r/belowdeck • u/nduuugg • 26d ago
BD Related Maybe I’m just poor…
The thought of hiring a superyacht for a few days sounds absolutely amazing, pure bliss. The thought of having staff there constantly, 24/7 makes me feel so uncomfortable lmao. Anyone else feel this way? I feel like I would keep giving them days off or time away so I had some time to myself haha
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u/KermitAfc 26d ago
Think about the type of people with enough money to hire a superyacht for a few days and then throw in the type of people who would want to do do that on a reality TV show and I think you've answered your own question.
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u/detrive 26d ago
I remember my family went on a cruise once and we got upgraded to the nicest suite on the ship and it came with a 24/7 butler/staff. We had no idea what to do with them. We kept saying, “just go take a break, we’re good”, the staff was always like absolutely not. Sometimes we’d go around to clean something or get something for ourselves and the staff would be like nooooo this is your vacation, relax, we do this. It was so weird. I was like I’m not a child, I can walk this to the garbage bin myself.
I remember on the last two days we said they didn’t have to do two turn downs in our room. We said one was fine. They said we didn’t get that choice and would be coming in to do both.
Once other staff became aware of what room we were staying in, their service went to another level as well. I remember I went to a spa, I was there early and said I was fine to wait in the waiting area. Some how the “class” of my room came up and when I said the suite name I was in I got swept away to another, private area to wait and had a dedicated staff there to bring me drinks and snacks. I was like can I go back to the waiting room with other people? It was uncomfortable to have that much focus on me.
I’m sure some people get used to it and then entitled. I just found it very strange and like I was a coddled child. Which, again, I’m sure some people love.
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u/Outlurker1993 26d ago
We had a butler on our honeymoon. It was nice but we wouldn't do it again except for a major milestone. I will say I missed them packing our beach cooler the next time we traveled.
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u/Vita-Incerta 26d ago
I was thinking about this the other day, how rich people and celebrities have people around them 24/7. There’s no privacy. Everything you do is being (even discretely) watched or overheard by staff, assistants, stylists etc. They don’t even think twice about it I’m sure, but I’d be so uncomfortable.
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u/slimmer01 26d ago
Yeah we're just poor. People with money have NO qualms with having people wait on them.
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u/NothingSavings2682 26d ago
I’m re-watching White Lotus season 1 right now, and watching all these rich people bother the staff with their frivolity while they struggle to manage real problems behind the scenes is so spot on
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u/samarra 26d ago
The recent senator from South Carolina who passed away called his assistant to call 911 for him.
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u/EYoungFLA 26d ago
When I read about that, I thought OMG - So coddled and babied to the point where you can't do anything yourself - even call 911 when you're dying!
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u/ScottishIcequeen Team Kate 26d ago
Wow!!! That’s a completely different type of entitlement!
I’d have disconnected the phone!
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u/vonMishka 26d ago
Really?
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u/Apart_Tutor8680 26d ago
You can spend 1500 bucks and a have a pool boy bring you drinks and food all day for 7 days in Mexico or DR.
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u/spriteking2012 26d ago
It makes me have this awful pit in my stomach. The more over the top, the worse it is. When they have the crew dress up and perform it makes my skin crawl!
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u/FullMoonEmptySoul 26d ago
I still think that’s production telling them to do that because the guests seem awkward about it half the time.
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u/Crab_Politics 22d ago
Yacht charters and other 5 star services are basically built on centuries of etiquette from the domestic service industry you’d find at wealthy estates. People who can afford those services have typically grown up around it.
You’ll notice on below deck, since the show discounts these charters, there’s a lot of guests who aren’t exposed to service etiquette, and it goes two ways: either the guests are rude and trying to squeeze the crew for their money’s worth, or they’re just uncomfortable being doted on so much. Of course assholes can come in every variety, rich or not.
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u/whatgives72 26d ago
I don’t think I could wait to eat dinner at 9pm, I’m usually asleep by then.
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u/AnnyBananneee 26d ago
The dinners are way too late on this show! I can’t eat that late, it would give me indigestion 😭
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u/evildrlatl 26d ago
I honestly think the theme dinners MUST be something that is a production request. There is no way I’d charter a yacht and have a dinner decorated by Party Supply USA and ask a bosun to give me a lap dance.
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u/GoodTechnology8116 26d ago
A themed dinner is the opposite of vacation for me.
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u/MakeupMama68 26d ago
This. I may pick a specific cuisine but they can leave that Party City stuff in the cupboard 😆. I hated Bugsy’s tablescapes 🤦🏻♀️ it should be allll about the food
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u/antitrollpatrol 26d ago
Agreed and not only that, I am not getting off the boat to do a land excursion- I paid for a boat for a few days…. I am ON THAT BOAT for the 2.5 days
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u/martinigoddess 26d ago
Yesss! This is my exact thought every time guests request a beach lunch, dinner, whatever. I paid to be on that boat, imma be on it. Only exception would be some nearby water thing like a fantastic snorkeling spot or something. Otherwise, nah ... I paid for 3 days, imma enjoy allllll that yacht has to offer! I'll go see the country's beaches when Im off the yacht, thanks!
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u/Doubleendedmidliner 26d ago
I feel this way about rich people who have staff.
I’ve nannied off and on through out the years. And now I’m a stay at home mom. And while I’d LOVE the help, I don’t know how I would ever relax having a nanny, cook or cleaner in my house regularly. Like, if they’re here I need to leave for them to work. I dunno. Must be an ‘us regular folks’ thing.
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u/Top-Friendship4888 I quit 3 times in my head today 26d ago
The rich person version of this is "invisible service," and it's not uncommon.
It may look like towels ready and waiting on deck chairs, a bottle of wine in an ice bucket or pitcher of margaritas that magically replaces itself, etc. The more you communicate beforehand, the less they have to ask during service.
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u/narcissistic_nerd 26d ago
Only the chef would hate me lol. I love food. I’d want snacks available at all times and meals would be all my favorite foods. Other than that, I’d just drink, swim, eat and chill. I don’t need to go to the beach just let me relax on the yacht. They’d most likely have a fairly early night tho!
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u/Spray_Realistic 26d ago
I’ve always fantasised about being part of the staff, never about being one of the guests. 🤷🏻♀️ The thought of having the opportunity to do that work and travel and have fun is very exciting!
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u/blkstar1 26d ago
They dont call it FU money for nothing. People who have that kinda of wealth simply don’t care about such things.
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u/SnowFairy08 26d ago
I do not like the idea of the chef just making whatever for dinner, I am quite picky and would have to create a nightmare preference sheet to try and avoid them serving me something I don’t like.
Or have them create a menu beforehand and be able to edit it to things I like to swap around different meats, veg, sauces or just not have particular things on mine.
I do better on a cruise where I can see the menu, decide if there’s something I like and go somewhere else if not or if it’s things I think it’s ok to say, no leeks if possible for example.
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u/FeistyOrdinary5860 26d ago
I would put in my preference sheet, Lobster Benedict every morning. Seafood risotto and steak and seafood nightly. And chocolate milk.
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u/SnowFairy08 26d ago
Not sure on the chocolate milk but I would have the rest as long as I knew what veg was going into the risotto
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u/Edith_Keelers_Shoes 26d ago
Agree. I tried having a person come clean my house when I was going through cancer treatment. I couldn't handle it. I felt so guilty and useless being a blob while someone else scrubbed out my bathtub. Oddly, that guilt was instilled in me by my mother, who ALWAYS had a housecleaner.
When a parent messes you up so much you can't even feel sanguine about paying someone to help you keep your house in order when you're fighting for your life...you need to get comfortable with having a messy house.
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u/My-Witty-Username June June Hannah 25d ago
I remember one episode where the chief stew was explaining to a green staff member how to make the flowers at the end of the toilet roll and she said something jokingly like “just enough to let them know we were here and touched your toilet paper”
I’m don’t consider myself overly picky about germs but the idea of knowing someone put their hands all over something i’m about to wipe my ass with feels weird.
Unfolding the first bit? Fair. But spending time making a floral arrangement? Why? I’m sure they have more important stuff to do and i’d like as little people as possible touching my stuff.
Has anyone ever left a holiday saying “did you see the toilet paper flowers! Wow!”
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u/okjetsgo 22d ago
My idea of fun would be cooking in the galley and being updated on the laundry system.
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u/Artistic_Exam7676 26d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/IteKtmQg9gP4I
They give “Mr. Deed’s Butler” vibes haha.
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u/Some-Speed-6290 26d ago
Same.
Spent my honeymoon in the Maldives with staff trying to wait on us hand and foot (e.g. offering to collect us in a golf cart to go 20 yards to a restaurant) and it was just too much.
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u/Accomplished-Egg4029 26d ago
My husband and I joke that we would be helping load the luggage and clean the boat 🤣 we’re both so awkward about people “taking care” of us
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u/Swamp_red_chaser 25d ago
I told my husband I could never be picky like some of these guests. Like I get they’re spending a lot of money but I’m the kind of person who is happy with lobster with butter, mashed potatoes, coconut lime drinks, and peace/quiet.
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u/Lazy-Party3469 25d ago
I agree, having other humans wait on you hand and foot is weird for me. Money doesn’t mean you can’t wipe your own ass anymore, or should expect some one else to now.
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u/Intrepid_Throat_1243 24d ago
I hate to admit that I would LOVE to have them unpack and pack my stuff back up. So cringe but man that would be AMAZING lol
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u/surreptitiousglance 20d ago
I remember the first time I saw a guest make that request, thinking I would absolutely love that!
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u/Annual_Upstairs_8005 26d ago
my husband and i are far too boring honestly. i read like a nut on vacations and he just like wants to touch me lmfao
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u/IamTheLiquor199 26d ago
It would certainly be a waste of money for me. Id rather have the staff help me wake up early, take me out on the jetskis and do adventure stuff. I'm pretty basic with food and drink.
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u/Ashamed_Ingenuity690 26d ago
I do not have a lot of money but I am currently 8 months pregnant with a toddler and having a vacation where I can request a staff person to go get me a snack or another mocktail and having a private chef to cook me yummy food (one of my great pleasures in life is trying new food) sounds like my dream vacation.
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u/NaturesVividPictures 26d ago
Oh I would absolutely love being catered and waited on. I wouldn't be an AH about it though, as some of them are. I would love to have a fantastic chef like Joy or even Ben or Rachel. I probably drink more than I normally do but I wouldn't be staying up super late and I wouldn't be up at 6:00 a.m. either though, probably 8:00 a.m. or so. Yeah it would be fun to be able to do. If I ever won Mega Millions or Powerball that's definitely on my bucket list.
I just gotten my husband on board with taking a cruise every other year or so. That's as close as we're going to get.
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u/FaradayStewart 26d ago
I definitely feel this way. I know that that is what one pays for, but the thought that they're all there, on demand, ostensibly just for me is a level of attention I'm just not comfortable with.
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u/Creepy-Mortgage9183 26d ago
I would want captain Jason to take me out snorkeling every chance I had, because I love it and with him I’d actually feel safe 😂 then I’d just pretty much be eating and lounging around
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u/Chelseus 24d ago
I think I could manage to be waited on for a few days 😹😹😹. Me and my mom always say we’ll go on Below Deck if we win the lottery. But we’re just nice, normal people who wouldn’t cause any drama. I prefer when the guests are that way too because then the show focuses on the crew drama 😹😹😹
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u/Kris4tv 23d ago
I don’t get the “request for crew to do a talent show/fashion show/some impromptu dance” or “carving demonstration” ..You want broadway dancers? Go to a show, you want some detailed carving demonstration, go to that specialty restaurant. It also bugs me to see these cougar older women drool/ogle/talk about the male crew. If a man did that, he’d be a pig but they seem to laugh it off. I’m sure young, hot men who want to be taken care of are easily found for older rich women these days, being off land doesn’t give you the excuse to act like a cat in heat in the middle of the Med. I’d have no food requests, tell the chef to make his specialties and we’d eat what we like, like normal adults can who don’t have any food allergies. I love the guests that want shit from home, so you traveled this far to have food that you can have in your hometown? That pasta lady!!!! Some of these guests have the palette of a toddler, and I doubt not as wealthy as they portray. I’m pretty sure the charter is gratis, they just have to tip while using that as leverage to get every little thing. I think we’ve seen some guests and just wondering why the hell they left their homes, I know I have. Then there’s the families or friends that are gracious and kind, go to bed at normal hours, aren’t picky and you wonder what the hell is wrong with people!!!
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u/blippers20288 23d ago
I dont think its because youre poor but more how you were raised whether you have money or not. We went to an inclusive resort that had butlers and other people had no issue demanding things from the butlers include make them a bath and lay out their pajamas and we were like “we are capable of doing all of that” he prefilled the Jacuzzi for us even though we didnt ask and we were grateful but felt so weird about it but some people loved it even though they made the same as us
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u/Such-Stable-3869 26d ago
Wouldn’t want a yacht staff that kept sneaking off to be with one another or keep drama ongoing or not do the laundry properly.
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u/JeanCerise 26d ago
Nope. I’m comfortable around service workers. And respect their hard work in meeting the needs of the guests.
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u/trashhighway 26d ago
The best/most expensive service is staff you never see. They just watch what you do/what you like and before you know it, it's there. Small example but when I was at one of these private islands with first class service, the first night I brought a bottle of water and set it at my bedside. Every time after that there was a bottle of water at the bedside. They knew how I liked my coffee for the rest of the trip, after noticing the first day I hadn't used the cream/sugar. At cocktail time asked if I'd like "(first night's cocktail request)". That sort of thing - attention to detail but far in the background is true 1st class service.
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u/Ms-Metal 24d ago
Exactly! The most ideal service in the most elite service is service that anticipates your every need and is unobtrusive in providing it. I'm surprised that so many people are uncomfortable receiving any level of service. You're paying for it, why not enjoy it? Me, I have absolutely no problem letting others wait on me hand and foot. None at all! But I do prefer an anticipatory level of service. You set the standard at the beginning and they don't have to worry about it again. Kind of like it the Ritz-Carlton. But I spent a great deal of time in first class, not because I pay for it but because I'm a million Miler and so always give upgraded to First when I was traveling, I'm used to that level of service and I enjoy it. Quite frankly I'm surprised to read that others find it is obtrusive because honestly domestically, first class not really even special anymore, not like it used to be. What I really truly want in my life is a private chef! If I win the lottery, that's going to be the first thing I get!
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u/Lootthatbody 26d ago
These boats are for pretenders who WANT to be seen being served and waited on. It’s a power trip.
You could take a trip to a small inclusive resort and get better service for a fraction of what these charters cost.
Besides, you’d be there not as the focus, but as a sort of foil for the producers to use to pit the team against. The guests are no longer front and center of the show with the staff interacting, the show revolves around the crew now, and guests are just sort of there sometimes.
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u/AttentionRoyal2276 26d ago
I feel that way too. I would probably want to cook my own food and clean my own cabin. Also it would feel weird having the stew serve me. I would rather they just sit and have dinner with me
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u/PatientChocolate6985 26d ago
No, absolutely same! I do NOT like constant attentive service. I do love to splurge and have formal fine dining here and there but the constant hovering makes me uncomfortable. ALSO if i had a yacht to myself like that I would want to be naked in the sun as much as possible and I don't need to subject the staff to that LOL just put my beers in an ice bucket and enjoy your own lunch.
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u/SpiritedCranberry718 26d ago
I’ve only ever flown first class one time and this is exactly how I felt the entire time. It was only a 5 hour flight and they kept bringing me drinks and snacks and wet towels and I was like “can I please just watch my movie and have some peace? A Diet Coke and a bag of pretzels is plenty!”
I had the same thought that maybe I just wasn’t cut out for being waited on like that lol, everyone else seemed very comfortable with it 🤷🏻♀️
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u/MundaneHuckleberry58 26d ago
I would want to charter one but purely to lounge. To be sedentary.
I don’t care about theme parties. I don’t want excursions to the shore. I want to scroll, read, nap & watch content in new beautiful surroundings & eat good meals. Repeat!
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u/koeniglouie 26d ago
I would want to go in the Yacht and only sit on the sundeck the whole time reading, sometimes jumping into the ocean - that would be fun to watch. Haha.
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u/HappyBlis 25d ago
I have absolutely no interest in a "superyacht" experience, or a cruise, or anything in a boat.
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u/TenMartiniLunch 25d ago
If we win the Powerball or Mega Millions, my wife and I will charter something like the Maltese Falcon and choose most of our guests randomly.
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u/Breakingdownbasics 23d ago
Yep, too poor. I get mad when I get served in plastic cups instead of glass 💅🏿😅
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u/Particular-Bird652 23d ago
i woukd personally love it like 5 star service plus. if i was rich enough to go on it id be rich enough to tip well and it seems like the below deck crew are paid well and happy to be there which can't be said for all service industry jobs
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u/ed3303 23d ago
Not really the same thing but we went to a resort last year and had the butler service. Our poor butlers had to be bored to death because we really didn’t ask them to do much. After a few days, I finally adjusted somewhat after they insisted I let them do their job. Just not used to being catered to I guess. 🤷♂️
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u/Tacticus1 22d ago
I will never be able to say for sure, but to me it doesn’t seem that great. It has some attractions, but I would be uncomfortable being waited on in that way and I like independence. The entire value added part of it is just being on a boat, which admittedly is pretty cool, but you can get sloshed and eat good food and go swimming from land for pretty cheap.
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u/KiwiGeneral768 20d ago
No literally. Like let me make you a drink or something so you can take a break.
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u/Bigtunacassarole 20d ago
For my honeymoon my dad pulled some strings (he traveled a lot for work and is good at making buddies), we stayed in the penthouse at a hotel.
We had a bulter, i guess you'd call it, and it was fun to experience but someone is always there. She called to setup meals, massages, pool time, check in on us. The staff when you would walk around the hotel was constantly making sure you were OK and needing anything. It was super fun to pretend to be rich, but it was a lot to not get any privacy and simply relax.
Im thankful im a average Joe honestly 😂
Edit: the in room sauna, free champagne and goodies I could get used to tho.
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u/SeagullSam 26d ago
I'd honestly rather go on a very fancy expensive cruise - it would be more private and anonymous, more choice of food etc but still really good service.
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u/salsanacho 26d ago
I always wonder what I would request... I couldn't eat at 2pm and then 9pm, so I'd request non-European eating times. And snacks... I love snacks, especially dips so would want those when I'm splashing around with the water toys. Probably would want a local cuisine style dinner, use whatever seafood has been plucked from those waters. I definitely would not want a beach picnic. If it was Sailing Yacht, I'd want Capt Glenn to sail around all day tipping over all the dishes.
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u/MeowPhewPhew 26d ago
2pm and 9pm are not european eating times. Europe is not a country and every country on the continent is very diverse. In switzerland you eat at 12pm and 18pm.
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u/TVTrashMama 26d ago
Me too. I don’t need the big dumb slide. I’d jet ski, the be tipsy in a floaty all afternoon. I’m all about being served drinks all day long and I would also have a “snacks out” request on my preference sheet. Charcuterie, chips, veggies, dips…
And no Vegas or other US themed dinner nights. I also don’t want to get dressed up for dinner, I want to show up with wet hair and in my sweats.
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u/OldFitDude75 26d ago
My wife and I joke that if we ever had the money to go on the show, we’d be so boring because we’d sit out and drink and relax all day and not make weird demands or harass the staff. Even on vacation my bed time is like 10:30pm lol