If you had told me a week ago that it was possible to spend five days on a ship and still leave feeling like I hadn’t managed to see everything, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But that is exactly how I felt when I stepped off the Legend of the Seas in Rome.
There is a moment, even before passing through security, when you realize that everything you thought you knew about cruise ships is no longer really relevant. It happens on the road to the port in Malaga. You can already see it from the highway. At first, it looks like a massive building constructed right on the water’s edge. Only when you get closer do you understand that it is not a building at all — it is a ship. And not just any ship, but the Legend of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s new flagship and the world’s largest cruise ship.
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Legend of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s new flagship and the world’s largest cruise ship
(Photo: Ron Crissy)
At nearly the length of four soccer fields — about 365 meters — weighing around 250,000 tons, with room for approximately 7,600 passengers at full capacity and around 2,350 crew members, it is large enough to make even experienced cruisers stop for a moment and look up. But as impressive as the numbers are, they are only the beginning.
Because very quickly you discover this is not just another cruise ship. It is a city. Maybe even an amusement park that went on vacation. And yet, by the first day, I realized there was only one problem: There is no way to do everything.
From the road in Malaga, I already knew this was not a regular cruise
One of the things that surprised me most was how calm everything felt. When you imagine thousands of passengers arriving at almost the same time, you picture long lines, crowds and chaos. In reality, from the moment we stepped aboard, everything moved in a way that felt almost choreographed.
Crew members were waiting at nearly every corner, directing passengers, explaining procedures, smiling and above all making the entire process feel much less technical and much more personal.
We left our luggage on the bus that took us to the port, and it was delivered directly to our room. Instead of dragging suitcases through endless corridors, we had several hours to walk around and begin getting to know our new home for the next five days.
And what a beginning it was.
We entered through Deck 5, one of the liveliest areas on the ship. On one side was a Starbucks location operating for most of the day, serving everything from lattes to cold, refreshing drinks. Around it was a shopping promenade that would not look out of place in a major mall, and just a few steps away was the oven at the pizza restaurant, which stays open until the early hours of the morning.
Legend of the Sea, at nearly the length of four soccer fields — about 365 meters — weighing around 250,000 tons, with room for approximately 7,600 passengers
(Photo: Jouni Niskakoski / shutterstock)
I admit I was not expecting much. After all, it was still pizza on a ship.
But from the first bite, it was clear that someone here knew exactly what they were doing. The dough was thin, the cheese stretched perfectly and the sauce felt more like something from a small Italian pizzeria than a cruise buffet. It was one of those meals where you tell yourself, “I’ll just try one slice,” and end up coming back for another and another — almost any time of day, even when you are not actually hungry.
Nearby were drink stations where passengers could refill almost any soft drink imaginable. For a moment, I felt like a child in a candy store. There were dozens of drink options, and alongside the classics were surprising combinations like flavored Coca-Cola varieties I had never encountered before — cherry, vanilla, raspberry, tropical fruit and other combinations I did not even know existed.
On the way to our room, we passed a pianist performing for people walking by. At first, he played familiar international hits, but a few minutes later, to our surprise, the opening notes of Omer Adam’s “Tel Aviv Ya Habibi Tel Aviv” began playing. After that came “Hava Nagila,” and the Israelis who gathered around the piano could no longer remain indifferent.
It was a small, almost accidental moment, but one that made it feel as if someone had truly thought about the little details.
The room that doesn’t really need a balcony
One of the more interesting innovations on the ship is the Infinite Balcony staterooms. On paper, there is no traditional balcony here. In practice, the feeling is almost identical.
Instead of stepping outside, the massive glass wall at the end of the room lowers almost halfway down at the push of a button, transforming the entire room into one large balcony facing the sea. If the weather is less pleasant or you simply want to enjoy full air conditioning, you close the window and curtain and get a more spacious room.
I found myself opening and closing the window quite a few times during the cruise. In the morning, to hear the wind and waves. In the evening, to sit with a cup of coffee and watch the sunset. And at night, simply to enjoy the absolute silence of the open sea.
Even before we had unpacked our luggage, I sent a few shirts for pressing after they had become wrinkled during the flight. Within a few hours, they returned neatly arranged on hangers, as if they had never been folded inside a suitcase.
It may not be the ship’s biggest attraction or the kind of thing that looks impressive on Instagram, but these are exactly the details that make a vacation genuinely comfortable. On a ship carrying thousands of passengers, the fact that wrinkled shirts return pressed within hours feels almost obvious. It is probably part of the magic.
There are more things to do than there is time
After settling into the room, came the moment everyone who boards a ship like this knows: Where do you go first?
The pool? The slides? Food? Or do you simply start walking with no destination?
We chose the last option, and for hours we just walked. Another corridor. Another deck. Another area. And every time, we discovered something we had not seen five minutes earlier.
One evening, I caught myself getting lost on the way back to my room. The first time, it was a little embarrassing. By the third time, I stopped apologizing and simply enjoyed it.
Central Park on Deck 8, surrounded by trees, flowers and cafes
(Photo: Ron Crissy)
Because almost every time I took a wrong turn, I discovered a new bar, a piece of artwork I had not noticed or a quiet corner overlooking the sea.
That is probably one of the things that best defines Royal Caribbean’s Icon Class ships. They are designed like different neighborhoods, each with its own character — from the indoor promenade, through Central Park, the green area filled with thousands of live plants, to the pool and entertainment areas open to the sea.
At some point, I simply stopped trying to remember which floor I was on.
Every morning we told ourselves we would take it easy. Every evening we realized again that we had not managed to do even half of what we had planned. Every time we set ourselves one destination, we discovered three more along the way.
One day, we found ourselves simply sitting on one of the benches in Central Park on Deck 8, surrounded by trees, flowers and cafes, completely forgetting that we were actually in the middle of the sea.
For a moment, it was possible to imagine we were walking along a small European street.
It may sound strange, but the quiet of Central Park became the perfect break between all the action happening around us.
From a water park to an infinity pool: It’s hard to decide where to start
If there is one word that comes up most often when walking around the upper decks, it is probably “another.”
Another pool. Another hot tub. Another bar. Another place to sit facing the sea.
Some slides are designed for tubes, others are especially fast
(Photo: Jouni Niskakoski / shutterstock)
The ship features seven different pools and 10 hot tubs, and each one has its own atmosphere.
My favorite was undoubtedly the infinity pool. There is something addictive about sitting in the water while the horizon disappears at the edge of the pool and everything around you is endless blue.
In those moments, you almost forget you are on a quarter-million-ton ship. There is only the sea, the wind and the quiet.
Across the ship are bars serving a huge variety of cocktails and beverages. But the frozen alcoholic drinks became my daily habit. I tried quite a few flavors, but the winning combination for me was actually the simplest one — watermelon. Second place went to the mango and tropical fruit mix.
Countless charming corners
(Photo: Ron Crissy)
When we felt we had eaten too much, we moved on to the mini golf course on the upper deck. It may sound like just another small game, but the course itself is colorful, thoughtfully designed and surprisingly entertaining. Even people who do not really know how to hold a club find themselves competing with complete seriousness.
Just one deck above is the basketball court, and then, of course, there are the slides.
Even people who do not consider themselves adventure enthusiasts will struggle to resist. Some slides are designed for tubes, others are especially fast, and on all of them it is difficult not to finish with a smile and wonder whether there is time for just one more ride before dinner.
The kids probably won’t want to leave either
Although it is easy to get carried away between the pools, slides and bars, one of the ship’s most impressive areas is actually the one dedicated to families.
The Surfside area on Deck 7 was designed entirely for parents and young children, and it manages to anticipate almost every detail.
It includes a colorful water park for toddlers, shaded play areas, indoor activity spaces, a nursery for the youngest guests, restaurants designed especially for families and even plates and cutlery sized for children.
The feeling is that this was not simply a matter of “adding a children’s corner,” but rather creating an entire neighborhood for them inside the ship.
Hungry? You’d better stay that way
If there is one thing you learn very quickly on the Legend of the Seas, it is that you should arrive hungry. Or at least accept that any attempt to “eat a little less today” will probably end in front of another tempting dish you will not be able to refuse.
With more than 40 dining and beverage venues, this ship manages to do something that few culinary destinations can: take you between continents without ever needing a passport.
American breakfast, Mexican lunch, a Korean snack in the afternoon, sushi in the evening and, for dessert, a French crepe or American soft-serve ice cream. All of that in a single day.
Even after five days, I was still finding dishes I had not managed to try.
The hamburger and fries were one of the biggest surprises for me. Sometimes it is the simplest dishes that impress the most, and here it was a juicy burger, a soft bun and fries that were difficult to stop eating long after the meal had ended.
Our first stop almost every morning was Windjammer Marketplace, the enormous buffet on Deck 15. Anyone who has not been there might think it is simply another large dining hall, but in reality it is much closer to a food festival.
Countless stations change throughout the day, pastries are baked around the clock, and there are fresh fruit, cheeses, hot dishes, salads, desserts and almost anything else you can imagine.
Throughout the day, soft-serve ice cream stations were also waiting for us in almost every corner of the ship. They are the kind of thing you do not necessarily plan to eat, but somehow you find yourself passing by them again and again.
And as if that was not enough, on Deck 16 we discovered a milkshake stand that became an almost mandatory afternoon stop.
At that point, we had stopped trying to convince ourselves that we were actually hungry.
Here, dinner becomes a show
One of the things that impressed me most was that many of the ship’s restaurants are not just places to eat, but experiences in their own right.
Take Izumi Hibachi, for example. In the center of each table is a large cooking surface, and the chef stands directly in front of the diners. From the moment he arrives, the meal becomes a performance.
The meal turned into a show
(Photo: Ron Crissy)
He talks with the guests, tosses eggs into the air, flips vegetables with perfect precision and prepares every dish right in front of their eyes.
This is one of those meals where you are not sure whether you are photographing the food or the chef.
The beef was exceptionally tender, the chicken was juicy and the fried rice, which sounds like the simplest side dish in the world, became one of the best parts of the meal.
It is exactly the kind of experience that shows how, on the Legend of the Seas, even dinner can become a complete evening activity.
The ship also offers a wide variety of additional specialty restaurants, including Chops Grille — Royal Caribbean’s longtime steakhouse — Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen, serving classic Italian cuisine, Hooked Seafood for seafood lovers, Izumi sushi and one of the most intriguing attractions, Royal Railway, a restaurant designed like a train station and a luxurious passenger carriage.
After sunset, the night shift begins
When the sun sets, the Legend of the Seas changes atmosphere.
Families with younger children make way for couples, groups of friends and passengers looking to extend the evening. The lighting changes, the music gets louder and the bars begin to fill.
The truth is, it is difficult to even count how many bars there are on the ship. Almost every area we explored had another bar waiting, each with its own personality.
In the evenings, we often found ourselves at a bar where two pianists perform together. The audience requests songs, and they move almost nonstop from rock hits to Latin music to classics from the 1980s and 1990s.
Within minutes, the entire bar is singing together, and the atmosphere feels more like a neighborhood pub filled with friends than a luxury ship in the middle of the sea.
Karaoke, sports and a global party at sea
Alongside the piano bar is also a karaoke venue, proving once again that there is really no such thing as “I’ll just come in for five minutes.”
Hour after hour, people from around the world take the stage to sing. Some surprise everyone with their talent, while others — myself included — rely mostly on courage.
Sports fans are not left out either. On Deck 6 is the sports bar, where guests can sit in front of giant screens with a beer and watch games from around the world.
During our cruise, the World Cup had just begun, and the atmosphere was exactly like a European pub. We found ourselves jumping up and celebrating with English fans after their team scored a winning goal, not long after celebrating with Mexican supporters following their victory over Ecuador.
It was a nice reminder that on a single ship, thousands of people from dozens of countries come together — and in the end, everyone finds a reason to celebrate together.
There were moments when I forgot I was even on a ship
I had already heard many people say that Royal Caribbean’s shows are an inseparable part of the experience. After this week, I understood exactly what they meant.
The first show we watched was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and it was so elaborate that at a certain point I simply forgot I was on a ship.
The set changes almost constantly, the lighting is precise, the performers are excellent, the costumes are colorful and even the scent of chocolate fills the theater during one of the show’s key moments, adding another layer to the experience.
The performer who stole the show was the lead actor — an 11-year-old boy whose first major production this is. During the cruises, he continues studying aboard the ship with private teachers so he does not fall behind academically, but on stage he looks as though he has been performing for years.
He shares the role with a 13-year-old actor who has already appeared in a production of Harry Potter.
That same morning, we even found a small surprise waiting in our room — Royal Caribbean’s famous rubber duck collection, in a special Charlie and the Chocolate Factory edition.
Show Fusion — an ice-skating performance in the Absolute Zero arena
(Photo: Ron Crissy)
It was a small gesture, but one that demonstrated how much the company invests in the smallest details.
The second show was Fusion — an ice-skating performance in the Absolute Zero arena, the largest permanent ice-skating venue ever built on a passenger ship.
For an entire hour, the skaters performed jumps, lifts and spins at incredible speed, making it hard to believe there was actual ice beneath their feet. More than once during the show, I found myself wondering how they were even capable of doing it.
But if there was one performance that truly made the audience hold its breath, it was AquaTheater's Aqua80Too.
The show takes place in the AquaDome, one of the ship’s most impressive spaces. Within moments, the stage transforms into a deep pool, and performers dive from impressive heights into the water, executing complex jumps, acrobatics and aerial choreography, all combined with lighting, music, giant screens and fountains.
It is difficult to put into words the feeling inside the theater every time someone stands at the edge of a platform, pauses for a second and then disappears into the water dozens of feet below.
It is the kind of performance where, by the end, you realize that for several minutes you simply forgot to blink.
Las Vegas also came aboard
If after all the food, pools and shows you still have some energy left, the ship’s casino is waiting.
It is a massive two-level venue featuring hundreds of slot machines, blackjack tables, roulette and poker.
The ship’s casino is waiting
(Photo: Ron Crissy)
Even those who do not plan to gamble can enjoy the atmosphere — sparkling lights, the sounds of winning spins and countless people trying their luck, as if we had suddenly traveled from Las Vegas straight into the heart of the Mediterranean.
What does the craziest suite at sea look like?
One of the most fascinating tours during the cruise took place in areas most passengers never see — the luxury suites.
If the standard rooms are spacious and comfortable, the suites are in an entirely different league. Some include massive two-story apartments, enormous balconies, living rooms, private dining areas and even movie theaters.
But the crown jewel is undoubtedly the Ultimate Family Townhouse — one of the most talked-about suites in the cruise world.
It is a three-story vacation home designed especially for families.
Inside, guests will find a slide connecting the floors, a private game room, a LEGO wall, a small cinema, a huge balcony with a hot tub and dining area, and rooms that each have a completely different design style.
This is not just another suite. It is an attraction in itself.
Even those who have no intention of booking it cannot help but stop for a few minutes and admire it.
Ultimate Family Townhouse — one of the most talked-about suites in the cruise world
(Photo: royal caribbean)
So what actually makes this ship special?
Amid all the pools, shows, restaurants and attractions, it is easy to forget the reason we boarded a cruise in the first place.
Every now and then, I simply stepped out onto one of the decks, leaned against the railing and looked at the sea. No music, no show and no schedule. Just an endless blue horizon.
Looking back, those were perhaps the most beautiful moments of the entire week.
On the way home, I tried to think about what I would remember most from the cruise. Was it the infinity pool, the spectacular shows, the food or the service?
In the end, I reached a fairly simple conclusion.
It was not one specific attraction. It was the feeling.
The feeling that for five days you can simply put your phone aside, get lost in a corridor, discover another small bar you had not visited, sit facing the sea without rushing anywhere and realize that sometimes the journey itself can be the destination.
On the final day, moments before leaving the ship in Rome, I found myself saying something I never expected to say after five days packed with activities: “I didn’t get to do everything.”
And sometimes, that is the greatest compliment you can give the Legend of the Seas.
How much does it cost?
The Legend of the Seas will also sail during the Jewish High Holidays in 2026 (from September 11 to October 4) and during the summer of 2027.
On cruises during the High Holidays this year and at the beginning of summer 2027, families can enjoy a stay where two children up to age 12 sail free in their parents’ cabin, excluding port taxes.
Among the available sailings, the seven-night Western Mediterranean cruise departing on September 13, 2026, for Rosh Hashanah, will start at $1,218 per person for an interior balcony room, based on a family arrangement of two adults and two children.
The seven-night cruise departing on September 27, 2026, during Sukkot, will start at $1,326 per person for a Central Park balcony room, based on the same arrangement of two adults and two children.
For the cruise departing on August 22, 2027, the price per person for an interior balcony room will start at $1,388, based on two adults and two children.
All of the cruises mentioned above, as well as many others, are available for booking through Sunorama, Royal Caribbean’s exclusive representative in Israel, and through travel agents.
The writer was a guest of Sunorama, Royal Caribbean’s exclusive representative in Israel.