At Celebrity Cruises, All-Female Sailing to Make History

Celebrity Cruises will embark on a historic sailing on International Women's Day, Mar. 8, 2020 with an all-female bridge and officer team.

Captain Kate McCue will be at the helm of the Celebrity Edge, along with 26 female crew-members from guest relations to cruise director and third engineer.

Captain McCue made history in 2015 by becoming the first American female cruise ship captain.

“Excitement does not even begin to describe how I'm feeling about working alongside these incredible, barrier-breaking women on Celebrity Edge for this truly historic sailing,” she said. “I am inspired every day by the amazing women we have working throughout this organization – both on land and at sea. They're proof that there's power in diversity.”

Celebrity will curate special programming around the groundbreaking sailing, including evening gallery exhibitions and art auctions featuring female artists, a female-driven cinema series, Women of the World-themed trivia challenges, Fearless Female Officers vs. Guests Pool Volleyball tournament, and a Q&A panel.

Since 2015, Celebrity has raised the percentage of women on navigational bridges from 3% to 22%, said Patrik Dahlgren, who launched Celebrity's bridge diversification, and is the senior vice president of global marine operations and fleet optimization for all Royal Caribbean Line global brands. “Now, we hope this all-time industry-high will continue to grow; we just need more women to raise their hands for careers at sea, especially in engineering.”

Learn more about the special International Women's Day 2020 sailing and meet the leading ladies coming together on board.