Laundry Steward / Stewardess

The laundry stew runs one room and everything that comes through it: guest clothing, bed linen, towels, table linen and crew uniform. On a 70m yacht with twelve guests that can mean ten or more machine loads a day. Silk, cashmere and other delicates have to be washed by hand because they can't go in a tumble dryer. You read care labels, treat stains before they set, press shirts, fold everything to the yacht's standard and return each item to the right cabin. Mistakes cost money. Nobody forgets a shrunk designer dress.

With guests aboard, the days are long and the work comes in waves. Bed changes come in the morning, beach towels after lunch and outfit changes before dinner. Guest clothing usually has to be back the same day. Between trips you deep clean the laundry, descale the machines, clear dryer ducts, which are a fire risk if left, and count linen with the chief stew. In the yard you may help protect and pack the interior. Dedicated laundry jobs start at around 60m. On smaller yachts the whole stew team shares the laundry.

Captains and chief stews hire for care and consistency. Experience in a hotel laundry, dry cleaner, fashion house or private household counts for a lot, and knowing your fabrics matters more here than polished service. Many laundry stews are in their first season and got the job by showing they could iron well while dayworking. You still need STCW Basic Safety and an ENG1, and you do fire and abandon ship drills like everyone else. On quiet days expect to help with housekeeping or service.

Laundry is a respected way into yachting. After one or two good seasons you can move into housekeeping and then second stew. Or you can specialise and run a two or three-person laundry team on a 100m+ yacht. Head of housekeeping and chief stew jobs come next for people who add management and service skills. Take the GUEST interior courses as you go, because chief stew adverts expect them. A few people later move ashore into luxury garment care or private estate housekeeping.