Your new second stewardess arrives at 2300 on a Thursday, having flown from Cape Town with two bags and no idea where she is sleeping. You are alongside, guests board in thirty-six hours, and you have not printed anything. What happens in the next seven days decides whether she is still with you in seven months.
Why the First Week Matters
Interior turnover is expensive: agency fees, flights, lost standards, the drag on the crew who stay. A large proportion of early leavers go because of a bad first week, not a bad job. Onboarding is a management task, not an admin task.
Day One: The Essentials
- Safety first, always. Familiarisation before anything else: muster station, lifejacket, escape routes, alarms, ISM and the safety management system, the person to report a hazard to. This is a legal and ISM requirement, not a nicety.
- Cabin, bunk, bedding, key, uniform, laundry for their own kit.
- Wifi, phone, crew mess, meal times, heads and showers.
- Paperwork: signed SEA, passport and certificate copies, next of kin, bank details, medical declarations, drug and alcohol policy signed, harassment and complaint procedure shown and explained, not just filed.
The First Week Plan
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Safety familiarisation, cabin, paperwork, tour of the yacht |
| 2 | Interior systems: laundry, stowage, chemicals, linens, inventory software |
| 3 | Service standards: table settings, coffee, bar, guest preference book |
| 4 | Cabins and detailing: the yacht way, with someone watching |
| 5 | Shadow a full service; debrief afterwards |
| 6-7 | Take a section solo with support; first feedback conversation |
Setting Expectations Explicitly
Most onboard conflict is an expectation that was never spoken aloud. In the first week, be direct about:
- Standards — what good looks like here, and that other yachts do it differently is not a criticism of them.
- Hours and rest — the realistic shape of a charter day, and how rest is protected.
- Cabin etiquette — noise, tidiness, guests in cabins, sharing.
- Communication — how to raise a problem, when to come to you, what must go straight to the Captain.
- Phones, social media and confidentiality — usually absolute regarding guests.
- Alcohol and drugs policy — zero tolerance policies mean what they say.
- Probation — how long, and how you will assess it.
Write it down. A one-page interior expectations sheet, signed, prevents a hundred arguments.
The First Feedback
Do not wait for a formal appraisal. Sit down at the end of week one: two things going well, one thing to work on, and an open question — what has surprised you, and what do you need? It sets the norm that feedback is routine and not a punishment.
Onboard Notes
- Never let a new crew member start a charter without safety familiarisation. Ever.
- Assign a buddy — a peer, not you — for the questions they are embarrassed to ask you.
- The crew who onboard badly do not usually complain. They just quietly start looking.
- xplor is not an accredited GUEST provider; nothing here awards or counts toward a unit, certificate or Certificate of Competency.