AIDA Cruises has changed the vessel slated for its epic 117-night World Cruise just one week before setting sail. The cruise line is citing technical reasons as the explanation for the alteration.
Ships Swapped for World Cruise
AIDAsol was slated to depart for a 117-night roundtrip World Cruise sailing from Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday, October 26, 2022. A last-minute decision, however, has now meant the vessel for this monumental cruise will be AIDAmar instead.
Booked guests first noticed the change when logging in to their cruise line accounts, only to notice a “canceled” alert for the cruise. In fact, the sailing is not canceled, but will now happen on a different ship instead.
According to Moin.de, the reasoning behind the swap is due to a “slight technical problem” with AIDAsol, which requires a specific part for repair.
The exact repair work needed has not been explained, but it does not prevent the ship from sailing and no safety or guest systems are impacted. It is simply more convenient for the cruise line to keep AIDAsol close to shipping ports so that when possible, the work can be completed right away.
Due to the nature of the World Cruise itinerary, which will be visiting dozens of unique ports from South America to Antarctica, French Polynesia, Australia, Africa, and Europe, it cannot be guaranteed that repairs could be made to AIDAsol en route whenever the part may become available.
Instead, AIDAsol and AIDAmar will now swap itineraries, with AIDAmar taking over the World Cruise, and AIDAsol sailing AIDAmar‘s planned Canary Island itineraries for the next few months.
It is possible that the swap will remain in effect until April 2023, which could mean several of AIDAsol‘s spring northern European cruises may also be aboard AIDAmar instead.
This specific World Cruise was to have been the first time AIDAsol set sail on such a remarkable journey, but the 2023-2024 World Cruise has already been planned for the vessel, which is also 117 nights and will visit 43 ports of call on four different continents.
The swap also means that this World Cruise will be AIDAmar‘s first time sailing a circumnavigation. Highlights of the itinerary include extended overnight stays in a number of popular ports, including Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Papeete, Tahiti; and Cape Town, South Africa.
An overnight stay in Sydney, Australia is of particular interest, as the ship will be in port to welcome the New Year, from 8 a.m. on December 31, 2022 until 6 p.m. January 1, 2023.
Comparing the Ships
AIDAsol and AIDAmar are sister ships, both in the popular Sphinx-class, with nearly identical layouts, features, and amenities. This means guests on board should not notice too many differences, nor should there be any difficulty in keeping guests’ stateroom selections the same between the two vessels.
AIDAmar is actually one year younger than her sister ship, having entered service with AIDA Cruises in 2012, while AIDAsol debuted in 2011.
Both ships weigh in at 71,304 gross tons, and feature 1,096 staterooms. Each ship is 252 meters (827 feet) long and has 14 decks of amazing options for guests to enjoy, including eight restaurants, 13 bars, and the refreshing Body & Soul Spa.
