Royal Caribbean’s new Legend of the Seas is not the first ship in the fleet to use that name.
The original Legend of the Seas launched in 1995 and left Royal Caribbean’s fleet in 2017.
She was not scrapped or abandoned. She is still sailing today as Marella Discovery 2.
I have cruised on her since she changed cruise lines, so I have seen what became of the original Legend for myself.
The First Legend Of The Seas
The first Legend of the Seas was built in France and entered service for Royal Caribbean in 1995.
She was one of Royal Caribbean’s Vision Class ships.
Other Vision Class ships were Grandeur of the Seas (1996), Enchantment of the Seas (1997), Rhapsody of the Seas (1997), and Vision of the Seas (1998). These ships are still sailing for Royal Caribbean.
(Legend of the Seas and Splendour of the Seas are the two Vision-class ships no longer sailing for Royal Caribbean.)
Legend of the Seas was considered a modern and relatively adventurous ship when she was launched.
She sailed in destinations including Europe, Asia, Alaska, Australia, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
The 1995 Legend of the Seas was far smaller than the new Legend.
The original ship was around 69,000 gross tonnes and had eleven decks.
The new Legend of the Seas is an Icon Class ship, and comes in at a colossal 248,663 gross tonnes and has 20 decks.
Why Did Royal Caribbean Sell Her?
By 2016, the original Legend had been sailing for Royal Caribbean for more than 20 years.
Royal Caribbean was introducing much larger and newer ships to their fleet, making Legend seem very small.
Selling an older ship does not necessarily mean there is anything wrong with the ship – the original Legend of the Seas went on to have a second life with another company who was looking for smaller cruise ships.
Royal Caribbean announced the sale to Thomson Cruises in June 2016.
When Did The Original Legend Leave Royal Caribbean?
Her final Royal Caribbean cruise took place in March 2017.
After her final sailing for Royal Caribbean, she was transferred to Thomson Cruises and underwent work to make her more suitable for a British audience before beginning her new career.
Find out more about that here:
How Marella Cruises Transformed Ex-Celebrity and Royal Caribbean Ships
Legend Of The Seas Became TUI Discovery 2
The original Legend of the Seas initially entered service for Thomson Cruises as TUI Discovery 2 in May 2017.
Thomson Cruises then changed its name to Marella Cruises, so she then became Marella Discovery 2 in October 2017.
Name Timeline:
- The ship was Legend of the Seas for Royal Caribbean from 1995 to 2017.
- She then became TUI Discovery 2 in May 2017
- When Thomson changed their name, she was renamed Marella Discovery 2 from October 2017 onwards
Her Vision-Class sister ship, Royal Caribbean’s former Splendour of the Seas, became Marella Discovery at the same time.
What Changed When Marella Took Over?
The ship was refurbished and adapted for the British cruise market, with new restaurants, bars and entertainment concepts added.
Marella operates very differently from Royal Caribbean. Drinks are included in the fare as standard, tips are included, as are all flights and transfers from the UK.
Virtually all of the passengers onboard are British, and British-style food and entertainment is provided.
Some original Royal Caribbean features remained, including:
- Rock-climbing wall
- Minigolf
- Indoor and outdoor pools
- Large central atrium
Marella currently lists nine restaurants, seven bars, two pools and 918 cabins onboard.
I Have Cruised On The Original Legend Since
I took an off-season cruise onboard Marella Discovery 2 to the Canary Islands.
I booked an oceanview cabin, as balcony cabins aren’t so readily available on a 1990s ship, and they command a premium price.
My first impressions of the ship were that she was in a very good condition, considering her age.
Although her cabins were a little dated, the public areas all looked new and fresh.
Have a look at that cruise below, and see if the ship reminds you of other Royal Caribbean Vision-class ships:
Does She Still Feel Like Legend Of The Seas?
The original Legend of the Seas was an impressive modern Royal Caribbean ship when she first sailed in 1995.
At the time of her launch, she featured more glass surface area than any other ship at sea.
Most ships of the time had heavy steel walls and round portholes, but Royal Caribbean used thousands of square feet of glass to “bring the outdoors in.”
The expansive glass-walled atrium offered wonderful panoramic ocean views, and there were floor-to-ceiling windows in the public areas.
The ship’s basic structure and layout remain largely unchanged.
The original casino on the Royal Caribbean ship was large and was replaced with the Coffee Port cafe when Marella bought the ship. British people use casinos far less than people from the USA.
She recently passed an impressive 30 years of service.
She continues to sail for Marella, with space for around 1,836 passengers.
Marella Discovery 2 is scheduled to operate adult-only cruises during winter 2026–27.
There are currently no plans for her permanent retirement. I think it is lovely that this great ship is well loved and well cared for after all these years.
There is no reason to believe that the new Legend of the Seas couldn’t be sold on to another cruiseline in many decades’ time! It is hard for me to imagine cruise ships getting too much bigger though…
While there is no single physical or mathematical limit to how big cruise ships could get, there are practical logistics to consider.
There are fewer ports that these mega ships can dock at, and if they get too large, they won’t be able to fit through canals – such as the Suez and Panama canals.
Port draft depths could be an issue, and there has been backlash from various ports, such as Barcelona, about the number of ships visiting the city.
Many popular tourist destinations are beginning to cap cruise ship sizes and passenger numbers.
Could The Two Legend Ships Ever Meet?
One Legend of the Seas is a new Icon Class megaship sailing for Royal Caribbean, but the older Legend is still sailing for Marella.
At the time of writing (July 2026), both are operating in the Mediterranean, so it is possible they could be at the same port at the same time.
It would be very strange to see the two ships together in the same port. The new Legend of the Seas would dwarf the old 1995 version.
Before You Go
I stayed in a neighbourhood balcony cabin on the mega ship, Symphony of the Seas. Find out what I thought of that here:
I Stayed in Royal Caribbean’s “Neighbourhood Balcony” (Unexpected Pros and Cons)
I took my family on holiday to Norway onboard Anthem of the Seas. Have a look at some of the fun-filled activities I tried whilst onboard, below:
6 Adrenaline-Filled FREE Activities You Shouldn’t Miss on Royal Caribbean Cruises
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