Below Deck’s 3 Top Tip Seasons
Below Deck Season 10 yachties set a tip record when they earned a total of $222,300 for the season, approximately $17,000 per crew member.
Not bad for six weeks of work. Captain Lee Rosbach was even pretty impressed. “Well done, guys,” he said during the season finale. “Just a really, really cohesive unit. It meant the world to me. It makes my life a whole lot easier. And when I’m happy, everybody’s happy, right?”
“So let’s get down to some money,” he added. “This is the most money collectively as a group I’ve ever seen. You guys split up $222,300… $17,000 per person. Damn near a quarter of a million dollars.”
Below Deck Season 10 set the record for the most tip money ever on Below Deck. But Below Deck Mediterranean Season 7 wasn’t far behind, which certainly raises the bar for future seasons. So which seasons saw some of the highest tip totals?
‘Below Deck Med’ Season 7 ended with $185,500
The latest season of Below Deck Mediterranean ended with the highest tip total for the series thus far. Despite the chief stew and chef drama, plus bosun Raygan Tyler being fired early in the season, the crew still left the six-week season with $185,500 or $16,753 each.
The pandemic seemingly had a direct impact on the last few seasons of the franchise. Below Deck Season 8 ended early because of the pandemic. And then Below Deck Sailing Yacht had a few charters that either didn’t materialize or were cut short due to concerns about the coronavirus (Covid-19).
But Below Deck Med Season 7 seemed to turn a corner and tip totals appeared to not only rebound but soar.
‘Below Deck Med’ Season 5 drama paid off
Below Deck Med Season 5 previously set a tip record of $171,500 in tip money, which was $14,292 for each crew member. Shot before the pandemic, Below Deck Med was chief stew Hannah Ferrier’s final, dramatic season. This was also one of the first seasons where the crew consistently saw tips totaling at least $20,000 or more per charter.
Below Deck Med Season 5 also experienced a significant jump in totals as compared to Below Deck Med Season 4. The season 4 crew ended with a respectable $155,000 in total tips. But a $16,500 jump in between seasons was unusual. Typically tip totals hovered in the vicinity with the difference of a few thousand bucks per season.
The Below Deck Sailing Yacht tip totals have remained well below $170,000, but the series’ popularity may soon change that.
‘Below Deck’ tip totals have soared since season 1
Below Deck tip totals have come a long way since the series set sail in 2013. The first Below Deck crew pulled in a total of $56, 650, Decider recounted. Tip totals rose quite a bit from Below Deck Season 1 to Below Deck Season 2. The season 2 crew ended with $113,500.
Tip totals increased from there, which ultimately set up Below Deck Med Season 1 to score $152,170.
Until recently, Below Deck Season 5 charter guest Timothy Sykes held the record for the highest tip. Below Deck Season 10 guest Jake Clopton and friends set a new record, leaving a $40,000 tip.
“That’s a fat little f***er isn’t it?” Rosbach told the Below Deck crew during the tip meeting. “Job well done, I can’t thank you enough.”
“It’s more than I thought it was gonna be,” Rosbach continued. “This is [$] 40 [000].” Each crew member earned $3,076 for a single charter.
