Superyacht Housekeeping Tips: The Do’s and Don’ts For Junior Yacht Stews

Jess, aka the sea worthy stew was a chief stew on board Superyachts for 5 years. Since coming ashore, she started her own business, setting out to help aspiring yacht crew succeed in the industry. Below, Jess has shared 16 Superyacht housekeeping tips: The Do’s and Don’ts For Junior Yacht Stews.

READ MORE: How To Prepare For Your First Yacht Charter As A Junior Yacht Stew

16 Superyacht Housekeeping Tips: The Do’s and Don’ts

1. Always spray your cleaning cloth first do not spray directly onto surfaces
2. Never put any cleaning products on surfaces such as putting the Downy/Febreeze on the bed side table. This can have a sticky residue on it which can damage surfaces
3. Do keep your vacuum smelling fresh by putting a couple of drops of essential oil in the air filter pad, suck up a cotton ball with drops of oil on it or use a dryer sheet and put it above the air filter pad for a nice smell!
4. Always clean up after yourself wether you are on or off duty- Never leave vacuum cord laying about, even when off duty in the crew mess, fluff those cushions if you’ve sat down on them, fold the blankets, put your water glass away, and help where you can.
5. Do not slam doors always close quietly with one hand
6. Do not tread loudly
7. Use your inside voice and be mindful of talking in guest areas to other crew- noise travels on boats
8. Listen to your radio for when cabins become free
9. Always make the master cabin a priority
10. Organise the hangers in the wardrobe all facing the same way, with a 1 cm gap between each hanger. Ensure they are all polished and any broken hangers are removed. I’ve included in The Seaworthy Yacht Stewardess Course a wardrobe management guide to teach you how to organise a man and womens wardrobe and what you need to look out for (very handy if you’ve never dealt with very expensive clothing and wardrobe organisiation before)
11. Use spare toilet brush to clean the guest toilets (not the guest one on display) to scrub the toilet bowl
12. Don’t flush anti-bac wipes in the toilet after using them
13. Clean any door rails or hard to reach gaps with chopstick and antibac wipe
14. Always check the hand soaps are working and the bins have neatly folded bin liners in them
15. Men and womens toiletries match the opposite cupboard on the same level (e.g. Toothbrush and paste on the same level) with all products facing forward. Always have new products in the cupboard for new charters (e.g. don’t leave old toothpaste or body creams in there, either top them up or remove them).
16. LASTLY- Always do the double check, when you leave a guest cabin look behind you to make sure you haven’t forgotten any cleaning products, rags or bins.

For more on Superyacht Content career and training, click here.