By
Alex Smith |
Celebrity Cruises is to embark on the first-ever sailing with an entirely female bridge and officer team when cruise ship Celebrity Edge departs Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on 8 March 2020, which is International Women’s Day.
The first American female cruise ship captain, Kate McCue, will be accompanied by 26 other female colleagues from 17 different countries. The seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise will include events such as evening gallery exhibitions and art auctions featuring female artists, a cinema series featuring female directors, leads and narratives, and a discussion panel with special guests including artist Autumn de Forest and fashion designer Mary Frances. Guests will also be able to take part in an ‘Officers versus Guests’ pool volleyball tournament and a Q&A panel with the ship’s female leadership team.
“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,” said McCue. “I am inspired every day by the amazing women we have working throughout this organisation – both on land and at sea. They’re proof that there’s power in diversity.”
Celebrity Cruises has raised the percentage of women on their bridge teams from 3% to 22% since 2015.
“We are all passionate about closing the gender gap,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Celebrity Cruises’ president and CEO. “Over the last few years, we have worked hard to diversify the crew onboard and bring more women than ever into our industry. We are fortunate to have many incredible, experienced and beyond-qualified women who have worked tirelessly to achieve these positions. And we also celebrate the many men who continue to support them and help champion having more women crew onboard.”
Celebrity Edge is the first of the five Edge-class ships ordered by the cruise line, and will be joined by Celebrity Apex in 2020.