Celebrity Cruise's Edge-class ships have been both innovative and controversial. The ships have introduced popular features like the Magic Carpet and the Eden complex while also bringing Infinity Verandas to the cruise world.
Some love those glassed-in balconies, but others don't think they compare favorably to traditional balconies. Edge-class ships have slowly evolved, and the latest (and last) member of the class, Celebrity Xcel, will continue to add new features to what many consider a mega-ship for grownups.
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Launching in November 2025, Celebrity Xcel will be both classic and new, according to the cruise line.
"Celebrity Xcel combines the greatest hits of our Edge Series — including all your favorites — with entirely new experiences that will change the game all over again. Making its debut in the Caribbean in November 2025, Celebrity Xcel will take the tropics to breathtaking new heights. In the meantime, stay tuned as we reveal more exciting details over the coming months, from visionary new spaces to delicious new food and drink concepts," the cruise line shared on its website.
That's a pretty vague description, but Celebrity President Laura Hodges Bethge shared some details about Xcel and what's coming after that for her cruise line at the annual CruiseWorld conference on Nov. 7.
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Celebrity Cruises plans a new ship class
While the Edge class will be ending with Xcel, its fifth ship, the cruise line has been working on what will follow it. Bethge did not share much detail, but the new ships are being designed under the name "Project Nirvana."
"For those who have been doing this for a long time, you know you go from the dreaming stage to the receiving stage in five-ish years," Bethge said during a panel discussion featuring presidents of the three Royal Caribbean groups. "We're excited about what's next for the brand." Travel Weekly reported on the panel.
Royal Caribbean (RCL) owns the Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Silversea Lines.
Project Nirvana has only just begun, and Bethge suggested that the first ship in the new class would likely not appear before 2029 or 2030.
While Bethge was excited about the new class, she wasn't moving past Excel, which will offer a variety of new features.
"We are taking delivery of our last Edge-class ship, Xcel, which comes out in the fall of next year,” Bethge said during the CruiseWorld panel, according to TravelPulse, the travel news website. “I can't say anything about it," she added, "except to say that there are new products and experiences on Xcel that we're really excited about.”
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In addition to its final Edge-class ship and work on new ships, Celebrity also plans a major revamp for its smaller Solstice-class ships. That will begin with Celebrity Solstice, which will have a long drydock planned for 2026.
"There's three different areas of the ship where we'll be paying a lot of attention," she shared.
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