AIDA Cruises, the German cruise company, has celebrated the arrival of its largest ever ship.
The new AIDAprima was christened in a spectacular event at Hamburg Port and will now join the AIDA fleet, initially operating a series of seven-day journeys to the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
At 124,100 gross tonnes and with a capacity of 3,300 passengers, AIDAprima is by far the largest ship ever operated by AIDA. It is also the most environmentally-friendly, as it becomes one of the first cruise ships in the world to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). This, the company states, will reduce the ship’s carbon dioxide emissions by 20% and nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 80%.
Onboard, AIDAprima features 14 room categories, 12 restaurants and 18 bars.
“The christening was an emotional moment for me; I’m very proud of our new ship,” said Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA Cruises. “With AIDAprima and the next three new ships to be built for our line, we are once again charting new territory in the tourism industry, and we will continue to drive growth in the German cruise market.”
AIDA Cruises forms part of the Carnival Corporation, and this delivery means that Carnival has now welcomed three new ships in 2016. In addition to AIDAprima, Carnival Cruise Line took delivery of its 3,954-passenger Carnival Vista on 28 April and Holland America Line celebrated the handover of its 2,650-passenger ms Koningsdam on 2 April.
The company is scheduled to receive its fourth new ship of 2016 when the Seabourn Encore joins the fleet later this year. In total, Carnival Corporation expects to take delivery of 15 new ships between 2016 and 2020.
And AIDA’s fleet is expected to continue expanding in the coming years; the German company has outstanding orders for three new ships which are scheduled to be delivered in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
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