I always wonder who is living the dream, the yacht crew or the yacht owner ?

Hiring well-trained crew as in the definition of a super yacht is a certain expense on top of other running fees and the exploration costs when it comes down to the super yacht ownership. Crewing the luxury yacht +60m could take a proper sum of money like 90 000€ per month depending on yacht size and its crew quarters capacity, crew experience and prestige expected. Here living the dream could be seen like glass half empty… Well, still, if you think of the comfort and safety you get of having professional onboard services 24/7 and relatively stable personnel (if you look after it), it is all worth it. Nowhere else, would you experience such a blissful rest if not during the stay onboard of a luxury yacht in the most relaxing and inspiring places in the world. Deckhands standing by the tender to take you ashore whenever you want, stewardesses waiting with fine champagne, private chef presenting luxury cuisine, captain willing to deliver you the best holiday – selection of water sports, unique way traveling, personalised entertainment and – on top of everything – safety and security.

Remember that giving (those high salaries to the crew) is somewhat receiving.  The good yacht owners will get full respect and appreciation. Not mention the discreet stories of iconic owners within the specific society of luxury yachting. I was very fortunate to have experienced working for one owner for four years. My luck was to be hired permanently and treated beyond even my expectations. I will always remember all the bonuses from the K family: helicopter cruise, Disneyland trip, personalised X-mas gifts, spa vouchers etc. Those were the benefits of being a loyal crew, I suppose.

Being a full time crew has some other sides too. There were situations when feelings of servitude were appearing, although I shouldn’t really phrase it that way as I was actually delivering 7-star services to my lovely Guests. There were just simply those moments I was thinking I am locked down: my passport was taken, my private traveling restricted, the Internet was breaking down, I was overloaded with mid season duties.  At the end of the month (and even more after the season), with the proper sum on my account, all those thoughts were vanishing and somehow I could see the sunrise again and look rationally. Yes, in the middle of the season, you sometimes do not see things clearly which is understandable due to the exhaustion of working long hours in the floating travel mode. Still, I think this was the best job I have ever had. It allowed me to travel extensively. I sailed across the Mediterranean, around the Births Islands and Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, I touched the Pacific waters too and I was paid for doing that. I explored the world and saved a lot of money. Beside, I was able to learn things unwritten.  The best life experience of living with the international crew (not always a piece of cake), dealing with elite guests (often challenging) that made me stronger and reacher.  This is something I can call living the dream, yet topic is much broader…

How do you see that? What is your perspective?