S01:E08: Elevate Yourself

[TexasGal]

Quote

New deckhand Seth finds cracks within the leadership of his department and claims he could run it better; a plate mix-up causes problems at a viking Oktoberfest-themed dinner; Faye takes the guests paragliding.

Airdate: 12.27.2022

[Tanukisan]

Like an exhausted elf at the North Pole sweeping out the reindeer stalls after Christmas, these comments are in the order of the episode scenes broadcast.

Chav Faye: “Seth has this attitude that he just doesn’t give a shit – I quite like that.”  Extends to your job as well, eh?

Charter guest:  “They’ve got bidets!  I’m gonna have a clean asshole!”  Good that you’re a clean one as well.

Chav Faye continues to try to boss the deck crew around – fetch the luggage, put up flags, etc.  But she can’t keep the orders straight when it comes to serving guests the food they are (or are not) supposed to get.  Jess is irritated – where’s the blame game going to stop?

By the way,  I like the outfits the deck crew were in for the first part of the charter – cute!  A bit more German Oktoberfest than Norwegian, but still…

Jess seems to fold even under the slightest pressure.  Even the guests picked up on that and called her back to tell her how much they liked the food.  Doesn’t stop her from complaining to the Captain, rather than try to work out any problems with the stews directly.  To her credit, she did try to own it, though, after the fact.  Mind you, I don’t know how successful that would be with Chav Faye, since she doesn’t want to accept responsibility for anything.

Charter guest:  “How do you spot a blind man on a nude beach?  It’s not hard…”  *sigh*  Keep the high class guests coming…

Seth is worried about not being able to “show his full potential.”  Just do your job, dude – you’ll get your chance.

There definitely needs to be better coordination between interior and deck crew when it comes to getting support for events off the boat.  With all the interior off the boat for the paragliding event and all the deck crew on the boat, that’s not right.  On other shows, there’s a mix between interior and deck on and off the boat for such events.  In this case, I think the Captain needs to be more involved in such coordination so there’s no disputes.

The paragliding and lunch looked absolutely fantastic.  This is the first time in watching these shows where I’ve seen something and said: “I absolutely would like to do that.”

Chav Faye is upset because Jess didn’t do exactly what she wanted her to do.  Um, the chef trumps in the long run.  If you think you’re going to get into it with the chef and win – you are going to be disappointed.

In fact, Captain Kerry’s “hands off” attitude to these increasing disputes isn’t helping.  Looks like there’s definitely clashes upcoming.

What will happen next week?  Will the deck and interior crews go to war?  Will Jess disappear into a moody cloud?  Will Seth take over the boat?  Stay tuned, if you can stay out of the way…  (:

[aghst]

Why did they schedule so much on the same day?

Oh these are two night charters made for TV but they want to overschedule and overwork the crew, so they snipe at each other.

Then you have personalities who lash out when stressed.

They advertised this show as sometHing for adrenaline junkies.  These guests enjoyed the paragliding — one of the crew said parasailing — but it’s not something they specifically sought.  They supposedly got some equipment to set up an obstacle course so again, not somethinG the guests asked for.

These fussy eaters — one didn’t want scallops and another one only wanted fish — aren’t looking to compete against a much younger crew.  They were just sitting on deck waiting to go paragliding — apparently too cold to swim or do water sports.

Now the crew are ready to throw each other under the bus.  Jess called out the interior in front of the guests, Oriana told Faye she should go to the captain to complain about Jess and Seth is taking potshots at Lewis’ management style — and in previews, he’s ready to lobby for his job.

Hmm Oriana wanted to be at least higher rank than Kasie and now Seth wants Lewis’ job.  What a coincidence, at least two members of this crew fighting for higher rank.

They wouldn’t have been prodded, would they?

[snarts]

Why didn't Faye just directly ask who Lewis would be sending to support the picnic?  Why was she the only one who thought they'd play games at the picnic site? 

Lewis is weak and at the root of the majority of the communication issues. He certainly makes sure his deck crew takes their breaks and eats on time even when it's at the expense of guest requests. It was ridiculous that they all sat their eating as the guests requested their luggage. 

Jess is wound way too tightly, she's like a ticking time bomb. 

[iMonrey]

This is probably the most dysfunctional crew we've ever seen on a BD show. Every last one of them sucks at their job, with the possible exception of Seth. Even the captain is looking kind of weak at the moment. I hope when this charter is over he calls a meeting and lays down the law. 

I can't imagine what would happen if Seth was promoted to Bosun and Lewis was demoted to deck crew. Or if Oriana was promoted to Chief Stew and Faye was demoted to 2nd. I think Lewis and Faye would probably both quit. It would be kind of hilarious though.

Paragliding looks dangerous, and I say that as someone who has been skydiving. The way the first guest kept toppling over trying to take off and watching the sail sort of crumple makes me think even if you're airborne, you might hit a downdraft or lean too far a certain way and cause the sail to collapse. 

The scenery is breathtaking though. 

[aghst]

You could tell Jess didn't want to set up another picnic.

She could have just sent some sandwiches and pasta salad.

But no, she made lamb and she carved it there herself, then complained about having to do the picnic, no deck crew being around.

They just set up a table in the middle of the field.  No cover, probably cool enough despite it being sunny -- lucky it didn't rain.

I looked up that village, Andalnes.  It's small but it looks like there are restaurants.  Picnic was purely for TV, dump more work on the chef and the crew.

[Oosala]

Wow.  Who died and left Faye in charge of everyone?  That girl is just insane with power.  I'm not worried about chef Jess because chefs are always temperamental, but I did feel bad for her when the captain told her he didn't appreciate getting shooed out of the galley when he'd come down there to help.  Jess just needs to get re-centered using her yoga and stretching and she'll be fine (I hope; I really like her).  I hate everyone on the deck crew except Seth, and the sooner he's in charge, the better.  My wish is for the "current" bosun and Mike to get season-ending injuries.  They are both so damn useless.  Really, Lewis?  A WhatsApp morning message to your team when you have a brand new crew member on board?  I think I have too much health stuff going on in my real life so the Lewis hatred is just amplified.  Does that make sense?

Oh, I forgot something.  I loved the interchange between the captain and Nathan, when Nathan offered to captain the ship and the captain said he'd need to master the stairs first.  That was funny.  And Nathan with his sunglasses on his head.  Not so funny because I've done that myself!!!

Edited December 28, 2022 by Oosala

[MyMaui]

Ugh Faye is the worst.  They are not your crew, especially the chef.  You have two stews who are your crew. Maybe do your job properly and you wouldn't have a problem.  If you can't get service right then don't go telling anyone else what they are doing wrong. I really can't stand her voice either.  I know that's shallow and petty but it's awful.   Hasn't she only been a chief stew 2 years?  Really is she all that experienced?  The deck crew shouldn't be her go to when she can't delegate her own staff.

The chef shouldn't have mentioned in front of the guest or talked to the captain like that but I'd be mad at the interior. And the one stew who wanted to go to the captain.  How about you do your job and know where the plates go to and not screw things up during service.  .

The new deck hand, I can see why Faye likes him, she's just like him.  Already angling to get the bosun job. I hope he doesn't get it and that the Captain puts him in his place.

None of this crew is any good. 

[iMonrey]

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None of this crew is any good. 

This is supposed to be the "adventure" version of the franchise, yet the excursions thus far have been horribly and embarrassingly mismanaged. And that's because they hired the same kind of young "yachties" they cast on all the other versions. They can clean boats and serve meals (sort of) but they clearly have zero experience organizing and managing any of these off-yacht activities.

Faye and Lewis were equally at fault this time. He wanted to set up some sort of obstacle course around the boat (which makes zero sense) and she wanted the crew to play games with the guests at the landing field. Her idea was more practical but they never came to an agreement on which one of those two things they were going to do. And that's on them for not clearing that up amongst themselves.

3 hours ago, Oosala said:

Who died and left Faye in charge of everyone?  That girl is just insane with power. 

To be fair (not that she deserves it, necessarily), Faye had to tell the deck crew to bring down the guest's luggage three times. That's their job, not the stews'. And that was after one of the guests asked about it. They heard her clearly on the radio but just sat around the kitchen eating. 

3 hours ago, Oosala said:

Jess just needs to get re-centered using her yoga and stretching and she'll be fine (I hope; I really like her). 

She seems like she's a really good cook and makes good food, but she doesn't seem to be able to handle the stress of a job like this. She only has eight people to feed (aside from the crew). Imagine if she was running a restaurant. That said she might do better with more competent servers.

The season as a whole is a shitshow because they're trying to do more than the crew can reasonably handle.

[MyMaui]

11 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

This is supposed to be the "adventure" version of the franchise, yet the excursions thus far have been horribly and embarrassingly mismanaged. And that's because they hired the same kind of young "yachties" they cast on all the other versions. They can clean boats and serve meals (sort of) but they clearly have zero experience organizing and managing any of these off-yacht activities.

Faye and Lewis were equally at fault this time. He wanted to set up some sort of obstacle course around the boat (which makes zero sense) and she wanted the crew to play games with the guests at the landing field. Her idea was more practical but they never came to an agreement on which one of those two things they were going to do. And that's on them for not clearing that up amongst themselves.

 

It really is.  I would have thought there would be at least one person who would have been capable. This should have been part of the whole program when they signed up. If they would have hired people who knew how to handle, if only two, these adventures would be amazing.

The two big adventures I have seen the caves and paragliding were just awful and somewhat scary to me.

I agree they both are at fault. But Faye's whole you are my crew and we are doing what I want to do is so wearing I can see him not going with her plan. It's not right and his idea wouldn't be all that good. I honestly think he did it on purpose too.  

[aghst]

They're basically hiring adventure companies already in that area to organize these outings.

You want to rely on them for safety, not some person who auditioned to be on a reality show.

For instance, the paraglider people maintain the equipment including harnesses so they will strap them in and themselves, since these were all tandem jumps.  They probably also have insurance.

Only Faye was at the top, recording movies on her phone.  She had nothing to do with getting the guests ready to do their flights.

I'm sure there were also producers and production crew up there, for instance, putting on the GoPro cameras so that it would have footage when they were flying.

The "Adventure" part of it would be more earned if the guests were licensed paraglider pilots and they went up and jumped on their own.  Or they're rock climbers and they set out to scale up a cliff.

Instead the guests are no different than guests on other BD shows.  If this BDA continues, there will probably be stunt casting of guests, like social influencers and other Bravo celebrities like some Rich Housewife.

I still enjoy it for seeing scenery which is different from other BD shows.  I think BDDU was also different because they featured a lot of underwater photography, showing the reefs and fish.

[Meowwww]

I feel like Jess’ food either isn’t mentioned much or perhaps isn’t as good? As other chefs on other BD shows.  I don’t hear the raves like I do for, say, Rachel’s food. 
Head charter guest was typical loud crude American. (I’m American too and super aware of the stereotype while overseas) so I cringed.  
Add me to the group who thought this is BD ADVENTURE so we would see a lot more actual adventures. 
 

[Oneofem]

 Not a Jess fan.  Tired of her nerves, short temper, & calling other women “chicks.”

[Mr. Miner]

21 hours ago, iMonrey said:

This is probably the most dysfunctional crew we've ever seen on a BD show. Every last one of them sucks at their job,

They are very lame! When I'm watching I just want to punch Lewis in the face. 

[iMonrey]

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They're basically hiring adventure companies already in that area to organize these outings.

You want to rely on them for safety, not some person who auditioned to be on a reality show.

Yeah, I get they have professionals on hand for the rock climbing and parasailing. But the crew is still responsible for organizing the transportation, meals, and other entertainments, and they have utterly failed at that so far. All they do is bicker and argue about who's supposed to be where and doing what. They are ridiculously disorganized. I don't know why they can't get their shit together.

This falls on the Captain too. But again, Bravo clearly didn't put any effort into casting people who would be a tad more competent than their usual himbos and bimbos. It's too bad, because at this point they really need a version of the franchise that isn't defined by chaos and incompetence. Wouldn't it be nice, for a change, to see a crew that did their jobs well and guests that enjoyed the experiences offered in this location? 

[Baltimore Betty]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

They are ridiculously disorganized.

I cannot figure out why the leads are so opposed to making lists for their underlings, a chart for shifts, communicate effectively...why are the leads not telling their crews what is expected and what the consequences will be. I know, this is for all the drama caught on camera, I can only hope these people who really do work in the industry have got to be different when on a different boat with no cameras around.

Every damn charter...the least competent person on the crew complains the absolute loudest about their boss and the job, every damn charter.

[aqusdealer]

On 12/28/2022 at 2:06 AM, aghst said:

Seth is taking potshots at Lewis’ management style — and in previews, he’s ready to lobby for his job.

If I know Captain Kerry, he won't be so thrilled with Seth coming into an established crew and touting how much better he could do if only "HE" were the Bosun. Would be much better if he just said "Capt., I'm ready to help in any way possible" or something like that. Curious to see how this plays out.

[aghst]

27 minutes ago, aqusdealer said:

If I know Captain Kerry, he won't be so thrilled with Seth coming into an established crew and touting how much better he could do if only "HE" were the Bosun. Would be much better if he just said "Capt., I'm ready to help in any way possible" or something like that. Curious to see how this plays out.

I don't think it's up to these captains.

Producers have the last say.

If they want conflict and drama with Seth going for Lewis' job, it's going to happen.

If Kerry doesn't like it, they can get a new captain, though he has a chance to do the show for multiple seasons so I doubt he's going to die on that hill, considering that this crew are playing to a script.

[Tanukisan]

20 hours ago, aqusdealer said:

If I know Captain Kerry, he won't be so thrilled with Seth coming into an established crew and touting how much better he could do if only "HE" were the Bosun.

I do agree with you, but Cap Kerry has bigger problems that, at least as far as can be seem for now, he's ignoring.  His interior and deck crew are completely dysfunctional.  The deck crew need to support the interior from time to time (e.g., luggage), although their current Bos'n seems to be clueless regarding this.  The interior are led by Chave Faye, the Cockney equivalent of Queen Ravenna from "Snow White and the Huntsman".  And at the centre of the guest experience is Chef Jess, who folds under the least amount of pressure.  In my opinion, the only way to get this complete poo show in order is for Cap Kerry to step up and take charge -- which he hasn't, up to now.

 

[maggiemae]

Seriously...a captain should know how his crew and chef are doing and interacting...especially with the guests.

Kerry is hiding from his responsibilities and management...crossing his fingers

[racked]

On 12/29/2022 at 7:46 PM, aqusdealer said:

If I know Captain Kerry, he won't be so thrilled with Seth coming into an established crew and touting how much better he could do if only "HE" were the Bosun. Would be much better if he just said "Capt., I'm ready to help in any way possible" or something like that. Curious to see how this plays out.

This has to be why Seth was hired right? Production shenanigans to cause drama, they got an inexperienced and ineffectual bosun and then brought on super experienced bro and told him that he should be bosun. But I hate Lewis so I don’t mind Seth trying to stage a coup. 

Faye and Lewis refusing to talk to each other is at fault for everything that went wrong. They’re such immature non leaders. The guests actually seemed pretty decent and nice to me, for a change. 
 

[aghst]

Remember, Seth is the replacement for that Texas boy who tried very hard to get booted off the ship, lasted just a couple of episodes.

That ouster was probably the original plan all along, bring on a wildcat to stir up some shit, bring on replacement.

Seth may even have been available from the start of filming but they wanted to start with Texas starting some drama and Lewis as bosun and now Seth comes on and immediately starts going for Lewis' job.

So cynical.

[RoseAllDay]

Kerry’s death stare at Jess….she really needs to get over herself. She’s Ben but without the redeeming charm and Rachel with rougher edges. Her bitching about the plate mixup and criticizing the service? Not in front of the guests, ever. It’s disrespectful to everybody, and unprofessional. 

How cool to parasail. Wish I had the guts to do it. Camera work was 👍.

Lewis is a crap manager. Texting job duties? I agree that it’s looking like Seth’s arrival is setting up Lewis big time.