AIDA_Cruises

AIDA Cruises

AIDA Cruises

German cruise line

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.

Quick Facts Company type, Industry ...

AIDA Cruises has been Carnival-owned since 2003.[3][4]

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]

More information Company name, Dates ...

Fleet

Current fleet

More information Ship, Built ...

Former fleet

As Deutsche Seereederei/DSR/Arkona Touristik

More information Ship, Built ...

As AIDA Cruises

More information Ship, Class ...

References

  1. [1]
    "Impressum". AIDA Cruises. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  2. [2]
    Design 07, ShipPax Information ISSN 1403-3437
  3. [3]
    Smith, Peter C. (2014). Cruise Ships: The Small-Scale Fleet. Barnsley, S. Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. p. 160. ISBN 978-1-7815-9281-6.
  4. [4]
    Stieghorst, Tom (9 January 2003). "P&O'S Board OKs Carnival Merger". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  5. [5]
    "Meilensteine in der Geschichte der DSR (Milestones in the history of DSR)". Deutfracht/Seereederei DSR (in German). Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  6. [6]
    Schwerdtner, Nils (2013). "Part 2.8". German Luxury Ocean Liners: From Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse to Aidastella. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-44560-474-9.
  7. [7]
    "P&O Cruises buys stake in German company". Travel weekly. 2000. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  8. [8]
    Alex (29 September 2000). "P&O/Priness First Half 2000 Earnings". cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  9. [9]
    "Seetours re-brands as Aida Cruises". FVW. 4 October 2004. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  10. [10]
    "Costa Cruises, company profile". Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  11. [11]
    "2012 World Wide Market Share". Cruise Market Watch. 20 November 2011.
  12. [12]
    Satchell, Arlene (10 August 2015). "Carnival Corp. taps Felix Eichhorn to lead German brand AIDA Cruises". sun-sentinel.com. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  13. [13]
    Staff, CIN (12 February 2018). "AIDAcara Returns to Hamburg Following World Cruise". Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  14. [14]
    Tore, Iuliia (19 October 2017). "AIDA's first world cruise launched from Hamburg | Rus Tourism News". www.rustourismnews.com. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  15. [15]
    Staff, CIN (21 July 2017). "AIDAaura Set for 2018 World Cruise". Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  16. [16]
    Kalosh, Anne. "AIDA charts new destinations in second world voyage". Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  17. [17]
    "Carnival's AIDA Cruises to test fuel cell technology". Ship Technology. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  18. [18]
    "LNG Powers AIDAprima and AIDAsol in Hamburg". World Maritime News. 15 May 2016.
  19. [19]
    "AIDA Cruises Plans Fleet Electrification". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  20. [20]
    "Carnival's AIDA Cruises Pioneering the Industry's First Fuel-Cell Technology". TravelPulse. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  21. [21]
    "AIDA Cruise Ships". 4 February 2024.
  22. [22]
    "AIDAprima Delivered". Cruise Industry News. 14 March 2016.
  23. [23]
    "AIDAprima in Singapore – Cruise Industry News | Cruise News". www.cruiseindustrynews.com. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  24. [24]
    "AIDA Cruises Takes Delivery of AIDAperla". World Maritime News. 27 April 2017.
  25. [25]
    "AIDAnova Delivered". Cruise Industry News. 12 December 2018.
  26. [26]
    Ebelthite, Shaun (15 August 2019). "AIDA Cruises cuts steel for second LNG-powered mega ship". Cruise Arabia & Africa.
  27. [27]
    "Carnival orders new LNG liner for AIDA Cruises". LNG World News. 27 February 2018.
  28. [28]
    "Carnival Cruise Line To Grow Fleet By Two Additional Ships by 2023 – Carnival Cruise Line News". Carnival Cruise Line. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  29. [29]
    "AIDAmira to Leave Fleet, AIDAsol Joins AIDA Selection Program". 26 January 2022.
  30. [30]
    "Die "Aidavita" ist jetzt verkauft". 21 March 2023. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
  31. [31]
    "Η AIDAvita στην κινεζική Blue Dream Cruises". 12 January 2024.
  32. [32]
    "Dieses Schiff startet zur längsten Reise in der Geschichte der Kreuzfahrt" (in German). 21 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  33. [33]
    "Das war's: In Bremerhaven endet die letzte Fahrt der "Aidaaura"" (in German). 20 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  34. [34]
    "Das Ende der "Aidaaura": Kreuzfahrtschiff kommt ein letztes Mal nach Bremerhaven" (in German). 20 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
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