Though the second group of charter guests on Below Deck Season 13 did not hold back from lodging a wide-ranging number of complaints, the shocking tip they left upon departing Azul V even caught Captain Kerry Titherage by surprise.
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Below Deck airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. EST/PST on Bravo. Episodes stream next day on Peacock.
During the tip meeting in Episode 4 of Below Deck, Captain Kerry informed his Season 13 crew — including Fraser Olender, Rainbeau de Roos, Chef Moe Vilomar, Alex Wright, James Bishop, Matthew Fitzpatrick-Buck, Jessenia Stidger, Kaylee Brown, and Rosa Simms-Preston — that primary charter guest Carolyn Kavanagh’s group had left them $33,333, amounting to $2,777 per person.
“Did we deserve this? Probably not, to be honest,” Kerry admitted to his ecstatic team. “I don’t think so, but I’m gonna take it.”
What went wrong on the second charter of Below Deck Season 13?
After remarking that he “never thought that charter would end,” Kerry noted that it had been a “rough one,” in particular for Chef Moe, who conceded that he’d “dropped the ball a little bit” in the galley with some of the food. The captain said that “the deck team dropped the ball in a few areas pretty bad,” too, adding, “End of the day, I think we all could’ve done a little better.”
Within the first 24 hours alone, the charter guests had made a whopping 20 complaints, beginning with them finding their welcome champagne to be “not drinkable.” From there, Carolyn’s “life partner,” Robby lamented that the interior team’s service was “terrible,” before also complaining about the temperature of the wine and the quality of the wine glasses themselves during their first dinner aboard the yacht, for example.
Other gripes from Episode 3 included Rainbeau neglecting to deliver Robby’s sister Melani’s late-night snack, as well as the crew’s delay in the breakfast service the next morning, to name a few. In the interim, the deck team also had a major “f–k up” when Jessenia accidentally dropped their only jet-ski harness into the ocean.
By Nov. 2’s Episode 4, the errors continued to mount, with the crew forgetting to load the guests’ towels into the tender for an excursion to an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. Later, Carolyn and Melani sat down with Chef Moe to discuss the menu for the latter’s birthday dinner that night, underscoring the importance of the celebration, which ultimately did not meet their expectations either.
RELATED: “Shady” Below Deck Charter Guest Gives Crew Scathing Feedback: “What the F–k Was That About?”
Though Captain Kerry decided to join the dinner to “help calm down the environment,” as he put it, he could not defend certain mistakes, such as Chef Moe forgetting that they had requested a noodle dish during their meeting. Privately, Carolyn also complained about Moe addressing them at the table while wearing a “dirty t-shirt,” as she described his attire, while Robby more bluntly stated, “The dinner sucked.”
After Robby addressed the situation with Fraser directly, Moe told the guests that he was sorry for accidentally omitting a rice-noodle dish from their dinner, and they quickly accepted his apology.
In a confessional, the chef added, “The noodles is my mistake. It slipped my mind. These guests were difficult off the rip, you feel me? And they had me a little stressed, and I messed up once or twice. I’m not perfect.”
Why did the Below Deck charter guests leave such a large tip?
While saying goodbye to Captain Kerry and his crew, Robby still referred to the charter as “awesome,” adding, “I had a little problem with the food here and there. But other than that…” That’s when Carolyn interjected, “We really appreciate the effort that y’all put out,” before Robby added, “Hopefully this tip shows you how grateful we are.”
As they walked away, however, Carolyn quietly told Robby that he’d just “sugarcoated” their actual experience.
Even so, not everyone on their charter seemed to be disappointed with how everything went. While packing his bags to leave, one guest said, “I’m gonna miss the crew. We’re gonna hang out with them after. They love us.” Another added, “We had an amazing crew.”
RELATED: Captain Kerry Reveals the “Biggest Misconception” About Filming Below Deck (EXCLUSIVE)
Though Chef Moe ultimately declared to a producer, “Those people drained the f–k out of me,” he wasn’t upset about the tip they left. “That money [is] real good,” he added, later.
As Season 13 continues, don’t miss a complete roundup of every Below Deck reunion streaming on Peacock.
