Carnival Orders a New Ship…..

…for its German AIDA brand that its. Sorry if I got your hopes up. But in this economy and slump in travel, it shows a sign that progress IS being made.

So the new order is for one 71,300grt ship at a cost of around $419,450,151.16 USD at €150,000 per lower berth. The 2,192 guest ship will enter service in spring 2013. She will most likely be a identical sister to ADIAblu and AIDAsol (currently under construction.) As with these, the new ships is to be built at the German shipyard Meyer Werft (surprise, surprise.)

If you are not familiar with or even heard of AIDA, they are a German based line catering to German speaking passengers only. They call the ships “club ships” as their desired market is more of a younger crowd than older one in a very relaxed, informal atmosphere. Think of them as sort of as the German NCL, but without the total implementation of Freestyle Cruising.

Here are some quotes for you:

Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation & plc chairman and CEO.

“With growth that is outpacing other regions of the world, expanding our European brands continues to be a priority for us. This new AIDA ship will build upon the brand’s leadership position in the fast-growing German-speaking market, while offering a unique onboard experience preferred by its clientele.”

Michael Thamm, AIDA Cruises’ President.

“It has always been our strategy to achieve sustainable growth. We look forward to another innovative newbuild, tailor made for the German market.”

As stated above, new ships orders show a sign of recovery. But then again, Germany was never in as bad of shape as P.I.G.S.

I wonder if this is what they meant by Micky Arison snooping around Germany looking for a shipyard in 2009………