AIDAcara

Launched in 1996 as ms Clubschiff, AIDAcara is fleet's oldest (AIDA Cruises first ever). The "AIDA Selection" fleet also includes AIDAvita, AIDAaura and AIDAmira.

History - construction and ownership

AIDA Cruises is a Rostock-headquartered subsidiary company owned by Carnival Corporation. AIDA is Europe's largest German cruise line (followed by TUI) targeting younger and more active travellers. AIDA was founded in 1960 (as "Deutsche Seereederei") and in 2000 was acquired by P&O Princess Cruises, which merged with Carnival Corporation (shipowner) in 2003. AIDA's first World Cruise (AIDAcara) was in 2017-2018 (October-February) with 116-day roundtrip itinerary from Hamburg Germany.

The 38,557-ton, 1,186-passenger cruise ship AIDAcara is ready for fun and relax. She is a family-friendly resort-class ship and is among the smaller ones in the company (still large enough for amenities like a salon, SPA and mini-golf). AIDAcara is the first of its kind in AIDA Cruise Line fleet and very innovative about the “club ship” idea. She was built in 1996 in England and appeals mostly to passengers from Germany.

Besides the ship's staff and crew, AIDA cruise passengers are also served by Peper robots - the latest cyborg technology implemented fleetwide in 2016. These humanoid robots greet and guide passengers upon embarkation. They also assist them throughout the cruise by providing information and tips on onboard dining, entertainment, enrichment program (workshops, pre-scheduled events), casino and shopping promotions, shore excursions and tours. Pepper robots are mobile and communicate in 3 languages (English, German, Italian). They can also interpret human emotions by analyzing voice tones and facial expressions.

Cruise itinerary program

AIDAcara itinerary program is based on round-trip Canary Islands cruises from Gran Canaria, Baltic and Norwegian Fjords voyages leaving out of homeport Kiel Germany.

In 2017-2018, the ship became AIDA Cruises fleet's first ever liner to operate Around The World Cruise. AIDAcara's world voyage (October 17, 2017 - February 10, 2018) was a 116-day itinerary roundtrip from Hamburg Germany. The voyage was booked by around 1100 passengers and visited 41 ports in 23 countries on 5 continents. See more details in the ship's Wiki section.

Cabins

Most AIDAcara staterooms are 150-185-sq.foot Oceanview rooms (342). There are a total of 590 staterooms (of which 48 Balcony rooms, 342 Outside, 200 Inside) in 16 categories. The largest aboard AIDAcara are the Premium Suites (605 ft2).

Shipboard dining options - Food and Drinks

AIDAcara restaurants are three: two main – the Calypso (named after a personage from Greek mythology - a nymph who occupied on the island of Ogygia and detained Odysseus for several years) and Markt, offering an open-seating buffet. The extra-tariff Rossini is an a-la-carte choice and includes waiter service and near-gourmet food with good quality. There are no strict dress codes or fixed dining times. Basic beverages, including house wines and beer, are free of charge during meals at the buffet restaurants. There are also several beverage packages that may be bought at reduced rates.

Follows the complete list of AIDAcara restaurants and food bars.

• Rossini (a speciality, dinner-only restaurant at surcharge, reservations required; offers waiter service and 6-course a-la-carte menu)
• Markt Restaurant (complimentary main dining room; self-service buffet restaurant with a variety of food stations and a small terrace)
• Calypso Restaurant (the second main dining room; complimentary buffet restaurant with indoor/outdoor seating).

Shipboard entertainment options - Fun and Sport

No casino is available onboard AIDAcara, but a swimming pool, Body & Soul SPA and Fit & Fun fitness are provided and they’re quite wide for this kind size of the vessel. AIDAcara golf area with indoor putting green & golf simulator is a plus. The AIDAcara theatre (called Das Theater by Germans), the largest area onboard, and the full-width huge AIDA Bar & Anytime Disco will make you feel full of life. A lot of deck space is available for walkers, volleyball and basketball fans.

Follows the complete list of AIDAcara lounges, clubs and other entertainment venues for kids, teens and adults.

• Kids Club (AIDA Cruises kids program is complimentary, with supervised, age-appropriate activities: the 3 age groups include Seahorses for 3-6 yo, Dolphins for 7-9 yo and Sharks 10-11 yo; the Kids Club has an outdoor area with a paddling pool)
• Internet stations with printers (located in the Reception/Lobby area; Wi-Fi coverage is available shipwide, including in all guests rooms)
• The Theater (700-seat, 2-level main show venue for large-scale show productions; also hosts daily lectures, trivia games, Bingo)
• Art Gallery (Kunstgalerie; sells original artworks of renowned art schools and German artists; hosts art auctions)
• AIDA Bar (big-capacity lounge with panoramic windows)
• Photo Gallery & Shop (professional photo & video services, duty-free accessories and equipment; new feature are the photo kiosks with touch-screens /face-recognition system)
• AIDA Shop (duty-free merchandise at discount prices; the shopping arcade has a general store selling liquor and tobaccos, as well as small boutiques for jewellery, luxury watches, perfumes, brand fashion clothing, AIDA logo goods)
• Lambada Bar (adults-only cocktail bar & nightclub with panoramic windows and live music entertainment)
• Beauty Salon (Friseur; provides hairdresser, barber services, professional manicure/pedicure)
• Body & Soul Sports Fitness Centre (with a modern Gym and separate area for classes)
• Mini Golf (indoor putting green area); Golf simulator (virtual golf courses)
• Sunbathing area (Freibereich, served by the Pool Bar and the Pool Grill /American fast food fare)
• The Library (Bibliotek; offers card and board games)
• Anytime Bar (Diskothek; ship’s disco & nightclub with DJ program and themed dance parties; during the day hosts organized dance classes)
• Cara Lounge (teens club with supervised activities in two age groups – Orcas for 12 -13 yo and Teens 14 -17 yo; complimentary; with Video Games Arcade and PlayStation consoles)
• Sports deck area (Sportaussendeck with a combined sports court for basketball/volleyball)
• Pool deck (with one swimming pool, 3 whirlpools, Pool Shop for towels, deck games - Shuffleboard, Giant Chess, Table Tennis, Backgammon, sunbathing areas; a stage for live performances, bingo evenings, nightly pool parties, laser shows is also available)
• Body & Soul SPA complex (with Beauty Salon & Spa Reception, massages /treatments rooms, indoor whirlpool, Aroma Sauna, Finish Sauna, Steam Room, relaxation room)
• Sundeck / sunbathing area (Freibereich, located above the swimming pool; with loungers and 2 whirlpools; the ship’s Top Deck is dedicated to Freikorperkultur / FKK Bereich nudist area with sun loungers)
• Power Walking/Jogging Track

AIDAcara 2016 refurbishment review

Ship's last drydock refurbishment was in 2016 (January 26-February 6) done in Cadiz Spain by NAVANTIA Shiprepairs.

• Routine maintenance works were performed at the NAVANTIA shipyard.
• All passenger cabins were renovated
• New carpeting (around 1800 m2) was laid in public areas.
• The ship's hull and superstructure were repainted (over 12000 m2 surface area above and below the waterline).
• Re-designed were Pool Bar (deck 10), and Calypso Bar (deck 9). An outdoor seating area was added on Deck 9. Anytime Bar (disco on deck 11) was refurbished and its dancefloor redesigned.
• The ship's Gym (deck 9) received new equipment (including cardio scan diagnosis).
• AIDA Store (deck 8) now sells the clothing brand GAASTRA. The jewellery area was redesigned, now selling the Danish brand Bering.
• A new height-adjustable photo kiosk was added to the digital stations at the Photoshop (deck 8).
• routine maintenance works were also made.

The refurbishment was specifically planned for the liner's 20th Anniversary. Christened on June 7, 1996. AIDA's first ship triggered a revolution on the German cruising market.

AIDAcara is the first-ever ship of AIDA Kreutzfahrten. The vessel was built as "Club Ship" (Clubschiff in German) for Deutsche Seetouristik (Arkona Reisen) and was launched under its AIDA name in 1996. After P&O Cruises transferred the vessel in 1999, it became part of AIDA Cruises and was renamed "AIDAcara" (2001). In 2005, it underwent major refurbishment planned to increase the number of passenger cabins.

Fun fact is, that AIDAcara was world's first cruise liner to offer the innovative concept "club ship". As to size, it is among fleet's smallest, very much family-friendly, and Das Theater is the largest area on board. AIDA's Cara ship also has a biking station and its own fleet of bicycles provided on shore excursions in ports of call. The onboard language is German, as most of AIDA cruise ship passengers are Germans and German-speaking Europeans (Austrians, Swiss).

World Cruise 2017

In 2017, AIDA Cruises had its first around the world voyage on AIDAcara.

The 116-days long World Cruise (itinerary October 17, 2017, through February 10, 2018) visited a total of 41 ports in 23 different countries on 5 continents. The route was westbound, featuring 1 Transatlantic crossing and 1 Suez Canal transit.

The unique voyage was roundtrip from hamburg Germany, and included the following ports of call: Hamburg (departure), Sea Day, Southampton, Sea Day, Lisbon, Sea Day, Funchal Madeira, Sea Day, Praia Cape Verde, Sea Day, Recife Brazil, Sea Day, Rio de Janeiro, Sea Day, Montevideo Uruguay, Buenos Aires Argentina, Sea Day, Puerto Madryn, Sea Day, Ushuaia, Sea Day, Punta Arenas, Sea Day, Puerto Montt, Sea Day, Valparaiso-Santiago Chile, Sea Day, Robinson Crusoe Island, Sea Day, Hangaroa, Sea Day, Bounty Bay, Sea Day, Papeete Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Sea Day, Waitangi, Auckland New Zealand, Sea Day, Sydney Australia, Sea Day, Cairns, Sea Day, Darwin, Sea Day, Komodo Island, Lembar, Bali, Sea Day, Singapore, Port Klang, Langkawi, Sea Day, Colombo Sri Lanka, Sea Day, Male Maldives, Sea Day, Salalah, Sea Day, Aqaba, Suez Canal, Limassol, Sea Day, Valletta Malta, Sea Day, Malaga, Sea Day, Leixões, Ferrol, Sea Day, Honfleur France, Sea Day, Hamburg (disembarkation).

AIDA's 2017 world cruise prices started from USD 15,580 pp (double occupancy inside cabin rates).

In 2018, AIDAaura became the company's second "world cruise ship" leaving from roundtrip Hamburg (itinerary October 8, 2018, through February 2, 2019). On December 19, 2017, during the world voyage, Cara became AIDA's first ever ship to dock at Sydney Harbor (White Bay Cruise Terminal, Sydney Australia). The ship was commanded by Captain Tommy Moller and carried around 1100 passengers.