S02.E01: Yes, We Cairns!

[snarts]

Captain Jason and Chief Stew Aesha reunite for an unforgettable, full-throttle charter season with a lively new crew and wild guests in the stunning waters of Cairns, Australia – the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.   

New boat is interesting. New crew also interesting. First charter guests?  Not so much, same trashiness that production seems to be actively recruiting these days. 

The cute guy from Brooklyn/Queens who gets seasick?  Really liked him and his backstory. Same with the chef.  I wish they'd wouldn't rush the charter season, give the crew a day or two to arrive and interact. Maybe then they wouldn't be missing crew members and mechanical issues.  Oh wait, that's what they think we want so see.  Nope, I watch in spite of their stupid contrived machinations to maximize drama.

Edited July 18, 2023 by snarts

[sugarbaker design]

I sincerely hope the Captain kicks their asses off the boat!

I did enjoy Adam and Harry's discussion of the bunks, it let us know who prefers top or bottom!  :)

[Baltimore Betty]

I feel like that one guest was itching for a fight,her getting on her chartermate about being told she had a crumb on her face, the rudeness toward Aesha was unnecessary when Aesha asked if they were going diving because the boat was waiting for them..."No Aesha we're going to sit in our room all day," the other stew telling them not to go swimming because of it being unsafe at night, the captain telling them to get out of the water and now the party is over and her retort as well as Speedo guy telling the captain for fuck off...I swear she was looking for a fight.

Another charter guest that said she was not drinking but decides she wants to drink and does, a lot.

If I were Aesha I would have put a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket on the bar with some chips or nuts or something,  jerk in his Speedo constantly asking for one glass at a time, bish please.

New chef made the most amazing seafood extravaganza! Smart too, being one stew down the family style spread really helped with service. Nobody wanted dessert, boo, no fun! I have high hopes of food porn this season. 

 

 

[iMonrey]

I can already tell Laura is going to be trouble. The guests have just gotten on the boat, she knows it's just her and Aesha, and she thinks she can spend 20 minutes farting around in her cabin getting changed and putting on makeup? WTF?

Strange boat this season, a converted Japanese fishing vessel from the 1970s. The decor in the bedrooms is God-awful. Who picked out that wallpaper? You know some of the guests are going to hate it. First charter, and already it's clear the show is still recruiting the same trashy randos to play "guests" as they did last season. I've never seen such classless people. Except, you know, here.

So far I like Luke the bosun OK and Harry and Adam, the deckies. But Adam gets seasick and can't swim? That's going to be a problem at some point. Talk about being in the wrong business.

Tzarina seems OK so far but wow, that galley is small. That's going to be an ongoing problem too.

So cool of Jason to help with the seafood.

[Arynm]

What a sloppy bunch of bitches. A shark should eat them, teach then to swim at night. Drunk idiots.

Laura was very clear and to get a "bloop,bloop bitch" was incredibly disrespectful, never mind the "fuck off" to the Captain! Yikes

Tzarina is barely coping with the small galley and no prep space.

[SemiCharmedLife]

6 hours ago, Baltimore Betty said:

 

Another charter guest that said she was not drinking but decides she wants to drink and does, a lot.

I went back and rewatched and who knew!  The guest who requested nonalcoholic bevs and then changed her mind was also the same nasty piece of work who was fighting with everyone.  Maybe she was abstaining for a reason.  Would love to see Captain Jason take them back to the port and let them off while the others party on.

Looks like the casting directors found some crew with potential drama...a nonswimming, seasick deckhand, a stew who thinks she is all that and a bag of chips, and the chef??  more to come...

[Tanukisan]

Like a startled koala dazzled by the headlights, these comments are in the order of episode scenes broadcast.

First impressions: 

The Boat – The yacht is the “Northern Sun”, built in 1976, deployed in 1977 (a fishing trawler) and refitted in 2007 as a yacht.  Even more of an antique than the previous BDDU boat, “Thalassa”, built in 2001 and refitted in 2016. Northern Sun is a former Japanese fishing boat -- "Look out!  It's Gojira (Godzilla)!  Oh, no!"

Crew:

Captain Jason:  I don’t know why so many women are willing to shed their underwear for him – have you noticed his teeth?  Of course, there may be other qualities that appeal; I wouldn’t know.  My opinion of him from the previous season was mixed due to his management style.  I’m willing to keep an open mind this season.

Aesha:  Chief Stew and welcome back!  Aesha was a gem last season and the glue that held things together.  She claims she’s going to be a “tough bitch”…  well, “tough-ER bitch”… well… Nah.  Don’t believe it – she’s too nice.  She’ll be walked over.

Tzarina Mace-Ralph- Chef:  Really?  Assuming that’s her real name…  Psycho.  Perfectly suited to BRAVO.  Seems like a low-rent Rachel.  Don’t think she’ll last the season.

Margot: Not yet.

Laura:  All about appearance.  Trouble.

Luke:  Seems up to the task as Bos’n.

Harry:  TSTT.

Adam:  Seems OK so far.

Vlad – Dyma – Dave – First officer, engineer, etc. -- Nice to meet you for the 2 seconds you were on camera, won’t see you for the rest of the season.

Oh, gee, a planned deckhand can’t make it.  Looks like we’re going to have a deckhand supplied by Shenanigans Incorporated.

Right off the bat we’re treated to a series of clips that promise drama, etc.  Experience has taught me not to get too excited.

Aesha claims “not to let anyone walk all over me”, but she’s so nice… we’ll see.

Laura – “I’m a hustler.”  I believe it.

Producer shenanigans already start with the “guest requested crew join in” Can-Can party.  *sigh*

Laura – yep, definitely trouble.

Adam:  Level-headed, family focused. 

Jason: “I reckon you all can handle it.” Translation: if it fails, it’s entirely your fault when you can’t.

The chef complains about the amount of counter space available – frankly, it’s far more than I’ve seen on some of the BD shows.  Heck, I wish I had that much space in *my* kitchen!

Aesha, after splitting her skirt, “The guests can’t see my labia!”  Yeah, well, not unless you show them.

What a bunch of drunken, crap guests for the first charter!  Seriously, somewhere there are several villages missing their idiots.  Obnoxious doesn’t even begin to describe this lot.  These pigs obviously don’t want to do anything that’s been arranged for them, which continues to lend credence to those who think most of this is staged.

Is anything served during the crab dinner actually warm by the time it gets to the table? Doubtful.  Guests seemed to like it, though.

Can we please see less of day-glo-blue-speedo-boy?

What will happen next week?  Will the guests (hopefully) get eaten by sharks?  Will Laura smack them down (or up)?  Will the Captain drop them off at the marina (but if so, what of the Can-Can party -- wouldn't it then be a Can't-Can't party?)?  Stay tuned, if you care. Or dare.  Or something.

 

 

[aghst]

9 hours ago, SemiCharmedLife said:

I went back and rewatched and who knew!  The guest who requested nonalcoholic bevs and then changed her mind was also the same nasty piece of work who was fighting with everyone.  Maybe she was abstaining for a reason.  Would love to see Captain Jason take them back to the port and let them off while the others party on.

Looks like the casting directors found some crew with potential drama...a nonswimming, seasick deckhand, a stew who thinks she is all that and a bag of chips, and the chef??  more to come...

Season 1 was good, right at the peak of the pandemic, they didn't hew as closely to the standard BD formulas.

Right off the bat, with this group of guests, you can tell Bravo has taken full control to make BDDU conform to the franchise, the way they did with BDSY.

They're able to assemble an international crew from all over the world yet they somehow cast the same trashy American guests and go to the trouble of getting them all to Australia.

Americans do visit Cairns but you know these guests aren't about marine life.

Right off the bat they're demanding, rude, don't even pretend to be civil for even one day.

That's got to be coached up by the producers.  Who is so rude to people they've just met?  Or maybe they got to meet the crew before filming started and there was enough familiarity built up to bring out the contempt so soon.

I also think Laura is prodded to do her makeup thing, first at the start and then later when she changed to the black dress for dinner service.  If she continues to spend too much time glamming it up and there's a confrontation, it's probably the producers encouraging her to be defiant of the superiors, the way Benny was in season 1.

But one of the clips seems to show Jason is going to fire someone so maybe he has more power now, with pandemic restrictions over, they probably have some replacement cast members stashed away at a hotel in port.

So season 1, the Polish chick used too much data to FaceTime her boyfriend back in Poland and she wasn't getting her work done.

In season 2, will the Latvian chick spend too much time painting her face to get her work done?

What is it with these Northern Europeans?  Does cold weather mean makeup is even more important?

Or as she suggested, she is up for boat-mance -- she's turning 30! so she can't waste time?  That's gold for any BD show.

[pasdetrois]

22 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I can already tell Laura is going to be trouble.

She's meant to duplicate the previous Eastern European stew who was lazy and spent all of her time on the phone, then made excuses.

Quote

Looks like we’re going to have a deckhand supplied by Shenanigans Incorporated.

Love this.

Edited July 19, 2023 by pasdetrois

[Mr. Miner]

14 hours ago, Lady of nod said:

That boat is ugly and creepy. It looks to me like one of those Japanese whale murdering boats

Still too nice for these guests.

[TeapotWakeen]

12 hours ago, Tanukisan said:

Captain Jason:  I don’t know why so many women are willing to shed their underwear for him – have you noticed his teeth?  Of course, there may be other qualities that appeal; I wouldn’t know.  My opinion of him from the previous season was mixed due to his management style.  I’m willing to keep an open mind this season.

there are exactly ZERO circumstances under which I would work for a boss who had the disco ball helmet that someone on staff had to wear to be called out, positive or negative. ZERO.

[iMonrey]

9 hours ago, aghst said:

I also think Laura is prodded to do her makeup thing, first at the start and then later when she changed to the black dress for dinner service.  If she continues to spend too much time glamming it up and there's a confrontation

She didn't even look that good! Her hair was just pulled back in a tangled mess.

Quote

Captain Jason:  I don’t know why so many women are willing to shed their underwear for him – have you noticed his teeth? 

Heh, yeah I've noticed the bottom ones are pretty jacked up. But Brits, Europeans and Aussies aren't as obsessed with having perfectly straight, blindingly white teeth as Americans are.

Edited July 19, 2023 by iMonrey

[Chalby]

I have to point out something that's been on my mind for a couple of seasons now, and this episode has reminded me once again of this issue...

I don't know if it's Below Deck editing or what, but I'm reminded of Wes and Gabby discussing that yachting is dismissive or racist towards blacks.

Over the years I have noticed many black Charter guests being portrayed in an awful light. They are perceived as rude, ignorant, crude, unaware of their surroundings, and aggressive towards each other and dismissive of the crew. These guests seem to think being wealthy and on a first-class yacht means they should be demanding and hyper critical of everything. They are filmed appearing so crass and undignified, especially when they go on about the money they spent and what they expect for it. I'm often feeling embarrassed for them. 

In all the Below Deck shows I've watched with black charter guests, think I've come across two occasions where the guests are perceived as wonderful and kind. Otherwise it's a shit show of embarrassment. I'm also surprised that I've never seen any complaints about what I've been seeing.

[Tanukisan]

7 hours ago, TeapotWakeen said:

there are exactly ZERO circumstances under which I would work for a boss who had the disco ball helmet that someone on staff had to wear to be called out, positive or negative. ZERO.

YES!  Exactly!  I commented on this last season and said that whole stupid disco ball helmet thing was demeaning and a morale killer.  But I've seen clips for this season where he's doing the same thing!  UGH!

Circumstances like this encourage a group to distance themselves from a particular individual.  In the military, it's all about encouraging everyone in a group to function as a team, and not to focus on individual pursuits.  Jason may not fully appreciate this given the current scenario.  We'll see if he's earnt my private nickname for him or not.   (:

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Tanukisan

[dleighg]

the captain talking about the single prop: he was implying that it always wanted to turn in one way; does that mean that the prop is not centered on the rear of the boat? Who would engineer a boat that way? It doesn't make sense.

[dleighg]

something I've noticed is that no-one seems to use the "sailor's grip" to help guests into or out of the smaller boats. We were taught to always use that on the couple of "expedition cruises" I've been on.

[gaPeach]

49 minutes ago, dleighg said:

the captain talking about the single prop: he was implying that it always wanted to turn in one way; does that mean that the prop is not centered on the rear of the boat? Who would engineer a boat that way? It doesn't make sense.

I am right there with you on his comments.  It made no sense that a one prop boat can only turn one way.  Huh?  Maybe it got lost in the translation.  I like this captain (but hate the disco ball helmet) and he seems very competent, so I am giving him leeway on this. 

I love the boat with its lost in another time Decore.  Who in the world looked at the wallpaper in the staterooms and said "Yeah this looks good"?  But I do like the old stuff.  Not sure I would book it for a luxurious weekend.......hell, yeah I would.

I want to do the Bell Walk thing.  How cool would that be?

[dleighg]

I wasn't paying much attention to the wallpaper, but it didn't particularly turn me off. IMO it's better than whatever "everyone" has decreed is tasteful these days, to the point of having no personality whatsoever. 

[iMonrey]

15 hours ago, Chalby said:

Over the years I have noticed many black Charter guests being portrayed in an awful light. They are perceived as rude, ignorant, crude, unaware of their surroundings, and aggressive towards each other and dismissive of the crew.

That's an apt description of 90% of all the charter guests, not just black ones. I really wish someone would do an expose on this show and report the truth about where they find these "guests." The ones on the Australian version - in particular - seem like they were recruited specifically to act obnoxious and cause trouble.

[Shrek]

13 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

That's an apt description of 90% of all the charter guests, not just black ones. I really wish someone would do an expose on this show and report the truth about where they find these "guests." The ones on the Australian version - in particular - seem like they were recruited specifically to act obnoxious and cause trouble.

It's just not the case that they "find" guests & then put them on the boat. The boats are booked by the guests who are then asked if they are okay being filmed & then the trip is paid for by production. It's more likely that the majority of the guests we see are obnoxious because they wanted to be filmed & they figure the worse they behave the more airtime they will get, which probably isn't wrong as the viewers will discuss bad behavior much more than good behavior. What we see is a reflection of society as a whole and the way it is heading.

The well behaved guests we get to see are the exception rather than the rule as I would have thought most people who book these sort of trips just want a quiet time on a luxury yacht rather than make an ass of themselves on tv. 

I agree with you that 90% of the charter guests we see are obnoxious no matter what. 

 

[dsteele]

1 hour ago, dleighg said:

does that mean that the prop is not centered on the rear of the boat?

No, it's centered. But when a typical prop turns (say, clockwise) it tends to push the stern to starboard (right) and the bow to port (left). So you have to compensate for this with the ship's wheel, which can be tricky if there's not a lot of room to maneuver.

I believe what Jason was referring to was exactly that situation. This may be his first experience with a single-screw yacht. Most modern yachts have twin screws and it's easier to compensate for that prop walk. Also, most of the yachts I've seen on BD shows have bow and stern thrusters, which are small jets that can actually push the boat sideways. You can see their bubbles sometimes in the overhead shots during docking.

If anyone is interested, here's a more detailed explanation. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propeller_walk

Sorry for the nerdy interruption. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program. LOL

[aghst]

Do people really book 1 or 2 night charters and give $15-25k in tips as they've been showing in recent BD seasons?

We're talking about leaving $10-$15k in tips per night stay.

Come on, that's 2 or 3 meals in a 18-24 hour period, the crew put out water sports gear for you and maybe set up a beach picnic.

Do some of these guests look like such high-rollers, they wouldn't blink at tossing that kind of money around?

Maybe they did book legit charters at the beginning but I think a lot if not most of the guests are stunt casting and the tip is part of the show.  In fact they make a big show out of it, like the little kid who had a briefcase of stacks of bills and he was handcuffed to it.

I'm sure they're really going around with that much cash.  As opposed to use credit cards and withdraw from the ATM as needed.

Can you even withdraw 5 figures in cash out of ATMs for international transactions?

 

[Shrek]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

Do people really book 1 or 2 night charters and give $15-25k in tips as they've been showing in recent BD seasons?

We're talking about leaving $10-$15k in tips per night stay.

Come on, that's 2 or 3 meals in a 18-24 hour period, the crew put out water sports gear for you and maybe set up a beach picnic.

Do some of these guests look like such high-rollers, they wouldn't blink at tossing that kind of money around?

Maybe they did book legit charters at the beginning but I think a lot if not most of the guests are stunt casting and the tip is part of the show.  In fact they make a big show out of it, like the little kid who had a briefcase of stacks of bills and he was handcuffed to it.

I'm sure they're really going around with that much cash.  As opposed to use credit cards and withdraw from the ATM as needed.

Can you even withdraw 5 figures in cash out of ATMs for international transactions?

 

The tip from what I've read is usually about 30% of the cost of the trip which would make the amounts about right but I doubt very much that the guests carry that much cash around, it's probably all done via bank transfer & handing over pretend cash for tv. I know I wouldn't normally carry that amount around if I had it and no normal ATM would let you withdraw that amount anyway, the most I've withdrawn in 1 day is $500 but that's a limit I set myself.

I'm sure they could withdraw it from a bank in any country.  

Edited July 20, 2023 by Shrek

[aghst]

18 minutes ago, Shrek said:

The tip from what I've read is usually about 30% of the cost of the trip which would make the amounts about right but I doubt very much that the guests carry that much cash around, it's probably all done via bank transfer & handing over pretend cash for tv. I know I wouldn't normally carry that amount around if I had it and no normal ATM would let you withdraw that amount anyway, the most I've withdrawn in 1 day is $500 but that's a limit I set myself.

I'm sure they could withdraw it from a bank in any country.  

The charters are either 1 or 2 nights.  Sometimes 3 but it's relatively rare.

So if they're giving out $15k for say a 3 night charter and that amount represents about 1/3, then that would mean they're paying $50k plus 15k for a 3 night charter.

So the lowest it would be is about $22k per night.  The charter party is what 6 to 8 guests?

With 8 guests that would be under $3k per night or almost $9k for a 3-night charter.  Steep but not out of reach for upper middle class people.  

HOWEVER, you really have to be a Bravo fan or want to be on TV bad enough to PAY to be on these shows.  Even if you come off looking good on the show, which is becoming increasingly rare, you're helping them film a show from which Bravo will make millions.

So why would you pay to help a cable TV channel, which is a part of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate (NBC-Universal?) make money?

That's not even including the cost to fly to Europe or in this case, Australia, then probably stay before and/or after the shoot.

I don't really see that many people willing to pay that much to be on Bravo shows.  The real rich people, they can charter legit yachts, not what Bravo is conjuring up as representing luxury yacht charters.  They can afford to pay for their privacy.

 

 

 

[Shrek]

59 minutes ago, aghst said:

The charters are either 1 or 2 nights.  Sometimes 3 but it's relatively rare.

So if they're giving out $15k for say a 3 night charter and that amount represents about 1/3, then that would mean they're paying $50k plus 15k for a 3 night charter.

So the lowest it would be is about $22k per night.  The charter party is what 6 to 8 guests?

With 8 guests that would be under $3k per night or almost $9k for a 3-night charter.  Steep but not out of reach for upper middle class people.  

HOWEVER, you really have to be a Bravo fan or want to be on TV bad enough to PAY to be on these shows.  Even if you come off looking good on the show, which is becoming increasingly rare, you're helping them film a show from which Bravo will make millions.

So why would you pay to help a cable TV channel, which is a part of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate (NBC-Universal?) make money?

That's not even including the cost to fly to Europe or in this case, Australia, then probably stay before and/or after the shoot.

I don't really see that many people willing to pay that much to be on Bravo shows.  The real rich people, they can charter legit yachts, not what Bravo is conjuring up as representing luxury yacht charters.  They can afford to pay for their privacy.

 

 

 

Not sure how you managed to get that they were paying Bravo to be on tv from anything I said, please let me know how you managed it as I never said anything of the sort, we were talking about tips & carrying cash weren't we?

I've said previously that the trips are booked by the guests before anyone knows anything about what boat is being used for the show and they are then asked if they would mind being filmed and if they are okay with it Bravo then pays the cost of the trip. Nobody would fly all that distance just for a couple of nights on a boat, it's obviously just one part of their vacation as I doubt anybody would fly all the way to Australia just for 3 nights on a boat. 

 

[Tanukisan]

6 hours ago, dsteele said:

Sorry for the nerdy interruption. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program. LOL

Actually, I'd rather see more of this sort of thing than obnoxious guests who order grilled cheese sandwiches in the middle of the night.

[dleighg]

26 minutes ago, Tanukisan said:

Actually, I'd rather see more of this sort of thing than obnoxious guests who order grilled cheese sandwiches in the middle of the night

or order (one after another) another "glass of cham"

Who talks like that? And he could barely stand up.

[Zaffy]

Aesha told in a TV interview that the guests are also cast (surprise! NOT...)
She answered a question about how is it to work with rich people or something (apparently the person who asked has not watched a single BD episode, rich people, LOL).
You can find this at her Instagram account.

Aesha is the sole reason I am watching this. I love her positive attitude. I would love her and Rachel in the same BD crew sharing the same cabin, and  at the end of each day commenting about the episode's events. Or even better, sharing the day's shenanigans with Kate Chastain :D

So far the crew seems ok, although there are still two missing and we haven't seen  any of them in after-charters-stupidly-drunk-action.

The boat is not bad, but it is looks nothing like a luxurious yacht for rich people. It is old (not vintage old, weary old) and poorly decorated.
Still, I guess  it must be easier for the tv crew  to shoot, since it seems quite roomy.

If you want to get an idea about a modern yacht for this kind of charters, search for Odessa, the one Rachel is currently working for. It is too gray for my taste  but it is definitely a lux yacht.

Still, my fav franchise  boat of all is Parsifal III, from the sailing BD series.

[dleighg]

7 minutes ago, Zaffy said:

If you want to get an idea about a modern yacht for this kind of charters, search for Odessa

wow!

[Mr. Miner]

20 hours ago, aghst said:

Come on, that's 2 or 3 meals in a 18-24 hour period, the crew put out water sports gear for you and maybe set up a beach picnic.

You left out the contrived and lame AF theme parties. They have to be at least a third of the tip. 🙄

[ChristmasJones]

Did anyone else notice that the camera work was not very good this episode? I noticed tons of shots where they were zoomed in too close, not at a good angle, etc. I wonder if the layout of the boat makes it difficult to get the camera in the right position.  

It really jumped out at me for some reason, and I found myself wondering how they decide to hire the camera people for jobs like this, as a lot of the footage seemed very amateur to me. 

Hopefully the story lines will become compelling enough that my brain will be able to ignore the bad cinematography.

[Uncle JUICE]

7 hours ago, Mr. Miner said:

You left out the contrived and lame AF theme parties. 

These need to stop. Once a season is believable, MAYBE, but people that are well off in real life, and have the real wherewithal to make one of these vacations happen, are not ALL into theme parties. THeme parties are the exception. And they'd be themed like "Black Tie" or something mature. Not "S&M dinner," and we brought our own gag balls and leather harnesses!" It's easily the dumbest thing about this program. Rich people don't go on vacation on a CHARTERED YACHT and say "I want a mardi gras poker night theme party, with only the cheapest PArty Fair decor, please!" 

[iMonrey]

On 7/20/2023 at 9:52 AM, Shrek said:

It's just not the case that they "find" guests & then put them on the boat. The boats are booked by the guests who are then asked if they are okay being filmed & then the trip is paid for by production.

Oh, the guests are most definitely recruited, this has already been established by one who admitted (after the fact) that she didn't actually know any of her fellow charter guests. Also, see @Zaffy's post above.

I think all the spin-offs plus Covid made recruiting necessary. 

The first season of Down Under made this all way too obvious. One of the charters was just a bunch of Jason's old friends. The primary was a former co-worker or boss who had gone off and started his own party boat business. Yet he was chartering Jason's boat for . . . a bachelor party. WTF would someone who owned their own party boat business charter someone else's yacht for a party?

And I'm sorry, but you can definitely tell, a lot of these guests are low class. They are not rich enough to charter a luxury yacht for a 2-3 day vacation. Their behavior just gives them away. They've never been anywhere near a yacht before in their entire lives and have no business being there.

[Shrek]

I agree about the first down under but that doesn't mean every iteration of below deck recruits guests and it has been said on numerous occasions how the guests are chosen or asked if they're okay being filmed. The down under below deck may be different just because of where it is. It also shows how desperate some people are to be on tv.

And just because someone has money doesn't mean they have class or have been on a yacht before & know how to behave. 

The whole below deck thing has become boring anyway, we don't see enough of the actual workings and just have made up drama. It was not always as it is now & that's sad.

 

[aghst]

Yeah but if you watch the BDSY reunion, Daisy said a lot of celebrities reach out to her and other cast.

There are now 5 BD variations?

I guess they all get enough ratings and make money for Bravo.

You would think with all the fans, more of them would just go looking to book charters if these guests were spontaneously booking charters only to find Bravo is filming a BD show and they asked to be on TV.

They obviously have to sign waivers to allow Bravo to use their image, as opposed to having to blur out their faces.

But unless there were so many people thirsty enough to be on a BD show or on TV in general, why would anyone sign away the rights for Bravo to use their likeness on shows which make millions in profits for a multi-billion dollar corporation?

And supposedly pay well into 5-figures for these "charters."

 

[rur]

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Oh, the guests are most definitely recruited, this has already been established by one who admitted (after the fact) that she didn't actually know any of her fellow charter guests. Also, see @Zaffy's post above.

Recruiting definitely occurs, maybe not with all guests, but definitely with some. On OG Below Deck, a returning guest, who had previously been on the boat with some other couples,  said in a later interview that he had been asked to recruit some friends for an all-male charter.

Edited July 22, 2023 by rur

[Zaffy]

I apologize if someone has mentioned this already, but I don't even believe the "guests" pay the tips.
I have the feeling Bravo has a certain tips pool and asks the guests to rate or/and decide how big the tip will be.

Rich people (except if they are very new money) do not really want to spend their holidays on reality TV, pretending to enjoy stupid theme parties.

Quantity does not mean quality.
I don't know what was the guests situation in the first seasons, but when you decide to have so many spin offs you soon run out of guests. And ideas.
They have decided to turn the show to almost a scripted reality parody for juvenile audience. But even this cannot work ok when you have 5BDs..
And what is the reason of having 5 BDs in different locations when you do not even bother showing the locations anymore,  instead you  spend most of the show's time with who of the crew is the grossest?

[aghst]

What do each crew member get, like $20-25k in tips for 6 weeks of shooting?

That is their pay for appearing on the show plus whatever else the senior members may get for doing the show.

Hell if some Southern Charm cast members were getting half a million a season, you figure the captains and senior staff also get 6-figure pay for a show which has higher ratings than SC.

[pasdetrois]

20 hours ago, Zaffy said:

They have decided to turn the show to almost a scripted reality parody for juvenile audience.

Perfect description. With the housewives shows struggling to survive, the BD franchise is Bravo's money-maker.

[Me from ME]

Maybe to make it more difficult to provide top quality service so there will be more things for the guests to dislike? Unscripted drama ensues without need for writers.

[aghst]

Looks like Bravo is going to start airing 2 episodes a night starting tonight.

Odd, season 1 they streamed only on Peacock, then months later aired on Bravo.

They recently raised the price of Peacock.  Glad I don't have to decide whether I was going to subscribe.  Probably wouldn't have, they don't have much else I would watch.

[nokat]

So the first episode. We got to see the engineers.  Oh Nooo, I ripped my skort.

[nokat]

Holy hell, I saw naked breasts.  Someone caught it when I rewound.

[Chalby]

On 7/19/2023 at 6:09 PM, oakville said:

Agreed. This is the shabbiest-looking boat in all the incarnations of Below Deck.

I do like the crew's cabins, though.

[Chalby]

On 7/22/2023 at 10:10 AM, rur said:

Recruiting definitely occurs, maybe not with all guests, but definitely with some. On OG Below Deck, a returning guest, who had previously been on the boat with some other couples,  said in a later interview that he had been asked to recruit some friends for an all-male charter.

I don't know how much recruiting is necessary after the first seasons got decent ratings. There are so many desperate- to- be- a - celebrity people out there, I'm sure there are tons of applicants and once chosen, they negotiate what they'll receive after Bravo's provided them a holiday and stage for their antics.

[Chalby]

On 7/21/2023 at 4:56 AM, Mr. Miner said:

You left out the contrived and lame AF theme parties. They have to be at least a third of the tip. 🙄

Very good point. I only know a few people who are wealthy enough to charter a mega yacht and they wouldn't be caught dead having any type of themed (or otherwise) party with only 4 or 5 friends. After I asked a friend to watch an episode, she declared it an embarrassment.

[WhiskeyVictor]

On 7/19/2023 at 1:28 AM, aghst said:

What is it with these Northern Europeans?  Does cold weather mean makeup is even more important?

Poland is central Europe; Latvia is a Baltic state. Not northern Europe -- that would be Scandinavia, and arguably the Netherlands. But I guess that's all relative: if aghst is Sicilian, then it's all northern! 😄

I'm glad Aesha's back. She's delightful. Wish I had a sunny type like her in my social life. She must be a riot in person.

Laura the Latvian Lingerer: long make-up sessions and even longer showers. Hmmm...

Chef: presentation is wanting (and for the dishes, too).

Margot: looks/seems nice, but has a perpetual worried look on her face.

The lads seem competent, but the Bean Pole is worrying me. Mr. I-don't-belong-at-sea will have to reconsider his employment options. Don't like Culver, but I guess we're stuck with him. For now.

[aghst]

I should have said northern Europeans, not Northern Europeans.

I've seen the UK, Netherlands and at least northern part of France described as northern Europe, because the climate is distinct from Southern Europe

In any event, Latvia and Poland are pretty close, one hour and 15 minutes direct flights from Warsaw to Riga, about 8-8.5 hours by car.

That's comparable distance for San Francisco to LA or to San Diego, all California or western Americans.

[dleighg]

8 minutes ago, WhiskeyVictor said:

I'm glad Aesha's back. She's delightful. Wish I had a sunny type like her in my social life.

she seems very nice but her constant squealing drives me nuts

[Baltimore Betty]

15 minutes ago, WhiskeyVictor said:

I'm glad Aesha's back. She's delightful. Wish I had a sunny type like her in my social life. She must be a riot in person.

Laura the Latvian Lingerer: long make-up sessions and even longer showers. Hmmm...

Don't forget how crude she was in her first season but still much nicer to have her on the crew than some of the other Chief Stews we have seen.

Laura the Latvian Lingerer, so funny!