Royal Caribbean’s Newest Giant Got a Four-Star Godmother

Royal Caribbean chose Veterans Day to make its newest ship official. Legend of the Seas, the third Icon-class vessel, was named on November 11 in Fort Lauderdale with retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Lori J. Robinson as godmother. Robinson served 37 years, led Pacific Air Forces and then U.S. Northern Command and NORAD, and was the first woman to lead a U.S. unified combatant command. Royal Caribbean Group chief executive Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean president Michael Bayley and Captain Sindre Borsheim joined her at the ceremony.

The ship has been sailing since July, when it entered service with a summer season in the Mediterranean. It crossed the Atlantic from Barcelona on a 13-night voyage in late October, arrived in Fort Lauderdale on November 7 and ran a short preview cruise to Perfect Day at CocoCay before the naming. At roughly 248,000 gross tons and with room for about 5,600 guests, it is one of the largest cruise ships afloat, matching the scale of its sisters Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas.

Legend is the first Icon-class ship based at Port Everglades. After a short naming cruise, it begins its regular Caribbean programme from Fort Lauderdale on November 14, alternating six-night Western Caribbean itineraries, including Cozumel, with eight-night Southern Caribbean sailings that call at Aruba, Curaçao and Cabo Rojo in the Dominican Republic. Every sailing stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas. Bayley said the ship was ready to introduce vacationers to the best of the Caribbean.

For South Florida cruisers, the arrival adds a third Icon-class option and moves the line’s biggest hardware to Fort Lauderdale for the first time, a short drive from Miami but a different terminal and traffic pattern. The ship is scheduled to return to Barcelona in April 2027 for another European season, so this first Caribbean run is limited to the winter months. Royal Caribbean plans to have four Icon-class ships sailing Caribbean and Mexico itineraries from U.S. ports in 2028.

Sources: Cruise Industry News, Cruise Hive