My name is Eva, 31. I'm a Stewie on a mega yacht. Here's my story!
Took me a "little" while, mainly because I did not really know, how and where to get started. I have done a lot of researching, taking courses and in February this year I decided to give up my old job and I went to France hunting for a job on a luxury mega yacht!
I have been really lucky, have made many contacts and after few weeks of the day working in France, I got an offer for this amazing boat, where I am spending my days at the moment. All, what I have wished for myself came true and even more! I am working on a beautiful 68 m private boat with an excellent captain, great crew, management and cool owner and I believe, this boat is a really exceptional one!
We usually work in 2 different daily routines: when just the crew is on board and when the owner with his family is with us. If just we, the crew are on the boat, we work from Monday till Friday, from 8 am till 5 pm. I start at 8 am, and one day I am doing the laundry, the other day I am cleaning in the crew area and the 3rd day is my guest's area-day.
The “laundry-day" is our favourite day; all the girls look forward to spending time in the laundry. I turn on the music as loud as I like it, fill up the machines. Until the machines are running, I go up to the bridge, clean the day head over there and dust the bridge and Hoover all the stairs in the crew area. At 9 am we have to breakfast, so I set up for it and then all the crew is enjoying the breakfast together in the crew mess. After breakfast I continue my duties in the laundry...washing, tumble drying, ironing... At 12 pm lunch, we have a break than till 1 pm. then at 3 pm coffee time and at 5:30 dinner. If I finish with my duties in the laundry earlier than 5 pm, I go to help my colleagues in the crew or guest area.
I start my "crew-area" day in the crew mess. Checking the fridge, emptying all the leftover food from the previous day, filling up the fridge from the stores with water, yoghurts, soft drinks, beer (just if we are not at sea!!!!), cold cuts... and bringing some goodies for the "sweets-drawer" :)))). Then I wipe around the crew mess. After breakfast, I Hoover the entire crew area every single day...bridge, main deck, crew mess and laundry, crew corridor and once a week the crew cabins as well. Usually, these are done by lunchtime, so after the break, I check, what needs more proper cleaning, kind of detailing the crew area...we find for each day some extra works. And once a week we clean the Captain's (Monday), the Chief Engineer's (Tuesday and the Chief Officer’s (Wednesday) cabin.
If I am in the guest-area than I check the duty list, which cabin or area of the boat has to be detailed. Under "detailing" I mean to get into every single corner (Q-tips, toothpicks, toothbrush and dental floss :))) And make shiny and immaculate EVERYTHING for the owner's arrival. There are many many little jobs, which needs to be done...like polish before every trip all the silver cutlery and dishes, clean the vases, the candle holders, all the statues, wipe all the walls and ceilings and there is a lot on our boat, cleaning and organizing the stores, inventory, take care of the plants...
Usually, we know in a week advance when does the owner comes and where... He is very adventurous, so we never really know where his next trip will be. We were just doing 10 days crossing from Italy to Denmark for a few hours stop in Gibraltar. Last night and this morning the Nord Sea was a "bit" unpleasant. So it was impossible to walk or do anything on the boat. We nested ourselves for the night with my roommate in the main saloon, as in our room was flying everything.... so you can imagine, we would fly as well!!! Well, from all the rolling, rocking, wobbling around I could not really sleep and the morning was even worse, so we stayed till midday lying on the mattresses in the main saloon. The afternoon the sea calmed down, so we could keep going on with our usual routines and the day I finished at 8 pm wet-cleaning the carpets in the crew mess and corridor.
If the owner comes to spend a few days or weeks on the yacht (between 3 days and 3 weeks) our daily routines are a bit different and we work the weekends as well. We are 3 Stewie's and the Chief Stewardess in our team. Chief Stew and the 2nd Stew are doing the service, while the owner is on board and I with the other Stewie are responsible for the laundry (crew and guest), and the cleanliness of the entire boat. One day I start at 7:30 in the laundry, ironing the guest laundry from the previous day, starting the machines with crew uniforms... at 9 we have the breakfast as usually after I carry on with the laundry and around 10 am the guests used to leave from their cabins for breakfast, so with the other Stewie we go to clean them...it takes approximately 2-2 and a half hours, in the Master cabin we spend the longest time.
Lunch for the crew is at 12 pm, for the guests later on, when they return from outside. At 15:30 I go on a break till 19:30 and during this time my colleague is in the laundry, carrying on with the work there and checking up on the cabins if they need any cleaning, fresh towels if they have dropped any laundry to be taken... I come at 19:30 again and we are waiting for the guests' dinner when we can go to do the turndown. After the cabins I finish, when my machines in the laundry have washed the last loads from the evening and I hung all the clothes, waiting for the next day. So it can be even after midnight...
The other day I start my day at 8 am in the guest area. Hoovering and dusting the main salon, sky lounge, foyers... Checking the flowers and plants and then around 10 after the break we do with the other Stewie the cabins. I go on a break after lunch at 1 pm for 2 and a half hours and I come again at 15:30 when my colleague goes on her break, so I carry on with the duties for the afternoon. At 19:30 I have a half an hour break again and after we are waiting for the guests to have dinner, so we can get in the cabins for the turndown. I finish after the last cabin is done, approx. at 10-10:30 pm.
So these are my working days in a few words. But of course, we are having lots of fun with my mates not just in the work, but also in our free time! During weekends we used to go for little excursions to the surrounding towns, islands or shopping and in the evenings we used to sit down for a drink or dancing in clubs till morning.
It is really great, that you can enjoy yourself and you can live a "normal life". I can even spend the whole weekend in a hotel if I wish a little bit get out the "steam". Sure now many of you have the question in your head: "But when do you go home or do you have any holidays?" Well, I used to say, that I do not need any vacation, because over here every my day is a holiday :))). But of course, we get the chance to go home. I have 5 months on and 1 month off rotation, which is really great.
I think I am a really good example for the quote "Sometimes you have to give up everything to get even more!" and I can not be enough grateful for my life. I have never been so happy and relaxed before, I love my life! And believe me, "There is no better opportunity to receive more than to be thankful for what you already have!!!!"
I am wishing good luck to all of you, who are just about to break into the industry! And to those of you, who are already lucky Yachties...
HAPPY SAILING!!!!!!
Eva :)
