Plenty of Benefits & Perks
One of the top benefits you should receive along with your salary is health insurance. Most yacht crew members are fully covered. This is especially important when you are in the middle of the ocean and come down with appendicitis. You may need to be airlifted to the nearest hospital and the bill can be as much as $30,000 or more. Insurance is essential or you may end up filing for bankruptcy. There have been some reports of captains saying the crew received health insurance but it wasn’t documented and when a health emergency occurred the crew member found out he did NOT have insurance. Make sure you get the insurance information in writing and know who you are to contact in case you need to use it.
In addition to health insurance, you should be assured of regular breaks throughout the day for meals, at least two days off per week (although some crew members agree to put off these days while at sea and then use an accumulated total number of days off once the cruise is over), and paid vacations or holidays throughout the year. You may be required to work some holidays, and in that case you should receive special pay or compensatory days off.
Other benefits include room and board, basic living essentials, crew uniform, access to email, performance-based bonuses, and possibly life insurance. The captain may also get the use of a car to use in ports or at the home port.
Other perks can include the use of the yacht itself, the ability to invite friends onboard, and the use of the yacht’s "toys" – jet skis, scuba gear, etc. Of course, there’s always the "perk" of traveling to exotic ports of call and other locations.
Now that you have the basic information about salary and benefits, click the link to learn more about what it’s like to work on a yacht.