Yacht staffing is unlike any other area of private household recruitment. You're essentially building a team that can run a luxury home, a five-star restaurant, and a floating hotel — while also complying with international maritime law. The standards are exacting, the logistics are complex, and the pool of genuinely qualified candidates is smaller than most owners expect.
At Irving Scott, we've placed staff onto yachts ranging from 30-metre motor yachts to 100-metre-plus superyachts. Here's what we've learned about getting it right.
Where Household Staff and Yacht Crew Overlap
On a superyacht, the line between "household staff" and "maritime crew" gets blurry. Some roles are purely maritime — the captain, chief engineer, deckhands. Others are purely domestic — the chef, stewardess, laundry staff. And several sit right in the middle.
Roles with clear household crossover:
Chief Stewardess / Head of Interior
This is essentially a house manager at sea. The chief stew manages all interior operations — housekeeping, service, laundry, guest provisioning, table setting, floral arrangements, and the interior crew. In a large yacht household, she or he might oversee six to twelve stewardesses.
The best chief stewardesses often have backgrounds in luxury hotels or private households before transitioning to yachting. They understand formal service, discretion, and how to read what a principal wants before being asked.
Salary: €4,500–€8,000/month on a 40–60m yacht. €8,000–€12,000+/month on larger vessels. Plus tips, which on charter yachts can be substantial.
Yacht Chef
Private yacht chefs are a breed apart. They need to produce restaurant-quality food in a galley that might be smaller than a London kitchen, adapt to constantly changing guest numbers and dietary requirements, source provisions in foreign ports (sometimes with hours' notice), and handle rough seas without dropping a souffle.
Most yacht chefs have a professional culinary background, and the best ones have Michelin or luxury hotel experience. The difference between a good yacht chef and an average one is enormous — and owners notice immediately.
Salary: €4,000–€7,000/month on mid-range yachts. €8,000–€15,000+/month on superyachts, depending on experience and vessel size. Some elite yacht chefs command €18,000–€20,000/month.
Stewardesses
Interior crew who handle housekeeping, laundry, guest service, and sometimes beauty treatments. On larger yachts, stewardesses specialise — one might focus entirely on laundry, another on floral arrangements or spa services. Junior stewardesses often enter yachting straight from hospitality school or after working in private households.
Salary: €2,500–€3,500/month for junior stews. €3,500–€5,000/month for senior stews with experience.
Nanny / Tutor
Families who cruise with children often need a yacht-based nanny. This combines standard childcare with water safety awareness, the ability to entertain children in confined spaces, and flexibility around unpredictable schedules. Some families hire a combined nanny-tutor for longer voyages.
Salary: €3,000–€6,000/month depending on qualifications and experience.
MLC Compliance: What You Can't Ignore
The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 — often called the "Seafarers' Bill of Rights" — sets minimum standards for working conditions at sea. If your yacht is 500 gross tonnes or over, or if it's commercially registered (even if primarily used privately), MLC compliance is mandatory.
Key MLC requirements that affect hiring:
- Employment agreements: Every crew member must have a written employment contract (Seafarer Employment Agreement, or SEA) that meets MLC standards. This is more prescriptive than a standard UK employment contract.
- Hours of work and rest: Maximum 14 hours' work in any 24-hour period, and maximum 72 hours in any seven-day period. Minimum 10 hours' rest in any 24-hour period, split into no more than two periods, one of which must be at least six hours. This matters for interior crew during busy charter seasons.
- Accommodation and food: Crew accommodation must meet minimum size and quality standards. Food must be sufficient, nutritious, and provided free of charge.
- Medical care: Owners must provide medical care and health insurance for crew members.
- Repatriation: If a contract ends abroad, the owner must pay for the crew member's return to their home country.
- Leave: Minimum 2.5 days of paid annual leave per month of service (30 days per year).
Flag state matters. Your yacht's flag state determines which specific regulations apply. The Cayman Islands, Marshall Islands, Malta, and the Isle of Man are popular yacht registries, each with their own MLC implementation. Your yacht manager or captain should ensure compliance, but as the owner, ultimate responsibility sits with you.
Under 500GT / private use only? MLC may not technically apply, but best practice is to follow its standards anyway. Crew talk. If word gets around that your yacht offers poor conditions, good candidates won't apply.
Building Your Interior Team
The size of your interior team depends on your yacht's size and how you use it.
30–40m yacht: Chief stewardess plus one or two stewardesses. Chef. Possibly a part-time nanny.
40–60m yacht: Chief stewardess, second stewardess, two to three junior stewardesses, chef, sous chef. Nanny if needed. Laundry may be handled by a dedicated stew.
60m+ superyacht: Head of interior (often a separate role from chief stewardess on very large vessels), chief stewardess, second and third stewardesses, junior stewardesses, head chef, sous chef, dedicated laundry stew, spa therapist, nanny/tutor. Some superyachts carry 15+ interior crew.
Charter vs Private Use: Staffing Implications
If your yacht charters, your staff need to be charter-ready — which means a higher level of formal service, guest management skills, and the ability to work with strangers who may have very different expectations from your own.
Charter crew also need to understand that tips are a significant part of their compensation. The industry standard tip is 10–15% of the charter fee, split among the crew according to a system agreed by the captain. On a €200,000/week charter, that's €20,000–€30,000 in tips per week to distribute.
For private-use-only yachts, the emphasis shifts toward long-term compatibility with the family, discretion, and the ability to maintain standards without the external pressure of charter guests.
Rotation and Leave
Unlike household staff on land, yacht crew typically work on rotation — particularly during the busy Mediterranean summer or Caribbean winter seasons. Common patterns include:
- 2 months on, 1 month off — standard for many superyachts
- 6 weeks on, 3 weeks off — increasingly popular for better retention
- Seasonal contracts — some crew work only the Med season (May–October) or Caribbean season (November–April)
During their off-rotation, crew leave the vessel entirely. This means you need enough staff to cover — either by running slightly over-crewed or by using relief crew from agencies.
Finding the Right Crew
Yacht recruitment sits at the intersection of two worlds — maritime and private household — and not every agency understands both. Maritime-only agencies often lack the sensitivity to match candidates to a family's personal preferences and domestic standards. Household-only agencies may not understand MLC compliance, STCW certification requirements, or the unique dynamics of life at sea.
At Irving Scott, we bridge both worlds. We understand that a yacht stewardess needs to be as polished in silver service as any London butler, while also holding her ENG1 medical and STCW basic safety training. We know that a yacht chef needs Michelin-level skills and the temperament to work in a galley during a Biscay crossing.
If you're staffing a yacht and want crew who meet both maritime and private household standards, talk to our yacht crew recruitment team. We'll help you build an interior team that makes your vessel feel like home — wherever in the world you happen to be.