Celebrity Cruises Reveals European-Inspired Bazaar Festivals for Celebrity Xcel

Celebrity Cruises has revealed the four European-inspired festivals that will take over The Bazaar when Celebrity Xcel repositions to Europe this summer.

The space, which replaced Eden, on the line’s newest Edge Class ship, currently plays host to four Caribbean and Mexico-inspired festivals.

“Since the concept launched on Celebrity Xcel in November, The Bazaar has revolutionized destination immersion, keeping guests enveloped in the culture of destinations well beyond their time in port,” said Laura Hodges Bethge, president of Celebrity Cruises. “Sea days have been transformed with… authentic food, beverage and entertainment…”

At the heart of The Bazaar experience when it sails throughout the Mediterranean later this year, will be four Mediterranean-inspired festivals that celebrate the region’s flavors and traditions. These festivals will bring the Mediterranean to life onboard the ship in a myriad of ways, including local food and beverage offerings, crafting experiences, retail enrichment activations, destination-inspired cooking and dance classes, pop-up entertainment, and performances from local musicians.

The four festivals will be:

Opa Festival: Designed to immerse guests in the traditions and energy of Greece. By day, this celebration of Greek culture will fuse iconic cuisine like baklava and moussaka with hands-on activities like “Mati” evil eye jewelry crafting. In the evening, live musicians will invite guests to join the party as they twirl napkins, dance, and shout Opa.

La Dolce Vita Festival: Centered around the flavors, beauty, and romance of Italy, by day, guests will enjoy limoncello, while enjoying hands-on experiences including the art of making pasta and tiramisu. In the evening, guests will find themselves surrounded by a Venetian carnival.

Salud Festival: A lively fusion of Spain’s colors and rhythms, this festival bring sangria and local Spanish dishes to guests during the day, along with hands-on activities like making custom flamenco roses and Spanish fans. At night, flamenco dancers and matadors bring the space to life.

Silk & Spice Festival: This festival immerses guests in the vibrant cultures of Morocco and Turkey, During the day, guests can sip fragrant teas, enjoy bites of Turkish delight, and partake in hands-on activities. At night, energetic music and whirling dancers will entertain.

The festivals aren’t the only aspect of the Bazaar that will change when the ship repositions to the Med.

The open kitchen concept, Mosaic, will serve reimagined dishes inspired by the flavors of Naples, Mykonos, and Lisbon. The Bazaar’s casual dining concept, Spice, will offer a daytime selectin of rotating bites with special items inspired by the ports visited on each itinerary.

On sea days, Market at The Bazaar will invite guests to browse regional delights from local artisans, such as olive oil, Italian scarves, or handmade painted tiles.

Additionally, foodies will be able learn to cook regional delicacies at Chef’s Studio at Mosaic, Celebrity’s first-ever destination-inspired cooking school. Chef’s Studio invites guests to discover their inner chef as they learn to prepare new dishes from each destination they visit. Throughout the sailing, the cooking school repertoire will change to reflect the destination-inspired festival themes, allowing guests to master local favorites and add to their recipe books alongside creating new memories.

Celebrity Xcel will embark on its Mediterranean season in May 2026, sailing seven to 11-night journeys out of Barcelona and Athens.