When we sailed into Bequia, I thought little of how special it was. Mega ships did not exist and what is now said to be medium was then considered to be large. Not even modestly bigger ships could get near to the shallower, smaller St Vincent Island. We were on the P&O Adonia, now the Azamara Pursuit. Launched as R-Eight in 2001 by Renaissance Cruises it was the last of the class R-class or Renaissance Class.
Azamara & Oceania R-Class Club Cruise Facebook Group
While other classic ships are sent to die at shipbreakers in specialist ports like Aliağa in Turkey, or India or Korea, these small ships have been desired by two operators; Azamara and Oceania. Between them, they own all eight of the ships.
Renaissance was a cruise line in Oslo, competing with Fred Olsen. Founded in 1989 it was family-owned by Fearnley & Eger Rederi, then owned by the car rental giant Alamo until the September 11th disaster saw the company in trouble. After going bankrupt in the ships were sold and leased away. These special ships were designed by the Englishman John McNeece, and they were all built in France at Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire. They are all 181 meters long, have a tonnage of 30,277GT and travel at 18 knots. All hold 684 guests, and only little details separate their identity.
- R One – Oceania Insignia (1998) (prev: Columbus 2)
- R Two – Oceania Regatta (1998) (prev: Insignia)
- R Three – Azamara Onward (1999) (prev: Pacific Princess, R Prince)
- R Four – Oceania Sirena (1999) (prev: Tahitian Princess, Ocean Princess)
- R Five – Oceania Nautica (2000) (pre: with Pullmantur)
- R Six – Azamara Journey (2000) (prev: Blue Dawn, Blue Star, Blue Dream)
- R Seven – Azamara Quest (2000) (pre: Delphin Renaissance, Blue Moon)
- R Eight – Azamara Pursuit(2001) (prev: Minerva II, Royal Princess, Adonia)
Azamara & Oceania R-Class Club Cruise Group
Also referred to as Reggata Class to afford an air of distinction, they are all the same. Renaissance, R-Class ships are numbered one to eight in letters, not Roman numerals. This is because there is a series of ships from Chantiers de l’Atlantique that were predecessors and they have numbers R I, R II, RIII, R IV etc. These are all smaller with guest numbers circa 100, and most are in use as yacht type ships.
As only two cruise lines now operate these ships and both in a club-style we have launched a combined chat group. Please join and share, then post your pictures and memories as well as your ambitions for further journeys.
Azamara & Oceania R-Class Club Cruise Group
Our page on cruise insurance & antigen testing: click> INSURANCE & TESTING
See my cruise and port accurate mystery thrillers in paperback and eBook Some in large print & as audiobooks. They are all set on a cruise and written like movies or TV series. Well, that is where I spent the last 50 years! The income is reinvested into this cruise site.
CHAT GROUPS – a fantastic way to help others and a place to find answers.
Azamara & Oceania R-Class Club Cruise Group
With our associated Doris Visits YouTube Cruise Port Guide Channel, presented by Jean, you will find the films we made as cruisers stopping at the world’s cruise ports. Films from fellow guests are listed here. On our YouTube channel, there are specialist playlists on shopping, botanical gardens and religious buildings at destinations. We follow cruise routes… yes, we take you there – virtually.
The main Doris Visits website has a menu for every cruise ship with filmed tours and cabin tours. The destination menu has over 1,000 world ports. We post more including insurance links, tips and PCR testing links.
click here to chat – AZAMARA chat group on Facebook
