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FREQUENTLY asked questions
Each department on board will have an entry level position. The entry level positions for new crew or "green crew" are Junior Steward(ess) on the interior, Junior Deckhand for the exterior, Crew/Sous Chef in the Galley and Junior Engineer in the Engine room.
Unfortunately, it’s the nature of the game. You work at sea, and you may very well get seasick. You may have to expect to have to work regardless. Luckily most of the time when underway you don’t have the guests onboard and the crew rotates who is on duty. There are also several over-the-counter seasick medications you can take bearing in mind they can make you drowsy.
Yachts vary in all different sizes and the larger the yacht the more crew you can expect to find onboard!
Smaller yachts (80ft-130ft) can have 3-7 crew. Larger yachts (130ft-180ft) will have on average about 7-15 crew. The larger vessels (200ft upwards) can have 15 - 25+ crew on board at one time.
The hours you work vary depending on each individual yacht. Depending on the program, owner/guest demands, location, and the total number of crew who will contribute to this. Certain flag-states require their Heads of Department to have the crew fill in HORs. Hours of Rest forms. When the owner/guests are off you can expect to work a general workday of 8 hours. When you have guests on you can work double that with intermitted breaks given to you at your Head of department discretion.
A private yacht is primarily used by the yacht owner and his/her guests. A charter yacht is privately owned but registered commercially. This means the owner can rent it out for charters by paying guests. Generally, the difference is the owners use their boats to do whatever they want whenever they want. Charter programs are more structured in terms of usage around the charter seasons and locations. You tend to get paid a higher base salary on a private yacht plus earn tips on charters.
Crew cabins are compact with usually shared accommodations. You will generally be sharing with at least one other crew member. Usually, same sex unless it’s your partner. Most cabins have bunk beds for sleeping. Storage is very limited on board so keep this in mind when packing.
Your salary will depend on your experience, the size of the vessel, and if it is charter or private. This really varies from yacht to yacht.
The STCW Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping and the ENG1 Medical cert are required to get started regardless of your department. We do encourage crew to take a few courses in the department they wish to work in. If you wish to work on deck, then take the Powerboat Level 2 course so you can drive the tender. If you want to work on the interior, we suggest the Food Safety level 1 & 2 for service.
This depends on your nationality and the flag / cruising grounds of the yacht you are joining. The most common visa required is the B1/B2 visa for a foreign crew working on a yacht that plans to be in the USA at some point. The Schengen visa for a foreign crew working on a yacht that plans to be in Europe. Contact our friends at Grand Travel for more information https://www.grandtravel.co.za/services
This will all be depending on the vessel. Most programs will offer you a contract, some will offer an employment agreement. Make sure you read yours thoroughly.
More than likely yes. Most yachts have a zero policy onboard for drugs. Crew can and will be randomly tested onboard vessels. This seems to be more of a standard in the industry.
Vessels often travel the Mediterranean, Bahamas, or the US East Coast in the summer. In the winter yachts often cruise the Caribbean. Other cruising grounds are becoming increasingly popular such as SE Asia and the Middle East. If you are part of the lucky ones destinations like South America, the South Pacific, and even Antarctica could be on the list!
Luckily over in the US, we don’t have a very slow season. There is a dip in the summer from May to August, but you can find work year-round. The best time to look for work is before the season starts, the US season starts Sept/Oct through to March/April and the Mediterranean is March through to Sept/Oct. Though those are the main seasons there are always vessels looking for crew regardless of the time of year. Boat Shows are also a great time to find work. A lot of vessels undergo yard periods and go through a large crew changeover during those periods.
All new crew in the industry are considered “Greenâ€.
Green Crew or “Greenie†means that the yacht is looking for or willing to hire someone with little to no experience and they are going to train you onboard the vessel. You might come across these terms on social media or from various yacht job posting pages or websites. Being Green in the industry has its advantages and disadvantages.
Meridian is here to help! Do your research first to see if this is the right career path for you. We are here to help guide you and can give you first-hand experience. You will need to take the STCW course as well as get an ENG1 Medical to gain employment as these are the minimum requirements. We have tons of jobs posted daily along with a daywork board to help you get your foot in the door! Check out our Crew Coach for more information!
Yes! A lot of the time employers request "green" or new crew with little to no experience. Don't give up there is always an opportunity for everyone!
There is no set answer to this as it varies with each individual. It could take you a day, week, month, or more! We recommend logging into Meridian and applying for jobs daily. Make sure that your profile is updated, and you are ready to be hired by having all your certifications uploaded and up to date. The more you are using the platform the more likely you will land a dream job!
Meridian is an online global platform.
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Absolutely. We have seen an increase in demand for American crew for little over 2 years now. Essentially when COVID started, and the boarders shut. A lot of programs have also remained dockside and not travelled as much which has also cause a trend to hire American crew that don’t need to leave the US every 6 months.
We facilitate the software service for Crew Agencies and employers looking to fill their jobs. They source their crew from us, and you have access to all their jobs too. You log into your profile, go to your dashboard and you can apply for jobs right from there. You can also click the jobs icon at the top and search that way. You can also apply from your phone with "Meri" our Chatbot. Once you apply for the job, your application will go directly to the agency or employer looking to fill that role. We do not put you forward for roles, you put yourself forward.
The best, fastest, and easiest way to find crew is to post a job with relevant screening questions. Applicants will be arranged first by their positional experience, then by the percent match of their answers to the screening questions.
Meridianº does take steps to monitor job listings on an ongoing basis, to ensure jobseekers the best and safest experience.
Meridianº is designed to cater to both new and experienced seafarers who are looking to find job positions within the yachting industry.
Yes, all depending on the vessel.
This will depend on what the insurance requires, and the flag state.
General rule of thumb is that you can only employ a US national or Green card holder on an US flagged vessel.
Your job post is active for 30 days. At any time, you can also manually deactivate the job within your account via the job's menu.
24 hours from the date selected
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You receive a receipt of payment as soon as you make a purchase in the email you have associated with your account. You can also find a summary on your dashboard. If you are already in your account, you would click on the 3 vertical dots in the top right-hand corner of your home screen. A drop-down would appear and select Accounts Settings.
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It is always difficult to say who is available and who is not as our industry crew are employed one day and not the next! That said, we are diligently assuring we have a healthy diversified quality crew. A posted job receives an average of 35 applicants within the first 72 hours.