AIDAstella Handed Over

Meyer Werft handed over AIDAstella to Carnival's AIDA brand today at Emden. The 71,300-ton ship is the seventh and last in the class.

AIDAstella at sea

The Wellness Oasis aboard AIDAstella

The Chill Lounge aboard AIDAstella

AIDAstella sailed to Hamburg this afternoon. It will be christened in Rostock on March 16, and enter service the next day.

The complete story appeared in the March 11, 2013 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Photos courtesy of Meyer Werft.

AIDAstella Makes Her First Trip

The 71,000-ton AIDAstella completed its river conveyance down the Ems River on Saturday (February 9, 2012) more than twelve hours earlier than originally planned, allowing it to begin sea trials already Saturday afternoon.

AIDAstella is the the last of the series being built for AIDA by Meyer, so the completion was a cause for extra celebration. AIDAstella, therefore, departed Papenburg under a colorful fireworks display provided by the yard.

The river conveyance is always a spectacle, and as usual, local people turned out along the banks to see a giant ship going down the river backwards.

Photos and video courtesy of Meyer Werft and AIDA Cruises.

AIDAstella Floats Out

In the cold and foggy early morning hours, this morning, AIDAstella slowly began her journey out of Meyer's indoor Building Dock I, at times barely visible to the small number of hearty souls who braved the frigid temperatures to be among the first to see the new ship.

Once some of the fog burned off, the ship's brilliant colors could be seen while it underwent tests in the lagoon. Note the ice floating in the water.

AIDAstella's next trip will be a one way trip down the Ems River to the sea, planned right now for February 9/10.


Details appeared in the January 25, 2013 edition of Cruise News Daily.

Photos courtesy of NDR, Meyer Werft and Cruise News Daily.