• Royal Caribbean plans to launch its third Icon-class ship, Legend of the Seas, in July 2026.
• The mega-ship is scheduled to debut in Europe instead of the Caribbean.
• The European cruise market is growing — and Royal Caribbean is taking notice.

Royal Caribbean? More like Royal European.

The cruise line's coming Legend of the Seas is expected to set sail in 2026, but it won't debut in Florida to run classic Caribbean voyages, as most of its mega-ship predecessors have. Instead, the third ship in this class of vessels — the world's largest — will debut in Europe.

The decision to debut Legend of the Seas across the pond may come as a surprise. After all, the Caribbean is synonymous with the behemoth American cruise market. These warm-watered voyages will make up 57% of Royal Caribbean Group's deployments in 2025, Naftali Holtz, the cruise giant's CFO, told analysts in late January.

Europe is also becoming a burgeoning frontier for the traditionally American way of vacationing.

According to trade group Cruise Lines International Association, a record 8.2 million Europeans went on cruises in 2023 — a 6.5% bump from 2019. It's the second-largest vacation-at-sea market, though still relatively small compared to the 18.1 million North American cruisers in 2023.

Royal Caribbean Group has seen substantial demand in the region both from European guests and for European itineraries, Jason Liberty, the company's CEO, told analysts.

Europe is now expected to account for 15% of Royal Caribbean Group's 2025 capacity, a 5% increase from the prior year, Holtz said, adding that these voyages "continue to perform very well on both rate and volume basis."

According to CLIA, the majority of these international cruisers opt for Mediterranean voyages. As such, Legend of the Seas is expected to spend its first three months operating western Mediterranean itineraries from Barcelona and Civitavecchia, Italy, before crossing the Atlantic for its long-term homeport in Fort Lauderdale.

The first Icon-class vessel, Icon of the Seas, launched in Miami in 2024 as the world's largest — and the company's most successful — cruise ship. Its second iteration, Star of the Seas, is scheduled to debut in August from Florida's Port Canaveral.

When Legend of the Seas eventually arrives at Fort Lauderdale, Royal Caribbean could have three of the world's biggest cruise liners sailing out of the US' three most popular cruise ports.

• I live in Paris and like to take day trips to other European cities.
• I've made lots of mistakes along the way, like not dressing properly for the weather.
• After letting my phone die on a trip to Copenhagen, I now carry a portable charger with me.

As someone who's been living in Europe for the past three years, I never pass up the opportunity to visit a new city. The ability to hop on a cheap flight and change environments for the day is something I just can't resist.

However, although day trips can be fun and exciting experiences, there are a few things that can turn an amazing trip into an OK one.

Here are four mistakes I've made while traveling around Europe.

Not checking the weather forecast carefully before leaving home

Before visiting Dublin in December, I didn't pay close enough attention to the weather.

I made the mistake of bringing a very light jacket, and it was so chilly that walking around the city quickly became uncomfortable. I've since learned it's always a good idea to take a few minutes to check the weather before leaving.

Trying to do too much in one trip

When traveling, I often overpack my schedule, trying to see as much as possible in a short period of time.

However, I've learned it's important to prioritize the things I want to see and do most. For example, if I'm going to be in a city for eight to 10 hours, there's no way I can visit multiple museums, do a walking tour, go to a local bar, and explore different neighborhoods.

I made the mistake of overloading my itinerary in Krakow, Poland, and ended up canceling a walking tour and museum visits. By doing so, I was able to immerse myself in the local culture and explore the city on my own time.

Letting my phone die in the middle of the trip

During my trip to Copenhagen, I forgot my portable charger, and my phone died halfway through the day. I couldn't find a charging port anywhere, and since I was only in the city for a few hours, I didn't want to waste time sitting somewhere to charge my phone.

This meant I couldn't take as many pictures as I wanted, and I had to stay close to familiar areas to avoid getting lost.

Luckily, Copenhagen's metro system is easy to navigate, and I got back to the airport without any issues. However, my portable charger is now the second thing I put in my travel bag after my passport.

Not planning meals in advance — or having a backup plan

As a self-proclaimed "go with the flow" person, I've learned the hard way that planning my meals ahead of time is crucial.

In the past, I've wasted a lot of time trying to decide where to eat. Plus, when I'm short on time and visiting a busy restaurant, I can't afford to wait an hour for a table.

Planning ahead and making reservations (or having a backup option in mind) ensures I'm not disappointed or wasting valuable time.

• I took a six-month trip around Europe and only brought two backpacks with me.
• I'm glad I packed things like a portable white-noise machine and flat travel pouches.
• Next time, I'll leave my ballet flats and bulky power-strip adaptor at home.

Packing for a six-month trip around Europe wasn't easy. I deliberated for a good two months about what to take with me and what to leave behind. Since I only had two backpacks, I had to be picky about what I brought.

Now that I'm back home, I'm able to reflect on the items I took with me. Here are the three things that now have a permanent spot in my luggage and the two that won't make the cut next time.

My portable white-noise machine was a travel game changer.

Noisy neighbors and loud city streets are part of the traveling experience. Although some people like to counteract these things with earplugs, I've always found them uncomfortable as a side sleeper.

So, I brought a mini white-noise machine to drown out any music, traffic, or chatter. The little cylinder was quite loud for its size, and did a great job of masking any background noise.

I definitely had more restful sleep because of it, and it's now an essential for all my future trips.

Flat travel pouches came in handy.

I find the traditional hard-plastic travel containers for liquids to be quite clunky. So, for this trip, I bought a pack of flat travel pouches in different sizes.

I used the bigger bags for shampoo and body wash and the smaller ones for face wash and conditioner. I'd then refill them from larger bottles purchased during my longer stays.

Although they took a little more patience to fill, these pouches stacked up much more neatly than the bulky travel bottles I used to use.

I loved using a pill organizer to store my jewelry.

I typically won't wear a pair of earrings or a bracelet if I can't physically see it. This presents a problem for many bag-like travel containers where the jewelry isn't laid out neatly.

When I researched other travel-jewelry options, I found that many were large and bulky, which wouldn't bode well for my limited space.

However, I saw a hack online about using a foldable pill box to store jewelry. I ordered one immediately and found it to be the perfect solution.

On the other hand, I won't bring flats with me on my next trip abroad.

The packing decision I struggled with most was what shoes to bring. I decided to wear a pair of boots on the plane, pack my running shoes, and buy a pair after arriving in England to see which styles were popular there.

At the last minute, however, I panicked about only having casual footwear and jammed in a pair of foldable black ballet flats.

This was a mistake for several reasons. These flats weren't particularly comfortable, and I could feel the cobblestones dig into the sole of my foot with every step.

I also quickly realized that the footwear of choice for nearly any occasion in the UK seemed to be a good pair of sneakers. I ended up buying a simple white pair of Adidas with black stripes that went well with any outfit I chose.

Looking back, buying a travel power strip was overkill, and a simple cube adapter worked just fine.

While packing for my trip, my mind went to everything I'd have to charge: my laptop, smartwatch, phone, and white-noise machine.

So, I purchased a travel power strip/adapter with three ports and a long cord. I figured I'd be set for all my charging needs.

In practice, however, this big rectangle ended up being a nuisance. It was incredibly bulky, and if I plugged two or more things into it, a spark would shoot off from the plug.

I ended up throwing it out and replacing it with a high-quality cube adapter. This much-lighter converter had a three-prong port and several USB slots, which suited my needs just fine.

If anything, I'd bring two cube adapters next time to have one in the bedroom and one in the living room.