Mitsubishi Heavy Industries hands over AIDAperla

The commissioning of AIDA's 12th ship took place in a traditional Japanese ceremony in the presence of Michael Thamm, ceo, Costa Group; Felix Eichhorn, president, AIDA Cruises; Shunichi Miyanaga, president and ceo, MHI; and Kazuaki Kimura, president and ceo, industry & infrastructure, MHI.

AIDAperla will set sail for the Mediterranean in the coming days and is due to be named by model and presenter Lena Gercke on June 30 in Palma de Mallorca.

'Employing their creativity and innovative strength, our team has convincingly succeeded in meeting our high standards of product quality in an exemplary manner,' Thamm said. Passengers, he added, can look forward to 'unique cruising experiences on board thanks to the high-quality and innovative technology.'

'With the successful commissioning of AIDAprima in May 2016, we have inspired many guests for a cruise vacation,' Eichhorn added. 'For the first time, more than 2 million Germans have decided to go cruising. With the sister ship AIDAperla we will be injecting further important growth momentum into the German vacation market.'

Today, with 12 ships sailing on 130 different routes to more than 250 ports worldwide, AIDA offers great diversity and will inspire 'even more holidaymakers for one of the most beautiful ways of traveling,' Eichhorn said.