MV Sirena
ex Ocean Princess, Tahitian Princess, R Four
R Four – © Benoit Donne
Steel twin screw motor vessel built in 1999 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique, St. Nazaire, France (Yard No O31) as a Passenger (Cruise) Ship for Renaissance Cruises, Monrovia, Liberia
Technical Data
- Cost: $150 million
- Length: 181.00m (593.7 ft)(overall), 157.85m (between perpendiculars)
- Breadth of hull: 25.46m (83.5 ft)(extreme)
- Depth: 18.1m
- Draught: 5.95m (19.5 ft)(maximum)
- Tonnage: 30,277 gross/11,481 net/2,000 deadweight
- Engines: Four 12-cylinder Wartsila diesel-electric
- Power/Propellers: 18,600kW/2
- Speed: 18 knots
- Passenger decks: 9
- Capacity: 702 passengers
- Crew: 373
- Call Sign: ZCDS4, V7RX6
- IMO Number: 9187899
- MMSI Number: 538006842
- Registry: Liberia, Gibraltar, Hamilton/Bermuda, Marshall Islands
- Sister Ships: R1, R2, R3, R5, R6, R7 and R8
Current AIS Location
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History
The fourth of a series of eight “R Class” built between 1998 and 2001. They were all built at the shipyard of Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire France and were designed, internally and externally, by British Designer John McNeece
October 1999: Completed
November 1999: Delivered to Renaissance Cruises, Monrovia and put into service cruising the Mediterranean.
November 15th 1999: Christened in Ft Lauderdale and then sailed to her home-port of Papeete, Tahiti for year round cruises to French Polynesia along with her identical sister ship R Three.
R Four – © Benoit Donne
June 18th 2001: Renaissance Cruises announced that their fleet of eight new builds (R ONE, R TWO, R THREE, R FOUR, etc.) would be getting “real” names at some point in the very near future. All eight ships are virtually identical, even in furnishings, colour schemes, and fittings.
September 25th 2001 : Renaissance Cruises ceased operations and filed Voluntary Petition for Chapter 11 reorganization. Petitions were filed in the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division.
September 2001: Arrested in Uturoa.
R Three & R Four – © Benoit Donne
December 25th, 2001: The venture company Cruise Invest Management, managing the ships of bankrupt cruise operator Renaissance, gathered most of the vessels at Marseilles, while further deployment opportunities were sought. The R ONE, R TWO, R FIVE and R SIX were berthed in the port’s huge Dock No 10. Two smaller ships, the former 200 passenger-capacity RENAISSANCE 7 and RENAISSANCE 8 , now renamed RENAI I and RENAI II, were also berthed close to Marseilles. A further two larger vessels, R SEVEN and R EIGHT, were also expected to arrive soon. R THREE and R FOUR were laid up at Papeete.
October 2002: Sold to Princess Cruises, Gibraltar and renamed TAHITIAN PRINCESS.
December 21st 2002: Christened in Papeete by Madame Tonita Flosse, wife of the President of the Government of French Polynesia, Mr. Gaston Flosse.
December 24th 2002: Due to make her first cruise for Princess Cruises from Papeete, Tahiti.
Tahitian Princess – © Aleksi Lindström
Tahitian Princess – © Jens Boldt
January 12th 2009: Registered to Princess Cruise Lines Ltd, Hamilton, Bermuda and renamed OCEAN PRINCESS.
Ocean Princess – © Aleksi Lindström (Rendsberg, 15/06/2012)
Ocean Princess – © John Mavin (left) and © Robert J Smith (right)
Ocean Princess – © Ray Goodfellow (Departing Dover 07/08/2010)
November 25th 2014: Announcement made that the ship was to be sold to Oceania Cruises under a definitive agreement. The ship was sold for 82.000.000 $.
March 2016: Departed the Princess fleet and underwent a 35-day, $40 million refurbishment in Marseille, France to become SIRENA.
April 27th 2016: Christened SIRENA and entered service for Oceana Cruises.
Sirena – © John Wilson (Venice, 08/09/2016)
June 2019: Emerged from an extensive refurbishment with completely redesigned cabins and suites, refreshed public spaces and new artwork throughout. All 342 cabins and suites onboard received new decor, fixtures and technological upgrades, including new entry doors, full-length mirrors and 100-volt outlets on each side of the bed. Additionally, the public spaces were redesigned, while crystal chandeliers were added throughout the ship.
Sirena – 🆕© Carlo Martinelli (Anchored at Genoa, 27/09/2020)
August 2021: During the Coronavirus Pandemic she has remained inactive in the Mediterranean and is currently moored in La Spezia (Italy)
All information is believed to be correct and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. All items included in this article are subject to © copyright. We would like to take this opportunity of thanking: Jens Boldt, Benoit Donne, Aleksi Lindström, Carlo Martinelli, John Mavin, Robert J Smith, John Wilson and Andreas Wörteler for their assistance in producing this feature.
Article © Nigel Thornton and Ray Goodfellow (Dover Ferry Photos Group)
