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Inside the John Cerasani Charter Guest Drama on Below Deck Sailing Yacht
The Parsifal III crew deals with demanding guests, an off-board accident, and an unfortunate incident with an iron.
When it comes to going above and beyond for charter guests, the Parsifal III crew is always determined to do their absolute best. Sometimes that includes fulfilling some unusual requests, and sometimes that includes tending to a lot of those requests in a short period of time.
On Episodes 5 and 6 of Below Deck Sailing Yacht Season 4, which aired May 8 and 9, respectively, the crew and Captain Glenn Shephard were met with various challenges, ranging from a bevy of food and drink orders to a serious accident that took place while guests were playing water sports.
At the preference sheet meeting, viewers learned that the next primary is John Cerasani, a businessman from Chicago, as well as his girlfriend Natalia, daughter Anastasia, son Jacob, and friends TJ and Lauren.
For the charter, crew members Daisy Kelliher, Gary King, Illeisha Dell, Colin MacRae, Lucy Edmunds, Mads Herrera, Alex Propson, and Chase Lemacks all made their best effort, though some things went awry.
Scroll down to dig into the drama that made for a slightly stormy ride during John Cerasani’s charter:
Who is John Cerasani?
According to his Instagram bio, John Cerasani is a Chicago-based “venture capitalist and author” as well as a podcaster.
Additionally, Cerasani notes on his website that he’s a “serial entrepreneur” and “business expert,” explaining how he “quit his comfortable job” in insurance at 27 and went on to start his own company in the same industry. After 10 years, a private equity firm bought out his company, making him “millions of dollars before the age of 40.”
To celebrate his success and the release of his book, 2000 Percent Raise, Cerasani brought his friends and family aboard Parsifal III for a splendid sailing vacation.
What happened on the charter?
After chef Ileisha was provided with a lengthy list of dietary restrictions, the crew reviewed what they called “high-maintenance requests,” including a “post-dinner drink and gelato station.” Still, the crew as a whole didn’t seem too fazed by what lay ahead of them.
What kinds of requests did the guests make?
The interior crew fielded various food and drink requests from the guests, from Aperol spritzes to grilled cheeses to cookies-and-cream milkshakes, seemingly happening at an alarming rate.
In a confessional, Daisy complained that the guests were asking “for everything under the sun” as she raced back and forth between the kitchen and the deck. She went on to decry Gary’s request for a stew to drive the tender when some of the guests opted for a beach day, leaving her to fend for herself in the interior.
Later, on the beach, Lucy, who joined to serve the guests, faced more drama when it came to her attention that they didn’t bring enough supplies for the occasion.
“I’m not a pretentious guy, but… we shouldn’t have to put our bones in with the other food, should we?” John asked his son, Jacob, after realizing they didn’t have anywhere to put their half-eaten chicken wings. Lucy improvised by moving some vegetables on a tray over to make room for the bones, but that tray ultimately hit the sand when Jacob took a tumble in his chair. What a mess!
What accident occurred on the yacht?
On Episode 5, which aired on May 8, John’s son, Jacob, was warned to keep a distance when using the eFoil on the water. Unfortunately, he ended up crashing into John’s friend TJ, resulting in the season’s first serious guest injury
While TJ continued to say he was fine, he had a bad gash on his head, causing Captain Glenn to call a medic. The medic determined that TJ should go to the hospital to receive care.
TJ ultimately recovered just fine and the guests continued their evening with dinner, but the vibes were a bit off at that point.
What happened with a charter guest’s dress?
While the guests were relaxing before dinner, Lucy took to ironing charter guest Lauren’s dress — and made an unfortunate mistake.
“I just burned her dress!” Lucy exclaimed. “Her dress just melted on me!”
After Mads helped console her fellow stew, the girls reached out to Daisy for assistance. Like a pro, Daisy calmly attended to the issue, noting the mistake to Lauren and informing her that they would reimburse her for the piece of clothing.
“Having to tell this guest that we f-cked up so majorly bad and that we’re probably gonna get some more sh-t feedback from Glenn… the anxiety is sky-high right now,” Daisy stated during a confessional.
How did the charter end?
Ultimately, even with the hiccups and the various dramas, the charter still ended on a good note and with a generous tip.
John and his guests left the crew a $23,000 tip, working out to 2,250 euros each.
“This is what we needed,” Alex said in a confessional. “Nothing cuts through the tension quite like $23,000. Thank god!”
