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

[psychoticstate]

1 hour ago, Uncle Benzene said:

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.

Completely agree with this.  All of it. 

I really don't understand these fuckwad guests because if you're basically going to sit around and drink yourself even stupider than God already made you, why not just stay home and go to the damn bar?  Truly, none of these douchebags seemed to get and appreciate they were in Greece.  Hello!  They weren't taking photos of that amazing scenery; they were taking butt shots of the women.  God, just please. 

Even if these idiots were assholing it up for camera time, you have to assume they own/run businesses or something.  If I worked with any of these fools and my respect meter was already hovering near empty, it would be completely drained after seeing this.  I would be gleeful seeing any one of them being tossed overboard. Repeatedly. 

[LoneHaranguer]

6 hours ago, jumper sage said:

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.

That's effectively what Ben did, but the way he put it was that he didn't want to rest on his laurels. What laurels? Is rubbing elbows with princes (with an assist by family) a worthy achievement?

[Belowdeckchatter]

3 hours ago, Thumper said:

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."   

I think he was on the verge of apologizing until Julia told him he was "snobby". At that point the conversation ended. But you are right in that he did turn it back on her.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't have a problem with the guests. They were just acting like 14 year old smart ass boys until the novelty wore off. By the end they were acting more normal. It just seemed fake to me.

[rho]

17 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.

I think Ben was taken aback because there really shouldn't be a reason for the guests to enter the galley. It means the stews aren't doing their job on the customer service end. To put it into context, in a restaurant, you wouldn't bypass the waitress and waltz right into the kitchen looking for a basket of bread and butter. But that doesn't excuse Ben either. He seems to have that reaction even when the stews kindly ask for snack trays throughout the day.

This whole episode was so weird though. I agree with the person that called it a stress spiral. I think everyone's catching cabin fever.

[biakbiak]

2 minutes ago, rho said:

I think Ben was taken aback because there really shouldn't be a reason for the guests to enter the galley. It means the stews aren't doing their job on the customer service end. To put it into context, in a restaurant, you wouldn't bypass the waitress and waltz right into the kitchen looking for a basket of bread and butter. But that doesn't excuse Ben either. He seems to have that reaction even when the stews kindly ask for snack trays throughout the day.

This whole episode was so weird though. I agree with the person that called it a stress spiral. I think everyone's catching cabin fever.

It's not really the same. The guests have entered the galley or rather as much as this guest did multiple times on multiple charters across both shows and Ben has never had an issue. I think his issue was that they were still in the process of cleaning up breakfast so he was surprised.

[hatchetgirl]

Ok, this yacht is SO MUCH BIGGER than the Caribbean one, but dang it's no where near as nice.  Why such a small crew?  Do they only use 2 levels?  

I'm just waiting for Danny's comeuppance. And Bryan's.  And Bobby's.  lol

Where is Hannah from?  I loved listening to her try to pronounce smores last episode.  :)

[cuphead]

50 minutes ago, hatchetgirl said:

 

I'm just waiting for Danny's comeuppance.

I don't think Danny would recognize a comeuppance even if we hit him in the face with one, had a picture taken of it and then posted it on Instagram with the hashtag "#YOLO".

He's hopeless.

Edited July 14, 2016 by cuphead

[telemachus2]

IMO Ben is physically quite weasel-like, so I don't get his "attractiveness" in the least.  And if he's so doggone well-educated (at private schools!!), used to swanning around with princes, why is the best alternative he could find sweating life out in a kitchen?  "Top Chef," etc., really glamorizes what is actually a low-paying service position.

[biakbiak]

10 minutes ago, telemachus2 said:

IMO Ben is physically quite weasel-like, so I don't get his "attractiveness" in the least.  And if he's so doggone well-educated (at private schools!!), used to swanning around with princes, why is the best alternative he could find sweating life out in a kitchen?  "Top Chef," etc., really glamorizes what is actually a low-paying service position.

Because he has a passion for cooking? He has been doing it longer than Top Chef has been on the air.

[hatchetgirl]

5 hours ago, cuphead said:

I don't think Danny would recognize a comeuppance even if we hit him in the face with one, had a picture taken of it and then posted it on Instagram with the hashtag "#YOLO".

He's hopeless.

Ha! Ok, you are probably right.  ;)

[Neurochick]

16 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

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.

In many work places people don't get along; the difference with these folks is that they have to live together as well as work together; they are together 24/7, think about how you would be if you had to live with the people you work with.

I think the issue with Julia and Ben is interesting.  Ben doesn't see himself as condescending, but I remember when he corrected Julia's grammar.  Was that necessary?  Ben probably thought nothing of it, however it did upset Julia.  Julia should have told Ben right there and then that it upset her, instead she said nothing and let it fester until everything Ben did upset Julia and it blew up.

Those charter guests were pigs, pure and simple, assholes who don't even know how to say "please" and "thank you."  I hope none of them has children or ever has children, EVER.  BTW, who leaves a used tampon on the floor?  Does that pig do that at home?  If I were a man I would NOT want to be in a relationship with someone that nasty; someone who does that probably doesn't wash regularly either.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Neurochick

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Getting Ben(t) On Below Deck Med

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

[forum4idiots]

hannah and julia....drama.  nothing but drama.  julia hates someone cause they give off an upper crust vibe?  get over yourself.  you signed on for teh job of kissing up to the asses of those who throw tips at your judgmental nose.  no one's ever hovered over you while you clean?  wow.  and you jsut said youhated upper crust snotty attitude. 

hannah....get over yourself.  just because ben rejected your ass now you want to create a "situation".  rolling your eyes during service is very unprofessional even if you think the guests are not watching.  you create issue where there is non because you think the world revolves around you.  proof, ben rejecting you.  so you create and spread the situation into your work and can't separate the two.

tiffany.....awesome woman.  just class when she needs to and one of the boys when off duty.  luv her.

daniel...whiny moron.  nuff said.

jen.  disrespectful bitch.  bryan may come off as a douche, but he is your superior.  and having daniel as your ally speaks volumes about your character.

bobby.  he's bobby....not much drama unless you consider being a horny man drama.

ben.  he's ben.  we all know him from below deck.

bryan.  maybe a douche, but god damn, that chest is sexy as fuck.

the guests from this episode.  wow.  quite obvious they are new money....trashy money.  they claim to be used to 5 star service?  more like they should be used to spits on their drinks.....or worse...bloody tampons on their drinks or toothbrushes rubbed against your servant's ass.

Edited July 14, 2016 by lovebug1975

[zoeysmom]

A couple of things I noticed about Capt. Mark, it appears he is trying to deal with Danny's numerous violations of signed releases with his sharing of the guests photos.  The guests probably don't want their photos being passed around without their consent.  So there is a really half-assed attempt to keep from breaking the fourth wall.  My guess is it won't be Danny going home next week.

The other thing this crew had working against them is the possible lack of provisions for the extended cruise.  I do not know the protocol but it seems with the large number of guests Ben is trying to serve the meals as a group, not a short order cook.  The one advantage Ben has with his upbringing, is he most likely has experienced service from the other side.  I don't know how much of the stress is producer enhanced but if I were Jules the person who would be on the receiving end of my anger would be Hannah for essentially removing herself from the line of fire.  Jules was essentially "promoted" for the remainder of the crusie against her wishes.  The crew just doesn't get to vet the guests.  Granted they were obnoxious slobs and Hannah was the most experienced and should have been pulling all stops to make sure there were no holes in service. 

They didn't show a Captain's dinner with this group of boorish guests.  I would hope they took time to dine with Captain Mark so he could get a feel for the level of service they were being provided.  I think the guests confused five star service with personal valet service and there is a huge difference.

I wish I disliked Bryan more but he is the type of jughead that keeps the boat sailing. 

[TeeMo]

First let me say that these guests were truly awful. Really, really awful and the way they treated t he crew was inexcusable. I also don't think they would have been happy with any level of service. They would have been running them all ragged even if their every need was being anticipated and quickly met because they were all giant assholes. 

 

Having said that, they were not the first charter guests on this boat to comment on slow service especially in regards to breakfast. I can't remember which group it was but at least one of the oher charters showed the guests sitting around waiting for breakfast for a long time. On the first episode of this charter group when they were still assholes but not quite as bad as they were in this episode, one of them made a comment about waiting 90 minutes for a waffle. Why does the crew not have some pastries, fruit and yogurt ready to go along with a pot of coffee and a decanter of juice from the first second these guests wake up? Sure they may not avail themselves of it every time because they want a specialty coffee or a hot breakfast but at least it gives them SOME THING to eat and drink while they wait. 

 

Hannah seems like the the sort of service industry worker who thinks she is fabulous at service but is actually not at all. She is terrible at anticipating the guests needs. When they ask her for something she has not offered she always looks stunned. They should have go-to snacks ready to go at all times. 

Edited July 14, 2016 by TeeMo

[candall]

19 hours ago, hatchetgirl said:

Ok, this yacht is SO MUCH BIGGER than the Caribbean one, but dang it's no where near as nice.  Why such a small crew?  Do they only use 2 levels?  

 

I can't figure out this boat at all.  In the B-roll wide shot, it looks enormous, but I think the five lech guests were told someone would have to double up--as in, there are only four staterooms.

Is there a skating rink we haven't seen or do the production people co-opt half the space?

But even that doesn't explain why the kitchen. . .ahem, galley, has a maximum working capacity of two.

The crew quarters are ridiculous--the doors bang into the bunks.  Danny's short and his sickbed berth didn't have any room to spare.  I'm pretty sure Bobby doesn't fit on his shelf.

 

Who has some scoop on the S.S. Ionian Princess?

[candall]

9 minutes ago, TeeMo said:

[Hannah]thinks she is fabulous at service but is actually not at all.

Hee, I did a spit laugh when Hannah claimed to be top of her game in five-star service.  The evidence so far is overwhelmingly to the contrary--although I understand she did score some hookers for someone once, so there's that.

[biakbiak]

21 minutes ago, candall said:

I can't figure out this boat at all.  In the B-roll wide shot, it looks enormous, but I think the five lech guests were told someone would have to double up--as in, there are only four staterooms.

Is there a skating rink we haven't seen or do the production people co-opt half the space?

But even that doesn't explain why the kitchen. . .ahem, galley, has a maximum working capacity of two.

The crew quarters are ridiculous--the doors bang into the bunks.  Danny's short and his sickbed berth didn't have any room to spare.  I'm pretty sure Bobby doesn't fit on his shelf.

 

Who has some scoop on the S.S. Ionian Princess?

There are six guest cabins and sleeps 10 crew. It has an office we haven't seen and I wonder if production takes over at least one of the guest cabins. 

Edited July 14, 2016 by biakbiak

[hatchetgirl]

Ugh - I just checked out the photos and I don't know if anyone else noticed, but there is one with green bedding.  The bedding looks like it's either stained or areas of sun bleaching.  Blech.  It's just so dated.

Granted, the bathtubs are pretty much to die for in my book!

[ihartcoffee]

1 hour ago, candall said:

I can't figure out this boat at all.  In the B-roll wide shot, it looks enormous, but I think the five lech guests were told someone would have to double up--as in, there are only four staterooms.

Is there a skating rink we haven't seen or do the production people co-opt half the space?

But even that doesn't explain why the kitchen. . .ahem, galley, has a maximum working capacity of two.

The crew quarters are ridiculous--the doors bang into the bunks.  Danny's short and his sickbed berth didn't have any room to spare.  I'm pretty sure Bobby doesn't fit on his shelf.

 

Who has some scoop on the S.S. Ionian Princess?

The crew quarters make me feel claustrophobic when they show them.  Don't know if I could hack staying in that.  

I never thought about production needing space,  good point  You guys at very observant. 

[Nancybeth]

The guests were awful, no doubt.  But at times, it seemed like the guests and the crew were trying to out-passive aggressive each other, so to speak.  And I also think that Capt. Mark and/or Hannah missed a great opportunity to improve the guests experience...as soon as they heard that the charter was being expended, I would have tried to be very proactive with the guests to find out what it is that could be better for them.  Breakfast taking too long? We'll set something up, continental style, and then serve plated breakfast at 10 a.m.  Drinks taking too long?  We'll set up a second bar and/or have someone on deck to take your orders and radio them to the galley.  Let's agree when the crew will set out morning and afternoon snacks.  

Basically, the crew was waiting to react to requests, and there were some things the they could have done to get out in front of it or be better prepared.  But I also think the guests should have been much more forthcoming about their unhappiness, rather than just bitching to each other/the camera.   

[Kiss my mutt]

These charter guests belong in second class on a carnival cruise not a yacht!

Danny has said in his THs that his dad was really tough on him. I'm thinking he wasn't tough enough considering he doesn't respect authority. OTOH, Captain Mark is a pussy. 

[McManda]

IMO, the thing with Ben correcting grammar is that if he's rubbing elbows with the Princes Harry and William, especially at a younger age, that sort of thing is probably just something he grew up with and considers normal. I don't know that I can fault him for that, but I might point out that whatever he's correcting me about is probably mostly irrelevant unless we're specifically discussing grammar.

I also don't understand wanting (and paying for) top notch service and then making it harder for the people providing it to you. Like, I might want what I want, but I'm not going to have each person in my party wait until the server is back to independently place an order. I want to help them help me get what I want. Also, that's different than Hannah's complete surprise at the idea that maybe the guests might want something she hasn't thought of or already decided to provide.

[HunterHunted]

5 hours ago, TeeMo said:

Having said that, they were not the first charter guests on this boat to comment on slow service especially in regards to breakfast. I can't remember which group it was but at least one of the oher charters showed the guests sitting around waiting for breakfast for a long time. On the first episode of this charter group when they were still assholes but not quite as bad as they were in this episode, one of them made a comment about waiting 90 minutes for a waffle. Why does the crew not have some pastries, fruit and yogurt ready to go along with a pot of coffee and a decanter of juice from the first second these guests wake up? Sure they may not avail themselves of it every time because they want a specialty coffee or a hot breakfast but at least it gives them SOME THING to eat and drink while they wait. 

Hannah seems like the the sort of service industry worker who thinks she is fabulous at service but is actually not at all. She is terrible at anticipating the guests needs. When they ask her for something she has not offered she always looks stunned. They should have go-to snacks ready to go at all times. 

I completely agree. Honestly, the stews should be cutting up fruit after they've finished service for the evening. The fruit would allow them to stall with fruit and yogurt or smoothies as breakfast was being prepared. This is the kind of thing that shows that Hannah isn't at the top of her game like she thinks she is. Furthermore just because the guests said that they wanted more face time with Tiff and Julia, doesn't mean that Hannah needed to confine herself to the galley. Julia should have been able to radio to Hannah to bring drinks to the salon instead of having Julia run up and down.

The other time that the guests complained about slow service was when the guests had woken up and were giving Hannah their breakfast preferences, but at no point did she bother to wake Ben up or communicate to Ben that the guests were up awaiting breakfast. Ben ended up goofing off in the kitchen with no clue that the charter guests were up and waiting for breakfast. It was completely illogical.

You're correct that Hannah is terrible at anticipating the guests' needs. The thing about five star service that Hannah doesn't seem to get is that it should feel effortless even though there is a ton going on behind the curtain. The guests shouldn't even see or feel like it takes a ton of work to meet their needs. During that entire time that Ben wasn't writing a menu, Hannah wasn't keeping her own notes about the courses nor was she discussing wine pairings. If Ben wasn't describing dishes to her satisfaction, she didn't stop and ask him to help her understand the dish so that she can present it to the guests in the best light. I just think back to that moussaka mess where she described it as stewed beef and vegetables. Even if Ben had ignored her requests for a better description, Hannah could have googled it on her phone.

[ShowPolish]

Hannah should have taken over the laundry and prep duties since she couldnt be front of house.

[biakbiak]

11 minutes ago, ShowPolish said:

Hannah should have taken over the laundry and prep duties since she couldnt be front of house.

They showed her doing just that during one of the montages.

[ShowPolish]

Just now, biakbiak said:

They showed her doing just that during one of the montages.

they also showed her being in the kitchen not helping.... editing is deceiving 

[biakbiak]

6 minutes ago, ShowPolish said:

they also showed her being in the kitchen not helping.... editing is deceiving 

I am aware that editing can be be deceiving but we only saw her briefly in the kitchen and during that time she asked Ben if he needed anything. Given that neither Tiff or Julia complained about her not doing anything I am going to go with the notion that she picked up the slack in other ways.

Edited July 15, 2016 by biakbiak

[forum4idiots]

this is why i think bitchy resting face is a really good stew (forgot her name, i think it was cate...luv her).  she is proactiv.. she plans for extra events not even requested by guests, like toga parties, etc.  always trying to time the meals making sure first course is this much time apart from main course, and making sure she knows what's in the move (uni and the amy fiasco).  she gets it.  hanna is nothing but drama.  she is at best 2nd stew.  faking a smile does not make you head stew....anticipating the needs of your guests far above and beyond what they might ask for....not giving them random rolling of the eyes.

 

yes, these guests are trash.  not sure if production told them to do so if vigor or they are just trashy rich.....but they made some rather good points.  90 minutes for waffles?  not sure who's fault was that, whether it's the guests for NOT specifying exact breakfast time or NOT specifying what they WANT to eat prior to baording.....but if you don't ask for it, you're gonna get eh staple breakfast food......having said that......even though they may not have specified a time for breakfast, someone must have called them up on the table for breakfast and WHY did it take 90 minutes for waffles, bacon, and eggs.  that is stupid.

still wanna slap julia for over reacting.  get over yourself.  the way how you hate that you think upper crust people look down on you.......you are doing the same thing by condescending them by continually bringing it u and stereotyping them and keep on talking trash about them....don't you see?  you are doing exactly what you hate about them.  and honey, you are in a 5 star service.....don't you think it appropriate to have the correct grammar when addressing the guests?  ben, as tiffany said, meant nothing by it.  he is simply not accustomed to hearing dribble from someone like you and yet he still tolerates you.......thing is, as much as he tolerates you, you don't seem to give him the same courtesy.  instead of letting him know what bugs you, you already put him in a box and you play the victim........ever thought that the reason you feel like you are being treated like an idiot is because of your own insecurities...or maybe you just don't get it because you ARE an idiot.

Edited July 15, 2016 by lovebug1975

[Barb23]

10 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I completely agree. Honestly, the stews should be cutting up fruit after they've finished service for the evening. The fruit would allow them to stall with fruit and yogurt or smoothies as breakfast was being prepared. This is the kind of thing that shows that Hannah isn't at the top of her game like she thinks she is. Furthermore just because the guests said that they wanted more face time with Tiff and Julia, doesn't mean that Hannah needed to confine herself to the galley. Julia should have been able to radio to Hannah to bring drinks to the salon instead of having Julia run up and down.

The other time that the guests complained about slow service was when the guests had woken up and were giving Hannah their breakfast preferences, but at no point did she bother to wake Ben up or communicate to Ben that the guests were up awaiting breakfast. Ben ended up goofing off in the kitchen with no clue that the charter guests were up and waiting for breakfast. It was completely illogical.

You're correct that Hannah is terrible at anticipating the guests' needs. The thing about five star service that Hannah doesn't seem to get is that it should feel effortless even though there is a ton going on behind the curtain. The guests shouldn't even see or feel like it takes a ton of work to meet their needs. During that entire time that Ben wasn't writing a menu, Hannah wasn't keeping her own notes about the courses nor was she discussing wine pairings. If Ben wasn't describing dishes to her satisfaction, she didn't stop and ask him to help her understand the dish so that she can present it to the guests in the best light. I just think back to that moussaka mess where she described it as stewed beef and vegetables. Even if Ben had ignored her requests for a better description, Hannah could have googled it on her phone.

 It may be me, but Hannah's description of the food to the guests sounds much less appealing than when Ben describes it to  her.  Something seems to get lost in the translation from Ben to Hannah to guests. (The moussaka). I realize that Ben's description comes across better because he is the chef & does have a cool accent but Hannah doesn't add any flair to her explanation like Kate does.  I still laugh on last season when Amy tried to flubb her way thru on a food description that she knew nothing about.  The guests were onto her but she laughed at herself & made a tricky situation turn out fine. 

I know I'm in the minority but I like Ben.  In this episode it seemed like the old adage "Damned if I do, Damned if I don't."

On a side note, I thought the production crew stays off site somewhere, they don't sleep or stay on the yacht.  Where would they have room for them?  There may be an extra crew member(s) we don't see.  On the original Below Deck, we were introduced to the engineer who was rarely, if ever, shown on the show. He stayed below doing his job.  I forgot who he bunked with but thought he was included in the tips (but just not seen receiving it like the others.)

[ivygirl]

15 hours ago, Kiss my mutt said:

These charter guests belong in second class on a carnival cruise not a yacht!

Danny has said in his THs that his dad was really tough on him. I'm thinking he wasn't tough enough considering he doesn't respect authority. OTOH, Captain Mark is a pussy. 

They don't even belong on a Carnival cruise--I wouldn't do that to the staff on those ships, who are generally nice, well trained, and excellent at their jobs. These guests belong on a spring break party boat on Havasu.

[butterflyeludesme]

I just looked up the layout of this boat and it seems totally awkward. It looks like the "Main" charter guest suite is on the same level as the galley, as in right beside it. That seems really annoying unless the walls are soundproof, not to mention it seems like the crew is always bitching, complaining, and arguing in there and the guest would have to walk by that every single time they went to and from their room. Not to mention the fact that they guest would walk by all the stews and chef as they woke up so breakfast should never have been late.

Then all of the other staterooms are down on the same level as the crew quarters, again right outside of the crew break area where they fight, etc.

Looks like the Captain has the best room on the boat!

https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-23513/ionian-princess-layout.htm

[biakbiak]

That drawing is slightly misleading. The cabins are in a different space on the lower deck. It's only shown with a slightly jagged line but you have to walk down a separate set of stairs to get to the crew cabins.

You can also see the stairs that separate the main guest cabin from the galley. It's basically a staggering of levels but in reality are quite seperate.

Edited July 15, 2016 by biakbiak

[ZaldamoWilder]

On 7/13/2016 at 10:14 AM, indiscutable said:

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?

Yes.  When the pictures were shown I said Tiffany your ex boss was a perv.   And possibly someone who thought of you as a buttaface but other than that I'm sure he was as awesome as you've described.

 

On 7/13/2016 at 3:34 PM, Uncle Benzene said:

#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.

Where is one of Kate's dick art towels when you need one?   I want to lick the plate this post was served on.

On 7/13/2016 at 7:57 PM, hatchetgirl said:

Ok, this yacht is SO MUCH BIGGER than the Caribbean one, but dang it's no where near as nice.  Why such a small crew?  Do they only use 2 levels?  

I'm just waiting for Danny's comeuppance. And Bryan's.  And Bobby's.  lol

Where is Hannah from?  I loved listening to her try to pronounce smores last episode.  :)

If you're taking bets, I'll wager my next check she's South African.

On 7/13/2016 at 5:10 PM, psychoticstate said:

Completely agree with this.  All of it. 

I really don't understand these fuckwad guests because if you're basically going to sit around and drink yourself even stupider than God already made you, why not just stay home and go to the damn bar?  Truly, none of these douchebags seemed to get and appreciate they were in Greece.  Hello!  They weren't taking photos of that amazing scenery; they were taking butt shots of the women.  God, just please. 

Even if these idiots were assholing it up for camera time, you have to assume they own/run businesses or something.  If I worked with any of these fools and my respect meter was already hovering near empty, it would be completely drained after seeing this.  I would be gleeful seeing any one of them being tossed overboard. Repeatedly. 

Because in America, it's frowned upon to treat people like they're your indentured servants and since this is also acknowledged those in service, they'd justifiably get cussed all the way out.   Which brings me to what Hannah said about culture shock.  Of course it isn't indicative of any one culture's behavior if they're memorably terrible people as it isn't entirely reflective if they're perfectly lovely - the mature fun loving ladies from 2 episodes were American and so nice that the crew couldn't do enough for them (p.s. Bobby you can suck it for referring to them as the golden girls, first of all that's highly disrespectful and second of all the golden girls were awesome) - I digress.  I was going to say that on every international vacation we've ever been on, where there happens to be an obnoxious, loud, inappropriate spectacle of behavior that would fit in perfectly on a spring break type mcvacation, the individual or group responsible for same? is American.  I'm being really specific to my experience in foreign countries.  Doesn't really matter if it's a resort or home, all inclusive or no, upscale or economy, eastern or western hemisphere.   It might not be comprehensively representative, but it's too exclusive to one culture for me to look at it as atypical.  I really think you have to be an asshole at your core for this but also have to have a completely different behavioral code for how you treat people outside your own country.    It sounded like Hannah's point might've been that even if guests from other cultures dislike you they're sophisticated enough to disguise it.  Anyhooo, enough about that.

[sadtvjunkie]

Hannah is Australian.

[Neurochick]

19 hours ago, Kiss my mutt said:

These charter guests belong in second class on a carnival cruise not a yacht!

Danny has said in his THs that his dad was really tough on him. I'm thinking he wasn't tough enough considering he doesn't respect authority. OTOH, Captain Mark is a pussy. 

You're being kind when you said second class on Carnival, I think Carnival is too high class for that bunch.

 

1 hour ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

I was going to say that on every international vacation we've ever been on, where there happens to be an obnoxious, loud, inappropriate spectacle of behavior that would fit in perfectly on a spring break type mcvacation, the individual or group responsible for same? is American.

I'll raise you.  The last vacation I was on, the loud, obnoxious folk were Russians, the second loudest were Americans. 

[jkitty]

FWIW, the most obnoxious group I ever dealt with on vacation was Canadian. Go figure. 

[ZaldamoWilder]

1 hour ago, sadtvjunkie said:

Hannah is Australian.

damn, I'm out a paycheck lol.

30 minutes ago, Neurochick said:

You're being kind when you said second class on Carnival, I think Carnival is too high class for that bunch.

 

I'll raise you.  The last vacation I was on, the loud, obnoxious folk were Russians, the second loudest were Americans. 

I'm giggling at second loudest.  I guess it sucks to win this contest wherever the traveler is from. To be clear, I don't take issue with anybody enjoying themselves, the they hate us cause they ain't us crew can drink themselves into the nearest e.r.  I do take issue with their overall treatment of/interaction with staff, sadly consistent with what I've seen, that looks like this:

Quote

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

dang.  I forgot to add that maybe the reason Ben is working so hard is because those portions are for birds.  They wouldn't bother me, but I'd be hungry every two hours if meal portions were no larger than the palm of my hand.  That's too cordon bleu, dude I need to eat. 

[HunterHunted]

I rewatched the first episode. Things I've reevaluated:

• It's so clear now that Captain Mark was probably in a fire because his older pictures show him with much thicker eyebrows and different skin texture.
• There is a service bar in the salon. I think it's in the upper salon.
• This is Hannah's fourth season as a chief stew?!?! She's just so bad at it. She actually started this season making her own notes about the menu, asking Ben questions about the menu and making notes about wine pairings. Even though she made notes about the dishes and asked questions, she barely remembered anything that she'd written when she was serving the guests. Additionally when Hannah asks Ben about the menu, she actually uses starter and main. I can't figure out how her skills managed to regress so much over the season.
• I think the first episode was the one and only time that I've seen anyone serve ice cream for dessert on this or the mothership. It's funny because I think, except for the first season, every single season has had an ice cream maker in the galley. It's always made me jealous because I want an ice cream maker with a compressor. I'm sick and tired of having to freeze the mixing cannisters for 24 hours before I make ice cream.
• Except for his atrocious boundary issues, Danny was actually a decent deckhand for someone who'd only been in the business for 6 months.

[zoeysmom]

I have tried to make sense of Jules meltdown-it reminded me of Dorinda Medley's (RHONYC) meltdown walking into a restaurant last season.  What I gathered from Jules is she avoids people who have an education and a wealthier upbringing.  A guess she is kind of a reverse snob.  She is very beautiful but maybe she questions committing to her boyfriend. 

[trimthatfat]

Ben is a condescending and arrogant and I've thought that for a while. He may not mean to be either of those things, but that's how he comes off. Julia looked exhausted, emotionally and physically, and the croissant situation was the straw that broke the camel's back. I think Ben should have let Julia be instead of coming back to speak to her because his emotions were still on high as were hers. No matter what he said, she was upset and clearly needed time to process everything that happened. Ben kept pushing and pushing.  I think he once corrected her pronunciation of a word in the past, too, and that seemed to rub Julia the wrong way. Their personalities do not mesh well at all and I can see why she thinks he's a privileged jerk.

I thought the charter guests were assholes from beginning to end. I hope the group takes a good hard look at their behavior on this episode because it reflected well on none of them.

[rho]

On 7/15/2016 at 7:42 AM, butterflyeludesme said:

I just looked up the layout of this boat and it seems totally awkward. It looks like the "Main" charter guest suite is on the same level as the galley, as in right beside it. That seems really annoying unless the walls are soundproof, not to mention it seems like the crew is always bitching, complaining, and arguing in there and the guest would have to walk by that every single time they went to and from their room. Not to mention the fact that they guest would walk by all the stews and chef as they woke up so breakfast should never have been late.

Then all of the other staterooms are down on the same level as the crew quarters, again right outside of the crew break area where they fight, etc.

Looks like the Captain has the best room on the boat!

https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-23513/ionian-princess-layout.htm

I think that's a second master. The main quarters are on the lower stern. I have a hunch that second master has been taken over by production. But I do find it odd that the bed is pushed up against the wall adjacent to the crew's stairwell. However, boats have plenty of white noise, generators running and whatnot, it's probably built in soundproofing. 

18 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

This is Hannah's fourth season as a chief stew?!?! She's just so bad at it. She actually started this season making her own notes about the menu, asking Ben questions about the menu and making notes about wine pairings. Even though she made notes about the dishes and asked questions, she barely remembered anything that she'd written when she was serving the guests. Additionally when Hannah asks Ben about the menu, she actually uses starter and main. I can't figure out how her skills managed to regress so much over the season.

If this is her fourth season as a chief stew, that's equivalent to her having this position for less than a year. Kate had like 6 years of experience as a chief stew. I think, like Brian, Hannah was probably promoted prematurely and didn't learn very much from her superiors. She still seems to be fumbling around in her role, but some people just don't adapt easily. Seems like she wants the title but not the responsibility. Both her and Brian give off a power hungry vibe without the knowledge to execute.

[lightbeam]

On July 13, 2016 at 4:03 PM, biakbiak said:

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. 

I didn't see it that way, personally. Her comment really irked me. I work at an Australian company and I promise you, there are plenty of obnoxious Australians that can behave just as badly. Plenty of lovely Australians as well. Same as every country on earth. There are just good and bad people everywhere, you know? You would think she would know this, with all of her experience traveling. I thought her comment was very rude. 

PS. I replied to your comment just as excuse to throw my two cents in and complain about Hannah!

Edited July 16, 2016 by lightbeam
Just wanted to add...

[zulualpha]

As someone noted upstream, the prior guests were American women, they were generally agreed to be fantastic people and they left the biggest tip of the season so far.  'Merica!

If the drunk guests had been handled correctly this could have been one of the easiest charters.  Hannah should have just figured out that these people wanted to eat, drink, probably have sex and that's pretty much it.  Set up a bar within their sight line, have Tiffany bar tend,  keep a constant flow of snacks coming and joke around with them.  Done.  It bugs me that the women seemed to buckle under the  pressure of a pretty doable charter.  You don't see the men unravelling when they have to deploy wave runners,  set up slides, drive the guests around on ATVs or run out for supplies at the drop of a hat.  

Ben's my favorite.  His food is looks awesome and guests seem to love it.  He also can come up with cool dishes and snacks on a moments notice.  Don't like your main?   Well how about this dish.  Still hungry?  Try this s'more made with pink marshmallows!  The vast majority of the time he comes across as professional and pleasant.  Nobody's perfect and I think he has to set boundaries for himself because if he started just taking shit from everybody he be driving it away in truckloads. 

[biakbiak]

I don't find Ben all that accomodating. He bitches he just does it to the Stews and he has limited face time with the guests. The smores were a specific guest request ahead of the charter and they looked like shit. And for the life of me I don't get why he thinks having only two courses per dinner is the way to go on a high end charter. Also, let's not forget the fitness charter where they requested light fare and his first dinner was slouvaki and moussaka.

Edited July 17, 2016 by biakbiak

[HunterHunted]

It wasn't souvlaki. It was saganaki. Souvlaki might have actually fulfilled their request for healthy carb free Greek food. As it is, Ben whiffed that first meal. He gave them saganaki, which is battered fried cheese and moussaka made the traditional way. He might have been able to lighten up the moussaka if he had roasted the eggplant rather than frying it and opted for a Greek yogurt topping instead of the traditional bechamel. His choices were so off that I wonder if he even heard the part of their request where they asked for healthy food.

20 hours ago, rho said:

If this is her fourth season as a chief stew, that's equivalent to her having this position for less than a year. Kate had like 6 years of experience as a chief stew. I think, like Brian, Hannah was probably promoted prematurely and didn't learn very much from her superiors. She still seems to be fumbling around in her role, but some people just don't adapt easily. Seems like she wants the title but not the responsibility. Both her and Brian give off a power hungry vibe without the knowledge to execute.

That's part of why I rewatched the first episode because I kept expecting Hannah to say that this was her first opportunity to be chief stew, but less than one year of experience makes sense too. Bryan came to the boat expecting to be the Bosun, but was promoted by Captain Mark because Bryan had his US Coast Guard (?) Captain's license and I don't think Captain Mark felt comfortable with the rest of the deck crew communicating with the Greek Bosun, who spoke English. But really the deck crew was too new and green to be communicating only with a Bosun with an accent on an unfamiliar ship. I agree that both Hannah and Bryan were probably promoted beyond their experience.

Edited July 17, 2016 by HunterHunted

[biakbiak]

Oops I meant saganaki obviously but I had just had souvlaki last night so it was on my fingertips!

 His choices were so off that I wonder if he even heard the party of their request where they asked for healthy food.

We saw him reading their request sheet before the charter, including that part of it.

Edited July 17, 2016 by biakbiak

[HunterHunted]

Perhaps I should have been more clear too. I felt like Ben was fixating on the gluten free part of the request sheet instead of thinking that gluten free was a subset of their overarching demand for healthy food. This might have been one of those strange incidents where Ben's exposure to Americans hindered him. Ben might have been designing a dinner menu based on his knowledge of American food trends.

[biakbiak]

38 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

Perhaps I should have been more clear too. I felt like Ben was fixating on the gluten free part of the request sheet instead of thinking that gluten free was a subset of their overarching demand for healthy food. This might have been one of those strange incidents where Ben's exposure to Americans hindered him. Ben might have been designing a dinner menu based on his knowledge of American food trends.

On Below Deck original flavor he routinely dismissed guest requests so I think he just tried to be really Greek for the first charter regardless of their wishes.

[dleighg]

What I thought was funny (as an American) was that I never thought that Ben has a "posh" accent. I mean, I guess he does, and I guess Julia's is more "common" but I had no prior thought of what "class" either of them were. They just sounded "English" which to an American sounds pretty cool.