The guests have gone. The chief stew is asking whether the gratuity has arrived, the chief engineer wants to know how the redelivery fuel was charged, and the deckhand who joined ten days ago wants to know if he gets a full share. Everyone is watching how you handle the money that is closest to them personally.
Delivery and redelivery
Charters are agreed to start and finish at named ports. If the yacht must move to reach the embarkation port, or return afterwards, the agreement may provide for a delivery fee and a redelivery fee, or for those costs to fall to the charterer through the APA. Read the agreement; it varies.
- Record the exact position, date and time of delivery and redelivery. Times matter for fuel, for crew hours and for disputes.
- Take fuel and water readings with a witness at both points and document them, with photographs of the gauges or sounding records.
Fuel
Fuel is normally the largest single APA line and the one guests query most. The usual convention is that the yacht is delivered with a stated fuel state and the charterer pays for what is consumed, but the mechanics differ from agreement to agreement.
- Keep the bunker delivery note (BDN) for every uplift, showing quantity, density and price.
- Note that fuel purchased in different jurisdictions may carry different duty and tax treatment. That is a question for the management company and its advisers, not a judgement the purser makes.
Gratuities
A gratuity is entirely at the charterer discretion. It is never automatic, never invoiced by the yacht, and never assumed. Brokers commonly indicate a range in the region of 5-15% of the charter fee as customary practice, but the decision belongs to the guest alone. The purser never solicits it and never signals disappointment.
Distribution
The distribution policy is set by the captain and, on many yachts, by owner or management policy. Two common approaches:
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Equal shares | Total divided equally among all crew who worked the charter |
| Weighted shares | Points by rank or role, so senior crew receive a larger share |
Worked example, equal shares: a gratuity of EUR 35,000 (10% of a EUR 350,000 fee) across 14 crew is EUR 2,500 each. Where crew joined mid-charter, a pro-rata rule must exist in advance and be applied to everybody the same way. Announce the rule before the season, not after the cash arrives.
The tax and payroll question
Gratuities may be taxable income in the crew member country of tax residence, and some flags or employers require them to be routed through payroll. The purser records the amount, distributes according to policy, documents each receipt with a signature, and refers the treatment to the management company and the yacht advisers. This is not tax advice.
Onboard Notes
- Never hand out cash without a signed receipt per crew member. It protects them and it protects you.
- Never discuss the gratuity amount with guests unless the captain has asked you to.
- If a guest offers a personal tip to one crew member, tell the captain. Most yachts pool everything; an exception must be a decision, not a secret.