During the late 1990s, boutique cruise line Renaissance Cruises launched eight 684-passenger “R Class” ships that featured spacious cabins – many with balconies – old-world ambience, and intimate public areas.

Unable to survive the after-effects of 9/11, Renaissance ceased operations in 2001.  And today, three of their R Class ships have joined the Princess fleet as Pacific Princess, Royal Princess, and Ocean Princess.

For Princess cruisers who’ve only sailed on their 2,500+ passenger ships, these smaller ships will come as a revelation.  And many will find that less really is more.

First of all, the smaller ships can visit ports the big ship can’t – places like Kotor, Montenegro, and Ravenna, Italy.  And once you’re in port, you won’t find the town overwhelmed by cruisers.

On board, the service is really attentive, and the food is absolutely first-rate.  There’s a big difference between serving 350 diners at a time and serving twice that number.  And the difference shows in the quality, variety, and presentation of the food.

Avoid cabins at the front of the ship where you be awakened each morning by the anchor chain or the bow thrusters.

Repositioning cruises on Pacific Princess.

Sunset at Sea

Sunset at Sea

If you have the time and the money, Pacific Princess will take you pretty much around the world in 2010.  She sails in the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, along the coast of Mexico, across the Pacific, throughout New Zealand, Australia, and Asia, in the Mediterranean, and across the Atlantic.

In some ways, the entire circumnavigation is one big repositioning cruise, with countless places to embark and disembark along the way.

She sails on January 27, 2010 from Fort Lauderdale and arrives in Rome 107 days later.  There are plenty of ports – and days at sea – in between.  And you can enjoy as many or as few as you can afford.

After leaving Fort Lauderdale, she calls at Aruba and Cartagena, Columbia before transiting the Panama Canal.  She then visits Costa Rica, Guatemala, an Mexico, before arriving in Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles, she sails for Honolulu, spending five days at sea.  There’s another six days at sea before she reaches Fiji.  She calls at Vanuatu and three ports in New Zealand, before arriving in Sydney, where passengers can embark or disembark.

Pacific Princess calls at Cairns, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Truk, Micronesia, and Guam en route to Japan, Korea, and Beijing, China.  From there, she spends three days at sea before making port calls in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, the Maldives, Mumbai, Dubai, Muscat, and Luxor.

On the last leg before arriving in Rome for the summer Mediterranean season, she sails through the Suez Canal and calls at Athens and Sorrento before arriving in Civitavecchia.

By November, she’s ready to head back to the Caribbean.  Passengers can board in Athens on November 23, 2010 and visit Santorini, Patmos, Kusadasi, Nazareath, Jerusalem, Port Said, Alexandria, and Sorrento before arriving in Rome.

Those who have less time or have already sailed in the Mediterranean, can board in Rome on November 5 and call at Livorno, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Ceuta, Casablanca, and the Azores, before crossing the Atlantic.  They’ll call in Hamilton, Bermuda, and then spend two more days at sea before arriving in Fort Lauderdale.

Find more Princess repositioning cruises here.

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