See full version: The Below Deck Crew Works Hard For Their Pay
According to a reference guide by Luxury Yacht Group, which provides salary ranges for all yachting roles quoted here, a captain can make from $7,000 to $20,000 a month, depending on experience and the size of their yacht. The Eros is 160 feet (on the large side), while Captain Lee's Bravo bio says he has 20 years of experience, and has had his captain's license since he was 35. So he probably makes closer to that $20,000 figure.
Don seems pretty insistent on the difference between an engineer and a deckhand, especially because he feels that an engineer usually doesn't have to listen to the bosun. Luxury Charter Group has an estimate for exactly that role, proving it must be somewhat common in the yachting community. Turns out Don is probably making between $3,000-5,000 a month. more
She probably makes about $2,500 per month, which could be equal to other crew members depending on where they fall in their various salary ranges. here
Kate, as the chief stew, takes on a significant amount of work above and beyond the normal duties of a steward. And she's had years of experience, so I'm willing to bet she maxes out LCG's estimate of $9,000 a month. more
Do you love boating? The wind and the water? The smell of sunscreen and sea salt? The feel of a powerful machine beneath your hands?
For an average mega yacht that operates with 12 crew members, your expenses for the operation could be anywhere between 4 and 10 million dollars.
If boating is your passion, you might be wondering how you can do it for a living. Well, you might be in luck.
Another great way for delivery captains to save costs is to stock up on provisions and do your own cooking as much as possible rather than eating out. Cooking and eating good fresh food onboard has become even easier now that most cruising boats have refrigeration onboard.
Below I have listed a few examples of the total delivery fee before variable expenses for some recent boat deliveries completed by my yachting service business, Ocean Ventures:
A recent example was when I had a crew member get sick while en-route from Panama to Mexico during hurricane season. This route had a very low risk of encountering a hurricane, but we still had to deal with daily thunderstorms and violent squalls throughout the voyage. The crew member came up with a bad throat infection shortly after leaving Panama – a condition that certainly wasn’t helped by the heat and humidity in Central America that time of year. more
Valiant 40 Seattle Washington to Portland Oregon – 400 NM – $2,400 USD more
My rates start at $1 per nautical mile for small vessels and go up to $6 or more for larger yachts. In the rare event that my clients are given a lower offer by another professional delivery company, I always match their price.
Even for short duration deliveries, I have a minimum price of $2,000 per delivery. This is due to the fact that most of the hard work is done prior to departure and there is no such thing as a one day yacht delivery. I give preference to longer jobs and always offer a 40% discount on any delivery over 5,000 nautical miles.
Although it’s rare, Cronin said passengers sometimes complain they got a bad edit. However, he also said some of the guests are quite rude and that editing isn’t to blame: “I think they are actually rude sometimes. Rich people can be rude to people they consider “servants.” Some get a rush out of it I guess. They’re hungry for “amusement” and sometimes abusing the staff if amusement,” he told a Reddit AMA participant.
Passengers don’t get a freebie when it comes to riding in the Below Deck yacht. They have to cough up their own cash if they want to be on the TV show. However, guests do get a discount for their appearance and a token of appreciation that’s hard to pass up.
The producer says there are some seasons where passengers are so dull it can be hard to get interesting scenes from them. Fortunately, he says there’s always something going on with the crew, so it balances out and they’re able to tape a show that’s worth watching. “We’ve had boring guests, but when that happens, we always have lots of drama with the cast to deal with. We have never left a charter out of the season,” said Cronin. [links]
Cronin says guests get a discount that’s quite generous: “The guests pay their own real money to charter the boat. But we do give them a discount (about 50%) from the real cost of the vessel for three days. We ask them to tip about 15% to 20% of the full cost though. The tip amount is up to them as well. They are not compensated, but we pay their airfare,” he said. [links]
You might think yacht passengers are thoroughly screened before they’re accepted on the show, but that’s not the case. In reality, it all comes down to money. Mark Cronin, creator of Below Deck, said whoever has the cash is allowed to be on the show: “Whoever’s check clears the bank is on the show! I wish I could be picky,” said Cronin during an Ask Me Anything for Reddit. more
Each season a new group of passengers is needed to appear on Bravo’s Below Deck. The passengers are important because they keep the show interesting. Although they’re temporary cast members, they give a boost to the show. How much does it cost to be a passenger on Below Deck? Here’s what we know.
A luxury yacht is a vessel powered either by sail or motor and primarily used for recreation. Although the motor-powered vessel may have more amenities than the sail-powered variety, both types of luxury yacht include a sleek silhouette and richly decorated interiors. The largest and most luxurious yachts will have unlimited options, such as a cinema, disco, pool, library and spa. Many people who own a luxury yacht also hire a crew to operate the boat, which may be large enough to carry a helicopter, miniature submarine and countless other ways to enjoy the open seas. A luxury yacht may be privately owned or it may be chartered for a few days, a few weeks or longer.
With the increased space found in a motor-powered yacht, there may be other amenities. For example, it is not uncommon for the yacht to contain a cinema, bowling alley, disco, bar, massage room and beauty salon. Many times the vessel will spend days or weeks on the open ocean. As a result, jet skis, wind surfing equipment and diving equipment may be found on board. In some cases, there may be smaller power boats, miniature submarines and even a helicopter for excursions away from the yacht.
A motor-powered luxury yacht, because it's not dependent on wind power, is likely to be significantly larger than a sailing yacht. It's not uncommon for a power yacht to be more than 80 feet (24.4 meters) long, with many vessels much longer. A large motor-powered yacht may accommodate more than 50 people. Each bedroom is likely to contain its own bathroom and shower and may have additional interior items, such as reclining sofas, canopy beds and highly comfortable mattresses and pillows. [links]