AIDA Denies Plans to Use AIDAbella as Quarantine Ship for Crew

AIDA Cruises has denied that it had plans to use its 2,030-passenger ship AIDAbella as a ”quarantine ship” for crew members.

“No, this is not true,” AIDA’s press department told Cruise Industry News. “There are no concrete plans for the AIDAbella now.”

An article by the German website moin.de stated that the AIDAbella was being transformed into a quarantine ship for 1,500 crew members. The quarantine was supposed to take place in Kiel, Germany. According to moin.de, those onboard would be crew members for the AIDAcosma which is set to debut later this year.

“The latest ship in the AIDA fleet (the AIDAcosma) is to be put into operation in Bremerhaven in December. However, before the crew can start their work on the cruise ship, they have to go into isolation because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. And that's what AIDAbella is intended for,” the website wrote.

The AIDAcosma, AIDA Cruises’ latest ship, was floated out at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany in July. Initially scheduled for a spring 2021 debut, the AIDAcosma’s debut is now set for later this year. With the change, the vessel’s inaugural season in Europe was entirely cancelled and the first voyage was rescheduled to Dec. 22, 2021.

AIDA Cruises’ nearest deployment plans include AIDAdiva’s launching of the 2021 season on Oct. 16, becoming the eighth AIDA ship to restart commercial cruises.

On March 20, 2021, the AIDAperla became the first AIDA ship to restart cruise operations after the pandemic – initially around the Canary Islands and, since July 10, from Palma de Mallorca with seven-day cruises in the western Mediterranean. On May 21, the AIDAsol followed from Kiel, becoming the first ship to resume cruise operations from a German port. On May 22, the AIDAblu began cruises to Greek destinations from/to Corfu.

The AIDAprima resumed cruises from/to Kiel – and visiting Stockholm, Gothenburg and Visby – on July 10. In the course of this, AIDAsol moved to Rostock/Warnemünde, where Baltic Sea voyages have been on the program since July 1.

On July 29, the AIDAstella, the fifth ship of AIDA Cruises, set sail again. Two days later, on July 31, the first seven-day voyage with the AIDAmar departed from Hamburg, Germany. From Aug. 28, the AIDAmar sailed to Norway for the first time after the pandemic with fully-vaccinated cruises (or for those who can prove that they have recovered from the coronavirus).

On Sept. 5, 2021, the AIDAluna became the seventh ship in the AIDA fleet to start its season – the latest AIDA ship to resume operations.

German lockdown forces cancellation of Aida cruises

German cruise brand Aida Cruises has cancelled all voyages planned between October 31 and November 30, following news of Germany’s lockdown.

The Carnival Corporation brand said in a statement: “As a result of Germany implementing far-reaching measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic, Aida Cruises today (October 29) announced it will temporarily pause its cruises for November, cancelling all voyages planned between October 31 and November 30.

“This follows the federal government of Germany’s October 28 decision to impose further restrictions on public life and travel to limit the spread of Covid-19, which Aida Cruises fully supports.

“As the leading cruise line in Germany and a part of Carnival Corporation & plc, Aida Cruises’ highest responsibility and top priorities are compliance, environmental protection and the health, safety and well-being of its guests, crew, shoreside employees, and the people and communities its ships visit – and that commitment is reflected in the line’s temporary pause in cruise operations.

“Aida Cruises recognises its decision is disappointing to its guests and appreciates guests understanding the importance of making health and safety the most important priority.”

The cruise line resumed operations in mid-October and “will closely monitor the further development of the pandemic” before starting cruises again in December onwards.

With Covid-19 cases surging across Europe, Germany’s month-long national lockdown starts on Monday (November 2) with the closure of restaurants, bars, gyms and theatres.

Meanwhile, France will be going into lockdown from Friday (October 30) with citizens allowed to leave home only for essential work or medical reasons.

AIDA Cruises to Return to Sailing This Weekend in Italy

FILE PHOTO: MS AIDAblu. Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0 / Martin Falbisoner

Germany-based AIDA Cruises, part of the Carnival Corporation, will resume cruises in Italy this weekend, marking the second Carnival Corporation brand to resume sailing since the sailing suspension prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The return of AIDA follows the resumption of sailings by Italy-based Costa Cruises in early September.

Carnival Corporation, the world’s top cruise group, has adopted a phase-in approach to restart operations regionally with limited itineraries, adjusted passenger capacity and beefed-up health protocols developed in coordination with government and health authorities. The protocols require, among other things, that guests and crew test negative for COVID-19 prior to boarding.

AIDA Cruises will initially resume its cruise operations in Italy with AIDAblu, scheduled to depart from Civitavecchia near Rome on seven-day itineraries visiting Palermo and Catania in Sicily, Naples and La Spezia. The first cruise for the brand is set to begin Oct. 17, with voyages offered weekly until Nov. 28.

The restart plans for AIDA Cruises builds on the momentum of Costa Cruises’ return to cruise operations in Italy in early September, which began with two initial ships departing from Trieste and Genoa on seven-day itineraries with Italian guests visiting destinations in Italy. Costa Cruises further expanded last month with a third ship, flagship Costa Smeralda, sailing on one-week itineraries dedicated to the rediscovery of the best of Italy, including Savona, La Spezia, Cagliari, Naples, Messina and Civitavecchia. Since there return, there have been no reported outbreaks of the virus on board.

“For all our brands, there is no higher responsibility and no higher priority than compliance, protecting the environment, and the health, safety and well-being of our guests, our crew and the communities we visit,” said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corporation. “We are excited to have AIDA joining Costa Cruises in resuming sailing operations with a gradual expansion of service over time. As we offer travellers a phased return to cruise vacations, we will continue sharing important learnings and best practices among our world-leading cruise line brands and across the industry to help ensure the resumption of cruise operations is done with the best interests of public health at the forefront.”

Zen Cruises to Start in India with Pacific Jewel

Zen Cruises to Start in India with Pacific Jewel

Another new cruise line is entering the fold as Zen Cruises announced today it had purchased the 1990-built P&O Pacific Jewel and intends to start service in 2019 out of India.

The cruise brand is owned by Essel Group, which describes itself as a "multi-faceted business conglomerate, with a legacy of over 90 years."

The company today announced the appointment of industry veteran Jurgen Bailom as President and CEO of the Group’s upcoming cruise line business, Zen Cruises Private Limited.

"Bailom will steer the company on a course to captivate Indian cruise passengers with an offering par excellence," the company said.

The Pacific Jewel entered service in 1990 as the Crown Princess after being built by Fincantieri. It also served as the A'Rosa Blu, AIDAblu and Ocean Village Two before moving to P&O Australia as the Pacific Jewel in 2009. It will wrap up its service career with P&O in March.

Bailom was previously at the head of Grupo Vidanta Cruises prior to Essel Group. He has also held senior corporate director positions within several of Royal Caribbean’s brands.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of the Essel Group which has done pioneering work across sectors and consider it a great opportunity to be at the helm of India’s first cruise company. India has a 6,632 km long coastline along nine states and two union territories which presents the tremendous potential to promote and grow cruise tourism in India. We intend to take the cruise liner experience to a new level for people in India, and I look forward to unveiling our plans soon," Bailom said.

No further information was released.