Most cruise captains stay behind the bridge. She became a global celebrity.
Captain Kate McCue made history as the first American woman to captain a mega cruise ship and then she did something no one expected. She brought the world along for the ride.
With her cat at sea, signature heels on the bridge, and millions watching her on TikTok and Instagram, she’s turned a traditionally private role into something surprisingly relatable.
But there’s far more to the story than viral videos.
From her salary and career path to the reality of life in charge of a floating city, there are details most people don’t realise… and a few that might surprise you.
So how did she go from cadet to cruise icon and what’s life really like at the top?
1. She’s a Pioneer
Until recently, Captain Kate McCue was the captain of Celebrity Beyond.
This luxury Celebrity Cruises ship is the third ship in the Celebrity’s ‘Edge’ class. Captain Kate had the honour of sailing the ship for its maiden voyage in April 2022 from Southampton, England. However, she announced in February 2025 that she was leaving Celebrity Cruises.
In January 2026, she took command of the inaugural vessel for Four Seasons Yachts, continuing her track record of leading high-profile new ships.
Kate McCue began her career with Celebrity Cruises when she was made captain of Celebrity Summit on September 13, 2015. This made her the first American woman to captain a “mega ship” (she was not the first woman, but she was the first from the USA).
Kate McCue was actually invited to apply for the position by the CEO of Celebrity Cruises, and the fact that she got the most important job on the ship was seen as a sign that longstanding gender divisions in the industry were starting to break down.
Captain Kate helped take this to the next level when she led the first-ever sailing with an entirely female bridge and officer leadership team aboard the Celebrity Edge (a team of 26, plus Kate).
This was a historic moment in maritime history and involved a crew of women from around the world representing more than a dozen different nations. It took place, appropriately, on International Women’s Day on the 8th of March 2020.
Prior to taking on the command of Celebrity Beyond, Kate McCue had worked as the captain of a couple of other Celebrity Cruises ships. In 2018, she moved from Celebrity Summit to Celebrity Equinox, and then in 2019, she became Celebrity Edge captain.
In 2026, she took the helm of Four Seasons I, stepping into a new era of ultra-luxury cruising.
2. Captain Kate Has a Wealth of Experience for Her Age
Captain Kate McCue was 48 years old in January 2026. She was born on 6 January 1978 in San Francisco, USA. In her childhood, Kate McCue spent time living in Evans, Georgia and Michigan before returning to San Francisco.
Kate first became a cruise ship captain at the age of 37 after 19 years of training. This made her the first American woman to captain a mega cruise ship, as well as one of the youngest cruise ship captains ever appointed at the time.
3. Captain Kate Is Married
Captain Kate McCue has been married to her husband, Nikola Petrovic, since 2006. Kate and Nikola met while working on board a Royal Caribbean ship. They do not have any children, although Kate had previously said she considered herself mum to her cat.
Spouses are usually permitted to accompany captains whilst they are on voyages. However, Nikola is not always able to join Kate on her cruises due to his own work commitments. She has a schedule that sees her work for 3 months on the ship and then have 3 months off the ship. Kate describes the time they spend together as being ‘like a honeymoon’.
Captain Kate did have a cat that travelled with her on her voyages. Known as Bug, she was an elf sphynx cat that had her own Instagram account, Bug Naked, with over 80,000 followers of her own.
Sadly, Bug passed away in late 2024.
4. Captain Kate’s Husband Also Works In Cruising
Captain Kate McCue’s husband, Nikola Petrovic, has also carved out a very successful career in the cruising industry and currently works as Fleet Chief Engineer for the Royal Caribbean Group, having previously worked for Virgin Voyages. He is originally from Croatia. He also has a popular Instagram account, although he has far fewer followers than his wife.
Captain Kate McCue and Nikola Petrovic perform very different roles within the cruise ship industry, but they are both at the very top of their field. It was a love of cruise ships that helped them to discover their love for one another as they met when they were both employed by Royal Caribbean and served on the same cruise ship.
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5. Captain Kate’s Net Worth Is In the Seven-Figure Range
Captain Kate McCue is one of the most famous names in cruising, and for good reason. She’s not just a trailblazer on the bridge; she’s also doing well for herself financially compared with most cruise ship captains.
Most credible estimates put Kate’s personal net worth between $1 million and $5 million, yes, that’s a wide range, but it reflects the fact that her income comes from several different places, and nobody (not even she) publishes her official numbers.
Senior cruise ship captains on big ships typically earn $110,000–$180,000 per year in base salary, with the average landing around $140,000. The American pay reference website Payscale lists the average at $119,386 per year.
As one of the most high-profile captains in the industry, and now the inaugural captain of Four Seasons I, Kate’s annual earnings are widely believed to be near the top of that range – around $200,000+, which lines up with other reported estimates.
Just to be clear: that doesn’t mean she’s guaranteed $200,000 every year (salaries vary by company, ship size, contract and bonuses), but it does give you a realistic picture of what a top cruise captain can make.
Kate is also a big social creator. She has millions of followers across TikTok, Instagram and other platforms. Based on publicly available influencer estimates, earnings from sponsorships and online content could be roughly $140,000–$208,000 per year on top of her captain’s salary, though exact numbers vary wildly depending on brand deals and engagement.
Put it together and you’re looking at a multi-stream career:
- Cruise ship salary: roughly $150,000–$200,000+ a year
- Estimated social income: $140,000–$208,000+ per year
- Net worth: probably $1,000,000–$5,000,000 overall
That’s a very strong position compared with the average cruise ship captain and reflects both her experience and her rare public profile
6. Captain Kate Has Never Been Fired from a Cruise Role
Captain Kate McCue has never been fired. She is incredibly well-respected within the industry and has broken new ground for women in cruising. She says that the only major criticism she has received in her career is that she smiles too much.
She smiles a lot since she is happy working her dream job and has fulfilled an ambition she has held since childhood. She has described this in her own words:
“When you’ve wanted something so bad, since you were 12 years old, and your dreams have finally come true, you can’t help but smile.”
I think we all want a job like that!
7. She Lives In Las Vegas When She Isn’t Sailing
Captain Kate McCue lives in Las Vegas. You might expect that she would choose to live by the sea, but instead, she has chosen to live in a desert. Kate McCue spends three months at a time at sea, so she will only spend half of her time in Las Vegas each year.
When she worked at sea on Celebrity Beyond, she had a room next to the bridge. You can take a tour of her former accommodation and office here.
Kate McCue has moved around a lot during her lifetime. She was born in San Francisco but spent time living in Michigan and Georgia while she was a child. She studied at the California State University Maritime Academy.
The Bottom Line
Captain Kate McCue is a true trailblazer in the Cruising industry. Not only is she the first American female captain of a mega cruise ship, but she has sought to modernise the somewhat stuffy role traditionally played by a ship’s captain.
She has dispensed with the Captain’s table at meal times; instead, she wanders about between tables so that she can meet more of the passengers, rather than just a select few.
Kate McCue has also sought to give people a greater insight into the life of a cruise ship captain through her popular social media channels. So, she is helping to break down gender barriers at the same time as adapting and modernising the role of the ship’s captain from within.
Captain Kate has proven that women can successfully take on leadership roles in the industry, even at the relatively young age of 37 (when she first became captain of the Celebrity Edge in 2015). She has helped others to break down barriers, too, when she led the first-ever all-female bridge and senior officer crew in 2020.
She remains the only American female to captain a mega cruise ship, but surely it is only a matter of time before other women follow in her footsteps.
Captain Kate has fulfilled an ambition that she has had since the age of 12. She found a cruise ship brochure at home and convinced her parents to take her on a cruise. She spent most of the cruise with the cruise director and decided that was what she wanted to do when she grew up. That was until her father suggested that she might like to drive the ship. The rest, as they say, is history.
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Excellent following daily operations aboard with Captain Kate.
Thirty-three cruises, former Navy,Vietnam Vet,USS FORRESTAL,Flight deck Ordnance.Still love my sea time.Two different type cruises though.
She made a big mistake and doesn’t know the weather patterns…
She gaped several hundred passengers out of seeing Martha’s vineyard….
She needs to go back to studying
So you know there’s several hundred people angry with you…
Weather happens – nasty attitude you have there. Maybe kindergarten is the lesson you missed.
Yes definieatly,women cando the job, i appreciate Kate Mccue dream and she achive her dreame, very glad about the same .
God bless Kate McCue
So she doesn’t brace the idea that she’s a woman breaking the barriers. She decides to put up barriers of her own by using a female only crew. People like this keep the gender se operation going as well as the race barriers. It’s awful funny that she was invited to become a captain. The question is was she really qualified or just a token. I know for a fact women can do the same job as men But it just seems odd she was invited.
She’s captained like 3 ships, a couple of which were Celebrity flagships, she seems pretty qualified my guy. And maybe she has an all female bridge because they’re a lot more pleasant than dudes like you.
Uhhhhh….do your research before making dumb misogynistic comments. I t happened on INTERNATIONAL WOMENS’ DAY in 2020. Very appropriate perhaps?
She wasn’t INVITED to be a Captain, she studied, applied herself and QUALIFIED to be a Captain. She told us herself that she was proud that at the time that we sailed on the Celebrity Edge, that 10 other Women were preparing to be qualified as Captains