AIDAcara
 The AIDAcara leaves the port of Helsinki.
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The AIDAcara is a cruise ship from Carnival Corporation & plc . It is used for trips under the AIDA Cruises group brand , which is specially geared towards the German market . It is operated under the Italian flag by Costa Crociere in Genoa .
Until it was renamed AIDAcara in December 2001, it was best known as " AIDA - The Club Ship" through its marketing nickname . She was the first cruise ship to be built and put into service for the AIDA brand. Measured at 38,557 GT , the AIDAcara is both the oldest and the smallest of the AIDA ships.
history
Construction and commissioning
After the Hamburg merchants Nikolaus W. Schües and Horst Rahe had taken over the recently privatized Deutsche Seereederei and developed a concept for cruises in an informal atmosphere based on the American model for the German market, they commissioned the construction of a "club ship" on August 26, 1994 Finnish shipyard Kværner Masa Yards AB . This was on 11 September 1995 under the hull number 1337 in Turku on down Kiel . The launch was followed on February 16, 1996. On June 7, 1996, the ship in the Baltic Sea resort of Warnemünde by Christiane Herzog , the wife of former German President Roman Herzog , in the name AIDA baptized. The name was chosen to have a name like the other passenger ships of the Deutsche Seereederei with the letter "A" at the beginning and end, but also with regard to the opera of the same name by Giuseppe Verdi , which is wrongly said to be for the opening of the Suez Canal .
The paintwork with "kissable mouth", eyes and eyeshadow, which is characteristic of an entire fleet today, was designed by graphic designer Feliks Büttner and implemented on this ship for the first time.
commitment
On June 11, 1996, the AIDA set sail for her first cruise to Palma de Mallorca , where she was initially stationed in order to call at destinations in the Mediterranean region during the summer months . In winter the ship was used in the Caribbean .
In August 1997 AIDA went to NCL Corporation Ltd. and was flagged to Liberia there , but otherwise continued to operate as before. In 1999, just two years later, Deutsche Seereederei took the ship back in order to transfer it to its joint venture AIDA Cruises Ltd., which had just been founded with the British Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) . bring in. P&O held the majority and was to take over the AIDA brand and the ship in full just one year later. The new owner, however, was P&O Princess Cruises, into which P&O had spun off its entire cruise business as an independent company at the same time as the takeover. In December 2001 the ship was named AIDAcara .
In 2003 P&O Princess Cruises decided to merge with the American Carnival Corporation to form Carnival Corporation & plc , which has owned the ship and the AIDA Cruises brand ever since. Its European subsidiary Societa di Crociere Mercurio Srl was initially designated as the new owner. However, since 2010 the ship has been registered on Costa Crociere in Genoa, which, as the operative arm of the Carnival Group, has been operating AIDAcara and the rest of the AIDA fleet under the Italian flag, which has since grown significantly, since 2004.
The AIDAcara is mainly used throughout the year in European cruise regions such as the Baltic Sea , the Mediterranean Sea , the Canary Islands and in northern European waters. The ship is also able to head for regions such as the Amazon region that are not accessible to larger cruise ships. In addition, Atlantic crossings and trips in the Caribbean and South America are offered. At the end of 2006, the AIDAcara was the shipping company's first ship to operate in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula .
Since 2009 the AIDAcara has also been crossing the Kiel Canal regularly ; it is the shipping company's only cruise ship that complies with the height limit of 40 meters for the ten canal bridges. In the spring of 2010, the AIDAcara set out on a world tour for the first time, which took 55 days from Bangkok ( Thailand ) to Hamburg . She currently spends most of the winter in the South Atlantic, the Caribbean and around the Canary Islands; in summer she travels in the Baltic Sea region as well as in the North Atlantic and regularly berths at the Ostseekai in Kiel .
In 2013, as in the previous year , the AIDAcara sailed the seas in Northern Europe and South America and at the turn of the year the waters around the Canary Islands. For the summer of 2014 she was planned for Northern Europe, the following winter in the Canary Islands. From summer 2015 to summer 2019 she was in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea . From summer 2019, routes in the Mediterranean and Western Europe were added.
Remodeling
In the second half of April 2005, the AIDAcara was extensively renovated and rebuilt in the dry dock of Neptun Stahlbau GmbH in Rostock . 44 outside cabins were equipped with balconies. Because of the resulting restricted visibility , the two bridge nocks were given extendable platforms, which guarantee an optimal view when maneuvering. In the stern area, the area of the restaurant outside deck was enlarged. The conversion costs were given as around 2.5 million euros.
From November 3 to 14, 2007, the ship was in dry dock at the Fincantieri shipyard in Palermo . During this time, the guest area was modernized, including the entrance area, the disco and parts of the spa area .
Between September 9 and September 21, 2009, the AIDAcara was revised again at Blohm + Voss in Hamburg. The entire interior of the cabins was adapted to the design of the new Sphinx-class buildings , and the restaurant and service areas were expanded. In addition, computer systems were renewed and a laser show system was installed.
From March 13 to 24, 2011, the AIDAcara was docked at Blohm + Voss. In addition to the maintenance work due, the paintwork and the wellness area were renewed and a golf simulator was installed.
In October 2013, the AIDAcara was modernized again in the dock of the Lloyd shipyard in Bremerhaven. The on-board restaurant Calypso was redesigned, and the ship was given a new coat of paint in addition to a lounge for young people and a picture gallery. The usual maintenance work was also carried out. In addition, preparatory work was carried out for the installation of a comprehensive filter system to reduce exhaust gases. As the first ship in the AIDA fleet, it will be fitted with a catalyst to bind nitrogen oxides and filters in which soot and fuel residues are precipitated. The sulfur oxides are removed in a scrubber without the addition of chemicals. The filter system was developed within the Carnival group and is intended to reduce the emission of soot particles, nitrogen and sulfur oxides by between 90 and 99 percent.
Machine system and drive
The AIDAcara is equipped with a conventional machine and drive system in which four medium-speed 4- stroke diesel engines act in pairs on the two Kamewa variable pitch propellers via a reduction gear and shaft system . The engines of type MAN B&W 6L48 / 60 are 6-cylinder in-line engines with exhaust gas turbochargers . Each engine has a displacement of approx. 650 liters. The two main gears reduce their speed from 450 / min to the required propeller speed of 152 / min. Since the engines and propellers run at a largely constant speed, the angle of attack of the propeller blades is variable depending on the driving situation.
The main supply of electrical energy is provided by two shaft generators . They generate an electrical output of 4,500 kVA each . In addition, there are three generators available, each with an output of 3,500 kVA , which are driven by Wärtsilä Vasa 3R32D diesel engines.
The ship is controlled via two half-balance rudders in the stern, which are supported by two cross-thruster systems when maneuvering . The AIDAcara is equipped with two fin stabilizers from Blohm + Voss to dampen rolling movements .
Cabins and on-board facilities
The AIDAcara has a total of 590 passenger cabins of various categories, which are located on the lower passenger decks. After the renovation work in 2005, 44 balcony cabins are also available. Depending on the equipment, the cabins can be occupied by up to four people. The four premium suites and the twelve junior suites are located in the front area of deck 7 and offer an area of 35 and 25 square meters each. The premium suites have their own sundeck with a view of the ship's bow; the laterally arranged junior suites are equipped with balconies.
With the exception of the reception, the public areas of the ship are located on the four upper decks. Many facilities such as the market restaurant , the star-shaped AIDA bar or the AIDA Shop shopping area were implemented for the first time on the AIDAcara and, due to its success, have been adopted in a partially modified form for all of the shipping company's club ships. The theater in the bow extends over two decks and can accommodate up to 700 spectators. It is equipped with amphitheater- like benches instead of the usual armchairs.
The wellness area covers an area of around 1,100 square meters. In line with the club ship concept, the ship offers extensive sports facilities (e.g. golf simulator , volleyball and basketball court ). A separate nudist area has been set up on the sun deck .
Routes
In the winter of 2017/2018, the ship made a 116-day trip around the world for the first time in the history of the shipping company. In the summer of 2018, the AIDAcara will be on its way from Hamburg or Kiel to Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea and Greenland. In winter 2018/2019, the ship will return to its classic winter sailing area of the Canaries, Azores and Cape Verde, where it will sail 14-day routes.
Incidents
On October 13, 2012, the AIDAcara touched the fender on the quay while casting off from the Hamburg cruise terminal in Altona . The ship was damaged as a result and was only able to start the journey it had started after an emergency repair in the port of Hamburg was nine hours late.
On April 22, 2013, the AIDAcara touched the quay when casting off in Oslo due to strong winds. Slight damage to the stern was found, after which a return to port was arranged. After several hours of checking, the AIDAcara was able to continue its journey.
On November 26, 2018, according to media reports, an 81-year-old passenger from the AIDAcara fell into the water. The accident occurred about 260 nautical miles south of El Hierro when the AIDAcara was on the way from the Cape Verde Islands to La Palma .
See also
literature
- Ralf Schröder, Michael Thamm : AIDA - The Success Story . Delius Klasing Verlag, Bielefeld 2007, ISBN 978-3-7688-1900-8 .
- Douglas Ward: Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships 2006 . Berlitz Publishing, 2006, ISBN 3-493-60252-9 .
Web links
- AIDAcara on the AIDA Cruises website
- Tour plan (PDF file; 2.3 MB)
- Position / bow camera
Individual evidence
- ↑ Publications. AIDA Cruises, accessed on February 28, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d e f AIDAcara , register entry, DNV GL, accessed on March 28, 2018.
- ↑ The story of "Aida". In: Hamburger Abendblatt . March 4, 2006, accessed January 13, 2010.
- ^ Company history of AIDA Cruises , accessed on January 13, 2010
- ↑ Data on the use of the ship , accessed on January 29, 2010.
- ↑ AIDA is again flying the flag in the country. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Use of AIDAcara , accessed on February 24, 2019.
- ↑ AIDA: Technical data and general information ( Memento of July 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) , AIDA Cruises.
- ↑ a b Press archive of the shipping company AIDA Cruises ( memento of May 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on January 14, 2010
- ↑ AIDAcara in the shipyard: modernization of the SPA area and new 3D golf simulator. ( Memento from December 3, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ AIDA Cruises invests 100 million euros in environmental protection . Press release, AIDA Cruises, August 30, 2013.
- ↑ AIDAcara after modernization on the way to South America . Press release, AIDA Cruises, October 21, 2013.
- ↑ Driving error by the captain: Aida collided during casting off maneuvers at the Altona cruise terminal ( memento from April 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Altona. Info, October 18, 2012.
- ↑ AIDAcara collides with a harbor wall again. In: Cruise Blog. April 23, 2013, accessed March 12, 2014 .
- ↑ German goes overboard on the Aidacara. In: Hamburger Abendblatt. Retrieved December 7, 2018 .