After receiving an invitation by Aida Cruises, the Captain of Celebrity Beyond Kate McCue, and her fellow officers boarded it’s next-door neighbor, the cruise ship Aida Cosma, for a day visit at the port of La Spezia, Italy. AidaCosma Captain Vincent Cofalka and General Manager Heidi Rothe hosted an extensive tour of the ship which included a visit to the bridge, lunch at the ship's Beach House Restaurant, and other attractions the vessel has to offer.
“A special day visit in La Spezia on board AIDAcosma. Our crew together with Captain Vincent Cofalka and General Manager Heidi Rothe were allowed to welcome Captain Kate McCue and some of her colleagues from Celebrity Cruises on board.
Captain Kate McCue shared some shots of our kissing mouth ship in her high-reach social media channels, so it was obvious that our crew from AIDAcosma took the opportunity to introduce her to the inner values of our youngest. The AIDAcosma crew sent an invitation for a day visit, which Captain Kate McCue & her crew gratefully accepted.” said Aida Cruises in a social media post.
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The two captains also took a look at the bridge of the AIDAcosma. Captain Kate McCue was particularly surprised by the communications system for maneuvering. AIDA has not relied on calls and radios for several years. Instead, all deck officers involved in a maneuver wear headsets. This facilitates communication between the ship's middle main control station and the two outer wing panels on the port and starboard sides.
Captain Cofalka and Captain McCue shared photos and videos on social media from other areas including the pool deck and the view of Celebrity Beyond, of which Captain McCue was particularly envy.
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At the end of the visit, the colleagues exchanged models of their current ships. Captain Kate McCue received an AIDAcosma model. While Captain Cofalka received a model of Celebrity Beyond with a moving Magic Carpet, the platform that slides between decks - one of the top attractions aboard the Celebrity Edge class ships.
Captain Kate McCue is the world's most famous cruise ship captain, with more than 385000 followers on Instagram. She has few female colleagues in the same position on other cruise lines breaking the stereotypes.
A few years ago, Captain Nicole Langosch was serving as a Captain aboard AIDAsol. She no longer goes to sea. Since then, Aida Cruises have not had a female captain, however, there are several women who have the second highest position of staff captain.
AIDAcosma and Celebrity Beyond entered service this year and currently share the same cruise ports in the western Mediterranean. The two ships will be sailing in the Mediterranean until October 2022.
Whether there will be a return visit from Captain Vincent Cofalka on the bridge of the Celebrity Beyond will certainly be seen on Captain Kate McCue on Instagram page.
