even Santa and Mrs. Claus. The “official” mascot, Fun Ship Freddy, is still around as well.
Finding Ducks Onboard Carnival Cruises
Ducky is a great addition to the cruise line’s crazy characters, which are coordinated through each ship’s photo department.
“The duck character introduced by our photo team is one of many characters available for guests to take fun photos,” Carnival Cruise Line has stated.
Ducky and other characters are typically accompanied by a photographer who will happily snap photos with guests, which will be available for purchase at the Pixels photo gallery. Guests can also use their own cameras for snapshots.
A great addition to the character lineup, Ducky is a nod to the wildly popular cruising ducks phenomenon, a guest-led scavenger hunt for rubber or toy ducks of all shapes and sizes.
Given that Ducky is a life-size, tall, over-the-top character, he shouldn’t be too hard to find onboard Carnival’s fleet of cruise ships, but his appearances are sure to be limited times on each sailing. If spotted, guests shouldn’t wait to snap a fun photo to prove they’ve successfully found the top duck!
The cruising ducks game began with classic rubber ducks in March 2018 (though some frequent cruisers remember it even earlier), but has risen dramatically in recent years, even becoming controversial at times.
Read Also: Will Carnival Cruise Line Ban Cruising Ducks?
Now, in addition to rubber ducks, travelers often hide ducks of all sizes. Customized ducks may be bedazzled, crocheted, themed to the specific holiday cruise, or even themes such as casino ducks on poker chips or 3D-printed ducks that have the iconic Carnival whale-tail funnel for their own tail.
Cruise ducks designed to resemble John Heald have even been spotted, and are especially popular on the Brand Ambassador’s annual “FFS Cruise” sailings.
In 2025, that particular cruise is scheduled aboard Carnival Magic on the ship’s February 16, 2025 sailing, a 6-night Eastern Caribbean sailing to Princess Cays, Grand Turk, and Amber Cove.
For guests interested in joining in the cruising ducks fun, just keep a sharp eye out in public spaces for ducks that might be hiding just about anywhere! While Ducky will be easier to spot, be sure to nab a photo to prove your success and remember all the great fun you’ve had onboard.
