celebrity cruise may 18 2024

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Celebrity Cruises

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Celebrity Cruises fleet

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Celebrity Cruises Inc (celebritycruises.com) is the second-largest (by fleet) subsidiary and travel brand in the RCCL/RCG (Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd/Royal Caribbean Group) of companies. The 1990-established "Celebrity" cruise brand joined RCCL in 1997.

Celebrity represents one of the best "luxury ship travel" companies for adults, as well as a signature operator of regularly scheduled Panama Canal transition itineraries and one of the top 3 Alaskan cruise lines. In May 2020, the company celebrated its 30th Anniversary.

Company History

Celebrity is a medium-priced luxury cruise company , whose travel vacation package product is associated with top-hotel amenities, premium services, sophistication, style, elegance, technology innovations. Celebrity cruise liners offer impeccable service and exquisite cuisine, appealing to moderately affluent, well-educated travelers (mostly adults in their 40s). Celebrity offers "Family Cruises" during holidays (particularly on voyages from the USA to the Caribbean and Bermuda) and "Seniors Cruises" (on European and South American itineraries). The letter "X" on ships' funnels stands for the name "Chandris" (in Greek "Xandris").

The company was founded in 1988 as part of Chandris Group ( Athens Greece -based marine corporation, now Chandris Hellas Inc) - shipowner and vessel management. Before Celebrity, Chandris Group operated the cruise brands "Chandris Line" (1960-1974, ocean liner crossings between Greece and Australia), "Chandris Cruises" (1974-1996, Mediterranean itineraries from Greece) and "Chandris Fantasy Cruises (1985--1996, North American itineraries). Chandris' brand "Celebrity Cruises" started with cheap voyages offered on second-hand ships, to become one of the industry's most prominent premium "affordable luxury" ship travel brands.

The company's current President and CEO is Laura Hodges Bethge (Celebrity's former Executive VP), who succeeded in 2023 (May) Lisa Lutoff-Perlo (now Vice Chair and External Affairs for RCG). Michael Scheiner is the company's Senior VP and CMO/Chief Marketing Officer. Tim Jones is the VP and Managing Director for Australia, New Zealand & APAC/Asia Pacific region.

Celebrity entered the luxury cruising marked with roundtrips from the USA to Bermuda, acquiring more and newer liners.

As a brand of RCG, Celebrity's sister companies are RCI-Royal Caribbean International , Pullmantur (Spain) , Marella (UK) , TUI (Germany) , and Silversea .

The company's headquarters address is "Celebrity Cruises, 1050 Caribbean Way, Miami FL, 33132-2096 USA".

The company attracts a diverse passenger base, targeting mainly baby boomers and their families, honeymooners, and seniors. In addition to North American customers (USA and Canada), it also draws travelers from Europe, Central and South America. Longer itineraries tend to attract older travelers.

Week-long roundtrips in Alaska and the Caribbean attract many families. To appeal to multi-generational groups, Celebrity's family programs were expanded to include dedicated, well-trained staff serving shipboard kids and teen centers with enrichment and educational activities.

On October 4, 2018, was launched "Celebrity Central" (website for travel agents). It has 6 sections (news, marketing, and sales, learning and training) and is accessed via personalized log-ins. It combines AirWaves, CruisingPower, the company's sales and marketing toolkit (Rewards, Digital Library) and Celebrity Passport (e-learning resource). Celebrity Central has a search bar and tags for popular terms and topics.

In December 2020, Celebrity's parent company (RCG-Royal Caribbean Group) sold the Galapagos-based ship Celebrity Xperience to Emerald Blue Cruises Panama. The boat was named Celebrity Xperience (January 2016 through March 2020), "MS Xperience" (April through November 2020) and "Emerald Dream" (since December 2020).

Since 2022, Celebrity's well-being advisor is Gwyneth Paltrow (1972-born American actress and businesswoman, owner of the lifestyle brand company Goop Inc). The first “Goop at Sea” event debuted on Celebrity Beyond’s 9-night "Italian Riviera and France Cruise" (Barcelona roundtrip, departure Sept 24, 2022). Each "Celebrity Goop Cruise" is Goop-curated and features a live interview-Q&A session (with a wellness expert), themed experiences (food tastings, product trials, sale promotions, massages), interactive sessions (led by practitioners), gifts, surprises, on-demand TV classes (in the public restrooms), a detox smoothie and fitness tools (for Aquaclass cabins), an ultra-luxury wellness experience (for Aqua Sky Suites). Feres on the Goop-themed voyages start from US$750 pp with double occupancy.

By March 2023, Celebrity added pickleball playing (at the sports courts) fleetwide. The sports facilities are complimentary, including the equipment (net, paddles, balls). Pickleball Court's locations vary by ship class - EDGE ships at Rooftop Garden (Deck 15), on SOLSTICE ships on the Sports Deck (Deck 15), and on MILLENNIUM ships at the Multi-Sports Court (Deck 12).

In summer 2024 (starting in April), for the first time ever, Celebrity ships (Beyond and Reflection, being redeployed from Europe/Mediterranean to the Caribbean) will visit Royal Caribbean's private island CocoCay Bahamas .

The following YouTube video (official release) reviews the company's newest Edge-Class vessels and their unique features. The EDGE series includes all 5 units - Celebrity Edge (2018), Celebrity Apex (2020), Celebrity Beyond (2022), Celebrity Ascent (2023) and Celebrity Xcel (2025).

On April 11, 2019, the shipowner RCCL signed an MoU agreement with Chantiers de l'Atlantique Shipyard ( St Nazaire, France ) to order a 5th Edge-Class vessel, with scheduled delivery in 2024-Q3.

In February 2014, Celebrity Cruises announced it would add "The Suite Class" fleetwide. Suite Class passengers have their own private restaurant and VIP lounge. Key features on Solstice Class ships include the Lawn Club, which is a freshly manicured lawn on the ship's highest deck. Passengers enjoy casual outdoor activities, a country-club atmosphere, and grass between their toes. They can watch a glass-blowing demonstration on Equinox, Eclipse, and Solstice, or a meal in the Lawn Club Grill. Celebrity ships also have Cellar Masters, inspired by the Napa Valley vineyards, which brings to life a global wine cruise tour experience, while guests learn about and taste a variety of premium wines from around the world.

In March 2016, Celebrity Cruises acquired the two-ship company "Ocean Adventures". The purchase of the 16-passenger catamaran Athala II (Celebrity Xploration) and 48-passenger yacht Eclipse (Celebrity Xperience) increased Celebrity Cruises Galapagos capacity by 65%. The two boats joined Celebrity's fleet in spring 2016 but started regular operations following extensive drydocks in January 2017.

Since March 2018, RCCL offers one login for RCI and Celebrity websites and mobile apps. The new policy allows one account to be used for loyalty program benefits, bookings, and reservations with both brands. The account security was also simplified and strengthened to ensure customers' personal data.

Celebrity's loyalty program "Captain's Club"

In June 2021, Celebrity updated its "Captain's Club" loyalty program (for repeat customers).

The offerings now include:

• onboard events "Captain's Club Sneak Peek Series" (ship tour with cocktail sampling), "Create and Pour" (wine sampling), Welcome Parties (outdoor events held at Lawn Club and Rooftop Garden), "Captain's Club Cocktail Hour (free drinks daily between 5-7 PM at all bars and lounges).
• Spa discounts (10% off for Select and Elite members, 15-20% off for Elite Plus and Zenith members), deals exclude MedSpa and Spa Retails, but for Elite and above members Persian Garden's access is complimentary on one of the port days (guest's choice).
• Photo discounts (25-50% off any photo packages, up to US$300 off Studio Packages), added were greenscreen photo sessions (with changing background scenery) as well as aerial and 360-degree photos.
• Laundry packages (on select voyages only) now include "Evening Chic" (dry cleaning for US$35, 8 max items) with the optional US$20 add-on for unlimited pressing (throughout the cruise).
• Internet discounts (10-35% off any Internet package) plus bonus minutes for Elite and Elite Plus members, an additional 10% discount (combinable) is offered with pre-cruise booking. Zenith members receive complimentary the Stream package (for 1x mobile device).
• Beverage package discounts (5-10% off to upgrade from "Classic" to "Premium", if purchased pre-cruise). Zenith members receive complimentary the "Premium Beverage Package".
• Wine discounts (20% off per bottle / valid for all wine brands available for purchase on the ship). Zenith members receive one complimentary dinner (per voyage) at a specialty restaurant, marked with complimentary wine and flowers.

Celebrity brand's cruising experience

• Accommodations: some of the largest cruise suites (all served by butlers). Luxurious "ConciergeClass" staterooms, attentive highly personalized impeccable service; and enjoying seating preference, priority check-in. 2:1 guest-to-staff ratio
• Dining: award-winning cuisine, excellent alternate dining venues. Celebrity's "Gourmet Bites" every afternoon, themed lunch buffets. Culinary demonstrations. The line has partnered with "Elizabeth Blau and Associates", as to menu and wine selections, and all the standards of serving.
• Facilities: the largest cruise ship spa and gym facilities at sea ("AquaSpa by Elemis" - world-class beauty salon, spa treatments and fitness programs). "Celebrity Theatre" for Broadway-style productions, huge European-style casinos, bingo, themed bars, and lounges, including a discoclub, large pools, poolside recreation programs (massages, yoga), onboard boutique shopping.
• Enrichment: "Celebrity Lecture Series". Rich contemporary art collections. Art auctions, and enhanced golf program.
• "Celebrity Escape" concept (reserved exclusively for adults ages 21 and older) offers complimentary classes, workshops, themed events, fashion shows, deck parties, etc.
• By the "Family Cruising Program", on all voyages are offered complimentary games, parties, educational and fun activities, history and sea life explorations, dedicated/exclusive pools and discos for teens.

Via partnership with CG Technology (fka Cantor Gaming), Celebrity Cruises introduced the industry's first casino gaming mobile app. Passengers download the free app (Cantor Mobile Casino) via ship's WiFi network to Android or Apple phones/tablets. The app allows them to play slots, video poker, and table games anywhere on the ship. At the ship's casino lounge passengers can play (for real) games like roulette, poker (plus Texas Hold 'Em) and blackjack. Some ships have Let It Ride and baccarat available upon request. All ships have at least 1 poker table in the casino and host tournaments during the voyage.

Since 2013, the company has been partnered with "Top Chef" (US reality competition TV series). In late 2014, both companies started the exclusive "Top Chef at Sea" cruising experience. By this onboard culinary program, fans and foodies have the opportunity to travel with a lineup of celebrity chefs on food-themed "Top Chef Signature Sailing" each year. Celebrity also offers an interactive "Quickfire Challenges" and "Top Chef"-inspired menu evenings fleetwide on cruises 5-nights or longer (excluding Galapagos Islands).

In 2017, Celebrity Cruises partnered with Bravo Media for a new cooking video series - "Isaac Takes On". This digital show follows Top Chef's Isaac Toups as he cruises around the Caribbean on the ship Celebrity Reflection , competing against passengers in a variety of culinary challenges. The ship has its own Michelin-star chef - Cornelius Gallagher, who also makes appearances throughout the series.

In February 2019, Celebrity Cruises announced two new (exclusive) partnerships - with Daniel Boulud (Michelin-starred Chef) and with ABT-American Ballet Theatre ( NYC -based, 1939-founded classical ballet company). Both partnerships created unique onboard culinary and entertainment experiences fleetwide.

• The Celebrity-ABT partnership allows passengers (on selected ships) to enjoy ballet shows by guest performers and to join the dancers for seminars and ballet classes.
• Chef Daniel Boulud is the founder of a global restaurant group that includes 7 NYC restaurants plus 6 in other (national and international) destinations. As Celebrity's Global Culinary Brand Ambassador, he designs signature dishes for Luminae (exclusive / Suite-only restaurant). Celebrity also introduced "Chef's Table by Daniel Boulud" - a private galley/kitchen tour and 5-course VIP dining package.

The new experiences were introduced in 2019, starting with the liners Summit, Equinox and Millennium.

In December 2019, the company signed an exclusive partnership with OneSpaWorld Holdings Ltd (Bahamas-based global provider of health and wellness services and products to cruise ships and land-based resorts). The partnership starts in May 2020 and is fleetwide (including the newbuilds under construction ).

All-inclusive deals

Since November 17, 2020, every Celebrity Cruises deal included unlimited beverages (Classic Drink Package/cocktails, beers, wines by the glass, sodas, juices, bottled water, brand coffees and teas), Basic Wi-Fi, and onboard gratuities. However, since October 2023, the brand's "All Included" packages don't include the prepaid shipboard gratuities.

Option upgrades offered to all bookings include:

• ELEVATE Package (unlimited premium drinks and shore excursions priced up to USD 200 per person)
• INDULGE Package (ELEVATE Package plus unlimited streaming Wi-Fi Internet and up to USD 400 per person in OBC/onboard credit).

In August 2022, the shipowner RCG-Royal Caribbean Group signed a deal with SpaceX/Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (2002-founded by Elon Musk) for using Starlink's satellites to provide faster and low-latency Internet connections across the global fleet (Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity, and Silversea ships). Fleetwide Starlink installations were scheduled to be completed in 2023-Q1.

"Celebrity Revolution" fleetwide refurbishments

In July 2018, the company announced a USD 500 million fleet modernization ( drydock refurbishment ) program dubbed "Celebrity Revolution". The project was scheduled for February 2019 through February 2023.

Fleetwide renovations include all staterooms and public spaces on 9 liners to bring their onboard amenities and services up to the standards of EDGE-class ships. For staterooms were contracted HBA (Hirsch Bedner Associates / US-based hospitality interior design company) and Kelly Hoppen (UK-based interior designer).

All staterooms will be upgraded with eXhale bedding sets (premium cashmere mattresses) and high-tech amenities (RFID locks, Bluetooth, Xcelerate / Wi-Fi Internet).

The drydock-renovated Celebrity ships have "The Retreat" (adults-only sundeck) with a full-size swimming pool, Jacuzzi, private cabanas, padded loungers, and poolside bar service (food and drinks). The Retreat suites' passengers have priority access to the facilities and their cruise fares are also inclusive of Premium Wi-Fi Package and Premium Drink Package.

Luminae Restaurant (Suites-only) was redesigned and introduced new/custom-made menus by chef Cornelius Gallagher.

Qsine Restaurant will be added fleetwide and will offer "Le Petit Chef" (virtual dining-entertainment experience) created by Skullmapping artists and presented by TableMation Studios exclusively for Celebrity Cruises.

Main Dining Rooms, Oceanview Cafe and Sunset Bar will be redesigned, as well as most public venues. In the SPA will be added expanded SEA Thermal Suite. Retail shops will be expanded with new shopping brands - including Hublot (luxury Swiss watches) and Shinola (luxury watches, jewelry, premium leather goods).

The 4-year fleet refurbishment program started in February 2019. The current list of scheduled for drydocks Celebrity ships (by the "Celebrity Revolution" project) is as follows:

• Celebrity Millennium Feb 9, 2019
• Celebrity Summit Mar 23, 2019
• Celebrity Equinox May 25, 2019
• Celebrity Silhouette Jan 24, 2020
• Celebrity Eclipse Apr 1, 2021
• Celebrity Constellation May 1, 2020
• Celebrity Infinity Nov 14, 2020
• Celebrity Solstice Oct 1, 2021
• Celebrity Reflection Feb 2, 2023

(NEW) Celebrity cruise gratuities 2023

Since July 2023, the company's daily gratuity rates (per person/pp, both adults and kids are charged) were increased. The new rates (listed below) are compared to the previous/2022's rates).

• Standard cabins' (inside, oceanview, veranda) daily gratuity was increased from US$17,50 to US$18 pp (per day).
• ConciergeClass and AquaClass staterooms' daily gratuity was changed from US$18 to US$18,50 pp (per day).
• Suites' daily gratuity was changed from US$21 to US$23 pp (per day).

Daily gratuity is an automatic service charge added to the passenger's onboard account each day. Passengers can prepay gratuities. Daily gratuities are split between the ship's staff (dining, housekeeping, cabin stewards).

In 2018, Celebrity's daily gratuities (pp per day) were USD 13,50 (interior-oceanview-balcony staterooms), USD 14 (Aqua-Class and Concierge-Class) and USD 17 (Suites).

In 2020, Celebrity's daily gratuities (pp per day) were USD 15,50 (interior-oceanview-veranda), USD 16 (Aqua-Concierge Class) and USD 19 (Suites).

In October 2022, the gratuities were increased from US$15,50 to $17,50 (Standard), US$16 to $18 (Concierge-Aqua Class) and US$19 to $21 (Suites/The Retreat) or with ~16%, ~15%, ~21% (respectively).

Celebrity cruise ship Room Service

Celebrity Cruises requires a fee of USD 4,95 for ordering items from the cruise ship's room service menu.

• Room Service is operated on each Celebrity cruise vessel and between 11 pm - 6 am.
• Prior to September 2015, the basic room service items delivery to passengers' cabins was complimentary. The exception was for some premium items (like a cheese platter, filet mignon, Caprese salad).

New shipboard Wellness classes

In 2018, Celebrity and Canyon Ranch upgraded fleetwide the onboard fitness program by adding more (to a total of 20) fitness classes and wellness seminars for passengers. Of all classes, 6 are based on different exercise groups - Acupuncture (Pain Relief), Conditioning (Pilates), Longevity, Mindfulness (Spiritual Cycling), Nutrition (Detox 101), Sweat (Tabata).

Among the new wellness offerings are:

• "Acupuncture for Pain Relief" revives energy levels, treats pain and digestive discomfort, de-stresses, aids a healthy sleep.
• "Pilates to the Beat" is a mat class choreographed with upbeat songs.
• "Age-Defying Technology" reviews the latest technologies, wellness products and services that help anti-aging.
• "Spiritual Cycling" Incorporates mind and energy awareness while cycling to musical beats.
• "Detox 101: Weight Loss and More" reviews the most effective detox foods and how they promote weight loss.
• "Tabata Impact" is a Japanese intense and fast full-body workout offering best cardio and training techniques.

(Coronavirus crisis) passenger shipping pause 2020-2021

Due to the COVID pandemic, RCG-Royal Caribbean Group (shipowner) suspended its entire fleet's passenger shipping operations (RCI-Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity, Silversea, Azamara) worldwide by canceling all voyages with pre-scheduled departures in the period March 13, 2020, through June 30, 2021.

Next are listed all Celebrity ships and their first scheduled departure dates/regions - APEX (June 19, 2021/Mediterranean from Piraeus-Athens), BEYOND (April 27, 2022/ Maiden Voyage /Europe), CONSTELLATION (Nov 7, 2021/Caribbean from Tampa), ECLIPSE (April 23, 2022/Hawaii-Australia repositioning from Vancouver to Honolulu), EDGE (June 26, 2021/Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale), EQUINOX (July 25, 2021/Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale), INFINITY (June 25, 2022/Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale), MILLENNIUM (July 23, 2021/Alaska from Seattle), REFLECTION (Nov 6, 2021/Caribbean from Fort Lauderdale), SILHOUETTE (July 3, 2021/ UK from Southampton ), SOLSTICE (May 6, 2022/Alaska from Seattle), SUMMIT (Sept 14, 2021/Caribbean from Miami). Celebrity's Galapagos ships' restart dates were - Flora (July 4, 2021/ Maiden Voyage ), Xpedition (July 31, 2021), Xploration (January 1, 2022).

• Celebrity's Australia and New Zealand 2021-2022 programs were canceled (affected ship Eclipse, homeported in Sydney NSW and Auckland NZ).
• All Celebrity repositioning cruises in 2021 (Alaska, Panama Canal, Transatlantic) were canceled.
• Most Celebrity's European schedules 2021 (ships Constellation, Edge, Infinity, Reflection) were canceled, excluding APEX (Med) and SILHOUETTE (UK).
• Celebrity's South America 2021-2022 program (Infinity ship from Rio de Janeiro) was canceled.
• Celebrity's Japan 2021-2022 program (Solstice ship from Yokohama) was canceled.

All affected bookings received full refunds (100%), including on prepurchased through Celebrity Cruises packages and services. The refunds were in FCC (Future Cruise Credit) to be used on itineraries that depart up to April 30, 2022. The FCC had to be redeemed by December 31, 2021. Changing the FCC to a monetary refund (100%) was possible thru December 31, 2020. Celebrity's Cancellation Policy was extended to allow penalty-free cancellations up to 48 hours prior departure (all itineraries departing up until September 1, 2020 / initially thru July 31) and receive an FCC.

Itinerary of Celebrity Cruises

Celebrity cruise line's destinations include Alaska, Canada, Hawaii, Bermuda, Bahamas, Caribbean (all, but mostly Southern), Mexico (Caribbean/Yucatan, Pacific/Mexican Riviera), Panama Canal , South America, Australia-New Zealand, Asia (Taiwan-China-Japan, Thailand-Vietnam), Northern Europe (from the UK), Eastern and Western Mediterranean.

The Royal Caribbean-owned brand Celebrity operates one of the industry's youngest and most innovative fleets. The vessels all are Malta - flagged , except the Galapagos -based fleet (Ecuador-flagged).

Celebrity's 2024-2025 schedule (16 ships) included 250+ destinations/ports (in 70 countries), ~500 departures, new ports, more overnight and double overnight port stays. The Caribbean 2024-2025 program featured the biggest Caribbean season (9-ship fleet, new 3-4-night Caribbean itineraries and visits to CocoCay/firsts for Celebrity), and 4x American homeports (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, San Juan Puerto Rico). The European program included 40+ itineraries and overnights in 11 capital cities.

Celebrity 2024-2025-2026 cruise ship deployments

In June 2023 was announced that in 2024 (starting in April), for the first time ever, Celebrity ships (Beyond and Reflection) will be seasonally deployed to the Caribbean (both homeported in Fort Lauderdale for the summer) and will visit Royal Caribbean's private Bahamian resort island CocoCay . Celebrity Beyond has scheduled 6-8-night voyages to Western and Southern Caribbean destinations, while Celebrity Reflection’s 3-4-night short breaks/weekend getaways also visit Key West FL USA and Resorts World Bimini Bahamas . The 3-night itinerary (Friday departures) and the 4-night itinerary (Monday departures) both visit Key West, Nassau and Bimini, and CocoCay.

In Aug 2023 was announced that for 2024-2025 winter season (October-April), Celebrity deploys in the Caribbean 4x ships (Apex, Constellation, Equinox, Summit) whose schedules include visits to CocoCay. The ships' USA homeports were all in Florida ( Port Canaveral/Orlando ,  Port Everglades/Fort Lauderdale ,  Tampa ). The homeporting in Port Canaveral (Equinox) is also new/first time for Celebrity. Those special voyages were open for booking on August 22nd, 2023.

In October 2021, Celebrity revealed the program for 3 Alaskan ships during the 2023 summer season (May 3, thru mid-September), with each itinerary visiting Inside Passage . Season's highlights include:

• Homeported in Vancouver BC Canada  and passing twice through the Inside Passage,  Celebrity Eclipse sails on 7-night itineraries to Hubbard Glacier , Juneau ,  Ketchikan (Revillagigedo Island) , and either  Sitka (Baranof Island) /Icy Strait Point.
• With 7-night itineraries roundtrip from homeport Seattle (Washington USA) and one 9-night "Ultimate Alaska Cruise", Celebrity Solstice is the fleet's only to visit Endicott Arm Fjord and Dawes Glacier , along with Juneau, Skagway , Ketchikan, Victoria BC Canada .
• Celebrity Millennium  offers 7-night Alaskan itineraries between homeports Vancouver and Seward, with a multi-night Cruisetour Denali option.
• Offering 9- to 13-night Cruisetours in 2023, tourists stay in first-class lodging, ride the Wilderness Express scenic train, visit destinations like Anchorage , Fairbanks, Homer .

Celebrity Eclipse's South America program lasts 4 months (December 2023 thru April 2024) and offer visiting a total of 16 destinations, a 14-night Antarctica, and a 12-night Argentina & Patagonia voyages. Call ports include Valparaiso-Santiago (Chile) ,  Buenos Aires (Argentina) , Montevideo (Uruguay) , Antarctic Peninsula . Signature land tours offer visits to Chile's Osorno Volcano (from Puerto Montt ), Argentina’s Playa El Doradillo (from  Puerto Madryn ), as well as Peru's  Cusco and Machu Picchu  (from  Callao ) during the 16-night repositioning voyage from the USA (Los Angeles) to Chile which includes 2 overnights in Callao-Lima (Peru) .

In November 2022 was announced 2024-2025 program with ~500 itineraries (scheduled for 16 ships) visiting 250+ destinations across 70 different countries.

Celebrity Edge is due to set sail out of Australia between October 2024 and April 2025. She operates on itineraries from 3 to 14 nights hitting some of the country's most exciting spots. Celebrity Edge makes her way out to new ports of call across the Pacific, such as Fiji, American Samoa, Samoa, and Tonga.

Other highlights include a range of new European offerings (7 ships) including Celebrity Apex - the first EDGE liner to homeport in Europe and also sailing a new itinerary (12-night Norwegian Fjord & Arctic Circle).

Two ships are deployed in Asia (Millennium, Solstice), with Millennium leaving from Tokyo Japan on a series of 12-night itineraries with destinations including Osaka, Mt Fuji, Kyoto.

Celebrity ships also visit destinations in the Caribbean, South America (also Galapagos Islands ), Alaska, Greenland, and Iceland.

In November 2022 was announced Celebrity's ever-biggest season (2024-2025) with 16 ships, ~500 departures, 250+ destinations (70 countries), new homeports and call ports, numerous in-port overnights and double overnights, new (year-round voyages) in Europe, new land tours.

2024-2025 season's highlights include:

• 40+ different itineraries in Europe, with overnights in 11 port cities, new European ports of call - France's Bordeaux , Italy's Brindisi and Trieste , Greece's Kavala  and  Volos .
• Celebrity Edge is scheduled to sail in Alaska roundtrip from Seattle WA .
• Celebrity Apex departs from London (England UK) to the Arctic Circle and the Norwegian Fjords.

Celebrity Millennium is homeported in Yokohama/Tokyo Japan in 2024 (April thru October) to sail 12-night roundtrip itineraries featuring overnights in Osaka . After the Japan season, Millennium joins Celebrity Solstice in Southeast Asia (September 2024 thru April 2025) for 11- to 14-night voyages visiting 32 ports/islands across Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. Millennium and Solstice make Celebrity’s biggest Asian season with 32 destinations (including 7 new ports).

In August 2023, Celebrity Cruises introduced an array of Caribbean options for the Winter 2024-2025 season, available on 4 ships:  Celebrity Apex ,  Celebrity Constellation ,  Celebrity Equinox , and  Celebrity Summit . Departing from 3 Florida ports –  Port Canaveral  in Central Florida,  Port Tampa Bay  in West Florida, and  Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale)  in South Florida – travelers can select from over 40 new itineraries.

Catering to the diverse preferences of today's travelers, this new program provides a diverse range of experiences, ranging from revitalizing quick getaways to 7-night weekly cruises and extending to 9-night escapes. These voyages transport passengers to idyllic tropical destinations such as  Belize ,  Bimini ,  Grand Cayman ,  San Juan , and some itineraries even include visits to  Perfect Day at CocoCay .

As a highlight of this program, Celebrity Cruises expands offerings from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, featuring more opportunities to set sail on two award-winning vessels: Celebrity Apex and Celebrity Summit. From October 23rd, 2024, to March 8th, 2025, travelers can partake in five new sailings on the Celebrity Apex, spanning 6 to 7 nights and calling at destinations like  St. Maarten , San Juan, Grand Cayman, Mexico, and select sailings to Perfect Day at CocoCay.

Perfect Day at CocoCay, a vibrant private island haven situated in The Bahamas, delivers a blend of beachfront bliss and sun-soaked thrills. This paradise offers pristine white sandy beaches, clear turquoise waters, the largest freshwater pool in The Bahamas, and a bar serving tropical cocktails. Additionally, guests can bask in relaxation and seclusion at Coco Beach Club, featuring an infinity pool, a specialty restaurant, 20 exclusive overwater cabanas, and more. Debuting in January 2024, Perfect Day at CocoCay will introduce Hideaway Beach, an adults-only retreat boasting private cabanas and a new signature food venue.

Furthermore, from February 25th, 2025, to April 10th, 2025, Celebrity Summit presents 5 itineraries ranging from 5 to 9 nights, encompassing both Western and Eastern Caribbean destinations.

In an unprecedented move, Celebrity Cruises is also sailing from Port Canaveral in Orlando, offering 20 new itineraries from November 21st, 2024, to April 19th, 2025, aboard the Celebrity Equinox. With the majority of itineraries spanning 7 nights, passengers will have the chance to explore coveted Caribbean locales including the Bahamas, Belize, Grand Cayman, Mexico, San Juan, and St. Maarten. In time for the Spring Break season, two sailings on March 1st and March 15th, 2025, feature visits to Perfect Day at CocoCay.

The Caribbean program from Port Tampa Bay is also revamped by Celebrity Cruises. Travelers can now opt for more frequent 6- to 7-night cruises aboard the Celebrity Constellation. This expanded program includes 4 new itineraries and a total of 14 sailings, spanning from January 2nd, 2025, to April 6th, 2025. The itineraries encompass destinations like Belize, Honduras,  Key West , Mexico, and  New Orleans (Port NOLA)  during the Mardi Gras festivities scheduled for March 1st, 2025.

On November 17, 2025, officially debuts the fleet's newest member - Celebrity Xcel . Being the 5th/last EDGE-class ship, Xcel starts revenue operations with the 5-night "Maiden Voyage - Bahamas & Mexico". The 5-night itinerary (roundtrip from homeport Fort Lauderdale) visits Resorts World Bimini Port and Cozumel. Xcel's inaugural winter season is based on two alternating 7-day itineraries: Bahamas (Bimini), Mexico (Cozumel) plus Grand Cayman (George Town Harbour) , and  Dominicana (Puerto Plata) ,  St Thomas USVI (Charlotte Amalie)  plus  St Maarten (Philipsburg) .

Itinerarires 2025-2026

Celebrity's 2025-2026 program is the brand's "most ambitious" to date, grouping 800+ voyages with 290 destinations across 70 different countries and a fleet of 16 ships.

European offerings include  Celebrity Apex , which once again homeports in  Southampton UK , featuring Arctic Circle and Norwegian Fjords itineraries. Additionally, Celebrity Ascent sails 7- to 11-night Adriatic itineraries from  Barcelona  and  Rome .

Celebrity Equinox joins Mediterranean routes with 9- and 10-night itineraries in the Italian Riviera, Greek Islands, France and Iberia (Spain and Portugal).

Celebrity Infinity  and  Celebrity Constellation operate 7-night Greece and Turkey sailings from  Athens and 10-11-night Italy and Croatia roundtrips from Rome and Ravenna . 

Celebrity Eclipse from Amsterdam offers 12-13-night Best of Scandinavia/Baltic cruises.

Celebrity's "mini-season" in Iceland groups four 7-night circumnavigating voyages on Celebrity Silhouette  in July and August 2025.

In the Caribbean, 9 ships are homeported in Florida (4 different ports) during winter, and 3 ships during summer, including  Celebrity Xcel 's 7-night roundtrips from Fort Lauderdale .

In Alaska are deployed 3 ships - Celebrity Edge from  Seattle WA (second season) and Celebrity Solstice  and  Celebrity Summit sailing between Vancouver BC and Seward AK .

Celebrity Millennium and Celebrity Solstice operate in Asia, offering the 12-night "Best of Japan" itinerary and the 12-night "Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Thailand" itinerary, respectively.

In South America, Celebrity Equinox is homeported in Buenos Aires .

Celebrity Edge's program is in the South Pacific/Australia and New Zealand.

In November 2023, Celebrity officially opened bookings for its 2025-2026 Alaska and Australia itineraries, featuring the esteemed  Celebrity Edge ,  Celebrity Solstice , and  Celebrity Summit . These premium cruise offerings aim to provide nature enthusiasts with exceptional experiences amid the pristine landscapes of Alaska, including glaciers and wildlife encounters. Celebrity Edge later extends exploration to Australia and New Zealand during the Winter season.

• Celebrity Edge, Celebrity Solstice, and Celebrity Summit are set to navigate the Alaskan waters.
• The outward-facing design of Celebrity Edge ensures passengers enjoy proximity to nature and iconic views.
• Adventurous options for a roundtrip through the picturesque  Inside Passage  are available.
• Celebrity Summit offers a CruiseTour featuring a 2-6-Night land tour, providing insights into Alaska's interior.
• CruiseTours include stays in authentic lodges, journeys on the Wilderness Express Railway, and exploration of  Anchorage , Talkeetna, and Denali.

Australia and New Zealand:

• Celebrity Edge returns for the Winter season, offering sailings through Sydney Harbour and New Zealand's majestic fjords.
• Departure ports encompass  Sydney ,  Auckland , and  Honolulu , with diverse itineraries catering to different preferences.
• Highlights include round-trip sailings from Sydney Harbour and overnight stays at  The Great Barrier Reef .
• New Zealand itineraries encompass Milford, Dusky, and Doubtful Sounds, providing a harmonious blend of tradition and breathtaking scenery.

2024-2025-2026 Caribbean itineraries

Celebrity Cruises  is set to offer new 3- and 4-night weekend itineraries in the Caribbean for the first time in 2024. The cruise line deploys  Celebrity Reflection ,  Celebrity Silhouette , and  Celebrity Summit  for these shorter cruises, aimed at providing guests with a break from their routines from Friday to Monday. Celebrity Reflection's 3-night 'Bahamas & Perfect Day' itinerary includes a visit to  Perfect Day at CocoCay , the private island owned by Celebrity Cruises’ parent company,  Royal Caribbean Group .

Celebrity Beyond is spending her inaugural season in the Caribbean with a 6-night 'Western Caribbean and Perfect Day' voyage, including a stop at Perfect Day at CocoCay starting in May 2024.

The latest addition to the Edge series,  Celebrity Ascent , embarks on a 7-night 'Bahamas, Mexico, & Grand Cayman Caribbean' cruise starting from February 4, 2024. This itinerary, departing from  Fort Lauderdale FL , includes port calls to  Philipsburg in St. Maarten ,  Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas , and  Puerto Plata  in the Dominican Republic. Following this, Celebrity Ascent is due to reposition to the Mediterranean in April 2024 for her European debut.

Other ships like  Celebrity Apex ,  Celebrity Constellation ,  Celebrity Equinox , and Celebrity Summit also operate Caribbean itineraries for the winter 2024-2025 season. In addition to the Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises has announced new itineraries exploring Alaska onboard  Celebrity Edge  from June 2024 and cruises in Japan onboard  Celebrity Millennium  from August 2024.

In March 2024, Celebrity Cruises unveiled its newly announced 2025-2026 cruise season, catering to guests seeking short Caribbean getaways on  Celebrity Reflection  and  Celebrity Summit . The season features calls to destinations such as  Bimini ,  Cozumel ,  Key West ,  Nassau , and the renowned private island,  Perfect Day at CocoCay . For the first time, Celebrity Cruises is introducing 3- and 4-night Caribbean voyages during the summer, extending the appeal to guests seeking convenient escapes.

Operating year-round from  Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale , Celebrity Reflection offers 100+ sailings of 3- or 4-night trips, providing guests with flexible options that fit into their busy schedules. 

Celebrity Summit, also departing from Port Everglades, offers 4- and 5-night itineraries, inviting guests to explore destinations like Key West and Tulum or indulge in onboard relaxation at The Spa. 

With midweek and weekend cruise options, Celebrity's 2025-2026 Caribbean season provides ample opportunities for unwinding and exploring unique destinations. Additionally, longer immersive vacations, including 7- to-10-night sailings aboard  Celebrity Beyond , are available for guests seeking extended escapes.

Asia 2024 itineraries

The company's Asia 2024 program is based on two ships ( Millennium and  Solstice ).

Starting September 2023, Millennium operates in Northeast and Southeast Asia visiting China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka. The 12-night itineraries visit ports like Klang-Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , Lombok Indonesia, Mumbai India , Benoa Bali , as well as the maiden for Celebrity ports Hambantota (Sri Lanka)  and  Celukan Bawang (Bali Indonesia) .

Starting November 2023, Solstice operates on 12-night Southeast Asia itineraries (to Thailand and Vietnam) departing from homeports Singapore  and  Hong Kong . Two 17-night Transpacific relocation voyages (RepositionCruises.com) are also offered - leaving from either Sydney NSW Australia  or  Honolulu Hawaii and visiting New Zealand and French Polynesia. Asian ports include Hanoi (Vietnam) , Mumbai (India),  Bangkok-Laem Chabang Thailand .

Celebrity's 2024 Caribbean season (8 ships) includes the 2023-built Celebrity Ascent , plus 2 more EDGE ships. Caribbean itineraries range between 4-12 nights.

Celebrity Ascent's maiden voyage departs on December 3, 2023. Homeported in Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades, Florida) , Celebrity Ascent visits Eastern Caribbean ports Philipsburg St Maarten (Netherlands Antilles) ,  St Thomas Island USVI (Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands) ,  Puerto Plata-Amber Cove (Dominicana) . Actually, Ascent starts passenger shipping operations in November 2023 as in mid-March 2023 were added two "preview cruises" (both roundtrips from Port Everglades). The previews depart on Nov 22nd (4-night to Cozumel) and on Nov 26th (3-night to Nassau).

Following the maiden voyage, Ascent's 7-night roundtrips depart from Terminal 25 (Port Everglades) on Sundays. Eastern Caribbean voyages visit San Juan (Puerto Rico), Tortola (British Virgin Islands), and Basseterre (St Kitts), while Western Caribbean voyages visit Nassau, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman.

Starting November 2023,  Celebrity Apex is scheduled to embark on rotating 7-night Eastern and Western Caribbean itineraries. Setting sail from Fort Lauderdale guests can visit Eastern Caribbean islands, including San Juan, Philipsburg St Maarten, St Thomas, and Puerto Plata. Apex also takes guests to the Western Caribbean with calls in  Key West , Grand Cayman (George Town) , and Belize . In summer 2024 (May thru November) Apex will be homeported in Southampton (England UK) for 4- to 13-night roundtrips, replacing Silhouette.

Celebrity Beyond  is due to sail on 9-, 10-, and 11-night cruises to the Southern Caribbean, including overnights in Oranjestad Aruba (Netherlands Antilles) . A shorter voyage on Beyond takes passengers on a 6-night trip to  Bimini Islands (Resorts World Bimini Bahamas, Bailey Town) , the retreat of choice for Ernest Hemingway.

Celebrity Silhouette  is returning to the Southern Caribbean and the Bahamas with itineraries ranging between 4-11 nights. For the first time since 2011, Silhouette will call at  Scarborough , the main city on the island of Tobago.

For those wishing to celebrate Mardi Gras,  Celebrity Constellation  offers a 12-night voyage departing from  Tampa (Florida USA)  that starts with a double overnight in  New Orleans (Port NOLA)  for Fat Tuesday, prior to taking guests on a journey in Belize,  Mexico (Cozumel) , and Honduras.

Passengers looking for a short getaway will find it on  Celebrity Summit , as she sails from  PortMiami Florida  on alternating 4- and 5-night Western Caribbean itineraries.

Celebrity Equinox  and  Celebrity Reflection  round out the offerings via 6-night Western Caribbean and 8-night Eastern Caribbean sailings, which includes calls at the  Dutch island Kralendijk Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles) , where the official bird of the isle, the flamingo, is spotted on many of the white-sand beaches.

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• Celebrity ›
• Ascent May 18th, 2024 Athens to Barcelona
• From Athens ›

This Isn't Your Grandpa's Cruise! Visit Exotic Ports Like La Spezia for $4,068 Total

Settle in for nine nights of cultural sailing through the sea when you join the Celebrity Ascent from Athens to Barcelona.

With this Memorial Day trip you'll call on standard ports like Civitavecchia as well as rare ports like La Spezia. This route is an interesting one for the Ascent. As a matter of fact, it sails it just once.

The price includes all all entertainment, meals, taxes, and port fees. No surprises! This cruise is an especially good deal because if you book now you can book a balcony balcony cabin for the price of an interior balcony cabin!

The Celebrity Ascent

More than 3,200 travelers can comfortably cruise on this Celebrity Edge class cruise ship, based in Ft. Lauderdale and built less than one year ago in 2023.

The Ascent Celebrity wows guests with a jacuzzi, a solarium, a casino, and a spa.

Pricing Information

The accompanying graph displays the price over time for each class of cabin. Since it was first listed on December 13th of last year, The price of a balcony stateroom on this itinerary has ranged between $2,119 and $6,269 inclusive of $170 in taxes and port fees.

Your Itinerary

This cruise spends six port days and two days at sea. High points include long stops in Civitavecchia, Santorini, Ephesus, Naples and more.

Alternate Sailings

The Ascent sails this route once this year. This is the only ship that sails this exact route. In the accompanying graphic you can see a visualization of when this ship sails as well as the relative price for a balcony cabin.

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Celebrity Cruises 2024

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6 Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day

With innovative spaces like the Lawn and the AquaSpa Celebrity Cruises gives their customers a taste of modern luxury.

From Cozumel to the Grand Cayman, tropical pleasures abound on a Western Caribbean cruise.

With incredible weather, delicious fare and some stupendous attractions, you will find that Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades is one of the most attractive ports in the entire US.

• Celebrity Beyond - Passenger Capacity: 3,260 (double occupancy) Year Built: 2022 Last Refurbished: N/A

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Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida , Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands , Bimini, Bahamas

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• Itinerary & Pricing

6 Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day sailing on the Celebrity Beyond

Departure dates: may 2024 - oct 2024.

From $1,999

From $1,121

From $1,061

Stateroom prices for May. 26, 2024

Published prices from

Based on Inside cabin prices

Based on Oceanview cabin prices

Based on Balcony cabin prices

Based on Suite cabin prices

Sailing Map

*** All itineraries are subject to change without notice. Please confirm your itinerary on the Review page before purchasing your cruise.

* Rates & offers are subject to select dates & categories, cruise only, per person, based on double occupancy, in US Dollars, & include NCCF. Government taxes & fees are additional. All rates & offers are capacity controlled, are subject to availability & confirmation, & may change without notice. Additional restrictions may apply. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed -- please confirm details at time of booking

Celebrity Cruises reserves the right to impose a fuel supplement on all guests if the price of West Texas Intermediate fuel exceeds $65.00 per barrel. The fuel supplement for 1st and 2nd guests would be no more than $10 per guest per day, to a maximum of $140 per cruise; and for additional guests would be no more than $5 per person per day, to a maximum of $70 per cruise.

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Celebrity Beyond - May 12, 2024

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May 12, 2024

May 12 - 18, 2024

Celebrity Beyond

Celebrity Cruises

6 Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day

from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

The May 12, 2024 cruise on the Celebrity Beyond departs from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. On this 6 Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day sailing, the ship will visit a total of 4 different cruise port destinations, including its departure port. The Celebrity Beyond sets sail on a Sunday (May 12, 2024) and returns on a Saturday (May 18, 2024).

Cruise Price by Cabin Type

The price of the May 12, 2024 cruise on the Celebrity Beyond ranges from $(call) for an inside cabin to $2,543 for a suite.

This is a 6 night cruise and price per night is noted below for each cabin type. An inside cabin will cost $(call) per night, an ocean view cabin will cost $(call) per night, a balcony cabin will cost $251 per night, and a suite will cost $423 per night.

$(call) / night

$251 / night

$423 / night

The Celebrity Beyond was built in 2022 and is amoung Celebrity's 16 ships in it's fleet. The Celebrity Beyond is included in the cruise line's Edge Class. In the cruise ship stats below you'll find the Celebrity Beyond vs all other Celebrity ships.

All Itineraries

Ft. Lauderdale

Ft. Lauderdale has 23 miles of beaches, 300 miles of inland waterways and swimming pools galore, but immersing yourself in this city doesn't require a drop of water. Dive into a culture as deep as any ocean, a culture characterized by Seminoles and Broadway shows, golf and whimsical water taxis, fine cuisine and tasty jazz. And just like the horizon here, the list of attractions goes on and on.

Ft. Lauderdale has 23 miles of beaches, 300 miles of inland waterways and swimming pools galore, but immersing yourself in this city doesn't require a drop of water. Dive into a culture as deep as any...

Perfect Day At Coco Cay

Take advantage of the many on board activites during your day at sea. You'll have more than enough to fill your day!

George Town

George Town is the capital of the Cayman Islands, and is situated directly on Grand Cayman. Once a center of turtle fishing, the area is now a popular tourist destination. Snorkeling and diving are especially popular, and the opportunity to swim with and feed the giant, graceful stingrays should not be missed. Don't worry--it is said that no one has ever been stung.

George Town is the capital of the Cayman Islands, and is situated directly on Grand Cayman. Once a center of turtle fishing, the area is now a popular tourist destination. Snorkeling and diving are...

The Bimini Islands are the Western-most islands in the Bahamas. Lying roughly fifty miles due east of Miami, The Biminis are actually two islands separated by a very narrow channel. Head over to the area called Alice Town for some shopping, dining, or live entertainment. Fish are plentiful throughout the reefs that surround the Biminis as are the good times here!

The Bimini Islands are the Western-most islands in the Bahamas. Lying roughly fifty miles due east of Miami, The Biminis are actually two islands separated by a very narrow channel. Head over to the...

6 Top Transatlantic Cruises for 2024

T ransatlantic cruises are unique when you compare them to traditional cruises most people book for family trips and romantic getaways. These voyages tend to be longer in general, and they have more built-in days at sea and offer a lot more time on board as a result. Repositioning cruises that include a transatlantic crossing tend to attract more retirees and travelers who just want to relax and enjoy their ships' amenities, especially since fewer days in port means fewer excursions and more time doing nothing at all.

That said, the fact that transatlantic cruises can last as few as seven nights means they may fit in your plans more easily than you may think. There are also some benefits to transatlantic crossings that may not be obvious, including lower nightly rates, more onboard credit, and more time to kick back and relax at a floating luxury resort in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

If you're curious which transatlantic cruises are best for 2024, here are six top picks with different cruise lengths, itineraries and unique destinations to explore.

Explore cruises on GoToSea , a service of U.S. News.

Cunard Line

Date: Departs May 5, 2024

Departure port: Brooklyn, New York

Starting price: $2,449 per person (plus port taxes and fees)

Cruise length: 7 to 18 nights

In May of 2024, Cunard's Queen Mary 2 vessel will offer three different transatlantic crossings of various lengths. Choose from a seven-night sailing from Brooklyn, New York , to Southampton, England; a nine-night sailing to Hamburg, Germany ; and an 18-night round-trip sailing that departs from Brooklyn and crosses the Atlantic twice on the way back to its starting point. This unique combination of itineraries lets you cross the sea and tailor your trip to how long you want to be away from home.

The 18-night itinerary is especially interesting, since it lets you depart from the United States and arrive back in Brooklyn in the end with stops in both England and Germany, as well as plenty of sea days in between. Luxury cruise line Cunard is known for its elegant design, lush amenities and upscale feel, and the Queen Mary 2 is one of the line's most luxurious ships. Highlights on this exclusive vessel include the Royal Court Theatre, a casino, gala evenings, an onboard spa and a vast library. The Queen Mary 2 holds up to 2,691 guests with 1,173 crew to cater to your every need.

Seabourn Cruise Line

Date: Departs March 24, 2024

Departure port: Miami

Starting price: $5,949 per person (plus port taxes and fees)

Cruise length: 21 nights

Seabourn is offering a 21-night transatlantic cruise from Miami on Seabourn Quest in March 2024 that offers a diverse range of ports of call before ending its voyage in Las Palmas in Spain's Canary Islands . Departure from Miami is followed by nine days at sea. Then, you'll enjoy multiple stops in the Canary Islands – including Santa Cruz de La Palma and San Sebastián de La Gomera – as well as stops in Praia and Mindelo the Cape Verde archipelago.

This journey with Seabourn makes it possible for travelers to see some of the most beautiful and remote tropical islands in the world. The Canary Islands are known for their white sand beaches , volcanoes and lush greenery; similar landscapes can also be found in Cape Verde's coastal towns and villages. Seabourn Quest, a smaller ocean vessel, accommodates just 229 guests.

MSC Cruises

Date: Departs Nov. 8, 2024

Departure port: Southampton, England

Starting price: $769 per person (plus port taxes and fees)

Cruise length: 16 nights

The MSC Virtuosa from MSC Cruises is repositioning from Europe to the Caribbean in November 2024, which gives travelers the chance to enjoy a lengthy transatlantic crossing with plenty of unique ports. This sailing departs from England with eight sea days plus stops in France, the Azores of Portugal, St. Maarten , Antigua and Barbuda, and Martinique . The ship ends its journey in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe.

The MSC Virtuosa is a larger cruise vessel that boasts an impressive grand promenade with a LED dome ceiling, dedicated clubs for children and teens, an onboard spa, a lavish casino and the luxurious MSC Yacht Club section of the ship. This vessel holds a maximum of 6,334 passengers at once.

Raw HTML : Tips on Trips and Expert Picks

Princess Cruises

Date: Departs July 5, 2024

Departure port: New York City (Manhattan or Brooklyn)

Starting price: $4,098 per person (plus port taxes and fees)

Cruise length: 31 nights

Princess Cruises also offers its share of transatlantic sailings on various vessels. Its 31-night crossing from New York to Barcelona, Spain , on Island Princess in July 2024 is jam-packed with exciting destinations to explore. This lengthy transatlantic voyage has only 13 sea days with planned stops in Canada's Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, England, Spain, Portugal and Morocco before the journey ends in Barcelona.

This intriguing sailing experience with Princess takes passengers to eight different countries in the span of a month. Island Princess is a nice ship for a long sailing because of its smaller size, with just 2,200 passengers and 900 crew. But the ship is also large enough to have a huge selection of included and specialty dining options, a Vegas-style casino, a sports court, a large central atrium for gathering, and several pools and hot tubs to enjoy.

Celebrity Cruises

Date: Departs April 11, 2024

Departure port: Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Starting price: $760 per person (plus port taxes and fees)

Cruise length: 12 nights

Celebrity Cruises is offering a 12-night sailing on Celebrity Equinox in April 2024 that starts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida , and ends in Lisbon, Portugal – making it possible for travelers to enjoy eight relaxing days at sea. What's interesting about this sailing is its stops along the way, which include the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda; Porta Delgada in Portugal's Azores archipelago; and Porto in mainland Portugal.

The Celebrity Equinox accommodates a maximum of just 2,852 passengers at once, so this Celebrity vessel is a solid choice for travelers who want just the right size ship instead of a smaller vessel or a megaship. There are also plenty of onboard features to keep you happy and entertained as you float across the Atlantic Ocean, including The Casino, The Lawn Club with outdoor games like bocce ball and croquet, The Martini Bar, the adults-only Solarium and more.

Royal Caribbean International

Dates: Departs Oct. 24, 2024

Departure port: Barcelona, Spain

Starting price: $876 per person (plus port taxes and fees)

Cruise length: 14 nights

Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas is hosting a transatlantic voyage in October 2024 that departs from Barcelona, Spain, and ends in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This vessel will make stops in Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Cartagena and Málaga in Spain, then spend eight days at sea. After that, enjoy a day in Nassau in the Bahamas before the cruise drops passengers off in sunny Florida.

Interior staterooms on this Royal Caribbean sailing start at just $876 per person (plus port taxes and fees), which works out to around $60 per night, per person. The Oasis of the Seas megaship can hold a total of 6,771 guests and 2,109 crew, so it's an enormous vessel – to put it mildly. This size may not be ideal for travelers who want a more intimate cruising experience, but it's perfect for cruisers who want plenty of space to spread out and endless activities to take part in. Oasis of the Seas boasts 20 different restaurants and cafes, 11 bars and lounges, a variety of pools and whirlpools, a rock climbing wall, the AquaTheater diving and entertainment venue, mini-golf, a casino and plenty more.

Why Trust U.S. News Travel

Holly Johnson is a professional travel writer and cruise expert who has covered family travel and cruises for more than a decade. She has cruised more than 40 times across most of the major cruise lines in destinations throughout the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East. Johnson used her personal experience and research expertise to curate the itineraries for this article.

You might also be interested in:

• The Top Solo Cruises (With No Supplement Fare)
• Sustainable Cruises: The Top Lines Making Progress
• Bucket List Cruises for Seniors and Retirees
• The Best Cruise Insurance Plans
• Cruise Packing List: Essentials Chosen by Experts

Copyright 2024 U.S. News & World Report

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Crying Myself to Sleep on the Biggest Cruise Ship Ever

Seven agonizing nights aboard the Icon of the Seas

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Updated at 2:44 p.m. ET on April 6, 2024.

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MY FIRST GLIMPSE of Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, from the window of an approaching Miami cab, brings on a feeling of vertigo, nausea, amazement, and distress. I shut my eyes in defense, as my brain tells my optic nerve to try again.

The ship makes no sense, vertically or horizontally. It makes no sense on sea, or on land, or in outer space. It looks like a hodgepodge of domes and minarets, tubes and canopies, like Istanbul had it been designed by idiots. Vibrant, oversignifying colors are stacked upon other such colors, decks perched over still more decks; the only comfort is a row of lifeboats ringing its perimeter. There is no imposed order, no cogent thought, and, for those who do not harbor a totalitarian sense of gigantomania, no visual mercy. This is the biggest cruise ship ever built, and I have been tasked with witnessing its inaugural voyage.

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“Author embarks on their first cruise-ship voyage” has been a staple of American essay writing for almost three decades, beginning with David Foster Wallace’s “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again,” which was first published in 1996 under the title “Shipping Out.” Since then, many admirable writers have widened and diversified the genre. Usually the essayist commissioned to take to the sea is in their first or second flush of youth and is ready to sharpen their wit against the hull of the offending vessel. I am 51, old and tired, having seen much of the world as a former travel journalist, and mostly what I do in both life and prose is shrug while muttering to my imaginary dachshund, “This too shall pass.” But the Icon of the Seas will not countenance a shrug. The Icon of the Seas is the Linda Loman of cruise ships, exclaiming that attention must be paid. And here I am in late January with my one piece of luggage and useless gray winter jacket and passport, zipping through the Port of Miami en route to the gangway that will separate me from the bulk of North America for more than seven days, ready to pay it in full.

The aforementioned gangway opens up directly onto a thriving mall (I will soon learn it is imperiously called the “Royal Promenade”), presently filled with yapping passengers beneath a ceiling studded with balloons ready to drop. Crew members from every part of the global South, as well as a few Balkans, are shepherding us along while pressing flutes of champagne into our hands. By a humming Starbucks, I drink as many of these as I can and prepare to find my cabin. I show my blue Suite Sky SeaPass Card (more on this later, much more) to a smiling woman from the Philippines, and she tells me to go “aft.” Which is where, now? As someone who has rarely sailed on a vessel grander than the Staten Island Ferry, I am confused. It turns out that the aft is the stern of the ship, or, for those of us who don’t know what a stern or an aft are, its ass. The nose of the ship, responsible for separating the waves before it, is also called a bow, and is marked for passengers as the FWD , or forward. The part of the contemporary sailing vessel where the malls are clustered is called the midship. I trust that you have enjoyed this nautical lesson.

I ascend via elevator to my suite on Deck 11. This is where I encounter my first terrible surprise. My suite windows and balcony do not face the ocean. Instead, they look out onto another shopping mall. This mall is the one that’s called Central Park, perhaps in homage to the Olmsted-designed bit of greenery in the middle of my hometown. Although on land I would be delighted to own a suite with Central Park views, here I am deeply depressed. To sail on a ship and not wake up to a vast blue carpet of ocean? Unthinkable.

Allow me a brief preamble here. The story you are reading was commissioned at a moment when most staterooms on the Icon were sold out. In fact, so enthralled by the prospect of this voyage were hard-core mariners that the ship’s entire inventory of guest rooms (the Icon can accommodate up to 7,600 passengers, but its inaugural journey was reduced to 5,000 or so for a less crowded experience) was almost immediately sold out. Hence, this publication was faced with the shocking prospect of paying nearly $19,000 to procure for this solitary passenger an entire suite—not including drinking expenses—all for the privilege of bringing you this article. But the suite in question doesn’t even have a view of the ocean! I sit down hard on my soft bed. Nineteen thousand dollars for this .

The viewless suite does have its pluses. In addition to all the Malin+Goetz products in my dual bathrooms, I am granted use of a dedicated Suite Deck lounge; access to Coastal Kitchen, a superior restaurant for Suites passengers; complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream (“the fastest Internet at Sea”) “for one device per person for the whole cruise duration”; a pair of bathrobes (one of which comes prestained with what looks like a large expectoration by the greenest lizard on Earth); and use of the Grove Suite Sun, an area on Decks 18 and 19 with food and deck chairs reserved exclusively for Suite passengers. I also get reserved seating for a performance of The Wizard of Oz , an ice-skating tribute to the periodic table, and similar provocations. The very color of my Suite Sky SeaPass Card, an oceanic blue as opposed to the cloying royal purple of the standard non-Suite passenger, will soon provoke envy and admiration. But as high as my status may be, there are those on board who have much higher status still, and I will soon learn to bow before them.

In preparation for sailing, I have “priced in,” as they say on Wall Street, the possibility that I may come from a somewhat different monde than many of the other cruisers. Without falling into stereotypes or preconceptions, I prepare myself for a friendly outspokenness on the part of my fellow seafarers that may not comply with modern DEI standards. I believe in meeting people halfway, and so the day before flying down to Miami, I visited what remains of Little Italy to purchase a popular T-shirt that reads DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL across the breast in the colors of the Italian flag. My wife recommended that I bring one of my many T-shirts featuring Snoopy and the Peanuts gang, as all Americans love the beagle and his friends. But I naively thought that my meatball T-shirt would be more suitable for conversation-starting. “Oh, and who is your ‘daddy’?” some might ask upon seeing it. “And how long have you been his ‘little meatball’?” And so on.

I put on my meatball T-shirt and head for one of the dining rooms to get a late lunch. In the elevator, I stick out my chest for all to read the funny legend upon it, but soon I realize that despite its burnished tricolor letters, no one takes note. More to the point, no one takes note of me. Despite my attempts at bridge building, the very sight of me (small, ethnic, without a cap bearing the name of a football team) elicits no reaction from other passengers. Most often, they will small-talk over me as if I don’t exist. This brings to mind the travails of David Foster Wallace , who felt so ostracized by his fellow passengers that he retreated to his cabin for much of his voyage. And Wallace was raised primarily in the Midwest and was a much larger, more American-looking meatball than I am. If he couldn’t talk to these people, how will I? What if I leave this ship without making any friends at all, despite my T-shirt? I am a social creature, and the prospect of seven days alone and apart is saddening. Wallace’s stateroom, at least, had a view of the ocean, a kind of cheap eternity.

Worse awaits me in the dining room. This is a large, multichandeliered room where I attended my safety training (I was shown how to put on a flotation vest; it is a very simple procedure). But the maître d’ politely refuses me entry in an English that seems to verge on another language. “I’m sorry, this is only for pendejos ,” he seems to be saying. I push back politely and he repeats himself. Pendejos ? Piranhas? There’s some kind of P-word to which I am not attuned. Meanwhile elderly passengers stream right past, powered by their limbs, walkers, and electric wheelchairs. “It is only pendejo dining today, sir.” “But I have a suite!” I say, already starting to catch on to the ship’s class system. He examines my card again. “But you are not a pendejo ,” he confirms. I am wearing a DADDY’S LITTLE MEATBALL T-shirt, I want to say to him. I am the essence of pendejo .

Eventually, I give up and head to the plebeian buffet on Deck 15, which has an aquatic-styled name I have now forgotten. Before gaining entry to this endless cornucopia of reheated food, one passes a washing station of many sinks and soap dispensers, and perhaps the most intriguing character on the entire ship. He is Mr. Washy Washy—or, according to his name tag, Nielbert of the Philippines—and he is dressed as a taco (on other occasions, I’ll see him dressed as a burger). Mr. Washy Washy performs an eponymous song in spirited, indeed flamboyant English: “Washy, washy, wash your hands, WASHY WASHY!” The dangers of norovirus and COVID on a cruise ship this size (a giant fellow ship was stricken with the former right after my voyage) makes Mr. Washy Washy an essential member of the crew. The problem lies with the food at the end of Washy’s rainbow. The buffet is groaning with what sounds like sophisticated dishes—marinated octopus, boiled egg with anchovy, chorizo, lobster claws—but every animal tastes tragically the same, as if there was only one creature available at the market, a “cruisipus” bred specifically for Royal Caribbean dining. The “vegetables” are no better. I pick up a tomato slice and look right through it. It tastes like cellophane. I sit alone, apart from the couples and parents with gaggles of children, as “We Are Family” echoes across the buffet space.

I may have failed to mention that all this time, the Icon of the Seas has not left port. As the fiery mango of the subtropical setting sun makes Miami’s condo skyline even more apocalyptic, the ship shoves off beneath a perfunctory display of fireworks. After the sun sets, in the far, dark distance, another circus-lit cruise ship ruptures the waves before us. We glance at it with pity, because it is by definition a smaller ship than our own. I am on Deck 15, outside the buffet and overlooking a bunch of pools (the Icon has seven of them), drinking a frilly drink that I got from one of the bars (the Icon has 15 of them), still too shy to speak to anyone, despite Sister Sledge’s assertion that all on the ship are somehow related.

Kim Brooks: On failing the family vacation

The ship’s passage away from Ron DeSantis’s Florida provides no frisson, no sense of developing “sea legs,” as the ship is too large to register the presence of waves unless a mighty wind adds significant chop. It is time for me to register the presence of the 5,000 passengers around me, even if they refuse to register mine. My fellow travelers have prepared for this trip with personally decorated T-shirts celebrating the importance of this voyage. The simplest ones say ICON INAUGURAL ’24 on the back and the family name on the front. Others attest to an over-the-top love of cruise ships: WARNING! MAY START TALKING ABOUT CRUISING . Still others are artisanally designed and celebrate lifetimes spent married while cruising (on ships, of course). A couple possibly in their 90s are wearing shirts whose backs feature a drawing of a cruise liner, two flamingos with ostensibly male and female characteristics, and the legend “ HUSBAND AND WIFE Cruising Partners FOR LIFE WE MAY NOT HAVE IT All Together BUT TOGETHER WE HAVE IT ALL .” (The words not in all caps have been written in cursive.) A real journalist or a more intrepid conversationalist would have gone up to the couple and asked them to explain the longevity of their marriage vis-à-vis their love of cruising. But instead I head to my mall suite, take off my meatball T-shirt, and allow the first tears of the cruise to roll down my cheeks slowly enough that I briefly fall asleep amid the moisture and salt.

I WAKE UP with a hangover. Oh God. Right. I cannot believe all of that happened last night. A name floats into my cobwebbed, nauseated brain: “Ayn Rand.” Jesus Christ.

I breakfast alone at the Coastal Kitchen. The coffee tastes fine and the eggs came out of a bird. The ship rolls slightly this morning; I can feel it in my thighs and my schlong, the parts of me that are most receptive to danger.

I had a dangerous conversation last night. After the sun set and we were at least 50 miles from shore (most modern cruise ships sail at about 23 miles an hour), I lay in bed softly hiccupping, my arms stretched out exactly like Jesus on the cross, the sound of the distant waves missing from my mall-facing suite, replaced by the hum of air-conditioning and children shouting in Spanish through the vents of my two bathrooms. I decided this passivity was unacceptable. As an immigrant, I feel duty-bound to complete the tasks I am paid for, which means reaching out and trying to understand my fellow cruisers. So I put on a normal James Perse T-shirt and headed for one of the bars on the Royal Promenade—the Schooner Bar, it was called, if memory serves correctly.

I sat at the bar for a martini and two Negronis. An old man with thick, hairy forearms drank next to me, very silent and Hemingwaylike, while a dreadlocked piano player tinkled out a series of excellent Elton John covers. To my right, a young white couple—he in floral shorts, she in a light, summery miniskirt with a fearsome diamond ring, neither of them in football regalia—chatted with an elderly couple. Do it , I commanded myself. Open your mouth. Speak! Speak without being spoken to. Initiate. A sentence fragment caught my ear from the young woman, “Cherry Hill.” This is a suburb of Philadelphia in New Jersey, and I had once been there for a reading at a synagogue. “Excuse me,” I said gently to her. “Did you just mention Cherry Hill? It’s a lovely place.”

As it turned out, the couple now lived in Fort Lauderdale (the number of Floridians on the cruise surprised me, given that Southern Florida is itself a kind of cruise ship, albeit one slowly sinking), but soon they were talking with me exclusively—the man potbellied, with a chin like a hard-boiled egg; the woman as svelte as if she were one of the many Ukrainian members of the crew—the elderly couple next to them forgotten. This felt as groundbreaking as the first time I dared to address an American in his native tongue, as a child on a bus in Queens (“On my foot you are standing, Mister”).

“I don’t want to talk politics,” the man said. “But they’re going to eighty-six Biden and put Michelle in.”

I considered the contradictions of his opening conversational gambit, but decided to play along. “People like Michelle,” I said, testing the waters. The husband sneered, but the wife charitably put forward that the former first lady was “more personable” than Joe Biden. “They’re gonna eighty-six Biden,” the husband repeated. “He can’t put a sentence together.”

After I mentioned that I was a writer—though I presented myself as a writer of teleplays instead of novels and articles such as this one—the husband told me his favorite writer was Ayn Rand. “Ayn Rand, she came here with nothing,” the husband said. “I work with a lot of Cubans, so …” I wondered if I should mention what I usually do to ingratiate myself with Republicans or libertarians: the fact that my finances improved after pass-through corporations were taxed differently under Donald Trump. Instead, I ordered another drink and the couple did the same, and I told him that Rand and I were born in the same city, St. Petersburg/Leningrad, and that my family also came here with nothing. Now the bonding and drinking began in earnest, and several more rounds appeared. Until it all fell apart.

Read: Gary Shteyngart on watching Russian television for five days straight

My new friend, whom I will refer to as Ayn, called out to a buddy of his across the bar, and suddenly a young couple, both covered in tattoos, appeared next to us. “He fucking punked me,” Ayn’s frat-boy-like friend called out as he put his arm around Ayn, while his sizable partner sizzled up to Mrs. Rand. Both of them had a look I have never seen on land—their eyes projecting absence and enmity in equal measure. In the ’90s, I drank with Russian soldiers fresh from Chechnya and wandered the streets of wartime Zagreb, but I have never seen such undisguised hostility toward both me and perhaps the universe at large. I was briefly introduced to this psychopathic pair, but neither of them wanted to have anything to do with me, and the tattooed woman would not even reveal her Christian name to me (she pretended to have the same first name as Mrs. Rand). To impress his tattooed friends, Ayn made fun of the fact that as a television writer, I’d worked on the series Succession (which, it would turn out, practically nobody on the ship had watched), instead of the far more palatable, in his eyes, zombie drama of last year. And then my new friends drifted away from me into an angry private conversation—“He punked me!”—as I ordered another drink for myself, scared of the dead-eyed arrivals whose gaze never registered in the dim wattage of the Schooner Bar, whose terrifying voices and hollow laughs grated like unoiled gears against the crooning of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.”

But today is a new day for me and my hangover. After breakfast, I explore the ship’s so-called neighborhoods . There’s the AquaDome, where one can find a food hall and an acrobatic sound-and-light aquatic show. Central Park has a premium steak house, a sushi joint, and a used Rolex that can be bought for $8,000 on land here proudly offered at $17,000. There’s the aforementioned Royal Promenade, where I had drunk with the Rands, and where a pair of dueling pianos duel well into the night. There’s Surfside, a kids’ neighborhood full of sugary garbage, which looks out onto the frothy trail that the behemoth leaves behind itself. Thrill Island refers to the collection of tubes that clutter the ass of the ship and offer passengers six waterslides and a surfing simulation. There’s the Hideaway, an adult zone that plays music from a vomit-slathered, Brit-filled Alicante nightclub circa 1996 and proves a big favorite with groups of young Latin American customers. And, most hurtfully, there’s the Suite Neighborhood.

I say hurtfully because as a Suite passenger I should be here, though my particular suite is far from the others. Whereas I am stuck amid the riffraff of Deck 11, this section is on the highborn Decks 16 and 17, and in passing, I peek into the spacious, tall-ceilinged staterooms from the hallway, dazzled by the glint of the waves and sun. For $75,000, one multifloor suite even comes with its own slide between floors, so that a family may enjoy this particular terror in private. There is a quiet splendor to the Suite Neighborhood. I see fewer stickers and signs and drawings than in my own neighborhood—for example, MIKE AND DIANA PROUDLY SERVED U.S. MARINE CORPS RETIRED . No one here needs to announce their branch of service or rank; they are simply Suites, and this is where they belong. Once again, despite my hard work and perseverance, I have been disallowed from the true American elite. Once again, I am “Not our class, dear.” I am reminded of watching The Love Boat on my grandmother’s Zenith, which either was given to her or we found in the trash (I get our many malfunctioning Zeniths confused) and whose tube got so hot, I would put little chunks of government cheese on a thin tissue atop it to give our welfare treat a pleasant, Reagan-era gooeyness. I could not understand English well enough then to catch the nuances of that seafaring program, but I knew that there were differences in the status of the passengers, and that sometimes those differences made them sad. Still, this ship, this plenty—every few steps, there are complimentary nachos or milkshakes or gyros on offer—was the fatty fuel of my childhood dreams. If only I had remained a child.

I walk around the outdoor decks looking for company. There is a middle-aged African American couple who always seem to be asleep in each other’s arms, probably exhausted from the late capitalism they regularly encounter on land. There is far more diversity on this ship than I expected. Many couples are a testament to Loving v. Virginia , and there is a large group of folks whose T-shirts read MELANIN AT SEA / IT’S THE MELANIN FOR ME . I smile when I see them, but then some young kids from the group makes Mr. Washy Washy do a cruel, caricatured “Burger Dance” (today he is in his burger getup), and I think, Well, so much for intersectionality .

At the infinity pool on Deck 17, I spot some elderly women who could be ethnic and from my part of the world, and so I jump in. I am proved correct! Many of them seem to be originally from Queens (“Corona was still great when it was all Italian”), though they are now spread across the tristate area. We bond over the way “Ron-kon-koma” sounds when announced in Penn Station.

“Everyone is here for a different reason,” one of them tells me. She and her ex-husband last sailed together four years ago to prove to themselves that their marriage was truly over. Her 15-year-old son lost his virginity to “an Irish young lady” while their ship was moored in Ravenna, Italy. The gaggle of old-timers competes to tell me their favorite cruising stories and tips. “A guy proposed in Central Park a couple of years ago”—many Royal Caribbean ships apparently have this ridiculous communal area—“and she ran away screaming!” “If you’re diamond-class, you get four drinks for free.” “A different kind of passenger sails out of Bayonne.” (This, perhaps, is racially coded.) “Sometimes, if you tip the bartender $5, your next drink will be free.”

“Everyone’s here for a different reason,” the woman whose marriage ended on a cruise tells me again. “Some people are here for bad reasons—the drinkers and the gamblers. Some people are here for medical reasons.” I have seen more than a few oxygen tanks and at least one woman clearly undergoing very serious chemo. Some T-shirts celebrate good news about a cancer diagnosis. This might be someone’s last cruise or week on Earth. For these women, who have spent months, if not years, at sea, cruising is a ritual as well as a life cycle: first love, last love, marriage, divorce, death.

Read: The last place on Earth any tourist should go

I have talked with these women for so long, tonight I promise myself that after a sad solitary dinner I will not try to seek out company at the bars in the mall or the adult-themed Hideaway. I have enough material to fulfill my duties to this publication. As I approach my orphaned suite, I run into the aggro young people who stole Mr. and Mrs. Rand away from me the night before. The tattooed apparitions pass me without a glance. She is singing something violent about “Stuttering Stanley” (a character in a popular horror movie, as I discover with my complimentary VOOM SM Surf & Stream Internet at Sea) and he’s loudly shouting about “all the money I’ve lost,” presumably at the casino in the bowels of the ship.

So these bent psychos out of a Cormac McCarthy novel are angrily inhabiting my deck. As I mewl myself to sleep, I envision a limited series for HBO or some other streamer, a kind of low-rent White Lotus , where several aggressive couples conspire to throw a shy intellectual interloper overboard. I type the scenario into my phone. As I fall asleep, I think of what the woman who recently divorced her husband and whose son became a man through the good offices of the Irish Republic told me while I was hoisting myself out of the infinity pool. “I’m here because I’m an explorer. I’m here because I’m trying something new.” What if I allowed myself to believe in her fantasy?

“YOU REALLY STARTED AT THE TOP,” they tell me. I’m at the Coastal Kitchen for my eggs and corned-beef hash, and the maître d’ has slotted me in between two couples. Fueled by coffee or perhaps intrigued by my relative youth, they strike up a conversation with me. As always, people are shocked that this is my first cruise. They contrast the Icon favorably with all the preceding liners in the Royal Caribbean fleet, usually commenting on the efficiency of the elevators that hurl us from deck to deck (as in many large corporate buildings, the elevators ask you to choose a floor and then direct you to one of many lifts). The couple to my right, from Palo Alto—he refers to his “porn mustache” and calls his wife “my cougar” because she is two years older—tell me they are “Pandemic Pinnacles.”

This is the day that my eyes will be opened. Pinnacles , it is explained to me over translucent cantaloupe, have sailed with Royal Caribbean for 700 ungodly nights. Pandemic Pinnacles took advantage of the two-for-one accrual rate of Pinnacle points during the pandemic, when sailing on a cruise ship was even more ill-advised, to catapult themselves into Pinnacle status.

Because of the importance of the inaugural voyage of the world’s largest cruise liner, more than 200 Pinnacles are on this ship, a startling number, it seems. Mrs. Palo Alto takes out a golden badge that I have seen affixed over many a breast, which reads CROWN AND ANCHOR SOCIETY along with her name. This is the coveted badge of the Pinnacle. “You should hear all the whining in Guest Services,” her husband tells me. Apparently, the Pinnacles who are not also Suites like us are all trying to use their status to get into Coastal Kitchen, our elite restaurant. Even a Pinnacle needs to be a Suite to access this level of corned-beef hash.

“We’re just baby Pinnacles,” Mrs. Palo Alto tells me, describing a kind of internal class struggle among the Pinnacle elite for ever higher status.

And now I understand what the maître d’ was saying to me on the first day of my cruise. He wasn’t saying “ pendejo .” He was saying “Pinnacle.” The dining room was for Pinnacles only, all those older people rolling in like the tide on their motorized scooters.

And now I understand something else: This whole thing is a cult. And like most cults, it can’t help but mirror the endless American fight for status. Like Keith Raniere’s NXIVM, where different-colored sashes were given out to connote rank among Raniere’s branded acolytes, this is an endless competition among Pinnacles, Suites, Diamond-Plusers, and facing-the-mall, no-balcony purple SeaPass Card peasants, not to mention the many distinctions within each category. The more you cruise, the higher your status. No wonder a section of the Royal Promenade is devoted to getting passengers to book their next cruise during the one they should be enjoying now. No wonder desperate Royal Caribbean offers (“FINAL HOURS”) crowded my email account weeks before I set sail. No wonder the ship’s jewelry store, the Royal Bling, is selling a $100,000 golden chalice that will entitle its owner to drink free on Royal Caribbean cruises for life. (One passenger was already gaming out whether her 28-year-old son was young enough to “just about earn out” on the chalice or if that ship had sailed.) No wonder this ship was sold out months before departure , and we had to pay $19,000 for a horrid suite away from the Suite Neighborhood. No wonder the most mythical hero of Royal Caribbean lore is someone named Super Mario, who has cruised so often, he now has his own working desk on many ships. This whole experience is part cult, part nautical pyramid scheme.

From the June 2014 issue: Ship of wonks

“The toilets are amazing,” the Palo Altos are telling me. “One flush and you’re done.” “They don’t understand how energy-efficient these ships are,” the husband of the other couple is telling me. “They got the LNG”—liquefied natural gas, which is supposed to make the Icon a boon to the environment (a concept widely disputed and sometimes ridiculed by environmentalists).

But I’m thinking along a different line of attack as I spear my last pallid slice of melon. For my streaming limited series, a Pinnacle would have to get killed by either an outright peasant or a Suite without an ocean view. I tell my breakfast companions my idea.

“Oh, for sure a Pinnacle would have to be killed,” Mr. Palo Alto, the Pandemic Pinnacle, says, touching his porn mustache thoughtfully as his wife nods.

“THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S your time, buddy!” Hubert, my fun-loving Panamanian cabin attendant, shouts as I step out of my suite in a robe. “Take it easy, buddy!”

I have come up with a new dressing strategy. Instead of trying to impress with my choice of T-shirts, I have decided to start wearing a robe, as one does at a resort property on land, with a proper spa and hammam. The response among my fellow cruisers has been ecstatic. “Look at you in the robe!” Mr. Rand cries out as we pass each other by the Thrill Island aqua park. “You’re living the cruise life! You know, you really drank me under the table that night.” I laugh as we part ways, but my soul cries out, Please spend more time with me, Mr. and Mrs. Rand; I so need the company .

In my white robe, I am a stately presence, a refugee from a better limited series, a one-man crossover episode. (Only Suites are granted these robes to begin with.) Today, I will try many of the activities these ships have on offer to provide their clientele with a sense of never-ceasing motion. Because I am already at Thrill Island, I decide to climb the staircase to what looks like a mast on an old-fashioned ship (terrified, because I am afraid of heights) to try a ride called “Storm Chasers,” which is part of the “Category 6” water park, named in honor of one of the storms that may someday do away with the Port of Miami entirely. Storm Chasers consists of falling from the “mast” down a long, twisting neon tube filled with water, like being the camera inside your own colonoscopy, as you hold on to the handles of a mat, hoping not to die. The tube then flops you down headfirst into a trough of water, a Royal Caribbean baptism. It both knocks my breath out and makes me sad.

In keeping with the aquatic theme, I attend a show at the AquaDome. To the sound of “Live and Let Die,” a man in a harness gyrates to and fro in the sultry air. I saw something very similar in the back rooms of the famed Berghain club in early-aughts Berlin. Soon another harnessed man is gyrating next to the first. Ja , I think to myself, I know how this ends. Now will come the fisting , natürlich . But the show soon devolves into the usual Marvel-film-grade nonsense, with too much light and sound signifying nichts . If any fisting is happening, it is probably in the Suite Neighborhood, inside a cabin marked with an upside-down pineapple, which I understand means a couple are ready to swing, and I will see none of it.

I go to the ice show, which is a kind of homage—if that’s possible—to the periodic table, done with the style and pomp and masterful precision that would please the likes of Kim Jong Un, if only he could afford Royal Caribbean talent. At one point, the dancers skate to the theme song of Succession . “See that!” I want to say to my fellow Suites—at “cultural” events, we have a special section reserved for us away from the commoners—“ Succession ! It’s even better than the zombie show! Open your minds!”

Finally, I visit a comedy revue in an enormous and too brightly lit version of an “intimate,” per Royal Caribbean literature, “Manhattan comedy club.” Many of the jokes are about the cruising life. “I’ve lived on ships for 20 years,” one of the middle-aged comedians says. “I can only see so many Filipino homosexuals dressed as a taco.” He pauses while the audience laughs. “I am so fired tonight,” he says. He segues into a Trump impression and then Biden falling asleep at the microphone, which gets the most laughs. “Anyone here from Fort Leonard Wood?” another comedian asks. Half the crowd seems to cheer. As I fall asleep that night, I realize another connection I have failed to make, and one that may explain some of the diversity on this vessel—many of its passengers have served in the military.

As a coddled passenger with a suite, I feel like I am starting to understand what it means to have a rank and be constantly reminded of it. There are many espresso makers , I think as I look across the expanse of my officer-grade quarters before closing my eyes, but this one is mine .

A shocking sight greets me beyond the pools of Deck 17 as I saunter over to the Coastal Kitchen for my morning intake of slightly sour Americanos. A tiny city beneath a series of perfectly pressed green mountains. Land! We have docked for a brief respite in Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts and Nevis. I wolf down my egg scramble to be one of the first passengers off the ship. Once past the gangway, I barely refrain from kissing the ground. I rush into the sights and sounds of this scruffy island city, sampling incredible conch curry and buckets of non-Starbucks coffee. How wonderful it is to be where God intended humans to be: on land. After all, I am neither a fish nor a mall rat. This is my natural environment. Basseterre may not be Havana, but there are signs of human ingenuity and desire everywhere you look. The Black Table Grill Has been Relocated to Soho Village, Market Street, Directly Behind of, Gary’s Fruits and Flower Shop. Signed. THE PORK MAN reads a sign stuck to a wall. Now, that is how you write a sign. A real sign, not the come-ons for overpriced Rolexes that blink across the screens of the Royal Promenade.

“Hey, tie your shoestring!” a pair of laughing ladies shout to me across the street.

“Thank you!” I shout back. Shoestring! “Thank you very much.”

A man in Independence Square Park comes by and asks if I want to play with his monkey. I haven’t heard that pickup line since the Penn Station of the 1980s. But then he pulls a real monkey out of a bag. The monkey is wearing a diaper and looks insane. Wonderful , I think, just wonderful! There is so much life here. I email my editor asking if I can remain on St. Kitts and allow the Icon to sail off into the horizon without me. I have even priced a flight home at less than $300, and I have enough material from the first four days on the cruise to write the entire story. “It would be funny …” my editor replies. “Now get on the boat.”

As I slink back to the ship after my brief jailbreak, the locals stand under umbrellas to gaze at and photograph the boat that towers over their small capital city. The limousines of the prime minister and his lackeys are parked beside the gangway. St. Kitts, I’ve been told, is one of the few islands that would allow a ship of this size to dock.

“We hear about all the waterslides,” a sweet young server in one of the cafés told me. “We wish we could go on the ship, but we have to work.”

“I want to stay on your island,” I replied. “I love it here.”

But she didn’t understand how I could possibly mean that.

“WASHY, WASHY, so you don’t get stinky, stinky!” kids are singing outside the AquaDome, while their adult minders look on in disapproval, perhaps worried that Mr. Washy Washy is grooming them into a life of gayness. I heard a southern couple skip the buffet entirely out of fear of Mr. Washy Washy.

Meanwhile, I have found a new watering hole for myself, the Swim & Tonic, the biggest swim-up bar on any cruise ship in the world. Drinking next to full-size, nearly naked Americans takes away one’s own self-consciousness. The men have curvaceous mom bodies. The women are equally un-shy about their sprawling physiques.

Today I’ve befriended a bald man with many children who tells me that all of the little trinkets that Royal Caribbean has left us in our staterooms and suites are worth a fortune on eBay. “Eighty dollars for the water bottle, 60 for the lanyard,” the man says. “This is a cult.”

“Tell me about it,” I say. There is, however, a clientele for whom this cruise makes perfect sense. For a large middle-class family (he works in “supply chains”), seven days in a lower-tier cabin—which starts at $1,800 a person—allow the parents to drop off their children in Surfside, where I imagine many young Filipina crew members will take care of them, while the parents are free to get drunk at a swim-up bar and maybe even get intimate in their cabin. Cruise ships have become, for a certain kind of hardworking family, a form of subsidized child care.

There is another man I would like to befriend at the Swim & Tonic, a tall, bald fellow who is perpetually inebriated and who wears a necklace studded with little rubber duckies in sunglasses, which, I am told, is a sort of secret handshake for cruise aficionados. Tomorrow, I will spend more time with him, but first the ship docks at St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Charlotte Amalie, the capital, is more charming in name than in presence, but I still all but jump off the ship to score a juicy oxtail and plantains at the well-known Petite Pump Room, overlooking the harbor. From one of the highest points in the small city, the Icon of the Seas appears bigger than the surrounding hills.

I usually tan very evenly, but something about the discombobulation of life at sea makes me forget the regular application of sunscreen. As I walk down the streets of Charlotte Amalie in my fluorescent Icon of the Seas cap, an old Rastafarian stares me down. “Redneck,” he hisses.

“No,” I want to tell him, as I bring a hand up to my red neck, “that’s not who I am at all. On my island, Mannahatta, as Whitman would have it, I am an interesting person living within an engaging artistic milieu. I do not wish to use the Caribbean as a dumping ground for the cruise-ship industry. I love the work of Derek Walcott. You don’t understand. I am not a redneck. And if I am, they did this to me.” They meaning Royal Caribbean? Its passengers? The Rands?

“They did this to me!”

Back on the Icon, some older matrons are muttering about a run-in with passengers from the Celebrity cruise ship docked next to us, the Celebrity Apex. Although Celebrity Cruises is also owned by Royal Caribbean, I am made to understand that there is a deep fratricidal beef between passengers of the two lines. “We met a woman from the Apex,” one matron says, “and she says it was a small ship and there was nothing to do. Her face was as tight as a 19-year-old’s, she had so much surgery.” With those words, and beneath a cloudy sky, humidity shrouding our weathered faces and red necks, we set sail once again, hopefully in the direction of home.

THERE ARE BARELY 48 HOURS LEFT to the cruise, and the Icon of the Seas’ passengers are salty. They know how to work the elevators. They know the Washy Washy song by heart. They understand that the chicken gyro at “Feta Mediterranean,” in the AquaDome Market, is the least problematic form of chicken on the ship.

The passengers have shed their INAUGURAL CRUISE T-shirts and are now starting to evince political opinions. There are caps pledging to make America great again and T-shirts that celebrate words sometimes attributed to Patrick Henry: “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.” With their preponderance of FAMILY FLAG FAITH FRIENDS FIREARMS T-shirts, the tables by the crepe station sometimes resemble the Capitol Rotunda on January 6. The Real Anthony Fauci , by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appears to be a popular form of literature, especially among young men with very complicated versions of the American flag on their T-shirts. Other opinions blend the personal and the political. “Someone needs to kill Washy guy, right?” a well-dressed man in the elevator tells me, his gray eyes radiating nothing. “Just beat him to death. Am I right?” I overhear the male member of a young couple whisper, “There goes that freak” as I saunter by in my white spa robe, and I decide to retire it for the rest of the cruise.

I visit the Royal Bling to see up close the $100,000 golden chalice that entitles you to free drinks on Royal Caribbean forever. The pleasant Serbian saleslady explains that the chalice is actually gold-plated and covered in white zirconia instead of diamonds, as it would otherwise cost $1 million. “If you already have everything,” she explains, “this is one more thing you can get.”

I believe that anyone who works for Royal Caribbean should be entitled to immediate American citizenship. They already speak English better than most of the passengers and, per the Serbian lady’s sales pitch above, better understand what America is as well. Crew members like my Panamanian cabin attendant seem to work 24 hours a day. A waiter from New Delhi tells me that his contract is six months and three weeks long. After a cruise ends, he says, “in a few hours, we start again for the next cruise.” At the end of the half a year at sea, he is allowed a two-to-three-month stay at home with his family. As of 2019, the median income for crew members was somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000, according to a major business publication. Royal Caribbean would not share the current median salary for its crew members, but I am certain that it amounts to a fraction of the cost of a Royal Bling gold-plated, zirconia-studded chalice.

And because most of the Icon’s hyper-sanitized spaces are just a frittata away from being a Delta lounge, one forgets that there are actual sailors on this ship, charged with the herculean task of docking it in port. “Having driven 100,000-ton aircraft carriers throughout my career,” retired Admiral James G. Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, writes to me, “I’m not sure I would even know where to begin with trying to control a sea monster like this one nearly three times the size.” (I first met Stavridis while touring Army bases in Germany more than a decade ago.)

Today, I decide to head to the hot tub near Swim & Tonic, where some of the ship’s drunkest reprobates seem to gather (the other tubs are filled with families and couples). The talk here, like everywhere else on the ship, concerns football, a sport about which I know nothing. It is apparent that four teams have recently competed in some kind of finals for the year, and that two of them will now face off in the championship. Often when people on the Icon speak, I will try to repeat the last thing they said with a laugh or a nod of disbelief. “Yes, 20-yard line! Ha!” “Oh my God, of course, scrimmage.”

Soon we are joined in the hot tub by the late-middle-age drunk guy with the duck necklace. He is wearing a bucket hat with the legend HAWKEYES , which, I soon gather, is yet another football team. “All right, who turned me in?” Duck Necklace says as he plops into the tub beside us. “I get a call in the morning,” he says. “It’s security. Can you come down to the dining room by 10 a.m.? You need to stay away from the members of this religious family.” Apparently, the gregarious Duck Necklace had photobombed the wrong people. There are several families who present as evangelical Christians or practicing Muslims on the ship. One man, evidently, was not happy that Duck Necklace had made contact with his relatives. “It’s because of religious stuff; he was offended. I put my arm around 20 people a day.”

Everyone laughs. “They asked me three times if I needed medication,” he says of the security people who apparently interrogated him in full view of others having breakfast.

Another hot-tub denizen suggests that he should have asked for fentanyl. After a few more drinks, Duck Necklace begins to muse about what it would be like to fall off the ship. “I’m 62 and I’m ready to go,” he says. “I just don’t want a shark to eat me. I’m a huge God guy. I’m a Bible guy. There’s some Mayan theory squaring science stuff with religion. There is so much more to life on Earth.” We all nod into our Red Stripes.

“I never get off the ship when we dock,” he says. He tells us he lost $6,000 in the casino the other day. Later, I look him up, and it appears that on land, he’s a financial adviser in a crisp gray suit, probably a pillar of his North Chicago community.

THE OCEAN IS TEEMING with fascinating life, but on the surface it has little to teach us. The waves come and go. The horizon remains ever far away.

I am constantly told by my fellow passengers that “everybody here has a story.” Yes, I want to reply, but everybody everywhere has a story. You, the reader of this essay, have a story, and yet you’re not inclined to jump on a cruise ship and, like Duck Necklace, tell your story to others at great pitch and volume. Maybe what they’re saying is that everybody on this ship wants to have a bigger, more coherent, more interesting story than the one they’ve been given. Maybe that’s why there’s so much signage on the doors around me attesting to marriages spent on the sea. Maybe that’s why the Royal Caribbean newsletter slipped under my door tells me that “this isn’t a vacation day spent—it’s bragging rights earned.” Maybe that’s why I’m so lonely.

Today is a big day for Icon passengers. Today the ship docks at Royal Caribbean’s own Bahamian island, the Perfect Day at CocoCay. (This appears to be the actual name of the island.) A comedian at the nightclub opined on what his perfect day at CocoCay would look like—receiving oral sex while learning that his ex-wife had been killed in a car crash (big laughter). But the reality of the island is far less humorous than that.

One of the ethnic tristate ladies in the infinity pool told me that she loved CocoCay because it had exactly the same things that could be found on the ship itself. This proves to be correct. It is like the Icon, but with sand. The same tired burgers, the same colorful tubes conveying children and water from Point A to B. The same swim-up bar at its Hideaway ($140 for admittance, no children allowed; Royal Caribbean must be printing money off its clientele). “There was almost a fight at The Wizard of Oz ,” I overhear an elderly woman tell her companion on a chaise lounge. Apparently one of the passengers began recording Royal Caribbean’s intellectual property and “three guys came after him.”

I walk down a pathway to the center of the island, where a sign reads DO NOT ENTER: YOU HAVE REACHED THE BOUNDARY OF ADVENTURE . I hear an animal scampering in the bushes. A Royal Caribbean worker in an enormous golf cart soon chases me down and takes me back to the Hideaway, where I run into Mrs. Rand in a bikini. She becomes livid telling me about an altercation she had the other day with a woman over a towel and a deck chair. We Suites have special towel privileges; we do not have to hand over our SeaPass Card to score a towel. But the Rands are not Suites. “People are so entitled here,” Mrs. Rand says. “It’s like the airport with all its classes.” “You see,” I want to say, “this is where your husband’s love of Ayn Rand runs into the cruelties and arbitrary indignities of unbridled capitalism.” Instead we make plans to meet for a final drink in the Schooner Bar tonight (the Rands will stand me up).

Back on the ship, I try to do laps, but the pool (the largest on any cruise ship, naturally) is fully trashed with the detritus of American life: candy wrappers, a slowly dissolving tortilla chip, napkins. I take an extra-long shower in my suite, then walk around the perimeter of the ship on a kind of exercise track, past all the alluring lifeboats in their yellow-and-white livery. Maybe there is a dystopian angle to the HBO series that I will surely end up pitching, one with shades of WALL-E or Snowpiercer . In a collapsed world, a Royal Caribbean–like cruise liner sails from port to port, collecting new shipmates and supplies in exchange for the precious energy it has on board. (The actual Icon features a new technology that converts passengers’ poop into enough energy to power the waterslides . In the series, this shitty technology would be greatly expanded.) A very young woman (18? 19?), smart and lonely, who has only known life on the ship, walks along the same track as I do now, contemplating jumping off into the surf left by its wake. I picture reusing Duck Necklace’s words in the opening shot of the pilot. The girl is walking around the track, her eyes on the horizon; maybe she’s highborn—a Suite—and we hear the voice-over: “I’m 19 and I’m ready to go. I just don’t want a shark to eat me.”

Before the cruise is finished, I talk to Mr. Washy Washy, or Nielbert of the Philippines. He is a sweet, gentle man, and I thank him for the earworm of a song he has given me and for keeping us safe from the dreaded norovirus. “This is very important to me, getting people to wash their hands,” he tells me in his burger getup. He has dreams, as an artist and a performer, but they are limited in scope. One day he wants to dress up as a piece of bacon for the morning shift.

THE MAIDEN VOYAGE OF THE TITANIC (the Icon of the Seas is five times as large as that doomed vessel) at least offered its passengers an exciting ending to their cruise, but when I wake up on the eighth day, all I see are the gray ghosts that populate Miami’s condo skyline. Throughout my voyage, my writer friends wrote in to commiserate with me. Sloane Crosley, who once covered a three-day spa mini-cruise for Vogue , tells me she felt “so very alone … I found it very untethering.” Gideon Lewis-Kraus writes in an Instagram comment: “When Gary is done I think it’s time this genre was taken out back and shot.” And he is right. To badly paraphrase Adorno: After this, no more cruise stories. It is unfair to put a thinking person on a cruise ship. Writers typically have difficult childhoods, and it is cruel to remind them of the inherent loneliness that drove them to writing in the first place. It is also unseemly to write about the kind of people who go on cruises. Our country does not provide the education and upbringing that allow its citizens an interior life. For the creative class to point fingers at the large, breasty gentlemen adrift in tortilla-chip-laden pools of water is to gather a sour harvest of low-hanging fruit.

A day or two before I got off the ship, I decided to make use of my balcony, which I had avoided because I thought the view would only depress me further. What I found shocked me. My suite did not look out on Central Park after all. This entire time, I had been living in the ship’s Disneyland, Surfside, the neighborhood full of screaming toddlers consuming milkshakes and candy. And as I leaned out over my balcony, I beheld a slight vista of the sea and surf that I thought I had been missing. It had been there all along. The sea was frothy and infinite and blue-green beneath the span of a seagull’s wing. And though it had been trod hard by the world’s largest cruise ship, it remained.

This article appears in the May 2024 print edition with the headline “A Meatball at Sea.” When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

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2024 Caribbean Cruises

In 2024/2025, you can sail through the breathtaking islands of the Caribbean in Celebrity style.  We’re making island hopping in paradise better than ever. For the first time, we’re taking you to one of the Caribbean’s most exclusive destinations, Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s award-winning private island destination.

Also for the first time, we’re adding Port Canaveral to the list of Florida cities we sail from, so you have even more places to start your journey. With all the new we’ve added to the Caribbean, you’re sure to find exactly what you want for an unforgettable getaway. 

Embark on a journey beyond the beaches with the only Relaxed Luxury® cruise line that can take you there.

Itineraries

Our ships sailing to caribbean in 2024 and 2025.

Celebrity Apex℠

Celebrity Ascent℠

Celebrity Beyond℠

Celebrity Eclipse

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Celebrity Summit

Departure Ports

Fort Lauderdale

Port Canaveral

Puerto Plata

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Learn More About Our New Season of 2024 Caribbean Cruises

When you explore the islands with us, you’ll experience so much more than breathtaking beaches (although, we suggest you give those a look, too). On a Celebrity vacation in the islands, you’ll go beyond the beach to climb, hike, swim, bike, or chill in some of the world’s most beautiful places. Nature lovers will discover the Caribbean is a never-ending show of wonders—from lush mountain peaks and rainforests with hidden waterfalls to dazzling coral reefs bustling with tropical fish.

Culture seekers and history buffs will be excited to explore ancient Maya ruins, colonial towns, and sampling some of the local wine, beer, or rum. A Celebrity Caribbean vacation is the ultimate experience in paradise—both on board and off.

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Enjoy 75% off your second guest’s cruise fare and get bonus savings of up to $200. Plus, additional guests in your stateroom sail free on select sailings.

Bahamas & Perfect Day

From FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA - onboard CELEBRITY REFLECTION

†Taxes, fees and port expenses $142.23 USD *

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We know staying in touch is important, so we’ve included internet access for all guests. Browse the web, check email, and use messaging apps.

Cruise Itinerary

• Port of Departure
• Port of Call
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Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Sun, May 18, 2025

Departs: 4:00PM

At Sea - Cruising

Mon, May 19, 2025

Key West, Florida

Tue, May 20, 2025

Docked: 7:00AM to 4:00PM

Bimini, Bahamas

Wed, May 21, 2025

Docked: 8:00AM to 5:00PM

Perfect Day at CocoCay, Bahamas

Thu, May 22, 2025

Docked: 7:00AM to 5:00PM

Fri, May 23, 2025

Arrival: 7:00AM

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About This Ship

Aerial View of Reflection

Celebrity Reflection Ship

Celebrity Reflection

On Celebrity Reflection® enjoy endless ocean views, catch some sun, and play your favorite outdoor games on a ½ acre of real grass at The Lawn Club. Then, cap off the outdoor fun with delicious grilling specialties at Lawn Club Grill. You can also take your palate to new heights with exciting culinary experiences by our Global Culinary Ambassador, Chef Daniel Boulud. Shop in luxury boutiques. And, invigorate your senses at The Spa. From unforgettable spaces to world-class amenities, and distinct features, you’ll rest and recharge the moment you step aboard.

Onboard Features

Opus Restaurant

The airy Main Restaurant offers exquisite menu selections, which change nightly to give you a variety of classic and contemporary choices. And the service? Legendary.

Clean, crisp flavors and inventive cuisine meet an extensive list of sustainable and biodynamic wines. Exclusively for AquaClass guests.

The exclusive restaurant for guests of the Retreat. Select and cutting edge, the globally inspired menus at Luminae are not available in any other restaurant on board.

Ensemble Lounge

Ensemble Lounge is the ideal setting for an aperitif en route to an extraordinary dining experience, or a digestif afterward.

The Martini Bar

Sit back and relax, listening to up-tempo tunes and enjoying a collection of rare vodkas and a portfolio of fine caviars.

Sky Observation Lounge

A unique music venue with spectacular ocean views. The perfect daytime spot to gaze over the sea with a cocktail in hand and dance the night away after the sun sets.

The Retreat is an unparalleled vacation experience that includes every stunning suite, a private restaurant, and an exclusive lounge that rivals any high-end resort.

Say "Ahh" in spa-inspired staterooms designed just for you. Savor clean eating at Blu and escape to the Persian Garden.

Tailored services and amenities await you in these exceptionally appointed staterooms. We're here to help you make the most of your time on board and on shore.

Relax, recharge, and play the hottest slots and table games at The Casino. It offers a sophisticated ambiance and a captivating atmosphere that comes alive with plenty of action.

Camp at Sea

S.T.E.M. activities are powered by experiments, demonstrations and everyday science that will amaze young minds.

Fitness Center

Bring your workout routine along on your modern luxury vacation and enjoy a variety of new fitness classes and seminars along with world class cruise fitness amenities.

Shops on Reflection

Aboard Reflection, Celebrity's European-inspired piazza and elegant galleria hold riches of chic sophistication. Marble walkways lead you to modern boutiques and fine jewelry stores.

Art Gallery

When you visit the Art Gallery, you'll be surrounded with one of the world's largest permanent collections of contemporary art, accompanied by a complete art program.

Jogging Track

Built around the ship’s top deck, the jogging track let’s you take in breathless ocean views while you workout. It’s so mesmerizing, you’ll forget you’re breaking a sweat.

Adults-only Solarium

A serenely beautiful adults-only pool and hot tub experience, The Solarium let’s you relax and daydream of the next destination you’ll be exploring.

The Lawn Club

Who said grass can’t be on a ship? Enjoy a friendly pick-up game of leisure sports like Croquet, Bocce, golf putting, Blongo or Baggo.

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Price is per person and applies to selected sailing, lowest available fare stateroom category, based on double-occupancy, reflects any promotional savings, and is subject to change and availability until booked. Additional terms and conditions apply to offers. Full deposit must be paid by deposit payment required due date. Standard full deposit penalty is applied if booking is cancelled within final payment period; see Celebrity’s cancellation policy for details. Non-Refundable Deposit Bookings (“NRDB”): To qualify for the lowest available cruise fare, guest must choose a non-refundable deposit. All deposit payments for NRDB made after 03/02/23 are non-refundable from the time of booking. NRDB are applicable to groups at prevailing rates. Not applicable to incentive, contract, or charter groups. Nonrefundable deposit offers are applicable to sailings within final payment, however full deposit is due at time of booking. 

Celebrity Edge® Series Iconic Suites, Edge Villas, Penthouse Suites, Royal Suites, Celebrity Suites, AquaClass® Sky Suites, and Sky Suites (and Family Suites during Holiday sailings) require double the deposit amounts listed.

All Included  pricing applies to sailings booked and departing on or after October 4, 2023, excluding Galapagos cruises, in an inside, ocean view, veranda, Concierge Class, or AquaClass stateroom (“Eligible Bookings”). All guests within an Eligible Booking who choose “All Included” pricing, will receive a Classic Drinks Package and an unlimited Basic Wi-Fi package. All guests in the same stateroom must choose the same rate.  Please visit www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/onboard-packages/beverage-packages for further information on available beverages and full restrictions and www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/onboard-packages/internet-and-phone-packages for further information on wi-fi.

All Included pricing applies to new individual bookings only. Changes to booking may result in removal of Offer. Prices and Offers are subject to availability and change without notice, may be withdrawn at any time, and not applicable to charters or contracted groups. All Included pricing is non-transferable and not combinable with certain rates including, Travel Agent, Interline, Net, Exciting Deals, or worker cabins.  Single occupancy guests paying 200% cruise fare are eligible for All Included pricing. Refer to celebritycruises.com and the Cruise Ticket Contract for additional terms and conditions. Celebrity Cruises reserves the right to cancel offer at any time, correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, and change or update fares, fees, and surcharges at any time without prior notice.

Imagery and messaging may not accurately reflect onboard and destination experiences, offerings, features, or itineraries. These may not be available during your voyage, may vary by ship and destination, and may be subject to change without notice.

*Port sequence may vary by sailing date.

Departing May 18, 2025

$610 USD * Avg Per Person

DAY 1 - Sunday , May 18

DAY 2 - Monday , May 19

DAY 3 - Tuesday , May 20

DAY 4 - Wednesday , May 21

DAY 5 - Thursday , May 22

DAY 6 - Friday , May 23