Costa Group Orders A Third New Generation Ship For Aida Cruises, Increasing Investment To Expand Its Fleet
The ship will be built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg for AIDA Cruises, with scheduled delivery in 2023. The new order was signed in Genoa by Michael Thamm under the board mandate.
Genoa, February 27, 2018 – Costa Group today announced a new order for the German brand AIDA Cruises. The board of directors of Costa, held at the company headquarters in Genoa, gave Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia, the mandate to finalize the contract.
The new LNG-powered ship will be built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany, with scheduled delivery in 2023. The ship will belong to the same class of two AIDA ships already ordered, with a gross tonnage of more than 180,000 and an estimated 2,700 cabins. AIDAnova, the first newbuilding of this ship class, will join AIDA Cruises' fleet this autumn.
With today's announcement, Costa Group has a total of seven new ships on order by 2023: three ships for AIDA Cruises, four for Costa Cruises, to be built by Fincantieri shipyard in Italy, and Meyer Werft's shipyard in Turku, Finland.
Over the course of the coming years, Costa Group – a part of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world's largest cruise company with nine industry-leading brands - will be investing more than six billion euro into the expansion of its fleet.
"This new order confirms that Costa Group is both a leader and a pioneer in the European market," - said Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia. "In response to rising demand for cruise vacations, especially in Germany, which is the largest and fastest-growing market in Europe, we will significantly expand our passenger capacity. The interest in AIDAnova, the first ship of our new generation ships, is enormous. We are opening up completely new possibilities for attracting new target groups across generations for this unique holiday experience".
Starting with AIDAnova, the next generation ship class will combine onboard innovations with evolutions of successful product features already offered on the existing fleet to further enhance the guest experience. More than 40 restaurants and bars on board provide guests with an opportunity to enjoy a new level of world-class dining experiences and culinary trends. Versatile entertainment offerings include an enhanced theatrium, an onboard TV studio and new event restaurants. Guests also have the choice of more than 20 different cabin types – from the penthouse suite to generously sized family staterooms or single staterooms with a balcony.
AIDAnova will be followed by Costa Smeralda, the new flagship of Costa Cruises, to be delivered in October 2019.
Costa Group is the leading cruise company in Europe and Asia, headquartered in Genoa, (Italy). The 27 ships of the brands Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Costa Asia together have a total capacity of 76,000 beds. The fleet will be further strengthened by seven new vessels by 2023. The company has a global workforce of 27,000 employees working onboard and in its 20 offices in 14 countries.
For further information:
Costa Crociere S.p.A.
Hansjoerg Kunze – Vice President Communication & Sustainability - Tel.: +49 (0) 381 / 444-80 20 - presse@aida.de
Gabriele Baroni – Communication Director – cell. +39 349 7668013 – baroni@costa.it
Costa Press Office - costapressoffice@costa.it
Press releases and pictures available on www.costapresscenter.com
