Couples and families who want a modern, stylish big ship with many restaurant choices.
Think twice if: Large ship (about 2,850-3,260 guests): expect long walks and lines at tender ports.
See her Europe sailings ↓ · Where is she now? → · Celebrity Cruises's page for this ship →
What she's like
A floating resort with the most to do. Expect lines at boarding, the buffet and tender boats. About 43 tons of ship per guest. As a rule of thumb, 40 or more feels roomy and under 30 feels busy.
Unknown from line's site.
Our judgment, from $ (budget) to $$$$$ (ultra-luxury).
Base fare: cabin, main dining, buffet, entertainment, 24-hour room service, kids' Camp at Sea. 'All Included' fares add Basic Wi-Fi and Classic Drink Package (with drink-package gratuities); The Retreat suites get Premium Wi-Fi and Premium Drink Package. Crew gratuities are charged separately even on All Included.
Complimentary Camp at Sea and Teen Club; minimum age to sail not published for ocean ships (river: 4+). Solarium pool adults only (16+).
Smart casual for dinner and the theater (no shorts or flip-flops); one or two 'Evening Chic' (dressy, optional) nights per cruise.
Her Europe sailings, April 2027 to October 2027
22 sailings in Europe on the published schedule, 7 to 12 nights. Tap a start port to see how to get from the airport to the ship.
Where they start
- Barcelona , 18 sailings how to get there →
- Piraeus (Athens) , 4 sailings how to get there →
What it costs beyond the fare
| Tips for the crew | $19.5 per person per day; Suites: $24.5 per person per day; Added to your bill automatically |
|---|---|
| Drinks package | Classic Drink Package (drinks up to $12) comes with All Included fares; upgrade to Premium (drinks up to $19) is $20 + 20% gratuity per person per day. Stand-alone package price not published on pages checked. |
| Wifi | Basic Wi-Fi included only with All Included fares; upgrade Basic to Premium Wi-Fi $9.99 per person per day. |
| Specialty restaurants | $45-$150 per person cover charge depending on restaurant, plus 20% gratuity; children 6-12 $14.99. |
| Money on board | USD ('You will be charged in US dollars.') |
How tipping and money work on a European cruise → · Build a full trip budget →
Her restaurants · 8 included, 6 extra
| Where to eat | Cost |
|---|---|
| Spice Cafe | Included |
| Oceanview Cafe | Included |
| Mast Grill | Included |
| Cyprus Restaurant | Included |
| Tuscan Restaurant | Included |
| Cosmopolitan Restaurant | Included |
| Luminae Restaurant (The Retreat guests only) | Included |
| Fine Cut Steakhouse | Extra charge |
| Le Grand Bistro | Extra charge |
| Le Petit Chef® | Extra charge |
| Dinner on the Edge | Extra charge |
| Le Voyage by Daniel Boulud | Extra charge |
| Blu Restaurant (AquaClass guests only) | Included |
| Bora | Extra charge |
Which cabin to book, and which to avoid
| Cabin type | Size | Decks |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean View | 200 sq ft |
Good to know before you pick
- Deck 12 midship staterooms sit below the deck 14 pool / Mast Grill area (no deck 13)
- Deck 12 aft staterooms sit below the deck 14 Oceanview Café
If you use a wheelchair or walk with difficulty
Accessible staterooms take devices up to 32 inches wide; tender access not guaranteed ('Guests may be required to walk a few steps down to the tendering platform... accessibility of the tender boats is subject to change'). Tender ports listed include Alesund, Norway. Elevators: Forward and midship elevator banks on decks 2-16 (deck 16 forward bank only) Our accessibility guide →
Find your way around
Our own deck plans, drawn from the line's official plan: tap a deck to see it from above, with what's at the front, middle and back of the ship. Use “Find on board” to light up every deck with a pool, a bar or a restaurant. Not to scale.
- Deck 16 , The Retreat Sundeck, pool, hot tub and pool bar; Jogging track; Hot tubs
- Deck 15 , Fitness Center / Motion Studios A and B; The Retreat Lounge; Jogging track (to deck 16); Rooftop Garden and Rooftop Garden Grill; Sunset Bar
- Deck 14 , The Spa, SEA Thermal Suites, relaxation room, salon, barber, treatment rooms; Spa Café & Juice Bar; Solarium; Pool and hot tubs; Mast Grill; Pool Bar; Apex cabanas; Magic Carpet (moving platform, shown here); Il Secondo Bacio; Oceanview Café
- Deck 12 , Luminae at The Retreat
- Deck 11
- Deck 10
- Deck 9
- Deck 8
- Deck 7
- Deck 6 , Eden (upper, ramp to deck 5)
- Deck 5 , The Theatre (upper); The Club / Art Gallery; Raw on 5; Grand Plaza; Fine Cut Steakhouse; Boutique shops; Blu; Eden Café and Eden Bar
- Deck 4 , The Theatre; The Meeting Place; The Celebrity Shops; The Club / Future Cruise Vacations / Shore Excursions; Photo Studio, Photo Gallery & iLounge; Le Grand Bistro / Café al Bacio; Grand Plaza; Craft Social; The Casino; Cosmopolitan Restaurant; Cyprus Restaurant; Eden Restaurant
- Deck 3 , The Theatre (lower); Camp at Sea; The Martini Bar; Grand Plaza; Guest Relations; Tuscan Restaurant; Normandie Restaurant
- Deck 2 , Medical facility; Destination Gateway; The Basement
What to book, and when
Booking, check-in and reservations
Online check-in opens 45 days before sailing and must be done at least 3 days before; app check-in until morning of sailing. Pre-cruise purchases (excursions, dining, Wi-Fi) via Cruise Planner. Flights bookable 330 to 4 days before. After final payment a $200 per person air penalty applies.
Paying and cancelling
Charges rise as sailing nears: no charge (except non-refundable deposit) at 75+ days for short cruises, down to no refund except taxes within 30 days.
Tips for her Europe sailings
Celebrity Apex sails from Southampton. Parking at Amsterdam Passenger Terminal approx. 30 euros/day.
The ship in numbers
- Cruise line
- Celebrity Cruises
- Kind of ship
- Premium
- Built
- 2025
- Guests
- 3,260
- Crew
- 1,416
- Guest decks
- 15
- Gross tons
- 141,262
- Length
- 326 m (1,071 ft)
- Width
- 40 m (130 ft)
- Flag
- Malta
- Class
- Edge class
- Ship number
- IMO 9884136
- Sister ships
- Celebrity Apex, Celebrity Ascent
- In Europe 2026–27
- Western Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean & Greek Isles, Canary Islands & Madeira, Atlantic Coast (Spain, Portugal, France)
Highlights
- Celebrity's newest ship, maiden voyage November 2025
- New spaces include The Bazaar, Bora, Attic at The Club and Celebrity Pool Club
- Dinner on the Edge and Le Voyage by Daniel Boulud (extra cost)
Sources & what we could not confirm · 12 sources · checked 2026-11
- Celebrity official ship page: Celebrity Xcel
- Celebrity official deck plans: Celebrity Xcel
- VesselFinder registry entry
- Celebrity Xcel (Wikipedia, secondary)
- Celebrity FAQ: gratuities
- Celebrity FAQs (full FAQ content)
- Celebrity FAQ: online check-in
- Celebrity FAQ: cancellation policy
- Celebrity: what's included
- Celebrity: accessibility
- Celebrity Cruises official deck plans: Celebrity Apex (interactive plan, per-deck SVGs)
- CruiseTimetables.com: Celebrity Xcel schedule (independent listing)
- Celebrity's deck plan drawings are vector images with outlined text; venues could not be read deck by deck, so decks left null.
- guest_decks = number of decks in the official deck-plan selector; Celebrity's data field 'numberOfDecks' differs on some ships.
- Crew count from Wikipedia (secondary).
- Xcel length/beam from Wikipedia (secondary); Celebrity's Xcel page shows no stats block.
- Celebrity Cruises: Stand-alone drinks package price
- Celebrity Cruises: Minimum sailing age for ocean ships
- Celebrity Cruises: Deposit amount and final payment day count
- Celebrity Cruises: Nationality mix
- Deck plan: Positions computed from SVG label coordinates, normalised on the elevator banks
- Deck plan: Magic Carpet moves between decks; plan shows it at decks 2, 5, 14 and 16
- Deck plan: Only one stateroom size shown on the saved page
- Deck plan: Ascent and Xcel not checked separately