New AIDAcosma Cruise Ship Delivered

Posted on 21 December, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

AIDA Cruises took delivery of its newest cruise ship, the AIDAcosma, in Bremerhaven from the Meyer Werft shipyard on Dec. 21.

It is the company’s second new building powered by liquefied natural gas, according to a press release, and gives AIDA its 14th ship. AIDA is Carnival Corporation’s German brand.

The ship will enter service in the first quarter, sailing from Hamburg on seven-day so-called metropolis voyages.

On April 9, 2022, the champion athlete Kristina Vogel will christen the new ship in Hamburg.

The new vessel then will sail on a two-week christening voyage, taking passengers to either Mallorca or Barcelona. Further highlights of the itinerary include Lisbon, Cadiz and Malaga as the ship moves to the Mediterranean for the summer season.

From April 23 to October 15, 2022, the AIDAcosma will offer voyages from Palma and Barcelona. The one-week “Mediterranean Treasures” itinerary will also include calls into Florence, Rome and Corsica.

The AIDAcosma will then move to Dubai for the winter 2022-2023 season.

No Delays to Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey Despite COVID-19 Issue Aboard

Posted on 8 March, 2021 by Spacejunkie2

“We anticipate that there will be no delay to Odyssey’s arrival into Israel,” said Royal Caribbean International in a statement on Monday following the news that workers aboard the ship had tested positive for COVID-19.

The new ship is due to sail a summer program from Haifa, with fully vaccinated Israeli guests aboard.

“The shipyard workers and crew onboard Odyssey of the Seas are currently preparing the ship for sea trials. They are being tested daily and at this time there are no positive cases onboard the ship,” the company said.

It was reported last week there were positive COVID-19 cases aboard the new Odyssey of the Seas with the ship docked in Bremerhaven for her final touches ahead of sea trials.

German news outlets now report that five employees on the ship tested positive for COVID-19 and have since been disembarked and put into quarantine.

Meyer Werft Floats AIDAnova, the World’s First LNG-Powered Cruise Ship

Posted on 23 August, 2018 by Spacejunkie2

AIDANova pictured Tuesday, August 21, 2018, after its float-out from Meyer Werft’s covered building dock. Photo: Meyer Werft

German shipbuilder Meyer Werft has floated out the world’s first LNG-powered cruise ship from its covered construction dock in Papenburg.

The float-out of AIDAnova took place Tuesday evening from the shipbuilder’s 504-meter building dock II. The vessel was then berthed at the outfitting pier, where its mast and funnel cladding will be fitted.

AIDAnova is scheduled to make the trip down the river Ems to Bremerhaven in late September. There, the cruise ship will undergo final outfitting and interior fittings, while further testing will be performed on the ship’s LNG-powered engines followed by sea trials.

AIDAnova is the first of three LNG-powered ships planned for Carnival Corp.’s AIDA brand. The ship is scheduled to join AIDA Cruises’ fleet this Fall as the first-ever cruise ship in the world to be fully powered by LNG. The AIDAnova will have over 2,600 passenger cabins, a gross tonnage of over 180,000, a length of 337 meters and a width of 42 meters.

The second ship in the series will be christened in the spring of 2021, followed by the third in 2023.

As of earlier this year, Carnival had agreements in place with Meyer Werft and its Finish sister yard Meyer Turku to build nine LNG-powered cruise ships across four of Carnival’s nine global cruise brands with delivery dates between 2018 and 2023

A video of the float-out is below: