Smiles all ’round for AIDAprima

Posted on 10 April, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

AIDAprima’s lips will shine across a total area of 150sq mtr

Rostock artist Feliks Büttner, creator of the signature kissing lips, eyes and waves found on the bow of every AIDA Cruises ship, faced a special challenge designing the motif for AIDAprima, currently under construction at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipyard in Nagasaki, Japan.

The designer had to adapt the graphic design for the first AIDA ship to be built outside Germany, as the bow of the MHI-constructed vessel is different from the others in the fleet.

The position lights and anchor hatch in the bow section also had to be taken into account in the application of the motif in order to create its familiar three-dimensional effect. A total 342 litres of paint in 11 colours was used.

In 1996, AIDA Cruises became the first cruise line to introduce a painting on its ships’ bows.

For two decades, AIDA ships have been wearing the smile across the oceans.

When completed, AIDAprima’s kissing lips will shine across a total area of 150sq mtr. Each eye on the starboard and port side covers an area of 212sq mgr, and the blue waves on both sides of the hull fill an area of 330sq mtr. The entire painting extends over a length of 261mtr, surpassing all previous such paintings in the AIDA fleet.

The 124,500gt AIDAprima is scheduled to start its maiden cruise on October 1 from Yokohama, Japan. The 50-day journey ends on November 20 in Dubai. Following a winter season in the Middle East, the ship will depart from Dubai on March 18, 2016, headed for home port of Hamburg commencing a year-round programme of weekly cruises to Southhampton, Le Havre, Zeebrugge and Rotterdam end April.

Carnival Corp. orders 9 ships to be built from 2019 to 2022

Posted on 30 March, 2015 by Spacejunkie2

By Johanna Jainchill
Carnival Corp. said Thursday that it would add nine ships to its fleet between 2019 and 2022.

Carnival offered almost no details about the ship order. It did not specify which of its nine brands would get the new vessels or offer any information about their size, design or cost.

In a statement, Carnival said the new ships were expected to serve the North American, European and Chinese cruise markets, would be specifically designed and developed for their particular brands and would be the most efficient ships in Carnival history.

“We’re excited to take this next step in our fleet-enhancement plan with these two new agreements that are consistent with our long-term strategy of measured capacity growth over time,” Carnival Corp. President and CEO Arnold Donald said in a statement.

The order is in line with Donald’s previous statements indicating that the company would restrict its growth to two to three ships per year across its fleet.

Carnival said it had signed memorandums of agreement with Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard to build five of the vessels and with Germany’s Meyer Werft to build four.

Additional information about the ships, such as their design and which brands they will be built for, will be revealed at a later date, Carnival said.

In announcing the new builds, the company indicated that Donald would be offering additional details about the new vessels during Carnival Corp.’s earnings call on Friday.

Carnival Corp. is the parent company of Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, Aida Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (U.K.).

Late last year it ordered one ship each from Fincantieri for Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line for delivery in 2018.

The company has added more than 30 ships to its combined fleets since 2007, and it has another nine scheduled to be delivered between 2015 and 2018, which Donald pointed out in December was about one vessel for each of its brands over the next four years.

This year, Carnival is adding two ships to its global fleet and removing four. The new vessels are P&O’s Britannia, which launched earlier this month, and the Aida Prima, set to debut later this year.

Carnival Boosting Fleet Capacity

Posted on 13 November, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

Regal Princess

The world’s largest cruise ship operator Carnival Corporation & plc said it would increase fleet capacity by nearly 10 percent from 2014 through 2016, fueled largely by the addition of four new ships across four brands in less than 18 months.

This week, Carnival Corporation is christening two new ships in the span of three days as its Princess and Costa brands host official naming ceremonies for Regal Princess and Costa Diadema, the latest new vessels to join the company’s fleet of more than 100 ships across nine cruise brands.

Additionally, in 2015, the company’s P&O Cruises UK and AIDA brands will each debut a new ship, giving Carnival Corporation a total of four new ship additions by October of next year.

In addition, Carnival Corporation continues to expand its upgrades and refurbishments to existing ships. In 2015, the company plans upgrades or refurbishments on 17 ships across six of its brands.

The 2015 refurbishment plans include two former Holland America Line ships transferred to P&O Cruises Australia that will undergo complete refurbishment before sailing as Pacific Aria and Pacific Eden starting in November 2015.

The renovated ships will be tailored for Australian and New Zealand passengers.

Carnival Corporation’s four new fleet additions in 18 months are part of the company’s plan to introduce nine new ships across seven of its brands between 2014 and 2017.

AIDA, Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises UK, Princess Cruises and Seabourn are all expected to debut new cruise ships between now and the early part of 2017.

In 2016, Carnival Cruise Lines will debut Carnival Vista, a 133,500-ton ship that will be the largest ever in its fleet — with the ship being unveiled in a sneak preview in New York in January 2015.

Holland America Line will launch its newest ship, the 99,500-ton ms Koningsdam, a new Pinnacle Class ship that can carry 2,650 passengers.

Also in 2016, AIDA will introduce a new sister ship to the 2015 AIDAprima with capacity for 3,250 passengers, while Seabourn will unveil its newest luxury ship, expected to be the biggest ever built by the brand with the ability to serve 604 passengers.

Looking forward to 2017, Princess Cruises is working with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to build a 143,000-ton vessel featuring the highly popular design elements introduced by the brand’s two newest ships, and sisters, the Royal Princess and sisters, the Royal Princess and Regal Princess.