Renaissance Cruises

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Renaissance Cruises, originally founded in 1989, was a cruise line operator that operated year-round cruise itineraries to the Mediterranean, the Greek Isles, Tahiti and the South Pacific, Northern Europe and Scandinavia. The company ceased operations on 25 September 2001 and 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 September 11th terrorist attacks are credited with the demise of this cruise line.

Contents

[edit] The Fleet

[edit] 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 built between 1998 and 2001. 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.

[edit] Ships

  • R One - 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 Insignia.[1][2] In 2006 Oceania Cruises purchased the vessel.[citation needed]
  • R Two - 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.[1][3] In 2006 Oceania Cruises purchased the vessel.[citation needed]
  • R Four - 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.[5]
  • R Five - 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.[1][6]
  • R Six - 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 Pullmatur the following year. In 2007 she was transferred to the fleet of Azamara Cruises and renamed Azamara Journey.[7]
  • R Seven - 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 Dephin 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.[8]
  • R Eight - 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 Swan Hellenic Cruises and renamed Minerva II. In 2006 she was sold to Princess Cruises but remained in Swan Hellenic service until April 2007, when she was tranferred to Princess and renamed Royal Princess.[9]

[edit] Renaissance-class

The company also owned and operated eight "Renaissance" class ships. No longer than 300 feet in length and weighing no more than 4,000 gross registered tons, these yacht-like vessels accommodated 114 passengers. The small, intimately sized vessels used Roman numeral designations as part of their names: Renaissance I through Renaissance VIII. Renaissance ships I through VI were chartered and sold off so the line could concentrate on the larger, newer "R-Class". After the line folded, Renaissance VII and VIII were sold to other interests. Current operators of these vessels include Cruise West, Travel Dynamics International, easyCruise and Hebridean Island Cruises.

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

I. LEISURE WORLD 1 a) Renaissance b) Renaissance One c) The Mercury (1989) New Century Cruise Lines, Singapore. (Operated as a gambling ship.)

II. EASYCRUISEONE a) Renaissance Two b) The Neptune (1990) easyCruise Ltd., Cyprus.

III. GALAPAGOS EXPLORER II a) Renaissance Three (1990) Galapagos Inc., Ecuador.

IV. CLELIA II a) Renaissance Four (1990) Hani-Ioannou, Liberia. (Operated by Travel Dynamics International)

V. SPIRIT OF OCEANUS a) Renaissance Five b) Hanseatic Renaissance c) Renaissance Five d) Sun Viva e) MegaStar Sagittarius (1990) Cruise West, Bahamas.

VI. HERBRIDEAN SPIRIT a) Renaissance Six b) Sun Viva 2 c) MegaStar Capricorn (1991) Herbridean Island Cruises, Bahamas.

VII. CORINTHIAN II a) Renaissance Seven b) Regina Renaissance c) Renaissance Seven d) Renai 1 e) Sun f) Island Sun (1991) Travel Dynamics, Malta.

VIII. ISLAND SKY a) Renaissance Eight b) Renal 2 c) Sky (1992) Noble Caledonia, Liberia.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Boyle, Ian. Renaissance. Simplon Postcards. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  2. ^ Asklander, Micke. M/S R One (1998) (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  3. ^ Asklander, Micke. M/S R Two (1998) (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  4. ^ Asklander, Micke. M/S R Three (1999) (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  5. ^ Asklander, Micke. M/S R Four (1999) (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  6. ^ Asklander, Micke. M/S R Five (2000) (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  7. ^ Asklander, Micke. M/S R Six (2000) (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  8. ^ Asklander, Micke. M/S R Seven (2000) (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  9. ^ Asklander, Micke. M/S R Eight (2001) (in Swedish). Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.

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