8 Famous Faces Who Chartered a Yacht on ‘Below Deck’

Find out which celebs appeared on Below Deck…

Real Housewives of New York City star Jill Zarin appeared on season 11 of Below Deck where she caused a lot of trouble for the crew. Despite not being the primary guest, she constantly had complaints and demands for the stewards and even Captain Kerry Titheradge. After the episode aired, she faced a lot of backlash for her behavior — but didn’t apologize for how she acted.

Reflecting on the trip, Jill explained that two nights on the boat cost $45,000 plus thousands of dollars in the tip and she didn’t think the cost was worth the experience.

“I should never have done it, obviously,” she said on Jeff Lewis Live. “We didn’t eat. And if I was a little cranky, well it could be ’cause I was starving and I kept on asking for an apple or a piece of fruit and nobody would give me any.”

She later added, “What they said I was the worst guest in the world for is absolutely ridiculous because everything I said was, yes, a teaching moment for them. Everything I gave was a suggestion in a very nice and loving way. I wasn’t not nice.”

Former professional baseball player Johnny Damon has appeared on two seasons of Below Deck. Johnny and his wife Michelle, were on episodes of Below Deck Med during seasons 4 and 5 — and the couple proved to be entertaining guests. While they did have some demands, it was a fight that Michelle had with another yacht owner on a dock that took center stage during their first voyage. Their second trip ended up being a little more laid back.

“This was kind of new to us. We heard of the show but hadn’t seen it, so we went and watched one show and said, ‘Oh perfect, it’s all about the crew, we don’t have to worry too much,’” Johnny told Sports Illustrated about being filmed on board. “You are not the superstar on the boat, the crew is, which is awesome. It’s nice to not be getting all the attention.”

Music industry executive Roy Orbison Jr., the son of the late musician Roy Orbison, has appeared on Below Deck on two different occasions, bringing his family along for the charter. Captain Sandy Yawn seemed to really enjoy having him on board and Roy says the feeling is mutual.

“I’ve gotten used to cameras so I would do it again and again. I’m almost, like, addicted to it,” Roy shared on the Total Ship Show podcast. “The first year, I have to tell you, we had never seen the show and we didn’t know what we were doing…I’m sitting on a dock and they make us wait a long time at the dock…At one point I said, ‘Oh so what if this is a scam, what if there’s no show? What if we’re just out here and we’ve flown all the way for nothing? A lot of feelings. You know, we didn’t know what we were getting into. [But] it’s very fun. We’re just a small part of the show so we actually have a lot of fun in the thing.”

During season 3 of Below Deck, the crew was joined by Real Housewives of Atlanta star Cynthia Bailey, her daughter, and her eventual RHOA co-star Claudia Jordan. The group chartered a yacht with Captain Lee Rosbach, who later admitted Cynthia was very different than he expected. Looking back, he says she was “not demanding at all” and they all “just had a ball.”

“I was just like, ‘Oh my god. Housewives of Atlanta.’ I’m thinking high-maintenance. Really a pain demanding,” he told HollywoodLife. “She was on there with Claudia Jordan as well. And [she] couldn’t have been more different.”

Real Housewives Of Salt Lake City star Heather Gay and her co-star, Angie Harrington, were charter guests on season 1 of Below Deck Adventure. The crew sailed along the Nordic coastline under Captain Kerry Titheradge — an experience she later called “other-worldly.” Looking back, she says she loved her experience and even keeps in touch with Kerry and the crew.

“Being on a yacht, we saw things that you could not see by any other method. You have to be on a boat in order to see these fjords and these glacial waterfalls and it just felt like a land that was unmarred by man,” Heather told E! News.

She continued, “What surprised me the most was something I learned watching back — the reveal of how much work the crew has to do. They were so professional, we didn’t see a ripple that was going on behind the camera.”

Alexis Bellino, a Real Housewives of Orange County cast member, appeared on Below Deck season 7, joined by her then-boyfriend Andy Bohn and a group of friends. The group made for memorable guests, not because of any demands, but because of how much PDA Alexis and Andy showed throughout the trip. Although some of the crew thought it was a little much, including Chief Stew Kate Chastain, Alexis later shared that she didn’t see anything wrong with it.

“We don’t mind PDA. I know some people are against it,” she said on Life After Bravo.

Prior to her time on Real Housewives of Dallas, Kary Brittingham appeared on season 2 of Below Deck Mediterranean as a guest of Jason Ziegler — who ended up having a flirtatious relationship with Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier. At the time, Kary admits that she thought the yachting experience would be the extent of her reality TV career.

“I was just thinking, oh my god, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, like I’m thinking now also with [RHOD]. I just think that I’m a person who really enjoys every moment to the fullest because you never know what’s gonna happen next and what’s not gonna happen,” she told The Daily Dish. “So I try not to think of anything else but what I’m doing right now.”

America’s Next Top Model winner Whitney Thompson appeared on season 1 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht as a charter guest. During the trip, Whitney requested vegan food, which didn’t sit well with Chef Adam Glick — but she proved to be a good guest otherwise. When the show aired, Whitney wrote that she had “literally had the BEST time with the BEST people” but admitted that they “did not make the crew’s life easy.”