AIDAprima ended the season preparations in Rostock-Warnemünde on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, and once again headed for the Baltic Sea at around 3 p.m. Having successfully completed all necessary tests and certifications aboard and ashore, AIDA Cruises was able to use the new shore power plant with AIDAprima in regular operation.
AIDAprima will be arriving in Kiel on July 8, 2021, at around 8 a.m. finalizing preparations for the season opening on July 10, 2021. This includes the final ship integration tests with the new shore power plant at the Ostseekai, enabling AIDAprima to use green electricity, produced from hydropower, on the Kiel Fjord in the future as well.
For the upcoming start of the cruise season in Rostock-Warnemünde on July 1, 2021, AIDAsol already set course for the Baltic Sea resort last Saturday, June 26, 2021, from Kiel as part of a Baltic Sea trip via Visby (Gotland Island) and Stockholm. The ship will be docking at the new cruise terminal at 8 a.m. on Thursday. Until the end of September 2021, Rostock-Warnemünde will be the start and destination port for various three-, four- and seven-day trips in the Baltic Sea region. During all calls, AIDAsol will use shore power in the port.
As early as 2004, when AIDAdiva was commissioned and during the newbuilding of all subsequent ships, the use of shore power was considered as an option for environmentally friendly ship operation. Ten years later, planning began in Hamburg-Altona for the first shore power plant for cruise ships in Europe, which AIDA Cruises has been using in regular operations since 2017. In other ports, too, the company is campaigning for the development of a corresponding infrastructure. On May 10, 2021, Europe's currently largest shore power plant was opened with an AIDA ship in Rostock-Warnemünde. Since June 16, 2021, shore power use for cruise ships has also been possible in Kiel.
As part of its Green Cruising strategy, AIDA Cruises has been investing in a sustainable cruise market for many years. Further important steps on the way to the zero-emission ship of the future are in preparation:
In a few months, the first fuel cell will be used on board AIDAnova. In 2022, the currently largest battery storage system in cruise shipping will go into operation on an AIDA ship. In addition, the company is already addressing the question of how regenerative fuels can be used on board cruise ships in the future.
Information and booking in the travel agency, in the AIDA customer center on +49 (0) 381/20 27 07 07 or at www.aida.de.
