You have been offered a junior stew job. The number sounds good, and your food and cabin are free. Before you say yes, work out what you actually keep, what happens when the season stops, and what you will do when you are thirty-five and no longer want to share a bunk.
What Junior Interior Crew Earn
Pay is quoted monthly, usually in euros or US dollars, and varies widely with yacht size, flag, programme, rotation and your experience. As a broad guide only:
| Role | Broad monthly range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Green / junior stew | Entry-level band, lowest on the boat | Often the lowest paid crew member |
| Experienced stew (2-4 yrs) | Materially higher | Rises with skills: service, laundry, spa, barista |
| Chief stew / head of interior | Highest interior band | Management, budgets, accountability |
Salary bands move over time and differ by market. Check current figures with crew agencies and published crew salary guides before you negotiate — do not rely on numbers in any course, including this one. What matters more at entry level is: is the salary written in the contract, is it paid monthly, in what currency, and by whom?
What You Actually Keep
- Covered: cabin, food onboard, uniform, usually medical/insurance per the contract.
- Not covered: your own insurance gaps, flights home at some yachts, phone and data, gear, tax and social contributions depending on your nationality and residency.
- Tax: your liability depends on your nationality, residency and where you spend your days. Seafarer tax reliefs exist in some countries with strict conditions. Get advice from a qualified accountant in your own country. Do not take tax advice from the crew mess.
Saving Versus Spending
The single biggest financial difference between crew is not salary — it is whether they save. Two stews on the same boat and the same pay can finish a season with a deposit or with nothing. Automate a transfer on payday.
Longevity and the Way Ashore
Most interior crew do not do this for twenty years. Bodies, relationships and patience all have limits.
- Up: 2nd stew, chief stew, purser, interior manager on a large yacht.
- Across: shore-based crew agency, yacht management, charter broking, provisioning, guest experience, VIP hospitality, private household or estate management.
- Out: many crew use two to five good seasons to fund a degree, a business, or a house deposit.
Onboard Notes
- The exit plan is not disloyalty. The crew who plan it leave on their own terms; the ones who do not tend to leave burned out and broke.
- Keep your certificates current and keep every reference and discharge entry. Ashore, they are your evidence.
- Beware the boat that pays late, pays in cash without documentation, or asks you to work before the contract is signed.