a day ago
What It's Like to Work on Some of the World's Most Luxurious Superyachts
When not sailing, Benic makes a beeline home to Croatia—often with a suitcase full of souvenir magnets from ports he recently visited. 'Everyone at home loves my magnets,' he laughs. 'We've filled a whole room and now I keep them in boxes because they can't fit on the wall anymore.'
We caught up with Benic while crossing from Greece to Italy to talk about his shift to superyachting, his favorite spot to hang out on board, and which port he's most looking forward to calling on in 2026.
What does a typical day on the job look like?
'There's no such thing as a typical day because our arrival time is different in every port. But generally, my day starts early in the morning. We gather on the bridge with the captain for our arrival briefing, reviewing the weather conditions and safety protocols for the ports we are visiting that day. I also meet with the safety and security deck teams and coordinate with the hotel team, which is different from cruise ships I've worked on in the past. On larger ships, everyone works for their own department. But here, everyone works as one unit. It's a lot of lateral service.
But again, each day is different. I'll give you an example. We were arriving in Santorini recently and the wind was predicted to be about 40 knots—high but still operable. But then it changed and suddenly it was blowing up to 60 knots. All of the cruise ships calling on Santorini that day cancelled, but we managed to hold the operation throughout the entire day, giving the lead to the tenders so that the guests could still go in. That was not easy; it took a lot of focus, knowledge, and dedication to keep the ship safe. It would have been easier for us to just cancel the call like the rest of the cruise ships, but if you can safely operate and still provide a great experience to the guests, we want to push those boundaries. Our guests plan for a year or more to experience these incredible places; we don't want to disappoint them.'
"It would have been easier for us to just cancel the call like the rest of the cruise ships… Our guests plan for a year or more to experience these incredible places; we don't want to disappoint them.'
Ante Benic, staff captain for the Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
What is your favorite part about this job?
'I love working with Ladies and Gentlemen [what Ritz-Carlton calls its crew members] from all over the world. I am the only person from Croatia on the bridge; our captain is Canadian and we have officers from Sweden, Romania, Italy, and Montenegro. All told, there are 54 nationalities among our 370 employees. We come from different backgrounds, different religions, and everything else, but in the end we work as one team and that's really rewarding.'
What is the most challenging part about working at sea?
'Nothing is predictable. If you have bad weather or an itinerary change or technical issues—I can't control these external factors, but my job is to make sure guests never sense any disruption. We have to think ahead and stay focused so that everything feels smooth and effortless on their end. That means staying calm under pressure, which you learn by experience.'
What is the coolest or weirdest thing about living on a ship?
'The coolest is waking up in a different place every day. Yachts are not like typical cruise ships, where you go in a circle and visit the same ports every day of every week. Here, every port is different and we get the chance to explore all those new places.'
What is your favorite place you've traveled so far?
