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Oceania Cruises Ships History Oceania Cruises was founded in 2002 by luxury cruise industry veterans Joe Watters and Frank Del Rio, the latter being the former vice-President of Renaissance Cruises. The company chartered the former Renaissance Cruises ship R Two from Cruiseinvest and renamed her Insignia in October 2002. In April 2003 the Insignia was chartered to the French travel agency TRM for three months, during which Oceania Cruises operated no vessels. On 15 June 2003 Oceania Cruises re-commenced service with two ships: the Insignia was renamed Regatta and a new ship (R One, a sister ship of the Insignia/Regatta, also chartered from Cruiseinvest) entered service as the new Insignia. In November 2005 a third R-class ship entered service for Oceania Cruises when the company chartered the R Five from Cruiseinvest and renamed her Nautica. At the naming ceremony of the Nautica, Frank del Rio announced the plan of adding a fouth ship, Marina, to the Oceania Cruises fleet in July 2007. This however did not come to pass. In February 2007 the majority of Oceania Cruises' stock were sold to the New York-based Apollo Management. The following month Oceania made a memorandum agreement with the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy to construct two new 1,260-passenger ships. The contract was finalised in June 2007, with delivery dates for the new Oceania Class ships set for September 2010 and July 2011. The contract also includes an option for a third vessel of the same type that could be delivered in May 2012.
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