by Paul Heney
Last updated: 2:10 PM ET, Fri January 24, 2025
Building a cruise ship is a long and complicated process, so every milestone is a reason for celebration.
For Celebrity Cruises’ new Xcel, set to be the fifth ship in the Edge Series (a deal for a sixth ship was just announced), the critical float-out phase happened on January 18. This means the ship’s exterior has been completed.
We were given a behind-the-scenes tour of Xcel days before the float out, by Celebrity and shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France. Xcel started on its journey with the basic design phase starting in October 2022, the first steel cutting a year later, and construction of the ship via 45 enormous blocks over the past year. Blocks are components of the ship’s superstructure that are built on land and then lifted and attached to the ship while it sits in the drydock; this is akin to assembling a structure with huge Lego blocks.
View of Celebrity Xcel sitting in the dry dock in Saint-Nazaire, France. (Photo Credit: Photo by Paul J. Heney.)
Cabins for both crew and passengers are built on site, in assembly line fashion, and lifted onto the structure. At the time of float out, all of the crew cabins and roughly 20 percent of the lower passenger cabins had been installed, according to Chantiers de l'Atlantique executives.
For the float out itself, water is slowly fed into the dry dock, and over an eight- to 12-hour process, the ship finally sits in the water for the first time. Then, tugboats slowly maneuver it out of the dry dock, down a section of the Loire River, and through another channel to a different section of the shipyard, where the remaining construction will occur. This frees up the dry dock for the next ship (Celebrity or otherwise) to be constructed. Currently, Chantiers de l'Atlantique is constructing six ships here, the maximum number possible at one time.
View of Celebrity Xcel Grand Plaza's chandelier under construction from a temporary floor. (Photo Credit: Photo by Paul J. Heney.)
Touring the unfinished ship was a fascinating experience. All the technology that keeps the ship running tightly is visible, from the electrical wiring to the data cables to the HVAC lines that keep the individual cabins’ temperatures at just the right comfort level. Workers are everywhere, welding and painting and sanding and prepping—from the public areas to the engine room. It’s a brilliant melding of design and engineering, and quite like nothing I’ve ever seen before.
One particularly captivating stop was on a temporary floor that was constructed above what would be the floor of the Grand Plaza area. We suddenly realized that we were standing at eye level with the iconic chandelier that hangs over the Martini Bar on the Edge Class ships. From up close, the work and detail that goes into the chandelier was apparent. And, having seen the Grand Plaza on sister ship Ascent, it was mind-blowing to imagine the final product, especially based on where I was standing, far above the massive space.
The eventual pool area on Celebrity Xcel is under construction. (Photo Credit: Photo by Paul J. Heney.)
We met with executives from both Celebrity and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, including Captain Manolis Alevropoulos, Vice President of Marine Operations, Stavros Zannikos, Chief Engineer; and Ivan Klaric, Project Manager for Xcel. It was fascinating to learn from them how the most improvements on a ship generally happen between the second and third ships of a series. While all the ships are quite similar, adjustments to both behind-the-scenes areas and public spaces do evolve. By the time the first ship goes into service, the design (or even construction) of the second one is already in progress. So, it’s the third ship that really gets the most tweaks in the design and construction phases.
In the days since the float out, Celebrity has announced a new initiative with Xcel, launching the Dream Makers program. Here, interested members of the public will put their design skills to work, choosing everything from textiles to interior design, food and beverage options, and even playlists and costumes for the onboard entertainment.
Celebrity Xcel will make its debut this coming fall with sailings to the Caribbean out of Fort Lauderdale, before moving to the Mediterranean for the summer 2026 season.
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