AIDA ok for an English speaking Canadian?

[Avril]

Hi!!

I saw one of the AIDA ships in St. Maarten when I was on the Oasis of the Seas (can't remember which one) and thought it was one of the coolest ships I've ever seen (love the paint job)!! I'd love to sail on one. I was wondering, are these ships/this line OK for North American (specifically Canadian) and English speaking cruisers? I only know a very little bit of German from taking it in high school. I don't want to go on a cruise where I can't communicate to any of my fellow passengers or the crew. What is the onboard atmosphere/nightlife like? What are the itineraries and where do they sail? I'm interested in the Caribbean. I tried looking at their website but it's all in German, not helpful.

Thanks!!

[Avril]

Does this help at all (Hilft bei allen)?

Hallo!

Ich sah eines der AIDA Schiffe in St. Maarten, wenn ich auf der Oasis of the Seas wurde (kann mich nicht erinnern, welche) und dachte, es war einer der coolsten Schiffe, die ich je gesehen habe (Liebe der Lackierung)!! Ich würde gerne auf ein Segel. Ich frage mich, sind diese Schiffe / diese Zeile OK für Nordamerikastudien (speziell Kanada) und englischsprachige Kreuzer? Ich weiß nur eine sehr wenig Deutsch daran, es in der High School. Ich möchte nicht für eine Kreuzfahrt, wo ich keinem meiner Kollegen Fluggästen oder der Besatzung kommunizieren können gehen. Wie ist die Atmosphäre an Bord / Nachtleben aus? Was sind die Routen und wo kommen sie segeln? Ich bin in der Karibik interessieren. Ich habe versucht, auf ihrer Website suchen, aber es ist alles in Deutsch, nicht hilfreich. Verständlich, nur nicht hilfreich.

Vielen Dank allen, und ich hoffe, Sie bald an Bord zu sehen!! Bis dahin können Sie alle haben glatte See und Sonnenschein, Happy Cruising!!






Thanks to Google Translate for this (Dank Google Translate für diese)!!

[GermanBoy]

Hello Avril,

i was already three times on board an AIDA ship and ist simply AWESOME!!!
AIDA is the best vacation ive ever had, i already booked another cruise in November on AIDAblu, new ship from 2010.

Unfortunately you have to speak german to be on board...Everything is in German, Meals in the Restaurants, The Bord News every evening, the Shows, the Animation...simply EVERYTHING!

So i think its difficult for a non german speaker.

Regards
Michael

[Avril]

Thanks!! That's too bad as they're really beautiful ships!! I guess I'll have to learn to speak German and in the meantime, stick to lines who do speak English and have the Bord News, Animation, menus, shows, etc available in English (even if it's not the line's 1st language). Is there anyway to find out about AIDA in English (website, brochure, etc)? Good to hear that you enjoyed your other cruises!!!! They're tons of fun, aren't they? Have fun on the AIDAblu!!!! I'd love to see your pictures when you get back (especially of the ship - inside and out)!!

Thanks again!!!!




Vielen Dank!! Das ist schade, wie sie wirklich schönen Schiffe sind!! Ich denke, ich werde lernen müssen, Deutsch zu sprechen und in der Zwischenzeit, um Linien, die Englisch sprechen und Sie haben die Bord News, Animation, Menüs, Shows, etc. in englischer Sprache verfügbar (auch wenn es nicht die Linie der 1. Sprache) halten. Gibt es trotzdem, um sich über AIDA in English (Website, Broschüre, usw.)? Gut zu hören, dass Sie Ihren anderen Kreuzfahrten genossen!!!! Sie sind jede Menge Spaß, nicht wahr? Viel Spaß auf der AIDAblu!!!! Ich würde gerne Ihre Bilder zu sehen, wenn Sie wieder (vor allem des Schiffes - innen und außen) zu bekommen!

Nochmals vielen Dank!!

[cruiseaholic78]

Avril,
I am afraid I have to agree with germany Boy on this, I live in Holland (English married to Dutchman) and the whole Aida concept is geared to Germans. I have now seen on one of their sites (the one we use to book excursions etc) that there is a small part in English now so maybe there is hope for the future.
We have been on 8 cruises with them and our next one will be in September from NY to NY. The best until now was from Mallorca to Manaus it took 3 weeks and sailing up the Amazon was the best I have ever done.
If you are interested you can look on their website www.aida.de
and the fans site is www.wasserurlaub.de, there are load of photos there.
happy cruising

[mothergoose1957]

We were on the AIDA Asia Cruise this past January from Bangok return, a nice ship, we are Canadian (I am my husband landed immigrant) and of course we could understand German, but the staff also speak English. A few things we did not like over other cruises:
1. Always Buffet and a made cattle rush by the somewtimes unpatient/rude germans,
2. The free wine / beer at dinner was lousy
3. We being Canadian Residents had to pay for a visa for Vietnam, which we found out later the rest of the cruisers that were German residents did not have to pay, we were out of pocket $200.00 and have gotten no where with AIDA they were rather rude about our request for looking into some form of compensation and their attitude was well you don't live in Germany..... But we have German Passports go figure.

Otherwards we enjoyed the itinerary , the crew/staff were great, some somewhat arrogant, but if you don't understand Germans they do come across somewhat rude/abrupt.

Would I cruise with them again... mmmm not so sure, there are other cruise lines we prefer, and you get what you pay for!

[keksybg]

As far as I know, regardless where they are from, all these cruise companies must have english speaking staff. It is kind of an universal language, and not speaking it at all, would lead to massive losses of revenue.

[Floridiana]

I have not been on an Aida ship, but I saw what happens in reverse when someone who does not speak English at all or not well is on an English only ship.

Dinner table conversation becomes awkward and annoying after a while to the person who is assigend to tranlate all the time (usually I am).

Passengers did not know what country club casual meant and flew in with several formal outfits. Then they loudly complained about the lack of opportunity to wear them.

Entertainment was deemed boring because the - excellent - comedians made jokes that were difficult to understand for passengers lacking the appropriate cultural context.

Luckily there were no emergencies. What would happen if you had no clue what the announcenments meant?

[Sarmyn]

Thanks to Google Translate for this (Dank Google Translate für diese)!!

[Big Blue Sea]

Originally Posted by mothergoose1957

We were on the AIDA Asia Cruise this past January from Bangok return, a nice ship, we are Canadian (I am my husband landed immigrant) and of course we could understand German, but the staff also speak English. A few things we did not like over other cruises:
1. Always Buffet and a made cattle rush by the somewtimes unpatient/rude germans,
2. The free wine / beer at dinner was lousy
3. We being Canadian Residents had to pay for a visa for Vietnam, which we found out later the rest of the cruisers that were German residents did not have to pay, we were out of pocket $200.00 and have gotten no where with AIDA they were rather rude about our request for looking into some form of compensation and their attitude was well you don't live in Germany..... But we have German Passports go figure.

Otherwards we enjoyed the itinerary , the crew/staff were great, some somewhat arrogant, but if you don't understand Germans they do come across somewhat rude/abrupt.

Would I cruise with them again... mmmm not so sure, there are other cruise lines we prefer, and you get what you pay for!

To be fair most cruises are like this. To this day I am still amazed at how some people behave around food. One would believe they have never seen it and therefore are not able to control how they approach a buffet. This could be from any nationality/colour/creed or age!

Face it some people have no manners or class

[chipq]

Originally Posted by Big Blue Sea

To be fair most cruises are like this. To this day I am still amazed at how some people behave around food. One would believe they have never seen it and therefore are not able to control how they approach a buffet. This could be from any nationality/colour/creed or age!

Face it some people have no manners or class

Agreed! It is an insane need to be first served regardless of anyone around. It is entertaining to watch and then join the line after the madness subsides.


http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[runeu]

Hello Avril,

well, I think you can sail AIDA as an American, who only speaks English. The crew speaks English and you won't have any problems with ordering something to drink or things like that. For the menu, make sure you download the iPhone app that translates menus Otherwise a dictionary will do it. But by the way: On AIDA it's mostly buffet style. You have like 4 different buffet restaurants with different mottos (Italian, Asian etc.). The other restaurants have an extra charge, except of "Brauhaus" (AIDA blu, mar & sol; you can get very tasty authentic German food there!). AIDA cruises offers a casual style cruising, there are no gala dinners or formal evenings.

The shows are mostly like musicals, dancing etc. and you do not need to speak/understand German, except of the comedy shows. But that's only a small part of the entertainment. There is a casino, a great choice of bars, and a club, pool parties with laser shows and so on - you don't need German to enjoy these things

But of course you have to be aware of a few things: The shore excursions are always in German, and also the descriptions. This does not matter, if you prefer to organize your shore excursions by yourself and plan ahead. I am not entirely sure, but I guess the board program is also available in German only - but again, you might use a translation app or dictionary.

If there is a special ship or itinerary you want to do with AIDA, go ahead and try it ...

[cornyship]

I am fluent in German and wanted to book Aida. Is it true that as an American you can only book via the website? Not too many travel agents are familiar with the line. It was almost like trying to book the Deutschland a few years ago when Peter Deilmann told me that Americans book at their own risk, and are not permitted travel insurance, since we are not a part of the EU. Aidaluna has some NY itineraries coming up.

[cruiseaholic78]

Originally Posted by cornyship

I am fluent in German and wanted to book Aida. Is it true that as an American you can only book via the website? Not too many travel agents are familiar with the line. It was almost like trying to book the Deutschland a few years ago when Peter Deilmann told me that Americans book at their own risk, and are not permitted travel insurance, since we are not a part of the EU. Aidaluna has some NY itineraries coming up.

To be honest I am not sure about this, I usually book either on their website or phone them and ask to speak to someone in English, this has never been a problem.
I can't relate to the awful review above, we have been on 9 cruises and loved them all, you do need to speak German though. The meals are nearly all buffets but they are not the same as for example the buffet on the NCL ship's, they have a less cantiney feel to them and we never had problems getting a seat. Our last Aida was from NY. Go for it and enjoy
Rosalyn

[cruise_unlimited]

Hi Avril, you should try it, to find out for yourself. It's great !
Over the last years we had more and more foreign folks with us on AIDA. Even from Japan
Distress rescue exercise needs more time since Costa Concordia, because of the additional english version.
And don`t be afraid about this:

Originally Posted by mothergoose1957

The free beer at dinner was lousy

Wonder what kind of beer they may bunker on their Asian tours, but on all cruises starts from a german port (Hamburg, Kiel, Rostock) you'll have your German Beer. The free stuff you draft for yourself is "Berliner", well not to compare with our "Radeberger"(you have to pay for in the Rossini restaurant) from Saxony , but its ok and its cold!
Greetings from Germany - Cheers !

[pyrrhus]

I have a question. Aida has some wonderful itineraries that I haven't been able to find on other lines when it comes to Northern Europe. I lived in Germany in the 1970's and spent awhile as an exchange student in Germany and am comfortable with most aspects of the lifestyle. After my last trip to Germany I realized I have forgotten much more German than I can hope to remember. My wife knows none, but that doesn't seem to bother her. Now what might bother us both is that we have become old (early 40's) and less tolerant of smoking. So how is the smoking on the ship? I know Germans love to smoke so I assume the ships might be a bit smokey. Are my assumptions correct?

Michael

[freenetharry]

Originally Posted by pyrrhus

I have a question. Aida has some wonderful itineraries that I haven't been able to find on other lines when it comes to Northern Europe. I lived in Germany in the 1970's and spent awhile as an exchange student in Germany and am comfortable with most aspects of the lifestyle. After my last trip to Germany I realized I have forgotten much more German than I can hope to remember. My wife knows none, but that doesn't seem to bother her. Now what might bother us both is that we have become old (early 40's) and less tolerant of smoking. So how is the smoking on the ship? I know Germans love to smoke so I assume the ships might be a bit smokey. Are my assumptions correct?

Michael

Just checked out webpage of Aida and they follow european standards no smoking in cabins and inside he ship, balcony and some areas on deck allowed. Not so many smokers as 40 years ago, I stopped 1973. I prefer Celebrity, they give smokers hard time. On Aida ship it is very different to american ships, you will see, try out you will find a lot germans they we'll like to practise their english, my friend Jack from Amarillo Texas likes to practise his german in our pups here each day. Have fun because it is a fun ship.

Harald

[pyrrhus]

Originally Posted by freenetharry

Just checked out webpage of Aida and they follow european standards no smoking in cabins and inside he ship, balcony and some areas on deck allowed. Not so many smokers as 40 years ago, I stopped 1973. I prefer Celebrity, they give smokers hard time. On Aida ship it is very different to american ships, you will see, try out you will find a lot germans they we'll like to practise their english, my friend Jack from Amarillo Texas likes to practise his german in our pups here each day. Have fun because it is a fun ship.

Harald

Thank you Harald,

Yeah I noticed in '05 he smoking wasn't as bad as it was in '92 during my year there. I was too young in the 70's to have known if I disliked smoking or not.
Funny you mention Amarillo. That is where I grew up . Is Jack living in Germany?

Michael

[freenetharry]

Originally Posted by pyrrhus

Thank you Harald,

Yeah I noticed in '05 he smoking wasn't as bad as it was in '92 during my year there. I was too young in the 70's to have known if I disliked smoking or not.
Funny you mention Amarillo. That is where I grew up . Is Jack living in Germany?

Michael

Yes he lives here since 10 years unfortunatly last year died his wife Jannie
also from Amarillo, Jack said he has to bring her back but not yet did.
Jack likes smoking and german wine (other wine too), I like more beer.
Aida would be perfect, because beer and wine (quality ?) is free, but I don't like to eat in buffet every day. (THey have restaurants for a fee).
If you will choose AIDA please post later on.
Have a good time.

Harald

[sinta]

Originally Posted by Avril

Hi!!

I saw one of the AIDA ships in St. Maarten when I was on the Oasis of the Seas (can't remember which one) and thought it was one of the coolest ships I've ever seen (love the paint job)!! I'd love to sail on one. I was wondering, are these ships/this line OK for North American (specifically Canadian) and English speaking cruisers? I only know a very little bit of German from taking it in high school. I don't want to go on a cruise where I can't communicate to any of my fellow passengers or the crew. What is the onboard atmosphere/nightlife like? What are the itineraries and where do they sail? I'm interested in the Caribbean. I tried looking at their website but it's all in German, not helpful.

Thanks!!

Hi,
We've sailed only once with Aida Cara in South America. There were only 3 US passengers on that ship. About 50-80pax from S America. The others are German speaking pax. The crew did speak English. We like it very much. Wine and beer are incl at lunch and dinner, also the gratuities. There are bicycles on the ship, so we can do an excursion on it [not free].
We'll sail with Stella on june 3, starting from Hamburg. So if you join us you'll have at least us to talk in English.
This TA: Kreuzfahrtberater.de is also in German, but it is understandable I suppose . All the itineraries are clearly explained with maps.
We'll sail on Stella [brandnew ship]on June 3 starting from Hamburg> UK >France >Northern Spain > HB.
We sail normally with Celebrity, RCI, HAL