Birthday party twin-pack: AIDAprima celebrates its first birthday at the same time as the HAFENGEBURTSTAG HAMBURG port anniversary
As the main sponsor, the shipping company is sending four cruise ships to the Hanseatic City and will present a major AIDA firework display on Saturday evening
Last year, 1.6 million visitors experienced the spectacular christening ceremony for AIDAprima on the anniversary of the Port of Hamburg. Since then, the flagship has departed from Hamburg 52 times on 7-day round-trip cruises to the finest cities of Western Europe such as London, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
"Hamburg and AIDA belong together and together we have developed the Hanseatic City into one the most important cruise metropolises in Northern Europe", confirms Hansjörg Kunze, Vice President of Communication & Sustainability at AIDA Cruises. "We are delighted to be the main sponsor of the HAFENGEBURTSTAG HAMBURG port anniversary celebrations once again for the 6th time and contribute to its constant further development."
The other projects being promoted by the shipping line together with the City of Hamburg include, for example, the environmentally-friendly operation of AIDAprima on liquefied natural gas in the Port of Hamburg for one year now. The use of LNG substantially reduces the ship's emissions, with the emission of sulfur dioxides and soot particles avoided completely. The emission of nitrogen oxides has fallen by up to 80% and CO2 emissions reduced by 20%.
At this year's 828th HAFENGEBURTSTAG HAMBURG port anniversary event, AIDAprima will also celebrate her first birthday – and everyone can join in the celebrations and even the singing. During the port anniversary event, guests can give a rendition of their very own song in a Video-Box at AIDA World in the HafenCity area of Hamburg. The birthday song for AIDAprima will then be created from all the video contributions.
Under the hashtag #aidacelebration, every fan can share his/her AIDA impressions of the port anniversary weekend and view these on a Social Wall at www.aida.de or on the large LED wall at AIDA World in HafenCity. And we can't forget the birthday cake, of course! Several thousand birthday cakes will be handed out over the weekend.
In addition, visitors to the 100 square meter AIDA World facility can also expect a lot of other surprises. In addition to numerous children's events, guests can gain inspiration from the AIDA feeling close up in the Show Cabin or go on a tour of discovery via 3D glasses and a digital model of a ship. There is also a GIF Booth with digital output, i.e. real moments are transformed into moving images. The animations can easily be sent by email or shared via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Visitors can also find out more about AIDA's range of vacation packages at the HAMBURG del mar Beach Club.
The highlights of the birthday party will be the big AIDA firework display and the brilliant light show on board and on shore at 10.30 p.m. on Saturday May 6, 2017. From the HAMBURG del mar Beach Club, spectators will have an ideal view of the firework display and the colorful activities on the water. AIDAprima will leave her berth in Steinwerder at around 7.45 p.m. for this and take up her position in front of the piers. For all of those who would like to relive the past year of AIDAprima from Hamburg and cannot physically attend the firework display, there will be a Facebook Live stream from 10 p.m. presented by Entertainment Manager Stephan Hartmann from the deck. Following the colorful spectacle, which will light up the night sky over the port, AIDAprima will set course for some of the finest cities in Western Europe.
In addition to AIDAprima, three other AIDA pursed lip beauties will also be visiting for the HAFENGEBURTSTAG HAMBURG port anniversary celebrations. This will start with the mooring of AIDAvita at the Steinwerder Cruise Center at around 8 a.m. on Friday May 5, 2017. She is scheduled to depart again at 7.30 p.m. Before leaving the port, AIDAvita will make a short tour of the harbor past the piers and the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie concert hall. AIDAvita will then set course for a 14-day Selection Cruise to Great Britain and Ireland.
The celebrations will culminate on Sunday May 7, 2016 in the mooring of AIDAluna at the HafenCity Cruise Center from 8 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. and the docking of AIDAsol in Altona from 8 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. Visitors can then marvel at the two AIDA ships leaving the port together to conclude the celebrations. AIDAluna will then set course for the beautiful sights of Norway, with AIDAsol departing on a short 4-day cruise to Amsterdam and London.
AIDA Cruises has displayed the strongest presence in the Port of Hamburg this year with 82 visits from a total of six ships and is once again an important economic factor for the Hanseatic City as well as a magnet for many local residents and guests.
The Hanseatic City of Hamburg and AIDA Cruises are also setting standards together for the cruise sector in terms of sustainability. With AIDAprima, AIDA Cruises commissioned the first cruise ship in the world in 2016 to be fitted with a dual-fuel engine and which can be supplied with low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) while in port. For one year now, AIDAprima has been running successfully on low-emission LNG at the Steinwerder Cruise Center. A short time later, the supply of LNG also gradually started in all the other ports (Southampton, Le Havre, Zeebrügge and Rotterdam) that AIDAprima calls at on her 7-day cruises. The use of LNG avoids the emission of soot particles and sulfur dioxides almost completely. Nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced by 80% and CO2 emissions by 20% compared with the use of low-sulfur marine diesel.
Those who would like to experience the unique atmosphere of the Port of Hamburg themselves from the deck of an AIDA ship can book cruises from the Hanseatic City with their local travel agency, on the Internet at www.aida.de or at the AIDA Customer Center by calling +49 (0) 381 / 20 27 07 07.
Rostock, May 3, 2017
