AIDA Cruises to resume cruises from Germany for a third time
Germany’s AIDA Cruises, part of the Carnival Corporation of cruise lines, will resume cruise operations out of Kiel, Germany later this month. AIDA Cruises is resuming cruise operations with its ship AIDAsol, sailing roundtrip from Kiel on short itinerary, the details of which have not yet been released.
AIDAsol will begin her new cruise program from Kiel on May 22nd, 2021, according to the cruise line, and bookings will open on May 12th, 2021.
At this time, it isn’t clear if the cruises are only available for German residents, or whether EU and residents of other regions will be able to book as well.
The move to resume cruises from Germany comes a few weeks after AIDA confirmed it would be resuming cruises from Greece as well, along with the Canary Islands, where AIDAperla is already sailing.
AIDA Cruises was one of the first cruise lines to resume operations last year, alongside Costa Cruises and MSC Cruises, sailing roundtrip out of Germany in late 2020. However, consecutive second and third waves of COVID-19 forced national and regional lockdowns in Germany and wider Europe, suspending the cruise line’s efforts, which have continued in fits and starts since.
AIDA Cruises resumption of cruises out of Germany, its home market and most important source market, will be a major milestone for the company as it continues to weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. While German cruise passengers take many fly-cruise holidays (AIDA Cruises homeports seasonally in Dubai during the winter cruise season), its still critically important for the line to have at least one ship sailing in the domestic market.
The restart of cruise operations in Germany will comply with AIDA’s enhanced health and safety protocols, along with any guidance from authorities. It seems that guests won’t need to be fully vaccinated, but will need a negative test as utilized on other cruise lines resuming operations in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
The health and safety protocols have been tested by SGS Institut Fresenius and confirmed by the classification society DNV GL, which classifies the entire AIDA fleet. Guests will go through a PCR test and regular health checks, social distancing, and the ship will be subject to enhanced hygiene protocols.
