AIDAperla - the newest member of the AIDA Cruises fleet - reached the port of Barcelona via the western Mediterranean on June 7, as part of its "Welcome Cruises". During AIDAperla’s maiden season, Europe’s cruise capital is, alongside Palma de Mallorca, one of the start and end ports for her 7-night cruises in the western Mediterranean.
The Rostock-based cruise company’s latest ship will be christened on June 30, 2017 in Palma de Mallorca by model and presenter, Lena Gercke. The spectacular christening ceremony will be streamed live on the Internet, the AIDA social media channels and on board all AIDA ships starting at 9:30 pm.
In deploying the twelfth member of its fleet from Barcelona, AIDA Cruises is further expanding its commitment to the Spanish megacity. With five AIDA ships docking here a total of 61 times in 2017, this year the company will once again be one of the city’s most important partners. Apart from AIDAperla, which will dock 31 times, Barcelona is also a travel destination for guests aboard AIDAstella, AIDAblu, AIDAsol and AIDAaura, and the starting point for over 20 different excursions or extended vacations in the Catalonian capital.
AIDA Cruises is also supporting Barcelona’s environmental efforts. Before the summer is out, the company - working with the relevant authorities and other partners - intends to supply AIDAperla with low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) while she is docked in the port. In comparison to the use of conventional fuel, emissions caused by power generated from liquefied natural gas are significantly reduced.
Since her twin ship AIDAprima has already been provided with LNG in all five ports of her Northern Europe cruises since May 2016. AIDAperla will be the second cruise ship worldwide that, thanks to a dual fuel engine, will be able to produce onboard power from LNG while docked - accounting for some 40 percent of her operating time. The requirement for this is the availability of LNG in the respective port. AIDA Cruises is also discussing this issue with other Mediterranean ports.
AIDA Cruises will step up its commitment still further in 2018. Thanks to the completion of the Carnival Group’s new cruise terminal, for the first time six ships from the AIDA fleet will be stopping at Barcelona on their cruises through the Mediterranean. The cruise corporation is investing a total of around 30 million euros in the facility which has an area of some 12,500 m². It was designed by the well-known Catalonian architect Battel I Roig, and is specifically geared to the operation of the next generation of ships that are entirely powered with LNG. The first ship of this generation, AIDAnova, will be commissioned in fall 2018.
AIDA Cruises is one of the fastest growing and commercially most successful tourism businesses in Germany. The company employs about 9,000 people from 40 countries on land and on board AIDA ships. AIDA Cruises operates one of the world’s most state-of-the-art fleets, currently comprising 12 cruise ships. Two more new ships will be built by 2021 at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg (Germany). From 2021 AIDA Cruises will be the world’s first cruise company capable of powering its new generation of ships entirely with LNG (liquefied natural gas). More information at www.aida.de
