AIDAnova

AIDAnova is a cruise ship built by Meyer Werft GmbH in Papenburg, Germany under contract from Carnival Corporation for AIDA Cruises. The first of the new Excellence-class cruise ship ships, she was launched on 21 August 2018 and delivered on 12 December 2018.

She has one sister ship, AIDAcosma, delivered on 21 December 2021.[5][6]

General information

The ship is the first cruise ship in the world that can operate completely using liquefied natural gas (LNG), like the cruiseferry MS Viking Grace.[7][8][9]

AIDAnova has four dual-fuel hybrid engines, which can use either LNG or traditional fuel oil.[7]

Her delivery was marred by delays; complications arose from her engineering being the first-of-its-kind for a ship of her scale. In October 2018, the first postponement was announced, cancelling all scheduled preview cruises.[10] A small fire had also broken out during its construction in the shipyard, delaying her sea trials.[10] Her maiden voyage was then scheduled for 2 December 2018 from Hamburg.[10] Later, in November 2018, a second postponement was announced.[11] Her sea trials were scheduled to begin on 16 November 2018 and all work was scheduled to be completed by 30 November 2018.[11] AIDAnova was delivered on 12 December 2018 and her maiden voyage was on 19 December 2018 for a seven-day cruise from Santa Cruz de Tenerife around the Canary Islands and Madeira.[12]

As of September 2019, AIDAnova was sailing on cruises around the Mediterranean and Canary Islands.[5] In 2022 it has been sailing in Northern Europe, the port of Nordfjordeid in Norway is visited on every cruise.[13]

The ship has the option to plugin whilst in port (and turnoff the engines) an option known as cold ironing.

External links

• AIDAnova Cruises official page (German)
• Video of construction