See full version: Below Deck; s Kate Chastain Explains How Yacht Tipping Actually Works (Exclusive)
"We're working not just eight-hour shifts, it's like, we're working pretty much around the clock," she notes. "All the days start to blur together. And during the tip meeting, Captain Lee [Rosbach], will say what we got and I'm always like, 'Is that good? I don’t know anymore… $3,000, are we happy with this?'" more
Below Deck airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo. [links]
Kate says there is one part of the tip process seen on the show that might just be for TV -- how the tip is delivered. On the show, the crew stands in line to send off the guests, with the primary charter guest handing over an envelope of cash to Captain Lee. Kate notes that the lineup is standard, but the envelope handoff isn’t. [links]
The tips come on top of a regular salary, which differs based on job. A chief stew, reportedly, earns between $62,000 and $75,000 per charter season on a Below Deck-sized yacht (most of the vessels on the show are in the 150-foot range). Second and third stews would make about $50,000 a season, a chef between $70,000 and $95,000, while a captain would earn $120,000 or more, a bosun about $52,000 and deckhands between $40,000 to $52,000. here
Other cast members have supported Rosbach's claims.
“I think it’s a pretty accurate snapshot, I really do,” he asserted to Reality Blurred.
Rosbach chooses his own engineer & first officer and has the authority to fire any crew member that jeopardizes the safety of patrons.
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“I’m pretty sure I had a bald spot and it was bleeding, but we were cracking up about it.” Sudden bald spots aren’t good for continuity, though: “We got yelled at by production.” here
All seasons and every episode of Below Deck (including the new season 8) are available to stream and download in the UK & Ireland now.
Eddie works in the less glam world of tug boats when he’s not on TV. “I don't have too much experience working on luxury yachts while not being filmed,” he reveals. “But the ones I have worked on which weren’t part of the show, were not too different. There's always going to be drama when you're living so close to everybody. That's just a way of life. The difference is that on Below Deck, there's no privacy whatsoever. The only privacy you ever have is when you're using the bathroom. That can be taxing to the psyche, so can wear you down a lot faster than being on a normal yacht.” more
“It's been a learning process. Each year we find a better way to do things,” says Lee. “Remember when Eddie got caught in the laundry room? Well, we never used to have cameras in there, because, let's face it, there's not a lot of action in there… until that season. Now we have cameras in the laundry room. The show morphs each year.”
“It didn't really affect us until late in the season this year,” explains Captain Lee to Cosmo, of Covid halting filming on the new season, “We were close to being finished before it really had an effect on us. Then it was just a matter of getting things all bundled up in the proper fashion so that everybody could make the transition to go home.”
Out of everyone in the crew, the captain is the one banking the most money per charter season. On a megayacht, such as the vessels shown on Below Deck, captains tend to make anywhere between $120,000 to $180,000 per season. In fact, on bigger yachts that are more than 190 meters, captains can make more than $200,000 per season. However, with
We can all agree, she deserves the time off based on the training she did for certain stunts alone. here
Working on a yacht might be a lot of work, but sometimes the pay is worth it, especially for the stewardesses. According to Crewfinders, a chief stewardess such as Kate Chastain or Hannah Ferrier earns anywhere between $62,000 and $75,000 per charter season on a megayacht similar to the ones on the Below Deck franchises. These vessels are quite large and are usually around the 150-foot. A second or third stewardess makes a little bit less, bringing in about $50,000 per season. However, on a vessel such as the Parsafil III from Below Deck Sailing Yacht, the chief stew, and regular stews make around $30,000 to $52,000 per season. One's pay really depends on the size of the ship. here
While they don't really talk about how much they make on the show, the Below Deck crew do leave their seasons making a pretty penny. Not only do they each get a salary, but they also make at least $1,000 per charter just in tips. Plus, they make a third salary from Bravo since their lives are filmed from the start of the season to the end. It seems as though it may be worth it to be a Below Deck yachtie. Here is everything we know about the Below Deck crew's salary. [links]
The crew that appears on Below Deck also gets a small fee from the Bravo network. While the exact number is unknown, they make at least a few thousand dollars per episode. Leah McSweeney from The Real Housewives of New York City reportedly only made $3,000 per episode during her first season on the show. However, she was bumped to $10,000 for her second season after she received rave reviews from the audience. It is likely someone like Kate Chastain and Hannah Ferrier, made anywhere between $3,000 to $5,000 per episode as they had been on their respective series since the beginning.