Courtesy Celebrity Cruises . She obtained an entry-level position as the lines third mate while sailing predominantly throughout the Caribbean. "How can you be a captain? 1st Officer Sahira brings the sweet & savory snacks of Japan to try! Celebrity Cruise captain explains how her crew maneuvered their massive someone wants the sea breeze in their hair . McCue has also become something of an online celebrity. Seeing Beyond, McCue said, gave her "goosebumps on goosebumps.". She has nearly 3.5 million followers across her social media channels, offering viewers a look at what it means to be a captain and what goes on behind the scenes for seafarers. Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo has announced that Captain Kate McCue, the first American female cruise ship captain, will take the helm of the cruise line's new ship, the Celebrity Beyond. The Harbor Pilot brings valuable knowledge onboard about the port (tides, currents, weather, traffic, hazards to navigation aids, etc). "In January, I'll join full time in the yard until her completion," McCue said of the Beyond. Captain Kate McCue, who has more than 3.5 million follows across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, has already been breaking records as the first American female to captain a major cruise ship. This is a real glimpse at the Captain's life on a mega cruise ship! It also helps that she brings her cat, Bug Naked, on every voyage. Captain Kate McCue, who has millions of followers on TikTok and hundreds of thousands more on Instagram, shared video of the rescue and its aftermath, thanking her crew for jumping into action and . "I would prefer five months on to two weeks off. On Saturday, June 26, new luxury ship, Celebrity Edge will become the first cruise ship to sail from US waters in more than a year. Kate McCue, the first American woman to captain a megaship . In 2015, McCue, who was 37 years old, secured a place in the maritime history books as the first female American captain of a megaship. McCue did not allow her gender to limit her thinking. Kate McCue and her cat Bug Naked, are voyaging the open seas together as best friends. On March 8, 2020, McCue further cemented her place in the history books when she captained the history-making, barrier-breaking sailing on Celebrity Edge that comprised a cruise ships first-ever all-female bridge and officer team. She is also in charge of nearly 1,200 crew members onboard, along with ensuring passengers follow local laws when docked in foreign ports. After her graduation from the academy, McCue moved to Hawaii. McCue was offered a job in 2003 as a second officer for the Royal Caribbean line, providing her with the opportunity and experience to travel on a global scale and gain more experience in the cruise industry. The Celebrity Edge ship has a unique passenger aboard, a hairless cat. Copyright 2021 - Prevue Meetings. One of Celebrity's most popular captains, Captain Kate McCue became the first American woman to captain a major cruise ship in 2015, when she took the helm of Celebrity Summit. Captain McCue played a major role in resuming services for Celebrity. Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. Kate McCue is considered both a pioneer and a trailblazer in this field as she demonstrates another occupation in that women can succeed. She began working as a deckhand aboard a catamaran. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Allie's been on nearly 30 cruises all over the world. Captain Kate also played a major role in restarting cruise for Celebrity when Celebrity Edge, under her command, became the first major cruise ship to resume service from a U.S. homeport June 26. McCue is proud of her accomplishments as it took 19 years to obtain the title of Captain. "I spent 19 years looking out the window as an officer of the watch.". The Captain's strength is in knowing when to call it. The worlds first black woman cruise ship captain, Belinda Bennet, took the helm of a Windstar Cruises ship in 2016. People have described Kate as someone who goes above and beyond. Updated version!This was originally published on March 5th, 2020. That would be fine. Following her graduation from the maritime academy, she moved to Hawaii to work as a general deckhand on a catamaran. Captain Kate McCue - Brains and Beauty on the Edge The Celebrity Edge's gross tonnage is almost 131,000. As always, thank you for your continued support and for letting me share this Beyond amazing career! Since the age of 12, she aspired to become a cruise director. -----Officia. McCue often posts to her hundreds of thousands of followers, showing them her daily life as a captain aboard a Celebrity Cruises ship. She helped transport bananas between Ecuador and Los Angeles. She explained that she's in charge of all the ship's department heads, who report directly to her and include a chief engineer, a hotel director, a staff captain responsible for security and ship maintenance, and a human-resources manager. This is described as: "Vibroacoustic, electromagnetic and infrared technology uses healing sound resonance in tandem with full body vibrations, natural Earth frequencies and infrared for an unbelievable mind, body, and spirit experience that is only reached in deep meditation states. She completed a degree in business administration in addition to studying celestial navigation during her spring break. I think its about high time that I address this," she said in her TikTok earlier this week and proceeded to shut down the shamer in a comeback disguised as a teaching moment. Now that she has resumed her captain duties, she has had to give up the weekly plumbing rounds. This feels SO bizarre to say but TheCaptainKate.com is officially live! Credit: 2021 Captain Kate McCue. The cruise line has publicly acknowledged that McCue provided an opportunity to make significant changes to gender equality at the company. Thanks for coming to SEA us on Beyond, Daniel! The 43-year-old Celebrity Cruises . Captain Kate McCue, the first American female cruise ship captain, will take the helm of Celebrity Beyond , debuting in spring 2022. The Beyond, which Celebrity touts as its largest and most luxurious ship to date,is scheduled to set sail on a Western Europe cruisefrom Southampton, England on April 27 for 10 nights with McCue at the helm. While she works on the ship 24/7 for three months and . She sailed around Asia, Alaska, Australia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean during her time as second officer. McCue said she became interested in cruises after going on a voyage with her family. McCue previously captainedCelebrity Cruises' Celebrity Edge, which was the first ship to sail with passengers in U.S. waters since the beginning of the pandemic,since 2019. In 2015, then-37-year-old McCue became the first female American captain of a megaship. Luxury cruises keep crossing paths with migrants | CNN Royal Caribbean promoted her to the chief officer (senior first officer) and subsequently, in 2011, to staff captain. Her schedule is three months on, three months off. For Captain Kate, the seed to be a captain was planted following a cruise the then-12-year-old McCue took with her family. She's on call 24/7 and takes a nap every afternoon in case something comes up late at night. Celebrity Cruise captain Kate McCue explained how her crew was able to rescue a small boat of 19 migrants off the coast of Florida earlier this week in a video posted to social media. Voyages are on sale now. Members; 436 August 20, 2020; Knoxville, TN #6 Share; Posted September 6, 2022. She states that others tend to just call her Kate when she had Captain Kate on her name tag. Celebrity Edge Captain Kate McCue tells CNN Travel what it's like taking charge of an enormous floating city and navigating the unexpected, choppy waters of the pandemic. Im forever grateful to Lisa for entrusting this labor of love to me to captain. McCue said she considers her coworkers family, and that partly comes down to the working environment. McCue said she tries to fill her time off by taking on public-relations gigs, attending trainings, or finding other ways to represent her company. McCue went to Cal Maritime, encouraged and inspired by her father, who had also once applied there but didn't met the age requirements after a stint in the Peace Corps. CEO and President of Celebrity Cruises stated, Captain Kate has transcended what it means to be captain as a voice and example of inclusivity, diversity and change. She chose the sailboat and spent 2 years at sea with her cat. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Captain Kate McCue has helmed Celebrity Edge since 2019. She was 12 years old, and, after the trip was finished, she told her father she wanted to be a cruise director when she grew up. , There's usually something on sale & if not for you, it might make a good souvenir/gift for someone back home, Combining climate controlled exercise & an appreciation for the art and creativity on board. companys third ship in its industry-transforming Edge Series debuting in spring 2022. Captain Kate McCue was 45 years old in January 2023. It took me 19 years to earn that title.. "People that come on cruises come for what I get to experience every single day," she said, "and I get paid for it.". Celebrity Cruises. July 27, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. EDT. Travel + Leisure magazine may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Captain Kate headed the first-ever sailing with an entirely female bridge and officer team. I never get stuck in traffic when I go to work, she said. I'm forever grateful to Lisa for entrusting this labor of love to me to captain. Meet Kate McCue, the First American Woman to Captain a Cruise Liner: 'Let's Go Together' Season 2, Episode 22 A Buzzy Art Scene Has Popped Up in the Cayman Islands Here's What to See The 19 . She said the the ship's Chief Officer Nikos "noticed a glimmer on the horizon" and discovered it was a group of people who appeared to be in distress. According to McCue, he told her, "You can do anything you want, including drive the thing.". So that's kind of my message.". Celebrity Cruises has praised Kate for being a trailblazer in the cruise industry. As captain, Kate oversees operations, navigation, safety, and passenger service. Originally from San Francisco, Captain McCue decided to pursue a life at sea at the tender age of 12, following a family cruise to The Bahamas. Capt. Captain Kate McCue uses social media to offer a behind-the-scenes look at cruising. Celebrity Beyond stands at 17 decks high and 21 meters longer than her innovative predecessors Celebrity Edge (2018) and Celebrity Apex (2020). You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. www.travelweek.ca/news/captain-kate-mccue-will-take-the-helm-of-brand-new-celebrity-beyond-in-spring-2022/, Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_6) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/15.5 Safari/605.1.15. Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for. In 2015, Celebrity Cruises (which is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises LTD) asked Kate to apply for a captains position. I always say that if you see it, you can be it and I hope thatCelebrity Beyondsails as an inspiration for all to see past convention in pursuit of any goal in life, said Captain Kate McCue, in a press statement. Captain Karin Stahre-Janson, from Sweden, became the first female cruise ship captain in the world in 2007, also manning a Celebrity Cruises ship. Meet Kate McCue, First American Woman to Captain Mega Cruise Ship - Insider So you're not ever going to have the same day twice, which is really cool.". Kate noted that people tended to just call her Kate when she had Captain Kate on the name tag. She's actually ahead of schedule right now, which is perfect. @onespaworld, Snack it to me! "I didn't want to jinx it. Meet the First American Female Cruise Ship Captain Btw, is one of the nicest folks I've had the pleasure to meet (besides Bob, obviously)! This promotion placed Kate as second in command for Royal Caribbean in 2011. TRAVEL + LEISURE is a registered trademark of Travel + Leisure Co., registered in the United States and other countries. We'll send you a weekly newsletter to your inbox. The ship begins its maiden voyage on April 27, 2022, from Southampton, England. Subscribe for insight on a Captain's career, her ship, crew . Kate McCue - Wikipedia She's even gone as far as to hop on TikTok to explain why the Celebrity Beyond was skipping a port of call due to safety reasons. In this day and age, Im shocked that someone still doesnt know the difference between youre and your," she started. Captain Kate McCue will take the helm of brand new - Travelweek At 37 years of age, Kate McCue made history. Since 2015, Captain Kate McCue has worked as a commanding officer of the Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Edge, and most recently, the new Celebrity Beyond. All Rights Reserved. Their cabin is attached to the bridge, the main control center. She was born on 6 January 1978 in San Francisco, USA. This is not your Love Boat or Captain Stubing. Captain Kate McCue: Salary, Age, Husband & Fun Facts Celebrity Beyond will not only hold the title of the largest ship in the fleet, but the distinction as the brands most luxurious vessel. To be the take out captain for a new vessel is an honor for any captain and it is an absolute dream come true for me. She accepted the highly-coveted role of commanding officer for Celebrity Summit in September 2015. McCue said her days are spent in daily meetings with these department heads, leading various inspections of the ship, doing paperwork, and participating in events with the guests and crew. Celebrity Edge was the first major line to resume sailing on June 26, 2021. First American Woman to Captain a Cruise Ship Delivers Master - Leisure It eliminates EMF radiation from the entire body, enhances a meditative state and self awareness, supports quality sleep, enhances brain function and memory". In September 2015, she was chosen to be the captain of the Celebrity Summit. Like pilots, who put in hours of flight time, captains must put in days at sea. Kate McCue became the first American female captain on a mega cruise ship in 2015. The cruise line has publicly acknowledged that Kate provides opportunities for significant changes in the company for gender equality. She continued to break down the grammar even further, explaining that youre is a contraction, used to say you are as in "you are sexist whereas your refers to something possessive, it belongs to you, like your ignorance.. Kate first became a cruise ship captain at the age of 37 after 19 years of training. (10:05 a.m. EDT) -- Celebrity Cruises' Captain Kate McCue has been appointed master of the line's newest vessel, Celebrity Beyond, when it debuts in the spring of 2022.