Celebrity Xcel: Is it Excellent? Our Experience in a Nutshell.

We sailed on Celebrity Xcel in November 2025, and it was our first cruise with Celebrity. Starting with the newest ship in the fleet felt like a pretty good way to try the cruise line.

We are used to Royal Caribbean, so we were interested to see how different Celebrity would feel. We liked Xcel, although a few things did not quite win us over.

Getting onboard was incredibly quick

It took around 10 to 15 minutes to get from the terminal onto the ship. We have spent longer than that waiting for a coffee. It was easily one of the smoothest embarkations we have had.

Our first impression was that everything felt new. It looked new, smelled new and had a much calmer atmosphere than the Royal Caribbean ships we are used to.

Celebrity Xcel is a large ship, but it rarely felt overwhelming. Some of the spaces were surprisingly cosy.

Our AquaClass cabin

We originally booked a guaranteed Infinite Veranda cabin. We then won a Celebrity Move Up bid and moved into AquaClass.

The cabin itself was the same size, with 243 sq ft inside and a 42 sq ft veranda. The main difference was everything that came with AquaClass.

We had access to Blu, the restaurant reserved for AquaClass guests, as well as unlimited use of the Thermal Suite. There were also a few extras in the cabin, including yoga mats and robes.

For us, those extras were the main reason to upgrade. The room itself was not much different.

We are still not sold on the Infinite Veranda. Instead of stepping outside onto a proper balcony, you lower a large window. It is comfortable and gives you more space inside the cabin, but it does not feel the same as sitting outside on a balcony.

We like having that separate outdoor space, so the Infinite Veranda would not be our first choice.

Our cabin was on Deck 10, with cabins above and below us. It was wonderfully quiet, and we rarely heard any noise from the corridor or neighbouring rooms.

Food on Celebrity

Celebrity Xcel has four main dining restaurants: Tuscan, Normandy, Cosmopolitan and Cyprus. You can move between them during the cruise or keep returning to the one you like most.

We ended up spending most of our evenings in Cosmopolitan. A big part of that was the service. Our waiter, Sachin, and our sommelier, Pande, made dinner feel relaxed and personal. They seemed to remember us almost immediately.

Having a dedicated sommelier alongside your waiter was also new to us. It was a small difference, but we liked it.

We tried a few of the speciality dining options too, including Mosaic, brunch at Bora and Dinner on the Edge on the Magic Carpet.

We enjoyed all three. There was one small hiccup during brunch at Bora, but that story will make more sense in the video.

Entertainment and evenings onboard

The entertainment was different from what we normally see on Royal Caribbean. There were fewer enormous Broadway-style productions, but we still found plenty to enjoy.

Captain Kirk’s show was a fun surprise. We did not know what to expect, but it ended up being one of the most entertaining evenings of the cruise.

We also enjoyed the destination-themed evenings in The Bazaar. The music, dancing, crafts and drinks changed to match the places we had recently visited. It gave us a reason to keep returning and see what was happening each night.

Did the ship feel crowded?

There were more than 3,200 passengers onboard, but most of the time it did not feel like it.

The Grand Plaza and Martini Bar were usually the busiest areas. They were lively in the evenings, but it was easy to find somewhere quieter when we wanted a break.

The Sunset Bar had a much calmer atmosphere, and the adults-only Solarium was another good place to escape the crowds.

Our main complaint was the lifts.

They were not coordinated like the smart lifts on some of Royal Caribbean’s newer ships. Sometimes our selected floor disappeared while the lift was moving, which became frustrating after it happened a few times.

We ended up taking the stairs more often than expected.

The service made a real difference

The crew were one of the best parts of the cruise.

Sachin and Pande looked after us every evening in Cosmopolitan, and by the second day it felt as though they already knew us.

Our room attendant, Dimas, was just as thoughtful. He left towel animals in the cabin almost every night. It was a simple thing, but we always enjoyed coming back to see what he had made.

Those little interactions are some of the things we remember most from the trip.

Who is Celebrity Xcel best for?

Celebrity Xcel is not adults-only, but it does feel more adult-focused than many of the large Royal Caribbean ships.

There are children’s clubs, but you will not find waterslides or large splash zones. The ship is more about restaurants, bars, shows and spending time by the sea.

We think it suits couples, groups of adults and families travelling with older teenagers. Families looking for a ship packed with activities for younger children may prefer something else.

So, is Celebrity Xcel excellent?

For us, it came pretty close.

The lifts were annoying, and the Infinite Veranda did not turn us into converts. Neither problem spoiled the cruise, though.

We liked the food, the quieter areas around the ship and the more relaxed atmosphere. Most of all, we liked the people who looked after us.

For a first experience of Celebrity Cruises, Celebrity Xcel left a very good impression.