AIDA Announces Deployment for 2027-28 Winter Season

AIDA Announces Deployment for 2027-28 Winter Season

AIDA Cruises opened bookings for its 2027-28 winter season on Wednesday, the company announced in a press release.

The deployment includes over 300 cruises to a wide range of destinations, including the Canary Islands, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, South America, the Indian Ocean and South Africa.

Among the highlights of the season are the itineraries to tropical destinations, including the Caribbean and Central America.

According to AIDA, three ships will sail in the region: the AIDAbella, the AIDAluna and, for the first time, the AIDAprima.

The vessels will offer a series of 14- to 21-night island-hopping cruises departing from ports like La Romana in the Dominican Republic and Bridgetown in Barbados.

Other highlights include the “big winter breaks” onboard the AIDAmar, which offers round-trip cruises to warmer destinations from Hamburg, Germany.

The ship’s lineup includes a 48-day itinerary to Brazil and South America, in addition to a 21-day journey to the Azores and Morocco.

Also sailing from Germany, the AIDAnova is set to offer a series of winter sailings departing from Hamburg that visit ports in Scandinavia, Denmark and major ports in Western Europe.

The Canary Islands are set for a strong season, with the AIDAsol, the AIDAstella and the AIDAcosma offering itineraries that sail to Madeira Island.

The AIDAblu will offer a mix of itineraries that sail to both the Indian Ocean and South Africa, visiting destinations in Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and La Réunion, in addition to Cape Town, East London, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Walvis Bay, Namibia.

According to the company’s press release, guests who book sailings of the new season by April 30, 2027, will receive discounts of up to 975 euros per person.

Additional benefits include free choice of cabin, a Rail&Fly ticket valid throughout Germany for travel by train and two bottles of mineral water onboard daily.

Of note, AIDA did not announce plans to offer itineraries in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf in 2027-28.

Earlier this year, the company decided to cancel all of its sailings in the region scheduled for 2025-26 due to security concerns.

AIDAcosma Itineraries Changed Due to Drydock

AIDAcosma Itineraries Changed Due to Drydock

AIDA Cruises is adjusting two itineraries of the AIDAcosma due to changes to the ship’s scheduled drydock, according to a report by Schiffe und Kreuzfahrten.

The LNG-powered ship is scheduled to undergo its first routine drydock in the fall of 2026 following its delivery in 2021.

As part of the adjustment, AIDA reportedly pushed forward the departure dates of two sailings, which were scheduled to start on Nov. 29, 2026, and Dec. 5, 2026.

According to the German cruise news website, the sailings will now depart, respectively, on Nov. 26, 2026, and Dec. 3, 2026.

Cruising from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, the AIDAcosma is set to offer itineraries to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands during the timeframe.

The first cruise sails for six nights and features visits to destinations in Spain, France and Italy, such as Barcelona, Marseille, La Spezia and Civitavecchia.

As part of the ship’s repositioning voyage to the Canaries, the second cruise sails between Palma de Mallorca and Las Palmas.

The seven-night itinerary features visits to Málaga, Cádiz, Puerto de Rosario and Arrecife before arriving in Las Palmas.

AIDA is currently informing guests of the changes, Schiffe und Kreuzfahrten’s report added, with further details expected to be released soon.

Passengers who booked pre- and post-cruise packages with the company will have their travel arrangements adjusted to meet the new departure and arrival dates.

Built at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany, the AIDAcosma is part of Carnival Corporation’s Excel class and entered service in 2021.

As a sister to the 2018-built AIDAnova, the 180,000-ton vessel serves the German-speaking markets in itineraries to the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Middle East and the Canaries.

Upon completing its scheduled drydock, the AIDAcosma is scheduled to offer winter cruises in the Atlantic, sailing to the Canary Islands and Madeira.

AIDAnova Celebrates Five Years in Service

The AIDAnova is completing its fifth year in service this month. After being delivered by the Meyer Werft shipyard, the LNG-powered vessel joined AIDA Cruises fleet on December 12, 2018.

As the first in a series of LNG-powered cruise ships built by Carnival Corporation, the AIDAnova introduced a new generation of vessels for AIDA.

Now sharing the title of largest ship in the fleet of the German operator along with its sister ship AIDAcosma, the 5,200-guest vessel spent its inaugural season in the Canary Islands.

Soon after being delivered, the AIDAnova welcomed guests for its inaugural cruise in St. Curz de Tenerife on Dec. 19, 2018.

On that day, the vessel departed on a seven-night cruise that sailed across the Spanish archipelago and also included a visit to Funchal, in Portugal’s Madeira Island.

In late April 2019, the AIDAnova repositioned to Southern Europe for a summer season in the Western Mediterranean.

Sailing from Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona, in Spain, the ship’s regular seven-night itinerary featured three additional ports in Italy and France: Civitavecchia for Rome, La Spezia for Florence, and Marseille.

Currently sailing from Hamburg, in Germany, the AIDAnova is offering a series of cruises to Northern and Western Europe during the 2023-24 winter.

Different itineraries will be offered through late April, including seven-night voyages to Norway and Denmark, and week-long cruises to Germany, England, Belgium, the Netherlands and France.

The cruises can be combined to create a single 14-night cruise that visits Western Europe, the North Sea and Scandinavia.

The AIDAnova remains in the region during the 2024 summer, offering different itineraries to the Norwegian Fjords, Scandinavia and more departing from the German port of Kiel.