Management favoritism.
It is very blatant and is grossly, laughably unprofessional. Deckhands who are rude to customers and rarely make an effort will receive promotions or at the very least are not targeted/marked by management for this behavior, while others are punished arbitrarily for things even seniors and captains get away with all the time. Captains play on their phones and are late to work but are buddies with management (former captains themselves) so it's fine.
The environment is "chill" until you are not one of the personal favorites and then it's only a matter of time until you're shown the door. Don't expect to last if you can't be a suck up to your managers, or they don't like you personally.
If you get a bad captain expect to be screamed at very arbitrarily even if you did nothing wrong and were by the books. A handful of them have severe anger issues (this is widely known), and you'll face a hostile workplace environment on those days working with them. These captains are protected and their bad, unprofessional behaviors are ignored or excused. You will be expected to tolerate this behavior and if you don't you will be shown the door.
The operations are generally ramshackle and thrown together chaotically/on the cheap. Just look at the boats compared to the other tour companies and you'll see this is true. Every expense is spared and you will be cut too if it means saving a buck. It is a bad environment that is only slightly redeemed by the job itself on the good days.