None of those were planned with her in mind. A Celebrity spokeswoman confirmed that McCue was the line's biggest social media star; in second place is McCue's hairless cat/sidekick, Bug (@bugnaked, 44,500 followers). I use my platform to answer questions and normalize having a woman in this position. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I also got a BA in business administration, which comes in really handy for a captain, who is theoretically the CEO of the ship. Youll never have the same day or experience twice. When we get to a port and passengers are getting off, who is looking after the animal still on the ship? The realworld is a scary place, you have to go out, sit on traffic, to go to the grocery store, pay bills and do all that. She is my world, she makes coming home at the end of the day or passing by the cabin a joy. McCue said she first envisioned working on a cruise ship after atrip with her family at age 12, when she was living in San Francisco. She also uses it to explain her role as the ship's master to passengers and, of course, to school the occasional hater. I would love to build a ship, to take it from the time the keel is laid until she is put into service. Shes now going to be the captain for Celebrity Cruises newest cruise ship, Celebrity Beyond. "Someone came up to him and said 'Oh, captain, you're doing a great job' and he turned them toward me and said 'No, she's the captain'. I have a captain's reception I host for the ship, which they do before the shows and the theater. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Cruise Captain vacations are typically 3 months long so I'd assume BugNaked, her cat, goes home with her. I was floored by the media and the attention that [becoming the first American woman to become captain] brought on. On sea days, it's important to McCue to be available and accessible for the guests as they enjoy life on board. Im glad you asked Ive been waiting for this question from the beginning (Smile). Free expert cruise tips and news from Cruise Hive! Fun stories about food, relationships, the great outdoors and more. What that causes you to do is really focus, concentrate and go to a place that you dont get to experiencevery often, and at the end of that I called my parents and said that today Im a better captain than I was yesterday. The captain's quarters tour was a good example of what McCue really aims to do with her social presence, which is to make the seafaring life accessible and relatable, particularly to women. Subscribe for insight on a Captain's career, her ship, crew, & trusty sidekick (a hairless cat named Bug Naked) & of course the . I was assisting the [first] officer on the watch. I have to do laundry, I have to make my own food, make my own bed. When McCue disembarked in October, only four crew members remained on board Edge -- and she says they were all working again. Captain Kate McCue Is a trailblazer in the maritime industry, and is the first American female to take the helm of a mega cruise ship, but she is so much more! " When I started in 2015 we only had a 3% female bridge team fleetwide.