Working on Charter vs. Private Superyachts: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I really do believe there is a yacht for (almost) everyone. There’s a huge range of vessel sizes, itineraries, onboard cultures, etc., to choose from.

But so much choice can be overwhelming. When your crew agent asks, “What are you looking for in your ideal program?”, how do you answer that in a qualified, honest way without years of experience in the industry?

This article can help. 

One big category you’ll have to decide on is charter vs. private. You’ve probably heard of eye-watering tips on charter boats. Or maybe you’ve heard of private yachts where the crew have every weekend off, in new and exciting ports. 

While some of this might indeed be true, some of it might be fiction. I’m here to separate the two and provide you with the information you need to make a good decision on which type of program you want to be a part of.

Keep reading for a detailed analysis and discussion of the pros and cons of working on a private or charter superyacht.

Money talks: chartering can be (very) good for yacht crews’ bank accounts

Let’s start with what might be on the top of your mind- money. We all know that chartering means tips, and who doesn’t love extra money in the bank? But how much exactly will all those extra hours (we’ll talk about that in a bit) earn you?

The answer is: it depends. On what? Well, a few things—the charter price, the tip percentage, the number of crew onboard, and the number/ frequency of charters. 

Let’s dive into an example. 

Use the website yachtcharterfleet.com to search for the charter price and number of crew for almost any superyacht available for charter. 

For the tip percentage, we’ll have to make an assumption here (tip percentages can vary widely, but a standard range is 10-15%). A safe assumption is 12% of the total charter price.

And finally, for the frequency of charters, well, you’ll just have to ask! Because, again, this can vary by quite a bit. Some “light charter” boats may do only one or two weeks of charter a year. Other busy boats could easily do 10 to 15 weeks a year. Speak with the program’s Captain to get an idea of how often the program has chartered in the past and what the future plans look like. 

Now, let’s get our notebooks out (okay, iPhone’s calculator app) and crunch the numbers on an example.

Let’s assume we are analyzing M/Y TDM, which is available for charter at $600,000 per week. We note that she has 16 crew. Assuming a 12% tip, we can multiply $600,000 by 0.12 to calculate the total tip. This gives us $72,000, which, when divided by 16 (not every boat does it this way, but the majority of the industry divides tips evenly amongst all positions), gives a final amount of $4,500 per person. 

Once we have spoken to the Captain, and we know that this yacht does 7 weeks of charter a year, we’re looking at around $31,500 extra per year. Not bad!

Side note: Larger charter boats usually do better in tips than smaller boats. This is because the charter price to crew ratio grows disproportionately larger as the yacht increases in size. An analysis of 40 random boats on yachtcharterfleet.com yielded the following results:

All data was publicly available and sourced from yachtcharterfleet.com in May of 2025. The average tip is calculated assuming an even split among all crew and a total tip of 12% of the charter price.

How does this compare to working on a private yacht? Well, at the risk of stating the obvious, if you’re working on a private yacht, don’t count on anything more than your salary, even when the owner is onboard. It is rare that an owner pays you extra in tips when they are onboard. (Of course, there are exceptions and some owners do tip, but the tip amounts tend to be small and the number of owners who do tip is very small.)

To sum it up, when it comes to money, odds are that you’ll likely do much better on a large, busy charter yacht.

Workload and hours of rest (what rest?) for private and charter superyacht crew

Alongside money, it’s important to factor in workload and rest. 

Though every boat is different, if we are talking averages, the workload on private superyachts tends to be a little less than on charter superyachts. 

Why? 

1. Their calendars aren’t as full.

2. Their boss-on tasks/ activities are predictable.

3. Their owners are “used to” the yacht.

Let’s break it down.

1. Their calendars aren't as full.

   
   

Private yachts usually have just one owner. When the owner or their friends/ family aren’t around, that’s that. There are no guests onboard, and your work is now focused primarily on maintenance tasks, instead of maintenance and also guest activities. 

On a charter yacht, the owner is incentivized to sell charters to fill the time when they aren’t using the boat. With guests on board more often, this obviously results in a busier workload for the yacht’s crew. 

2. Their boss-on tasks/ activities are predictable.

   
   

While good yacht crew are always ready for a sudden change of plans, it’s usually pretty well anticipated what the day’s schedule will look like on a private yacht. What time guests will wake up, when they will want their meals, what activities they will want to do, and when they will go to bed. This is because crew learn the guests’ preferences over time, and when a program has just a few guests over a long period of time, guest preferences are pretty well understood.

When you know preferences in advance, it’s easier to plan crew rest and breaks accordingly and make any necessary preparations for a task or activity well beforehand. Predictability can reduce workload (and stress). 

On a charter yacht, while every effort is made to understand guest preferences and behaviors as quickly as possible, most charters are a week long and that simply isn’t enough time to learn guests well enough to make definitive plans. Thus, the hours are longer to “cover the bases”.

2. Their owners are "used to" the yacht.

   
   

Charter clients naturally want to get the most out of their time onboard. Most want to use all the different toys, tenders, and spaces onboard and try as many different foods and drinks as possible. And rightly so—they have paid for the privilege. But such heavy use means a heavy workload for the yacht’s crew. 

On private yachts, the owner is usually very familiar with the vessel. They know the boat, and just like you in your home, they have their favorite spaces where they spend most of their time. They don’t necessarily use every space every day, and often large areas of the yacht are left totally unused. This makes things more predictable for the yacht’s crew, as there is simply less set-up and take-down.

Crew training and skills development

We’ve established charter yachts tend to be busier, so naturally, there’s just not as much time left for training once the work is done. This differs from private boats, where the extra time is often used to train and develop crew in new skills like navigation, painting and fairing, tender driving, cocktail making, silver service, and more. 

And if you are someone new to yachting, developing your skills is very important – it’s what will position you well for opportunities to earn additional credentials, to build your resume, and move up into roles with more responsibility (and pay). 

This extra breathing room also means things are usually done the “right” way on private yachts. Sometimes shortcuts must be taken when you’re crunched for time on a busy charter. That’s not to say shortcuts are taken on safety, but when it comes to things like wash downs, teak scrubbing, paint jobs, etc. sometimes things are rushed. It’s a reality of the industry, but one you need to approach carefully.

If you’re green and learning how things should be done, it’s crucial to learn the right way first, and then, when you absolutely need to, you can sometimes get away with a shortcut. You don’t want to learn the shortcut first, as you’ll soon find yourself taking shortcuts on a shortcut. This is something we want to avoid. 

In most cases, anyway, charter yacht crew are expected to have the necessary skills beforehand (this is why charter boats don’t often take on totally green crew). They are expected to hit the ground running, and there is much less time for the training and guidance required with newer crew. A private yacht, on the other hand, might be a bit more lenient with green crew or crew who have gaps in their knowledge or skills base.

The takeaway?

If you’re new to yachting, my advice is to focus on getting on a private boat first. Sure, the money might not be as good, but you’ll learn the best way to do things, and that’s especially important when you set the foundation for your career. Also, you won’t be thrown in the deep end and be expected to quickly perform at the level that you would be on a busy charter yacht. Taking on too much too soon can wreck your confidence.

After a year or two on a private boat, start to consider working on a (big) charter boat. Just be sure you’re ready for the longer hours and additional work days. (And also ready for those sweet, sweet charter tips to start rolling in!)