Below Deck Mediterranean, Season 4

Bravo to the women and men who have made these Below Deck seasons so accessible to those of us who have not taken a charter cruise! You are all brave individuals for putting it all out there. With this said, here's an assessment of three-plus seasons of this addictive series: 1. The clients (guests) of these cruises almost always look happy and satisfied, and their tips reflect it. Though, only a few have voiced any concern over substandard service. Mila, the chef in season four, is in way over her head and has no business serving up her dishes to high-end clients. To call them guests shows a lack of respect for their money. They are clients who pay up to $200,000 per week for world-class service aboard a luxury yacht. While some of these clients act like children, esp. when drunk, they are the ones paying for topflight service. 2. The crews' behaviors as professional captains, stewards, deck hands, etc. are almost always what we would expect aboard a luxury-service yacht, and they demonstrate their excellent training in each episode. 3. Behind the scenes? It's probably not much different if we filmed people working at Home Depot, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs or the US Navy: when kids get drunk, they sometimes do and say stupid things that hurt others and their careers, and they have difficulty controlling their emotions when work overwhelms them. I feel saddened watching some kids melt down one night, but the good news is that their resilience gets them up the next morning and has them back at their best in front of clients. 4. Bravo instructed the production company to provide us some drama, something to hook viewers and keep them coming back for more. So we see the petty fights between what look like 12 year olds, arguments over why the chef wore a rear-facing baseball cap and a dirty apron when talking with high-end guests, drunken buffoonery at various ports of call, and many a crew member stabbing fellow colleague in the back for something sophomoric. Alliances change with the prevailing wind. 5. Captains largely are permitted to allow their 12 year olds to trash-talk each other after hours, and let them deal with the fallout. Like a family of little kids who don't get along one minute, then come together well at Christmas 'cos the presents are coming. 6. The crew seem to focus on the tips, and talk about it openly. They live for the tips, it seems, and when they don't get a good one, they vent their frustrations on camera. 7. We should all be disappointed over the lack of true leadership training the chief stewards, boatswain and chefs receive. It is disheartening to see the chief steward voicing her bitter complaints to the lowest-ranking steward, and engaging in the sometimes childish behavior of the crew (excluding the captains). Then again, if these kids had proper leadership training, there would be no drama for viewers to go gaga over and watch each week. 8. This is not an instructive documentary about life aboard a charter cruise yacht. It’s a reality show with plenty of drama and oversized egos and childish behavior. Maybe we shouldn't be seeing what children some of these professionals can be below decks. After watching this show, I would never book a cruise and charter a yacht, because I'd be wondering what the kids are putting in the food and drinks for the adults. Then again, it’s probably not much different to the shenanigans behind the scenes of my fave restaurants!