''Astoria Grande'' is a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

which entered service as ''Aida'' in 1996 in the fleet of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

cruise company,

AIDA Cruises AIDA Cruises is a German cruise line founded in the early 1960s and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc since 2003. Based in Rostock, Germany, AIDA Cruises caters primarily to the German-speaking market; as seago ...

. She was their first

and in 2001 became ''AIDAcara''.

History

The ship was built, at a cost of DM 300 million, by

Kvaerner Masa-Yards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, Finland, Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbu ...

at their Turku New Shipyard in (

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

), for Deutsche Seetouristik/Arkona Reisen,

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

, as a "Clubschiff" (Club Ship), She was launched in 1996 and entered service in June that year with the name ''Aida''. When

P&O Cruises P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the shipping company P&O and was founded in 1977. Along w ...

purchased a controlling stake in Arkona Reisen in 1999, they transferred the ship, and it became part of the new

Aida Cruises AIDA Cruises is a German cruise line founded in the early 1960s and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc since 2003. Based in Rostock, Germany, AIDA Cruises caters primarily to the German-speaking market; as seago ...

fleet. She was renamed ''Aidacara'' (styled ''AIDAcara'') in 2001, after two sister ships entered operation as ''

AIDAvita ''AIDAvita'' was the second ship in AIDA Cruises' fleet. ''AIDAvita'' was built in 2002 by the German shipyard Aker MTW in Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with aroun ...

'' and '' AIDAaura''. In 2005, the vessel underwent a refit, which increased the number of cabins.

References

External links

* Official ''AIDAcara'' website *
Deck Plans of ''AIDAcara''
* Ships built in Turku Ships of AIDA Cruises 1996 ships {{cruise-ship-stub