Steward / Purser
A steward/purser serves guests and keeps the books. You work a full interior day of service, cabins and laundry. Around that, you run the yacht's accounts, the crew admin and the paperwork the captain has no time for. The role is common on 40m to 65m yachts, where the office work is heavy but not yet a full-time job.
The jobWhat fills the day
A steward/purser does two jobs. Most of the day you are a working stew: service, cabins, laundry, flowers and guest requests. Around that, you keep the yacht's books. You log every receipt, reconcile crew cards and cash floats, run the APA on charter, pay suppliers and prepare monthly accounts for the management company. You also look after crew contracts, leave records and travel, and you prepare clearance documents with the agent when the yacht changes country. The role exists because a 50m yacht has too much admin for the captain alone, and too little for a full-time purser.
With guests aboard, service comes first. Office work gets squeezed into the afternoon break and the hour after turndown. You need the discipline to file receipts every day, or month end becomes painful. On charter you track the APA in real time, give the client or broker a running statement and close it out on the last day. Between trips the balance flips. You spend most mornings at the desk on budgets, invoices, crew certificates and insurance renewals. In the afternoons you help the interior team with deep cleans and inventory.
Captains look for an experienced stew, usually with two or more seasons behind them, who is properly numerate and comfortable with spreadsheets. A background in bookkeeping, hotel front office, events or office management carries real weight. Knowing yacht accounting software such as Voly helps, as do general tools like Xero and Excel. You need a clear head with money that belongs to someone else. Discretion matters too. You will see what the owner spends and what every crew member earns, and none of it leaves the office.
Most people use the role as a stepping stone to a dedicated purser job on a 70m+ yacht. There the admin is full-time and service largely drops away. Others stay in interior and move up to chief stew on a similar-sized boat, where their purser skills make them more useful to the captain. After several years of accounts, budgets and crew admin, some move ashore into management company roles in Monaco, Antibes or Palma.
Skills captains look for
- Silver service and housekeeping
- Expense tracking and reconciliation
- Excel and accounting software
- APA management
- Crew contracts and admin
- Port clearance paperwork
- Discretion with owner finances
A day aboardCharter day, 48m motor yacht, Sardinia
Set up breakfast on the aft deck and take coffee orders for eight charter guests.
Turn the cabins with the second stew, then put a load of guest laundry on.
Twenty minutes in the crew mess with a coffee before the office.
Enter yesterday's receipts, match the card statement and chase the berthing invoice from the Porto Cervo marina.
Lunch service on the sundeck, then clear and reset the dining area.
Rest period in the cabin while the guests are ashore.
Check the APA balance, go through tomorrow's provisioning order with the chef and email the broker a spend update.
Dinner service, wine pours and turndown with the third stew.
Log the day's spend, file receipts and set up for breakfast before going off duty.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
On charter yachts the crew share a tip of 10-20% of the charter fee, which can add several thousand dollars a season. The admin carries on between trips, so expect fewer truly quiet days than a standard stew. See the Chief Stew, Purser & Interior Management salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
- Food Hygiene Level 2
- PDSD
Gets you hired
- GUEST Purser course
- AAT or bookkeeping certificate
- GUEST interior service modules
- WSET Level 2
Visas
- B1/B2 for US and Caribbean seasons
- Schengen right to work or valid visa
Where it leadsA typical career path
Chief Stew, Purser & Interior Management jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Is steward/purser a step up from stewardess?
Yes. On most yachts it sits between second stew and chief stew. Pay usually runs a few hundred dollars a month above a second stew on the same boat, because you carry the extra responsibility for the accounts.
Do I need an accounting qualification?
There is no formal requirement. A GUEST purser course or a bookkeeping certificate such as AAT helps get your CV shortlisted. What captains really check is whether you keep accurate records when you are tired and busy.
Who do I answer to?
Usually the chief stew for service and the captain for money and admin. On smaller yachts without a chief stew you report straight to the captain. Ask at interview how the split works, so you are not stuck between two bosses in mid-season.
How much office time is there with guests aboard?
On charter, expect one to two hours a day, fitted around service. Between trips it can be most of the morning. If you leave receipts to pile up, month end will cost you your days off.