Content Section
The AIDA New Year 2018 Countdown
AIDA guestswelcoming in the New Year in seven time zones aboard our twelve ships: AIDAcaratakes the lead
Festively decorated ships, the "Happy New Year"live concert by the AIDA Show Ensemble, spectacular shows, and an unforgettableparty will be making the turn of the year into a very special night full ofsurprises aboard the AIDA fleet. And it will be happening around the globe inseven time zones from the Caribbean to the Canaries, and from the Mediterraneanto Southeast Asia.
Guests aboard AIDAcara will be the first to welcomein the New Year. During the first AIDA world cruise, on New Year's Eve the shipwill be north of Australia, a whole seven hours ahead of Central European Time(CET). In other words, guests will be toasting the New Year at 5 p.m. CET. Inaccordance with old maritime tradition, the New Year will be welcomed in withfour double stroke rolls of the drum. Manfred (70) and Gisela (67) from Hamburgare two of the guests on board. The couple has already been aboard since theworld cruise began in Hamburg and they appreciate the trust-filled atmosphere."Guests and crew have meanwhile become a little family. It will be somethingreally special to toast the New Year in this company. Those at home will haveto wait a little longer for the turn of the year, but they'll be getting someNew Year's photos from us that will make them envious," Gisela says.
For AIDAcara's captain, Tommy Müller too, it is avery special privilege to be the first ship in the fleet with the smiling lipsto welcome in the New Year. "We'll be the first ones sending out our good wishesand thoughts from the ocean around the world for all the guests, their familiesand the crew members aboard AIDA."
Then at 6 p.m. CET the cry of "Happy New Year" willgo up again – this time for AIDAbella which, on her way to Bangkok, is sixhours ahead. "Our fantastic crew aboard AIDAbella has prepared a fabulous NewYear's gala for our guests. I'll be taking a look with my team as well becauseone doesn't get to celebrate New Year in the Gulf of Thailand every year," isthe happy comment from the Berliner, Daniela Mielke, Crew Purser aboardAIDAbella.
After that, it will be the turn of AIDAaura(Seychelles) and AIDAstella (Dubai). Captain Pedro Ziegler, who lives in Suhl,Thuringia, will be getting AIDAstella into position in good time for thedazzling fireworks display being staged against the Dubai skyline. "We have theperfect spot and will be anchoring off the Palm Islands at 11 p.m.," Zieglersays. When the corks pop for them, it will still only be 9 p.m. in Germany.
At midnight CET, the guests and crew aboardAIDAperla (Mediterranean) get to raise their glasses. 2,500 doughnuts and up to5,000 champagne glasses will be set out for the guests on New Year's Eve.Martin Röstel, AIDAperla's General Manager is looking forward to the youngestfleet member's first New Year's party. "2017 already delivered lots ofemotional highlights with the commissioning of AIDAperla. Being able to welcomein the New Year with our guests and the international crew on board is thegrand finale for me, and the perfect start to the New Year," says Röstel,who comes from Berlin.
For AIDAvita, AIDAsol, AIDAprima (all in Madeira)and AIDAblu (Lisbon) it will get exciting at 1 a.m. Central European Time. Theyare located on the zero meridian so their clocks are set to Greenwich MeanTime. "I am so looking forward to the fireworks in Funchal. They're supposed tobe fabulous. And we'll be really pumping up the action at the Beach Club, ofcourse. We'll be there with two sister ships, so we'll be seeing lots of peoplewe know and love again," says AIDAprima Entertainment Manager, Silvia Minardi,from Italy. For General Manager Heidi Rothe, who comes from a place nearFrankfurt and is currently on board AIDAstella, even after twelve years withthe fleet, celebrating the New Year aboard a ship is still something veryspecial. "Moments like that are simply unforgettable! This turn of the yearinvolves another first for me – together with the guests and crew of AIDAblu,we'll be spending New Year's Eve in Portugal's capital, Lisbon, where atmidnight on the dot we'll be cheering ‘Feliz Ano Novo!'"
Glasses will be raised aboard AIDAdiva (nearBarbados) when most people in Germany will already be asleep – at 5 a.m. CET.Only the really hard cases will still be up to celebrate New Year at 6 a.m.with the crews of AIDAmar (Gran Cayman) and AIDAluna (Jamaica). On thatevening, AIDAluna General Manager Wolfgang Pichler will be performing a specialgood deed: "On New Year's Eve I'll be standing on the stage – on the Pool Deck,of course – and will be counting down to the New Year with my guests. I'mparticularly looking forward to how well we do with our New Year tombola. Onething we're trying to do is raise the funds to build a new school in theCaribbean," says Pichler, who lives in Saalfelden.
Rostock, December 18, 2017
Kaleidoscope powered