I’m a chef who lives on a superyacht. This is what life is REALLY like below deck. And from 16-hour work days to ‘absolutely no privacy’, it’s anything but a ‘permanent holiday’

Working with the wealthy, traveling to the most exotic locations in the world and living for free on luxury ships: working on board a superyacht may sound like a dream job.

But life below deck has its challenges, according to Abbi Robertson, a superyacht chef who spent seven years sailing the high seas.

Beneath the glamorous surface, the seasoned sailor reveals months spent away from family and 16-hour work days – and no privacy to speak of.

The 31-year-old, from Buckinghamshire, spoke to MailOnline Travel about the highs and lows of the job. “I wouldn’t change my experiences for anything, but you have to accept that this lifestyle comes with its downsides,” she said.

Abbi started her superyacht journey in 2017, shortly after leaving a steady job as a project manager for a double door company. She had no plans other than ‘maybe travel a bit’ and ended up in this lifestyle by chance.

The superyacht chief claimed there are ‘disadvantages’ to the job, including 16-hour days and lack of privacy

These images show Abbi’s sleeping quarters – in a cabin she normally shares with someone else

She completed compulsory training in Antibes, France. And within days she was on a 50-meter motor yacht in St. Tropez. After working as a crew member for a year, Abbi saved her tip money to pay for a culinary course at the Ashburton Chef Academy and switched to working in the galley.

Abbi is currently working on a mid-sized superyacht, serving up to eight guests and five crew members.

She works on a rotation basis, spending ten weeks at sea and ten weeks on land. Before that, she worked full-time and spent most of her time on board with only six weeks of vacation per year.

A typical day starts at 6:30 am with breakfast prepared and served and meals for the day planned. She then serves lunch, ranging from a three-course fine-dining menu to sharing platters ‘depending on what the guests prefer’.

Abbi started working as a crew member on superyachts and saved her tips to complete a culinary course. Pictured is a swinging ‘gimbal’ stove in the galley, which keeps the pots and pans level at sea

Abbi is currently working on a mid-size superyacht that will serve eight guests and five crew members. She starts her days in the kitchen at 6:30 am

Previously working full-time on superyachts, Abbi now spends ten weeks on board and ten weeks at home in Buckinghamshire. Abbi captured the above image of Mo’orea, an island in the South Pacific, from a vantage point in Tahiti

Abbi takes a short break after lunch, before preparing a ‘sweet treat’ or afternoon tea at 3pm and canapés for cocktail hour at 6pm. At 7 p.m. she serves dinner and “tackles the mountain of dishes in the galley.”

After preparing dessert and drawing up a menu for the next day, she will finally rest at 11 p.m. Ready to do it all again.

One thing that surprised Abbi about working on a superyacht is how hard the work is.

She said: ‘It’s an easy assumption to think we’re on a “permanent holiday” and once the guests leave we’ll hang out on the yacht and have a good time. But in reality, the work on a boat is never done.

Abbi is shown above the negotiating passage through Patagonia, the southernmost region of South America

LEFT: Abbi on a windy crossing from Brazil to Uruguay. RIGHT: Diving in Fakarava, an atoll in the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia

Abbi said life on a superyacht is not a ‘permanent holiday’ and requires a lot of ‘hard work’. This image shows Abbi admiring a beautiful view of Tahiti

‘A superyacht must work perfectly and look new every time guests come on board. That takes a lot of work and a lot of night work to achieve that.’

And there are many problems when you spend a long time at sea.

From the impossibility of cooking while the ‘boat is bouncing along’ to the lack of work-life balance and routine, Abbi said the lifestyle is not ‘suitable for everyone’.

She said: ‘The obvious disadvantages are being away from family, not having privacy or any kind of work-life balance – difficult when you live at work – but what I have found most difficult as as I got older, there is a lack of routine or consistency. You build a group of friends in one port and get used to your life there, but at any moment you can be told by the captain that you are sailing to the other side of the world and have to start all over again.’

But for Abbi, working on a superyacht is ‘worth it’.

Highlights, she said, include visiting “some incredible countries I’ve never heard of,” with highlights including “sailing the Strait of Magellan in Patagonia, spending a whole year in Tahiti and exploring the islands Visiting Vanuatu’.

A close second in terms of travel are the “amazing people” she has met along the way. “When you have a good team around you, it hardly feels like work,” she said.

Abbi added, “You often have to go with the flow and roll with the punches. If you can do that, you can enjoy a great lifestyle and experience unique destinations.”

For more from Abbi, visit her on TikTok at www.tiktok.com/@abbicooks.uk (earlier www.tiktok.com/@abbicooks) or Instagram here – www.instagram.com/abbicooks/.