Captain Kate Resigns from Position at Four Seasons Yachts

Posted on 7 August, 2026 by Spacejunkie2

Captain Kate Resigns from Position at Four Seasons Yachts

Captain Kate McCue is leaving Four Seasons Yachts to begin a new chapter in her career, according to a recent video update.

McCue said that her life has taken an unexpected turn, with her father undergoing major back surgery and the sudden loss of her mother.

“That was when I realized that I spent the majority of the last year away from home because I was working,” she explained.

“After 30 years at sea, delivering two new vessels, launching a new brand with a prototype vessel and sailing as captain for the last 11 years, I don’t think I have to prove anything to anyone,” McCue continued.

“I’ve made my parents proud, and I’ve made myself proud, so I made the decision to resign,” she added.

Captain Kate said this next chapter would prioritize family time while also giving her more freedom to pursue other things she loves.

McCue noted that she wants to take her father cruising and plans to board different types of vessels.

“I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who was on this journey and all the opportunities I’ve had,” she continued, noting that her captain’s license remains active.

“Sailing again is absolutely not off the table, but for now, many new adventures lie ahead, and this time, they’ll be surprises to me too.”

Before joining Four Seasons in 2025, Captain Kate spent 22 years serving onboard Royal Caribbean Group ships.

In 2015, she became the first American female to take the helm of a cruise ship, as captain of the Celebrity Summit.

More recently, McCue took part in the construction and launch of the Four Seasons I, which was built at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, Italy.

The 180-passenger luxury vessel entered service earlier this year, beginning a maiden season in the Mediterranean.

Carnival Corp. orders 9 ships to be built from 2019 to 2022

Posted on 30 March, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

By Johanna Jainchill
Carnival Corp. said Thursday that it would add nine ships to its fleet between 2019 and 2022.

Carnival offered almost no details about the ship order. It did not specify which of its nine brands would get the new vessels or offer any information about their size, design or cost.

In a statement, Carnival said the new ships were expected to serve the North American, European and Chinese cruise markets, would be specifically designed and developed for their particular brands and would be the most efficient ships in Carnival history.

“We’re excited to take this next step in our fleet-enhancement plan with these two new agreements that are consistent with our long-term strategy of measured capacity growth over time,” Carnival Corp. President and CEO Arnold Donald said in a statement.

The order is in line with Donald’s previous statements indicating that the company would restrict its growth to two to three ships per year across its fleet.

Carnival said it had signed memorandums of agreement with Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard to build five of the vessels and with Germany’s Meyer Werft to build four.

Additional information about the ships, such as their design and which brands they will be built for, will be revealed at a later date, Carnival said.

In announcing the new builds, the company indicated that Donald would be offering additional details about the new vessels during Carnival Corp.’s earnings call on Friday.

Carnival Corp. is the parent company of Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, Aida Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (U.K.).

Late last year it ordered one ship each from Fincantieri for Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line for delivery in 2018.

The company has added more than 30 ships to its combined fleets since 2007, and it has another nine scheduled to be delivered between 2015 and 2018, which Donald pointed out in December was about one vessel for each of its brands over the next four years.

This year, Carnival is adding two ships to its global fleet and removing four. The new vessels are P&O’s Britannia, which launched earlier this month, and the Aida Prima, set to debut later this year.

Cruise & Maritime Voyages adds new vessel to fleet

Posted on 15 December, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

The 600-passenger ship Astor has been acquired by Cruise & Maritime Voyages.

The vessel, which was built in 1986, was refurbished four years ago and has been bought from bankrupt German owner, Premicon Hochseekreuzfahrt.

CMV, which had been chartering the 21,000 tonne vessel, is reported to be in the final negotiations of the purchase agreement.

Astor will return to Australia for its 2015-16 season, which will be its third year based at Fremantle.

The season will include an Asian cruise from Fremantle to Hong Kong with stops in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Sabah, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Astor originally joined the CMV fleet in December 2013 under a charter with ship management services provided by CMV’s majority shareholder, Global Maritime Group, which has acquired the vessel.

Astor will operate under long-term charter to CMV.

Christian Verhounig, chief executive and chairman of CMV, said: “The acquisition of the Astor is another important milestone in the strategic development of the group’s presence in the international markets.

“Astor has a fine pedigree and provides an important smaller ship premium option within our cruise portfolio,”

CMV commercial director Chris Coates said: “Astor has added 22,000 passengers to our global carryings and since her introduction has proved a firm favourite with high levels of customer satisfaction and repeat business being achieved.

“Next year we have programmed a special eight-night ex-London Tilbury round Britain cruise before Astor starts her German market season and forward booking levels are very encouraging”.

Astor arrived in Fremantle on Saturday following a 38 night re-positioning voyage from Tilbury and will continue to operate cruises under the CMV brand for the Australian market during the southern hemisphere summer season.

The ship will then reposition to Europe in April 2015 to operate a summer season of ex-Kiel and Bremerhaven sailings for the German market under the TransOcean brand.