Celebrity Cruises is redefining what live entertainment looks like at sea. When the line’s newest ship, Celebrity Xcel, launches this November, guests will step into what the cruise line calls a “floating festival.”
This is a bold new entertainment concept featuring Broadway-level productions, immersive club shows, and nonstop experiences from morning to night.
Bringing together creative minds behind tours for Bad Bunny and Dua Lipa, Celebrity Xcel will debut with five original productions, two interactive club shows, and a full lineup of live music, cultural festivals, and games.
More than 75 resident performers will bring the ship to life with a festival-style atmosphere that rivals land-based theaters and concert venues. This is the largest cast in Celebrity’s history.
“Celebrity Xcel will further elevate Celebrity’s award-winning offering to create a world-class entertainment destination our guests are going to love,” said Lisa Lehr, Vice President of Entertainment for Celebrity Cruises.
“With over 75 resident performers, guests will find unforgettable experiences and unexpected surprises at every turn.”
Three headliner theatre productions on Celebrity Xcel
At the heart of Celebrity Xcel’s entertainment lineup are three all-new shows created by industry professionals whose work spans stage, film, and global concert tours.
- Mainstage – A high-energy concert that transports guests to the world’s most famous music festivals, from Rock in Rio to Coachella.
- Between Takes – A 1920s Hollywood spectacle full of glitz, chaos, and high-flying stunts behind the scenes of a movie set.
- Chapters – A poetic, visually rich journey through nature, transformation, and self-discovery.
Each show features Celebrity’s cutting-edge technology, including a 110-foot curved LED screen, projection mapping, pyrotechnics, and kinetic lighting. This will deliver fully immersive performances that blur the line between audience and stage.
Celebrity Xcel’s new interactive club shows and parties
Celebrity Xcel entertainment will extend far beyond the theater. Two new interactive shows take over The Club venue:
- 254 West – Guests join the closing night of a wild 1980s nightclub for a nostalgic, music-driven celebration.
- HOTEL – A comedic murder-mystery cabaret where guests play detective amid eccentric characters and musical numbers.
Around the ship, live experiences fill every evening: candlelit rock concerts honoring Queen and Led Zeppelin, the Saddle Up Saloon country dance party, and sing-along piano sessions.
Finally, guests can attend a vibrant deck celebration called Shine the Night, where they can dance beneath the stars in their shiniest attire.
Cultural festivals and immersive games on Celebrity’s newest ship
At The Bazaar, destination-themed festivals like Carnival, Aqua, Viva, and Flora bring the spirit of the Caribbean to life with costumes, live music, and hands-on crafts that change daily. The goal: extend the feel of the ports long after the ship departs.
Celebrity Xcel guests can also join immersive new games, including High Stakes, a mass elimination challenge, and Brain Spin, an interactive puzzle game.
A new escape-room experience invites guests to “build a robot” using hidden clues, while Game On at The Club transforms the floor into a giant arcade where your body becomes the controller.
Even younger cruisers on Celebrity Xcel will have a high-tech upgrade with an interactive digital game wall at Camp at Sea, offering 50+ new activities.
Dream Makers: Guests helped shape the fun aboard Celebrity Xcel
In a first for the industry, Celebrity invited travelers to help shape onboard entertainment through its Xcel Dream Makers program.
Guests helped choose costumes, themes, and even props for major shows and parties, giving them a hand in curating the experiences before the ship’s debut.
Celebrity Cruises states, “Dream Makers chose a featured costume for “Chapters.” Some other entertainment decisions they’ve made include deciding the first headline performer in the Theatre.
Participants picked the programming themes for Xcel’s “Saddle Up Saloon” dance party and “Viva” festival in The Bazaar, plus they helped choose props for the crowd-favorite, signature “Shine the Night” party and more.”
Celebrity Xcel itineraries to the Caribbean and Mediterranean
Celebrity Xcel will begin sailing seven-night Caribbean itineraries from Fort Lauderdale in November 2025, visiting the Bahamas, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Plata, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten.
In summer 2026, the ship will reposition to Europe for seven- to eleven-night Mediterranean voyages from Barcelona and Athens, including Celebrity’s first-ever overnight stays in Madeira, Portugal.
With the largest cast in its fleet, innovative production technology, and immersive, guest-driven experiences, Celebrity Xcel marks an exciting new era for Celebrity Cruises. The ship aims to deliver the same excitement, spectacle, and emotion of world-class concerts, all while sailing through the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
From candlelit rock concerts to 1920s Hollywood chaos and late-night parties under the stars, Celebrity Xcel entertainment promises a new kind of cruise experience with its floating festival at sea.
It’s a known fact ,the food is fantastic, the crew are the best but what we all agree , entertainment is lacking on your cruise ships. It seems your pulling the stops to make onboard shows are getting better but only on one ship and the rest of the fleet still lacking behind.