I’m a cruise ship worker and we dread hearing the word ‘banana’ – but passengers are totally oblivious to what it means
WHILE many people dream of cruising around the world, for the crew on board, it is their home, often for months on end.
So it’s not surprising that various code words or crew lingo can become widespread on ships.
Cruise ship worker Cass, who posts under @cass_stefanie, shared how she’s been to more than 46 countries during her career on cruise ships.
Originally from Cape Town, the staff member shared some cruise ship secrets from her time on board, including how they often use the code word “banana”.
The crew’s meaning for “banana” actually has nothing to do with fruit, and it’s a phrase you wouldn’t want to hear from your boss, she revealed.
She shared: “We use the term ‘banana’ on a cruise ship when someone’s getting into trouble.
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“For example if you’re doing something like walking down the I-95 [the main corridor that joins the back of the ship with the front] with your AirPods in, we’ll stop you and be like ‘listen, don’t let anyone see you because you’re going to get a banana.’”
Cass admitted she was confused when she first heard the word being used on board.
She continued: “When I first heard it, I was like ‘what?’ I had no idea it meant trouble.”
On the Reddit post on the r/Royal Caribbean thread, another crew member also backed this up, explaining it means “a scolding or an earful from your supervisor.”
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The post read: “If you see a crew sad or not smiling, you can jokingly ask them ‘Hi (crew)! Why are you sad today? Did you get BANANA from your amo?’”
It is thought that the banana codeword started being used by crew as it’s linked to superstition.
Back in the 1700s, ships carrying produce in the Caribbean and Spain started to disappear at sea, with only bananas found lying in the wreckage.
They also shared a number of other code words from their time on the high seas.
The staff member said “amo” is a “flattering way of addressing someone”, such as your boss or supervisor.
Meanwhile, “taka taka” means “nonsense talk, gossiping or rambling.”
The person explained: “If a crew forgets to hand you an item or an order and they come back to bring it to you and you wanna tease them you can say ‘I know why you forgot my extra towels.
Pros and cons of going on a cruise ship
Whether you're considering a long holiday, working remotely or even living on board a cruise ship for a few months or years, here are the pros and cons from a former cruise shipper.
Pros
- Travel the world, learn and experience new cultures
- Meet new people
- Don’t have to think or worry about room cleaning, or food
Cons
- Internet connection can be painfully slow and expensive
- Limited luggage allowance so have to wear the same clothes on rotation
- Having no control of where the ship would go next and the possibility of visiting the same ports
- Having the same onboard entertainment, on-demand movies, and little choice of TV channels
- No fresh newspapers or new books unless someone adds them to the library
- Relatively the same food week after week unless major menu changes occur seasonally.
- Occasional rough seas, bad weather and viral outbreaks while inboard.
“‘Because you do TOO MUCH TAKA TAKA with other attendants in the storeroom.’”
Some words are banned from being used on ships, such as mentioning the Titanic, for obvious reasons.
Marc Sebastian, who was a passenger on the nine-month Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas liner, did a video sharing this fact.
On TikTok he shared: “Number one, you’re not supposed to talk about the Titanic.
“I brought up to an entire room of people having lunch that our ship is only 100 feet longer than Titanic.
“Utensils dropped. Waiters gasped. It’s dead silent.”
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His friend told him: “You’re not allowed to talk about the Titanic.”
Marc added: “Well, it wasn’t like that was in the f***ing handbook. Not that I read the handbook, clearly.”