A Renaissance in Worldwide Expedition Vessels

The emphasis will be on destinations as much as comfort aboard Renaissance Cruises’ new fleet of eight all-suite vessels.

The first of the Norwegian-owned, Italian-registry company’s ships, the Renaissance I, recently completed a 28-day shakedown cruise in the Far East. Seven more vessels--to be named Renaissance II through VIII, respectively--will be completed within the next two years.

Each ship will be virtually identical in design (although the final four will be somewhat larger), and each will cruise a different part of the world--the Mediterranean, Europe, Scandinavia, Black Sea/Red Sea, Africa, South America, the Caribbean and the Far East.

The line hopes to combine the luxury associated with small, all-suites ships with the destination discoveries of expedition cruising. The 8 ships eventually will provide 25 cruise options, with calls at about 180 ports.

Each ship will have 50 suites and a maximum of 100 passengers.

The Renaissance I’s interior is handsomely decorated, with lots of brass and wood, marble and mirrors. All cabins are designated suites, although they vary somewhat in size and configuration.

The highest-priced are four top-deck suites with private balconies, averaging about $365 per person per day, double occupancy. Most suites are about $330, with a few smaller ones priced at about $310.

Every cabin has twin beds that convert to queen-sized on request, along with sofa, chair, mini-refrigerator, color TV with remote control and OceanSat news printouts, VCR, hair dryer, lockable drawers, built-in makeup table with light and mirror, and bathroom with marble walls, counter, teak floors and shower. Several pairs of cabins have adjoining hallways and can be combined into one extra-large suite.

In the ship’s public areas are a bar called The Club; a tiny casino with one blackjack table and four slot machines; a card room and library with a stock of books, games and videotapes; a larger public lounge set up for lectures in the daytime and dancing to the music of a trio in the evening; a marble-floored reception area; a sauna; beauty shop; small shop; a plunge pool and whirlpool, and several new exercise machines inexplicably set up outside on deck and already showing rust from the salt air.

Officers, deck and engine crew are Italian, while the hotel and restaurant staff are Northern European and American.

Construction delays at the Italian shipyard where the next three ships, Renaissance II-IV, are being built have necessitated repositioning Renaissance I to the Mediterranean and Black Sea from June to November.

Since the first four vessels are identical, substituting one for another is simple, and company officials said that the Japan-China series of sailings originally set for Renaissance I were not selling nearly as well as the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

(Several larger, more experienced cruise lines are facing the same delays on new ship delivery from European shipyards. Carnival Cruise Lines, Chandris Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line all have had to cancel early sailings of new vessels this spring.)

Three remaining 20-day Bali-Singapore itineraries aboard Renaissance I are scheduled this year, departing the United States on April 3, Dec. 14 and Dec. 28.

Prices range from $6,185 to $7,235 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from the West Coast. The package includes two nights of hotel lodging in Bali and one in Singapore. For a free brochure, call toll-free (800) 525-5350.