Capt Kate extended?

[39august]

Have read that Capt. Kate's contract was extended. Anyone know how long? We board April 27 and I believe she will still be on then. We are on Beyond B2B so wondering who will be Capt. that second cruise May 5. 

[Pennstatedj]

I read two weeks. 

That would mean No for May 5. We board on the 12th for a B2B. Lets hope for longer extension.

[Marie51]

Does anyone know how long her break will be? We’re sailing September 1.

[jwlane]

6 minutes ago, Marie51 said:

long her break will be?

 

3 months on, 3 months off.

 

Edited April 17 by jwlane

[Carried_Away]

She said in one of her recent videos that she was asked to extend her contract for a few weeks. 

[Cruising Is Bliss]

Normally captains do three months on, three months off.  A couple of weeks ago she was asked to do two additional cruises this contract. Her 4/17 instagram post was dated day #90 so her final cruise is probably either the one ending 5/05 or the one ending 5/12.

[jwlane]

26 minutes ago, EatonDoolittle said:

she even showed construction guys and engineers working on it. 

She showed footage from when Beyond was constructed.

[Saab4444]

On 4/18/2024 at 3:24 PM, sptrout said:

As many have said, we do not book a cruise based on who the captain may be. However, Captain Kate may be an exception. Our last two cruises were both on the Celebrity Beyond; 7 days with Captain Kate and 11 days this past January with Captain Leo (I think that was is name).

 

We met both captains in the hallways and Captain Kate was great to talk to. Captain Leo was also approachable, but it was obvious that he was uncomfortable talking with us. It may have been because Captain Leo's first language was not English. I am not sure what his fist language is, but whatever it is it was it was "Greek' to us (probably was actually Greek).  For a quick conversation in the hallway it did not really make much difference, but every time that he made a ship-wide announcement it was impossible for us to understand a word that he said. Luckily, no emergency announcements. In this case, the Cruise Director should have made all ship-wide announcements.

He is indeed Greek like all Celebrity Captains with exception of Captain Kate. And they are all used to speak and understand English, so for sure he was not uncomfortable because of language...

[sptrout]

6 minutes ago, Saab4444 said:

He is indeed Greek like all Celebrity Captains with exception of Captain Kate. And they are all used to speak and understand English, so for sure he was not uncomfortable because of language...

I agree, all captains on Celebrity Ships speak Greek as their first language, it is just very difficult to understand them when they make announcements especially when we were in our cabins. Captain Kate was a refreshing change in many ways, but especially being able to understand her announcements. This language barrier problem is not unique to Celebrity; nearly all cruise ship captains have English as a second language. For example, RCL have captains from Norway or at least they use to years ago (we have not been in RCL for a few years).

 

On our last RCL cruise (Voyager of the Seas) the Captain was from Norway. Our cruise was going to be his last since he missed being away from his young family for many months. He was the lead singer in a band made-up of several crew members. They played 100% Country & Western music and were very good. No accents just good C&W music. 

[leaveitallbehind]

23 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

How do we know the rule book doesn’t allow pets? Perhaps crew who are officers have had pets and they just didn’t publicize it.

Not a pet and a different cruise line there is a Captain on RCCL that at one time kept his motorcycle on board and frequently rode it in ports of call - often with others.  I'm sure senior staff has certain exceptions granted.

Edited April 19 by leaveitallbehind

[Crown Vic]

22 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 Parrots have a long history of accompanying crew on ships, at least in the media. Did Robert Louis Stevenson start this? I'm too lazy to look it up.

Aarr! Jim lad!

[Banjo]

I don't know who Captain is till I board the ship when I will glance at the bio sheet they hand out. No real favorites, to me they all seem to be fine. After 21 Celebrity cruises I can't think of one bad captain I had.

 

Now cruise directors is different. I do have several favorites and some I did not care for. Again, I don't know till I board.

 

 

Edited April 19 by Banjo

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, Banjo said:

Now cruise directors is different. I do have several favorites and some I did not care for. Again, I don't know till I board.

After 50+ RCCL / Celebrity cruises, who may happen to be the cruise director is of little importance to us as, in particular with Celebrity, we don't get involved with too much of anything on board that they would be "directing".   

[Liao]

On 4/18/2024 at 6:20 AM, keesar said:

I will drink to that! 🍻

 

I cannot figure out why people are so into who the captain is.  We choose a week and an itinerary of interest and go from there.

I've never known, inquired or cared who the captain or CD are on any cruise.  Once on board and after I hear the first announcement from both is when I know if they are even M or F.  The Celebrity captains daily announcements are nice and brief and the CD's drone on and on and on, and unfortunately not poetically. 

[mahasamatman]

I'll never understan d the cult of personality that triggers this kind of hero worship. She's a ship Captain. That's all. Nothing more. No more special than any other ship Captain.

[leaveitallbehind]

4 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

I'll never understan d the cult of personality that triggers this kind of hero worship. She's a ship Captain. That's all. Nothing more. No more special than any other ship Captain.

Well everybody - including ship Captains - is different, and her personality and interactions with the passengers does set her somewhat apart from many others.  She is quite well liked and popular among the passengers as a result.  But at her core, as with all others, she is first a ship Captain and no more special in that regard.

Edited April 20 by leaveitallbehind

[gojengo]

I'm thrilled that her contract was extended and I hope to meet her on my upcoming cruise. The people who think she's "just another Captain" have obviously missed the importance of her post and how she's paving a path for female officers. I'm also looking forward to hearing her announcements as I've struggled to understand the male Captains with foreign accents.  

[Charles4515]

1 hour ago, mahasamatman said:

I'll never understan d the cult of personality that triggers this kind of hero worship. She's a ship Captain. That's all. Nothing more. No more special than any other ship Captain.

I beg to differ. I had her as Captain one sailing and she has charisma. It is not necessary for a Captain to have charisma but she has it. 

[Carried_Away]

On 4/19/2024 at 12:09 PM, Saab4444 said:

He is indeed Greek like all Celebrity Captains with exception of Captain Kate.

 

When I was on the Summit last year, the master was Captain Nigel, who I believe was Irish. Definitely not Greek.

[Saab4444]

10 hours ago, Carried_Away said:

 

When I was on the Summit last year, the master was Captain Nigel, who I believe was Irish. Definitely not Greek.

Few exceptions always possible, in the past it was all Greek.

[cruisefam38]

Perspective is important, and so are historical facts. 

On observation, or an event I happened to witness:

We sailed on Beyond for a 10 night Ultimate Caribbean this spring, disembarking on Monday, April 1.  This was our third cruise with Capt. Kate, and during each cruise we had multiple pleasant, even charming interactions with her.  The final interaction this time, as it had been during the other two cruises, was during disembarkation.  Near the end of the zigzag gangway, the Hotel Director and Capt. McCue were seeing off passengers.  As we walked upon the scene, I saw the mother of a family tell the captain that her son had something to show the captain.  Capt. Kate promptly squatted down and focused her considerable energies on the young passenger.  He showed her the item and explained its importance.  Capt. Kate nodded a couple of times and admired the item, asked a couple of questions, and left no doubt the item was interesting and worthy of attention.

I could see that young lad's smiling face before he turned away.  I believe today, if you ask him about a ship's captain, he would not describe a 65 year old man, with ruddy, wind blown cheeks, a captain's cap, a pipe and a Hemingwayesque beard.  No, he would tell you about the lady with the lively eyes, the big smile, the ponytail, and the quicksilver mind.

Call it style, panache, or as other's have, charisma, this person has It.

Undeniably competent at the helm, leads by example, and she emphasizes crew accountability and development, the Master of Beyond doesn't just do her job.  Only an opinion, but I believe Captain Kate McCue is more than worth her salt.