There are three main roles of a stewardess and they fall into a Laundry, Housekeeping or Service stew. On bigger boats when you’re on charter you will usually slot into one of these roles and then rotate between them all when off charter. On smaller boats you can often be doing all three roles. – this is why it is so important to learn each role as you can assist in the team where needed and if you are looking to become a chief stew one day you’ll need to learn each role before training juniors. 

Laundry Stewardess:  you look after all guest and crew laundry items, from guest clothing, table linen and napkins to all bedding (both guest and crew), towels, cleaning cloths, rags, and galley tea towels, as well as crew uniform and personal clothing and any other random bits and bobs that need washing. It’s a big job. Imagine you have 12 guests onboard, as well as 20 crew, and different departments that need washing done like the galley and the interior that’s a lot of items coming in daily. You’re also responsible for all the ironing, this includes all the bed linen, and you have 3 table settings per day (more if you have kids onboard) thats 12 x 3 so 36 napkins, as well as placemats and 3 table cloths to wash and iron, so it’s not just guest ironing it’s the table linen too as well as keeping on top of crew uniform to be washed and ironed. I hope I am not scaring you away from this role however I don’t want to sugar coat that laundry stews have it easy. There’s a lot of washing and ironing to do onboard , with an eye for detail and extreme organisation it’s a role that some stews thrive off. 

I used to love getting the laundry shift when I worked on a 65m we would all rotate on charter which was nice and mixed things up. On larger boats you usually gravitate towards one role more so over the other and learn it well so the rotation between roles is not as common than on smaller boats.   The laundry shift perks are that you are in your own domain you don’t deal with guests face to face, you can put on your music and jsut get in your laundry zone and do your job often without interruption. Which is just bliss sometimes! However.. The laundries on boats often are on the tank deck level and have no natural light, it’s often the worst place to be when the boat starts to move around a bit, and it can sometimes be a little lonely as you’re not in the ‘service team’ or house keeping team you’re in your own team and miss out on some daily banter with the other stews.

You won’t necessarily be thrown into a laundry role straight away as there is information you need to learn such as temperatures to wash certain garments on, how to stain treat different items and how to iron correctly. This all requires some training.

The happy housekeeper: This is usually a role you step into before you start in service however not always. The housekeeping role is great because you can start and learn with no experience, so for green stews it doesn’t necessarily put you under pressure with guests straight away. It is advantageous to have experience working in boutique hotels and high-end (chain) hotels this will put you in a good position to gain a housekeeping position on board a reputable yacht.

and if you love working in housekeeping you can go on to become the head of house. So essentially the leader of the housekeeping team. 

Housekeepers need a strong eye for detail, keeping a look out for finger prints, watermarks, smears, dust etc. You need to be meticulous and take pride in your work to ensure every bed and cabin looks like is has come straight out of a catalogue. As well as looking after guest rooms, housekeeping also includes looking after different ‘public’ areas of a yacht. These include guest corridors, guest’s day beds and crew areas etc. 

It is important to be trained in the correct use of products for each and every surface to make sure there is no damage made to the expensive materials. In my upcoming superyacht stewardess online course I include all of this information so you will know exactly what to use on what surface to prevent any mistakes.   As well as manuals on how to pack and unpack guest luggage and look after guest wardrobes as essentially a role of being a housekeeper is wardrobe management.

Although there is less guest interaction in housekeeping, guest satisfaction still plays a very important role. To the guests staying on board, when the crew pays attention to the finer details, it really makes an impact. For e.g. noticing how they sleep at night (how many pillows, how many covers, blankets), if they are eating the turn down of fruit/chocolates, what type of water they drink and preparing the cabin in this personal way the next night can leave a lasting impression. We always go above and beyond often pre-empting the guests needs before they know it.  Some stews love being a happy housekeeper onboard, ofen dealing less with guests and staying out of the ‘service limelight’. It depends on your personality I guess!  However I encourage you to try all departements.

The Service Stewardess: in this role you will have face to face interaction with guests and need to be able to communicate effectively not just whisper in your quietest voice and run away and hide in the pantry. You get used to serving billionaires they are just human after all.

On past boats the service team and I have a laugh about the ‘service voice’ everyone has in them.. For some reason it’s not your normal voice, it’s usually an extra version and when you catch one of your fellow stews answering the boss with ‘the’ voice you both look at each other and smile. Everyone does it. 

Ok so as a service stew from the moment the guests arrive to the yachtL the high level of service begins. From the welcome towels, cocktails and canapes.

A service stews main responsibilities are five star meal service, table settings and decor, drinks, pantry organisation and preparation.  You need to have a sense of grace about you when in front of guests. I have a South African friend Alice who always looks like a perfectly poised ballerina around the table – she just looks so elegant. It all comes down to working well underpressure, body language, communication and having an eye for detail. 

I always gravitated towards being a service stew, I felt like table settings, decor and flowers was an area I could unleash some creativity, I always loved learning about food and wine and generally loved being present in front of guests and serving them.  This confidence wasn’t there to begin with, you work your way up and develop this as time goes on. I find service to be a lot of fun… stressful sometimes but fun. You’ll need to be extremely organised, well spoken, manage your time effectively and have a keen eye for detail!