How to tip yacht crew: the custom, and what’s published

How much should you tip yacht crew? In the Caribbean crewed fleet the custom is 15 to 20 percent of the base charter fee, and it’s written down: the Charter Yacht Brokers Association’s own Inclusive Agreement lists crew gratuities as excluded from the fee “at customary rate of 15-20% of Charter Fee, at guest discretion” (CYBA, 2020). MYBA, whose form governs most plus-expenses charters, publishes a lower suggestion of 5 to 15 percent. Both call it discretionary.

That gap between 15 to 20 and 5 to 15 is where most of the confusion online comes from, and most of the invented “guidelines” too. This page settles it with the two documents themselves, what the fleet’s own listings say, and the mechanics that matter on the last evening: which number the percentage applies to, how to hand it over, and when to go above or below the custom.

Last Updated: September 3, 2026 | Originally Published: March 4, 2026

How much should you tip yacht crew? 15 to 20 percent of the base fee

Tip yacht crew 15 to 20 percent of the base charter fee on a Caribbean crewed charter. That’s the fleet custom, and CYBA’s Inclusive Agreement (Clause 2.B) lists the gratuity as excluded from the fee “at customary rate of 15-20% of Charter Fee, at guest discretion” (CYBA, 2020). On the $31,500 median all-inclusive catamaran week, that is $4,725 to $6,300.

View data table

Source	Gratuity band	Status
MYBA, Information for Charter Yacht Captains and Crew	5 to 15 percent of the contracted gross charter fee	Published suggestion, at the charterer’s discretion
CYBA Inclusive Agreement, Clause 2.B	15 to 20 percent of the charter fee	“Customary rate,” excluded from the fee, at guest discretion
Charter Yacht Society of the BVI, member-fleet page	15 to 20 percent of the charter fee	“Customarily run 15-20%,” not included in the charter fee
Vital Charters listings analysis, 18 yachts stating a figure	15 to 20 percent (20 on ten yachts, 18 on five, 15 on three)	Listing text, September 2026

The dollar figures follow from the rates. The table below runs the custom across the fee levels that actually occur in the Caribbean crewed fleet, from an entry-level catamaran to a large motor yacht, using the median listed rates for the two marked rows; our Caribbean yacht charter cost guide carries the full tables.

Base fees only. On plus-expenses yachts the APA and any charter tax are not in the base, and the gratuity is not calculated on them; see the base-fee rule below.

Why is the Caribbean custom higher than MYBA’s band? Because the Caribbean crewed fleet serves a largely American clientele, and the 15 to 20 percent that is normal in American hospitality came aboard with them. CYBA, the association whose all-inclusive form prices most Caribbean catamarans, wrote that custom into its contract as a customary rate rather than a rule. The 10 to 20 percent band that circulates online splices MYBA’s midpoint onto the top of the Caribbean custom; no association publishes it, and on this page 10 percent is the answer to an adequate week, not the starting point. Our Caribbean catamaran charter rates guide carries the fee medians by size and island that these percentages sit on.

What does MYBA publish on tipping? 5 to 15 percent, at your discretion

MYBA publishes a 5 to 15 percent band and nothing firmer: “Gratuities are left solely at the Charterer’s discretion. Brokers generally suggest to Charterers that a gratuity calculated between 5% and 15% of the contracted gross Charter Fee only is appropriate if the crew has given excellent service” (MYBA, Information for Charter Yacht Captains and Crew, revised April 2018). It’s guidance written for captains and crew, not a contract clause.

The same paragraph carries the two clauses guests should know by heart. “It is important to understand that a Charterer is under no obligation to leave a gratuity,” and “at no time should a gratuity be solicited, either verbally or in written form when settling the final account.” A crew member who raises the subject is stepping outside the standard that governs their own contract; if it happens, tell your broker.

Two things people read into MYBA that aren’t there. There’s no “10 percent rule”: MYBA never publishes a baseline, and the 10 percent that circulates in forums is simply the midpoint of its band. An earlier version of this page repeated it, so consider this the correction. And MYBA’s band isn’t the Caribbean custom; MYBA began as the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association, and its guidance still reflects the market its form was written for. Its plus-expenses form is common on Caribbean motor yachts, and on those boats the Caribbean custom still applies. Our guide to what’s included in a yacht charter fee reads the MYBA form clause by clause.

Want to see the gratuity line on a real quote? Search the crewed fleet, then ask us for a proposal that shows the rate, the APA where there is one, and the customary gratuity on their own lines.

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What CYBA and VIPCA publish (and don’t)

The Charter Yacht Brokers Association (CYBA) publishes the 15 to 20 percent band inside its Inclusive Agreement as a customary rate, excluded from the fee and at guest discretion. The Virgin Islands Professional Charter Association (VIPCA) publishes no gratuity figure or guest guidance at all, and the Charter Yacht Society of the BVI states the custom outright: “In the Caribbean crew gratuities customarily run 15-20% of the charter fee” (Charter Yacht Society of the BVI). No association publishes a rule.

CYBA’s other relevant document is its booking-procedures guidance. It tells member brokers to “include gratuity/tip explanation from first proposal and throughout the booking process” and to “explain ‘discretionary’ and explain gratuity is earned and therefore not ‘optional'” (CYBA, Standardizing Charter Booking Procedures). Brokers must also make sure guests know “the Crews preferred types of gratuity accepted, e.g., cash, check, PayPal, Venmo.”

CYBA tells crews to “never discuss gratuity with the Charterer/s unless specifically asked.” That’s why a proposal from a CYBA broker shows the customary gratuity on the first page rather than on the last evening, and why a crew that raises it unprompted is stepping outside its own association’s standard.

What VIPCA and the Charter Yacht Society of the BVI publish

VIPCA is the US Virgin Islands industry body, founded in 2017, which in its own words “unifies, supports and furthers the capabilities of the marine charter industry within the U.S. Virgin Islands by providing compliance guidance, youth training, and one voice to assist in the development of industry standards” (VIPCA). Its public material is written for operators, covering licensing, customs and moorings; its members agreement covers membership, not charter terms; and nothing on its site mentions a gratuity.

The Virgin Islands Professional Charter Association keeps a public yacht directory of its member vessels; it’s where to find a USVI member yacht, and it carries no gratuity guidance. Any page quoting “VIPCA’s 15 to 20 percent guideline” has invented a source.

The Charter Yacht Society of the BVI, founded in 1982 by the owners of crewed charter boats based in the territory and “the only BVI government recognized body within the crewed yacht industry,” whose membership “is currently comprised of 100 crewed charter yachts,” says it plainly on its member-fleet page: “What is not included in the charter fee is crew gratuity. In the Caribbean crew gratuities customarily run 15-20% of the charter fee. When planning a charter vacation guests should remember to budget for the tip.” That’s the BVI answer, from the BVI body: 15 to 20 percent of the charter fee, not the 10 to 20 sometimes quoted for the territory, and it matches the CYBA clause to the point.

Tip on the base fee or the total? The base fee, never the APA or taxes

Calculate the gratuity on the base charter fee only. MYBA’s guidance says “the contracted gross Charter Fee only,” and CYBA’s clause says “of Charter Fee.” On a $60,000 Bahamas motor-yacht week carrying a $21,000 APA and $8,400 in charter taxes, 15 to 20 percent means $9,000 to $12,000, not the $13,400 to $17,900 you’d get by tipping on the $89,400 total.

Both weeks are worked line by line in our yacht charter costs guide; the APA mechanics are in the APA guide.

The base-fee rule is the single most common gratuity mistake we see, and it cuts both ways. Guests on a plus-expenses motor yacht sometimes calculate on the all-in quote and overpay by thousands; guests on an all-inclusive catamaran occasionally net out the “extras” they imagine are in the rate and underpay. On the catamaran there’s nothing to net out: the rate already covers the permits and park fees, and the gratuity is the only real addition. Our hidden fees guide separates what is genuinely extra from what only looks extra.

What the fleet’s own listings say about gratuity

Of the 615 active yachts with current Caribbean or Bahamas rate listings we track, only 18 state a gratuity figure in their rate text, and every one of them sits between 15 and 20 percent: 20 on ten yachts, 18 on five, 15 on three (verified September 2026). Seven Bahamas- and Florida-based motor yachts go further and write a mandatory 20 percent into their day-charter terms, collected at booking.

Rate text of active yachts with bookable Caribbean or Bahamas rates in the winter 2026-27 window; a yacht counts once. Vital Charters listings analysis, verified September 2026.

Read this as two facts. First, the silence of the other 597 yachts isn’t an absence of expectation; it’s the custom being taken for granted, which is exactly why brokers are told to put it on the first proposal. Second, when a listing does state a figure, treat it as that yacht’s expectation, and if the word is “mandatory,” it’s no longer a tip but a contract line, most often on a day charter. Ask your broker whether the figure on your proposal is discretionary or contractual before you sign, so you know which kind of number you’re looking at.

How and when to hand it over: cash to the captain, last evening

Tip yacht crew by handing the gratuity to the captain on the last evening of the charter, in cash, as one envelope for the whole crew; the captain distributes it. If you’d rather not carry that much cash, tell your broker when you book: pre-paying the gratuity through the broker is a recognized route (CYBA’s guidance tells brokers to “inform the Crew if gratuities have been pre-paid”), and we take it by bank transfer and pass it to the captain. CYBA also asks brokers to tell you which forms the crew accept, “e.g., cash, check, PayPal, Venmo,” so ask; the answer differs by yacht.

1. Decide the percentage before you board, 15 to 20 percent of the base charter fee, so the last evening holds no arithmetic.
2. Bring it in cash as one envelope for the whole crew, or pre-pay it through your broker by wire before the charter.
3. Hand it to the captain on the last evening, with a short note; the captain divides it among the crew.

The last evening, not the last morning: departure mornings are luggage, tenders and paperwork, and a thank-you handed over in that rush lands badly. US dollars work throughout the charter grounds, so there’s no need to source local currency; on the French islands the euro is official, but crews take dollars. Skip personal cheques, which crew can’t easily bank from a boat. The crew remembers a short note in the envelope, naming what they got right, longer than the amount.

The captain divides the envelope among the crew. Do not tip crew members individually instead of the captain; it undercuts the people who worked out of sight, from the engineer who kept the air conditioning running to the deckhand who launched the toys before breakfast. The one exception is a small personal gift or a separate note for someone who did something extraordinary for you or your children, on top of the group gratuity, never in place of it.

When to tip more, or less

Both associations make the gratuity discretionary, so the percentage should track the week. Go to 20 percent or above when the crew handled weather, dietary needs or a changed plan without fuss. Stay at 15 percent for a good, professional week. Go below the custom only when service genuinely fell short, and then tell your broker why so the management company hears it.

Where the top of the band is earned:

• The week changed and the crew absorbed it: a weather reroute, a guest under the weather, a mechanical hiccup, and you barely noticed.
• The itinerary bent to you: you mentioned wanting to see rays or a particular beach bar, and it appeared the next morning.
• The chef handled the hard table: a shellfish allergy, a vegan, a picky child and a birthday cake, all in one week.
• Service became hospitality: the crew remembered what you drink at lunch and where you like to sit at sunset without being told twice.

At the other end, 10 percent or a little more is a fair answer to a merely adequate week: food that was fine but flat, a crew that was correct but disengaged, or an issue that was raised and not fixed. Going well below that is a message, and it should come with the reasons, given to your broker in writing. And if anyone aboard hints at a number before you’ve decided on one, remember that MYBA says a gratuity is never to be solicited and CYBA tells crews never to discuss it unless asked; the hint is the problem, not your response to it.

The bottom line on tipping yacht crew

Tipping yacht crew comes down to four facts: two published bands, one custom and one rule about the base. What to keep:

• The custom: 15 to 20 percent of the base charter fee in the Caribbean crewed fleet, the band CYBA’s Inclusive Agreement calls customary, the Charter Yacht Society of the BVI states outright, and every fleet listing that names a figure sits inside
• What MYBA publishes: 5 to 15 percent, solely at your discretion, and never to be solicited
• The base: the percentage applies to the base fee only, never the APA, taxes or extras
• The handover: cash to the captain on the last evening, one envelope for the whole crew, or a wire through your broker
• The exception: a listing that says “mandatory” is a contract line, not a tip; ask which kind of number your proposal carries

When you’re ready to match a yacht to your dates, start a yacht search at Vital Charters and we’ll put the customary gratuity on the proposal, against the base fee, so the last evening holds no arithmetic. Planning your first crewed week? Our guide to planning a Caribbean yacht charter walks the whole sequence, and the BVI crewed charter insider guide covers the Virgin Islands specifically. Questions first? Reach out to our team.

Association language quoted from MYBA’s Information for Charter Yacht Captains and Crew, the CYBA Inclusive Agreement (2020) and booking-procedures guidance, and the Charter Yacht Society of the BVI, as published by each body; listing figures verified September 2026 by Vital Charters against current rate text.