Actor William Shatner, 94, who famously played Captain James T. Kirk in the original Star Trek series, recently performed for major fans of the beloved science fiction franchise.
In celebration of the franchise’s 60th anniversary, Shatner showed off his singing talents on the Star Trek: The Cruise IX, held during the week of February 20, 2026. On February 22, the official Instagram account for the fan-themed cruise uploaded a video that showed Shatner up on stage before an audience. For his performance on the cruise, Shatner sang Elton John‘s 1972 hit “Rocket Man,” accompanied by a full band.
According to the caption, John de Lancie, who played the beloved character, Q, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, also provided entertainment for the cruise ship.
“Q brought the surprises… and then Captain Kirk beamed in. An unforgettable night with John de Lancie, the Curtis Institute of Music, and a legendary surprise from William Shatner. @williamshatner @john.delancie @curtisinstitute #startrekcruise,” read the post’s caption.
De Lancie’s Star Trek: The Next Generation co-star, Wil Wheaton, was quick to comment on the post.
“No. Effing. Way,” wrote Wheaton, who played Star Trek character, Wesley Crusher.
Some Star Trek fans also shared their thoughts about the upload.
“This is why I love the cruise. Wish we were there!!” wrote a commenter.
“love this,” added another.
“Amazing,” shared a third person.
William Shatner Appeared With Other ‘Star Trek’ Stars on the Cruise
In February 2025, USA Today reported that Shatner and several other Star Trek: The Original Series stars, such as Walter Koenig, Sean Kenney, Sandra Gimpel, and Bobby Clark, would join the ninth annual Star Trek cruise in 2026. Other Star Trek personalities who were slated to be on the February 2026 cruise are Star Trek: The Next Generation stars Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine stars Nana Visitor and Terry Farrell, and Star Trek: Discovery stars Sonequa Martin-Greenand Anthony Rapp.
Chris Hearing, Entertainment Cruise Productions’ partner and executive director of theme cruises, released a statement about the event, per USA Today.
“We’ve planned a week of incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experiences to honor the 60th anniversary of Star Trek. Celebrating this milestone with both William Shatner and Walter Koenig is a dream come true for fans,” stated Hearing.
William Shatner Opened up About Joining the Cast of ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’
Shatner spoke about joining the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series, which had a three-season run until 1969, in a May 2024 interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Shatner noted that CBS had “made a pilot called Star Trek,” starring “another actor, Jeffrey Hunter” as the lead. According to Shatner, the network liked “the idea” of the show but wanted a new cast. Shatner said he was approached to play Captain Kirk while he was acting in a play in New York.
“So I was in New York just finishing up a play, and they called me and they said, ‘We’ve got this thing, would you like to be in it?’ So I flew to LA and I watched the pilot, I thought, ‘My God, that’s really cool,'” recalled Shatner during the 2024 interview.
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
