Four Seasons recently got into the cruising business, with the launch of Four Seasons Yachts. The first ship set sail in March 2026, with the goal of redefining cruising, especially in terms of the amount of space dedicated to each guest. I recently had the chance to take such a cruise, and walked away with mixed feelings — the ship was beautiful, but the experience just wasn’t ready for primetime.
Anyway, I digress. One of the things that got Four Seasons Yachts the most publicity ahead of launch was who the company appointed as the first captain, as she’s easily the most well-known cruise ship captain out there. So there’s a major update, as she has resigned from the company, though not to work on another ship (thanks to Stuart for flagging this). Let’s start with a bit of background…
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Captain Kate McCue is a cruise ship legend
Let me be 100% clear — I don’t usually follow the “characters” in the cruising world, and up until earlier this year, I hadn’t been on a cruise ship since I was a kid. That being said, I’ve long known about Kate McCue, who is probably the most famous cruise ship captain in the world.
She spent years as a captain at Celebrity Cruises, and was even an ambassador for the company. What makes her memorable is how how much of her job she shares on social media, and also how much she interacts with guests. Captain Kate just comes across as such a genuine and kind person, and that’s what makes her so likable. I know there are plenty of people who would book a specific cruise in hopes of having her as a captain, and meeting her.
I love anyone who is passionate about whatever they do, and Captain Kate’s enthusiasm is infectious. She’s also an inspiration for so many young women and girls, since the job of ship captain has historically been pretty male dominated. It’s nice to have a role model where you can say “hey, I can do that too.” She’s a bit of a trailblazer, as she also become the first female, American cruise ship captain in the world.
Before anyone yells “DEI” (c’mon, do better!), let me point out the immense experience she has, as she has been at sea for decades. For those not familiar with Captain Kate, below is a Peter Greenberg segment from several years back, featuring her.
Captain Kate “retires” from being a ship captain
In September 2025, Four Seasons announced that Kate McCue would be the first captain of Four Seasons I, Four Seasons Yachts’ first ship. On her Instagram account, she posted a video, plus the following message, at the time:
I’m thrilled to join an amazing team, introducing a new category of luxury and excellence to our guests at sea. A new build vessel is one thing. A start-up with an incredible prototype vessel is a whole new opportunity to grow with an iconic brand like Four Seasons! It’s yacht like anything you’ve seen before!
That brings us to the latest update, which is that less than a year after accepting the job, and roughly five months after the first sailing, Captain Kate will be leaving the company. She posted the announcement on her Instagram account, with the following message:
Sometimes life changes the course.
After 30 years at sea, I’m making more room for family, joy and new adventures, including experiencing cruising from the other side for a change.
The captain’s license is staying active. I’m not leaving the sea behind… I’m just changing the view.
In the video, she explains how she finished her first Four Seasons Yachts assignment in April, and was expecting to be the caregiver for her father after a major back surgery for the following months (captains generally work three months on, three months off, give or take).
She then unexpectedly lost her mom in June, and that’s when she realized that she has spent a majority of the last year away from home, because she was working. And after 30 years at sea, and 11 years as captain, she feels like she doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone anymore.
So she is now starting a new chapter that will give her more time with her family, and more freedom to pursue things that she genuinely loves, including taking her dad on bucket list trips. Captain Kate explains that she’s keeping her captain’s license active, so returning to the career in the future isn’t off the table.
Massive kudos to Captain Kate for making this difficult decision. She’s a force to be reckoned with, and will no doubt be missed in the cruising industry. Her passion and skill (both professionally and interpersonally) are obvious. But yeah, being away from home for half of your life isn’t easy, given the complete lack of flexibility the career affords when you’re “on duty.”
Kudos to her for now focusing on her family more, because I can imagine the extent to which her losing her mom caused her to put this all into perspective. Given how many social media followers she has and how respected she is, I’m sure she’ll have no issues continuing to make a good living without cruising. I wish her all the best, and who knows, maybe she’ll be back as captain of a ship at some point.
I have to imagine that this was in the works for some time, because when I cruised with Four Seasons Yachts in late July, there was talk of Captain Kate returning in a couple of weeks. However, everyone working there was sort of odd in how they talked about it, saying things like “oh, yeah, I think she’s supposed to return soon,” or something like that. Clearly this was decided some time back, but is only now being announced.
Bottom line
Four Seasons Yachts recently set sail, with Captain Kate McCue, probably the world’s most famous and likable cruise ship captain, being the ship’s first commander. Her career at Four Seasons Yachts didn’t last long, though — between taking care of her father following a back surgery, and then losing her mom only months later, she obviously decided to reflect a bit on life.
Despite her passion for cruising, she realized that she wants to focus more on family, and pursue other things she’s passionate about. Kudos to her on making this difficult decision.
She was always so nice and positive when I saw her on Celebrity. I'll always remember the time she got on the elevator with me and remembered talking to me on an earlier bridge tour. I had planned to try Four Seasons Yachts with her as captain. I hope she enjoys the time she can spend now with her family and other things in life!
1/ Good for her. 2/ This comment section is guaranteed to be a dumpster fire.