AIDAcara

AIDAcara as seen between the pierheads at IJmuiden, The Netherlands at the 6th of april 2011.

AIDAcara was launched as Aida from the Kvaerner-Masa yards at Turku, Finland at the 16th of february 1996. She was the first of a new generation of German cruiseships under the banner of the Deutsche Seereederei Touristik of Rostock. Her design was based on the 1991-built Sally Albatross, that later sailed under the names Leeward for Norwegian Cruise Line, Superstar Taurus for Star Cruises and Silja Opera for Silja Line. The ship is now in service for Louis Cruise Lines as their Louis Crystal. This ship had also been built in Finland, not on the same yard though, she came from the Finnyards at Rauma. Designed as a true clubship, AIDAcara was aiming for a younger generation of passengers. The ship was marketed under the name 'Das Clubschiff' and this meant that there were some services, offered by most cruiselines, that were not included for her passengers. For example, there is no possibility of dining in the cabins and the cabins are only cleaned once a day.

Her keel had been layed at the 11th of september 1995. Her yarndnumber was 1337 and she is 193,34 meters long, 27,60 meters wide and her draft is 6,20 meters. Her tonnage is 38.531 and she has cabins for 1250 passengers, served by 370 crewmembers at 9 decks. Her normal speed is 21 knots and her homeport was, in her early years, Rostock. The interiours of the ship were designed by Partner Ship Design at Hamburg, so she really is a German ship. On the 4th of june 1996 the ship was delivered to her owners and a few days later, at the 7th of june, she was named Aida by Christiane Herzog, the wife of the former Bundespresident Roman Herzog. Her first cruise took her from Bremerhaven in Germany to Palma de Mallorca at the Balear Islands. Her normal initiaries would take her to the Mediterranean in summer and to the Caribbean in winter.    

It is a dence fog, overwhelming the land and water. Suddenly, a large entity seems to emerge from the fog, and you do not take the time to look closely and try and see what it is. You try to run away. But, when you look over your shoulder, scared, you see the large object is smiling at you. It is a large and friendly lady, named AIDAcara.

In august 1997, the ship was sold to Norwegian Cruise Line and chartered back to Deutsche Seereederei Touristik. Not much changed, only her homeport became Monrovia, so she now flew the Liberian flag. Exactly two years later, the ship was bought back by her former owners, only they themselves had reformed as Arkona Touristik. Aida was from now on manageged under the banner of Aida Cruises. This was a joined venture between Arkona Touristik, who held 49 % of the stocks in Aida Cruises, and the P&O Group, who owned the other 51% of the stocks. So Aida Cruises was now more or less controlled via the P&O Group. Under this new ownership, two new ships were added to the fleet of Aida Cruises, the AIDAvita and the AIDAaura. These ships were designed as larger versions of Aida, with even the same hull-art. This characteristic mouth, eyes and eyeshadow that gives the ships such a friendly look.  With just over 42.000 tons, these new ships were somewhat larger. When they came into service, Aida was renamed AIDAcara. She recieved her new name in november 2001. Between the 5th of april 2002 and the 1st of november 2004, Seetours was named as the owner of the ship, and she was registered in London. This, of course, is a traditional P&O homeport and the Seetours name was also owned by P&O. After the merger from P&O with the Carnival Corporation, AIDA Cruises was listed as the owner of the ship, and she again got a new home, this time she was reflagged to Italy and her homeport now was Genoa. This was done because Carnival placed AIDA Cruises under the management of Costa Cruises, separating it from P&O.

AIDAcara entering the port of Amsterdam at the 6th of april 2011, reflected in the windows of the 'Muziekgebouw aan het IJ.'  This building has become a landmark at the Amsterdam port from 2002 onwards, housing two main musicvenues, a large café and a promenade along the cruiseterminal, that is its neighbour.

At the 18th of april 2005, AIDAcara was sent to the Neptun Stahlbau Industrie wharf at Rostock, her original homeport, where 44 cabins recieved balconies. Because of this, also the bridgewings had to be extended by 1,8 meters so there still was a good view backwards, not obstructed by the new balconies. Next to this, the ship was also slightly rebuilt inside, so the passengercapacity was enlarged to 1298. The ship was not longer only sailing the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, she also undertook cruises in western and northern Europe, South America and even up the Amazon river in Brazil. In 2006, AIDAcara was the first cruiseship that regularly sailed around the Arabian peninsula. In the spring of 2010, she undertook her first worldcruise from Bangkok, Thailand, to Hamburg, Germany.

AIDAcara ready for docking at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam.