Fort Lauderdale finally has an Icon class ship of its own. Royal Caribbean’s Legend of the Seas pulled into Port Everglades a little after 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 7, 2026, wrapping up a 13 night transatlantic crossing from Barcelona and making its first ever appearance here in the United States.
Legend is the first Icon class vessel to call Port Everglades home, and at roughly 250,000 gross tons it’s the largest cruise ship ever to homeport in Fort Lauderdale. Built at Meyer Turku in Finland, it carries 5,610 guests at double occupancy, stretches nearly 1,200 feet and stacks up 20 decks.
It entered service in July and sailed a Mediterranean season before repositioning across the Atlantic in late October. That made it the first Icon class ship to operate in Europe, and it means a lot of American cruisers are only now getting a chance to sail on it without a flight across the pond.
Legend of the Seas Itineraries
Legend sailed out on November 8th on a three night getaway to Perfect Day at CocoCay. It’s due back on Wednesday, November 11th, which is also when Royal Caribbean will hold the official naming ceremony at the port, with retired Air Force General Lori J. Robinson serving as godmother.
After one more three night sailing, the regular winter program kicks off on November 14th. From there, Legend alternates between six night Western Caribbean and eight night Southern Caribbean itineraries, and every single one includes a stop at CocoCay. The ship’s slated to stay in Fort Lauderdale through spring 2027 before heading back to Europe for another Mediterranean season.
How Legend is Different from Icon and Star
On paper, Legend looks a lot like its older sisters. It has the same eight neighborhoods, including the AquaDome, Surfside, Thrill Island, Chill Island, Central Park and the Royal Promenade, along with seven pools and the Category 6 waterpark. If you’ve sailed Icon or Star, you’ll find it familiar.
There are a few new spots worth knowing about, though. Royal Railway Legend Station brings the train car dining concept from Utopia of the Seas onboard, but it swaps the Wild West theme for a Silk Road journey inspired by Marco Polo that’s aimed more at couples than families. The supper club gets a Golden Age of Hollywood makeover as the Hollywoodland Supper Club, following Icon’s Empire Supper Club and Star’s Lincoln Park Supper Club. Absolute Zero has a new ice show called Fusion, the AquaDome Market food hall picked up five new food stands plus a juice and smoothie bar, and Surfside has a rubber duck carousel, most certainly due to the cruise duck craze.
Legend joins Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas in Florida, so cruisers in the Sunshine State now have all three Icon class ships within driving distance this winter. For a lot of people in Broward and Palm Beach counties, Port Everglades is the easiest drive of the bunch, and that alone is going to make Legend an easy sell.
