What Happens on the Superyacht, Stays on the Superyacht! See Below Deck’s Behind-the-Scenes Secrets

Stew Tips!

Hannah has learned a thing or two during her many years of yachting. She shared a secret tip with fans on how to chill champagne “super quickly” on Instagram.

No Alone Time

Jess shared there is “zero privacy unless you’re going to the restroom,” while aboard the superyacht.

The Cameras Are Always Rolling

“I just know there’s cameras everywhere,” Jess revealed. Whether “it’s an actual cameraman or it’s placed on the wall somewhere or propped up somewhere,” they are capturing everything.

Breaks Are Far and Few

Although the crew is supposed to get an “hour or two [hour] break,” it seldom ever happens, Jess said. While they might get “lucky enough” to fall asleep when they do get to rest, it’s never enough. “I think you’re running off of adrenaline the whole time.”

You’re Never Prepared

“I had the experience. I had been doing yachting for like three years but it’s one of those where you can never be prepared in time for a charter in 24 hours, whatever that time span is. So you just got to do what you got to do,” Jessica explained. “You hit the ground running and you don’t even really get too much of a chance to figure out how things work.”

There’s Not Much Space

With two crews on a yacht, things can get a little cramped. “It definitely makes it more difficult in terms of space,” Hannah shared. “If you think about other Bravo shows, they film in a massive mansion or big restaurants or on the beach. And we’re in these tiny confined spaces. And they have very big equipment. So it makes it difficult like that.”

The Camera Crew Is All Business

“On Below Deck, they’re very, very, very strict with the fourth wall. So even for myself, I’ve filmed five seasons of it, the camera crew, audio and everything like that, they won’t interact,” Hannah revealed. “They won’t say hello to me. They won’t.”

They Are Considered Guests Too

Although the camera crew isn’t interested in playful banter, they still get to be pampered. “They’re still guests at the end of the day, so we still need to ensure that they’re looked after and treated with respect,” Hannah said.

It’s Not Really All That Dramatic

“I tell a lot of people this but with all the drama and stuff on the show, especially with the deck crew, we’ve had probably the funniest — like I don’t know, we would just go to sleep laughing so hard because Travis [Michalzik], Jack [Stirrup]  — they’re goofballs and they’re so funny, but obviously they show the dramatic side of things like the work stuff that they don’t show how funny everybody is,” Colin exclusively told In Touch. “Not everyone knows that we had such a great time together. At the end of the day, we always know what’s going to happen.”

Hannah’s Possible Return

After Hannah was fired during season 5 for breaking boat rules by having Valium and a CBD vape pen onboard, producer Mark Cronin revealed if he would have the former star back on the show. “I wouldn’t have any trouble with her back on the show,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in August 2022. “I don’t think she could work for [Captain] Sandy [Yawn], but yeah, she could work for another captain.”

Breaking Down Hannah and Sandy’s Feud

Mark also shared insight into Hannah and Sandy’s tense relationship, which began when the captain was hired during season 2 to replace Captain Mark Howard.

“They’re two very powerful people, very opinionated, both very good at their jobs. It is possible for two very powerful, opinionated, good at the jobs people to not agree and clash and butt heads,” the longtime producer explained to Us Weekly. “Hannah didn’t like a lot of Sandy’s management style. Sandy didn’t like a lot of Hannah’s management style and they tolerated each other for a little while, but eventually it came to its inevitable end.”

Hookups Are Difficult

The Bravo employee explained that the lack of privacy makes it difficult for the cast members to hookup. “Their cabins have surveillance cameras in them all the time. And they know that they’re not hidden cameras. They’re sitting there,” he told Us Weekly. “So it’s not like there’s a secret that there’s a camera. And that’s why often a lot of the hookups happen in the guest areas where there are no surveillance cameras.”

However, he added that captains get to make the final decision when it comes to the crew having opportunities to hookup. “Different captains have different feelings about using guest areas,” he explained, noting that most of the hookups take place when there are no guests. “The truth of the yachting business is that when there’s no guests on board or no owners aboard the boat, that the boat really is for them. They do use the hot tub and they do use the guest cabins occasionally.”

Not Scripted

He added that none of the shows in the Below Deck franchise are scripted. “These are Yachtys, they’re real kids. And it’s very important to us that they have a real experience, a real yachting experience,” Mark shared. “The way we look at it is we have a six week shoot and we have to capture everything that happens.”

“We don’t spend any time telling anybody what to do. That’s for sure. If we say anything to them about how they could help us out or be better it’s, ‘please talk,’” he continued. “The most common thing is the, like, you’ll have two stews making a bed and they’re in total silence. So, we’ll go the cameraman and say, ‘Guys how about a conversation?’ And then we’ll leave.”

No Easy Replacements

While several stars have been fired, Mark revealed that it’s not always easy to find new crew members to fill open spots. “We always had cast members who didn’t quite make it and we’d always, like, keep them in the back of our mind that if we needed [someone they were an option],” he said, noting that some roles on the ship can’t be replaced as easily as others.

Breaking Down Salaries

“They get paid their yachting salary and then we give them a little extra because we interview them. The truth is they also get to keep their tips,” Mark explained. “And the tips are getting better and better. So they’re all making, I don’t know, tens of thousands more for six weeks of work. I mean that’s pretty great.”

After noting that they recommend that guests tip the crew 15 to 20 percent of the full charter cost, he added that the stars’ base salary does vary based on their experience levels.

“The cast is hired based on their position on the boat and paid what a Yachty would get paid for that position. Plus, like a little extra for the fact that we have to bring them out for extra interviews,” he said. “If a cast member gets to, like, season 3, they start saying things like, ‘Can I be making more than this because I’m giving up other work?’ And it’s a negotiation and you come to an agreement with them about what we can pay them.”

Who Does the Hiring?

“When producers hire our cast, something seems to happen between that time and when the cameras start rolling,” Captain Lee Rosbach told podcast host Brandi Glanville in January 2023. “Because as soon as the camera starts rolling, some of ‘em just morph into this monster. Like, who the hell is this person? And what did you do with my deckhand?”

Guests Get a Discount

The Below Deck franchise would be nothing without its eccentric guests and former chief stewardess Natasha Webb revealed guests receive a “little” discount on their charter for appearing on camera.

“But rightly so, the guests can also be portrayed in a bad light,” the Bravo star shared via her Instagram Stories in March 2023, alongside two former charter guests who appeared on season 7 of Below Deck Mediterranean. “These two guys from episodes 1 and 2 are AMAZING! We always meet up in LA.”