If you are trying to decide whether Celebrity Xcel is the right ship for your next holiday, here is the short answer: she is the fifth and newest Edge-class ship, she keeps the design signatures that made this class stand out, and she swaps the old three-deck Eden lounge for a shape-shifting market called the Bazaar that actually rebuilds itself around the region she sails. If you like modern luxury, a drinks-and-Wi-Fi package baked into the fare, and a Western Mediterranean run that reaches Barcelona, Rome, and Naples, this guide walks through everything that matters before you book.
Everything in this article and far more, deck by deck, in The Ultimate Guide to Sailing on Celebrity Xcel.
Get the book →What makes Celebrity Xcel different
Celebrity Xcel is a stretched-hull sister in the Edge class, running to about 140,600 gross tons across roughly 17 guest decks and carrying around 3,260 guests at double occupancy. On paper that puts her in the same family as her Edge sisters, and if you have sailed one before, plenty here will feel familiar: the low-slung profile, the outward-facing design, and the sense that the ship is trying to connect you to the sea rather than wall you off from it.
Her bold difference is what she leaves out. Every earlier Edge ship built its heart around Eden, the three-deck glass conservatory at the stern. Xcel has no Eden. In its place sits the Bazaar, and that single swap changes the personality of the whole ship. Alongside it, Xcel carries more fleet-new venues than any of her Edge sisters, several of them shaped by real travelers through Celebrity’s Dream Makers programme. If you want the deeper breakdown of how she compares within the class, the Edge-class ship guide is the companion piece to this one.
The Bazaar: the venue that replaces Eden
The Bazaar is a multi-level, glass-walled market at the stern, and it is the reason to pay attention to this ship specifically. Where Eden was a serene, plant-filled lounge, the Bazaar is staged like a living marketplace: stalls, lanterns, colour, live cooking, music, and roaming performers moving through the space. During the day it reads as a relaxed spot to browse and eat; in the evening the lighting drops, the programming ramps up, and it becomes one of the ship’s social anchors.
The clever part is that the Bazaar is built to change. It rotates through themes across a season, and for the European sailings it transforms to take on a Mediterranean identity, leaning into the food, sights, and sounds of the region the ship is actually crossing. No other ship in the fleet attempts to become the place it sails. If that idea is what pulls you toward Xcel, the dedicated look at the Bazaar and what is new on this ship goes venue by venue.
Two practical notes. First, casual dining now lives partly inside the Bazaar, so it is not only entertainment space but a genuine place to grab a meal. Second, because the evening programming is lively, cabins directly around the Bazaar can catch noise late; that matters when you pick a stateroom, and I come back to it below.
Bora, the Sunset Bar, and the new venues
Xcel introduces a handful of firsts to the fleet. Bora is a Mediterranean restaurant up in the Rooftop Garden and the line’s first proper brunch concept, serving as a specialty dinner venue in the evening and a brunch spot by day. The Sunset Bar is styled like an Amalfi Coast terrace, which is exactly the kind of end-of-day, drink-in-hand space this itinerary calls for. Both fit the ship’s Mediterranean leaning without feeling like theme-park dressing.
Because several of these venues were shaped by travelers through the Dream Makers programme, they tend to solve real problems rather than chase novelty: more places to eat casually, more outdoor terrace seating, and clearer separation between the lively spaces and the calm ones. For a fuller first-timer orientation to how the ship flows day to day, what to expect on Celebrity Xcel is the place to start.
The Magic Carpet and the Infinite Veranda
Two Edge-class signatures survive intact on Xcel, and they are the ones most worth understanding before you sail. The Magic Carpet is the cantilevered platform that rides the outside of the hull and moves between decks. Depending on where it sits, it becomes an extension of a dining or bar space, or a specialty dining venue, or a tender embarkation point at certain ports. It is genuinely unusual: an open-air room hanging off the side of the ship with nothing but sea beyond the rail.
The Infinite Veranda is the other one, and it shapes the cabin experience. Instead of a separate balcony, the Infinite Veranda stateroom brings the veranda inside: at the touch of a control the top half of the floor-to-ceiling window drops, turning the front of your cabin into an open-air space that flows into the living area. You gain interior room and a huge window; you trade the traditional step-out-onto-a-separate-balcony feeling. Most guests love it, but it is worth knowing exactly what it is so it does not surprise you on embarkation day.
Beyond those two, Xcel keeps the Rooftop Garden, the glass-domed Solarium for calm adults-only pool time, and The Retreat with its private suite areas and the suite-only Luminae restaurant. The ship is built to give you both energy and quiet, and knowing where each lives is half the battle of enjoying it.
Finding the quiet spaces
On a lively ship the calm spaces matter as much as the loud ones, and Xcel has two that are easy to overlook. The Solarium sits under a glass dome toward the front of the ship and gives you a warm, adults-only pool and lounging area that works even on a cool or breezy sea day, which is exactly when the open decks empty out. The Rooftop Garden is the other retreat, an outdoor terrace-style space that hosts Bora above it and gives you room to spread out away from the main pool crowd. If your travel style is a busy port day followed by a slow evening, learning where these sit early in the cruise pays off for the rest of the week.
Modern luxury and Always Included
Celebrity positions itself as modern luxury, and the clearest expression of that on Xcel is the Always Included fare. The base fare bundles a drinks package, Wi-Fi, and gratuities together, so the headline price is closer to what you actually pay than on lines where those are all separate add-ons. It changes how you plan a trip: you can order a coffee, a cocktail, or a glass of wine without doing mental maths every time, and the surprise-at-checkout factor drops sharply.
What it does not cover is the specialty dining and the top-shelf extras, which is fair. If you want Le Voyage by Daniel Boulud, Fine Cut, Raw on 5, Bora, or the Rooftop Garden Grill, those carry an additional charge, and premium spirits can sit above the included tier. Because pricing shifts, keep every number relative in your own planning and confirm the current fare inclusions and any upgrade costs in the Celebrity app before you commit.
Dining on board
The dining structure is one of Xcel’s real strengths, because the included side is broad enough that you never need to spend extra to eat well. There are four included main dining rooms, each with its own character, plus the complimentary Oceanview Café for casual buffet-style meals and the new casual options inside the Bazaar.
| Venue | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmopolitan, Cyprus, Normandie, Tuscan | Included | Four main dining rooms, each with a distinct menu style |
| Oceanview Café | Included | Casual buffet-style, all-day |
| The Bazaar (casual) | Included | New casual options within the market |
| Le Voyage by Daniel Boulud | Specialty (extra) | The signature fine-dining room |
| Fine Cut Steakhouse | Specialty (extra) | Steak and chops |
| Raw on 5 | Specialty (extra) | Sushi and raw bar |
| Bora | Specialty (extra) | Mediterranean; brunch by day |
| Rooftop Garden Grill | Specialty (extra) | Outdoor grill |
| Luminae | Suite guests | The Retreat suite restaurant |
| Blu | AquaClass guests | Clean, wellness-leaning menu |
A useful quirk of the four main dining rooms is that you can rotate through them across a voyage, so dinner never feels repetitive even if you only ever eat on the included side. If you are a foodie who wants the calmest, most curated experience, AquaClass with its dedicated Blu restaurant is the sweet spot; if you want the full splurge, The Retreat with Luminae is the top of the ship.
On the specialty side, the standout is Le Voyage by Daniel Boulud, the ship’s fine-dining room and the one to book first if you plan just one special dinner. Fine Cut covers the steakhouse craving, Raw on 5 handles sushi and a raw bar, and Bora doubles as the Mediterranean brunch spot by day and a specialty dinner venue by night. A sensible approach on a week-long sailing is to pick one or two specialty nights, reserve them early in the Celebrity app before they fill, and let the included rooms carry the rest of the week. Because a Mediterranean itinerary is port-heavy, you will also want lunches ashore, so there is rarely a need to book every specialty venue.
Cabins at a glance
Xcel runs the full Edge-class range of stateroom categories, and choosing well matters more here than on many ships because the Infinite Veranda changes what a “balcony” even means. Here is the lay of the land.
- Inside — the entry point, no window, best for guests who treat the cabin as a place to sleep.
- Infinite Veranda staterooms — the signature category, with the drop-down window that opens the room to the sea.
- Concierge Class — Infinite Veranda comfort with added service touches and priority perks.
- AquaClass — spa-leaning rooms with access to Blu and the Solarium; the pick for foodies and wellness travelers.
- Sunset Verandas — aft-facing rooms with the wake views many repeat cruisers chase.
- The Retreat — the suite tier, with the private Retreat areas and Luminae dining.
For value, an entry Infinite Veranda is hard to beat: you get the light and the open-window trick without paying up. For the best all-round choice, look at a midship Infinite Veranda, where you get the steadiest ride and consistent light. AquaClass is the move for anyone who cares most about food and spa access, and The Retreat is the splurge when you want the ship’s quietest, most private corner.
Cabins to think twice about
A few spots are worth avoiding, and all of them are easy to check on the deck plan before you book. Rooms directly under the pool deck or the buffet can pick up early-morning dragging and thumping. Cabins near nightlife or the Bazaar’s evening programming can run loud late into the night, which is the specific trade-off that comes with the ship’s most exciting new space. Forward, high-deck rooms give you the most movement in a swell, so anyone prone to motion should steer toward midship and lower. And confirm you are not booking an obstructed veranda unless the lower price is worth the blocked view. When in doubt, pull up the deck plan in the Celebrity app and look at what sits directly above and below your room.
Where Celebrity Xcel sails: the Western Mediterranean
Xcel’s marquee season is the Western Mediterranean, running round-trip from Barcelona and from Civitavecchia, the port for Rome. Voyages typically run seven to eleven nights, with the longer sailings reaching further east. The ports rotate across itineraries but the core cast is strong: Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Marseille for Provence, Cannes and the French Riviera as a tender port, Florence and Pisa from Livorno, Rome from Civitavecchia, Naples for Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast, and Ajaccio in Corsica. She also runs a Fort Lauderdale Caribbean season, so confirm which region your specific voyage covers.
One thing to plan around: several of the headline sights are inland. Florence and Pisa are a drive or train ride from Livorno, and Rome is a real journey from Civitavecchia. Those are big, rewarding days, but they eat time, so book tours or trains in advance and keep a close eye on the all-aboard time. For a port-by-port plan, the deeper Western Mediterranean guide lays out each stop.
The ports, quickly
- Barcelona (embarkation) — the Sagrada Família, the Gothic Quarter, La Boqueria, and Park Güell. Worth arriving a day or two early.
- Palma de Mallorca — La Seu cathedral and the old town, both an easy walk from the port.
- Marseille / Provence — the Old Port, or day trips out to Aix, Arles, and the lavender country.
- Cannes and the French Riviera (tender) — the Croisette, with Antibes, Èze, Monaco, and Nice within reach.
- Florence and Pisa (from Livorno) — the Renaissance in a day and the Leaning Tower; book the Uffizi ahead.
- Rome (from Civitavecchia) — the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Forum. The biggest day; pick two and reserve the Vatican in advance.
- Naples — Pompeii, Capri, the Amalfi Coast, and some of the best food in Italy.
- Ajaccio, Corsica — Napoleon’s birthplace, the old town, and the beaches; the quiet stop people fall for.
Rome deserves a word of warning: it is the day where people try to do too much and end up rushing. Timed tickets to the Vatican and the Colosseum sell out, so decide before you sail which two sights you truly want and book them. The same discipline helps in Florence with the Uffizi. If you want a focused plan for the two anchor stops, the Barcelona and Rome ports guide is built for exactly that.
Who Celebrity Xcel suits
This is a ship for travelers who want a European itinerary with a design-forward, adults-friendly ship wrapped around it. The Always Included fare suits people who would rather not itemise every drink, and the four included dining rooms mean you can eat well without spending extra. The Bazaar makes her the pick for anyone who found the previous Edge ships slightly too serene and wanted more energy and colour at night.
She is a natural fit for couples, food-focused travelers, and repeat cruisers who appreciate the Infinite Veranda and the Magic Carpet as genuinely different design ideas. Families sail her happily too, though this is not a waterpark-and-go-karts ship; the appeal is style, food, and destination. If this is your first time with the line, the first-timer’s guide to Celebrity on Xcel covers the small things that trip newcomers up.
Plan your ports of call
Make the most of every day ashore with our in-depth port guides for the stops on this ship’s itineraries:
Get the complete Celebrity Xcel playbook
Ready to plan the whole trip in detail? “The Ultimate Guide to Sailing on Celebrity Xcel” walks you through every venue, cabin, and port with clear action steps in each chapter. It is part of the Ultimate Ship Guides series by Leo Sotropa, written to turn a good cruise into a great one.
Frequently asked questions
How is Celebrity Xcel different from the other Edge-class ships?
She is the fifth and newest Edge-class ship, and her headline difference is that she has no Eden. In place of that three-deck glass conservatory she carries the Bazaar, a shape-shifting market venue, along with more fleet-new spaces than any of her Edge sisters. She keeps the class signatures like the Magic Carpet and the Infinite Veranda.
What is the Bazaar on Celebrity Xcel?
The Bazaar is a multi-level, glass-walled market at the stern, staged with stalls, lanterns, live cooking, music, and roaming performers. It is built to change: it rotates through themes across a season and transforms to a Mediterranean identity for the European sailings, so the venue reflects the region the ship is crossing. It also houses new casual dining options.
What does Always Included cover?
Always Included bundles a drinks package, Wi-Fi, and gratuities into the base fare. It does not cover specialty dining such as Le Voyage, Fine Cut, Raw on 5, Bora, or the Rooftop Garden Grill, and premium spirits can sit above the included tier. Confirm the current inclusions and any upgrade costs in the Celebrity app before booking.
What is an Infinite Veranda stateroom?
Instead of a separate step-out balcony, the Infinite Veranda brings the veranda inside the cabin. At the touch of a control the upper portion of the floor-to-ceiling window lowers, opening the front of the room to the sea and the fresh air while giving you more usable interior space. It is the ship’s signature cabin type and its best value in an entry version.
Which cabin should I book on Celebrity Xcel?
For value, an entry Infinite Veranda. For the best all-round experience, a midship Infinite Veranda gives the steadiest ride and consistent light. AquaClass suits foodies and spa lovers with its access to Blu and the Solarium, and The Retreat is the splurge. Avoid rooms under the pool deck or buffet, near the Bazaar’s evening programming, or forward on high decks if you are prone to motion.
Where does Celebrity Xcel sail?
Her marquee season is the Western Mediterranean, round-trip from Barcelona and from Civitavecchia for Rome, typically seven to eleven nights with longer voyages reaching further east. Ports include Palma de Mallorca, Marseille, Cannes, Florence and Pisa from Livorno, Naples, and Ajaccio. She also runs a Fort Lauderdale Caribbean season, so confirm your specific voyage and the latest ports in the Celebrity app.
Is Celebrity Xcel good for families?
Families sail her happily, but her appeal is style, food, and destination rather than waterparks and thrill rides. Couples, food-focused travelers, and repeat cruisers who enjoy the design ideas like the Magic Carpet and Infinite Veranda tend to be the best fit. On a port-heavy Mediterranean itinerary, most days are spent ashore anyway.
Ready for the whole ship in one place? It is all in The Ultimate Guide to Sailing on Celebrity Xcel.
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