AIDA Cruises

History

Deutsche Seereederei 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. It began its passenger operations with Völkerfreundschaft ("Peoples' Friendship"), in the 1960s. After the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s Deutfracht/Seereederei Rostock was privatised and became Deutsche Seereederei Rostock GmbH. DSR acquired Seetours of Bremen and cruises were marketed under the Seetours brand. On 1 January 1998, DSR split their operations into cargo and tourism, with a new company Arkona Touristik taking over the cruise business. 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%.

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. In 2003, P&O Princess merged with Carnival Corporation, to form Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise holiday company. The Seetours cruise business, that had been acquired by P&O, was rebranded as AIDA Cruises in 2004.

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. 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 and has been led by President Felix Eichhorn since 1 September 2015.

In October 2017, departed from Hamburg on the company's first World Cruise. After a 116-day sailing, the ship returned to Hamburg on 10 February 2018. The ship visited Southampton, Lisbon, Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, Ushuaia, Easter Island, Tahiti, Singapore, and the Maldives, among other destinations. On 8 October 2018 left Hamburg on the company's second World Cruise; the 117-day voyage visited 41 ports in 20 countries on four continents. Several of the destinations were new to the company, including South Africa, Namibia, Melbourne, Tasmania, Fiji, Samoa and New Caledonia.

In December 2018, AIDA debuted AIDAnova, the first cruise ship to be fully powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). Earlier, in May 2016, AIDAprima and AIDAsol had become the first two ships in the AIDA fleet to be simultaneously powered by LNG. In August 2019, AIDA signed an agreement with Corvus Energy to install battery storage systems for the electrification of their ships. 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.

Fleet

Current fleet

Former fleet

As Deutsche Seereederei/DSR/Arkona Touristik

AIDA former fleet

Future fleet

In April 2025, the order of two ships at Fincantieri was announced. The delivery is planned for early 2030 and late 2031. The contract was concluded on 7 April 2025.

References

References

1. "Impressum". AIDA Cruises.
2. 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.Design 07, ShipPax Information {{ISSN. 1403-3437
3. "Meilensteine in der Geschichte der DSR (Milestones in the history of DSR)".
4. Smith, Peter C.. (2014). "Cruise Ships: The Small-Scale Fleet". Pen & Sword Books Ltd.
5. Schwerdtner, Nils. (2013). "German Luxury Ocean Liners: From Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse to Aidastella". Amberley Publishing.
6. (2000). "P&O Cruises buys stake in German company". Travel weekly.
7. Alex. (2000-09-29). "P&O/Priness First Half 2000 Earnings".
8. Stieghorst, Tom. (9 January 2003). "P&O'S Board OKs Carnival Merger". South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
9. (4 October 2004). "Seetours re-brands as Aida Cruises". FVW.
10. "Costa Cruises, company profile".
11. (2011-11-20). "2012 World Wide Market Share". Cruise Market Watch.
12. Satchell, Arlene. (10 August 2015). "Carnival Corp. taps Felix Eichhorn to lead German brand AIDA Cruises".
13. Staff, CIN. (2018-02-12). "AIDAcara Returns to Hamburg Following World Cruise".
14. Tore, Iuliia. (19 October 2017). "AIDA's first world cruise launched from Hamburg {{!}} Rus Tourism News".
15. Staff, CIN. (2017-07-21). "AIDAaura Set for 2018 World Cruise".
16. Kalosh, Anne. "AIDA charts new destinations in second world voyage".
17. (2019-10-14). "Carnival's AIDA Cruises to test fuel cell technology".
18. (2016-05-15). "LNG Powers AIDAprima and AIDAsol in Hamburg".
19. "AIDA Cruises Plans Fleet Electrification".
20. "Carnival's AIDA Cruises Pioneering the Industry's First Fuel-Cell Technology".
21. (February 4, 2024). "AIDA Cruise Ships".
22. (2016-03-14). "AIDAprima Delivered".
23. "AIDAprima in Singapore – Cruise Industry News {{!}} Cruise News".
24. (2017-04-27). "AIDA Cruises Takes Delivery of AIDAperla".
25. (2018-12-12). "AIDAnova Delivered".
26. Ebelthite, Shaun. (2019-08-15). "AIDA Cruises cuts steel for second LNG-powered mega ship".
27. (2018-02-27). "Carnival orders new LNG liner for AIDA Cruises".
28. "Carnival Cruise Line To Grow Fleet By Two Additional Ships by 2023 – Carnival Cruise Line News".
29. (2022-01-26). "AIDAmira to Leave Fleet, AIDAsol Joins AIDA Selection Program".
30. (2023-03-21). "Die "Aidavita" ist jetzt verkauft".
31. (2024-01-12). "Η AIDAvita στην κινεζική Blue Dream Cruises".
32. (2023-09-21). "Dieses Schiff startet zur längsten Reise in der Geschichte der Kreuzfahrt".
33. (2023-09-20). "Das war's: In Bremerhaven endet die letzte Fahrt der "Aidaaura"".
34. (2023-09-20). "Das Ende der "Aidaaura": Kreuzfahrtschiff kommt ein letztes Mal nach Bremerhaven".
35. (2025-04-07). "Carnival Corporation Finalizes Agreement with Fincantieri for Two Next-Generation AIDA Cruises Ships Set for Delivery in fiscal 2030 and 2032".
36. (2025-04-07). "Fincantieri signs agreement with Carnival Corporation for two cruise ships for Aida Cruises".
37. (2025-04-07). "AIDA Cruises erweitert Flotte um zwei Kreuzfahrtschiffe einer neuen Generation".