Royal Caribbean sends Legend of the Seas to Barcelona, seat of protests over large vessels

• Royal Caribbean has announced Legend of the Seas, the third ship of its Icon Class, the world’s biggest.
• The ship will be tied for the world’s largest ship and sail out of Fort Lauderdale year-round.
• Before beginning in the Caribbean, it will sail Western Mediterranean itineraries out of Barcelona.

Royal Caribbean has announced the sailing dates and names of its third Icon-class ship, Legend of the Seas. In a move that will surprise some, the third sister to Icon of the Seas will sail out of Barcelona, where there have been protests over big ships in the past.

Despite being counter-cyclical, Royal Caribbean is refusing to slow down on its big ship program, predicting many more to come in a company video.

Since the debut of the world’s largest ship, Icon of the Seas, in 2024, it’s welcomed Utopia of the Seas into service, announced Icon’s equally huge sister ship, Star of the Seas, and now has confirmed Legend of the Seas will be sailing from 2026.

The ship will sail out of Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean; however, more surprisingly, it will start its life in Europe. Legend of the Seas will offer some summer sailings out of Barcelona, meaning that this is the first time that a Royal Caribbean’s Icon class ship will pay a visit to Europe.

Cruise Passenger has been documenting Royal Caribbean’s strategy of opting for bigger and bigger ships, focusing its operations towards the Caribbean, where it owns private destinations and beach clubs that mean more profits for the line and fewer regulations to worry about for its giant ships.

Just like Royal Caribbean’s other biggest ships, Legend of the Seas will also sail to Royal Caribbean’s private island, for the experience of PerfectDay at CocoCay.

This strategy appears to be steaming ahead, the three Icon class ships Icon of the Seas, Star of the Seas and Legend of the Seas will be sailing side-by-side in the Caribbean year-round. Furthermore, Utopia of the Seas, the next biggest ship in the fleet and the line’s sixth Radiance-class ship will be right there with them.

While exact new details on Legend of the Seas aren’t confirmed, Royal Caribbean has previously indicated that all Icon class ships will be of the same size.

Between these four ships alone, more than 28,000 passengers can be transported at once.

The cruise lines message is clear, it intends to keep going big and has strategised its operations around making the Caribbean its global hotspot.

Michael Bayley, president and CEO, of Royal Caribbean International says: “On the heels of celebrating one year of the record-breaking Icon Class and the memories made by vacationers of all ages on Icon, we are thrilled to announce the name of Royal Caribbean’s third Icon Class vacation.

“Legend of the Seas is the next bold step in this exciting era of vacations and the continuation of the Icon Class legacy, and we look forward to bringing the revolutionary lineup of experiences to more families and adventurers across Europe, the Caribbean, and beyond.”

What to expect on board

Full details on what to expect onboard can be seen here, but the main message so far is to expect more of the same as what’s coming to be expected from Royal Caribbean’s Icon class.

The ship will be divided up across at eight huge neighbourhoods, each with a different feel.

Everything about Icon class ships goes big. There are more than 40 places for eating and drinking onboard, seven pools, 10 whirlpools, six waterslides, a skywalk ropes course, a surfing simulator, and a 55-foot waterfall in the AquaTheater, and the ship is designed to be the perfect family vacation.

The ship will be powered by liquefied natural gas, along with a range of other environmental initiatives.