seatec - Finnish marine technology review 2/2009 | Page 31

AIDAluna LED-display. A IDAluna took to the waters on 5 April Cruises. As Meyer Werft delivered the After the ceremony, Knuppe handed over from the Port of Palma de Majorca 69,200-gt cruise ship to the owner in the the bottle neck to Lutz Leitzsch, captain and headed to Hamburg. The journey con- German port of Emden in March, this oc- of AIDAluna. According to tradition, the tinued to a first call in Kiel on 22 April, and casion marked the third time the German neck will be framed and placed onto the onward to Rostock-Warnemünde where shipmakers had made such a delivery. bridge as a lucky charm. AIDAluna moored for the first time on 8 In fact, the AIDAluna is the third ship About 2,100 guests celebrated on out of a series of six the Papenburg ship- board the new ship under – naturally! – Presently, she is busy making all-to- yard is building for AIDA Cruises. The Mey- the shining moon, marking the first time gether 10 roundtrips in the Baltic Sea. The er shipyard is to deliver the rest of the fleet the naming ceremony took place on board ship will conduct 10-day cruises visiting in 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively. an AIDA ship. The christening was topped May. off by gigantic fireworks that illuminated Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stock- the night sky. holm, Gdansk and Mukran as well as shorter trips with stops at Copenhagen FLY ME TO THE MOON and Oslo. The christening of AIDAluna in April turned tion: the christening was broadcasted live out to be quite the spectacle, with Palma via satellite and twitter – another “first ev- de Majorca providing the perfect venue er”. In September, AIDAluna will head for the Canary Islands. Also Internet users got in on the ac- AIDAluna is only the most recent ex- for a lively party. International top model And what is it exactly that makes ample of the continuous cooperation be- Franziska Knuppe did the honours, smash- AIDAluna so appealing? Well, to start tween shipyard Meyer Werft and AIDA ing the champagne bottle across the bow. with, on this ship luxury interiors are com- seatec 2/2009 29