AIDAblu


AIDAblu is a Sphinx-class cruise ship, operated by the German cruise line, AIDA Cruises. AIDAblu is the seventh ship in the cruise line. The vessel was delivered by Meyer Werft to its owners last 4 February 2010. She is a sister ship to AIDAdiva, AIDAbella, AIDAluna with a half deck more, and is followed by similar AIDAsol and AIDAmar. She has a passenger capacity of 2,050.
The name of AIDAblu had been used for a former AIDA ship from 2004–2007. AIDA Cruises' parent company, Carnival Corporation & plc, then transferred the ship to another cruise line., Ocean Village, and was renamed Ocean Village Two. In 2009, Ocean Village Two was again transferred to another cruise line, P&O Cruises Australia, also a Carnival daughter company, and was renamed Pacific Jewel.

Record holder

AIDAblu is presently the record holder for the fastest English Channel crossing between Le Havre and Southampton by cruise ship. AIDAblu left Le Havre, France at 20:00 on 5 September 2011 in poor weather with winds and seas and arrived in Southampton, England at 02:45 on 5 September 2011.

Facilities

AIDAblu offers six restaurants (with a total area of, ten bars, a wellness area, of outer deck area, and a theatrium. There are also special internal and external areas for children.
AIDAblu currently features one of the largest wellness centers on a cruise ship, at 2,600 m2. It also has the first brewery installed on a cruise ship, where the beer served in the ship are brewed.
AIDAblu has 1096 cabins, 374 are on the inside and 722 on the outside.
The callsign is IBWX. IMO 9398888. MMSI 247282500.

Incidents

In 2010 Francesco Schettino, the captain of the ill-fated Costa Concordia before, was the captain of the Costa Atlantica, also a Carnival Corporation ship as it entered the port of Warnemünde, Germany, at too high a speed, allegedly causing damage to the AIDAblu.

2020 COVID-19 outbreak

On 2020.05.18, a male Filipino crew member of AIDAblu was found dead in his cabin. He had worked in the ship's galley department. The ship was docked in Hamburg at the time. The crew member was not suspected to have died of COVID-19. During the previous week, 188 crew members of AIDAblu had been successfully repatriated from Germany to the Philippines, though it is unclear why the deceased was not among them. In addition, many employees working for AIDA Cruises have praised the company for their transparency and honesty since the start of the pandemic, as well as the care that their managers have shown for their mental health.