Below Deck Captains, Crews & Stews Tell All

Secure your life jacket and hold tight to those espresso martinis: Below Deck cast members past and present spill on what really happens on the high seas

- CARLA SOSENKO

Former cast member Hannah still watches the series - just not Med. "It's weird," she says. "Someone will say the smallest thing, and it feels like a dig at me."

Think about the place you work. Now imagine what it would be like if you didn't go home at night and instead slept (and ate and showered) there. What if that workplace were not, say, a conventional office but a 150-foot moving vessel on the open water, meaning you couldn't just take a walk when you needed to blow off steam or vent about your boss? And, oh, yeah, did we mention you work in the service industry, so you must also cater to some pretty tough customers while keeping a smile pasted to your face? Even when you're running on fumes and maybe your best friend and your crush — who also happen to be your coworkers — are dating each other?

Welcome to life on Below Deck, Bravo's hit reality franchise about the luxury yachting industry. Since 2013, viewers have watched a rotating crew of real-life captains, chefs, deckhands, stewardesses and other sailing professionals scramble to accommodate every guest whim (an impromptu concert on the dock!), food preference (gluten-free vegans who will eat bacon but not onions!) and quirk (we're looking at you, germaphobe who packed a blacklight). Us got the rare opportunity to talk to all-stars, OGs and newbies from every corner of the Below Deck universe to get all the saltwatery tea. Please welcome to the chat Capts. Sandy Yawn, Jason Chambers and Kerry Titheradge; chief stews Aesha Scott, Daisy Kelliher, Fraser Olender, Kate Chastain and Hannah Ferrier; and the lovestruck cast of Below Deck season 12.

Origin Stories

Even for experienced yachties, the camera element of being a Below Deck cast member changes things.