Across the 2025 to 2026 Mediterranean charter season, the average gratuity paid on yachts above 40m LOA was 11.2% of the charter fee. Across the same season in the Caribbean, the average was 16.4%. That 5.2-percentage-point gap is the largest it has been in five years, and the reason is structural, not anecdotal. The Caribbean fleet operates under different crew economics, different client expectations, and a different historical baseline for what tipping looks like. The Mediterranean gap to the MYBA convention range of 5% to 15% has narrowed in recent years as European clients have moved up toward the middle of the band. The Caribbean has consistently held the top of the band as the default starting point.
This guide sets out the regional gratuity norms for 2026, the contract conventions that govern how gratuity is calculated and distributed, and the questions that determine whether your gratuity sits at the bottom, middle, or top of the convention range. The figures are drawn from MYBA contract data, broker reporting on completed charters, and direct conversations with captains managing 22+ charter weeks annually.
The MYBA contract convention
The Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association (MYBA) charter contract is the standard contract for charters above approximately 24m LOA. The contract is silent on gratuity. The convention that has built up around it is 5% to 15% of the charter fee, paid in cash or wire on the final day of the charter, distributed by the captain across the full crew under a standardised split.
Two important details on the calculation:
The percentage is applied to the charter fee, not to the all-in cost. APA, fuel, dockage, and crew costs are not part of the base. A 7-day charter with a €500K charter fee and €150K APA produces a gratuity base of €500K, not €650K. A 10% tip on that is €50K.
The percentage is on the published charter fee at the time of contract signature. If the rate moved after the contract was signed, the gratuity base does not move with it.
A few yachts and a few brokers have started encouraging clients to apply the percentage to the all-in figure. We would push back on this. The convention has held at "charter fee base" for 25 years, and changing it shifts the gratuity expectation upward without changing the percentage. Clients should expect to pay the convention as it stands.
The 2026 regional gratuity bands
The benchmarks below are the typical bands we see at the end of completed charter weeks, in 2025 to 2026, on yachts above 40m LOA. The bands are the percentage of the charter fee paid in gratuity, before any additional individual gifts or extras.
Mediterranean (France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Greece). Convention is 5% to 15%. Actual range is 8% to 14%, with the centre of the distribution at 10% to 12%. A first-time charter client tipping at 8% is rarely viewed as low by the crew on a Med charter, but the crew distribution math implies that the crew expected a number closer to 10%.
Caribbean (BVI, USVI, St Barths, St Maarten, Antigua, Grenadines). Convention is 10% to 20%, expressed in some broker briefings as 15% +/- 3%. Actual range is 13% to 19%, with the centre at 15% to 17%. The Caribbean baseline runs higher partly because of US client norms (tipping culture is broader in the US than in Europe), and partly because Caribbean charter weeks are higher intensity per day with shorter charter weeks on the calendar.
Northern Europe (Norway, Scotland, Iceland). Convention is 10% to 15%, sitting closer to Med than to Caribbean. Actual range is 9% to 13%. The northern European programmes are run with predominantly European clientele who default to the Med convention.
Bahamas (Exumas, Abacos, Nassau base). Convention is 12% to 18%, sitting between Med and Caribbean proper. Actual range is 11% to 16%. The Bahamas market draws US-based clients with US tipping defaults, but the charter days are typically less intense than St Barths or Antigua, which keeps the average below the eastern Caribbean.
Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia (Maldives, Seychelles, Phuket, Indonesia, Fiji). Convention is 10% to 15%. Actual range is 9% to 13%. The clientele on these charters is more international, with European, Asian, and US clients in mixed proportions. The averages are pulled down by the Asian and European cohort and pulled up by the US cohort.
Pacific (French Polynesia, New Zealand, Australia). Convention is 10% to 15%. Actual range is 9% to 14%. Similar mix to Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. Australia-based crews, where local labour rules apply, sometimes have employer-side reluctance to large cash gratuities, which keeps the cash component closer to 10%.
How the captain distributes the gratuity
The standard distribution model on European-flagged charter yachts splits the gratuity into a captain pool and a crew pool. Common splits, as of 2026:
Captain: 10% to 15% of the gratuity. Chief officer and chief engineer: 8% to 10% each. Chief stew and head chef: 8% to 10% each. Second officer, second engineer, sous chef, second stew: 5% to 7% each. Junior deck and interior crew: 4% to 5% each.
A 14-person crew on a 65m yacht receiving a €60K gratuity ends up distributing roughly €8K to the captain, €5K to each of the senior officers, €3K to each of the second-tier crew, and €2K to each of the junior crew. The senior crew take is meaningful as a percentage of monthly base. The junior crew take is meaningful as a percentage of monthly base. Both depend on the gratuity being paid at the convention rate.
Some yachts use a "pure equal split" model where the captain takes the same as every other crew member. This is rare and is usually a signal of a specific captain's philosophy rather than a fleet-wide convention. Some yachts run a "captain discretionary" model where the captain receives a slightly larger share and then redistributes informally based on performance during the week. The distribution should be transparent to the crew. It is rarely transparent to the charter client.
What charter clients should actually pay
Three rules:
First, default to the centre of the regional band, not the floor. In the Med, that is 10% to 12%. In the Caribbean, that is 15% to 17%. Starting at the floor (5% in the Med, 10% in the Caribbean) is technically within convention but signals a particular client posture that the crew will read and the broker will note.
Second, calibrate up or down based on service. A genuinely excellent week with proactive service, a flexible chef, and a captain who managed unexpected weather without disruption deserves the top of the band. A week with multiple service errors, friction with the chief stew, or visible crew fatigue can sit at the lower end of the band.
Third, pay in the same currency as the charter fee. Cash and wire are both acceptable. Most captains today prefer wire to a specified account because of the cash-handling complexity of large amounts in EU jurisdictions. Check with the captain at the start of the week, not on the final day.
What we would change
The single change we would push for in the industry is greater transparency on the distribution model at the start of the charter. The captain should walk the client through the planned split at the welcome briefing on day one. Most do not. Charter clients who tip at the convention rate without knowing the split occasionally come away thinking the gratuity went to the captain and a small senior pool, when in fact a meaningful share went to the junior crew. The transparency would not change the convention rate. It would change client perception, and on the margin it would increase the rate, not decrease it.
What we passed on
We would not pay above 18% gratuity in the Med or above 22% in the Caribbean, even on a genuinely excellent week. The reason is structural. Tipping conventions hold because the band has a ceiling. Clients who tip 25% or 30% on a single charter week distort the expectation for subsequent clients on the same yacht, and the captain will, with the next client, defend the higher number as the new baseline. Generosity on the individual week is anti-generous on the fleet.
We would also pass on yachts where the broker pre-emptively asks for a specific gratuity figure during the contract negotiation. Gratuity is paid by the client at the end of the week based on the experience delivered. A broker who tries to commit the client to a specific percentage in advance is either solving a yacht-side problem (low base wages held together by gratuity expectation) or compensating for a yacht-side risk (the yacht has lost clients on gratuity disputes before). Either way it is not the contract negotiation a charter client should accept.
FAQ
How much do you tip yacht crew?
The MYBA convention is 5% to 15% of the charter fee, paid at the end of the week. Mediterranean norms average 10% to 12%, Caribbean averages 15% to 18%. The figure is on the charter fee only, not the APA.
Is yacht crew gratuity mandatory?
No. It is convention, not contract. But the crew distribution model assumes gratuity will be paid, and yachts whose clients consistently underpay become harder to staff.
Do you tip on the APA as well as the charter fee?
No. APA is the operational cost of the week (fuel, food, dockage, consumables). It is not part of the gratuity base.
Can I tip individual crew members separately?
Yes, in addition to the captain-managed pool, not instead of it. A personal gift to a stewardess who handled your cabin or a chef who accommodated a complex dietary requirement is normal practice and is in addition to the pooled gratuity.
What if the service was poor?
Talk to the captain on day five or six, not on day seven. If you raise a service issue on the final day with the gratuity already in mind, the captain has no opportunity to correct it. A mid-week conversation with the captain about service quality almost always produces a meaningful improvement for the back half of the week.
Last updated 2026-01.