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Below Deck Mediterranean crew and viewers know that the guests leave a cash tip for the crew at the end of the charter. But previews show that the latest group of charter guests could be leaving … gift cards?

Alex Radcliffe, Robert Westergaard, Pete Hunziker, Malia White, Jessica More, Christine "Bugsy" Drake, Tom Checketts, Captain Sandy Yawn
Alex Radcliffe, Robert Westergaard, Pete Hunziker, Malia White, Jessica More, Christine “Bugsy” Drake, Tom Checketts, Captain Sandy Yawn |Karolina Wojtasik/Bravo

Previews tease the primary charter guest handing out gift cards to the crew, after saying that he knows most guests often tip. The crew looks floored while they try to remain professional as the group of guests walk away from the yacht.

This would mark the first time a group of guests refused to tip on Below Deck Med. However, one group of charter guests left without tipping the crew on Below Deck, mainly because they were escorted off the yacht.

The first group of guests on ‘Below Deck’ Season 1 got busted for drugs

The series started with a bang in 2013 as the first group of guests got busted for drugs. Captain Lee Rosbach ended their voyage early. The guests were a group of photographers on their way to a photo shoot. All seemed well with the guests until stew Kat Held discovered a rolled-up dollar bill and white powder in one of the guest’s cabins.

Held wrestled with what to do since she knew drugs on board the yacht could mean the crew’s license and possible legal action against the boat. But she also knew that if Rosbach booted the guests, it would likely mean the crew would not receive a tip.

Ultimately, Held confided in chief stew Adrienne Gang and Gang alerted Rosbach. Without telling the guests, Rosbach turned the yacht around and headed back to the dock. Once docked, that’s when Rosbach lowered the boom, telling the guests their charter was over and to depart the boat immediately.

“It was a tough situation to be in,” Rosbach said in his audiobook version of Running Against the Tide: True Tales from the Stud of the Sea, Bravo’s The Daily Dish reports. “On the one hand, we want clients to be happy. On the other hand, I don’t want my boat to get boarded by the Coast Guard, and I don’t want to go to jail for 25 years. I made the decision to kick them off the boat.” 

Another ‘Below Deck’ guest kept a portion of the tip money

Below Deck charter guest Timothy Sykes took Rosbach aside before the crew lined up for the tip money. He told Rosbach he was going to give the crew the full amount but decided to keep some of the cash because his girlfriend’s culinary needs weren’t entirely met and the WiFi was laggy.

“It was when Timothy Sykes took back some of the tip, 5K after he had already handed it to me and said he was taking some back because his 19yr old girlfriend didn’t like her dinner after he ordered it for her,” Rosbach tweeted when a viewer asked for the craziest tip story.

Two instances in the past resulted in either no or a lower tip. So far it appears that the Below Deck Med crew is exceeding the guests’ needs so does something crazy happen that results in no tip? Or was the guest just messing with the crew?

Below Deck Mediterranean is on Monday at 9/8c on Bravo.

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