A renewed focus on Europe is in the cards for Celebrity Cruises in 2026-27, as the upmarket line will deploy its highly-anticipated new-build, Celebrity Xcel, to the Mediterranean for her inaugural summer season.
The cruise line also will introduce its first Grand Voyage, a 110-night sailing in 2026, with calls at 55 destinations in 15 countries.
With 16 cruise ships operating and Celebrity Xcel, the fifth in the popular Edge class, set to enter service in fall 2025, Celebrity Cruises will have vessels operating in all of the world’s prime cruising grounds in 2026-27.
The line’s deployments, announced on October 1, 2024, include some surprises, too, including the homeporting of Celebrity Xcel at PortMiami in winter 2026.
The ship will be based at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale for her first Caribbean season after her debut in fall 2025. The cruise line offered no reason for the port switch after just one season at Port Everglades.
However, cruisers looking to sail from Fort Lauderdale have other Celebrity Cruises’ ships to choose from, among them the 3,260-guest Celebrity Ascent, which will operate 10- and 11-night voyages to the Southern Caribbean and the Panama Canal.
Short sailings from Fort Lauderdale will be offered aboard the 3,000-guest Celebrity Reflection, which will operate 3- and 4-night cruises to Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bimini, Nassau, and Key West.
The 4,000-guest Celebrity Xcel, under construction at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in France, will sail her inaugural Europe season starting in May 2026, with 7- to 11-night cruises from Barcelona and Athens. New to the fleet, overnight stays will be featured at Madeira, Portugal.
Other Celebrity ships slated for Europe in summer 2026 include the 2,850-guest Celebrity Equinox and the 3,260-guest Celebrity Ascent, also plying the Mediterranean but from Lisbon and Rome in addition to Barcelona.
The 2,850-guest Celebrity Eclipse will sail between Athens and Ravenna, while the 2,200-guest Celebrity Constellation operates cruises from Rome and Ravenna, and Celebrity Infinity, with a capacity for 2,362 guests, sails weekly cruises roundtrip from Athens.
Adventure seekers can book Iceland and Greenland voyages on the 3,000-guest Celebrity Silhouette, which has scheduled the cruise line’s record number of cruises operating roundtrip from Reykjavik. The ship also will sail the line’s 2026 Solar Eclipse cruise on August 12, 2026, in Iceland.
“Our 2026-2027 season offers exciting new and expanded experiences for Celebrity guests to indulge their sense of curiosity across all regions of the world. Edge Series ships continue to sail our four key regions, including the European debut of Celebrity Xcel which will offer guests exciting new vacation experiences in the region,” said Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises.
Other regions where Celebrity Cruises’ ships will sail in 2026 include the Arctic Circle and Norwegian fjords, onboard the 3,400-guest Celebrity Apex sailing from Southampton, Scandinavia with Celebrity Eclipse, and Alaska, where the 2,900-guest Celebrity Edge will offer 7-night voyages roundtrip from Seattle.
Also, Celebrity Millennium will be offering sailings out of the new Narita Terminal in Tokyo, Japan. The vessel will even overnight at the port so guests can enjoy the giant city at night! Cruises will include a return to Hualien in China for the first time since 2018.
Celebrity Millennium Cruise Ship
Cruise Line Introduces First Grand Voyage in 2026
While the exact departure date has not yet been revealed, Celebrity Cruises unveiled a 110-night voyage that will span the weeks between September and December 2026, and sail from Canada to Southeast Asia.
Read Also: Celebrity Cruise Ships By Size (Biggest to Smallest)
Onboard the 2,852-guest Celebrity Solstice, the first in the line’s Solstice class, guests will sail to 55 ports in 15 countries. The ship, which launched in 2008, will undergo a dry dock refurbishment immediately before the Grand Voyage departure.
The departure port has not been revealed either, but it appears likely to be Vancouver, British Columbia, since the ship will be based there prior to the Grand Voyage for a series of Alaska cruises, which conclude in late September.
The cruise line’s Northern Europe, Alaska, Australia, Bermuda, Canada/New England, Hawaii, Iceland, and Japan sailings open for bookings on October 1, 2024.
Mediterranean and South America voyages open on November 5, 2024; Caribbean and Panama Canal on November 19, 2024, and Asia and the Grand Voyage on December 10, 2024.
Source: Cruisehive.com
