Celebrity Cruises announced its new vessel, Celebrity Xcite, the sixth ship in its Edge class, set to begin operations from the Port of Miami in the 2028/29 season. Celebrity Xcite will operate seven-night itineraries across the Eastern and Western Caribbean, visiting ports including St. Thomas, Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Maarten, and the Dominican Republic.
The cruise line plans to deploy a total of ten ships simultaneously in the Caribbean during the 2028/29 season. These ships will homeport across five locations: Miami, Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Cape Canaveral, Tampa, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. The
expanded route network will encompass a variety of cruise lengths catering to diverse traveler preferences, ranging from short four-day cruises to extensive multi-week Panama Canal transits.
Expanded Caribbean Itinerary Network
Celebrity Beyond, an existing Edge-class ship, will offer four-night weekend cruises from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas between November 2028 and April 2029, totaling nine scheduled departures. Both Celebrity Eclipse and Celebrity Summit will support the short cruise market, operating from Fort Lauderdale and Miami respectively.
The longer cruise segment includes nine- to twelve-day itineraries, featuring six Panama Canal transits aboard Celebrity Beyond. Celebrity Ascent will sail ten- to thirteen-day cruises from Fort Lauderdale,
while Celebrity Xcel, the fifth Edge-class ship, will run seven- to nine-day voyages to the southern and western Caribbean, including visits to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.
Celebrity Silhouette will expand its southern Caribbean program with nine- to thirteen-day cruises to destinations such as Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia, and Grenada. Starting October 2028, this ship will also offer week-long sailings from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Celebrity Reflection will continue year-round operations from Fort Lauderdale on seven- to nine-day itineraries and will undergo an extensive modernization in March 2027, redesigning 13 passenger areas, including the Grand Plaza, restaurants, lounges, and open decks.
Celebrity Apex is assigned to Cape Canaveral, sailing Eastern and Western Caribbean routes. Celebrity Constellation will operate week-long cruises from Tampa to Key West, the Bahamas, and western Caribbean destinations.
Modernization and Booking Schedules
Celebrity Reflection’s renovation will take place in March 2027, targeting improvements across multiple passenger experience zones. Celebrity Cruises opened bookings for the 2028/29 winter season on November 5, 2026, with summer 2028 cruises available for reservation starting December 9, 2026.
Strategic Deployment in the Caribbean
Positioning Celebrity Xcite at Miami reflects the strategic significance of South Florida’s cruise hub in the North American market. The deployment of ten ships across five departure ports optimizes terminal
usage and serves distinct traveler catchment areas by air and road. The broad itinerary range, spanning weekend getaways to multi-week journeys, showcases Celebrity Cruises’ response to evolving passenger booking preferences and intensifying competition among US cruise lines in the Caribbean.
