The 12th member of AIDA Cruises fleet, the LNG-powered AIDAperla was christened in Palma de Mallorca on Friday, July 30.
The 300-meter-long and 37.6-meter-wide cruise ship will be sailing the Western Mediterranean from July 1, 2017. The Palma de Mallorca, and Barcelona are the start and destination ports for the seven-day cruises that take in stops such as Rome (Civitavecchia), Corsica and Florence (Livorno).
AIDAperla will make her first appearance in Germany in March 2018. The Hanseatic City of Hamburg will be the start and end port for seven-day round trips.
The vessel, delivered by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in April will make 34 calls at Palma de Mayorca and it will also dock 31 times in the port of Barcelona where it will be supplied with liquefied natural gas (LNG).
AIDAperla will be the second cruise ship that will be able to produce onboard power from LNG while docked.
Carnival Group, AIDA Cruises parent company, is investing a total of around €30 million ($33.5 million) in a cruise terminal in Barcelona, which has an area of some 12,500 m² and is specifically geared to the operation of the next generation of ships that are entirely powered with LNG. The first ship of this generation, AIDAnova, will be commissioned in fall 2018.
LNG World News Staff