Third Steward / Third Stewardess

The job splits three ways: housekeeping, laundry and service. On a 50m yacht the third stew often owns the laundry and the crew mess, turns down guest cabins in the evening and covers lunch service on deck. You will polish, steam, fold and restock for hours. Standards are exact. Towels face one way, toiletries are lined up, fingerprints come off stainless steel before the guests see them. The chief stew will tell you how the owner likes things, and you are expected to remember it.

With guests aboard the hours run long, often 14 to 16 hours split into shifts. You may be on breakfast, then cabins, then a break, then dinner service through to the last guest going to bed. Between charters the pace drops and the work turns to detailing, inventory and deep cleaning. On larger yachts the role narrows: a third stew on a 90m might be pure housekeeping or pure service, sitting on a rota with three or four others doing the same thing.

Captains and chief stews hire third stews who have at least one full season behind them, ideally on a boat of similar size. Good references matter more than certificates. They look for a tidy CV, steady tenure, a calm manner and someone who gets on with a crew living in tight quarters. A WSET wine course, barista skills, silver service training or a hospitality background from a five-star hotel will put you ahead of the pile in Antibes or Palma.

Most people spend one to two years as third stew before stepping up to second. The move comes from taking ownership: running laundry without reminders, training the junior, learning the inventory and the guest preference sheets. Some stews go sideways into a speciality such as head of housekeeping, service or a spa role. Staying on the same boat through a season and a yard period counts for a lot when the next chief stew is deciding who to promote.