Newcastle woman Charlotte Campbell travels the world as crew member on luxury yacht

But she's done it as the staff - working her way up as a stewardess on luxury yachts cruising the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

Campbell was 21 when she heard about yachting from a roommate who returned with a "wad of cash".

She took a five-day crash course called STCW 95 "and then you're pretty much set to go".

When the bright-eyed blonde arrived in Antibes, a dazzling display lay before her: endless rows of gleaming yachts idling in the French marina, each a prospective employer.

It took her 10 days of "dock walking" - charming folks and handing out her CV - before she scored her first job.

But getting a job can take a lot longer in what she described as a "face value industry".

"It's fickle, but if you talk the talk, if you walk the walk... people take notice of you," she says.

You usually begin as a "greenie" - a stewardess or a deckhand - unless you have a specialised qualification.

There were 21 other staff aboard Campbell's first boat, which was 64 metres long, including a captain, bosun, deckhands, engineer - and watersports.

That's everyone from jetski, kitesurfing and wakeboarding teachers to diving instructors.

"These are billionaires, so any activity they want to do, they will have on board," she says.

Yachts are typically private or chartered, available to anyone with $250,000 a week handy.

And guest requests can be outlandish: food delicacies at 3am, even requests to plug in the phone charger by their bed.

In the beginning, Campbell got 38 days off a year, but now she works three months on, one paid month off.

When there are no guests on the boat, she works regular Monday-to-Friday hours.

"But if guests are on, say, a five-week trip, you're working every single day for five weeks," she says, doing 12-hour days.

Her partner, engineer Morgan Riley, 31, says it's mostly safety work and breakdown repairs during his 12-hour day.

"But if there's anything during the night, you have to get up and sort it out - whatever time it is," he says.

The payoff is sweet in more ways than one, however.

"It's a work-hard-play-hard mentality," Campbell says. "You could be absolutely exhausted but drop off day is coming - where you drop off the guests - and you can party all night."

Or spend time as a couple - it was a whirlwind romance for the good-looking pair, who shacked up when they worked on the same yacht in 2017.

"Your relationship goes from meeting someone to living together almost instantly," Riley, who is originally from Cape Town, says.

Most recommend against coupling up on the boats - "as the saying goes, don't screw the crew," Campbell laughs.

But, Riley figured, "Why should we fight something that makes us so happy? So we gave it a shot and here we are", shooting Campbell a smile.

Yacht life means a lot of long-distance though - last year they saw each other every five months. Now, it's every three months.

"Occasionally we end up in the same port and we get to spend time together," Riley says.

Campbell says it's those port destinations - like Saint Tropez, Ibiza and Monaco - that really make yachting worthwhile.

And the money doesn't hurt either - a newbie pockets "about 2500 euros a month" ($A3900), which increases over time (now, Campbell makes about double that amount).

All living expenses are covered by the boat, and tips pile up too - sometimes up to $5000 apiece.

That's allowed Campbell and Riley to buy their first home in Newcastle East this year.

"It definitely takes the edge off travelling on a budget," she says, of her nest egg.

Working on the yachts does require "a certain type individual who loves it and thrives", Riley concedes - the long days, the weeks at sea without time off, and the stretches away from loved ones.

"But you really do meet cool people, you do things you would never imagine doing, you go places you could never ever think of going," he says.