Royal Caribbean News: Long-Term Deal with Meyer Turku, Legend to Arrive Early

Construction is ahead of schedule for Legend of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s third Icon-class ship, so the massive vessel will begin sailing three weeks earlier than planned.

The first sailing will now be July 11, 2026 instead of August 2. Royal Caribbean also added sailings departing July 18 and July 25. All three cruises will begin and end in Civitavecchia, Italy.

Royal Caribbean is enabling guests booked on the August 2 sailing to switch to one of the new sailings. The August 2 sailing from Barcelona will still serve as the official inaugural cruise.

In other news from the Royal Caribbean Group, the company announced a long-term framework agreement with Meyer Turku that secures its rights to build at the Finnish shipyard through the next decade. 

As part of this agreement, Royal Caribbean Group also confirms an order for Icon 5 to be delivered in 2028, subject to financing, and adds an option to build Icon 7 (in addition to the previously announced option to build Icon 6).

“As we continue to reimagine the future of vacations, we are excited to continue collaborating with Meyer Turku to grow the Icon Class – a first-of-its-kind series that delivers exceptional vacation experiences – and position us to usher in a new era of innovation that will disrupt the vacation sector through 2036,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group.  

The Turku shipyard has built 25 ships for Royal Caribbean Group since the mid-1990s. The buildout of each cruise ship of this scale is the largest single industrial project in the country, employing approximately 13,000 people at Meyer Turku and in the shipyard’s network which brings Finland more than a billion euros in added value per year.