For season 1, producers chartered the 50-meter yacht Cuor di Leone in Sint Maarten and renamed it 'Honor' for filming, giving the original crew time off to be replaced by the cast for the six-week shoot in September and October 2011.

Several original cast members, including chief stewardess Adrienne Gang, chef Ben Robinson and stewardess Kat Held, had genuine prior yachting experience before joining the series, while Captain Lee Rosbach and his first officer and engineer stayed aboard to make sure filming went smoothly.

During season 6, filmed in Tahiti aboard the yacht My Seanna, crew member Ashton Pienaar nearly died when a tow line wrapped around his leg and dragged him into the water between the moving yacht and its tender.

The show's cameraman, Brent Freeburg, managed to free the tow line and save Ashton Pienaar; had the line not been fully released, the tension could have severed his foot and he could have bled to death within seconds.

Following the near-fatal accident in season 6, Captain Lee Rosbach instituted strict new safety procedures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Season 8, filmed in Antigua, was cut short after its final two charters were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Critical reception has been mixed: some reviewers like David Hinckley called the show tedious and mundane, while The Washington Post's Emily Yahr questioned its authenticity, calling it overly scripted, and The New York Times' Neil Genzlinger criticized the casting but felt the guests were more insufferable than the crew.

Writing for The Huffington Post, Sandy Malone questioned whether the show was damaging the yachting industry's reputation for service.