''Marella Discovery 2'', launched as ''Legend of the Seas'', is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...

of the of

cruise ships Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on tours known as " ...

(originally operated by

Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International (RCI), formerly Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line founded in 1968 in Norway and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Florida, it is the l ...

). With a gross tonnage of , the ship can carry 2,074 passengers. Its maiden voyage was May 16, 1995. The ship's facilities include a rock climbing wall, a mini-golf course, dining areas and bars, an atrium, two pools, a theatre and a fitness centre.

Career

As ''Legend of the Seas'', it was the most-traveled ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet, having been based in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the South Pacific,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, Central America,

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

during her 19-year career at sea. Starting in the winter of 2009 she was based in Asia on a year-round basis. After the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'' ...

, almost all of her North Asia routes were canceled. In 2013 she returned to Europe to offer cruises in the Mediterranean Sea. During the winter period the ship was based at

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

for Caribbean cruises. In the summer period in 2014, she offered cruises to

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

where she visited port in the Baltic Sea and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. On 2 June 2016, Royal Caribbean sold ''Legend of the Seas'' to the UK based

Thomson Cruises Marella Cruises (formerly Thomson Cruises) is a British cruise line operated by TUI UK, offering cruise holidays around Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia. History The company had initially entered the cruise market in 1973, but due to rising fue ...

. ''Legend of the Seas''s last scheduled cruise with Royal Caribbean ended on 26 March 2017 before the ship was transferred to Thomson. She first appeared as the ''TUI Discovery 2'' in Malaga, Spain on 14 May 2017. Following the announcement on 9 October 2017, that Thomson Cruises would be renamed

Marella Cruises Marella Cruises (formerly Thomson Cruises) is a British cruise line operated by TUI UK, offering cruise holidays around Europe, the Caribbean, and Asia. History The company had initially entered the cruise market in 1973, but due to rising fu ...

TUI Group TUI AG (trading as TUI Group) is a German multinational leisure, travel and tourism company; it is the largest such company in the world. TUI is an acronym for ''Touristik Union International'' ("Tourism Union International"). TUI AG was known a ...

also announced that ''TUI Discovery 2'' would adopt the name ''Marella Discovery 2'' at the end of October 2017. On 28 October 2017, ''TUI Discovery 2'' was renamed ''Marella Discovery 2'' in a ceremony held at the port of Tenerife by members of the ship's crew chosen as 'outstanding performers' by the company, together with the Captain. ''Marella Discovery 2'' is the sister ship to (formerly ''Splendour of the Seas'').

References

External links

Thomson/Marella Cruises

Marella Discovery 2 Cruise Ship
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marella Discovery 2 Cruise ships Ships built in France 1994 ships