A Celebrity Mediterranean cruise in 2027 means one of seven ships, led by the new Celebrity Xcel, sailing mostly 7- to 12-night voyages from Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Ravenna and Lisbon. Fares we tracked in September 2026 started at $935 per person for a week, taxes included. Gratuities rose on 29 July 2026 to $19.50 per person per night, and many guides still quote the old rate.
Celebrity sits in the middle of the market: more polished than the big mainstream lines, less inclusive than Viking or the luxury brands, and priced closer to the former than the latter. Its own Mediterranean pages list the seven ships by name and leave the rest to a booking engine, so this guide does the sorting for you: which ship sails from where, how long its voyages run, what they cost per night, what the All Included package really covers, and the two sailings built around the total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027. For how Celebrity ranks against Royal Caribbean, Princess, MSC and the rest, see our guide to the best Mediterranean cruise lines; this page is the deep dive on Celebrity alone.
At a glance: Celebrity in the Mediterranean, 2026–27
| Ships in the Mediterranean, 2027–28 | Seven: Celebrity Xcel, Ascent, Apex, Eclipse, Equinox, Constellation and Infinity, as listed on Celebrity’s 2027 Mediterranean page. |
| Departure ports | Rome (Civitavecchia), Barcelona, Athens (Piraeus), Ravenna and Lisbon, with Apex from Southampton. |
| Typical length | 7 to 12 nights; Celebrity’s own FAQ says six to 12. |
| Season | April to November, peaking June to September. Celebrity Infinity stays in Europe year-round, sailing to the Canary Islands from Barcelona in winter. |
| Cheapest weeks seen | Constellation, 7 nights from Civitavecchia on 8 May 2027: $935 per person. Infinity, 7 nights round the Greek islands from Piraeus in summer 2027: from $967. Both include taxes and fees. |
| The newest ship | Celebrity Xcel: delivered October 2025, 141,420 gross tons, 3,260 guests at double occupancy. Its first Mediterranean season is 2026. |
| Gratuities | From 29 July 2026: $19.50 per person per night in standard staterooms, $20.50 in Concierge Class and AquaClass, $24.50 in The Retreat suites. |
| All Included | An optional fare that adds the Classic drinks package and basic Wi-Fi at booking. It does not include gratuities. |
| Dress code | Smart casual at dinner, plus one or two “Evening Chic” nights, Celebrity’s name for dressing up. |
| Passports | Celebrity requires passports valid at least six months after the cruise ends. |
| Exchange rate used | €1 = $1.1403, the European Central Bank reference rate on 25 September 2026. |
Celebrity Mediterranean cruise ships for 2027, ship by ship
Celebrity says Xcel “returns to lead a fleet of seven ships” in the Mediterranean for 2027–28. Those seven span three generations of ship: the Edge series (Xcel, Ascent and Apex), the Solstice class (Eclipse and Equinox) and the older, smaller Millennium class (Constellation and Infinity). The generation matters more than the brand name suggests, because it decides the price, the size of the crowd at the gangway and what there is to do on a sea day.
| Ship | Class and year | Where it sails from in Europe | Typical voyages | Lowest 2027 fare seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Celebrity Xcel | Edge series, 2025 | Barcelona and Piraeus in summer; Barcelona in autumn; Caribbean in winter | 7-night Italian and French Riviera, and Greek islands with Italy, Malta or Turkey; 10 to 12 nights in autumn | $1,117 (7 nights from Barcelona) |
| Celebrity Ascent | Edge series, 2023 | Civitavecchia | 10 and 11 nights: Greece, Turkey, Italy, Malta and Croatia | $2,098 (11 nights, May 2027) |
| Celebrity Apex | Edge series, 2020 | Southampton | Mostly Norway and Scandinavia; one 14-night Mediterranean voyage in September 2027 | $3,953 (14 nights) |
| Celebrity Equinox | Solstice class, 2009 | Barcelona and Civitavecchia | 7 to 11 nights: Italy, Malta, Spain, Portugal and Morocco | $1,068 (7 nights, November 2027) |
| Celebrity Eclipse | Solstice class, 2010 | Amsterdam in summer; Ravenna, Piraeus and Barcelona in autumn | 10 and 11 nights in the Adriatic, Greece and Italy, September to November | $1,462 (7 nights, November 2027) |
| Celebrity Constellation | Millennium class, 2002 | Civitavecchia, Ravenna and Barcelona | 7 to 11 nights: Italy, the Riviera, Croatia and Spain | $935 (7 nights, May 2027) |
| Celebrity Infinity | Millennium class, 2001 | Piraeus from spring to autumn; Barcelona in winter | 7 to 11 nights round Greece and Turkey; 12 nights to the Canaries and Morocco in winter | $967 (7 nights, summer 2027) |
Read the table from the bottom up and a pattern appears. The oldest ships carry the cheapest fares, and Infinity, the oldest of all, is the one Celebrity keeps in Europe through the winter. The newest ships command the highest prices and the most popular weeks. That is not unique to Celebrity; it is how every line prices hardware. But it gives you a real choice, because on a Mediterranean cruise you spend most daylight hours ashore, and a 25-year-old ship that is spotless and well run can be the better buy.
Celebrity Xcel: the new flagship
Xcel is the fifth Edge-series ship, delivered on 23 October 2025, at 141,420 gross tons with 3,260 guests at double occupancy. Celebrity sent it to the Mediterranean for the first time in 2026, and in 2027 it sails a pattern of 7-night voyages from Barcelona, some round the Italian and French Rivieras and others east to the Greek islands, alternating with weeks from Piraeus. In autumn it switches to longer voyages from Barcelona, including a 10-night Italy and French Riviera route from $1,610 and an 11-night Spain, Portugal and Morocco route, before crossing to the Caribbean for the winter.
The Edge series is where Celebrity’s signature features live: The Magic Carpet, an orange platform cantilevered off the side of the ship that moves up and down to serve as a bar, a restaurant or the tender embarkation platform, and the Retreat suites with their own restaurant and lounge. If you want the newest Celebrity in the Mediterranean, this is it, and the fares reflect that: $1,117 for the cheapest 7-night Riviera week and $1,469 for the Greek Isles and Malta week from Barcelona.
Celebrity Ascent: the Rome ship
Ascent, the Edge-series ship of 2023, is the one to look at if you want to begin and end in Rome. Its 2027 program is built of 10- and 11-night voyages from Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, with Greece, Turkey, Malta and Croatia in various combinations, and it finishes the season at the end of October with a transatlantic crossing by way of Madeira and Bermuda. Celebrity’s own site notes that Ascent and Apex hold Forbes Travel Guide four-star ratings. Longer voyages cost more per trip, but at about $191 a night for the cheapest May 2027 departure, Ascent is priced close to Xcel per night.
Celebrity Infinity: the year-round ship
Infinity is the oldest ship on the list, a Millennium-class ship of 2001, and in some ways the most interesting. It spends spring to autumn on Greek island voyages of 7 to 11 nights from Piraeus, and the winter on 12-night voyages from Barcelona to Madeira, the Canary Islands and Morocco, which makes it Celebrity’s only ocean ship based in Europe all year. Its 7-night “Best of Greece” round trips from Piraeus, calling at Hydra, Kuşadası for Ephesus, Rhodes and Santorini, were listed from $967 per person for eight summer 2027 departures, about $138 a night, which is the lowest summer price for a Greek islands week on any Celebrity ship. A 7-night variant adds Bar in Montenegro and Dubrovnik to Mykonos and Santorini, from $1,048.
The trade-off is the hardware. Infinity has none of the Edge-series features, and Millennium-class ships are the smallest and simplest in Celebrity’s big-ship fleet. If you are going for the islands rather than the ship, we think that is a good trade, and the smaller ship is easier on crowded Greek ports. The agency listings also show Infinity calling at Alexandria on some 2028 voyages; the major lines suspended calls in Egypt through 2026, so treat any Egypt call as provisional until closer to sailing.
Constellation and Equinox: the value ships
Constellation, Infinity‘s Millennium-class sister from 2002, runs the most Italian program of the seven: “Best of Italy” voyages from Civitavecchia and Ravenna that combine the Riviera, the Amalfi Coast, Sicily and the Croatian coast, plus a Barcelona departure through Corsica and Cannes. Its 7-night Italy and French Riviera voyage from Civitavecchia on 8 May 2027, calling at La Spezia, Santa Margherita, Ajaccio in Corsica and Nice, was the cheapest Celebrity Mediterranean week we found, at $935 per person including taxes, about $134 a night. Its 10- and 11-night Italy and Croatia voyages from Ravenna ran from about $1,480 to $1,500.
Equinox, a Solstice-class ship from 2009, splits its time between Barcelona and Civitavecchia, with voyages of 7 to 11 nights into Italy, Malta, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Its 7-night Italy and Malta voyage from Barcelona on 4 November 2027 was listed at $1,068. Solstice-class ships sit between the Millennium and Edge generations, with the lawn on the top deck that the class is known for, and they are a sensible middle choice on price.
Apex and Eclipse: northern ships with a Mediterranean autumn
Two of the seven are really Northern Europe ships. Apex spends the 2027 summer sailing from Southampton to Norway and Scandinavia, and its one Mediterranean voyage in the listings is a 14-night Spain and Italy trip from Southampton on 11 September 2027, from $3,953; our guide to Mediterranean cruises from Southampton explains why a two-week no-fly cruise reaches only the western end of the sea. Eclipse sails from Amsterdam in summer and moves south for the autumn, with voyages from Ravenna, Piraeus and Barcelona between September and November. Those shoulder-season voyages are worth knowing about: Greece and the Adriatic in October are warm, quieter and cheaper than in July.
Which Celebrity ship is best for a Mediterranean cruise?
Celebrity Xcel if you want the newest ship and a 7-night week from Barcelona or Athens; Ascent for 10 to 11 nights from Rome on a modern ship; Infinity for the cheapest Greek islands week and a smaller ship; Constellation for the most Italy for the money. Choose the route first, then the ship that sails it.
That last sentence is the one to hold on to. Celebrity’s generations differ in features, but its service style, food and dress code are consistent across the fleet, and the itinerary will shape your holiday far more than whether there is a Magic Carpet on the side of the ship. Here is how we would choose, by the trip you want.
- A first Mediterranean cruise, 7 nights. Xcel‘s Italian and French Riviera week from Barcelona, for the newest ship and the classic western ports, or Constellation‘s May week from Civitavecchia if price matters more than hardware.
- The Greek islands. Infinity‘s 7-night round trips from Piraeus. A round trip from Athens means one flight in and out of the same airport, and the ship’s size suits the islands.
- Greece plus Italy in one trip. Xcel‘s Greek Isles & Italy week from Barcelona, or Ascent‘s 11-night voyages from Rome, which give you more ports and more time.
- Croatia and the Adriatic. Constellation‘s voyages from Ravenna, or Eclipse in autumn.
- Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Equinox in spring and autumn, or Xcel‘s 11- and 12-night Iberian voyages from Barcelona, which include Lisbon and Madeira.
- A winter sun cruise. Infinity from Barcelona to the Canaries, from $1,275 for 12 nights, about $106 a night. It is not the Mediterranean proper for most of the week, but it is Celebrity’s only Europe option between November and March.
Where do Celebrity Mediterranean cruises depart from?
Rome’s port of Civitavecchia, Barcelona, Athens’ port of Piraeus, Ravenna for the Adriatic, and Lisbon, according to Celebrity’s 2027 Mediterranean page, with Apex from Southampton. Barcelona and Civitavecchia carry the most departures; Piraeus is Infinity‘s base; Ravenna stands in for Venice.
Each has its own embarkation-day logistics, and two of them are a long way from the city on the ticket.
- Barcelona. Seven cruise terminals across the Moll Adossat and the World Trade Center. Royal Caribbean Group, Celebrity’s parent company, is behind a new Terminal G expected to open in spring 2027. The official fixed taxi fare from the airport to the Moll Adossat is €46 (about $52), and the airport is about 10 miles away.
- Civitavecchia (Rome). A working port 46 miles (74 km) from Rome. Trains from Rome take between about 45 minutes and an hour and 20 minutes depending on the service; shared shuttles and private transfers from Fiumicino airport are the alternatives. Fly in the day before.
- Piraeus (Athens). The airport is about 30 miles (50 km) from the cruise terminals, and Piraeus sits outside the airport taxi flat-fare zone, so expect a metered €50–€70. The airport metro costs €9 and the X96 bus €5.50. There is no parking at the cruise terminals.
- Ravenna. Ships of 25,000 gross tons or more have been barred from Venice’s Giudecca Canal since August 2021, so Celebrity’s Adriatic voyages start in Ravenna. If you want time in Venice, add it before or after the cruise.
- Lisbon. The Lisbon Cruise Terminal sits on the river at Jardim do Tabaco, below the Alfama, which makes it one of the homeports where you can walk from the ship into the old town.
Whichever you pick, arrive at least a day early. The EU’s Entry/Exit System has taken fingerprints and a photo from non-EU travelers at their first Schengen entry since 10 April 2026, and summer queues at Barcelona, Rome and Athens airports have been long. Our guide to Mediterranean cruise embarkation ports covers every homeport in more detail.
How much does a Celebrity Mediterranean cruise cost?
From about $935 to $1,470 per person for a 7-night Mediterranean voyage on fares listed in September 2026, taxes included, or about $134 to $210 a night; the oldest ships sit at the bottom. Add gratuities of $19.50 per person per night, drinks, Wi-Fi and excursions for a realistic total.
Here are the fares we recorded, ranked by price per night, so you can see what the ship and the route do to the price.
| Sailing | Fare from | Per night |
|---|---|---|
| Infinity, 12 nights, Barcelona to Madeira, the Canaries and Morocco, winter 2026–28 | $1,275 | About $106 |
| Constellation, 7 nights, Best of Italy & French Riviera from Civitavecchia, 8 May 2027 | $935 | About $134 |
| Infinity, 7 nights, Best of Greece from Piraeus, 30 May–8 August 2027 | $967 | About $138 |
| Infinity, 7 nights, Best of Greece & Croatia from Piraeus, 23 May–15 August 2027 | $1,048 | About $150 |
| Equinox, 7 nights, Italy & Malta from Barcelona, 4 November 2027 | $1,068 | About $153 |
| Xcel, 7 nights, Italian & French Riviera from Barcelona, from 3 July 2027 | $1,117 | About $160 |
| Xcel, 7 nights, Greek Isles & Italy from Barcelona, from 17 July 2027 | $1,189 | About $170 |
| Eclipse, 10 nights, Best of Italy & Greece from Barcelona, 10 September 2027 | $1,797 | About $180 |
| Ascent, 11 nights, Greece, Italy & Malta from Civitavecchia, 3 May 2027 | $2,098 | About $191 |
| Xcel, 7 nights, Greece, Malta & Turkey from Piraeus, 26 June–24 July 2027 | $1,384 | About $198 |
| Xcel, 7 nights, Greek Isles & Malta from Barcelona, 19 June–11 September 2027 | $1,469 | About $210 |
| Apex, 14 nights, Mediterranean, Italy & Spain from Southampton, 11 September 2027 | $3,953 | About $282 |
Two things stand out. First, the spread between the cheapest and dearest 7-night weeks is about $75 a night, and it is mostly the ship: Constellation and Infinity at the bottom, Xcel at the top. Second, the route matters less than you might think: on Xcel, the Riviera week and the Greek Isles & Italy week differ by about $10 a night, so you can choose the itinerary you want rather than the one that is cheap. Celebrity’s own promotions sit on top of these numbers; in September 2026 its Fall Sale offered 75% off the second guest’s fare, up to $800, plus a $100 bonus on Europe sailings. Those offers change often, and lines have been documented raising their brochure rates before discounting, so compare the price you are offered with what you saw months earlier rather than with the advertised saving.
The extras, and the new gratuity rate
The fare is the start. A Mediterranean week with Celebrity adds these, and on a port-heavy itinerary they behave differently from a Caribbean one:
- Gratuities. Celebrity raised its automatic gratuities on 29 July 2026, to $19.50 per person per night in standard staterooms, $20.50 in Concierge Class and AquaClass, and $24.50 in The Retreat suites, an increase of $1.50 a night across the board. Guests already booked could prepay at the old rate. A couple in a standard stateroom now pays $273 in gratuities on a 7-night voyage. Plenty of guides still show the old $18 rate.
- Drinks and Wi-Fi. Unless you choose the All Included fare, below, you buy them by the glass, by the day or as packages. Celebrity’s Classic drinks package was priced in the high $80s to low $100s per person per day when we checked for our cost guide.
- Destination fees. On Greek itineraries, Greece’s cruise passenger fee is billed to your onboard account for each port where you go ashore: €20 (about $23) per call at Santorini and Mykonos and €5 elsewhere from June to September, falling to €12 and €3 in April, May and October.
- Excursions. Celebrity sells tours in three tiers, from Destination Highlights to Small Group Discoveries and custom Private Journeys. At Civitavecchia, Livorno and Naples, where the sights are far from the ship, this is where the week gets expensive. Our Mediterranean cruise cost guide compares ship tours with going independently, port by port.
Is Celebrity’s All Included package worth it?
Only if you drink a fair amount and would buy Wi-Fi anyway. All Included adds Celebrity’s Classic drinks package and basic Wi-Fi to your fare at booking, which Celebrity says saves $200 to $800 against buying them separately. It does not include gratuities, and it cannot be added once you have booked.
The rules, from Celebrity’s All Included page: the drinks side is the Classic package, which covers beers, spirits, cocktails, liqueurs and wines by the glass, plus bottled water, soft drinks and coffee; the Wi-Fi is the basic tier, good for browsing, email and messaging rather than streaming. Everyone in the stateroom must take the same rate, and it is offered on selected inside, ocean-view, veranda, Concierge Class and AquaClass staterooms. You choose it when you book or not at all.
How to decide: the package pays off on sea days and long evenings on board, and a Mediterranean itinerary has few of either. On a week with six port days you will be ashore from breakfast until the late afternoon, paying for coffee and wine in euros, and back on board for dinner and a drink or two. Work out what you would actually drink on board over the voyage, price it by the glass, and compare that with the All Included difference quoted for your sailing. For many couples on a port-intensive week, the answer is that it does not pay; for those who like a cocktail by the pool on the sea day and wine with every dinner, it may. Either way, it is not the “everything included” that the name suggests, because gratuities of $19.50 a night still go on the bill.
Celebrity’s 2027 solar eclipse cruises
The total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027 crosses southern Spain and North Africa, and Celebrity has built two sailings around it. Xcel‘s 7-night Spain & Morocco Solar Eclipse cruise leaves Barcelona on 31 July 2027, calling at Palma, Tangier and Cádiz with a day set aside for viewing; Ascent‘s 11-night Italy & Spain Solar Eclipse cruise leaves Civitavecchia on 26 July 2027, by way of Livorno, Portofino, Barcelona and Cartagena. Here is what the eclipse does to the price:
| Sailing | Fare from | Per night | Same ship, ordinary week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xcel, 7-night Spain & Morocco Solar Eclipse, from Barcelona, 31 July 2027 | $5,757 | About $822 | About $160 a night on its 7-night Riviera weeks |
| Ascent, 11-night Italy & Spain Solar Eclipse, from Civitavecchia, 26 July 2027 | $4,076 | About $371 | About $191 a night on its May 2027 voyage |
That is roughly five times the usual nightly rate on Xcel and twice on Ascent. If seeing totality from the sea is a once-in-a-lifetime goal, the price may be worth it, and a ship can move to find clear sky in a way a hotel guest cannot. If you simply want a Mediterranean cruise in August, avoid these two dates. Other lines have eclipse sailings too; our pick of the best Mediterranean cruises lists the Princess and Carnival options.
What should you know before a Celebrity Mediterranean cruise?
The dress code is smart casual with one or two dressier “Evening Chic” nights; passports must be valid six months after the cruise; gratuities are now $19.50 a night; and your onboard account runs in US dollars. Celebrity’s pre-cruise pages also say nothing about the EU’s Entry/Exit System.
Dress code and Evening Chic
Celebrity’s own Mediterranean FAQ sets it out. Around the ship, resort wear is fine: sundresses, shorts, polos or button-downs with sandals or loafers. Smart casual is required in the main dining room, the specialty restaurants and the theater, meaning a dress, skirt, long pants or jeans with a stylish top or button-down; shorts and flip-flops do not count. Each itinerary has one or two Evening Chic nights, Celebrity’s replacement for formal night, when guests dress up in their own way, from a cocktail dress to designer jeans and a blazer; smart casual is still acceptable if you would rather not. Swimsuits, see-through cover-ups, robes, bare feet, tank tops, T-shirts and baseball caps are not allowed in the main or specialty restaurants. Ashore, churches expect covered shoulders and knees, and the Vatican’s own rules also bar hats. Our Mediterranean cruise packing list covers the rest.
Passports and entry rules
Celebrity states that passports must be valid at least six months after the cruise ends, which is stricter than the Schengen area’s rule of three months beyond your departure from Europe, and it accepts EU national ID cards at three months’ validity for EU citizens on European sailings. When we checked in September 2026, its documents page described ETIAS as coming soon and did not mention the Entry/Exit System, even though EES has been fully operational since April 2026. ETIAS, a €20 travel authorization, is due to start in the last quarter of 2026. Our Mediterranean cruise travel documents guide has the full picture, including Turkey and Morocco, both of which appear on Celebrity itineraries.
Santorini, Mykonos and the Royal Beach Club
Most of Celebrity’s Greek weeks include Santorini and Mykonos, and they are the two ports where planning pays. Every cruise call at Santorini is by tender, because ships anchor in the caldera, and the cable car up to Fira costs €10 each way for adults; the island caps cruise visitors at 8,000 a day, so on a busy day the queue for the cable car is the real constraint. At Mykonos, ships usually dock at the New Port, 2 to 2.5 kilometers from town, and the SeaBus water taxi costs €2 each way and takes about 12 minutes. On Edge-series ships, the Magic Carpet serves as the tender platform, which makes getting ashore at Santorini a little smoother.
Celebrity is part of Royal Caribbean Group, so its guests can also use Royal Beach Club Santorini, the group’s private beach at Vlychada on the south of the island, which opened in April 2026 and is restricted to guests of Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Silversea ships. Celebrity lists it among its shore excursions. It is an alternative to Fira and Oia rather than a way to see them, and the Greek landing fee applies either way.
Money, children and the rest
- Currency. Your onboard account is in US dollars, so drinks, tips and ship’s tours involve no conversion. Ashore, pay in euros whenever a card machine offers to charge you in dollars.
- Children. Celebrity is not adults-only and families do sail, but its ships and itineraries are built around adults and couples. For a family-focused Mediterranean cruise, our guide to a Mediterranean cruise with kids compares the lines that do more for children.
- Power strips. Surge-protected power strips are banned on every major line, Celebrity included, and European sockets vary by country, so bring individual adapters.
- Overnights. Celebrity says its 2027–28 European season includes overnight stays in Athens, Florence, Istanbul, Lisbon, Madeira and Thessaloniki. An overnight turns a rushed port day into a proper visit, and it is worth choosing a voyage for one.
Before you book: six checks
- Choose the route first, then the ship that sails it, using the ship table above.
- Check which generation of ship you are booking: Edge series, Solstice or Millennium. It moves the price more than the itinerary does.
- Decide on All Included at the moment you book, because it cannot be added later.
- Budget gratuities at the new rate: $19.50 per person per night in a standard stateroom, or prepay them.
- Check that your passport is valid six months beyond the end of the cruise, and that it has blank pages if Morocco is on the route, because Moroccan ports stamp passengers in and out.
- Book flights that land the day before embarkation, and a hotel near the port if you are sailing from Civitavecchia.
Celebrity compared with Royal Caribbean, Viking and Princess
Celebrity’s natural rivals in the Mediterranean are its sister line Royal Caribbean below it, Viking above it and Princess alongside it. On the points that matter in Europe, this is how they line up:
| Celebrity | Royal Caribbean | Viking | Princess | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Style | Premium, modern design, food and wine, mostly adults | Big-ship resort, activities, families | Small, quiet, adults only, one tour per port included | Traditional, broad itineraries |
| Gratuity per night | $19.50 (from 29 July 2026) | $18.50 | $20 on US bookings | $18.00 |
| Cheapest 7-night Med fare seen | $935 (Constellation, May 2027) | About $706 (Rhapsody from Athens, on a fare tracker) | $2,599 (8 days, Barcelona to Rome) | — |
| Onboard currency | US dollars | US dollars | US dollars | US dollars |
| 2027 hallmark | Xcel and seven ships; eclipse sailings | Legend of the Seas, the largest ship in the Med | 43 itineraries, many with overnights | 136 Mediterranean departures on 51 itineraries |
Our view, for what it is worth: Celebrity is the best fit for adults and couples who want a well-run modern ship and good food at a mainstream-plus price, and who would rather choose their own excursions than have one included. If you are travelling with children and want slides and shows, our guide to Royal Caribbean in the Mediterranean is the better starting point. If you would pay more to have tours, Wi-Fi and wine with meals built in and to sail on a much smaller ship, compare Celebrity with Viking’s Mediterranean itineraries, remembering that Viking charges gratuities too.
As for Celebrity European cruise reviews, member reviews on sites such as Cruise Critic are the place to read about particular ships and sailings, and we don’t reproduce star ratings we cannot check. Weigh reviews by ship generation: an Infinity review and an Xcel review describe very different hardware under the same name. The most detailed trip report among the top search results, a travel blog’s account of a 12-night Ascent voyage from Rome, follows the ship day by day through Crete, Kuşadası, two days in Istanbul, Santorini, Mykonos and Naples, and is a fair picture of how much ground a Celebrity Eastern Mediterranean voyage covers.
Celebrity Mediterranean cruise FAQs
Which Celebrity ships sail the Mediterranean in 2027?
Seven: Celebrity Xcel, Ascent, Apex, Eclipse, Equinox, Constellation and Infinity, according to Celebrity’s 2027 Mediterranean page. Xcel, Ascent, Constellation, Equinox and Infinity spend the most time in the Mediterranean; Apex sails mainly from Southampton and Eclipse from Amsterdam, with Mediterranean voyages in autumn.
Where do Celebrity Mediterranean cruises leave from?
Civitavecchia for Rome, Barcelona, Piraeus for Athens, Ravenna for the Adriatic, and Lisbon, with Celebrity Apex sailing from Southampton. Ravenna is used instead of Venice because ships of 25,000 gross tons or more have been barred from Venice’s Giudecca Canal since August 2021.
How much is a Celebrity Mediterranean cruise?
Fares listed in September 2026 for 7-night Mediterranean voyages in 2027 started at about 935 dollars per person on Celebrity Constellation and 967 dollars on Celebrity Infinity, including taxes, rising to about 1,470 dollars on Celebrity Xcel. Gratuities, drinks, Wi-Fi and excursions are extra.
How much are Celebrity gratuities?
From 29 July 2026, Celebrity charges 19.50 dollars per person per night in standard staterooms, 20.50 dollars in Concierge Class and AquaClass, and 24.50 dollars in The Retreat suites. They are added to your onboard account automatically and are not part of the All Included package.
Does Celebrity have formal nights in the Mediterranean?
Not by that name. Each itinerary has one or two Evening Chic nights, when guests dress up in their own style, from a cocktail dress to designer jeans with a blazer. On other evenings, smart casual is required in the main dining room, specialty restaurants and theater.
Does Celebrity sail the Mediterranean in winter?
Yes, on one ship. Celebrity Infinity stays in Europe year-round, sailing Greek itineraries from Piraeus from spring to autumn and 12-night voyages from Barcelona to Madeira, the Canary Islands and Morocco in winter. The main Mediterranean season for the rest of the fleet runs from April to November.
Is Celebrity Xcel in the Mediterranean?
Yes. Celebrity Xcel sailed the Mediterranean for the first time in 2026 and leads Celebrity’s seven-ship Mediterranean fleet in 2027, on 7-night voyages from Barcelona and Piraeus in summer and longer voyages from Barcelona in autumn. It spends the winter in the Caribbean.
Where this guide goes deeper
This page is part of our cruise lines series, and it will link to its companion guides as they publish: Norwegian Mediterranean cruises, Celebrity’s rival on port-intensive Western Mediterranean weeks; MSC Mediterranean cruises, the value alternative with the most European homeports; and Royal Caribbean vs Celebrity in the Mediterranean, the head-to-head between the two sister lines. For where Celebrity sits among every line sailing the region, from MSC to Seabourn, go back to our comparison of all the Mediterranean cruise lines.
How we researched this guide
The ship list, departure ports, overnight ports and season come from Celebrity’s 2027 Mediterranean page and its main Mediterranean destination page, which also carries the dress code, and the package rules from its All Included page, all read on 26 September 2026. Homeports, voyage lengths and fares for each ship come from The Cruise Web’s published listings on the same date, which quote per-person fares including taxes and fees; Celebrity’s own site loads prices only through its booking engine. The July 2026 gratuity change comes from consistent trade reports, including Cruise Industry News. Xcel‘s tonnage and capacity come from its published specifications. Port logistics, fees and entry rules come from port authorities, transport operators and official sources, via our port and documents guides.
We are an independent editorial site, not a cruise line or travel agent, and Celebrity has no say in what we write. We have not sailed every ship on this page and do not claim to have; the recommendations are our editorial judgment from the published itineraries and fares, and you are free to weigh them differently. What we could not verify: full port lists for voyages where the listings show only the first few ports, arrival and departure times, the guest capacity of each older ship, and whether any 2028 Egypt call will go ahead. We recheck this page whenever Celebrity announces its next European season.
Image credits
| Image | Photographer | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| Celebrity Xcel at Akandia Harbour, Rhodes | Pjotr Mahhonin | CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
| Celebrity Ascent at Piraeus | ND44 | CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
| Celebrity Infinity at anchor | eGuide Travel | CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
| Celebrity Equinox at Ege Port, Kusadasi | Roy Egloff | CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
| Bourtzi castle, Nafplio harbour | George E. Koronaios | CC0, via Wikimedia Commons |
| Lisbon Cruise Terminal and the Alfama | SIryn | CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
| Total solar eclipse, April 2024 | Thomas Shahan | CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
| Santorini Old Port and the cable car to Fira | Norbert Nagel | CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
| The lower windmills, Chora, Mykonos | Zde | CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
Published 13 October 2026. Ships, fares and policies were checked on 26 September 2026 and will change — verify anything you are about to pay for on Celebrity’s site.