In recent years, destination immersion has been a key focus for luxury cruise lines like Norwegian’s Oceania Cruises and Royal Caribbean’s Silversea.
For these cruise lines, luxury cruising doesn’t just mean white glove service, elegance and all-inclusive amenities. It also means connecting passengers to the soul of their destinations through immersive experiences and cultural enrichment programs.
Related: Why Royal Caribbean Group will add new kind of ship to fleet
Silversea’s sister cruise line Celebrity Cruises also puts an emphasis on elevating the cruise experience and helping passengers expand their horizons through travel. As it prepares to launch a new Edge Series ship, the premium cruise line is following luxury lines in developing authentic onboard experiences that extend passengers’ time “on shore.”
When Celebrity Xcel debuts in November, passengers will be introduced to a new way to explore their cruse destinations through The Bazaar. A first-of-its-kind concept, The Bazaar is designed to immerse passengers in the sights, sounds, flavors, and traditions of the places they visit, as well as the festivals made famous by those destinations.
To extend the destination experience, The Bazaar will bring authentic experiences that passengers typically find only in port to a new, multi-sensory space designed to blend ship and shore. The three-story space will transform daily, offering new ways for passengers to explore their cruise’s ports of call on each day of their sailing.
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The Bazaar will feature festivals, markets, and more
During Celebrity Xcel’s inaugural Caribbean season, The Bazaar will bring destinations to life through four Caribbean destination-inspired festivals.
The festivals will include local food and beverage offerings, crafting experiences, retail enrichment activations, destination-inspired cooking and dance classes, pop-up entertainment, performances from local musicians, and other Caribbean-inspired activities.
When Celebrity Xcel heads to Europe in 2026, The Bazaar will transform to feature festivals, markets, and culinary experiences inspired by Mediterranean destinations.
On sea days, passengers can explore the Market at The Bazaar, where local artisans will showcase their crafts, skills, and traditions and even teach passengers how to make their own locally inspired creations. The offering at the Market will change throughout each sailing to reflect each of the four festival themes.
Related: Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Cruises to add intimate new fleet
Passengers can expect market activities such as rum and chocolate pairings, local hot sauce tastings, and live basket weaving demos. The Market will also feature local vendors offering keepsakes like authentic Caribbean masks and traditional Mexican leather hats.
Destination-inspired dining options in The Bazaar will help passengers connect to cultures through food. An open kitchen concept called Mosaic will serve reimagined and elevated dishes that are inspired by the regions where Celebrity Xcel is sailing. A new casual daytime cafe, Spice, will offer sea and port views alongside a selection of rotating bites with special items inspired by the ports visited on the itinerary.
Bazaar will fill the space that is currently Eden on Edge-class ships.
Celebrity Xcel passengers can go deeper with culinary exploration too
For passengers who want more culinary immersion, Mosaic will offer a Chef’s Table experience and a destination-inspired cooking school, Chef’s Studio at Mosaic.
The Chef’s Table experience at Mosaic will serve a diverse, multi-course tasting menu developed by Celebrity’s global culinary leadership team. Each chef on the team will develop a dish inspired by their native cuisine. These childhood-favorite dishes will represent all continents and be plated and presented in an elevated way, and paired with wines from Celebrity Cruises’ award-winning selection.
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Celebrity’s first-ever destination-inspired cooking school, Chef’s Studio at Mosaic, will offer passengers the opportunity to learn to prepare new dishes from each destination they visit. Throughout the sailing, the cooking school repertoire will change to reflect The Bazaar’s destination-inspired festival themes.
To enhance the onboard experience, members of Celebrity Cruises’ recently-announced Xcel Dream Makers program will have a hand in shaping The Bazaar by selecting festival entertainment, market activities, menu items, and more.
The Xcel Dream Makers program is open to all who wish to join and offers passengers the opportunity to test, try and vote on new experiences they would like to see on board the new ship through online polls and special in-person events.
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