Today, on International Women's Day, Celebrity Cruises revisited with the history-making team of women who served as the first all-female bridge and onboard leadership team aboard a cruise ship.
That took place March 8, 2020, exactly one year ago today. One year later, amid pandemic-suspended operations, the women reflected on that important moment.
"Making history with these women was quite extraordinary for our industry and an honor for me. It was a dream come true for all of us," said Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo. "Our mantra has been to use this time away from the water to come back stronger than ever, and reuniting these incredible trailblazers is a sign of that. Together, we will continue to sail beyond conventional thinking and wisdom into a new world of opportunity."
Around the world, only two percent of mariners are women. Celebrity Cruises lead the marine industry into a more diverse future by growing the number of women on their bridge teams from three percent to 28 percent.
The women recounted the day and spoke to listeners on a Facebook Watch Party.
Participants included Captain Kate McCue, the first American female cruise ship captain, and Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, the first female president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises.
Lutoff-Perlo recounted how she also was the first female to serve in a high-ranking operations role. "When I came into operations, it was a real culture shock, the genders were so unbalanced. The environment was hard to me to thrive in," she said during the viewing party on Facebook. "I remember thinking, I don't want this to be the same way for other women. I want women to get the opportunities they deserve."
As Lutoff-Perlo rose, she made sure women did get those opportunities, appointing McCue within her first year as president.
By March 8, 2020, plans were set for McCue to serve as master of the Celebrity Edge with 26 other women to create an all-female bridge and officer leadership team.
Sue Denning, who served as cruise director, recalls introducing the four senior officers as they descended the main stairs into the Grand Plaza. "Everyone came down to a standing vocation by both men and women, they all stood up," she recalled. "I was choked up enough at that point, and then Kate came down and walked out and everybody went nuts again."
McCue expressed gratitude for the opportunity that she never imagined when she started her maritime career.
The all-women bridge and leadership team "was a surreal experience," McCue said. "When we're all coming up through the ranks or starting our career, the idea to operate a ship with leadership that was entirely female - I don't think that was something we ever even contemplated." And then it happened.
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