Banana boat

What was a banana boat? I recall references to it in my youth. People were described as travelling on a banana boat. I took it as a general term for a trading vessel not normally designed to carry passengers – i.e. people who travelled on a banana boat were travelling on the cheap and in some discomfort. I cannot find such a definition on the web which simply gives me
1) a ship designed to transport bananas, or
2) an unpowered recreational boat designed to be pulled by a larger boat.

I’d welcome comments from anyone who recalls it having a similar meaning to the one I thought it had.

In the meantime – these bananas seem to have lost their boat!


And did you know that every single banana on the planet is threatened? If not, may like to read my News Blog.