renaissance-ren3tf1293

Name: Tom Farmer
Email: TFarmer@fwnewmedia.com
Age: 37
Occupation: writer/media producer
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Renaissance-III
SailingDate: December 1993
Itinerary: Antigua/Virgin Gorda/St. Barts
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 70
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 70
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 60
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland: 90
GoodForFamilies: 10
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 70
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 20
WheelchairAccess: 20
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 20
Casino: 20
AirSeaProgram: 100
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 0
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 70
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 10 Jul 1997
Time: 15:37:01
Remote Name: 207.14.244.147
Remote User:

Comments

The Ren III no longer cruises the Caribbean, but I don't think the ship itself changed much. This is the ship that made
me a believer in cruising. But it's definitely not for everybody. Maximum capacity is 100 guests in 50 well-appointed,
wood-lined suites. We sprung for the top-of-the-line suite, 603, up on the sun deck, but the only real advantage to
spending extra is the private balcony. Even the entry-grade suites several decks down had VCRs, fridges, and about the
same square-footage. The room was extremely comfortable but when the ship was underway, boy, did that teak
squeak. The second night out I finally silenced the woodwork by jamming bits of cardboard into various crevices. This
is a wonderful ship if you don't want to be dragooned into dressing up like a pirate or a bobbysoxer for a lot of
Forcible Fun with 2000 fellow passengers. The atmosphere is resolutely mature and low-key. There are no shipboard
activities to speak of. The Ren philosophy seems to be that if you seek these ships out, you're enough of a grown-up to
invent your own fun. Entertainment was limited to a pianist in the lounge in the evenings. The 'casino' is a closet-sized
alcove with a couple of slot machines adjacent to the bar. The barman will come over and deal blackjack if you wish.
But the real point of sailing with Ren isn't to live on some seagoing amusement park, it's to get into small ports of call
and go exploring. We hired a jeep in St. Barts, explored the 'baths' on Virgin Gorda, etc. and just generally had access
to places we wouldn't have found on a bigger boat. Food was generally excellent, nouvelle/Euro in the dining room (as
opposed to the heavyweight steak-and-lobster fests found elsewhere), good wine list, dress casual all the time -- a
blazer and polo shirt is enough. Room service was pretty good at producing non-menu items like smoked salmon for
breakfast. You're invited, weeks before departure, to fill out a card so they can stock your stateroom fridge with your
favorite drink. From home, it sounds pretty luxurious. But eventually you find you're charged hotel-room-service
prices for fifths of spirits... and then you hit your first duty-free port and realize you can buy two liters of Absolut for
about nine bucks. Skip the pre-stocking. Be warned there is absolutely nothing on board for kids to do. There was one
kid on our sailing, a boy of about 12; he was smart and a good sport, but the experience wasn't designed for families.
I'd be worried about seniors and folks with physical challenges. The sole elevator on the ship worked only in fits and
starts, and the top cabins are five or six decks away from the dining room. This was a challenge not only to my
pregnant wife, but to the fellow across the gangway from us who used crutches. The young American & European
cruise staff tried hard, but were sometimes more enthusiastic than competent. They mixed up all our bills on
debarkation morning, sliding them under the wrong peoples' doors. And we were billed for things we didn't
do/drink/buy, so settling the onboard account took forever. Despite this we had a splendid time and thought the Ren III
a remarkable value. We would certainly go with Renaissance again as long as it was another small Ren III-type ship.
We see they are doing a lot of Med and Far East sailings now so perhaps we will meet you there someday soon!
(Grandma will have to stay home with our toddler though.)

Name: Nancy Shaffer
Email: nshaffer@vegasnet.net
Age: 53
Occupation: self-employed
NumberOfCruises: 15
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Renaissance-III
SailingDate: 12/28/99
Itinerary: Tahiti/South Pacific
Cabin: 3015/F
FoodDiningRoom: 79
CruiseDirector: 50
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 10
CabinAmenities: 50
FoodLidoDeck: 70
DiningRoomService: 89
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 5
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 50
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 50
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 50
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon: 50
EntertainmentPoolside: 0
CruiseActivities:
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 70
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 1
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 30 Jan 2000
Time: 21:50:53
Remote Name: max2pool55.vegasnet.net
Remote User:

Comments

The following is a copy of the letter I sent to Renaissance Cruise Line:

I am writing in reference to our Millennium Cruise on the R3 (sailing date 12/28/99). It was the most
disappointing and frustrating cruise we have ever taken. As a reference, we have sailed on
Carnival, Norwegian (NCL), Disney, and more than 10 times on Royal Caribbean (RCI).

We paid more than $10,000 for this special cruise and we got nothing special in return. At the very
least we expected a very nice souvenir of the trip (i.e. a crystal engraved memento or at the very
least a polo style shirt for each of us like the ones being sold in the gift shop), and a fireworks
display (one crew member told us we were going to anchor off the coast of Papeete to watch their
fireworks display along with the R4).

The following are the other things that went wrong:

$300 ship board credits given to people who booked after us (we didn’t get this); A couple who paid
$5,000 and got a cabin with a balcony (at that rate we should have been upgraded and they should
have been given our deck 3 cabin); This was advertised as a no smoking/no children cruise (there
was a cigar smoker who was allowed to smoke and too many children to count); The reception desk
staff were the rudest, non-helpful people we have ever encountered on a cruise ship; The tour desk
staff weren’t much better (i.e. when inquiring about doing things on your own we were told it couldn’t
be done even though we found out once we reached a port it could be done and even though there
wasn’t enough places on the ship’s tours to accommodated everyone on board) and the tour desk
was only open 1 hour in the morning and 2 hours in the evening; One night at dinner in the Club
Restaurant there was a steak entree and a shrimp entree. My husband asked to have a couple of
shrimp served with his steak. First the waiter said he couldn’t have it, my husband insisted and the
waiter went away grumbling. When the entrees were served, they were served by the Head Waiter
who gave my husband a lecture on ordering two entrees and telling him that they couldn’t just put a
couple of shrimp on the steak plate because the chef’s presentation was the all important thing
here; In the morning of Dec. 31 a flyer with an order form and price list was delivered to all cabins
telling passengers to order their New Year’s eve champagne early so they wouldn’t be disappointed.
Then in the late afternoon another flyer was sent out telling us that the band would be on deck
starting at 9PM and the free champagne would start flowing at 11:45PM. The passengers were so
outraged at this series of events that the next morning a free bottle of champagne was delivered to
each cabin (too little, too late). In addition the cruise staff appeared to be drinking more than the
passengers and the photographer was drinking straight from a bottle of beer and taking a few
photos in between swigs; On New Year’s eve we were dressed in tux and long evening dress and
there was a long line at the entrance to the dining room to have photos taken. We stopped and
asked the photographer to take our picture on the stairs in the atrium and he told us that that was
impossible because he was too busy and they only took pictures on the stairs on a certain night and
that night wasn’t it. Because of the line, we thought we would have our picture taken after dinner.
But we were wrong once again. When we left the dining room the photographer was no where to be
found, we even went to the other restaurants to look for them.

There were a couple of things we liked: the open seating policy in the main dining room, the service
by our cabin steward and most of the dining room staff, the great help of the young man in the gift
shop, and two days on each island.

All in all though it was the worst use of our travel funds ever. We definitely did not get what we
thought we were paying for.

Nancy Shaffer nshaffer@vegasnet.net

Something I did not include in the letter was the fact that on the last day of the cruise we were taken
to a hotel about 1PM, where a buffet of mystery meat and cheese was served from 3-5PM (after
having eaten lunch on board at noon) and only 5 day rooms provided for women and 5 rooms for
men. We didn't leave for the airport until 8PM for a 9PM departure. Also we tendered all but two
ports and this information was not passed on ahead of time.

Name: Steve Close
Email: steveclose@hotmail.com
Age: 37
Occupation: Professor of Literature
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Renaissance-III
SailingDate: 1-8-00
Itinerary: Tahiti
Cabin: 609/Economy
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 95
CruiseStaff: 80
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 75
FoodVariety: 80
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 50
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland: 75
GoodForFamilies: 50
LoungeService: 80
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff: 80
EntertainmentLounges: 50
WheelchairAccess: 50
ExerciseFacilities: 80
EntertShowLounge: 50
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon: 75
EntertainmentPoolside: 75
CruiseActivities: 65
Casino: 65
AirSeaProgram: 65
MedicalFacilities: 50
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 45
DiscoNightclubs: 75
DeckSpace: 75
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 70
SpaceRatio: 80
OverallCruiseValue: 80
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 17 Feb 2000
Time: 23:17:00
Remote Name: ts1-a18.tashkent.dial.sovam.com
Remote User:

Comments

They say you remember your first impressions and your last impressions. Unfortunately, this is the
main thing I remember from this cruise. We took the charter flight on Hawaiian air, after having
notified Renaissance that we needed vegetarian meals (they said to call Hawaiian Air) and also
calling Hawaiian Air (they said to call Renaissance.) We were eventually told by Renaissance staff
members that we would need to inform Hawaiian Air on the day of the flight. Sounded strange to me,
but that's what we did. The clerk listened to my request, wrote something down on a piece of paper,
and moved on to the next customer.

We checked back later on (it just didn't seem right) and were
told that there would be no vegetarian meals, and that we would have to buy our own food and take
it on the plane, and that 'maybe' Renaissance would reimburse us. It turns out that we were
fortunate to have brought our own food. The flight ran out of meals before they got to our section of
the plane. Hawaiian Air staff claimed that this was the responsibility of Renaissance. Renaissance
claimed that it was the responsibility of Hawaiian Air. Anyway, we sat in the back of the airplane
eating cold Wolfgang Puck pizza.

We were never reimbursed, and the attendant at the reception
desk was extremely surly when we asked if he could remedy this problem for the flight back. The
cruise itself was excellent. Food variety was good, there was always a vegetarian option at the Club
Restaurant, and sometimes two. Staff members were very friendly. There were a few, well, kind of
'cheap' things going on that were annoying. Like the note that claimed that we might not be used to
the ship's water supply, so we should buy $3.00 liters of Evian. The ship's water was fine. Shore
excursions were good, but again they seemed needlessly expensive. And the 'recommended' tip for
the staff was exceptionally high, leading us to believe that perhaps we were making up for some
deficiency in Renaissance's pay scale.

On to the last impression. We were 'given the opportunity to
utilize the services of a fine hotel on our last day.' Pshaw!! We were herded into a small hotel
complex with one large, hot, non-ventilated room and three television sets playing bad films from the
'80's. We were hot, tired and cranky, which of course brought out the worst in the passengers. Five
or six hours of line-cutting, shouting, whining, in short, the final day was like a trip back to second
grade. I have no idea why we weren't allowed to stay on the ship. Could it be that this allowed
Renaissance to load passengers a day sooner, giving them an extra day of paying customers?
Could be. Overall, I'd call this cruise something along the lines of filet mignon, served up on between
two stale white bread.

Name: Tim McNair
Email: timmac@olywa.net
Age: 51
Occupation: physician
NumberOfCruises: 12
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Renaissance-III
SailingDate: 2/24/00
Itinerary: Tahiti
Cabin: Cat C
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 75
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff: 95
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 0
LoungeService: 75
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess: 0
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 100
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram: 95
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 75
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 21 Jul 2000
Time: 10:16:11
Remote Name: 216.173.206.221
Remote User:

Comments

This was our first Renaissance cruise and will not be our last!. We have been on 8 prior cruises and
found this to be the best value for dollar of any of them. The Charter flight from LAX was excellent.
We landed in Tahiti,cleared customs and were in our cabin within 45 minutes!The ship is very nicely
decorated and the staff was very attentive. In fact, attimes, almost too attentive! On a few occasions,
when we ate outdoors, theywould attempt to "bus" our plates before we were ready. The quality of
the food in the restaurants is just a smidge below gourmet fare. We felt that the club
restaurant,where the menu changes nightly, was the best of the four available. The Panorama buffet
serves exactly the same menu as the Club,so if you wish to dine in shorts, you will not "suffer" for it.
The menu in the Italian restaurant is the same throughout the cruise. It was quite good. The Grill
changes it's menu in the middle of the cruise and was excellent at what it did, good ol' 'merican steak
etc. the only disappointing meal was the lobster tail on the last night, quite tough with an unusual
taste. We had a C cabin and it was quite large, very well appointed with TONS ofstorage space. I
would recommend getting a D cabin which is exactly the same--just one deck lower for around $500
less per couple. The shore excursions were a bit pricey, but alternatives were available atevery stop.
We rented a car on most of the islands and did a lot on our own. To save on the Ren tours, I would
recommend Albert tours on Moorea, Lysis on Raiatea, and Jhon on Bora Bora. All of these had tours
equivalent or better than the Ren tours at about half price. Use the money you save on tours to buy
a "black" pearl or two. We havebeen to Tahiti before and since the last time, they have perfected the
process. The pearls now come in "shades"--we bought three grey-green ones that are incredible.
They were about a grand apiece, which comparesvery well with prices here in Tacoma. Other than
the standard tourist stuff there really isn't much other shopping. Make sure to change your money off
the boat. The natives will accept dollars at $1=100 francs, the ship gives 107 francs but charges 5%,
through American Express in Papetee and cash machines everywhere else we got 120 and 122
francs per dollar respectively. Be sure to have a Cirrus cash card, American Express cards, though
accepted everywhere, won't work in cash machines, nor did our "plus system" card work in the cash
machines.The last day at the hotel can get long and the food there is like a budgetwedding
reception. Day rooms are available for $120 and I'd recommend splitting a room with another couple.
Most folks seemed content to sit around the banquet room in the hotel for the entire time. (No wonder
they complained about the last day.) We took a cab back downtown (you could actually
walk--probably only 2-3 miles) and did a bit of shopping, bought that one last pearl, and had some
great crepes from a stand in the market.All things considered a marvelous vacation, we'd go with Ren
again in aheart beat. If you have specific questions, feel free to e-mail timmac@olywa.net

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