“AIDAbella”: from Venice to China / GALLERY

Venice - “AIDAbella” will be the first AIDA Kreuzfahrten cruise ship to service the demands of the emerging Chinese holiday cruise market. Secolo XIX-the MediTelegraph had the chance to look at her closely in Venice, the ship’s current home port for just a few more weeks. The vessel, will undertake a long redeployment voyage, in fact, retracing the travels of Marco Polo, who in the thirteenth-century left the Venetian Republic, bound for a then almost unknown China.

This debut of AIDA onto the Asian market was made possible by the decade-long experience gained by Costa Asia, that has assisted the cruise-brand led by Felix Eichhorn in setting the standards for the range of services that will be offered to its Chinese passengers. Firstly, the AIDA brand will not be substantially changed, but will simply be adapted to local customs and traditions, using the Made-in-Germany brand as a theme to promote the debut of this German cruise brand in the Far East. Let’s recall that AIDA ships offer their patrons a distinctively original product in the world of cruises.

In fact, an informal atmosphere on board is coupled, for lunch and dinner meals, with several different buffet restaurants on offer, where beverages, wine and beer, are included in the price, while dinner with waiter-service options are provided by specialty restaurants. “AIDAbella” will depart from Venice at the end of October bound for Bangkok, its winter-home-port, from where it will sail on 14-day cruises in Southeast Asia until March. Finally, after some significant refitting in preparation for its debut on the Chinese market, on 17 April “AIDAbella” will sail from Shanghai on its first round-trip cruise in its new role. What modifications will the ship undergo in preparation for its Asian passengers? Firstly all three main buffet restaurants will be slightly updated, one in particular will be dedicated to Asian cuisine, taking the name of “World of Asia”. The Buffalo Steakhouse, the American fare steakhouse, will be replaced by “Brauhaus”, a Bavarian beer garden-style restaurant by-the-sea. This latest restaurant-style is now a must on all the newest AIDA ships, and even in Chinese cities Bavarian-style restaurants are now very popular. The ship will then undergo three important modifications designed to cater to three favourite Chinese leisure activities: gambling, shopping and karaoke. So, the small casino aboard “AIDAbella” will be enlarged, extending to the area which currently houses the AIDAbar and AIDAlounge. New stores will then be set-up on board, these will be placed between the photo gallery and the “Theatrium”. Products from major German brands will be on sale, as in the existing stores. Finally, the games room will be dismantled to make way for an area dedicated to karaoke. Conversely, due to logistical issues, the cycling on-shore excursions, one of the musts aboard AIDA, will not be offered at Chinese ports, and hence the bikes in “AIDAbella” ’s biking station will be stored on-land.

To complete the picture, here are the statistics for the ship, which was delivered by Meyer Werft in 2008: its tonnage is 69,203 gt, its overall length is 251.89 metres, its width is 32.20 metres, and its draught is 7.30 metres. Electricity generation is provided by four MAK 9M43C diesel engines with a total power of 36 MW, while electric propulsion is provided by two 12,500 kw Siemens engines which enable it to reach a top speed of 21.8 knots (about 40 km/h). The ship can accommodate up to 2,500 passengers in 1,025 staterooms. Finally, like all AIDA ships, the vessel is registered in Genoa and flies the Italian flag.