Starting spring 2017 AIDAbella will be the first German cruise ship departing from Shanghai all year round
Cruise vacation “Made
in Germany” as new premium product for booming Chinese market
With
AIDAbella, AIDA Cruises, Germany’s leading cruise company, will be stationing a
ship in China all year round for the first time, offering cruises from Shanghai
on the Chinese market.
“AIDA
would not be so successful today if we had not constantly ventured into new
territory in the 20 years since we commissioned our first new ship.
Now
we are taking another important step and, with AIDAbella, are exporting our
successful concept – Made in Germany – to China, the world’s strongest growing
market for cruises. With our lifestyle-oriented and innovative product we will
be providing further powerful momentum to the emerging Chinese vacation market,
and captivating completely new guest groups,” said AIDA President Felix
Eichhorn.
While
AIDA’s on-board services have been geared to German-speaking guests to date,
with AIDAbella the company will be addressing the needs of the Chinese market.
“The essence of our product, for which AIDA stands, will however be preserved.
We have taken a very close look at what connects the Asian guest with Germany.
What premium products does he prefer? What cultural differences, including
those relating to consumption habits, do we need to bear in mind? Since we are
part of the Costa Group, our colleagues at Costa Asia will be supporting us
with their know-how, particularly in the area of Sales and HR,” Felix Eichhorn
continued.
The
cruise ship AIDAbella – 252 meters long and 32.2 meters wide – has 1,025
staterooms, 457 of which are balcony staterooms and suites. The ship was
christened by top model Eva Padberg on April 23, 2008. It will be readied for
its deployment in Asia when it goes to dry dock at the beginning of 2017.
One
of AIDAbella’s most striking features is the Theatrium, the vibrant heart of
the ship, where theater, bars, the casino, various stores carrying premium
German and international brands, and the adjacent restaurants all merge into a
single, unique sensory experience across three decks.
In
future, Asian guests will be entranced by breathtaking shows at the Theatrium.
In the seven on-board restaurants, Asian cuisine will come together with
high-end German dining. The youngest passengers will have a dedicated area with
pool and separate sundeck at the supervised AIDA Kids Club. AIDAbella caters
for teenagers as well; they too will have an area of their own, fitted with state-of-the-art
digital entertainment technology.
The
company will be announcing further details at a later date.
Rostock,
November 05, 2015
About
AIDA Cruises:
AIDA
Cruises is one of Germany’s fastest growing and most financially successful
tourism businesses and currently employs around 7,000 people from 40 countries.
Of these employees, 6,000 work on board and 1,000 work at the company
headquarters in Rostock and Hamburg.
With
its 10 cruise ships, AIDA operates and markets one of the most state-of-the-art
fleets in the world. The ships are operated in compliance with the highest
international quality, environmental, and safety standards. By 2020, the AIDA
fleet will expand to 14 ships.
