We left the Hilton at about 1:15 PM for the ride to the ship, and by the time we arrived at the port it had stopped raining.  Boarding was very smooth, in fact all we had to do was walk through a security check and send our hand baggage through an x-ray machine and we walked up the gangway.

The rest of the afternoon we explored the R-2.  Having sailed with Renaissance aboard the Agean-1, the R-2 was a wonderful surprise.  Everything about the ship shows a tremendous amount of planning and taste.  It appears that actual cruise passengers might have been consulted during the design phase.  

The interior design and color selections are excellent and all of the furnishings reflect quality. There is a lot of original and fine artwork on display for everyone to enjoy.

The Restaurants, Bars, Shops and other public areas are all located on decks 11, 10, 9 and 5 so it did not take long to learn the layout of the ship. 

Here might be a good spot in this trip rundown to list our choices of eating places on  board.  Our favorites are as follows, by meal.

BREAKFAST:  #1 THE CLUB RESTAURANT   #2  THE PANORAMA BUFFET          LUNCH:   #1  THE BAR-BQ - PANORAMA BUFFET COMBINATION with seating outside.      DINNER: #1  THE CLUB   #2 THE GRILL  #3 THE PANORAMA BUFFET  #4 THE ITALIAN.

None of the above were bad nor did we have a bad meal the entire cruise.  We were disappointed a little bit in the lack of elegance in the "reservations only Italian Restaurant". Note the above is our opinion and we heard others bragging about the Italian Restaurant. "Everyone has an opinion also".

Tuesday evening we ate in The Grill and had a really fine Filet Minion Steak that was grilled to a perfect "Medium Rare" and could be cut with a fork.

                                         - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WEDNESDAY "Day 4" was spent at sea.  We just lazed around, played the slots a little, and watch a couple of the continuous first run movies shown on the in room TV sets the entire cruise.  It was a little chilly out on deck but this did not deter some from trying the pool and sauna.

I also, visited the "Cyber Cafe" and sent a couple of e-mails while at sea. This can get expensive if you don't watch it.  Basically, you are charged $1.00 per minute from the time you log on to one of the 8 computers.  My suggestion is to compose and address a "general hey there from the ship at sea" e-mail before leaving home and save it on a floppy.  When you get ready to send it give it to the Cafe Manager, he will test it for viruses and you can then send it quickly and won't be charged a dollar a minute while you compose and address it.  I just thought of it as good clean fun that kept me out of the bars and cost about the same.

Wednesday evening, we ate in The Club Restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful Roast Duck dinner.  Note: The decor in The Club is, in our opinion, the most elegant of all of the restaurants on board.

After dinner we visited the Cabaret Lounge for some entertainment and then caught a movie before retiring.