Renaissance VIII

[sharbin1]

For those of you who loved this ship, I just read that Princess bought it and renamed it the Royal Princess. It's supposed to cruise the Mediterranean beginning Spring, 2007.

[dougnewmanatsea]

The ship which will become ROYAL PRINCESS is the former R EIGHT, now MINERVA II.

 

The former RENAISSANCE VIII is now ISLAND SKY, chartered by her Danish owners to the British tour operator Noble Caledonia.

[SingerEsq]

I know Princess now has 3 of the former R-class ships (the Tahitian, Pacific and the new Royal). And Oceania has 3 (the Insignia, the Nautica and the Regatta).

 

Anyone know what happened to the other 2?

 

These are beautiful smaller ships.

[workerbees]

Doug,

 

What is the difference from these two? I was on a Renaissance ship but I'm unsure what number it was, I'm guessing 5.

[SingerEsq]

Hey, Workerbees -- I'm sure Doug will know more, but Renaissance started with very small explorer ships. They were called Renaissance One, Renaissance Two, etc. I'm not sure how many they had. They were known for their itineraries more than their accomodations. Then, Renaissance went after the luxury-at-a-good-price market and started building its R-class ships. There was the R1 - R8, I believe. These were and still are yacht-like ships (think country club at sea). So, you were probably aboard the R5, rather than the Renaissance Five b/c they did continue to run the smaller ships as well.

 

Like I said, I'm sure Doug will have a much better history.

[workerbees]

Hey, Workerbees -- I'm sure Doug will know more, but Renaissance started with very small explorer ships. They were called Renaissance One, Renaissance Two, etc. I'm not sure how many they had. They were known for their itineraries more than their accomodations. Then, Renaissance went after the luxury-at-a-good-price market and started building its R-class ships. There was the R1 - R8, I believe. These were and still are yacht-like ships (think country club at sea). So, you were probably aboard the R5, rather than the Renaissance Five b/c they did continue to run the smaller ships as well.

 

Like I said, I'm sure Doug will have a much better history.

 

Thanks SingerEsq, I'm sure you're right because the ship I was on was beautiful. It's interesting that you say it was "luxury-at-a-good-price" because at the time I had no frame of reference but thought it expensive. In 95' our cost for the mediterranean cruise was around $4500.00 a person. I was one of the four youngest people on the cruise as well;) :p

[SingerEsq]

Yikes! That seems expensive. I hope that included air. We did Lisbon (love Lisbon!) -- Barcelona and with air (business class on a fastastic charter through World Airways) and a mini-suite I remember it being around $7,500 for two. That was in 2000. They had several R ships at by that time, so maybe economy of scale ....? Anyway, there's a reason they went BK after 9/11. :( Of course, now there is Oceania and Princess.

 

Needless to say, I miss Renaissance, which is why we are planning on sailing the Tahitian Princess (which I think was the R7 -- Doug?) in 2008 and are counting the days.

 

We were in our late 30s then .... and were NOT the youngest on board. Several (wonderful) newlyweds trumped us and we had a blast with them.

[workerbees]

No it didn't!!! We flew business class for around $1400.00 apiece. But it did include two nights before and after the cruise in top hotels in Athens and Rome.

 

But that ship, it was worth it, especially when we sailed through the Corinth Canal...

 

I've never been to Spain....definitely on my to do list.

 

AA

[SingerEsq]

:confused: Our trip included 3 nights in Lisbon at a great hotel (can't remember the name) and 3 nights in Barcelona at the Intercontinental!!!!!

 

LIKE I SAID, THERE'S A REASON THEY WENT BK ..... I knew the price was too good to be true ...:(

[workerbees]

Guess they needed more travelers like me:p .....

[dougnewmanatsea]

If you sailed Renaissance in 1995, it was on one of the older RENAISSANCE-class ships... The first R-class ship, R ONE, was not built until 1998.

 

The original RENAISSANCE-class ships were much smaller ships than the newer R-class ships - about 4,000 GT and 100 passengers as opposed to 30,000 GT and 700 passengers.

 

Their were eight of each class of ships. The RENAISSANCE class ships were numbered in Roman numerals, e.g. RENAISSANCE I through RENAISSANCE VIII, while the R-class ships were numbered R ONE through R EIGHT.

 

The first six RENAISSANCE-class ships were sold off between 1996 and 1998. The last two, VII and VIII, stayed with the company until the end in 2001, along with the R-class ships.

 

Fares for the R-class were much lower than the RENAISSANCE-class ships owing to the fact that the newer ships carried seven times as many passengers, so much less expensive to operate on a per-passenger basis. In fact, the small ships were extremely unprofitable - they have been described to me as "almost impossible to make money with". The larger R-class ships were a different story and indeed they have proven to be very profitable ships for their new owners.

 

They probably could have been for Renaissance, too - they went bankrupt because after 9/11 their creditors got nervous and pulled out. They were in the process of restructuring and were it not for their creditors' knee-jerk reaction they would probably be around and profitable today.

[workerbees]

If you sailed Renaissance in 1995, it was on one of the older RENAISSANCE-class ships... The first R-class ship, R ONE, was not built until 1998.

 

The original RENAISSANCE-class ships were much smaller ships than the newer R-class ships - about 4,000 GT and 100 passengers as opposed to 30,000 GT and 700 passengers.

 

Their were eight of each class of ships. The RENAISSANCE class ships were numbered in Roman numerals, e.g. RENAISSANCE I through RENAISSANCE VIII, while the R-class ships were numbered R ONE through R EIGHT.

 

The first six RENAISSANCE-class ships were sold off between 1996 and 1998. The last two, VII and VIII, stayed with the company until the end in 2001, along with the R-class ships.

 

Fares for the R-class were much lower than the RENAISSANCE-class ships owing to the fact that the newer ships carried seven times as many passengers, so much less expensive to operate on a per-passenger basis. In fact, the small ships were extremely unprofitable - they have been described to me as "almost impossible to make money with". The larger R-class ships were a different story and indeed they have proven to be very profitable ships for their new owners.

 

They probably could have been for Renaissance, too - they went bankrupt because after 9/11 their creditors got nervous and pulled out. They were in the process of restructuring and were it not for their creditors' knee-jerk reaction they would probably be around and profitable today.

 

AHA! Thank you Doug, so I was on the Renaissance V. It was beautiful, our suite was completely paneled in teak. I do recall them telling us big changes were coming up for the company. It definitely was a cruise ship in the old fashioned sense. There was one smallish pool, a small beauty salon, plush bars and library/game rooms and that was it. A far cry from what people expect today but very enjoyable for people who simply wanted to relax and enjoy the sea and the ports. Excursions were never crowded and it truly was a delight. The Corinth canal was spectacular. I'm glad to know the ships are still in existence. I still much prefer the smaller ships. Thanks so much for all the excellent information.