Key Aspects:
- Cruise passengers have noticed a broken glass panel in the AquaDome onboard Legend of the Seas.
- The discovery comes just over a month after the new Icon-class ship entered service.
- Interestingly, a nearly identical panel broke in the AquaDome onboard Star of the Seas in May.
Newcomers often like to “break the ice,” but Royal Caribbean’s new Icon-class ships have developed an odd tradition of breaking the glass.
The third Icon-class ship, Legend of the Seas, only just launched on July 4, 2026. But already, guests have noticed that one of the 673 glass panels in the AquaDome has broken.
For context, the AquaDome is a glass-domed neighborhood on the forward top deck of the 248,663-gross ton vessel that is designed for tranquility and relaxation during the day and to be an entertainment hub at night.
“Ok, the ship is only a month old….who broke this!!!,” a current passenger shared on Facebook on August 3, 2026, along with a picture of the shattered triangular segment.
Royal Caribbean has not confirmed what caused the glass to shatter, but this can happen for a variety of reasons. Things like inherent glass defects, a bird strike, sailing through stormy weather, rogue waves, and/or sudden changes in temperature could potentially be to blame.
Thankfully, no injuries to guests or crew members have been reported. Based on the image, the shattered glass remained in its frame and did not fall to the deck below.
Per cruise tracking data, the 5,610-guest ship is sailing normally in the Mediterranean Sea as the vessel nears the end of its current 7-night voyage, which disembarks in Barcelona, Spain, on August 9, 2026.
Not The First Glass Incident
Star of the Seas, the second Icon-class ship and the slightly older sister of Legend of the Seas, also began her career at sea with shattered glass.
During a preview sailing ahead of her maiden voyage, a tempered panel suddenly shattered on Deck 15 on the morning of August 26, 2025. No one was injured, but guests who were relaxing and tanning nearby were startled.
The glass panel was part of an aesthetic safety barrier surrounding the outer deck, which prevents guests from falling overboard without blocking the ocean views.
Crew members blocked off the surprise opening with a white tarp and a crowd control barrier until a permanent fix could be made.
In May of 2026, less than one year after embarking on her maiden voyage on August 31, 2025, Star of the Seas suffered her own AquaDome incident.
Cruise Hive reported that a triangular segment, which is nearly identical to the broken piece onboard Legend of the Seas, had unexpectedly shattered.
This makes it sound more plausible that a manufacturing or structural defect caused the unexpected breaks, but it could also simply be an unusual coincidence that a similar panel shattered on both ships.
Icon of the Seas, which launched on January 27, 2024, made it through its first year at sea without reports of broken glass.
However, the flagship made headlines soon after when an acrylic panel shattered on the Frightening Bolt Waterslide in August of 2025, injuring the guest who was riding it.
The drop slide was closed on both Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas while the incident was investigated and repairs were made.
While this may sound like a lot of problems, it’s important to keep in mind that safety is the top priority for Royal Caribbean and that the cruise line works hard to maintain its ships.
Royal Caribbean operates its growing fleet in compliance with the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), as well as national regulatory bodies like the US Coast Guard and public health agencies like the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program.
