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MS Regatta

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Regatta in Fremantle, Australia, January 2018
History
Name
  • 1998–2002: R Two
  • 2002–2003: Insignia
  • 2003—present: Regatta[1][2]
Owner
Operator
  • 1998–2001: Renaissance Cruises
  • 2001–2002: laid up
  • 2002–2003: Oceania Cruises
  • 2003: TMR
  • 2003—present: Oceania Cruises[1][2]
Port of registry
BuilderChantiers de l'Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France
Cost£150 million[3]
Yard numberI31[1]
AcquiredNovember 1998[1]
In service1998[1]
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics [1]
Class and type
Tonnage
Length180.96 m (593 ft 8 in)
Beam25.46 m (83 ft 6 in)
Draught5.95 m (19 ft 6 in)
Decks9 (passenger accessible)[3]
Installed power
Propulsion2 propellers[3]
Speed18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Capacity
  • 684 passengers (lower berths)
  • 824 passengers (all berths)[3]
Crew386[3]

MS Regatta was built for Renaissance Cruises as an R-class cruise ship, she is owned and operated by Oceania Cruises where she is part of their Regatta class.[3] She was built in 1998 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St. Nazaire, France, for Renaissance Cruises as R Two. Between 2002 and 2003 she sailed as Insignia before receiving her current name.[1]

Concept and construction

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Renaissance Cruises had begun operations in 1989, with a series of eight small luxury cruise ships constructed during the course of the next three years.[2] In the mid-90s the company placed an order for eight identical 30,277 gross tonnage (GT) vessels with Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in France. The first ship in the series, MS R One, was delivered in June 1998,[5] followed by R Two in November of the same year.[1]

Design

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MS Regatta departing White Bay, viewed from Barangaroo ferry wharf

Exterior design

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R Two was built to a somewhat boxy, functional exterior appearance with a large square funnel. In Renaissance Cruises service her hull was painted dark blue, but in Oceania service this was changed to white with a thin blue stripe separating the hull from the superstructure.[3]

Interior design

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The interiors of Regatta are decorated in art deco style similar to the ocean liners of the 1920s and 1930s with polished dark wood and warm colours,[3][6] described by Douglas Ward, author of the Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships, as being "stunning and elegant".[3] The ship retains most of her interior decorations from her days with Renaissance Cruises, although the lido area on deck 9 was entirely refurbished before she entered service for Oceania Cruises, while smaller changes were carried out in the cabins and restaurants.[6]

Decks

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Regatta has ten decks.

Service history

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Regatta in Stockholm, Sweden, August 2007
Leaving Sydney after departing White Bay Cruise Terminal, February 2024

Following her delivery to Renaissance Cruises in November 1998, R Two was placed on cruise traffic in the Mediterranean. Renaissance Cruises went bankrupt on September 25, 2001, following September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and, on October 7, 2001, the R Two was arrested in Gibraltar and subsequently laid up. Six of her sisters were also laid up in Gibraltar,[1][2] with only MS R Three and MS R Four absent as they were in the Pacific Ocean at the time of the collapse of Renaissance.[2][7][8] In December 2001, R Two and the other former Renaissance ships laid up in Gibraltar were sold to Cruiseinvest, and subsequently moved to Marseille, France, for further layup.[1][2][5][9][10][11][12]

In October 2002, R Two was renamed Insignia, given a $10 million refit and chartered to Oceania Cruises, a new company founded by Frank Del Rio (the former vice president of Renaissance Cruises) and Joe Watters (the former CEO of Crystal Cruises).[1][2][13] Between April 19 and June 14, 2003, Insignia was chartered to the French travel agency TMR, who marketed the ship under the name Vaisseau Renaissance (her registered name remained unchanged).[1] On June 15, 2003, the ship returned to Oceania Cruises service, but was renamed Regatta, as the name Insignia had been passed to her sister R One that had also been chartered by Oceania.[1][2][5]

Regatta was scheduled to undergo a significant renovation in September 2019 as a part of the company's $100 million OceaniaNEXT program.[14]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Two (1998)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Boyle, Ian. "Renaissance". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ward, Douglas (2006). Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships. Singapore: Berlitz. pp. 514–515. ISBN 981-246-739-4.
  4. ^ "Regatta Ship Information". Oceania Cruises.
  5. ^ a b c Asklander, Micke. "M/S R One (1998)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  6. ^ a b "Regatta Cruise Reviews". Cruise Critic. The Independent Traveler. March 19, 2008. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  7. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Three (1999)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  8. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Four (1999)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  9. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Five (2000)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  10. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Six (2000)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  11. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Seven (2000)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  12. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Eight (2001)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  13. ^ "Oceania Cruises Reviews". Cruise Critic. The Independent Traveler. June 12, 2007. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  14. ^ "Oceania Cruises Remodeling Every Stateroom on Their Four Cruise Ships". cruisefever.net. August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
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