When you think about cruise ship captains, the image that often comes to mind might be straight out of a movie. But Captain Kate McCue, the first American woman to take the helm of a mega cruise ship, shatters these old-fashioned stereotypes. Her path to commanding Celebrity Cruises’ vessels has been as remarkable as it is inspiring.
With gender equality in the maritime industry still under scrutiny, her rise to this prestigious role has paved the way for other women eyeing careers in what has historically been a very male-dominated field.
Beyond her role as Captain of the Celebrity Beyond, Captain Kate is also steering through the world of social media with ease. Balancing her demanding maritime career, she’s become a bona fide social media star.
With her growing following, she gives us a peek into the daily life of a cruise ship captain with her “Captain’s Log“, sharing the highs, lows, and the often unseen aspects of life at sea.
But what about the things we might not know about Captain Kate? Well before we get into that let’s take a quick look at her career and rise to social media fame.
Captain Kate McCue’s Career and Rise to Fame
- Early Beginnings: Captain Kate McCue’s maritime career starter with her early fascination with travel and the hospitality industry. But she didn’t just spring into the captain’s seat; it took her 19 years of hard work to snag the top role.
- Education and Early Roles: McCue got her sea legs through the California State University’s California Maritime Academy. There, she earned a degree in business administration and got her first “Corporate” role as a Logistics Manager for Maersk Sealand in Los Angeles. From there she got her first “sea” role with Disney Cruise Lines as a Third Mate. Then she moved to Royal Caribbean where she stepped through the ranks of Second Officer, First Officer, Chief Officer and then Staff Captain.
- Captain Kate: In 2015, McCue was invited to apply for the role of Captain within Celebrity Cruise Line and made history by becoming the first American woman to command a “Mega” cruise ship, the Celebrity Summit. This career milestone was more than a personal victory; it was a beacon for gender equality in the maritime world and she saw an opportunity to use her position to further that cause.
- Aboard the Celebrity Beyond: Captain McCue is now in charge of one Celebrity Cruise Line’s newer ships, the Celebrity Beyond.
11 Things We Did Not Know About Captain Kate
Now one would think that being Captain of a huge ship like Celebrity Beyond would be a huge role in itself. But Captain Kate has a lot more to offer and has become a Social Media Megastar as a result.
Once you know some of her character traits it’s easy to see why. Here’s 11 things you may not have know about Captain Kate:-
1. Captain Kate Is a Bit of a Practical Joker
When you think of a cruise ship Captain, you probably think of a stern and hard decision maker. Now I am sure she takes on those traits when needed, but generally she is much more light-hearted, showing leadership in more “friendly” ways.
In fact, she is known to do wicked practical jokes on her team as witnessed by this TikTok reel she created which we featured in our article on the Best Cruise Ship Pranks Ever.
2. Captain Kate Has Her Own Newsletter
Want to know what Captain Kate is up to on a regular basis? – well she is about to launch a regular newsletter which you can subscribe to here : https://captainkatemccue.komi.io/
3. She Is a Bona Fide Influencer
On Instagram, Captain Kate currently has 929,000 followers, while on TikTok she has 3.6 Million followers, which is pretty incredible.
It’s fully understandable therefore that she is regarded as a bona fide “influencer” and is working with other brands as a result.
She even has a Management company looking after this side of things for her : “Every Kind of Social“.
4. She Wanted To Work At Sea, But Not As A Captain
The young Kate McCue first stepped on board a cruise ship at the age of 12. It was this cruise where she realised her future lay. And she made a decision. She was going to be a………Cruise Director.
Yes, surprisingly, her ambitions lay more on the entertainment side of things, than the navigational. But I suppose when you look at her career now, she has the best of both worlds – looking after the ship AND entertaining her followers on a daily basis via he social media.
Just look at this hilarious clip which parodies a promotional video made by Jetcar, a luxury car dealership, for the Bentley Mulsanne. It’s hilarious. No wonder it’s been viewed over 22 million times.
5. Captain Kate Has Her Own Range of Merchandise
Did you know that Captain Kate McCue even has here own brand of merchandise, featuring everything from T-Shirts to sweatshirts, bags to mugs, and even stickers.
6. She Even Has Her Own Amazon Storefront
Captain Kate has an Amazon storefront where she picks an array of both cruise and life accessories, which makes very interesting browsing. For example, did you know you can buy what is effectively upside-down braces to keep a shirt tucked into trousers? Neither did I.
As used by Captain Kate McCue! These were created by a police officer to meet the demands of police, military, and men and women in dress uniform. Ingenious!
7. Her Pet Cat Has Its Own Instagram Page
Kate’s companion on board is her pet cat “Bug Naked” – when you see pictures of the cat you’ll understand why it has that name. The cat is a hairless “Elf Sphinx” and has a very distinctive look.
Bug Naked is so popular with Kate’s fans that she setup a separate Instagram page which you can find at https://www.instagram.com/bugnaked/
Bug Naked even made it on the The Morning Show in Australia.
8. Captain Kate Is A Master At Dealing With Online Trolls
Celebrities will always attract the online weirdos and trolls and Kate is a master in knowing how to deal with them.
Here’s an example where someone posted a question for her online which read “How can you be a Captain. Your only a woman?”
Well, I’ll let you watch her brilliant response and put down!
9. Her Role-Model Is Lisa Lutoff-Perlo
Kate’s role model is her former boss, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo who was President and CEO of Celebrity Cruise Line.
It was Lisa who invited Kate to apply for the Captain’s role and Kate described Lisa as “badass”. In a 2019 interview Kate stated that Lisa was “one of the first people who helped me realise that you don’t have to be something else in order to fit into that world. I think being genuine goes a really long way.”
That sense of authenticity encouraged the connection between them and I wonder how much Lisa encouraged Kate to push herself via Social Media?
10. The Captain Once Helped Retrieve a Teddy Bear
In an example that clearly shows her human side, Captain Kate even intervened to retrieve a lost teddy bear that had been left behind by a guest.
Now if you have ever left anything behind in a cruise ship cabin you’ll know that it can be hit and miss if you will ever see it again. Cruise ships usually hand off any lost property to an external agent and it can be a long and sometimes fruitless process trying to get your stuff back.
In this case a young lady got off the ship and when she arrived at Fort Lauderdale to catch her flight, she discovered she had left behind her lifetime companion – a teddy bear that had been by her side for 23 years.
She was heartbroken and in tears but something made her reach out to Captain Kate via her Tik Tok channel. She messaged Captain Kate and explained what had happened asking if there was any way she could help her get it back.
Well four and a half hours later, her inbox pinged with a message from Kate with a picture of her teddy bear. “Found. Where oh where to send the bear.”
That’s the kind of empathy and connection that Captain Kate McCue is renowned for.
11. She Is Married to Nikola Petrovic But They Do Not Work Together
Kate is married to, Nikola Petrovic, who shares her love for the sea. However he is based onshore and works as a Chief Engineer for Royal Caribbean.
Like Kate and Bug Nake he also has an Instagram page.
What’s Next For Captain Kate McCue?
So what’s next on the horizon for Captain Kate?
- New Command: Captain Kate is currently at the helm of Celebrity Beyond, but one can’t help but think Celebrity Cruise Lines and potentially the Royal Caribbean Group have other things line up next for their star Captain.
- Expanding Influence: She is clearly commercialising her personal brand through her social media and her management company. I can see them looking to capitalize on this further which leads us to….
- TV Appearances: With her on-screen charisma, don’t be surprised if television networks don’t try to scoop up Captain McCue during her “off ship” periods. She’d make a great guest on something like The Traitors.
What do you see lined up next for Captain Kate McCue? Let us know in the comments!
