November 12, 2023 - Season opening with AIDA Special “Sea of Lights” and Wincent Weiss live on board AIDAnova // Hamburg celebrates passenger record thanks to AIDA presence all year round with 45 percent of all cruise calls in 2023
The cruise location Hamburg and AIDA Cruises are writing another success story this weekend: For the first time, the Hanseatic city on the Elbe welcomes over a million cruise passengers within one season, of which well over half are on AIDA ships (2023: more than every second cruise guest in Hamburg is an AIDA guest). Accordingly, the German market leader in the cruise segment, AIDA Cruises, is the main growth driver. Seven years ago, AIDA Cruises began offering winter cruises from/to Hamburg to the most beautiful cities in Europe and thus has the Hanseatic city Hamburg developed into a year-round destination. Overall, AIDA Cruises generates the greatest cruise line-related added value for the Hanseatic city.
Kiel - Terminal Ostseekai AIDAnova
AIDA Cruises' commitment to the Elbe metropolis goes far beyond the departures, which account for 45 percent of all Hamburg cruise calls this year alone. As a responsible company, AIDA Cruises is also involved in social, cultural and sporting areas. By supporting maritime events such as the Hamburg Port Birthday and the Hamburg Cruise Days, the German market leader has been working with the city for many years to ensure that Hamburg's tourism reputation is internationally attractive. This year the sponsorship portfolio was expanded to include sport in the Hanseatic city. For the first time, AIDA was a sponsor of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. This underlines the desire to promote and support not only maritime events, but also other cultural areas in the city. AIDA was previously a sponsor of the Online Marketing Rockstars (OMR) this year. The club's work under the umbrella of Hamburg Cruise Net is also a matter close to the company's heart, as is the support of the German Seamen's Mission and the charitable organization “The Port Helps” in Hamburg. Another highlight this year will be AIDA's commitment to the nationally known “Movie meets Media” event on the Alster at the beginning of December 2023.
AIDAnova had several premieres in its luggage yesterday, November 11, 2023, on the occasion of its first season start in Hamburg: It is the largest ship class that AIDA will ever sail from/to Hamburg in a winter season. From now until February 24, 2024, guests can experience the new AIDA special “Sea of Lights”, a large selection of special event trips. Audience favorite Wincent Weiss kicked off the first trip with a live performance in the theater, while the ambience on board exudes a pre-Christmas atmosphere. Breathtaking light decorations and laser shows transform the ship into a sparkling light spectacle. Unique in the world: the authentic ski cable car gondolas, rounded off by cozy decorated cabanas, winter huts with mulled wine, punch and curling. As part of the AIDA special “Sea of Lights”, further event trips with AIDAnova will also be launched for the winter months of December 2023 to February 2024. In December 2023, the focus will be on the “holidays full of splendour”. Everything here will revolve around a sparkling Advent season with the whole family as well as Christmas specials. January 2024 is all about “Let it glow”: detox and relaxation are the magic words for a brilliant start to the new year. Things will be romantic in February 2024, just in time for Valentine's Day: whether it's a winter vacation with the kids or a romantic break for two, guests on board AIDAnova will enjoy a sea of lights and a pure variety of experiences. From Hamburg, trips to the metropolises and to Norway and Denmark are on the program with AIDAnova until May 4, 2024. Whether Christmas shopping in London, Paris and Amsterdam or a visit to the Advent markets in Copenhagen or Oslo - a festive atmosphere is guaranteed on shore as well as on board. The holiday trips are a very special highlight: guests on board AIDAnova experience New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Copenhagen.
Further firsts: Yesterday, AIDAnova was supplied with liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the first time in the port of Hamburg. The use of LNG is an important bridging technology for AIDA Cruises on the way to decarbonizing its fleet, because LNG technology offers the potential to use bio-LNG and renewable fuels in the future as soon as they become available. Thanks to the use of fossil LNG, direct CO2 emissions are up to 20 percent lower than those of conventional fuels such as marine gas oil. With the use of LNG, local emissions of sulfur oxides are almost completely avoided and emissions of nitrogen oxides are reduced by 85 percent and fine dust particles by 95 to 100 percent.
During the next visit to Hamburg, on November 18, 2023, ship-side and shore-side integration tests will take place with AIDAnova on the new shore power system at the Cruise Center Steinwerder. Previously, on Wednesday, November 8, 2023 AIDAprima the first live tests were carried out with a cruise ship. The Rostock-based company has been an important pilot partner for the commissioning of shore power systems in Germany and Europe for many years. AIDA Cruises carried out tests on Europe's first shore power system in Hamburg Altona with AIDAsol in 2016 and will be using it in regular operation in 2017. This summer, Denmark's first shore power system with AIDAmar was opened in Aarhus.
AIDA trips from Hamburg in winter 2023/2024
In addition to AIDAnova, other ships from the AIDA fleet are guests on the Elbe and offer attractive and varied destinations far and near, even in winter. If you can't do without sun and warmth in winter, travel is the answer “Big winter break” with AIDAmar from/to Hamburg Recommended: From November 12th to December 3rd, 2023, you can travel comfortably without a flight in 21 days from/to Hamburg via Spain and Madeira/Portugal to the Canary Islands. On the way back there are destinations like Lisbon and Le Havre Le Havre on the route map. For even more good weather guarantee, the subsequent three 43-day trips from/to Hamburg to the Caribbean and back are ideal. Guests of the first trip "AIDAmar Large holiday trip to the Caribbean"From December 3rd, 2023 to January 15th, 2024 you can look forward to Christmas and New Year on the white Caribbean beach under palm trees. Further trips can be found under the name "AIDAmar Big Winter Break Caribbean" instead of from January 15th to February 27th, 2023 and from February 27th to April 10th, 2024. From Hamburg into the big wide world we go with AIDAsol: On October 23rd, 2027 it was time to cast off for a truly fantastic journey . AIDAsol sets off from Hamburg on its second trip around the world. In 117 days, guests enjoy 41 ports in 17 countries on four continents, cross the equator twice and discover dream destinations such as Cape Verde and Tierra del Fuego, Tahiti and Fiji, Mauritius and southern Africa. After the world trip, AIDAsol offers “great winter trips” to the far north from/to Hamburg: on the 17-day trips from February 21, 2024 and on the 14-day trips from March 9 and 23, 2024 it to Norwegian destinations like Hon
