Your arrangements are built and they are good. Now you carry them out and put them somewhere — and within four hours the lobby piece is browning at the edges, the sundeck bowl has cooked, and the deckhand has knocked the cabin bud vase off the desk with a passing shoulder. Placement kills more flowers on a yacht than bad arranging ever does.
Where Flowers Go
| Position | Type of arrangement | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Entrance / lobby / passerelle | Tall or sculptural, weighted | First impression; seen by every guest and every visitor |
| Main saloon | Hero piece, coffee table and console | The room guests live in; refresh mid-charter |
| Dining table | Low dome or a run of small pieces | Below sightline, unscented, clear of service |
| Guest cabins | Bud vase or small low posy | Turnover-fresh; must be unscented |
| Owner / master cabin | To the owner known preference | Never experiment here |
| Heads | Single orchid stem, small bowl | Humidity is kind; small footprint |
| Spa / gym / massage | Floating bowl, orchid, greenery | Calm, unscented, water-tolerant |
| Sundeck / exterior | Robust, weighted, expendable | Heat, wind and UV; expect one day of life |
The Placement Rules
- Out of the AC blast. Air conditioning is the single fastest way to kill an arrangement. Stand in front of the position and feel for airflow before you set anything down. Petal edges browning in a day means you got this wrong.
- Out of direct sun. Sun through a saloon window will cook a vase and heat the water, breeding bacteria. Watch how the sun moves through the day and where it lands at 1500, not just where it is at 0800.
- Away from heat sources: table lamps, spotlights, AV equipment, the galley pass.
- Away from ripening fruit. The fruit bowl and the flowers do not share a surface.
- Away from walkways and service paths. If crew carrying a tray have to turn sideways, it is in the wrong place. Nothing goes on the corner of a console at hip height.
- Not on anything that moves or is used. Not on a piano lid, not on a nightstand, not on the corner of a bar.
- Stable surfaces only, on a non-slip mat, with the base dried.
Testing the Position
- Sit or stand where the guest will be. Look at it from their eye level.
- Walk the crew service route past it with a tray in your hands.
- Put a hand on the table and rock it. If the arrangement shifts, it needs matting or ballast.
- Come back in two hours and touch the water. If it is warm, the position is wrong.
Onboard Notes
- Guest cabins are turned down while guests are aboard. If the arrangement is in the way of the turndown, the stew will move it, and it will end up somewhere worse.
- Never put flowers where they can fall into a jacuzzi, a pool or a food service area. Petals in a jacuzzi filter is a real and irritating job.
- If the owner has a favourite position, it gets flowers every single time, even on a light budget. Cut somewhere else.