
Relax to the max on Royal Caribbean's latest cruise ship
Royal Caribbean's new ship Legend of the Seas, which is set to launch in the Mediterranean in summer 2026, will be decked out for relaxation, featuring seven separate swimming pools and a whopping 10 whirlpools scattered around the ship. So, which waterside spot will you choose first?
Those travelling with children will want to make a beeline for the Water's Edge pool at the heart of the family-oriented Surfside neighbourhood. Here, parents can cool off while the kids play in the fountains and under the splash buckets of Splashaway Bay, while for the smallest sailors there's Baby Bay, a baby and toddler splash pad that's suitable even for children still in nappies. Even better, there are uninterrupted ocean views from across this area, which is perched atop the stern on deck seven, and you'll find kid-friendly snacks right alongside, at Surfside Bites.
Alternatively, head a little higher, up to the Royal Bay pool on deck 15. This vast family-friendly oasis offers plenty of in-water loungers for a soak in the sunshine as well as two raised whirlpools overlooking all the action. Also on deck 15, you'll find the smaller and more laid-back Cove pool, featuring comfortable in-water chairs and an infinity edge for incredible ocean views – this is a cracking spot for enjoying a cocktail or two from The Lime and Coconut bar just a few steps away.
Or what about a swim-up bar at sea? On deck 16 you'll find Swim & Tonic, where seats at the bar are submerged in the pool and a line-up of in-water loungers circles the edge. Swim up and order a cocktail, or perhaps take it over to the adjacent whirlpool, to relax in warmer, bubblier waters.
You can also enjoy a drink in the pool at Cloud 17, its waters and cushioned loungers right beside another outpost of The Lime and Coconut bar, while suite guests can relax in the VIP-only The Grove Suite Sun Deck on decks 18 and 19. Here you'll find swinging poolside day beds and panoramic ocean views across the two decks, and though the whole family is welcome, access is only for those staying in a suite.
If you prefer somewhere just for adults, head to the stern end of deck 15 and the Hideaway. Inspired by the beach clubs of Mallorca and Mykonos, this chilled-out spot is home to a resident DJ and there are classy, cushioned loungers dotted across its waters. Swim towards the edge of the ship here and look down – you'll be staring straight at the ocean, from a suspended infinity pool some eight stories up. And there are two whirlpools and a bar up here to boot.
On Legend of the Seas, that chill-out mood is woven into the whole experience, and you'll quickly discover that your stateroom is an onboard haven of serenity; the perfect place to retreat to after a day of exploring. Many of the rooms offer stunning ocean views that will elevate your sense of wellbeing: from the Spacious Infinite Balcony rooms, where your living space becomes a sea-gazing balcony at the touch of a button, to the floor-to-ceiling vistas offered by the Panoramic Ocean View rooms, you can expect tranquility blended with the comfort of home. If you want to experience the ultimate zen state, upgrade to a Sunset Corner Suite, where the wrap-around balconies deliver an endless horizon of heavenly blue in all directions. Bliss.
Sailings availability is subject to change due to demand
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Sun
11 hours ago
- The Sun
I save £100s on every holiday using easy phone tricks to slash the cost of food, booze and activities
HOLIDAYS don't come cheap, so it's more important than ever to make your spending money go further. I travel frequently throughout the year and have seen prices skyrocket - but there are clever tricks right on your phone that have saved me hundreds on each trip. 5 5 5 And I'm talking about the big expenditures you can't avoid, like food and booze. All it takes is a little bit of planning before your holiday, and you could end up paying like a local, all thanks to your mobile. Here's how I pull it off and the simple steps so you can too. Sort your data BEFORE you travel I'd encourage anyone on holiday to keep off their phone and enjoy the moment, but that's easier said than done. From showing off your travel snaps on social media to using Google Maps to get around, chances are you'll want data. Where possible, you can rely on your hotel or restaurant Wi-Fi, but it won't always be available when you're out and about. Sadly, most mobile networks, except O2, don't offer free roaming as standard with your existing data plan. Your provider will have add-ons for travel, but these don't tend to be very affordable. Instead, you should try getting an eSIM. eSIMs are virtual SIMs - meaning you don't need a physical SIM card. Flight cancelled or delayed? Top tips for handling travel disruptions The beauty of eSIMs is that you can have more than one loaded onto a phone and working at the same time, so you don't need to lose your existing mobile network provider. Instead, the eSIM will essentially work as a secondary option in the background. My UK mobile network wanted £20 so I could roam for 15 days across Europe. But a quick Google search and I found an eSIM provider offering 5GB of data for £5.90. If you avoid going wild on things like streaming and use your phone for uploading some pictures, checking the news - The Sun of course! - and using maps and web searches, I reckon 5GB will cover you for a week or 10GB for two. I've used Maya Mobile and previously but there are loads of options out there, so shop around. LOYALTY CARDS We're all used to Tesco's Clubcard Prices and Nectar Prices offers at Sainsbury's by now. And you may have spotted similar at the local supermarket when you're out food shopping on holiday too. In some countries, the savings can be quite substantial, with loads of bonus coupons available digitally to save more. Fortunately, these days you don't need a physical loyalty card anymore, you can simply sign up from your phone and instantly scan the digital QR code they provide you. And that's exactly what I've done on a number of occasions when away. I quite like buying snacks, sandwiches and booze from supermarkets when away on holiday to keep the cost down instead of constantly eating at expensive restaurants - especially if I'm having a day at the beach. Using loyalty programmes has saved me hundreds. For the best results, it requires a little bit of planning, preferably before you go on holiday, though you could always do it from your hotel room. I tend to look around the area I'm staying in on Google Maps in advance to locate the shops nearby. So, on a recent trip to Paris, I noticed there was an Auchan supermarket nearby and their equivalent of Clubcard Prices is called "Waaoh!". I signed up online and was able to add the virtual loyalty card to my phone, so I get the cheapest prices just like a local. When signing up, I recommend doing it via the supermarket's website if possible, that way you can use the automatic translation tools in Google Chrome to easily understand everything. Also, it's worth noting that this trick may not be possible at every supermarket in every country, so it does require a little bit of digging, but it's well worth the 30 minutes of effort for the huge money savings. SIGN UP TO A DIGITAL BANK 5 Pesky foreign transaction fees on your card can also rack up costs on holiday, too. If your bank doesn't offer fee-free transactions from foreign countries, there are some digital banks that do. Both Monzo and Starling have zero fees, and they're easy to use without switching bank providers. I signed up for Starling a few years ago and it's worked wonders on many of my trips. I simply top it up with money every now and again while I'm on holiday. So before your embarking on your next holiday, give these three tricks a go to save a fair bit or even stretch your spending money budget further.


The Guardian
13 hours ago
- The Guardian
Mary Russell obituary
My mother, Mary Russell, who has died aged 88, was a teacher, travel writer, broadcaster and storyteller. She journeyed to more than 50 countries and shared her experiences of them in print, radio and in person. After teaching in primary and secondary schools in London and Oxford during the 1960s and 70s, Mary started writing about travel for the Guardian on a freelance basis in 1980, while she was studying for an MA in peace studies at the University of Bradford. The following year she went to Lesotho in southern Africa and wrote a series on solo female travellers for the Guardian women's page. She was then invited to edit a nonfiction book, Survival, South Atlantic (1983), by two wildlife photographers, Cindy Buxton and Annie Price, who had become caught up in the Falklands war. The publishers, HarperCollins, subsequently asked what else she would like to do, and so she set about writing The Blessings of a Good Thick Skirt: Women Travellers and Their World (1986), which looked at the experiences of intrepid female travellers throughout the ages. Three other books followed: Please Don't Call it Soviet Georgia (1991), an account of her travels across Georgia just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Journeys of a Lifetime (2002), a travelogue bringing together many of her trips, and My Home Is Your Home: A Journey Round Syria (2011). Born in Dublin, Mary was the last of the four children of Evelyn (nee Smyth), and Michael Russell, a civil servant. She was educated at Our Lady's Bower secondary school in Athlone and then University College Dublin, where she studied in the mid-50s. Travelling back from an au pair job in Italy in 1960, she stopped off in London, where she met a writer called Ian Rodger. They married in 1960, after which they moved to Brill in Buckinghamshire and had three children, Deirdre, Russell and me. It was after a period of child-rearing and teaching that she began writing features for the Irish Times and for Irish radio, before hooking up with the Guardian. After Ian died of motor neurone disease in 1984, she took herself away to France the following summer, travelling with a tent on the back of her bike, and then caught a ferry to Algeria, continuing down into the Sahara to spend time with the Saharawi, a desert people displaced by warfare in the region. This, and other subsequent journeys, fed into the book Journeys of a Lifetime, and she continued to write well into old age. In addition, she was an election observer in Bosnia (1990), South Africa (1994) and Kyrgyzstan (2005). A keen musician, Mary sang, played the guitar, piano and electronic keyboards, taught herself the penny whistle and the accordion in her 40s, and learned the saxophone in her 60s, performing with the Blow the Dust orchestra in Dublin. She is survived by her three children, grandchildren Eta, Isabella, Charlie and Elizabeth, and a great-granddaughter, Lila.


Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The holiday essential Brits are being warned not to pack in suitcases this summer
The beauty of checked luggage is obviously that you can wave goodbye to it - and carrying it around - while you're in the air. However, one expert has warned that with lost luggage a common occurrence, there are a few items that you should keep with you in your cabin bags. In a TikTok, savvy traveller brand @thepointsguy shared exactly which items will cause the maximum amount of inconvenience if they end up going AWOL for a while should your case get lost. Discussing the items tourists should 'never put in your checked bag, regardless of how short your flight is', he said prescription medicine was an absolute no-no. He explained: 'You may be able to get a doctor to call in your prescription, but that becomes trickier if it's a weekend or a holiday or if your medication doesn't allow for refills before the previous prescription runs out.' Elsewhere, the expert said that expensive electrical items should also stay close to you - because they're much more vulnerable to theft. While the vast majority of airport workers are honest, there is a risk that they may open a case to identify its owner - putting items such as games consoles, mobile phones or laptops and tablets at risk. Indeed it's a case of ditto for any expensive personal item of jewellery too. Keeping precious rings and necklaces tucked away in the hold may seem like a good idea but they are amongst the first things that are likely to be targeted if the bag falls into the wrong hands. Wads of holiday money should stay on your person, if possible, the travel TikToker adds. He explained that: 'Everything important goes into my carry-on. Meds, contacts, electronics in particular.' But also the items that will make you feel human again after 11 hours in the air, including toiletries, a change of clothes and the things you'll need to hand easily when you reach your accommodation - such as sunscreen and plug adapters. Last month, it was revealed that holidaymakers may soon avoid the frustration of paying extra fees for carry-on luggage at the boarding gate - thanks to proposed changes in EU airline rules. The EU Parliament transport committee has approved new regulations that would grant all passengers the right to carry a handbag or small suitcase weighing up to 7kg at no extra cost. Under the amendment, passengers would be allowed one cabin bag with dimensions measuring up to 100cm, in addition to a smaller personal item that fits under the seat. This proposal could significantly impact budget airlines such as Ryanair, easyJet, and Wizz Air, which currently charge extra for larger cabin baggage. If implemented, the rule would apply not only to domestic EU flights but also to international flights connecting the EU with non-member countries, including the UK. For the proposal to become law, it still requires approval from at least 55 per cent of EU member states, representing 65 cent of the total EU population. However, this process could take time and prompt pushback from national governments and airline lobbies. Spain has already expressed its approval for the proposed changes - but not everyone is on board. Airlines for Europe, representing major carriers, warn that the new rules could disrupt operations and ultimately lead to increased ticket prices for passengers - even for those not carrying extra luggage. Managing director Ourania Georgoutsakou told Politico that the European Parliament should 'let travellers decide what services they want, what services they pay for and, importantly, what services they don't.' Ahead of Tuesday's vote, the group contacted EU transport committee members, stressing practical and logistical challenges airlines would face. They pointed out that although many aircraft carry up to 180 passengers, the overhead compartments can only accommodate about 90 trolley-sized bags. The industry body argues that requiring free carry-on luggage could cause boarding delays and overcrowding, and that travellers should retain the flexibility to select and pay for only the services they require.