Woman who worked on superyachts for five years reveals what billionaires REALLY get up to when they're out at sea - and the shocking amount she was paid

A glamorous model who once worked on superyachts for billionaires has revealed what the wealthy are really like once they get out onto open water.

Raissa Bellini, an Italian woman now based in Miami, tells Daily Mail she spent five years working as a stewardess on luxury vessels cruising around the Mediterranean.  

The brunette beauty, 37, travelled to hotspots from Italy to Ibiza, rubbing shoulders with the mega-rich as they let their guard down and got up to some surprising antics. 

'⁠The wildest part of working on superyachts isn't the luxury, it's the things that happen when extremely wealthy people think no one is watching,' she says. 

'I remember one charter where a billionaire guest tried to tip a stewardess five thousand dollars just to sneak him into a crew cabin while his wife was sunbathing on the deck above. 

'Another time a party got so out of control that the captain had to quietly turn the yacht around and end the charter early after guests started fighting and throwing furniture on the upper deck at three in the morning.'

Raissa says while there was plenty of drunken and cheeky misbehaviour, she experienced some 'darker moments' while working aboard the luxury vessels. 

'Once a guest became so aggressive toward a junior crew member that security had to stay outside the cabin corridor all night to make sure she was safe,' she explains. 

'At sea you're isolated, and these people are paying hundreds of thousands a week, so the crew often have to manage situations very carefully without creating a scandal.

'That's the side of the superyacht world people rarely hear about – the extreme luxury on the surface, and the very intense, sometimes chaotic reality happening behind the scenes.'

Raissa began her career on a Ferretti in 2016 before moving on to work on mega yachts and then superyachts in 2019.

Some of her most notable trips included St Tropez and Monaco in 2016, Mykonos and Montenegro in 2017, as well as around Italy and France.

Her final voyages were around Spain in 2018 and 2019, with the model usually working seasons from April to October while living in tight quarters, surrounded by nothing but water, crew members, and powerful guests. 

Raissa says the Below Deck reality TV show, which follows crew members who live and work on board a mega yacht, is 'a toned–down version' of what it's really like to serve on a luxury boat.

'⁠People always ask if real yacht life is like Below Deck. In some ways it is, the long hours, demanding guests, and crew living in tiny cabins below deck are very real,' she says. 

'But the show is still a toned–down version of what can actually happen when you're isolated at sea with extremely wealthy people.

'I started working on a 42–metre Ferretti, and later moved on to much larger mega yachts built by Lürssen, which are on a completely different scale. 

'Guests would sometimes charter the yacht for a week and treat it like their private floating nightclub.'

She recalls one charter where the guests partied 'until sunrise for three nights in a row', with some 'jumping off the upper deck into the sea at 4am'. 

'Another time a guest dove into the water after a long night of partying and only realised when he climbed back on board that he had lost his Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 somewhere in the Mediterranean,' she adds. 

'The crew even tried to search for it, but it was impossible to recover. I remember thinking that watch alone was probably worth more than most people's cars.

'Another time a very famous businessman insisted we sail in the middle of the night just so he could wake up in a different country for breakfast.' 

'The entire crew had to reorganise the yacht while guests were still partying upstairs,' she adds.

Raissa says Below Deck makes the job 'look dramatic', but reveals there is 'even more pressure' in real life 'because these guests are spending hundreds of thousands a week and expect absolute discretion'. 

'You're dealing with big personalities, huge egos, and very little sleep all while floating in the middle of the ocean,' she continues.

'People think Below Deck is dramatic, but the truth is the real superyacht world can be even wilder – the cameras just aren't there to capture it.'

As for compensation, Raissa says it 'depends on the yacht, the owner, and your position', but admits she has previously received a hefty salary for her work.   

'It's one of the few industries where you can make almost nothing on one yacht and life-changing money on the next,' she explains. 

'In terms of salary, on a 42-meter yacht I was earning around €2,500 (AU$4,087) a month over a five-month season, and at the end the owner gave us an extra month's salary as a bonus. 

'It sounds good on paper, but once you factor in the hours and intensity, it's not as glamorous as people think.

'That season we only did two charters because the owner mostly used the boat privately, and private guests usually don't tip. 

'Across the entire season, tips were around €7,000 (AU$11,444) total for the crew.' 

Raissa went on to reveal that workers rely on the captain to be honest when handing out tips, explaining the tips are handed off to the captain who then distributes them to the team.  

'You're relying on trust and you never really know the full amount that was originally left,' she says.

'When I later moved onto 100-meter-plus yachts, the base salary increased significantly - I was making around €7,000 a month. 

'On those larger yachts, especially with busy charter seasons, crew can also make anywhere from €30,000 (AU$49,048) to €50,000 (AU$81,747) or more in tips over a season. 

'But again, it depends a lot on your position - the higher your role, the bigger your share.'

Raissa says pay in the industry is very 'inconsistent' with some yachts not doing any charters, meaning 'there are no tips'.  

'Other owners are extremely generous and give luxury gifts - I've seen Cartier watches given to crew, and I've heard of captains receiving cars or even apartments,' she says. 

'But on the other side, there are also situations where crew struggle just to get fully paid.

'In terms of benefits, accommodation, food, and travel are usually covered, but you're essentially on call 24/7 during the season. 

'There's very little personal time, limited leave, and you're living and working in very tight shared spaces.

'So overall, it can range from a fairly basic salary experience to very high earnings - it really depends on the yacht, the owner, and your position.

After five years of working on the high seas among some of the richest people in the world, Raissa traded in yacht life and is now building her own brand online.