S08.E15: Curb Your Stewsiasm

[jewel21]

Quote

Due to inclement weather coming in, the final charter of the season risks remaining docked; the chief stew and bosun work tirelessly to organize activities for the guests, relying heavily on the assistance of the fourth stew.

Airdate: 01/15/2024

[maggiemae]

I remember when the guests rebelled being on the dock not understanding the danger....The OG took them out on a tender and they returned wet and scared.

[Baltimore Betty]

Natalya is messy, telling Jack not to tell anyone she was going to show up when Luke already knew, poor Jack thought it was going to be "special" for the two of them, Nat is really showing her ass.

That guest showed her ass too.

The games looked lame, Tumi should have organized something or checked on what was planned, maybe a spa day on board or take the guests to a spa, Tumi has booked modern dancers...I am sure the guests will snicker their way thru that performance. 

The guest that complained the most was drinking the most.

Why not go on a land tour?

OMG, Kyle complaining how tired he is from the grueling season, he only worked half of the time, he should be well rested.

 

 

[65mickey]

I can't imagine being a guest on that boat and having nothing to do but play some of the dumbest games that I have ever seen adults play like dressing up in wigs and feather boas. And wow picking up a cereal box off the floor with your mouth. I thought that Sandi said that she wanted all of the crew involved in game night and then they all went to bed and it was just Lily there.  Jesus people you are in Italy. Get off the boat and take a tour of Genoa to see the beautiful city.  No one thought of trying to arrange a cooking class?  That would be my idea of fun.  I have never understood the fun of sitting on a boat and drinking all day and night especially if you are in Italy. 

I bet that Kyle tries to stay behind on the boat and rest while the guests are off. You know he is exhausted.

[Baltimore Betty]

41 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

I have never understood the fun of sitting on a boat and drinking all day and night especially if you are in Italy. 

My thought exactly, the other thought I have every show is the guests packing stupid costumes and wigs and schlepping them to where ever only to wear them once or even at all.

If I am on a mega yacht you can be assured I am not picking up a cereal box up off the floor with my mouth for entertainment...movie night would have been a better choice and that would be lame too. 

Why was whatshername left by herself to entertain anyway? So much for the "we will have everyone involved all the time," talk from Sandy, she really is a terrible manager.

 

[iMonrey]

Talk about going out with a whimper, this has been an overall boring season and this has to be the most boring charter of that season. I think if it were me and the captain said we can't leave the dock I'd get right back off the boat and go somewhere else. And one of the guests even asked if they could get a refund, which is something else I wondered about. 

You don't charter a luxury yacht to sit at the dock. And you sure as hell don't charter a luxury yacht to play stupid kid's games.

So Haleigh has been out sick for several days throwing up, finally comes back, and the first thing she does is . . . hug a sick Lara? Don't hug the sicko, sicko! Lara is leaving the boat because she doesn't want to infect the rest of the crew so why the hell is she hugging Haleigh? 

6 hours ago, Baltimore Betty said:

OMG, Kyle complaining how tired he is from the grueling season, he only worked half of the time, he should be well rested.

Not even half. I think maybe he has only worked two complete charters this entire season. Kyle is a joke. And not the "ha ha he's funny" kind of joke. More like "OMG he's pathetic" kind of joke. 

[aghst]

5 hours ago, 65mickey said:

I can't imagine being a guest on that boat and having nothing to do but play some of the dumbest games that I have ever seen adults play like dressing up in wigs and feather boas. And wow picking up a cereal box off the floor with your mouth. I thought that Sandi said that she wanted all of the crew involved in game night and then they all went to bed and it was just Lily there.  Jesus people you are in Italy. Get off the boat and take a tour of Genoa to see the beautiful city.  No one thought of trying to arrange a cooking class?  That would be my idea of fun.  I have never understood the fun of sitting on a boat and drinking all day and night especially if you are in Italy. 

I bet that Kyle tries to stay behind on the boat and rest while the guests are off. You know he is exhausted.

A couple of the guests were brain surgeons?

They don't need to wait on the crew to find them things to do.

It's not only Tumi who can Google "things to do in Genoa."

But the guests were stuck on the boat, in the dock, bemoaning their bad luck because the producers wanted them to remain on the boat so that the onus was on the crew to entertain them.

Yeah they could have just walked off the boat and hired their own taxi.  As good as Jack's cooking may be, they're in Italy so they could go to some highly-rated, including Michelin-starred place for lunch.

Or some place with better views than all those container ships.

But of course the show wouldn't have anything to film.

The guests could have demanded their money back in a real life luxury yacht charter, unless the charter contract says no refunds due to weather, which seems highly unlikely.

Or you know, postpone filming until the weather improves and they could leave port.

But producers probably don't want that because delays may cost them money with the production crew.  Or maybe they wanted to make the episode be about the crew improvising and struggling to keep the guests entertained.

Or for all we know, the guests did go offshore, spent only enough time to eat, get filmed for a couple of minutes laying out in the sun or do that sad little cruise on the tender.

In any event, it's an artificial situation.  The weather is real but the fixed, unchangeable schedule is not real.

Edited January 16 by aghst

[Baltimore Betty]

29 minutes ago, aghst said:

A couple of the guests were brain surgeons?

I sort of laughed at finding out that two of the guests were neurosurgeons/neurologists because it is near impossible to get an appointment with a neurologist, I called a practice in January 2022 for an appointment, I am still waiting for a call back, turns out one of my besties DIL is the head of neurology at a hospital in Catonsville (25ish min from me), she was able to squeeze me in last February and I am ever so grateful, she was really kind and helpful.

Long story and a bit off topic but those docs are in such demand if they act like asses on the charter I doubt anyone would stop using them, they are as rare as hens teeth!

[DallasDiva243]

Why didn’t Tumi and Luka offer those choices to guests instead of just saying no to everything? Why did it take Tumi that long to think about driving them places? What exactly does Sandy want them to do to entertain the guests?? Lily was at least trying to entertain them. Kyle still sucks!

Edited January 16 by DallasDiva243
Added thoughts

[Shrek]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

The guests could have demanded their money back in a real life luxury yacht charter, unless the charter contract says no refunds due to weather, which seems highly unlikely.

 

 I would think that no refunds due to weather would seem highly likely rather than unlikely or they would never make any money if they were giving refunds because of the weather.

[65mickey]

I agree about the no refunds because of weather.  But I think the onus would be on the boat crew to come up with appropriate entertainment for the guests. And by appropriate I don't mean  picking up a cereal box off the floor with your mouth. This is a real low even for Bravo.

[iMonrey]

11 minutes ago, 65mickey said:

I agree about the no refunds because of weather.  But I think the onus would be on the boat crew to come up with appropriate entertainment for the guests. And by appropriate I don't mean  picking up a cereal box off the floor with your mouth. This is a real low even for Bravo.

I think there is probably a difference between chartering a luxury yacht that's not part of a TV show and chartering a luxury yacht and being on this TV show. I don't know about the former, but in the latter case, it's entirely likely whatever they signed up for made is clear no refunds would be offered. 

That said, I can't think of any incentive they would have for staying on the boat, it's not like Bravo could physically stop them from getting off and going somewhere else. Other than the fact that they had already paid for the charter and perhaps just wanted to be on TV. 

[aghst]

If they paid real money, like on real luxury yacht charters, you bet they're going to be screaming more about being stuck at port.

They're not going to meekly accept not being able to leave port if they paid tens of thousands of dollars.

Either refund or credit towards other dates.

But on this show, guests aren't paying anything like tens of thousands and they're captive to whatever the producers want.

Because they're not real guests on real yacht charters, that's just the roles they are playing for this show and they're there to be filmed, not to really experience a luxury yacht cruise.

 

 

[iMonrey]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

But on this show, guests aren't paying anything like tens of thousands and they're captive to whatever the producers want.

They do pay for the charter. Whether they pay full price is another matter. But there isn't any way for them to be held "captive" by production. Not unless there's someone standing on the gangplank with a gun holding them hostage. They paid the money, it's gone and they're not getting it back.

That said, once they're on the boat and a camera crew is there filming everything they say and do it's probably intimidating and influencing what they would otherwise do. And who knows, production may indeed have offered them a partial refund if they agreed to stay. That wouldn't surprise me.

[aghst]

I don't mean literally held captive.  Just that they're obligated to be filmed on board.

Not like they can say they're going to go out to visit other places on their own.

The point is that they are to be "guests" on a TV show about yacht charters.  They probably sign contracts so they want the cast of the show to entertain them and for them to be filmed.

They can't do their own thing.  That is why that one guest was not happy that they had to drink on the yacht and be filmed rather than go somewhere else.

They could refuse to sign clearances to have their likeness used on the TV show but they probably sign contracts that is part of a package.  They get to go on the yacht for the TV show and they have to consent to be filmed and have their likeness used on the show.

[Baltimore Betty]

Sometimes the guest go off the boat to a local beach club or bar and two crew members go along but not this time?

What is Sandy's deal, she has skewered other chief stews for not doing their job when it came to taking care of guests for the littlest things but Tumi leaves the entertainment to her third stew, does not check on her plans or check on the guests at all, if it had been Hannah or anyone really then Sandy would have been so far up their arse but this activity is okay with Sandy?

We have seen Sandy have a melt down because the slide was not inflated to her liking so no micro managing the crew when stuck at the dock is really strange. So much for her "we are going to have every crew member present entertaining the guests." 

Kate would have had those guests so entertained they would not have realized they were not at sea.

 

 

 

[snarts]

Early on Sandy indicated all boats were stuck in port due to the gale force winds and the aerial shot supported that claim with a ton of yachts all bunched together. However, the subsequent shots later that day and the next showed a lot of empty berths. Where did all those yachts go?

My theory is that the trailing boat used for the film crew is much smaller, so it's the reason we often see them stuck in port due to weather. I also think production likes the pressure staying in port places on the crew. I hope the 50% discount was worth it for the charter guests. I would've been pissed off to see other yachts leaving port.

Tumi's a terrible chief stew, IMHO. She's not a leader. I liked her on her original season but have disappointed with her behavior and attitude from day one. Kyle and Sandy are worthless and irredeemable, so I pretty much hate watched nearly every moment of this season.

On a positive note, I wouldn't mind seeing Jack, Hayleigh, Lara and Luka again.

[gaPeach]

5 hours ago, Baltimore Betty said:

What is Sandy's deal, she has skewered other chief stews for not doing their job when it came to taking care of guests for the littlest things but Tumi leaves the entertainment to her third stew, does not check on her plans or check on the guests at all, if it had been Hannah or anyone really then Sandy would have been so far up their arse but this activity is okay with Sandy?

I wondered what exactly Sandy wanted the crew to do by being with them always and "entertaining" them.  I pictured Kyle juggling balls and/or Jack doing a quick work out for them.  Like, what exactly did Sandy mean?

The whole thing felt staged.  I have never seen a crew so clueless on how to entertain guests stuck at the dock.

[aghst]

50% would not be enough of a discount to be stuck in port, if indeed other yachts were leaving.  Again, I am dubious of this whole notion that guests on the shows pay to help Bravo make a TV show which produces millions in profits.

They'd have to pay me to be on their show, since they need people to play guests -- not as much as the cast obviously but they still guests.

They sing Happy Birthday to charter guests like it was some cheesy chain restaurant, not a supposed 5-star service.

I really would like to know if real luxury yacht charters have cheesy theme parties and half-assed beach picnics and talent shows and game nights.

I doubt it, I think BD wants the crew to perform, get in their underwear or in drag or whatever outlandish costumes they can think of, for the sake of the cameras.

People spendings tens or even hundreds of thousands on these yacht charters probably just want to be left alone unless they beckon for more drinks or whatever.

Not be forced to take part in game night or whatever.  Some may enjoy it but why would they pay so much money to perform?

[Baltimore Betty]

Those guests are in Genoa, there is so much to do and see I do not understand why their first thought wasn't get the guests off the boat and treat them to food tours, museums, even an aquarium take a cab to a near by beach...have any of the crew actually traveled before? Yeesh!

[aghst]

Because the show is about being on a boat, even if the boat is stuck on shore.

Certainly they could guide them on an excursion, like hire some local guide to walk them through some attractions.  They've done that in the past and more in BD Adventure, where they basically outsourced the "entertainment" of doing these adventure sports like zip lines or parasailing to other companies.

It's possible that some guests would take the opportunity to see the sights in the surrounding area before or after the cruise.

But yeah there's plenty to see, like go further south to Cinque Terre.  Might be about 2 hours by  train/car but if the guests were getting sick of just doing nothing on the boat like the one guy, why not?

[iMonrey]

4 hours ago, aghst said:

I really would like to know if real luxury yacht charters have cheesy theme parties and half-assed beach picnics and talent shows and game nights.

Some do, which is how it became a staple of Below Deck shows. Way back at the very beginning with the OG series, before they had to start recruiting guests, they made every effort to show what some of the more demanding guests were like, including requests for silly theme parties and such. 

Today, I think some guests make such requests simply because they have seen them on the show. But more often it's likely the guests are prompted to pick a specific theme party to "request" on their preference sheets because the show thinks we need to have one on every charter.

Quote

Those guests are in Genoa, there is so much to do and see I do not understand why their first thought wasn't get the guests off the boat and treat them to food tours, museums, even an aquarium take a cab to a near by beach...have any of the crew actually traveled before? Yeesh!

Then again, it's quite possible the guests flew into Genoa days or even weeks before the charter and have already seen all the sights. I would. You don't go to Genoa just to spend three days on a boat then go back home again.

Edited January 17 by iMonrey

[SemiCharmedLife]

After reading all of your astute comments, I do have the feeling that production wanted to film the tension of the guests being "stuck" at the dock with limited options.  There were so many possibilities for them to do touristy things off the boat.  The lackadaisical pace that Tumi and Luka were attempting to come up with ideas seemed completely set up.  Sandy had her big monologue about all hands on deck to entertain, but didn't follow up at all. The insanity of seeing wealthy neurosurgeons aboard a luxury yacht playing  dollar store dress up was so bad it was good.  

[jrzy]

Tumi is surprisingly inept,   she wanted applause for ordering dancers, but interrupted the dinner to have them perform.  She doesn't seem to have a clue about entertaining guests, especially when they are left just sitting at the dock.

As many others have said,  all she needed to do was arrange a tour of the city, there are so many options she could have picked from.  She is really out of her depth here, and has proven unequal to the task.  She and Kyle are the useless twins this season for sure.

   

[aghst]

Even in that case, it probably wouldn't have been arranged by producers first.

They probably vetted and made sure the people who would dance would sign waivers to appear on the show.

Tumi didn't just call them up or call up the provisioner.  The producers would have made sure their dancing was what they wanted and they would sign them.

Because if you think about it, when they bring on local performers on these BD yachts, you don't know if they're going to be any good or that maybe they won't do something inappropriate for TV.

Plus some performers may be leery of appearing on TV, may want more money, etc.

So it probably takes some time to line up and maybe the producers decide they should have the performers come on this cruise because they've been vetted and cleared.

[maggiemae]

If anything, Sandy should have known what to do with the guests...she has been in the Med forever, had other Acts of God like weather out of her control, and known things the group could do...go shopping, a picnic on a beach and have the jet skis and seabobs etc taken over. Remember, they did have that other tender they used for the tour of the container ships/

Instead she relied on useless Tumi and Luka. And then the highlight was the lowest stews stupid games?

As for the guests, that ship was luxury...

Production couldn't or wouldn't get it together to make things happen.

And I also saw all the large ships stuck in port but later in the charter there were empty slots and those were able to leave...and many were smaller.

IMO this has been the worst season of all the BD's for hangovers, some fake illnesses, stupid relationships no one cares about, ridiculous hires like the first bosun and Max being so useless. Sandy not micromanaging, then telling Tumi  and Luka and the team to handle it.

The production team on this franchise are the worst.

LOL...I feel so used having watched this season, let alone the last few.

 

 

[iMonrey]

14 hours ago, maggiemae said:

IMO this has been the worst season of all the BD's for hangovers, some fake illnesses, stupid relationships no one cares about, ridiculous hires like the first bosun and Max being so useless.

Bravo should really cut their losses and dump this show. There are just too many Below Decks right now and this is the worst one. Sandy makes it pretty much unwatchable. And, it should go without saying, we never ever ever need to see Kyle again. Ever.

[Nunyabiznis]

On 1/18/2024 at 12:40 PM, jrzy said:

Tumi is surprisingly inept,   she wanted applause for ordering dancers, but interrupted the dinner to have them perform.  She doesn't seem to have a clue about entertaining guests, especially when they are left just sitting at the dock.

As many others have said,  all she needed to do was arrange a tour of the city, there are so many options she could have picked from.  She is really out of her depth here, and has proven unequal to the task.  She and Kyle are the useless twins this season for sure.

   

How awkward was it that the dancers just came out and performed right next to the table? Seriously some of the guests had their back to the dancers. There was no room and it looked really dumb. Did they even have music?

[Nunyabiznis]

On 1/19/2024 at 8:41 PM, maggiemae said:

If anything, Sandy should have known what to do with the guests...she has been in the Med forever, had other Acts of God like weather out of her control, and known things the group could do...go shopping, a picnic on a beach and have the jet skis and seabobs etc taken over. Remember, they did have that other tender they used for the tour of the container ships/

Instead she relied on useless Tumi and Luka. And then the highlight was the lowest stews stupid games?

As for the guests, that ship was luxury...

Production couldn't or wouldn't get it together to make things happen.

And I also saw all the large ships stuck in port but later in the charter there were empty slots and those were able to leave...and many were smaller.

IMO this has been the worst season of all the BD's for hangovers, some fake illnesses, stupid relationships no one cares about, ridiculous hires like the first bosun and Max being so useless. Sandy not micromanaging, then telling Tumi  and Luka and the team to handle it.

The production team on this franchise are the worst.

LOL...I feel so used having watched this season, let alone the last few.

 

 

I agree this has been the worst season. But 100% of the blame goes to Kyle. He is simply the worst with his negative attitude, complaining, malingering illnesses and clueless non-migraine. And Sandy should have canned him a long time ago.