Renaissance Cruises
Encyclopedia
Renaissance Cruises, originally founded in 1989 owned by Fearnley & Eger Rederi in Oslo - Norway, 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. The fleet is listed under List of cruise ships. It was headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
.
and renamed . In 2006 Oceania Cruises purchased the vessel.
- 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 the following year. In 2006 Oceania Cruises purchased the vessel.
- 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
.
- 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
. The ship was renamed again to Ocean Princess in November 2009.
- 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 by Oceania Cruises and renamed .
- 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
.
- 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 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
.
- 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 transferred to Princess and renamed Royal Princess. In May 2011 she transferred to P&O Cruises
and has been renamed Adonia.
, 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. ORION II (Orion Expedition Cruises acquisition in May 2011.) a) Renaissance Four (1990) b)Clelia II 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.
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
and the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
, Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
and Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
. 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
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
are credited with the demise of this cruise line. The fleet is listed under List of cruise ships. It was headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
.
R Class
The pride of the fleet were the line's eight brand new 684-passenger R-Class ships named , , , , , , and . 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.Ships
- 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 CruisesOceania Cruises
Oceania Cruises is a Miami, Florida, United States-based shipping company that operates four luxury cruise ships on world-wide itenaries. It is currently the world’s largest upscale cruise line, offering good-quality food and itineraries at a cheap price when compared to other upscale cruise lines...
and renamed . In 2006 Oceania Cruises purchased the vessel.
- 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 the following year. In 2006 Oceania Cruises purchased the vessel.
- 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
Princess Cruises
Princess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...
and renamed Pacific Princess
Pacific Princess
MS Pacific Princess is a cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises and operated by Princess Cruises and P&O Cruises Australia. She was built in 1999 by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard in St...
.
- 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
Tahitian Princess
For the former Princess Cruise Lines ship named Ocean Princess operated from 2000 to 2002 now owned by P&O Cruise Lines see MV Oceana.Ocean Princess, formerly R Four, and Tahitian Princess, is an owned by Princess Cruises. She mainly sails around the French Polynesian islands, Society Islands,...
. The ship was renamed again to Ocean Princess in November 2009.
- 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
Pullmantur Cruises
Pullmantur Cruises is a cruise line headquartered in Spain. It began operations in the late 1990s as an offshoot of the Madrid-based travel agency Pullmantur. Pullmantur Cruises, through its parent company, was purchased by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. in 2006.- Overview :Pullmantur Cruises is the...
under the marketing name Blue Dream. In 2005 the vessel was bought by Oceania Cruises and renamed .
- 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
Azamara Cruises
Azamara Club Cruises is an up-market cruise line owned by the Norwegian-American company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., as one of their subsidiaries. The line currently operates two ships, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest...
and renamed Azamara Journey
Azamara Journey
Azamara Journey is an owned and operated by Azamara Cruises, a sub-brand of Celebrity Cruises. Gross register tonnage is 30,277, with a capacity of 694 passengers , plus 390 crew members. She was built in 2000 for Renaissance Cruises as 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 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
Azamara Quest
Azamara Quest is an that entered service for Azamara Cruises on October 24, 2007. She was built in 2000 for Renaissance Cruises as R Seven. Following the collapse of Renaissance Cruises in 2001 she was laid up for two years, until chartered to the Germany-based Delphin Seereisen as Delphin...
.
- 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 transferred to Princess and renamed Royal Princess. In May 2011 she transferred to P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises
P&O Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, and operated by Carnival UK. Originally a constituent of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P&O Cruises is the oldest cruise line in the world, having operated the world's first...
and has been renamed Adonia.
Renaissance-class
The company also owned and operated eight "Renaissance" class ships. The first four of them were built in Cantiere Navale Ferrari-Signani shipyards in La Spezia, Italy, from 1989 to 1991. The other four were built in Nuovi Cantieri Apuania shipyards in Carrara, Italy, in the same period.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 WestCruise West
Cruise West was an independent, destination focused small-ship cruise operator based in Seattle, Washington, USA. The line was the largest operator of U.S. flagged cruise vessels with nine currently operating. They were best known for their Alaska cruises but their reach includes destinations...
, Travel Dynamics International, easyCruise
EasyCruise
EasyCruise is an enterprise of Greek ferry operator Hellenic Seaways, sold to them in August 2009 for £9 million by founder and Cypriot/British business man, Stelios Haji-Ioannou. EasyCruise launched their first cruise ship EasyCruiseOne in 2005...
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. ORION II (Orion Expedition Cruises acquisition in May 2011.) a) Renaissance Four (1990) b)Clelia II 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.
External links
- Renaissance Cruises (Archive)