Fan-run subreddit for the Bravo shows Below Deck, Below Deck Mediterranean and Below Deck Sailing Yacht and spinoffs such as Below Deck Down Under
Hey everyone,
I’ve been working as a stewardess on superyachts for the past four years, and I often get asked how my job compares to what you see on Below Deck. I’ve worked on boats ranging from 41 meters to 88 meters, and currently, I’m on a 63-meter yacht with six girls in the interior. We rotate through service, housekeeping and laundry and every trip we have a specific role to stick to. I’ve been a second stew before but found the drama that comes with higher ranks wasn’t for me, so for the moment I am happy with my one stripe. Here’s my take on what’s similar and what’s not:
What’s Accurate:
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Guest Demands: Just like on the show, we deal with demanding guests who expect nothing short of perfection. From dietary preferences, special meal requests to last-minute party setups, the pressure is real. And we do wake up the chef at night if they request anything more complicated than toasties or pop corn. During the last charter (10 days long) I was the late service girl and I had to wake up the chef at least five times, as they asked for poutine, hamburgers, and pizza. The chefs don’t really have the choice to say no, it’s part of their job. On this boat we have two chefs, but even on smaller boats where there is one it is the norm to wake up the chef, it would affect everyone’s tip otherwise.
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Long Hours: The show does a good job of showing how long and exhausting our days can be. We’re up early to prepare for breakfast service and often stay up late into the night. On this boat we are lucky to be six in the interior so we always get nine hours rest at night and two hours in the afternoon, but on smaller boats we don’t get as much rest. We have to fill up our “hours of rest” on an app where the days turn red if we didn’t get enough rest. The last trip my days were all red while on the trips when I was doing housekeeping it was a lot less hectic and I didn’t go on red. Service hours are more unpredictable.
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Team Dynamics: The crew dynamics, both good and bad, are spot on. Living and working in close quarters can lead to tensions, but it can also create good friendships. Sharing a cabin with your boss sucks btw (:
What’s Different:
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Drama Level: While there is some drama among crew members, it’s nowhere near as intense as what you see on the show. Most of us are here to work, and we keep it professional. While relationships do happen, they’re often handled with more care than shown on TV. The work environment is already stressful, so most of us try to avoid adding personal problems to the mix. Also often we don’t have time for personal talk while working, especially on charter. But for sure there still is some level of drama.
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Production Influence: Below Deck is a reality TV show, so naturally, some situations are exaggerated or even orchestrated to keep things interesting. In reality, we’re focused on providing top-notch service, not on entertaining an audience. Like I was saying before, production for sure allows them to chat about personal things while working, this is not something that is accepted in a real work environment. (I was chatting with another stew yesterday and showing her something on my phone and the chief stew saw me and ripped me a new one hahah). Also, we are absolutely not allowed to party in the jacuzzi after a night out, or ever. On smaller boats this is more relaxed and I have previously spent the night on sundeck with the chief officer at the time haha, but on this boat I would get fired on the spot.
Another thing I noticed is that they only have a maximum of eight guests, so only four cabins to clean. We have seven cabins and a maximum of 12 guests and it is rare to have less than 9 guests on board.
3. Contract Length: On Below Deck, the crew is only working for six weeks, but for most of us, this is a full-time job with a permanent contract. I get 45 days of holiday a year, but on some boats, you can get a better rotation—like 60 days, 90 days, three months on/one off, or even two months on/two months off, all paid full-time. On my current boat, only the chief engineer is on this kind of rotation, but on other boats, the chief stew or even the entire crew might have it.
4. No Guests On Board: Sometimes, we don’t have guests on board for months at a time, like when we’re in the shipyard. During these periods, we usually work from eight to five, focusing on maintaining the boat. Our duties include doing crew laundry, restocking, keeping the crew mess clean, running and flushing all taps, showers, and toilets once or twice a week to keep the pipes in good condition, cleaning crew areas, vacuuming all guest areas once or twice a week, detailing areas, doing inventories, and pretty much anything else needed to keep the yacht in top shape and guest ready.
5. Privacy and Discretion: We maintain a high level of discretion for our guests, something that’s not possible with cameras around. In real life, we’re often handling confidential information and sensitive situations with the utmost care. Our guests usually prefer to spend time at anchor to have complete privacy. In this whole season we never docked with guests on board, we even pick up and drop off at anchor. Other boats work differently but this is not uncommon.
6. Workload Distribution: The workload is often more evenly distributed among the crew than what’s shown. It’s not always the same person doing all the heavy lifting; everyone pulls their weight. On this boat we have two chefs, six interior and on deck there is a chief officer, second officer and three deckhands on the same level (no lead deckhand). I think that the difference between second officer and bosun is the ticket they have, so if a bosun gets his “officer of the watch” ticket he becomes an officer and can drive the boat.
7. Downtime: Below Deck tends to show the crew partying a lot during downtime and everyone participating in the crew dinners. On this boat we rarely have dinners all together unless it’s for a birthday or a special occasion, but t least half the crew does party A LOT. If we are in port we go out most nights and it’s not unusual that someone has to be taken back because they are too drunk to stay out. But at least there usually aren’t fights or drama on these nights. On other boats there’s a lot less partying, every crew is different.
Final Thoughts:
I met a Joao, Wes, and Dylan from the last og who went on below deck and then went back to normal yacht jobs and they were all super nice. Dylan became my very good friend, he’s a lovely human being. On the boat a lot of people make fun of me for watching the show but it’s my guilty pleasure and I am not gonna stop watching it hahah :)
Feel free to ask any questions! I’m happy to share more about what it’s really like to work on a superyacht.
