The hidden cost of yacht crew gratuity
The crew tip is customary, expected and left off the quote entirely — here is how it is actually calculated so it never blindsides you at the end of the trip.
What the sticker leaves out
Gratuity is customarily worked out as a percentage of the base charter fee — often quoted as roughly 5–15% under Mediterranean convention, sometimes higher elsewhere. It is a benchmark, not a fixed rule, and the exact figure is at your discretion.
The customary percentage is applied to the base charter fee alone — typically not to the APA float, VAT or delivery legs on top. Tipping on the all-in total instead of the fee is a common and expensive mistake.
The tip is usually handed to the captain to pool and distribute among the whole crew — deckhands, stewardesses, chef, engineer. A larger crew does not raise the customary percentage; the same pot is simply shared more ways.
Gratuity is customarily settled at the end of the charter, frequently in cash or via the broker. That means having the sum ready in the right currency, which is easy to forget when the fee itself was paid by transfer months earlier.
What is customary differs by cruising region and contract style, and the tip is normally given in the local currency of the charter. Converting a home-currency budget at a poor rate quietly inflates what you actually hand over.
The tip is discretionary in theory and expected in practice for good service. Because it is never itemised on the quote, first-timers often omit it from the budget and then feel obliged to overpay on the spot.
Why the quote makes gratuity invisible
A charter quote lists the fee, and often APA and VAT, but it almost never lines up the crew tip — even though a customary gratuity can add a further percentage of the fee on top. Because it is framed as discretionary, it sits outside the numbers you compare listings on, so two charters that look identically priced can differ by a meaningful amount once the expected tip is counted. Worse, the convention is a percentage of the base fee, so the tip scales with the size of the charter you pick — the more expensive the yacht, the larger the unlisted extra riding alongside it. A cost that moves with the fee but never appears next to it is exactly the kind the sticker is built to hide.
How to work out your true total
Start from the base charter fee — not the all-in figure with APA and VAT — and apply a customary percentage in the region's usual range as your gratuity estimate; treat it as a benchmark you can adjust for service. Set that amount aside in the local currency so a conversion rate does not erode it, and remember it is settled at the end on top of everything already paid. For a sourced figure on a specific charter, with the tip and every other line dated and graded by how well we can verify it, run it through the TrueCost calculator rather than leaning on a rule of thumb.
How we stay honest about this
If you book through a partner link we may earn a referral fee at no extra cost to you, and it never changes which charter we rank first or the figures we show — including how we estimate gratuity. Placement can't be bought; the order is set by the true total and verifiable quality, never by who pays us. See our affiliate disclosure and methodology.
Rules of thumb only get you so far. Run a specific option through the calculator for a sourced, dated, confidence-graded figure.
Frequently asked
There is no fixed amount, but the customary benchmark is a percentage of the base charter fee — often cited as roughly 5–15% under Mediterranean convention, sometimes higher in other regions. It is discretionary and scaled to the service you receive, so treat any range as a starting point rather than a rule.
Customarily no. The percentage is normally applied to the base charter fee alone, not to the APA float, VAT or delivery legs stacked on top. Working it out on the grand total instead of the fee can inflate the tip considerably.
Usually not. The gratuity is customarily given to the captain as a single sum to pool and share among the whole crew. A bigger crew does not raise the customary percentage — the same amount is simply divided among more people.
Related guides
See the big picture in the Hidden-Fee Index — how much the advertised price hides across every category — or browse all buyer guides.
This guide explains typical, well-known cost mechanisms for general education — actual fees vary by operator, destination and date. Confirm live prices, fees and your consumer rights with the retailer and official sources before you buy. TrueTotal provides guidance, not financial or legal advice.