Yes, We Have No Bananas

[BamaVol]

The bananas disappeared sometime after day 5. The lady seated next to me in the Wheelhouse bar last night said they don’t keep. I expect they were turned into banana bread after that. I just found it ironic that we sailed out of Costa Rica the following day, where we had taken an excursion to a banana plantation. 

[SCX22]

Fun fact...there are many varieties of bananas and the kind that Americans are accustomed to is the  Cavendish variety.  The Cavendish banana is not really consumed in Latin America because their supply is earmarked for export to the U.S. and the rest of the world.  Latin America mostly consumes the "cooking" varieties like plantains.

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

The bananas disappeared sometime after day 5. The lady seated next to me in the Wheelhouse bar last night said they don’t keep. I expect they were turned into banana bread after that. I just found it ironic that we sailed out of Costa Rica the following day, where we had taken an excursion to a banana plantation. 

Ahhh, but do they take on supplies in Costa Rica?  No

[JGmf]

5 hours ago, BamaVol said:

The lady seated next to me in the Wheelhouse bar last night said they don’t keep

 

The lady is probably not a banana storage expert.  Well, neither am I, but I did watch one of those cruise ship behind the scenes shows were the provisions manager explained they have several independent locations for storage of bananas, keeping the almost ripe ones away from the greener ones to they can extend the shelf live of them over a full weeks-long cruise. 

[Buckeye10640]

Was the bar still serving Dirty Banana drinks? Once I was told at the buffet there were no bananas, but sure enough the bartenders still had them !

[kilili]

There is definitely a shortage of bananas in lots of places in the Central America.

[Waynetor]

I been told many times at the buffet they are out of bananas (and other items) but they have them the next day without restocking at a port. 

 

I'm sure it just means they don't have anymore in the buffet area and don't want to go all the way down to the supply fridges in the lower decks. Having late breakfast increases odds of some items being out of stock.  

 

Sometimes it seems to matter who who ask.  It may help to ask a more senior staff person in the area if more are available instead of a junior staff person

[DallasGuy75219]

9 minutes ago, Waynetor said:

I'm sure it just means they don't have anymore in the buffet area and don't want to go all the way down to the supply fridges in the lower decks.

Happens all the time at the bars.  "We're out" means they don't feel like going or don't have someone free to go down to stores to get more.  Then they magically have it in stock again the next day.

[MissP22]

If there was a shortage,  it wasn't apparent on the Enchanted. 

Plenty were avaliable at any venue. 

[Essiesmom]

Sometimes on Caribbean cruises, Mexican riviera…they don’t put bananas out on port days, because so many people tuck them in their bag to take ashore for a snack, and they end up in the discarded bin because it is not allowed.  A. It waste they try to avoid.  EM

[PescadoAmarillo]

Befriend a bartender. They always hold some back for drinks. 

[MissP22]

2 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Befriend a bartender. They always hold some back for drinks. 

It pays in many ways. 😁

[JimmyVWine]

 

 

10 hours ago, BamaVol said:

The bananas disappeared sometime after day 5.

 

[BamaVol]

2 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Was the bar still serving Dirty Banana drinks? Once I was told at the buffet there were no bananas, but sure enough the bartenders still had them !

They were on hand today at the Good Spirits bar but looked pretty rough.  I was looking for a banana at the International Cafe. Lots on hand the first 5-6 days. Replaced with unripe peaches for the remainder of the cruise. Day 10 tomorrow and I don’t expect to find one. 

Edited March 11, 2023 by BamaVol

[BamaVol]

22 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Befriend a bartender. They always hold some back for drinks. 

Dinesh at the Wheelhouse has been my go-to. But no bananas in an edible state. Good for making drinks. 

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

They were on hand today at the Good Spirits bar but looked pretty rough. 

I was going to say that about some of the bananas I've seen the bartenders make a Dirty Banana with.  They're sometimes beyond ripe and probably wind up at the bar when they're behind the point of serving them at the buffet.

[EDVM96]

[MustangGT]

On our last cruise we couldn’t even get a Dirty Banana near the end because they had no bananas.  Seems supply is still an issue - our cruise was a month ago.

[Bill Miller]

Banana Pizza

[VibeGuy]

21 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

 

 

 

I literally came here to post this. 

[wowzz]

On 3/10/2023 at 7:56 PM, JGmf said:

 

The lady is probably not a banana storage expert.  Well, neither am I, but I did watch one of those cruise ship behind the scenes shows were the provisions manager explained they have several independent locations for storage of bananas, keeping the almost ripe ones away from the greener ones to they can extend the shelf live of them over a full weeks-long cruise. 

In fact,  banana storage is much more complicated than that, but I guess cruise ships don't have storage facilities as you would find on shore.

https://semcoice.com/effective-storing-cooling-bananas/#:~:text=Controlled Storage Conditions for Bananas,levels lowered to about 2%.