S01.E11: They Hate Us Cuz They Ain't Us

[OnceSane]

Demanding charter guests extend their stay as Hannah attempts to regain their trust.  Elsewhere, miscommunication over croissants creates drama, the captain reluctantly gives Danny his phone back, and Ben's connection with Hannah deepens.

[tinaw]

Just watched the first look at the new episode. I hope i use this term the correct way. These charter guests are complete wankers. Just the worst. I dont think i could keep my composure with them. 

[snarts]

Agree. Who leaves a used tampon on the floor?  Absolutely disgusting.

[AnnaMayWong]

I agree, also. BEYOND disgusting. And, the crew has to clean-up after their filthy nasty asses. Uugh.

[Trooper York]

I know a used tampon.

And that was from one of the men. Imagine what else they left lying around.

[zoeysmom]

Why isn't there a service bar upstairs? It just seems odd that each drink requires navigating the stairs over and over.  These people are pretty awful but I would think Danny, Jen and Brian could pitch in and help the stew out a bit.  Standing around in the kitchen doesn't seem to serve any real purpose.

[Bluedog100]

Charter of Pigs.  They were hard to watch and an embarrassment to Americans.  Also hard to watch? Brian, Bobby and Danny.  They all disgust me.

[bosawks]

Ugh, those people.

They're the type to crap in an airplane bathroom 15 minutes into a 90 minute flight....

[jkitty]

This episode made me wonder, exactly how does service on a yacht work? I would feel weird if the stews were hanging around all the time just waiting for my requests, but I would also feel annoyed if I wanted something and did not know when they would be back. Is there a steady schedule by which the stews check in on the guests? I guess this is why I prefer to just serve myself!  No one standing between me and my rosé  

That said, these guests were some of the worst. On top of being impossibly rude, their level of intoxication on national TV was humiliating. I would be so embarrassed if people saw me like that.  Do they pay for gas on the boat? I could not believe the travel demands.

Looks like Bobby reaches peak "Nice Guy" douche melt down next week. Should be fun. 

[beesknees]

Ben and Julia's fight made no sense to me and I watched it twice (half-assed, admittedly).  Someone please translate.  Rude, disgusting American guests.  OY.  Bloody tampon on the carpet?  Gross.  I also wondered (thanks, zoeysmom) why there's not a bar up deck.  Someone get Jon Taffer (of Bar Rescue) stat!

Hey Ben?  Quit being pretentious.  It was great that you had to tell everyone you played sports with Princes William and Harry as a kid, your father's a famous author (ad nauseum)...  However you're just a regular guy that got a bad rap from Julia.  You're entering douche territory now.  Did Ben even actually shed any tears when he was crying or whatever he was doing?

Edited July 13, 2016 by beesknees

[annewithaneee]

Those guests were terrible, and were clearly doing it on purpose for TV time. That said, I was kind of surprised at how spectacularly everyone went to pieces and lost all composure. With how often those assholes were tromping into the galley to demand more food or to see if the thing they'd just asked for was ready yet, you'd think the crew would keep their venting to themselves until they were in their bunks or whatever that break room is called. I really wanted one of the guests to walk in on Ben calling them doucheberries. 

I do think this was a group stress spiral, where one or two started to really crack and everyone else followed suit. Definitely experienced that myself more than once, though I have learned the hard way to wait until any client and/or boss was well out of earshot before I went on a tear. Hannah, with her lo five years of experience, hasn't learned that. And how she was swearing under her breath standing a foot away from the guests within the first hour of those mouth-breathers being on board, I very much doubt she's never had any complaints before. 

At first, I was more or less on Ben's side. Julia was overworked, underslept, and has negative ragey Hannah in her ear all the time. That's a perfect formula for melting down at the slightest or nonexistant provocation. She was being run ragged, and everyone around her was demonstrably stressed and angry too, that's going to make you snap. But Ben didn't appear to do much of anything to her. And anyone her age with their very own fashion line doesn't strike me as having an economically disadvantaged upbringing regardless of which part of England she comes from, so I wasn't really here for her class argument. It felt like one rich white person against another. But then Ben had to namedrop the princes so hard he could have slipped a disc, and whined that he, as an extremely wealthy white man, gets discriminated against, for his privilege! And never did he mention feeling bad that he made Julia cry, whether or not he objectively wronged her. Julia needs to take a beat and get a grip, but Ben.....ugh. I guess he wants a medal for not relying on family money. Had he explained all that while, I don't know, giving away some of his tip money away to a homeless guy in Santorini, I would have had a passing respect for it. It is admirable to want to make your own way in the world. But it did not work as a tearful self-pity party.

[SFoster21]

I must say, these stews are waiting tables and cleaning hotel rooms, in the main. They get paid an enormous amount of money for this labor.

I think they're lucky.  I don't understand the complaints. And Hannah can lose me with the swipe at Americans.

Julia, is it? you want to be with your bf -- get a job at home.

[Misslindsey]

These guests were the worst. A used tampon? They needed half the crew to be their designated drivers on the ATV's? 

I am on Ben's side with whatever is going on with him and Julia. I do not think he is talking down to her or be condescending. Their fight, which did not seem like so much of a fight, over the croissants was strange. I thought it was all a stupid misunderstanding. I felt that Julia was tired, overworked, and sick of the guests and might have taken it out on Ben over stupid croissants. I also, thought Julia was completely off her game with these guests, who were horrible, but she is the one who can usually power through it. She seemed much more attentive to guests on other charters, but I guess I would not want to be around these guests too much either.  

I was fine with Ben talking about his background, because it seemed like most of that was in his TH. I did think he said he felt bad for what went down with Jules. I do think he has probably worked hard to be in the job he is in. My brother is a chef and my sister-in-law is a pastry chef, so I would assume he worked hard to be where he is in his profession. Maybe that is why Jules' words struck a nerve, but what do I know anyway?

Danny I already disliked you, but then you had to use YOLO to make me actually hate you. Danny always seems to me like he has to be the center of attention in social situations with the guests. I feel like Danny never thinks he is doing anything wrong when he oversteps boundaries. It is all for the greater good in his eyes. Bryan and Bobby are not great either, but at least they were taking pictures of each other with their phones and not of the guests.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Misslindsey

[breezy424]

One of Ben's problems is that he did not fully understand what Hannah and Julia were going through with these guests.  Maybe if he was standing there, serving, and listening to their demands and comments, he would get it.  It's different when a stew is telling you what a guest wants.  You can roll your eyes and commiserate with each other.  The stews don't have that choice. 

I'm on Julia's side on the Ben versus Julia incidents.  Ben could have been more understanding of what Julia was going through with the guests.  Same goes for what Hannah was going through.  Ben may have left his upper crust family to escape the attitude, but he does show that attitude at times.  I'm not feeling sympathy for his 'crying'.

Geez, how can you just stand there and not help.  I'm looking at you Danny and Jen.

I really like all the stews.  The deckhands, not so much.  OK.  A lot not so much.

As for the 'guests':  Money doesn't buy you class.  You go on TV and think you're showing off how much better you are because you 'have' money.  The only thing you showed was how low class and ignorant you are.  The joke's on you.  I wonder how the money to afford this charter 'came' to you....

[HunterHunted]

I thought the fuck fight from RHoNY and the beemer selfie fight from Vanderpump Rules were the stupidest fights to ever be shown on Bravo. Here we have the croissant fight. I feel like Julia was tired, homesick, and exasperated with the guests. She went to the galley and conveyed half of the info to Ben. She didn't tell Ben that she sent Bryan out for croissants. Also duh duh Ben, how else did you think Bryan decided to get in the tender to get the croissants. Julia actually said that the guests would get breakfast burritos and could have croissants later for a snack. I'm sure the moment those words escaped her lips, Julia forgot all about them just because the guests were being ridiculously demanding.

Ben didn't really do anything to provoke Julia, but he didn't need to press that the croissants were a later snack. I still don't think that Ben is being especially condescending, superior, or throwing his privileged background in their faces. I think this is Julia projecting her own issues and unfortunately taking out her frustration on Ben rather than the guests who rightly deserved it. This is the first time I can recall Ben talking about his upbringing. All this time, I'd assumed that Ben was arrogant because he's a chef. We've seen Leon be an arrogant condescending misogynistic asshole. A solid 25% - 33% of Top Cheftestants are arrogant assholes. I just thought it was a chef thing.

Thanks to Ben's dad for writing the Lone Survivor book which was optioned into a movie that Mark Wahlberg starred in and provided more irrefutable "evidence" to Mark Wahlberg that he would have been able to stop 9/11 based on his movie stunt skills.

Danny is a child who is completely lacking any understanding of professional boundaries, but I'm going to say that Bobby isn't much better. Everytime Danny starts any of his dumb shit with the guests, Bobby just jumps in and starts sniping with Danny in front of the guests. Bobby's sniping -- also not professional. Just hang back and let Danny destroy himself. The other pathetic thing is that Bobby is a solid decade older than Danny. At a certain point, I feel like who cares what a fuckwit Danny is.

I'm increasingly convinced that Danny is on this show to develop contacts in the entertainment industry. He's making the same mistakes again and again. Most people would have learned, but Danny keeps leaning into his party host antics because his ultimate goal isn't yachting. It's the entertainment industry.

Did it seem like Bryan was being intentionally extra gross when he was talking about Jen needing to learn how to handle a stick.

[Belowdeckchatter]

Oh my the big fight.

I agree that it was just a case of stressed nerves. However, I'd like to add that I think Ben has a very powerful sounding voice. Therefore, the emotional perception of the words he speaks is amplified, and is probably the cause of Julia's misunderstanding.

Although, I do think Ben was being a tool in that he was about to tell Julia that she mishandled the breakfast situation. When in fact, she was just trying to be a good server.

 

Almost forgot, I don't know what danny is doing trading contact info with a guest. I think this is bad.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Belowdeckchatter

[yourmomiseasy]

The guests really ran Julia.  I feel like they were doing it on purpose as a power play too because it wasn't enough that the crew was there to serve them, they had to exert their power and show they were "better" and in charge by making the crew really work.

 

What was on the bathroom counter that was so gross?  The camera focused on it, but I couldn't tell what it was.  

 

It was extra funny to me when Danny looked like he was about to cry over the unfairness of not being able to Instagram.

 Danny re: vibing with a guest: "how often does this happen?"

Me: "Every charter."

That poor girl stuck in the car with him while he's trying to make plans with her for off the boat.

 

I'm okay with Ben name dropping the princes because it seemed like it was all talking head and used to explain where he was coming from.

 

At this point I'm kind of not sure why I keep watching this show.  I don't like anyone enough to overpower my dislike for some of them, but it's not in the hate watch category either.

[biakbiak]

Danny it's fair because the other deckhands haven't abused their phones. 

[candall]

7 minutes ago, yourmomiseasy said:

At this point I'm kind of not sure why I keep watching this show.  I don't like anyone enough to overpower my dislike for some of them, but it's not in the hate watch category either.

Same here.  I remember, after the first episode or two, I said something like, "I like this show so much more than the original version because the crew is low-key and gets along and I'd rather just take in the luxury yachting than crew drama."  Yech, everyone in this show and everything that happens--just awful.

Even non-controversial little 3d stew Tiffany had the bright idea, for some reason, to send Bobby after Julia "to give her a hug."  Seriously?  We have to chum those waters again?

And, once again, the gauche guests enjoy Danny's special brand of douchery and the other crew people hate Danny so much, they just stand there radiating those little cartoon heat stroke squiggles.  Bryan's about to suffer an aneurysm over Danny's cell phone.

It looks to me like a work week for these yachties generally includes a couple of nights out drinking, dining, dancing in the beautiful Greek Islands, and multiple envelopes that each contain $1000+ over and above salary.  I just can't feel too sad about those long work shifts.

Ehh, I have more; I could on. . .forget it.

[ninjago]

3 hours ago, jkitty said:

This episode made me wonder, exactly how does service on a yacht work? I would feel weird if the stews were hanging around all the time just waiting for my requests, but I would also feel annoyed if I wanted something and did not know when they would be back. Is there a steady schedule by which the stews check in on the guests?

Have they ever said how food service works?  When the guy came and asked for snacks, Ben looked so befuddled.  I would have thought there'd be snacks out basically all the time, or at least several times a day.  Are they supposed to only eat at meal time?  Because, for a lot of people, that's not how they want vacation to be.

These people were rude and lacked any grace or class.  They appeared to expect the yacht to be like an all inclusive resort, with ever present, ongoing service and someone "anonymous" to clean up after you (i.e. you could make a mess and never have to face the person picking up behind you).  On the other hand, they were on a luxury yacht and the crew could have accommodated their requests, but, from the break, the crew opted for an adversarial relationship, starting with Hannah being a snot during the onboarding tour.

I guess I think the guests expectations were different than what the cruise really offered, so somewhere along the line there was a miscommunication.

[bblancobrnx]

4 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I thought the fuck fight from RHoNY and the beemer selfie fight from Vanderpump Rules were the stupidest fights to ever be shown on Bravo. 

Whoa whoa whoa. Hold it right there! The "Beemer/ Honda Civic selfie" fight on VPR was the single best bit of television in the history of...well...television! Apparently in WeHo them are fightin words. The croissant fight, well that was really dumb. 

4 hours ago, yourmomiseasy said:

 

What was on the bathroom counter that was so gross?  The camera focused on it, but I couldn't tell what it was.  

Looked to me like a partially eaten breakfast burrito

[ivygirl]

The whining on this episode! From Ben whinging about being the poor misunderstood working man of means, to Tiffany's insufferable cutesy baby talk, to--of course--Danny's stereotypically millennial/Gen Z waaaaaaaaahhhhhhh about "pics or it didn't happen"/I want my phoooooooonnnnne, Cap, this isn't fair because I'm soooooooooo responsible." If I were around that, I'd be punchy too.

i seriously can't even with Danny's irresponsibility/laziness. If you see people working? Pitch in or get out of the way! And dude, if you want to chill in Santorini surrounded by sycophants... Go on your own dime. 

I also wanted to cheer Julianfor her smackdown of his empty compliment, but it probably just fed his wounded ego. They all don't get me! 

5 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I'm increasingly convinced that Danny is on this show to develop contacts in the entertainment industry. He's making the same mistakes again and again. Most people would have learned, but Danny keeps leaning into his party host antics because his ultimate goal isn't yachting. It's the entertainment industry.

For real! This became clearer to me this episode. When he talks to the guest about going to LA and partying VIP style... He clearly thinks: I'm a reality star. Girls are gonna love me. I'll have money and get free booze cause I'm on Bravo! He probably thinks VPR's James is a cool dude with a life to aspire to, beemer selfies and all.

[Bluedog100]

6 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I'm increasingly convinced that Danny is on this show to develop contacts in the entertainment industry.

Raquel/Rocky, anyone??  A series-long audition.

[jkitty]

6 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

Did it seem like Bryan was being intentionally extra gross when he was talking about Jen needing to learn how to handle a stick.

Ugh, yes! I totally got that vibe and it made me skin crawl. 

[jkitty]

5 hours ago, ninjago said:

Have they ever said how food service works?  When the guy came and asked for snacks, Ben looked so befuddled.  I would have thought there'd be snacks out basically all the time, or at least several times a day.  Are they supposed to only eat at meal time?  Because, for a lot of people, that's not how they want vacation to be.

These people were rude and lacked any grace or class.  They appeared to expect the yacht to be like an all inclusive resort, with ever present, ongoing service and someone "anonymous" to clean up after you (i.e. you could make a mess and never have to face the person picking up behind you).  On the other hand, they were on a luxury yacht and the crew could have accommodated their requests, but, from the break, the crew opted for an adversarial relationship, starting with Hannah being a snot during the onboarding tour.

I guess I think the guests expectations were different than what the cruise really offered, so somewhere along the line there was a miscommunication.

That's sort of where I am at. While I think the guests were disgusting and rude (tampons, overly drunk, disgusting messes, no manners, passive aggressive comments), I was confused by why the crew was so stressed about the actual requests. Like asking for snacks and drinks did not seem that unreasonable. The drink making set up (no bar upstairs) did not work, especially for these guests who want an endless flow of drinks. It seemed like some problems could have been mitigated by changing their normal service routine a bit to accommodate these guests' style. Like have some food out all the time, from a fruit plate when the guests come to the breakfast table (so they can nibble while the mains are prepared) to munchies during the day.

Does Ben not have a radio? I also wonder why they did not radio down food and drink requests so a person in the galley could start them immediately. Like, yes these guests were assholes but it I think the crew could have made some of this easier on themselves. 

Also WTF is with all the Doritos? I love some cool ranch as much as anyone but why is Ben, a chef, not preparing his own salsa? It's not hard. Do they not have tomatoes, onions and peppers in Greece? Or at least buy something better than that crap? And serving salsa with nachos cheese Doritos? Unless the guests requested that I would be like seriously what the fuck are you putting in front of me right now? Where are the regular tortilla chips?

These guests are why I don't go to all inclusive resorts. There is always at least one group like this... So drunk they can barely stand, being loud and rude as fuck, and being overly "friendly" to the staff while subtlety degrading them. They ruin it. 

Edited July 13, 2016 by jkitty

[snarts]

Quote

Ben didn't really do anything to provoke Julia, but he didn't need to press that the croissants were a later snack. I still don't think that Ben is being especially condescending, superior, or throwing his privileged background in their faces. I think this is Julia projecting her own issues and unfortunately taking out her frustration on Ben rather than the guests who rightly deserved it. This is the first time I can recall Ben talking about his upbringing. All this time, I'd assumed that Ben was arrogant because he's a chef. We've seen Leon be an arrogant condescending misogynistic asshole. A solid 25% - 33% of Top Cheftestants are arrogant assholes. I just thought it was a chef thing.

True, but I thought that Ben detailing his background essentially proved Julia's point.  Yes, she was overtired and easily irritated.  However, when pressed by him, she explained to Ben how his comments make her feel.  What she said obviously hit home as he seemed quite affected by it.  

Say what you want about Hannah, but she great as a friend consoling both Julia & Ben and staying neutral.

Was Danny flirting with one of the wives/girlfriends?  I have no words.

[SFoster21]

Having nothing but trouble trying to post, but jkitty had a point about organization.  The guests finally just asked for ice and a bottle.

And, a radio!  Hannah was standing in the kitchen -- wasn't there some way to convey orders to her to cut down on waiting time?  No room to set up bar fixings on the deck?  For my money, Hannah is a poor chief stew. Knowing how to set the table isn't all there is.  She seems full of herself while she is unable to organize to save steps for her people and frustration for the guests.

 

Danny was constantly in the way!  Reminds me of my friend's dogs who insist on crowding you as you walk through his house.

Quote

 

[terrymct]

I just finished binge watching this season and agree with the points you all have raised in this thread. Why didn't they just establish a bar (lots of vodka) up on the sundeck? They have the structure there for it. Make Danny haul some ice up there, bring bottles and glasses, and voila. Lots easier. I think the staff members all appeared tired and didn't want to do what they'd have readily and easily have done earlier in the season. This group was bad, but were they really that much worse than the old horndogs? Where they worse than the Oklahoma threesome folks? Worse than the pouty whiny Pittsburgh Steelers fan? Hannah wasn't able to put on her game face until the end of the charter. Other staff people appeared to be hiding out below deck. I wonder what guests think after they see themselves on the show. I imagine that the older lady from the nice charter was mortified when she sees how wasted she was talking to the Captain over dessert. This group, they probably had a viewing party and pointed out how much fun it was driving the guests to distraction.

[beesknees]

I mean, this is probably a 100 million dollar yacht - why didn't the original architect who helped create/build the vessel make a small bar area (with a sink) happen up deck on the part of the boat where most of the yacht inhabitants will be eating, drinking, and socializing?  So odd.  The boat's decor looks so dated to me but still ...  Did people not drink in the 80's?

And if there is a bar or some kind of a prep island on the sky deck, what the hell is wrong with Hannah not ordering the crew to set up a makeshift bar up there for the guests so at least they have a few drink options at the ready.  Common sense, anyone?

Why   does   Danny  speak   sooooo    slowly  ...... zzzzzzzzzzzz.  He speaks.ever.so.slowly and enunciates.every.single.word.  My gosh, it's like he had a serious stroke or some massive brain injury and is relearning to to talk.  Danny reminds me of my 87 year old great aunt who spent 3 years relearning how to speak after a paralyzing stroke.  Very odd.  And as if I couldn't loathe Danny any more.  Uggh.

I will say it seemed like everybody was hanging out below deck just being idle (looking at you Hannah and Danny) while Jules was running around like a chicken with her head cut off (or as Jules put it "a beheaded chicken").  

Because there is no upstairs bar and the guests don't want to see Hannah's scowling mug the scenario should go as follows:  Surprise! the guests want drinks and snacks.  Jules relays the request below deck via her radio.  Chef Ben and Danny prepare the food while Hannah makes the guests' drinks.

Jules attends to the guests until below deck radios all food/drinks are ready to go. The Jules with the help of Danny (who is perpetually in the way doing absolutely nothing but lurking) bring the trays up to the sky lounge area.  I don't get why this is so hard.  Hannah is not a good manager/supervisor.  At all.  And Ben seemed like a deer caught in the headlights when the guests requested snacks local to the "Med" (i.e. - OLIVES).  

Shit, Ben.  Open a GD can or glass jar of olives and throw out some Nacho cheese Doritos with salsa out of a jar (Oh, wait - you did).  If I was a yacht chef  I would have a well thought out list of "go to" snacks that looked great and were easy to expedite. Fruit/cheese/local sausages or meats/veggie trays at the ready.  I'd just keep bringing that crap out unless the guest specified special dishes.  I dunno, just me?

I mean, it's kind of a given that guests on the boat are going to eat, drink, then eat and drink some more.  Have some activities off-boat then come back aboard and eat and drink some more.  When they are stuck on the boat there's not much to do but eat and drink in the hot tub.

Edited July 13, 2016 by beesknees

[DeeplyShallow]

I agree, it's all very confusing. Why isn't there a bar up there and why didn't they at least set up a makeshift bar? What happened to Ben's radio?

Why was half the crew milling around? I bet you that also fed into Julia's frustration, not just the demanding guests. But, really, douchebaggery and grossness aside, were their requests really so unusual? Drinks and snacks?

[indiscutable]

Anyone else creeped out by Tiffany saying that she had a boss whom she greeted with a glass of champagne while wearing a unicorn mask?

[FlyingEgret]

11 hours ago, bosawks said:

Ugh, those people.

They're the type to crap in an airplane bathroom 15 minutes into a 90 minute flight....

Or a bus (who am I kidding, no way they'd ever be caught riding in a bus)

But seriously, what were they eating that left the toilet bowl allegedly uncleanable???

[TexasGal]

"They hate us because they ain't us."  Please, no one wants to be you, you self-absorbed bougie drunken disgusting pig.

I hope the next episode starts with Ben saying the same things to Julia that he was saying to Hannah.  I usually love him but his reaction to Julia was no bueno.

[Primetimer]

The guests get lit up, Julia melts down, and Danny's gonna Danny. Who's the worst this week?

View the full article

[NaughtyKitty]

Wasn't anyone else creeped out at how Danny was lingering and staring when the "guests" were doing their "look at meeeee" photo shoot on the boat?  It made my skin crawl.

Also, I saw the phone out of the cabin several times.  Someone needs to grab it and throw it overboard!

With Ben. For me.  I really like him because I find him to be attractive with a nice accent.  I think he acts like an immature, entitled douche and doesn't treat other people very well.  But I still like looking at him so I give him a pass even though I shouldn't.

I am actually sad that this season is almost over.  This show is my guilty pleasure.  And, I have to come here to discuss it because none of my friends watch it.  Boo.

[Neurochick]

2 hours ago, TexasGal said:

"They hate us because they ain't us."  Please, no one wants to be you, you self-absorbed bougie drunken disgusting pig.

My thoughts exactly.  Tacky, nouveau riche pricks.  And who can't throw a tampon away?  I remember one of the women got shitfaced as soon as she got on the boat.  I go on a lot of cruises and I see folks like this often; people who think the crew are their slaves, people who believe that because they are on vacation food has no calories and alcohol won't get them drunk, so they can drink as much of it as they want. 

I don't get why those pigs even bothered to charter a yacht; come to think of it, they could have gone to any bar in their town and got shit faced.  I think it's funny how drunks think they're so interesting when in reality many of them are quite boring.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Neurochick

[bosawks]

32 minutes ago, FlyingEgret said:

Or a bus (who am I kidding, no way they'd ever be caught riding in a bus)

But seriously, what were they eating that left the toilet bowl allegedly uncleanable???

A crappy bus throughout Europe!

Sorry, I'm flash-backing.......

[bichonblitz]

No, Hannah, not all Americans are like that. Jeesh! talk about stereotyping. I was kind of offended at her comment. Since this season began, I always got the feeling she was a bigger snob than Ben. And I still think she sucks at her job. No organizational or managerial skills at all. 

Seems to me like Julia has an inferiority complex about being from Leeds and feeling lower class compared to Ben. She has brought that up more than once. Is that an English thing? What's wrong with Leeds? I work with a girl from there and her parents are wealthy...

[jumper sage]

12 hours ago, Misslindsey said:

I was fine with Ben talking about his background, because it seemed like most of that was in his TH. I did think he said he felt bad for what went down with Jules. I do think he has probably worked hard to be in the job he is in. My brother is a chef and my sister-in-law is a pastry chef, so I would assume he worked hard to be where he is in his profession. Maybe that is why Jules words struck a nerve, but what do I know anyway?

Danny I already disliked you, but then you had to use YOLO to make me actually hate you. Danny always seems to me like he has to be the center of attention in social situations with the guests. I feel like Danny never thinks he is doing anything wrong when he oversteps boundaries. It is all for the greater good in his eyes. Bryan and Bobby are not great either, but at least they were taking pictures of each other with their phones and not of the guests.

Having many friends of different "classes" in England.....I get Ben's point.  We don't have class system here and even money can't buy you class.  In England you can be broke as hell but your lineage is what they are after.  I liked how Ben explained how his father was working class and by his own writings broke into the upper classes.  It seems artists are the few that can break the barrier.  I get that Ben did not want to ride that coat tail and literally had to move to be a regular guy and earn his own way.  Him saying that Julia's words hurt him and I believe him.  When/if Julia hits it big as a designer she will understand.

Danny had his phone with him the whole land excursion.  He actually had a guest put her deets into his phone and you could see him holding it.  I too said to myself that at least Bryan and Bobby were taking pictures of each other and not the guests.  It is exactly this point Danny does not seem to get.  He is exploiting the guests for his own benefit.

59 minutes ago, bichonblitz said:

No, Hannah, not all Americans are like that. Jeesh! talk about stereotyping. I was kind of offended at her comment. Since this season began, I always got the feeling she was a bigger snob than Ben. And I still think she sucks at her job. No organizational or managerial skills at all. 

Yes, Hannah is working for an American company, with American guests.  It seems she quickly forgot the cruise from heaven.

Having been a server:  Some guests make a point of running you.  Julia asked each and every time if anyone else wanted anything.  They just ran her ass for the fun of it.  Assholes!

ETA:  This whole episode is an allegory or at the very least a comparative.  What is going on above deck and what is going on below deck can be compared and then contrasted by regional views.

Edited July 13, 2016 by jumper sage

[ivygirl]

1 hour ago, bichonblitz said:

No, Hannah, not all Americans are like that. Jeesh! talk about stereotyping. I was kind of offended at her comment. Since this season began, I always got the feeling she was a bigger snob than Ben. And I still think she sucks at her job. No organizational or managerial skills at all. 

Seems to me like Julia has an inferiority complex about being from Leeds and feeling lower class compared to Ben. She has brought that up more than once. Is that an English thing? What's wrong with Leeds? I work with a girl from there and her parents are wealthy...

I keep thinking of Morrissey's song: "We hate it when our friends become successful/And if they're northern, that makes it even worse..."

Oh, and another point about Danny. "I learned that everything is negotiable." No, jerk, that's not what you're supposed to get out of that. I hope this dude is put on the next dingy to Naxos with nothing but some Crocs (just because) and a handful of euros.

Edited July 13, 2016 by ivygirl

[psychoticstate]

This is the first episode I have watched of this season but . . God, those freaking people.  Just because you paid for a $200k charter does not mean you own the boat or the people running it.  Get a grip.  And no. people don't hate you because they ain't you.  They hate you because you're a group of drunken, belligerent and ignorant assholes.

I must be getting old because all I could think of was the waste of that stunningly gorgeous Med scenery on people who were either too drunk to remember and appreciate it and/or passed out in a cabin they would then defile with used tampons and the like.  

I agree the set up on the ship is really stupid.  Why not have Jules radio drink orders down, like "Dipshit number 1 wants a vodka and water; Special Snowflake wants his juice without seeds, etc.?" I mean, there were plenty of other people that apparently had nothing to do (Hannah, Danny) that could have helped with the prep or at least started it.

I almost hope this group will stiff the crew on a tip so that we can complete the PSA on how horrible and rude stereotypical Americans are.

Because I haven't seen any other episodes, can someone tell me why Danny had his phone taken away?  Did he talk back to his parents?  Forget to take out the trash?

[ivygirl]

3 minutes ago, psychoticstate said:

Because I haven't seen any other episodes, can someone tell me why Danny had his phone taken away?  Did he talk back to his parents?  Forget to take out the trash?

He took lechy pictures of/with guests during a charter, then showed those pictures to other skeevy guests on a different charter. And basically had his phone out all the time while not-working.

Edited July 13, 2016 by ivygirl

[Pepperminty]

Hannah thought these horrible people demonstrated America. I was a bit embarrassed for us. :(

[Thumper]

So my interpretation of the final Julia and Ben conversation, bearing in mind that she really was tired, is that Ben never really "got" that his response about the croissants was flippant. While at first appearing to try to understand, in the end he seemed (to me) to turn it back on her -- (paraphrasing) "so you need to get over it."   

[ivygirl]

1 hour ago, Pepperminty said:

Hannah thought these horrible people demonstrated America. I was a bit embarrassed for us. :(

Yeah, but... Weren't those ladies she loved from the last charter American, too? I mean, you take the good, you take the bad, you take them all and there you have America... America...

(Not to minimize these guests' boorishness... And not that Americans don't have a bad rep abroad... But to judge us all on these peoples' behavior?)

Can I judge all of her country's behavior just based on her behavior?

Edited July 13, 2016 by ivygirl

[HunterHunted]

4 hours ago, DeeplyShallow said:

I agree, it's all very confusing. Why isn't there a bar up there and why didn't they at least set up a makeshift bar? What happened to Ben's radio?

Why was half the crew milling around? I bet you that also fed into Julia's frustration, not just the demanding guests. But, really, douchebaggery and grossness aside, were their requests really so unusual? Drinks and snacks?

The set up is so weird. They've shown that there is a bar on the deck. They've also shown the stews using that little area just inside the salon as a service station, so I can't figure out what fell apart in the episode.  Ben has a radio, but he seems to rarely use it or have it on. Even still, the other stews and the deck crew always have their radios on and they all seemed to be taking up space in the kitchen. I'm sure that all of that contributed to Julia's breaking down. The other thing is that this crew does not get along, so I can see how Julia could have seen Ben acknowledging that Julia is tired as an attack.

But really this crew does not get along. Bryan is openly contemptuous of his deck crew, which is always a great motivator to inspire people to do better. Bryan appears to be a misogynist which gets worse when he drinks. Bryan's toadying suck up bro, Bobby, seems to be waging an ineffective one man war to oust Danny, a lazy boundaryless toddler. Jen is equally contemptuous of Bryan. She's also repulsed by foreign places, people, and food, which is why she made yachting a career. Bobby delusionally believes that if he pesters Julia enough that she'll dump her boyfriend and fall for Bobby despite Julia very clearly telling him that it will never happen. Julia no longer likes Ben because she believes he's condescending and using his upbringing to make Julia feel inferior. Ben has to tip toe around Hannah because Hannah likes him, but he's not interested in her. Ben does like Tiff, who used to like Bryan until he turned into an abusive douche. Tiff and Hannah did have issues early on, but I think they're in a good place now. And there is Danny, who no one, except for Ben, likes and the feeling is mutual. So these are the groups that get along:

• Bryan and Bobby--the bromance continues 
• Hannah and Julia
• Ben and Danny
• Ben and Tiff
• Jen and sourness and maybe Tiff

It's amazing that the rudder of this ship hasn't fallen off considering how dysfunctional this crew is. Each and every charter should have been an absolute shit show.

I hope this gets a reunion because these people hate each other and it will be hilarious watching them unraveling. Plus someone needs to directly confront Bryan for the shitty garbage things he said to Tiff.

[Uncle Benzene]

16 hours ago, annewithaneee said:

But then Ben ... whined that he, as an extremely wealthy white man, gets discriminated against, for his privilege!

#AllSuperSensitiveDivaChefFeelingsMatter

Ben has always been one of my favorites, but he really is an arrogant prick. At least he has been lately. It's one thing to go to Hannah the next day to (self-servingly) "apologize" for (yet another) relatively minor issue that (yet again) got overblown. At least you're kinda-sorta trying to make peace. But getting back in Julia's face about the croissants this time, when he knew damn well she was upset, wasn't an attempt to make peace. It was an attempt to convince her that he was right and she was wrong, and that she created an issue for him over nothing. And to what end? What good does it do? Other than validate his own superiority and make her feel like shit... again. All the while knowing (because the stews never tire of complaining about it) that she's (they all are) constantly getting the business from the asshole guests on the other end. Given his own pearl-clutching at the guests asking for snacks NOW(!!!) you'd think he'd have some empathy. But even sans empathy, you'd think Ben is big-boy enough to know that you don't approach someone who is upset/emotional solely for the purpose of explaining to them why it's foolish of them to be upset/emotional. No good could come of it. Well, except putting yourself above them, that is.

Same thing last week when Julia said "them two" and Ben just HAD to correct her grammar. "What? Oh, those two." As if Ben had no clue what she possibly could have meant when she said "them" instead of "those." It was some pedantic bullshit that served precisely one purpose: putting Ben above the person he happened to be standing next to at the time. It was... what is it the kids say these days?... a microaggression. And I can totally understand how and why Julia has had her fill of it at this point.

I like Ben (and I think Julia does too) but he just makes it so hard sometimes. The slightest deviation from his own perfect plan for any given thing throws him into a tizzy. How DARE they want snacks NOW?!? How DARE you ask me to take these already-prepared kebabs back out of the fridge and grill 'em up? I JUST PUT THEM IN THE FRIDGE! Rather than "let's establish a standard nomenclature for the courses" it's "DO NOT USE THE WORD ENTREE!" He complained about being asked to write out his menu, as if that's the world's biggest pain in the ass. He is unwilling to give an inch without scowling or rolling his eyes or blowing things all out of proportion and bitching and moaning about it. And he always expects everyone to come around to the conclusion that Ben is right and everybody else is wrong to even question it. Every time. Even when there's nothing to be gained from pushing it.

Meantime, fuck every last bit of these guests. I don't care if their requests are (arguably) for the most part "reasonable". (And I'll argue that many of them aren't.) It doesn't matter if you're raging assholes about it. "Bring the nice one." Not "Julia" but "the nice one." Assholes. Julia says she'll be back in five. "Start the clock ticking!" Assholes. This part might be on editing, but when they started complaining that they hadn't seen anybody in however long... firstly, I got the impression that it wasn't even an hour after breakfast. Julia said she had been cleaning up after their breakfast, which is why she hadn't been back up. Seems perfectly reasonable to me to assume that nobody's wanting snacks (drinks maybe, but snacks?) that soon after breakfast. In fact, I'd think it's perfectly reasonable to assume that the guests would be wanting some quiet time among themselves, without interruption from overbearing service. At least for a little while. And then when she did go up, they couldn't resist being dicks about it. Secondly, EVERYBODY was complaining about wanting drinks. Then when Julia comes up, precisely one person actually asks for a drink. Julia goes down, brings it back. Then another person has a drink request. Then another. Again, maybe editing shenanigans, but it seemed to me like they intentionally sent her down and back up for one. drink. at. a. time. Just because. Sure, you could argue that they should have had a bar set up upstairs, but... really? Right after breakfast? Did anybody ask for that? I'm sure they'd have come up with some reason to complain if the crew HAD done that. I'm sure we all know people who just HAVE to be bitching and moaning about something or other, constantly. That's what these people are. All of 'em. I mean, these people were served an 8/10/12-egg omelette for breakfast, and before the platter is even on the table, somebody chimes in "ONE omelette???" Seriously, fuck you, buddy.

Danny cannot be fixed. He's a lost cause. When he was complaining about Bryan & Bobby taking pics (what IS Danny's obsession with Instagram anyway?) and said, and I quote, "It's not fair." I was disappointed and a bit surprised that he didn't actually fold his arms and harrumph. Then maybe roll around on the ground wailing for a bit and stomp his feet. For the love of fuck, Danny. Grow up already. Not at all surprising that the douchier the guests, the more they love Danny.

And with aaaaaaall that being said, I have to admit that I still freaking love this here show and I can't wait for it to air every week. I wish there were some form of Below Deck 53 weeks a year.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Uncle Benzene
Bryan, not Danny

[biakbiak]

I didn't mind Hannah's comments about not being used to dealing with Americans and I think she was talking about all of the charters, not just this one. She simply said it was a culture shock for her and I think that's accurate. 

[jumper sage]

38 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

Jen is equally contemptuous of Bryan. She's also repulsed by foreign places, people, and food, which is why she made yachting a career.

Ha!  So true.

39 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

I hope this gets a reunion because these people hate each other and it will be hilarious watching them unraveling.

I watched WWHL last night and he was talking to his guests who are big fans of Vanderpump rules and told them that this show is that show on a ship.  So I am thinking that they are soooo getting a reunion.  I'll bring the snacks.

40 minutes ago, Uncle Benzene said:

Same thing last week when Julia said "them two" and Ben just HAD to correct her grammar. "What? Oh, those two.

He constantly uses "I" in a prepositional phrase!  How dare he.  I tend to think he is more in the category of all-cooks-are-assholes.

[psychoticstate]

3 hours ago, ivygirl said:

He took lechy pictures of/with guests during a charter, then showed those pictures to other skeevy guests on a different charter. And basically had his phone out all the time while not-working.

Thank you.  And ewwww, gross.