Navigating New Waters: Integrating Personal Staff On Superyacht Charters

These people are here to help the charter go smoothly and should be warmly welcomed. However, if not managed right, having extra bodies in the crew mess who don’t fit easily into the established hierarchy can sometimes get the crew’s collective noses out of joint.

As always, the key is to find out from the yacht owner or principal what their staff’s arrangements are to be, plan carefully, and set clear expectations from the outset.

Where Will They Sleep?

Things generally remain pretty straightforward if a nanny or bodyguard sleeps in the guest area and eats with the guests.

Things can get complicated when no guest beds are available, and the extra staff have been squeezed onto the yacht as supernumeraries. (On a side note, is there a wilder expression than ‘superyacht supernumeraries’?)

• Is the dreaded ‘hot-bunking’ going to come into play?
• Will the yacht charter a chase boat to accommodate the extra people?
• If yes, how will you organise the chase boat being tied up to the yacht at the correct times to arrange the transfer of people for shifts and meals?
• Are they to use the guest dayheads, or are they to use the crew bathrooms?
• Will you need an available roster of bathrooms so that staff don’t wake the sleeping crew?
• Are all the crew comfortable giving staff access to their cabins? If not, have they been given the option to store their valuables in the yacht’s safe?

As someone who has had to hot-bunk, been turfed out to the sportfisher to sleep, and found a yoga instructor sleeping on a mattress on the laundry floor, I have seen first-hand how an influx of the owner’s personal staff can really throw a spanner in the usually very ordered operations of a superyacht. It’s important to prepare everyone and plan well in advance.

Where Will They Eat?

There’s also the consideration of where they will eat and when.

• Will the staff eat with the family, or will they eat with the crew?
• If eating with the crew, is there enough space? Do you need to organise mealtime shifts so the crew doesn’t feel rushed or crowded out?
• Are there enough cold drinks, snacks, toilet paper, etc, to accommodate extra people?
• Do any of the additional staff have dietary requirements or allergies?

What is Their Place in the Hierarchy?

I’ve seen a chief stew practically fizzing angrily after a temporary yoga instructor complained to the owner that they were expected to help the crew. It’s important to know first-hand what the owner or principal expects.

• Are they to pitch in as crew, or are they to be treated more like guests?
• Are they going to be allowed to use water toys and go swimming?
• Are they expected to help in the crew mess or be served?
• Can you ask them to help fold towels or fill an esky?
• Are they allowed to drink alcohol, and should it come from crew or guest stores?
• Are they allowed to use guest deck spaces to relax?
• Is the nanny expected to clean up after the children and bring laundry to the crew?

Set Expectations: Anyone entering the crew mess should be made aware of their obligations as temporary crew members—such as clearing their plates and keeping the noise down—and whether they are expected to lend a hand with specific tasks to make the charter a success. It’s also helpful to tell them if the captain or HOD has a particular chair they like or that the TV remote privileges are for the person on watch.

Make Them Welcome

Walking onto a yacht and into a crew mess for the first time can be quite an overwhelming experience —there’s a bunch of invisible rules and a whole raft of in-jokes that practically become its own language. It can be tempting for busy, tired crew to think, ‘Well, they’re only on for one charter, and we’ll never see them again; I can’t be bothered making an effort when I just want to relax in the crew mess.’

Please don’t do that. There’s nothing less pleasant than feeling unwelcome, and a crew mess can feel very isolating when you don’t know people onboard or are uncertain about what you’re allowed to do. Become known as a crew that welcomes personal staff and makes them feel at home— even if privately you wish they’d buzz off and you could have your crew mess back to yourselves. They’ll be gone soon enough, and if you look at the bright side, it’s pretty lovely to have an influx of new faces and stories in the crew mess for a change!

Appreciate Their Value

And lastly, remember where you’d be without them. Do you want to be babysitting the boss’ kids 24/7? Or maybe you’d like to be standing passerelle watch at 2 a.m., rather than the bodyguards? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Be grateful for the extra hands on deck!

Prepare well and set expectations; it should be a good experience for everyone.