S04.E17: Love, Love Me Stew

[VagueDisclaimer]

6 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I don’t know we have seen him have a bosun that didn’t have a deck crew that had its shit together and he didn’t micromanage his bosun, he told them to fix it or he would by firing either the bosun or the crew.

Aderienne also wasn’t that great of a chief stew and a horrible manager with horrible stews and he didn’t micromanage her.

Right. Lee wouldn’t turn into Sandy if he had Hannah as a chief stew, because Hannah isn’t the reason Sandy is a fame hungry micromanager with boundary issues.

And that’s another thing. We see Sandy questioning Hannah’s passion for yachting and I gotta say, if you’ve turned to the reality show version of your “passion”, I’m not sure you’re in a position to question anyone else’s aptitude. I don’t think Sandy’s participation in the Below Deck franchise is any purer than Hannah’s. 

Im not saying that participants on these shows don’t have any interest or experience, but it’s clear that those who want a real career are usually not repeat offenders and those that want a reality show version stick around(if they’re invited back). 

[dleighg]

I noticed something that has been mentioned before-- Hannah asking the guests "Would you like some wine with dinner?" I mean, shouldn't they be getting a choice of wine? This just seems so generic. I guess I can give them the benefit of the doubt that an appropriate wine pairing had been thought out over the course of the meal, but then wouldn't it be "For the first course the chef recommends this white burgundy from blah blah blah" 

[terrymct]

On 9/24/2019 at 9:15 AM, spunky said:

I think he was just miserable being in bed doing absolutely nothing. You should see his Instagram he's always thanking her for believing in him and encouraging him. He's basically like a child seeking his mother's approval.

Miserable in bed doing nothing, while listening to the radio and hearing one of your subordinates take over your job and apparently do very well at it.

[dleighg]

Those gold shiny streamers on the doorways were so cheap looking! I mean I bought stuff like that for our family-only celebration when my son graduated college-- It was kind of tongue-in-cheek if you know what I mean. If I saw that crap on a "fancy" yacht I'd be taken aback. 

[spunky]

6 minutes ago, terrymct said:

Miserable in bed doing nothing, while listening to the radio and hearing one of your subordinates take over your job and apparently do very well at it.

He said on Twitter in the beginning of the season that Travis had the most experience and should have been bosun. He just doesn't seem like the type of person who likes having nothing to do. 

[Pachengala]

3 hours ago, dleighg said:

I noticed something that has been mentioned before-- Hannah asking the guests "Would you like some wine with dinner?" I mean, shouldn't they be getting a choice of wine? This just seems so generic. I guess I can give them the benefit of the doubt that an appropriate wine pairing had been thought out over the course of the meal, but then wouldn't it be "For the first course the chef recommends this white burgundy from blah blah blah" 

That reminds me. When that one bro guest asked Hannah what wine they were having and she answered that it was a Cabernet Sauvignon, I was like, ‘...AND?’ I don’t work on a ‘five-star luxury yacht, nor do I vacation on them, but if I’m asking what wine we’re drinking, I’m expecting the winery, the vintage AND the varietal. Who just says ‘oh it’s a cab’??? My local dive bar, sure, and THAT IS FINE. 

[Kdawg82]

You've all said it very well already.  Agree on all points. 

The way Sandy praised Hannah for the CanCan dancers was as if it was Hannah out there flexing and dancing. Lmao!!! 

Booking talent seems to be impactful yet one of the easiest things to do. 

Bring Capt. Lee & Kate. 

I think Ben acted out more bc a) he doesn't need the Bravo gig anymore and b) he doesn't mesh with any of this crew. He has to actually *like* the people he's working with to be any less temperamental.  I know many of you disagree and just think he's a di** - to each his own. If I had that job I'd be probably 10x worse. Agreed Kate gives it back as good as she gets it and that's why it's worked before. Hannah is a kind of fake bitch. She is play acting the role of a bitch but a TRUE bitch doesn't get intimidated like that. AND the horniness for guests has to stop. If Joao didn't "catch" her, idk if she would've been deterred from a continued flirtation.  

Sandy- GO.AWAY.

[dsteele]

11 minutes ago, Pachengala said:

I’m expecting the winery, the vintage AND the varietal.

So true. I noticed that, as well.

And wouldn't you know, the editing monkeys were at it again. Hannah actually did provide the guests with that information and I was able to obtain a transcript:

"And for your wine tonight, we have a lovely September 2019 release of Walmart White Zinfandel with overtones of Febreze and a subtle yet harsh finish. Enjoy!"

[Mr. Miner]

Now I'm thinking about Sideways.

Miles: (while tasting wine)  It tastes like the back of a fucking L.A. school bus. Now they probably didn't de-stem, hoping for some semblance of concentration, crushed it up with leaves and mice, and then wound up with this rancid tar and turpentine bullshit. Fuckin' Raid.

Jack: Taste pretty good to me.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Mr. Minor

[terrymct]

1 hour ago, Kdawg82 said:

I think Ben acted out more bc a) he doesn't need the Bravo gig anymore and b) he doesn't mesh with any of this crew. He has to actually *like* the people he's working with to be any less temperamental. 

The kitchen on this boat really does appear to be a mess.  Small, badly organized, and iffy equipment.  He didn't have any real time to get used to the place or reorganize.

[biakbiak]

34 minutes ago, terrymct said:

The kitchen on this boat really does appear to be a mess.  Small, badly organized, and iffy equipment.  He didn't have any real time to get used to the place or reorganize.

They typically arrive at the boat a day before the first charter so yes he has had the time since he got here to get caught up with it but he appears to be very hands off about it like not realizing they were out of eggs on their second charter when he was the one doing the provisioning. 

[Kdawg82]

34 minutes ago, terrymct said:

The kitchen on this boat really does appear to be a mess.  Small, badly organized, and iffy equipment.  He didn't have any real time to get used to the place or reorganize.

Yes I was going to add this but failed to as my last point about Ben. He could rarely find some basic cooking tools and it's a small kitchen. Add in all the other crew standing around (and SITTING on the counters smooching-AESHA!), it compiled to his annoyance. I heard Ben mention several times for them to get out of his way.

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, Kdawg82 said:

heard Ben mention several times for them to get out of his way.

He does that every season he has been on and than in the next breath will be pissed that they aren’t immediately there when he wants them.

Edited September 25, 2019 by biakbiak

[Special K]

4 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

They typically arrive at the boat a day before the first charter so yes he has had the time since he got here to get caught up with it but he appears to be very hands off about it like not realizing they were out of eggs on their second charter when he was the one doing the provisioning. 

Ben arrived mid-season.  Didn't he arrive like two hours before the charter guests arrived?
 

[biakbiak]

15 minutes ago, Special K said:

Ben arrived mid-season.  Didn't he arrive like two hours before the charter guests arrived?
 

I am aware of that and gave him all the leeway for the first charter but he has now had plenty of time to do what he wants with the galley when they are turning over the boat between charters which is the same amount of time they usually get at the beginning of the season.

If he actually did think it was such a drawback to his work he would do what Anastasia did the first night before she had to be chef or what Hannah and Anastasia did before this charter and come back early or not go out at all but he doesn’t because he loves to bitch and complain and blame others or the galley when he is stresseD. None of it is new behavior for him.

Edited September 25, 2019 by biakbiak

[chenoa333]

14 hours ago, VagueDisclaimer said:

it’s clear that those who want a real career are usually not repeat offenders and those that want a reality show version stick around(if they’re invited back). 

I don't remember if it was a Chief Stew, one of the Captains or one of the general crew who said that the real qualified, experienced, in-demand  yacht crew folks are working for much more elite yacht owners who pay top dollar for the best. And these Below Deck yachties are NOT top of the line.

[Snarky McSnarky]

22 hours ago, Mr. Minor said:

Could everybody just shut up? I need complete silence when I’m plating! Sheesh! 🙄🤷🏻‍♂️

Imagine him trying to shoot Free Throws at a college basketball game with ten thousand hostile fans hooting and braying at him.  He'd probably have a stroke.

24 minutes ago, chenoa333 said:

I don't remember if it was a Chief Stew, one of the Captains or one of the general crew who said that the real qualified, experienced, in-demand  yacht crew folks are working for much more elite yacht owners who pay top dollar for the best. And these Below Deck yachties are NOT top of the line.

[chenoa333]

4 minutes ago, Snarky McSnarky said:

Imagine him trying to shoot Free Throws at a college basketball game

And the sound of dozens of squeaky rubber soles on the basketball court! Poor poor Adam.

[Jsage]

Quote

We have seen many guests wake up and have their coffee while they are on deck enjoying the view.  The stews put out croissants and other breakfast pastry.  When all the guests are up they have a sit down breakfast.  It is usually very laid back.  Sandy went batshit for no reason.  Hannah and the stews knew what they were doing. 

For most charters, we've seen the guests eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. Since brunch was mentioned several times this episode, I think the guests may have requested a mid-morning brunch instead of an early breakfast and then lunch. It's probably their preference to sleep late and then just have one meal during the day.

[jkitty]

On 9/23/2019 at 10:04 PM, scenicbyway said:

Seriously.  Theme of the season, Sandy the lurker.

Those tables looked like high school a prom committee dumped stuff on a table and called it a day and Sandy loved it.  Shouldn’t the table be about the food vs the cheap decor?

I can’t imagine DvF, Leo DiCaprio or Beyoncé and Jay-z sitting at any of those tables (or any BD tables). I’m willing to bet they just have gorgeous, chic fresh flowers and maybe some candles. 

[CalicoskiesNC]

I like Ben. He makes really good tv. I enjoy watching people who know how to cook. I think he’s very funny. To be sure, I would not want to work with or near him but he’s fricking great on my tv.  And I am happy to see Joao’s transformation from giant jack*ss to a seemingly hard working, maybe respectable guy.   You think he watched his last season and didn’t want to be “that guy?” Sober Travis is very nice to watch and listen to, Drunk Travis no.  Hope he gets some help. I love Collin, wish he had his own show doing anything, seriously anything! Not enough genuine, sincere people on my tv or in my life. I hope to never see Jack, Aesha, Anastasia again. Hannah is ok, dependent on who she is working around. Captain Sandy must be going through something because she seemed extremely irritable and unfair.  Just my thoughts. Both Below Decks are among my fave tv shows. 

[HunterHunted]

9 hours ago, dleighg said:

I noticed something that has been mentioned before-- Hannah asking the guests "Would you like some wine with dinner?" I mean, shouldn't they be getting a choice of wine? This just seems so generic. I guess I can give them the benefit of the doubt that an appropriate wine pairing had been thought out over the course of the meal, but then wouldn't it be "For the first course the chef recommends this white burgundy from blah blah blah" 

Honestly, the guests have such terrible palates that I probably wouldn't bother. I can think of only a handful of times when Kate went into a big wine spiel and it was because they had guests who KNEW wine to the extent that they brought their own.

The guests usually say they have adventurous tastes, but we saw that Ben's first starter (tartare) was returned to the kitchen almost uneaten by nearly every guest uneaten. They didn't complain about it; they just didn't eat it.

3 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

I don't remember if it was a Chief Stew, one of the Captains or one of the general crew who said that the real qualified, experienced, in-demand  yacht crew folks are working for much more elite yacht owners who pay top dollar for the best. And these Below Deck yachties are NOT top of the line.

That's not entirely true. Brooke crewed Eos for a significant amount of time; it actually sounds like she was on the crew for at least a year. Eos is Barry Diller's $100 million sailing yacht. Diller never has it up for charter. Aesha crewed Phoenix 2. It was owned Jan Kulczyk . It's about $150 million and charters for $1,000,000 a week. Phoenix 2 has 3 times the crew, but the same guest capacity of Sirocco. Of course Phoenix 2 could do white glove service.

https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-24343/phoenix-2.htm

Sirocco charters for $205,000 - $ $222,000 a week. Also if you go back and watch part of season 2, the difference between what the owner left for table decor is night and day. They had tons of tea lights, way more vases, seashells, starfish, coral, way more variety of stones and pebbles, and a bunch of different tablecloths, placemats, napkins, and other linens in season 2. Honestly, he really stripped everything that was worth anything this season. The interior got royally fucked. Even if Hannah was inclined to try to order more decor, she had a chef who couldn't cook (Mila) and then lost a stew to be the cook that took a lot of her bandwidth.

[dangwoodchucks]

15 minutes ago, jkitty said:

I can’t imagine DvF, Leo DiCaprio or Beyoncé and Jay-z sitting at any of those tables (or any BD tables). I’m willing to bet they just have gorgeous, chic fresh flowers and maybe some candles. 

Kate always orders fresh flowers. Other than ordering the can-can dancers, what have we seen Hannah do that says “chief stew”?

From the beginning with Mila, this season has been nothing but a bunch of contrived drama.

I would like to thank Jack and his accent for preparing me to watch “Film stars don’t die in Liverpool”.

[chenoa333]

52 minutes ago, HunterHunted said:

Honestly, the guests have such terrible palates that I probably wouldn't bother. I can think of only a handful of times when Kate went into a big wine spiel and it was because they had guests who KNEW wine to the extent that they brought their own.

The guests usually say they have adventurous tastes, but we saw that Ben's first starter (tartare) was returned to the kitchen almost uneaten by nearly every guest uneaten. They didn't complain about it; they just didn't eat it.

That's not entirely true. Brooke crewed Eos for a significant amount of time; it actually sounds like she was on the crew for at least a year. Eos is Barry Diller's $100 million sailing yacht. Diller never has it up for charter. Aesha crewed Phoenix 2. It was owned Jan Kulczyk . It's about $150 million and charters for $1,000,000 a week. Phoenix 2 has 3 times the crew, but the same guest capacity of Sirocco. Of course Phoenix 2 could do white glove service.

https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-24343/phoenix-2.htm

Sirocco charters for $205,000 - $ $222,000 a week. Also if you go back and watch part of season 2, the difference between what the owner left for table decor is night and day. They had tons of tea lights, way more vases, seashells, starfish, coral, way more variety of stones and pebbles, and a bunch of different tablecloths, placemats, napkins, and other linens in season 2. Honestly, he really stripped everything that was worth anything this season. The interior got royally fucked. Even if Hannah was inclined to try to order more decor, she had a chef who couldn't cook (Mila) and then lost a stew to be the cook that took a lot of her bandwidth.

I guess I remembered incorrectly. That's normal.

[HunterHunted]

1 hour ago, dangwoodchucks said:

Kate always orders fresh flowers. Other than ordering the can-can dancers, what have we seen Hannah do that says “chief stew”?

Hannah doesn't like to do tablescapes, but Sandy keeps fixating on tablescapes like that's all a chief stew does. The chief stew oversees all the interior services which includes cleaning guest rooms, guest turn down services, guest laundry, unpacking guest bags, cleaning of communal guest spaces like the dining room, lounges, and salon, guest activities like picnics and tours, coordinating with the chef over meal services, drink and snack service throughout the day, additional concierge services, and purser and provisioning for the entire ship. So out of all of those things, the one thing Hannah doesn't do is decorate the table. We've seen her have to do laundry and clean rooms when someone as incompetent and deceitful as Kasey shows up. We've seen Hannah on her hands and knees scrubbing a carpet when Sandy let her friend wear her shoes indoors and screw up the carpet. We've seen Hannah staff the beach picnics, which Kate is very vocal about her hatred of working those and is very happy to avoid when she has half decent stews. If you can find screencaps of tables from seasons 1 - 3, they did use flowers in a number of their tablescapes. Hannah must have been ordering them for the yacht. She doesn't like doing them so she delegates the task. No one faults either Kate or Hannah for delegating laundry.

But the biggest difference between this season and previous seasons is that the owner of Sirocco really did take every bit of table decor. It's actually startling looking at season 2 tables vs season 4.

My biggest gripe with Hannah has been that she doesn't personally care about food and it shows in how she described dishes to the guests. Sometimes she'll fuck it up. Other times like the most recent episode, Ben's repurposed leftover pizza crusts should have been described as bread sticks even if Ben called them pizza crusts.

[HunterHunted]

4 hours ago, jkitty said:

I can’t imagine DvF, Leo DiCaprio or Beyoncé and Jay-z sitting at any of those tables (or any BD tables). I’m willing to bet they just have gorgeous, chic fresh flowers and maybe some candles. 

I can't either, but kicking around google tells me that there is a whole lot of exuberant excess that I would personally categorize as tacky in the yacht tablescape world.

Peep former Below Deck: Med 2nd stew, Christine "Bugsy" Drake winning 1st place in the top creative centerpiece in the chic outdoor category in the top notch tabletop challenge at the 2018 Palm Beach International Boat Show.

"M/Y Mine Games featured a fun “Time travel” tablescape indoors complete with puzzle pieces, travel gadgets, maps, a compass, and clocks. The clever menu featured a message in a bottle atop a boat-fold napkin. The upper deck “Mad Hatter Brunch” pulled out all the stops, with clocks and oversized playing cards suspended above the charming centerpiece collection of tea sets. Drunken Gummy Bears begged “Drink Me!!” and offset the glittery Mad Mouthful menu.  Well done Christine, Stephanie & Crystal!"

https://www.topnotchtabletop.com/pbbs-challenge-2018

[biakbiak]

Another thing about the condition of the galley when Ben got it is when the crew first got there at the beginning of the season around 24 hours before their first charter they had to clean out a ton of literally rotting food from the galley from the previous charter so it’s not like Milla, as inexperienced and awful she was, inherited a clean and well organized galley and a huge amount of time to get it together. 

Edited September 26, 2019 by biakbiak

[dleighg]

7 hours ago, HunterHunted said:

I can't either, but kicking around google tells me that there is a whole lot of exuberant excess that I would personally categorize as tacky in the yacht tablescape world.

Peep former Below Deck: Med 2nd stew, Christine "Bugsy" Drake winning 1st place in the top creative centerpiece in the chic outdoor category in the top notch tabletop challenge at the 2018 Palm Beach International Boat Show.

"M/Y Mine Games featured a fun “Time travel” tablescape indoors complete with puzzle pieces, travel gadgets, maps, a compass, and clocks. The clever menu featured a message in a bottle atop a boat-fold napkin. The upper deck “Mad Hatter Brunch” pulled out all the stops, with clocks and oversized playing cards suspended above the charming centerpiece collection of tea sets. Drunken Gummy Bears begged “Drink Me!!” and offset the glittery Mad Mouthful menu.  Well done Christine, Stephanie & Crystal!"

I'm not sure I'd call those "tacky" necessarily, but they sure look like a serious waste of steward/ess valuable time. Maps? Puzzle pieces? stuff hanging from the chandelier?????

Nice flowers, candles, a printed menu, the sprig of rosemary in the napkin ring, that's my idea of a nice table. "Tacky" is absolutely what Hannah and Ana were doing this episode. 

[terrymct]

16 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

I don't remember if it was a Chief Stew, one of the Captains or one of the general crew who said that the real qualified, experienced, in-demand  yacht crew folks are working for much more elite yacht owners who pay top dollar for the best. And these Below Deck yachties are NOT top of the line.

I would suspect that the owners/managers of some the more expensive boats would prefer staff with more discretion than to be appearing drunk or talking trash about guests on a reality show.

[Mindthinkr]

14 hours ago, CalicoskiesNC said:

I love Collin, wish he had his own show

He would make a good bachelor. (Just want to state that I haven’t watched that show in years so I don’t know what it’s like currently, so I may be wrong.) He really would make a wonderful mate for the right lady. 

[Diane Mars]

1 hour ago, terrymct said:

I would suspect that the owners/managers of some the more expensive boats would prefer staff with more discretion than to be appearing drunk or talking trash about guests on a reality show.

The thing is that they ARE real staff ! Do you remember Connie, the deck-hand (I LOVED her !) ? She's been offered a permanent position by Captain Lee at the end of her season, for instance

[The Ringo Kidd]

2 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

He would make a good bachelor. (Just want to state that I haven’t watched that show in years so I don’t know what it’s like currently, so I may be wrong.) He really would make a wonderful mate for the right lady. 

Instead of a rose he can each woman a tray of his mother’s lasagna.

[spunky]

I just listened to an interview Joao posted on his insta story. He basically confirmed what most of us have been thinking or saying about Sandy, which is she loves the social media attention. He stated that she’s been saying somethings online and in interviews about him which are hurtful and he knows she’s doing it because of the attention she’s getting.

[Nancybeth]

I went on a whole rant about Great Gatsby-themed dinners / events last season (or maybe that was an ep of Below Deck Original Flavor) but it's stupid. Just call it a Roaring 20s or a Jazz Age party, dammit!

Also, whoever said it looked like a Saints Mardi Gras party...it absolutely did and oh yeah, WHO DAT!

I actually think Hannah would do okay with Capt. Lee because he's not as much of a micro-manager as Sandy. The guests haven't seemed to care at all about the tablescapes, only Sandy -- if it was Lee, he may not have even noticed unless it became a problem brought up by the guests!

[HunterHunted]

8 hours ago, Diane Mars said:

The thing is that they ARE real staff ! Do you remember Connie, the deck-hand (I LOVED her !) ? She's been offered a permanent position by Captain Lee at the end of her season, for instance

Bugsy was chief stew for MY Sai Ram, MY Relentless, and MY Mine Games. Adrienne Gang and Bruno became yacht chefs. I believe Bobby is one of the captains in Aleks yacht management company. Amy was chief stew for a number of boats before becoming a flight attendant a year ago. Kelley stayed in the business for a little bit before leaving to build computers. Chef Matt left yachting and runs pickled onion business. Kat left yachting and is in nursing school.

And of course Aleks and EJ are still in the business because they run sizeable yacht businesses. Aleks is a charter broker and runs a yacht management company. EJ also runs a yacht management company and yacht staff training company.

The reality is that most people don't stay in yachting all that long. On the deck side, you move up through the ranks to become a captain and you either stay in the business or you don't. On the interior, you move up through the ranks to become a chief stew and then likely become a charter broker. Interior or exterior could also end up working for companies like Aleks' or EJ's.

[StardustMemories]

On 9/24/2019 at 2:25 PM, spunky said:

He's probably used to women throwing themselves at him. Which is no excuse for his grossness. I think Hannah was willing to risk it all and was trying to make sure it was safe for her proceed.

Really?  He's not that great-looking.  Is he super-rich or famous or something?

[StardustMemories]

On 9/24/2019 at 5:32 PM, biakbiak said:

I don’t know we have seen him have a bosun that didn’t have a deck crew that had its shit together and he didn’t micromanage his bosun, he told them to fix it or he would by firing either the bosun or the crew.

Aderienne also wasn’t that great of a chief stew and a horrible manager with horrible stews and he didn’t micromanage her.

That's a great point - the interior was terrible Season 1 on BD original, but I don't remember Captain Lee intervening about anything but their behavior (drinking, not cleaning) - he never in my recollection checked up on their service.  I can't even imagine him going around the boat looking to see if the table is set beautifully.

[StardustMemories]

On 9/25/2019 at 11:35 AM, Kdawg82 said:

I think Ben acted out more bc a) he doesn't need the Bravo gig anymore and b) he doesn't mesh with any of this crew. He has to actually *like* the people he's working with to be any less temperamental.  I know many of you disagree and just think he's a di** - to each his own. If I had that job I'd be probably 10x worse.

I have liked Ben in seasons past but he is an absolute d*** this season.  No one put a gun to his head to fly from Florida to be there.  I can't believe no one has mentioned his comment to Hannah "please let your subordinate know not to tell me what to do ever again" followed up with "she might be asking Captain Sandy next" - you know what?  I'm not a Captain Sandy fan but she would have done it, it being taking provisions in, provisions that you, Ben, ordered and need, and the deck crew was a man down, so suck it up.  I've seen Captain Sandy washing dishes.  And then when Hannah asked him who, he didn't even use her (Anastasia's) name but said "the less important one."  My Ben like is over.

[DeeplyShallow]

14 hours ago, spunky said:

I just listened to an interview Joao posted on his insta story. He basically confirmed what most of us have been thinking or saying about Sandy, which is she loves the social media attention. He stated that she’s been saying somethings online and in interviews about him which are hurtful and he knows she’s doing it because of the attention she’s getting.

That’s surprising, what has she been saying about him?

[Yours Truly]

On 9/25/2019 at 7:12 PM, CalicoskiesNC said:

I like Ben. He makes really good tv. I enjoy watching people who know how to cook. I think he’s very funny. To be sure, I would not want to work with or near him but he’s fricking great on my tv.  And I am happy to see Joao’s transformation from giant jack*ss to a seemingly hard working, maybe respectable guy.   You think he watched his last season and didn’t want to be “that guy?” Sober Travis is very nice to watch and listen to, Drunk Travis no.  Hope he gets some help. I love Collin, wish he had his own show doing anything, seriously anything! Not enough genuine, sincere people on my tv or in my life. I hope to never see Jack, Aesha, Anastasia again. Hannah is ok, dependent on who she is working around. Captain Sandy must be going through something because she seemed extremely irritable and unfair.  Just my thoughts. Both Below Decks are among my fave tv shows. 

I really didn't like Joao last season aside from the way he pissed Hannah off cause as much as I hate some of his behavior I was usually on his side when he was giving it to Hannah. She was unnecessarily rude to him regularly and he would just give it right back without hesitation and you could tell she was thrown off by how uninterested he was in being nice to her. Seems like she was banking on him holding back on his come backs due to the fact that she was a woman. Do I think Joao had A LOT of fucked up things to say and do last season when it came to the women? Absolutely! Am I mad at what he dished out to Hannah? Nope! Cause she was an bitch that didn't really find the need to watch how she spoke to him either so you get what you give. My biggest grievance was with Joao and the girls but to be honest when I caught a couple of episodes again recently I realized that as inconsiderate and douchey his flirthing with both Brooke and Casey was I came to see it for what it was. A horndog fuck boy who had 2 options and I think Karma did it's job when things didn't work out with him and Brooke. I also hated how absolutely STUPID Brooke was to even entertain that whole situation and I really lost a lot of respect for Casey for really feeding into the competition because she wanted to know that even though towards the end he decided on Brooke (basically cause she wasn't playing as hard to get as Casey, big surprise) that he would still be absolutely interested in hooking up with Casey given the opportunity. She was doing her best to entice him without having to "give it up" which is what eventually put her in second place.  The fact that she was playing such games but was still "cool" with Brooke left a really bad taste in my mouth. 

Anyway, with that said I really hope Joao sticks with this better version of himself. I'm not saying that he's perfect but it really does look like he's making a genuine effort to be more mindful of his behavior and he seems to be learning how to address situations in a more productive way and not in a rude or juvenile manner. Not saying he doesn't slip up but I think I see an authentic desire to be better in how deals with other people. I think he needs more work on how he sees women and how he deals with conflicts and his feelings of annoyance  with women but everyone has the ability to hit below the belt when frustrated and lashing out. That's the point of having harsh words. Going after some of the worse things that could be said to sting. I'm not saying everyone does that just that it's no surprise that people get a little more ruthless when trying to sting during an argument. It happens. 

The fact that Joao has had a few conflicts this season and has pretty much stayed pretty even keeled throughout makes me root for him and who doesn't want to root for someone to be less of an asshole than they used to be?

Edited September 27, 2019 by Yours Truly

[Yours Truly]

10 hours ago, StardustMemories said:

Really?  He's not that great-looking.  Is he super-rich or famous or something?

I was thinking the same thing! Hot? Where?? At best he was average looking. 

[Yours Truly]

10 hours ago, StardustMemories said:

I have liked Ben in seasons past but he is an absolute d*** this season.  No one put a gun to his head to fly from Florida to be there.  I can't believe no one has mentioned his comment to Hannah "please let your subordinate know not to tell me what to do ever again" followed up with "she might be asking Captain Sandy next" - you know what?  I'm not a Captain Sandy fan but she would have done it, it being taking provisions in, provisions that you, Ben, ordered and need, and the deck crew was a man down, so suck it up.  I've seen Captain Sandy washing dishes.  And then when Hannah asked him who, he didn't even use her (Anastasia's) name but said "the less important one."  My Ben like is over.

I love Ben even though he can be a dick at times but I LOL'd when he said "the less important one" when describing Stasia. She's a little entitled brat and to be honest I didn't like her tone when she was trying to get people to help bring in provisions. Wasn't she the same one who said to her FRIEND that what she was doing at the time took more brain power than vacuuming? She wasn't even being jokey. She was being a condescending asshole. She's the type that wants to tell people what to do even though it's not her place to do so when in all reality her position on that particular yatch is to keep her head down and just work. Not worry about what the chef is doing or the chief stew or the deck crew. This is the same chick that kept barking over the radio for someone from the deck crew to come and take the fucking garbage out cause for some reason she was too occupied to trek the bag over to where it needed to go herself. Nah, I was on Ben's side when he made that comment cause Antasia smells her ass way too much and thinks she's superior to everyone on that boat. She has a problem with not knowing her place and I think it was being interim chef that really did a number on her ego. She gets on my nerves when in the beginning she started off so sweet. 

Edited September 27, 2019 by Yours Truly

[The Ringo Kidd]

Ben has a problem with women. If he is not fucking them or if he doesn’t want to fuck them he just belittles them in a condescending nasty manner as he did with Anastasia. Most chefs are giant assholes and there is no doubt about it. 

Ben is a real chef!

Edited September 27, 2019 by The Ringo Kidd

[Otherkate]

On 9/25/2019 at 7:22 PM, HunterHunted said:

Honestly, the guests have such terrible palates that I probably wouldn't bother. I can think of only a handful of times when Kate went into a big wine spiel and it was because they had guests who KNEW wine to the extent that they brought their own.

The guests usually say they have adventurous tastes, but we saw that Ben's first starter (tartare) was returned to the kitchen almost uneaten by nearly every guest uneaten. They didn't complain about it; they just didn't eat it.

That's not entirely true. Brooke crewed Eos for a significant amount of time; it actually sounds like she was on the crew for at least a year. Eos is Barry Diller's $100 million sailing yacht. Diller never has it up for charter. Aesha crewed Phoenix 2. It was owned Jan Kulczyk . It's about $150 million and charters for $1,000,000 a week. Phoenix 2 has 3 times the crew, but the same guest capacity of Sirocco. Of course Phoenix 2 could do white glove service.

https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-24343/phoenix-2.htm

Sirocco charters for $205,000 - $ $222,000 a week. Also if you go back and watch part of season 2, the difference between what the owner left for table decor is night and day. They had tons of tea lights, way more vases, seashells, starfish, coral, way more variety of stones and pebbles, and a bunch of different tablecloths, placemats, napkins, and other linens in season 2. Honestly, he really stripped everything that was worth anything this season. The interior got royally fucked. Even if Hannah was inclined to try to order more decor, she had a chef who couldn't cook (Mila) and then lost a stew to be the cook that took a lot of her bandwidth.

I can't believe how ugly and cheesy the interiors of these hella expensive yachts are!

[MadMiniaturist]

22 hours ago, Yours Truly said:

I was thinking the same thing! Hot? Where?? At best he was average looking. 

I never saw a trace of hotness. Besides the completely bland face and sloping shoulders, I also found him a bit creepy.

[howiveaddict]

On 9/26/2019 at 10:29 AM, The Ringo Kidd said:

Instead of a rose he can each woman a tray of his mother’s lasagna.

And his mother would make sure Collie picked the right woman to give the lasagna to.

[spunky]

On 9/26/2019 at 11:00 PM, StardustMemories said:

Really?  He's not that great-looking.  Is he super-rich or famous or something?

He seems like the type who would drive past in a flashy car or pull out a wad of cash just so he can get a woman to go out with him. Unfortunately there are women out there who fall for those shenanigans. 

[MajorNelson]

Only just watched, but I want to say I loved that Anastasia heaved a line, when they were backing into that space.

[luvthepros]

On 9/24/2019 at 9:04 AM, ForeverYoung said:

Cannot agree more!  A real pet peeve of mine, butts on counter top/ tables - gross!  

Cats are notorious for walking on surfaces you would not want them on. Kitchen counters, dining tables; you get the idea.

Cats do their business in a litter box then hop up on these off limit surfaces. Just gross! I will never have a cat for this reason. 

[biakbiak]

2 hours ago, spunky said:

type who would drive past in a flashy car or pull out a wad of cash just so he can get a woman to go out with him.

Except in his case the car is leased and the wad is mostly $1s and $5s.