The Below Deck crew went all out for their pornstar guests — only to receive a “pathetic” tip.
During the Monday, June 23, episode of the hit Bravo series, Captain Kerry Titheradge praised the staff, saying, “I am really impressed with everyone’s performance this charter. The theme nights, the water sports and the food.”
Kerry revealed, however, that the final tip they received was much less than expected. “This doesn’t reflect it though. It is pathetic,” he said. “[It is] $19,990 and that is $1,500 each, but for a five-day charter, I would expect a lot more.”
In a confessional, deckhands Damo Yorg and Kyle Stillie joked that they “got shafted.”
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“They gave us the whisky d*** equivalent of a tip,” Damo quipped.
Below Deck, which debuted in 2013 and has spawned several spinoffs, follows the lives of crew members who work and live on super yachts during charter season. The cast earns a salary for working on the boat and shooting the reality series, as well as tips from guests.
Earlier this month, chief steward Fraser Olender weighed in on what amount he typically expects from charter guests.
“I can tell you for a tip on our charter season, the minimum I would expect [where] you won’t see me crack a smile,” Fraser shared on an episode of SiriusXM’s Reality Checked With Dorinda Medley and Kiki Monique. “If we are not getting between $20,000 — I’ll scrap that. $25,000 to $30,000 for the time we’ve done.”
Fraser noted he wouldn’t budge on that number, adding, “I don’t care if that’s one day or three days or five. I’m waiting for that amount of cash, and if you can’t or if you’re not coming with that to be expected, just don’t bother. Maybe just go on a cruise.”
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Other Below Deck cast members have acknowledged that the crew has seen an uptick in tips since the show debuted. “I’m not sure exactly what the catalyst is, I just hope it doesn’t quit,” Captain Lee Rosbach told Bravo Insider in 2021, referring to some “good ones” that were featured in season 8. “And I’m very grateful for it.”
Kate Chastain, meanwhile, offered some insight about how tips factor into a successful paycheck for the crew.
“On a yacht of that size, [a good tip] would be $5,000 a person, for seven days of work,” she explained in an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 2019. “Five grand [per] crew member, usually. Our charters are a little bit shorter, just so we can make the show, [but] everything else is exactly the same. So, it’s prorated. We usually get around $2,000 to $2,500. Anything less than $1,000 would be depressing, which sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”
Below Deck airs on Bravo Mondays at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the next day on Peacock.
