AIDA Cruises
German cruise line
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AIDA Cruises is a German cruise line founded in the early 1960s and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Costa Crociere S.p.A.,[1] which in turn belongs to Carnival Corporation & plc. Based in Rostock, Germany,[1] AIDA Cruises caters primarily to the German-speaking market; as seagoing "club resorts", AIDA ships have on-board amenities and facilities designed to attract younger, more active vacationers.[2] As of September 2023, the cruise line operates 11 ships.
| |
 AIDA Cruises head office | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Tourism |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Headquarters | Rostock, Germany |
| Products | Cruises |
| Parent | Costa Crociere S.p.A. (of Carnival Corporation & plc) |
| Website | aida |
History
The company was founded in 1952 as VEB Deutsche Seereederei Rostock (German Shipping Company Rostock) as the German Democratic Republic's state-owned shipping company, based at Rostock, and became VEB Deutfracht/Seereederei Rostock in 1973.[5] It began its passenger operations with Völkerfreundschaft ("Peoples' Friendship"), in the 1960s.[3] After the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s Deutfracht/Seereederei Rostock was privatised and became Deutsche Seereederei Rostock GmbH.[5] DSR acquired Seetours of Bremen and cruises were marketed under the Seetours brand.[3] On 1 January 1998, DSR split their operations into cargo and tourism, with a new company Arkona Touristik taking over the cruise business.[6] Then during 2000 a company was formed, known as AIDA Cruises; with P&O Cruises acquiring a 51% stake in the new organisation, and Arkona Touristik retaining the other 49%.[7]
As subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc
In 2001, P&O Princess Cruises acquired the remaining 49% interest in AIDA and the cruise business associated with Seetours International.[8] In 2003, P&O Princess merged with Carnival Corporation, to form Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise holiday company.[4] The Seetours cruise business, that had been acquired by P&O, was rebranded as AIDA Cruises in 2004.[9]
Following the merger, executive control of AIDA Cruises was transferred to Costa Cruises Group, one of the main operating companies of Carnival Corporation & plc, with responsibility for the group's European brands.[9][10] AIDA Cruises is now one of ten brands owned by Carnival Corporation & plc, based at Miami, Florida, accounting for 6.5% of its share of revenue[11] and has been led by President Felix Eichhorn since 1 September 2015.[12]
In October 2017, AIDAcara departed from Hamburg on the company's first World Cruise. After a 116-day sailing, the ship returned to Hamburg on 10 February 2018.[13] The ship visited Southampton, Lisbon, Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, Ushuaia, Easter Island, Tahiti, Singapore, and the Maldives, among other destinations.[14] On 8 October 2018 AIDAaura left Hamburg on the company's second World Cruise; the 117-day voyage visited 41 ports in 20 countries on four continents.[15] Several of the destinations were new to the company, including South Africa, Namibia, Melbourne, Tasmania, Fiji, Samoa and New Caledonia.[16]
In December 2018, AIDA debuted AIDAnova, the first cruise ship to be fully powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).[17] Earlier, in May 2016, AIDAprima and AIDAsol had become the first two ships in the AIDA fleet to be simultaneously powered by LNG.[18] In August 2019, AIDA signed an agreement with Corvus Energy to install battery storage systems for the electrification of their ships.[19] In October 2019, AIDA announced that it would test a new fuel-cell technology for large-scale cruise ships aboard the AIDAnova as early as 2021.[20]
| Company name | Dates |
|---|---|
| VEB Deutsche Seereederei Rostock (DSR) | 1952–1974 |
| VEB Deutfracht/SeereedereiRostock | 1974–1990/1993 |
| Deutsche Seereederei Touristik & Seetours | 1994–1997 |
| Arkona Touristik | 1998–1999 |
| AIDA Cruises | 1999–present |
Fleet
Current fleet
| Ship | Built | Builder | Entered Service for AIDA | Pax[21] | Gross Tonnage | Flag | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sphinx Class | ||||||||
| AIDAdiva | 2007 | Meyer Werft | 2007–present | 2,050 | 69,203 tons |  Italy |  | |
| AIDAbella | 2008 | Meyer Werft | 2008–present | 2,050 | 69,203 tons | Italy | .JPG) | |
| AIDAluna | 2009 | Meyer Werft | 2009–present | 2,050 | 69,203 tons | Italy |  | |
| Icarus Class | ||||||||
| AIDAblu | 2010 | Meyer Werft | 2010–present | 2,192 | 71,304 tons | Italy | The name was used for a former AIDA ship from 2004 to 2007. | _003.jpg) |
| AIDAsol | 2011 | Meyer Werft | 2011–present | 2,192 | 71,304 tons | Italy |  | |
| AIDAmar | 2012 | Meyer Werft | 2012–present | 2,192 | 71,304 tons | Italy |  | |
| AIDAstella | 2013 | Meyer Werft | 2013–present | 2,192 | 71,304 tons | Italy |  | |
| Hyperion Class | ||||||||
| AIDAprima | 2016 | Mitsubishi | 2016–present | 3,286 | 125,572 tons | Italy | Delivered on 14 March 2016[22] and began operating on 25 April [23] (Flagship of AIDA) | _006.jpg) |
| AIDAperla | 2017 | Mitsubishi | 2017–present | 3,286 | 125,572 tons | Italy | Delivered on 27 April 2017[24] and began operating on 28 May |  |
| Excellence Class | ||||||||
| AIDAnova | 2018 | Meyer Werft | 2018–present | 5,252 | 183,858 tons | Italy | Largest ship ever built and operating for AIDA
Delivered on 12 December 2018[25] and performed inaugural cruise on 19 December 2018[25] |
_in_the_port_of_Hamburg.jpg) |
| AIDAcosma | 2021 | Meyer Werft | 2021–present | 5,464 | 183,858 tons | Italy | Steel cutting ceremony 15 August 2019[26] Delivered on 21 December 2021 |  |
Former fleet
As Deutsche Seereederei/DSR/Arkona Touristik
| Ship | Built | In service for Deutsche Seereederei | Gross Tonnage | Flag | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Völkerfreundschaft | 1948 | 1960–1985 | 16,144 GRT |  East Germany | Ex-Stockholm. Later sailed as Volker, Fridtjof Nansen, Italia I, Italia Prima, Valtur Prima, Caribe, Athena, and Azores for various cruise lines. Former Astoria for Cruise & Maritime Voyages. Laid up in Ghent awaiting to be scrapped as of 2025. | ![](#/media/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-71706-0047,_MS_"Völkerfreundschaft",_erste_Fahrt.jpg) |
| Arkona | 1981 | 1985–2001 | 18,853 GRT | East Germany/ Germany | Originally operated by HADAG as Astor. Was later sold to Transocean Tours as Astoria in 2002. Sailed as Saga Pearl II with Saga Cruises. Sold for scrap in 2022. |  |
AIDA former fleet
| Ship | Class | Built | Builder | In service for AIDA Cruises | Gross Tonnage | Flag | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIDAblu | Crown | 1990 | Fincantieri | 2004–2007 | 69,845 tons | Italy | Before entering AIDA fleet in 2004: Crown Princess and A'Rosa Blu After exiting AIDA fleet in 2007: Ocean Village Two, Pacific Jewel, and Karnika. Scrapped in Alang in 2020. | .JPG) |
| AIDAcara | 1996 | Kvaerner Masa-Yards (Finland) | 1996–2021 | 38,557 tons | Italy | Previously AIDA. Sold in 2021 to a currently unnamed company, renamed Astoria Grande. |  | |
| Unnamed | Excellence | 2023 | Meyer Werft | Never entered service | 183,858 tons | Italy | Ordered on 27 February 2018 with Meyer Werft[27] Ship transferred to Carnival Cruise Line during construction.[28] | |
| AIDAmira | Mistral | 1999 | Chantiers de l'Atlantique | 2019– 2022 | 48,200 tons | Italy | Transferred from Costa Cruises and formerly sailed as Costa neoRiviera. It was sold in 2022 to Ambassador Cruise Line and now operates as MS Ambition.[29] | .jpg) |
| AIDAvita | 2002 | Aker MTW | 2002– 2023[30] | 42,289 tons | Italy | Sold, now operating as Blue Dream Melody for Blue Dream Cruises[31] |  | |
| AIDAaura | 2003 | Aker MTW | 2003–2023 | 42,289 tons | Italy | decommissioned on 21 September 2023, now operating as Celestyal Discovery for Celestyal Cruises[32][33][34] |  |
Future fleet
In April 2025, the order of two ships at Fincantieri was announced. The delivery is planned for early 2030 and late 2031.[35][36] The contract was concluded on 7 April 2025.[37]
