Informal cruise line Ocean Village is to gain a second ship from AIDA Cruises rather than from Princess Cruises.

The UK single ship brand was to gain Regal Princess from Princess Cruises in November 2006 but instead will receive 1,664-passenger AIDAblue from German line AIDA Cruises in 2007. All lines are part of US cruise conglomerate Carnival Corporation.

AIDAblue will transfer to Ocean Village in April 2007. The 15-year-old vessel, which had a refit in 2004, previously operated as Crown Princess, sister ship to the current Ocean Village vessel which previously operated as Star Princess.

The change follows recent orders for three new ships for AIDA due to delivery in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Regal Princess will stay with the Princess Cruises fleet.

Carnival said only "minimal modifications" would be required to convert AIDAblue to reflect the characteristics of the Ocean Village brand.

Carnival chairman and chief executive Micky Arison said: "This is an excellent opportunity not only to expand Ocean Village's presence in the UK market but also enhance the brand identity of AIDA Cruises. With the addition of these 68,500-ton cruise ships, AIDA Cruises will be comprised of six modern 'club ships' that cater exclusively to the German-speaking market."

Ocean Village managing director Peter Shanks said: "Ocean Village has been highly successful since its start-up two years ago and is ready for further expansion.

It was an excellent vacation, and the key pont is you get what you pay for

Everything onboard is good, but could be better. Food is good (as it still is owned by a big corporation) and the entertainment on the whole was average, with the on-deck laser-light enhanced show being supurb!

The day they give the ship a re-fit, I will definatly consider it again.

[ 08-04-2005: Message edited by: MOORHOUSE ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Johan:
Has anyone sailed AIDA or Ocean Village - what is the main difference with "mass market" cruises ?

J

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I traveled 3 times with Aida. Once with Aidablu spring 2005. On board you have exclusive German as language. The system on board is like "Club Med". You have f.e. 2 buffet restaurant and soft drinks, water, beere and wine free at meal time in the restaurants.
On our
HOMEPAGE are Links to our photo album for 2 of this travels.

Carnival Corporation & Carnival plc (ticker: CCL, exchange: New York Stock Exchange (.N)) News Release - 8/4/2005

Carnival Corporation & plc to Transfer AIDA Cruises' AIDAblu Cruise Ship to U.K.'s Ocean Village in Spring 2007

MIAMI, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE: CCL; LSE) (NYSE: CUK) today announced that AIDA Cruises' AIDAblu cruise ship will be transferred to its Ocean Village brand in spring 2007. The transfer follows recent orders for three new 68,500-ton cruise ships for the German brand to be delivered in spring 2007, 2008, and 2009.
Additionally, Princess Cruises' Regal Princess, which was originally scheduled to be transferred to Ocean Village, will now remain within the Princess Cruises fleet.
"This is an excellent opportunity not only to expand Ocean Village's presence in the U.K. market but also enhance the brand identity of AIDA Cruises. With the addition of these new 68,500-ton cruise ships, AIDA Cruises will be comprised of six modern 'club ships' that cater exclusively to the German-speaking market," said Micky Arison, Carnival Corporation & plc's chairman and CEO.
Because the AIDAblu and Ocean Village's current vessel are sister ships and designed to provide an informal, contemporary cruise experience, minimal modifications will be required to convert the AIDAblu to reflect the characteristics of Ocean Village's product.
At the same time, Arison noted that retaining the Regal Princess under the Princess Cruises umbrella will enable the brand to maximize its earnings potential. "The strength of the North American cruise market is a compelling reason to keep the Regal Princess within Princess Cruises' fleet. It is one of the world's most successful and recognizable cruise brands and market conditions dictate a need for more capacity, not less," he said.
He noted that the multi-brand philosophy uniquely positions Carnival Corporation & plc to take advantage of the synergies that exist within the company's various brands. "The transfer of the AIDAblu to Ocean Village is yet another example of optimizing asset utilization to benefit our brands and maximize returns for the group and we will continue to explore those opportunities," Arison said.
Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise vacation group in the world, with a portfolio of 12 cruise brands in North America, Europe and Australia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Line, Windstar Cruises, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard Line, Ocean Village, P&O Cruises, Swan Hellenic, and P&O Cruises Australia.
Together, these brands operate 79 ships totaling more than 137,000 lower berths with 12 new ships scheduled for delivery between January 2006 and April 2009. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates the leading tour companies in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon, Holland America Tours and Princess Tours. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.

SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc

[ 08-05-2005: Message edited by: smart ]