Thomson Cruises Acquires Second Royal Caribbean Ship
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has entered into an agreement to sell Legend of the Seas to Thomson Cruises in the UK.
Legend will depart Royal Caribbean’s 25-ship fleet in March 2017 and immediately transition to its new owner.
The 1,832-passenger ship will join the Thomson fleet in May 2017, and will sail under the name of TUI Discovery 2.
The news comes nine days before the launch of the line's latest ship TUI Discovery - another former Royal Caribbean ship and a sister to Legend, Splendour of the Seas.
While financial terms of the ship's sale were not disclosed, the transaction would result in "an immaterial gain" upon its delivery to Thomson, the Miami-based cruise company said.
"Since its inaugural sailing, Legend of the Seas has created many wonderful memories for hundreds of thousands of guests, and we expect this successful history to continue as she transitions to Thomson Cruises," said Richard D. Fain, chairman and chief executive officer of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "While she will be missed, her transition supports Double-Double and our objective of moderate capacity growth."
The acquisition will increase the fleet to six ships, and marks four ships in the next four years for Thomson: Mein Schiff 1 and Mein Schiff 2 will be acquired from TUI Cruises for the Thomson Cruises fleet in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Thomson Majesty and Thomson Spirit will leave the Thomson Cruises fleet at the end of 2017.
Royal Caribbean will redeploy Rhapsody of the Seas and Vision of the Seas and the move will also require the cancellation of some sailings and the re-accommodation of others.
