Celebrity Cruises to offer earlier preview cruise for Xcel

Celebrity Cruises will operate a four-night preview cruise on board Celebrity Xcel as construction is set to be completed “earlier than originally anticipated”.

The latest Edge Class ship was originally scheduled to only sail an inaugural voyage from Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale on November 18, 2025.

But in an email to agents, the line said: “Our teams have been working diligently on building our new ship, and the completion is now earlier than we had originally anticipated.

“With the earlier delivery, we’ve now added a four-night Celebrity Xcel Preview Cruise, setting sail on November 9.”

Those booked on the November 18 voyage will have the choice to move to the November 9 sailing in the same exact suite or like-for-like stateroom at the current prevailing rate.

If there is an overpayment, there will be a refund for the difference and passengers have until May 8 to decide.

After the preview and inaugural voyages, Xcel will offer seven-night itineraries alternating between the Bahamas, Mexico, Cayman Islands, Puerto Plata, St Thomas and St Maarten, before moving to Europe for a series of seven to 11-night cruises from Barcelona and Athens.

Sister brand Royal Caribbean has made a similar move by adding three “showcase sailings” ahead of Star of the Seas’ inaugural voyage on August 31 as construction is due to be completed ahead of schedule.

There will be a three-night Perfect Day Cruise on August 20, a four-night option on August 23 and another four-night voyage on August 27 before the maiden voyage.

Xcel will debut seven redesigned venues, with the first to be announced being The Bazaar which will replace The Eden at the back of the ship and host a rotation of themed festivals based on the regions where the ship is sailing.