MS ''Regatta'' was built for
Renaissance Cruises as an , she is owned and operated by
Oceania Cruises where she is part of their .
She was built in 1998 by the
Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. It is one of the world's largest shipyards, constructing a wide range of commercial, naval, and passenger ships. It is located near Nantes, at the mouth of the Loire river and ...
shipyard in
St. Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany.
The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. T ...
,
France for Renaissance Cruises as ''R Two''. Between 2002 and 2003 she sailed as ''Insignia'' before receiving her current name.
Concept and construction
Renaissance Cruises had begun operations in 1989, with a series of eight small luxury
cruise ships constructed during the course of the next three years.
In the mid-90s the company placed an order for eight identical vessels with
Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. It is one of the world's largest shipyards, constructing a wide range of commercial, naval, and passenger ships. It is located near Nantes, at the mouth of the Loire river and ...
shipyard in
France. The first ship in the series, , was delivered in June 1998,
followed by ''R Two'' in November of the same year.
Design
Exterior design
''R Two'' was built to a somewhat boxy, functional exterior appearance with a large square funnel. In Renaissance Cruises service her hull was painted dark blue, but in Oceania service this was changed to white with a thin blue stripe separating the hull from the superstructure.
Interior design
The interiors of ''Regatta'' are decorated in
art deco style similar to the
ocean liner
An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships).
Ca ...
s of the 1920s and 1930s with polished dark wood and warm colours,
described by Douglas Ward, author of the ''Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships'', as being "stunning and elegant".
The ship retains most of her interior decorations from her days with Renaissance Cruises, although the
lido area on deck 9 was entirely refurbished before she entered service for Oceania Cruises, while smaller changes were carried out in the cabins and restaurants.
Decks
''Regatta'' has ten decks.
Service history
Following her delivery to Renaissance Cruises in November 1998, ''R Two'' was placed on cruise traffic in the
Mediterranean. Renaissance Cruises went bankrupt on September 25, 2001, following September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks, and, on October 7, 2001, the ''R Two'' was arrested in
Gibraltar
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, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
and subsequently laid up. Six of her
sisters were also laid up in Gibraltar,
with only and absent as they were in the
Pacific Ocean at the time of the collapse of Renaissance.
In December 2001, ''R Two'' and the other former Renaissance ships laid up in Gibraltar were sold to
Cruiseinvest, and subsequently moved to
Marseille, France, for further layup.
In October 2002, ''R Two'' was renamed ''Insignia'', given a
$10 million refit and chartered to
Oceania Cruises, a new company founded by Frank Del Rio (the former vice president of Renaissance Cruises) and
Joe Watters
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage
* ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971
* ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
(the former CEO of
Crystal Cruises).
Between April 19 and June 14, 2003, ''Insignia'' was chartered to the French
travel agency TMR, who marketed the ship under the name ''Vaisseau Renaissance'' (her registered name remained unchanged).
On June 15, 2003, the ship returned to Oceania Cruises service, but was renamed ''Regatta'', as the name ''Insignia'' had been passed to her sister ''R One'' that had also been chartered by Oceania.
''Regatta'' was scheduled to undergo a significant renovation in September 2019 as a part of the company's $100 million OceaniaNEXT program.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regatta
Cruise ships
Ships built in France
1998 ships