Mike Henry, a frequent Seth MacFarlane collaborator, makes his first appearance here as Dann, the mushroom-headed man requesting that music be added to the elevators. Dann would go on to be a recurring supporting character throughout the series.
At the beginning, Lt. Cmdr. Bortus is about to sing "My Heart Will Go On" from the movie Titanic (1997). He is interrupted by a message from Admiral Halsey, played by Victor Garber who played Thomas Andrews in the film.
When Darulio mentions he's given up sugar, this reflects Rob Lowe's actual dietary habits. Lowe is an adherent of the Atkins Diet where refined sugars are completely cut out and complex carbohydrates are minimized in favor of proteins and fats.
The concept of female alien that provokes strong sexual desires from a male human on the Starship Enterprise is used three times in the Star Trek franchise: in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) (made clear in the extended cut only), The Perfect Mate (1992), and Bound (2005). This Orville story reverses the gender dynamic.
The Navarians have a Klingon bat'leth-esque bone structure encircling their heads.