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Renaissance Cruises

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Renaissance Cruises was a cruise ship operating company originally founded in 1989 owned by Fearnley & Eger Rederi in Oslo, Norway, but was later purchased by Edward Rudner (founder of Alamo Car Rental) as the company faltered during the Gulf War. They operated year-round cruise itineraries to the Mediterranean Sea, the Greek Isles, Tahiti and the South Pacific, northern Europe and Scandinavia. The company ceased operations on 25 September 2001, having accommodated up to 220,000 guests in 2000. While the company had been in poor financial health for quite some time, the economic decline resulting from the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks is credited with the demise of this cruise line. The fleet is listed under List of cruise ships. It was headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[1]

The Classes

R Class

The pride of the fleet were the line's eight brand new 684-passenger R-Class ships named R One, R Two, R Three, R Four, R Five, R Six, R Seven and R Eight. The ships in this class were all built between 1998 and 2001. They were all built at the shipyard of Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire France and were designed, internally and externally, by British Designer John McNeece. Following the bankruptcy of Renaissance Cruises, all of the vessels were chartered or sold to other cruise lines and continue to operate to this day.

Ship Built Builder In service
for Renaissance Cruises		 Gross Tonnage Flag Notes Image
R One 1998 rowspan=8 align="Center"| Chantiers de l'Atlantique align="Center"| 1998-2001 30,277 tons  Liberia Entered service for Renaissance Cruises in 1998. After the bankruptcy of the company she was sold to Cruiseinvest but laid up until 2003, when she was chartered to Oceania Cruises and renamed MS Insignia.[2][3] In 2006 Oceania Cruises purchased the vessel.[citation needed] In April 2012 she was renamed to Columbus 2 sailing for Hapag-Lloyd. In 2014 she reverted to Oceania Cruises after the launch of Hapag-Lloyd's Europa 2, and is once again Insignia.
R Two 1998 1998-2001 30,277 tons  Liberia Entered service for Renaissance Cruises in 1998. After the bankruptcy of the company she was sold to Cruiseinvest but laid up until 2002, when she was chartered to the newly established Oceania Cruises and renamed Insignia. She was renamed Regatta the following year.[2][4] In 2006 Oceania Cruises purchased the vessel.
R Three 1999 1999–2001 30,277 tons  Liberia Entered service for Renaissance Cruises in 1999. After the bankruptcy of the company she was laid up until late 2002, when she was sold to Princess Cruises and renamed Pacific Princess.[5] File:Pacific Princess, 2008 (cropped).jpg
R Four 1999 1999–2001 30,277 tons  Liberia Entered service for Renaissance Cruises in 1999. After the bankruptcy of the company she was laid up until late 2002, when she was sold to Princess Cruises and renamed Tahitian Princess.[6] The ship was renamed again to Ocean Princess in November 2009.[6] It was announced on November 25, 2014, that the ship is to be sold to Oceania Cruises under a definitive agreement. She departed the Princess fleet in March 2016 where she undergo a 35-day, $40 million refurbishment in Marseille, France to become Sirena.[7][8]
R Five 2000 2000-2001 30,277 tons  Liberia Entered service for Renaissance Cruises in 2000. After the bankruptcy of the company she was sold to Cruiseinvest but laid up until 2002, when she was chartered to Pullmantur Cruises under the marketing name Blue Dream. In 2005 the vessel was bought[citation needed] by Oceania Cruises and renamed Nautica.[2][9]
R Six 2000 2000-2001 30,277 tons  Liberia Entered service for Renaissance Cruises in 2000. After the bankruptcy of the company she was sold to Cruiseinvest but laid up until 2003, when she was chartered to Pullmantur Cruises under the marketing name Blue Star. In 2005 she was renamed Blue Dream, and was sold to Pullmantur the following year. In 2007 she was transferred to the fleet of Azamara Cruises and renamed Azamara Journey.[10]
R Seven 2000 2000-2001 30,277 tons  Liberia Entered service for Renaissance Cruises in 2001. After the bankruptcy of the company she was sold to Cruiseinvest but laid up until 2003, when she was chartered to Delphin Seereisen under the name Delphin Renaissance. In 2006 she was sold to Pullmantur Cruises and was renamed Blue Moon. In 2007 she was transferred to the fleet of Azamara Cruises and renamed Azamara Quest.[11]
R Eight 2001 2001-2001 30,277 GT  Liberia Entered service for Renaissance Cruises in 2001. After the bankruptcy of the company she was sold to Cruiseinvest but laid up until 2003, when she was chartered to Swan Hellenic Cruises and renamed Minerva II. In 2006 she was sold to Princess Cruises but remained in Swan Hellenic service until April[citation needed] 2007, A when she was transferred to Princess and renamed Royal Princess. In May 2011[citation needed] she transferred to P&O Cruises and has been renamed Adonia.[12]

Renaissance class

Renaissance II as EasyCruiseOne

The company also owned and operated eight "Renaissance" class yacht-like ships between 1989 and 1998. The first four of them were built in Cantieri Navale Ferrari-Signani shipyards in La Spezia, Italy, from 1989 to 1991. They were 88.3m long, and 4077grt in size, and they carried 100 passengers in 50 cabins, with 72 crew. The other four were built in Nuovi Cantieri Apuania shipyards in Carrara, Italy, in the same period. They were 90.6m long and 4200grt in size, and they carried 114 passengers in 57 cabins with 72 crew. The small, intimately sized vessels used Roman numeral designations as part of their names: Renaissance I through Renaissance VIII.

Renaissance IV as Corinthian
Renaissance V as Spirit of Oceanus

These are the current names, former names and registries of the "Renaissance" Class ships Renaissance I, Renaissance III, Renaissance IV, and Renaissance VIII were all chartered and sold In 1998 so the line could concentrate on the larger, newer "R-Class". Before the line folded for the R-Class, Renaissance V, Renaissance VI, and Renaissance VII were sold to other interests. Renaissance II was renamed Neptune II In 1998 for operations in Singapore Before EasyCruise was formed. Current operators of these vessels include Noble-Caledonia, Silversea, Travel Dynamics International and Quark Expeditions.

Renaissance VII as Corinthian II
Renaissance VIII as Island Sky

These are the current names, former names and registries of the "Renaissance" Class ships:

  • Dubawi: (a) Renaissance I (b) The Mercury (c) Leisure World (d) Dubawi. Now sailing as a yacht.
  • Cruise One: (a) Renaissance II (b) Neptune II (c) EasyCruiseOne. Sold in 2008 as Cruise One, currently inoperative.
  • Silver Galapagos: (a) Renaissance III (b) Galapagos Explorer II, (1990) Galapagos Inc., Ecuador (c) Silver Galapagos; from 2013, Silversea Expeditions.
  • Corinthian: (a) Renaissance IV (b) Clelia II (1998), Troodos (c) Orion II (d) Corinthian from 2013, Travel Dynamics Int.
  • Sea Spirit: (a) Renaissance V (b) Sun Viva (1997), Sun Cruise (c) MegaStar Sagittarius (2000), Star Cruises (d) Spirit of Oceanus (2000), Cruise West (e) Sea Spirit (2010), Quark Expeditions.
  • Caledonian Sky: (a) Renaissance VI (b) Sun Viva 2 (1997), Sun cruise (c) MegaStar Capricorn (2000), Star Cruises (d) Hebridean Spirit (2000) (e) Caledonian Sky (2012), Noble-Caledonia.
  • Sea Explorer: (a) Renaissance VII (b) Renai I (c) Island Sun (d) Corinthian II (1991) (e) Sea Explorer from March 2013, Polar Latitudes and Poseidon Expeditions
  • Island Sky: (a) Renaissance VIII (b) Renai II (c) Island Sky (1992), Noble-Caledonia, Liberia.

References

  1. ^ "About Us." Renaissance Cruises. March 7, 2000. Retrieved on January 20, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Boyle, Ian. "Renaissance". Simplon Postcards. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  3. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R One (1998)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  4. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Two (1998)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  5. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Three (1999)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  6. ^ a b Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Four (1999)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  7. ^ http://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/norwegian-cruise-line-holdings-ltd-announces-fleet-expansion-for-oceania-cruises-in-2016-20141125-00730
  8. ^ http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/11912-ocean-princess-sold-to-oceania.html
  9. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Five (2000)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  10. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Six (2000)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  11. ^ Asklander, Micke. "M/S R Seven (2000)". Fakta om Fartyg (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 2008-03-22.
  12. ^ Sampson, Hannah (June 4, 2015). "Carnival launches fathom, a new "social impact travel" brand". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
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