Housekeeping / Laundry Assistant
The Housekeeping / Laundry Assistant keeps the interior clean and the linen moving. You work behind the scenes on larger yachts, washing, pressing and folding everything from guest silk to crew uniforms, then turning cabins to a hotel standard. It is the most common first job for new interior crew on yachts over 60m, and the quickest way to learn how a big interior runs.
The jobWhat fills the day
Most of your day is laundry. Guest bedding, towels, table linen, delicate clothing and the crew's uniforms all pass through your hands. You learn fabric care fast: what goes in the machine, what gets hand-washed, what only the steam press can handle. The rest of the day goes on housekeeping. You strip and make beds, detail bathrooms, polish brightwork and keep crew areas tidy. You rarely serve guests directly, though on busy nights you will be asked to help.
With guests aboard the hours get long. A charter on an 80m yacht can mean three full linen changes a day, beach towels by the hundred and a pile of guest clothes that must come back pressed and folded by evening. Turndown runs while guests eat dinner. Between trips the pace drops and you move onto deep cleaning, stock counts and the slow jobs like washing curtains. Off season or in the yard, expect plenty of dust sheets and wiping down after contractors.
Captains and chief stews hire for attitude. Hotel housekeeping, laundry or cleaning experience helps a great deal, as does a background in nannying or hospitality. They want someone tidy, careful with expensive fabrics, happy to work out of sight and easy to share a cabin with. Most green crew arrive with STCW and ENG1 done and some dockwalking in Antibes, Palma or Fort Lauderdale behind them. A tidy, well-presented CV with a clear photo still counts.
After a season or two you can move up to laundry stew or housekeeping stew, then to a general stew role where you also do guest service. From there the usual ladder is second stew, head of housekeeping on the largest yachts, then chief stew. Learning service, wine and flower arranging while you are still in the laundry speeds up the move. A good reference from your head of department matters more than any course.
Skills captains look for
- Fabric and garment care
- Steam pressing and ironing
- Cabin and bathroom detailing
- Linen stock control
- Stain removal
- Working to a schedule
- Discretion around guests
A day aboardCharter day, 85m motor yacht, North Malé Atoll, Maldives
Start in the laundry. Load the first machines with yesterday's beach towels and crew uniforms before the guests wake.
Guests at breakfast, so the housekeeping team goes into the cabins. Strip beds, change towels and detail the bathrooms.
Back to the laundry to press guest clothing and a set of table linen the chief stew needs for a sandbank lunch.
Crew lunch in the mess, then a short rest in your cabin.
Fold and deliver guest laundry to each cabin, then restock bathroom amenities and check the linen store.
Wipe down the sundeck bathrooms and gym after the afternoon watersports session.
Quick dinner before the evening rush.
Turndown service while guests dine: close curtains, fresh towels, tidy clothing and set out water and slippers.
Last load of towels in the dryer, laundry tidied and log updated for the morning shift. Off watch.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
Charter tips are shared across the crew and can add 10-15% of the charter fee per trip, split evenly on most yachts. Larger yachts often offer rotation or generous leave once you are permanent. See the Stewardess & Interior Crew salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical certificate
Gets you hired
- PDSD (Proficiency in Designated Security Duties)
- GUEST Introduction to Yacht Interiors
- Food Hygiene Level 2
- Fabric care or yacht laundry course
Visas
- US B1/B2 for Fort Lauderdale and the Caribbean
- Schengen right to work or visa for Mediterranean yachts
Where it leadsA typical career path
Stewardess & Interior Crew jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Do I need yacht experience to get this job?
No. It is one of the main entry routes into yachting. Hotel housekeeping, laundry or hospitality work helps your CV stand out, and you will need STCW and an ENG1 before you apply.
Will I ever work with guests?
Not much at first. Your work happens mostly in the laundry and in cabins while guests are elsewhere. On busy charters you may help with service or turndown, which is a good chance to show you are ready for a general stew role.
How is this different from a stewardess job?
A stewardess usually splits time between service, housekeeping and laundry. This role is focused on laundry and cleaning, mostly found on yachts large enough to split the interior into dedicated teams.
Is the pay lower than other interior roles?
It sits at the bottom of the interior pay scale, but board and lodging are covered and charter tips are usually shared equally. Most people move up within one or two seasons.