AIDA Cruises Chooses AIDAbella for Chinese Market

Germany’s AIDA Cruises said it will station its AIDAbella cruise ship in China, the strongest growing cruise market, offering all year round cruises from Shanghai for the first time.

Namely, Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises recently announced that they will homeport one new ship each in China in 2017.

This was followed by deployment of two ships by Carnival Cruise Line beginning with Carnival Miracle in spring 2017 followed by Carnival Splendor in spring 2018. Both ships will be based in China year round, Carnival Cruise Line said.

“We have taken a very close look at what connects the Asian guest with Germany. What premium products does he prefer? What cultural differences, including those relating to consumption habits, do we need to bear in mind? Since we are part of the Costa Group, our colleagues at Costa Asia will be supporting us with their know-how, particularly in the area of Sales and HR,” said AIDA President Felix Eichhorn.

AIDAbella will join the already deployed brands Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises in the Chinese market in spring 2017.

At 252 meters long and 32.2 meters wide, AIDAbella has 1,025 staterooms, 457 of which are balcony staterooms and suites. The ship was christened on April 23, 2008.

With its 10 cruise ships, AIDA Cruises plans to expand its fleet to 14 ships by 2020.

Image: Carnival