Tipping the crew is customary at the end of a private yacht charter, but there's a big difference between 5% and 15%. So how do you decide between leaving an average tip or a generous one? First, the amount you give depends on your destination.
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“Usually it is rare to see private yacht owners giving tips, but it is not rare to see their guests, friends or family coming for a few days at no charge and then compensating the crew if they had a great trip.” “On the yachts, we worked on, definitely not – only charter guests tipped.”
Anecdotally, US clients tend to tip 15% – 20% per charter.Many yacht crew prefer to work on board busy charter vessels as they can almost double their salary each month with tips. If for each charter, a yacht stewardess is awarded $1,000 in gratuity, she could make up an additional $4,000 each month.
Do treat the yacht as you would your own home. A simple rule to follow. The crew want you to feel at home and equally the boat owner will appreciate care taken with his property. Superyacht owners want charter guests to treat the yacht like it's their own home.
Acknowledging that the crew often logs 16-18 hour days, a generous tip recognizes their professional work ethic and dedication. Tipping on the high end of the scale is the best way to express your gratitude if you feel as though the crew went above and beyond to make your trip special.
According to the MYBA, yacht tips should run 5% to 15%. You'll give the tip directly to the captain—either via cash, check, or even a wire transfer if you don't want to carry a substantial amount of cash on your vacation. Often you can go through your charter broker to wire gratuity to the captain.
In short, if a yacht carries more than 12 passengers, irrespective of whether payment is made, the vessel is considered a 'Passenger Ship' which puts it into a different category from standard luxury yachts. A 'Passenger Ship' must be SOLAS compliant, which requires rigorous testing, training, and surveying (and cost).
Street shoes, such as boots and heeled shoes, are prohibited on all boats as they can damage decks and floors and contaminate carpets and other exotic decorations. Therefore, the “barefoot” rule is regularly enforced on board. You can often observe a basket to place your shoes near the gangway.
APA – The Advance Provisioning Allowance is a sum the charter guests will pay to the yacht in addition to their base charter fee. This is typically 25 – 35% of the fee and will cover expenses such as food and beverages, fuel and marina fees.
The charter guests you see on the show are genuine charter guests. They pay their own money to secure a space within the six weeks of filming time each season. It can cost tens of thousands of dollars to charter any of the superyachts featured in the series.