Top act make their way to ship (9)
I believe the answer is:
headliner
'their way to ship' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'top act' is the wordplay.
'top' becomes 'head' (head is a kind of top).
'act' becomes 'liner' (liner is a kind of act).
'head'+'liner'='HEADLINER'
'make' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for headliner that I've seen before include "Star performer" , "What's a star" , "top of twenty four [BILL]" , "American celebrity" , "star attraction" .)