Have you sailed with Captain Kate?

[Honolulu Blue]

Hi everyone.  I have a question for the grizzled veteran Celebrity cruises out there... have you sailed with her, perhaps Celebrity's most famous employee, and perhaps the most famous Captain currently on the high seas?

 

Obviously, I don't mean to slight anyone who hasn't sailed with her - whatever the reason.

 

But I HAVE sailed with Captain Kate.  It was my first cruise on Celebrity in 2017.  We were on the Summit doing the Eastern Caribbean thing.  I didn't meet her, but her personality came through during her announcements.  I liked her.  I wouldn't mind sailing with her again.  But I'm not hurrying to do so.

 

Here's a shot of our ship when we were in Barbados:

 

 

That's enough of me and my stories of Captain McCue.  What are yours, if you don't mind sharing.  Thank you very much for voting and posting!

[ela123]

We sailed in the Equinox with Captain Kate for the New Orleans Jazzfest. We were due to leave New Orleans at a time that passengers wouldn’t be able to have the time to see George Benson. She moved the departure time later to allow people to see George which was fab.

[bikerunner]

I looked back at my history of cruises and I probably have but no remeberance if I did or did not.  Captains I dont per se pay attention to.  The only one that stood out, and I dont even remember the name was on the Constellation after start up.  We met the captain at dinner as he took us to our table for dinner.  Was so funny, he goes to the hostess, I can navigate a ship, I think I can follow the table set up and get you to your table.  the hostess and Matre de were kind of wary of this, as we went to our table in a roundabout way we looked back and had the Matre de, hostess and our waiters following close behind.....was so funny 

Edited October 28, 2023 by bikerunner

[lola2013]

We sailed with her on Edge…first cruise after the re-start.  We met her in the OVC…she is very approachable and warm.  My friend and I brought a little gift for BugNaked on the off chance that we would run into her.  She was very friendly!  The next day after returning from an excursion, we found a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries in the cabin along with a hand written thank you card from her!  I remember thinking what a great job her parents did…raised her right!

[islabahia]

Totally no interest who is captaining the ship.

[Reesetiff]

We sailed with her on the Beyond in July 2022.  She was very visible durning the trip and a very bubbly personality. I never attend talks at sea but I was compelled to her her story. So glad I went. Every crew person I spoke to had nothing but awesome things to say about her. Really fun to hear.  

[prmssk]

We sailed with her in early October of 2015 on the Summit which I understand was only her 2nd or 3rd cruise in charge as Captain.  She was personable and present around the ship then and it appears she has only grown into that role.  We have a nice photo with her.

[TeeRick]

Trying to estimate here. With 2500-3000 passengers per cruise per week on the larger ships she has captained, going back years, I think the answer is hundreds of thousands have sailed with her.  A lot of folks on these boards have.  I have never seen a negative remark about her.  Or any other Celebrity captain for that matter.

Edited October 28, 2023 by TeeRick

[lv2cruisgrl]

We sailed on Beyond but she had left the ship for vacation.  We sail Beyond again Nov 13, have no clue if she will be on at that time. Anyone have any info?

Edited October 28, 2023 by lv2cruisgrl

[horseymike]

1 hour ago, islabahia said:

Totally no interest who is captaining the ship.

You would if it was Helen Keller or Stevie Wonder .

[CruisinShips]

I’m a gentleman. I don’t sail and tell. 

[prmssk]

1 hour ago, islabahia said:

Totally no interest who is captaining the ship.

I generally don't either.  I don't book cruises for the captain and I don't try and figure out the captain ahead of time.  I trust that they all will do a fine job navigating the ship to where we need to go.

 

But as a pioneer for women in a very male dominated field and one who has shared so much publicly about her journey, I personally have found it very interesting to watch Captain Kate's progression.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We sailed with her on her very first command on Summit in September 2015 and were guests at the Captains Table.

[Mrs_Tiki]

I follow her in social media and find her posts informative and entertaining. What impresses me the most is the attention she pays to providing opportunities for the development and advancement of her staff.

 

I have seen her in person, albeit from afar. We were on MSC Seascape tied up next to Beyond in one of the ports (can’t remember which!) I spied her on the bridge as Beyond set sail. For such a petite person, her body language radiated confidence and command. 
 

We missed her by just a week or two when we sailed on Beyond last spring. I would love to sail with her but wouldn’t plan a trip around it. 

[Tyler414]

She was on the gangway on disembarkation to say goodbye.  Could really care less who the captain is, as long as its not the guy who sunk the Costa ship years ago 😂

[keesar]

We have sailed with her and found her advertising shops on the public address system as being annoying.  Granted, she is personable but she  goes over the top with her promotions.  I don't remember other Captains as promoting watches and jewelry.  

[hcat]

I am sure she is  a very competent Captain..kudos to her for breaking through a  predominantly male  profession.   But she  is used by X for way too many PROMOS, as are others.  .I find it demeaning that they do that!

 

btw there are other X women Captains....Captajn the shuttles to ports..and do a great job!

 

[lola2013]

1 hour ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

We sailed on Beyond but she had left the ship for vacation.  We sail Beyond again Nov 13, have no clue if she will be on at that time. Anyone have any info?

I believe she is on her last cruise before her vacation starts.  

[NMTraveller]

She is very visible and approachable.  We sailed with her on Edge.  IMHO all Celebrity captains should model themselves after her.  She is good for the Celebrity brand.

[1025cruise]

I sailed with her on the Equinox. She was very visible. She was even helping out at Al Bacio to help with the line (handing out pastries, not making coffees). I also thought her initial joke about finding the keys to the ship in the right handbag was slightly amusing.

 

With that said, I can't speak to the quality of her seamanship. But then again, I could say the same about any captain, officer, etc. 

[cw2go]

Sailed with her twice, Feb/Beyond and Aug/Beyond again. Her jokes of the day and mom quotes were on repeat. I even would verbally finish her skit with her. It was that obvious. Ship didn't sink, she threw a volley ball in the pool and held a vow renewal for Valentines so all in all, she was fine. Her public Meet & Greets were all held in the shops, quite obvious what the motive is in that regard. I appreciate her hard work and certainly admire a women holding this honored position but the sales ploy by Celebrity distracts from her accomplishments. Women and men are nuts for her and always feel the need to explain to me what she has accomplished when I mention in anyway that I am not all that into it. My husband is retired Navy, in his 22 years of service, I've met quite a few captains and some were women, all quite accomplished and deserving of respect. 

 

Cat Kate found and paved her way, hats off to her! ⚓

 

Patty 

 

[George C]

We just missed sailing with captain Kate on summit by a week or two , but she was captain on Edge on the second sailing after pandemic , saw her all around the ship and she waved goodbye to us when we left. We should have asked if we could meet her but didn’t this was our one cruise in a penthouse.

[bjahil47]

We sailed with her when she was Captain on Equinox.  We also met Bug Naked and I held him!  I think I was more excited about meeting Bug than I was Captain Kate!  She was very nice.  I have not met a captain I have not liked!

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

I sailed with her on the Equinox. She was very visible. She was even helping out at Al Bacio to help with the line (handing out pastries, not making coffees). I also thought her initial joke about finding the keys to the ship in the right handbag was slightly amusing.

 

With that said, I can't speak to the quality of her seamanship. But then again, I could say the same about any captain, officer, etc. 

She also mentioned the "keys in the purse" when I sailed with her. I assume it's a long-time part of her shtick.

 

As far as her seamanship goes, we didn't have any bad weather, the ship wasn't memorably bumpy, and she didn't do anything obviously stupid behind the wheel. And most importantly, I survived. 😀 

 

P.S.  Thanks everyone for your replies and votes! Please keep them coming!

[morebeaches]

We just missed sailing with her on the Edge in 2019. We will be sailing on the Beyond for our first B2B March 22 and April 1, and hope that she will be our Captain. It depends on her vacation schedule, plus I have heard that she may get assigned to another ship.