Two stews with the same certificates, the same age, the same season. One works ninety days a year with guests and knows the family's dog by name. The other runs fourteen charters back to back and has never met the owner. Both are "interior crew". They are doing very different jobs.
Private Yachts
A private yacht is used by its owner, family and guests. It does not take paying charter guests.
- Rhythm: long quiet stretches, then intense owner trips. Fewer guest days per year on many boats.
- Standards: you learn one family's preferences deeply — their coffee, their pillows, their routines. Getting them right matters more than textbook perfection.
- Money: salary only, or salary plus a discretionary owner's gift. Do not budget on gifts.
- Feel: more like a household. Relationships with the family can become long and loyal.
Charter Yachts
A charter yacht is hired out to paying clients, usually by the week, through a broker.
- Rhythm: back-to-back charters in season, with a fast turnaround between them (strip, deep clean, laundry, provision, reset, sometimes in a single day).
- Standards: brochure-perfect for every new group, because every group is a review.
- Money: salary plus gratuities (tips), which can be a large part of your annual income.
- Feel: high tempo, high pressure, high turnover of guests and sometimes of crew.
Side by Side
| Private | Charter | |
|---|---|---|
| Guest weeks per year | Often fewer | Often many |
| Tips | Rare / discretionary gift | Typically expected |
| Predictability | Owner's diary rules | Broker's calendar rules |
| Learning curve | Deep on one family | Broad across many guest types |
| Pressure peaks | Owner trips | Every turnaround |
Gratuities, Honestly
On charter yachts a gratuity is customary but never guaranteed. It is commonly discussed as a percentage of the charter fee, and it is typically pooled and shared among the crew by an agreed formula. Amounts vary enormously by yacht, region, broker and guest, and practice changes over time — treat any figure you hear as gossip, not a promise. Never budget your life on tips, never discuss them with guests, and never let a captain use "the tips will be good" as a substitute for a fair salary.
Onboard Notes
- Ask at interview: private, charter, or private with occasional charter? The last is common and means you get both workloads.
- On charter, the turnaround is where junior stews are made or broken. Speed with standards, not speed instead of standards.
- Some crew find private lonely and charter exhausting. Try one, then decide — the first boat is not a life sentence.