PREVIEW

The world's largest cruise ship has been floated on water for the first time. The Legend of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's latest Icon class ship, officially touched water for the first time on September 2nd. The teams behind the construction celebrated the moment at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Turku, Finland, where Legend will continue to take shape ahead of its August 2026 debut.. The new vessel weighs in at more than 250,000 tonnes, making it slightly large in terms of tonnage than its already operational sister ship, Icon of the Seas. To float the ship, its dry dock was filled with water overnight in a process that took nearly 12 hours. The ship is the third in the revolutionary Icon Class. The ship has a Category 6 waterpark - the largest allowed at sea. Plus a skywalk, rope course and thrill ride. The ship also has more than 40 ways to dine and drink. When fully operational it will take vacationers to locations including France, Italy and Spain, as well as paradise destinations in the Western and Southern Caribbean. Legend will also be the vacation company's fourth ship fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and feature waste heat recovery systems. Royal Caribbean commissioned Legend in part to advance their goal of introducing a net-zero cruise ship by 2035.