AIDA visiting Tampa Florida starting Fall of 2014

It will be VERY interesting to see how this German-centered cruise line is going to adapt (if at all) to doing seasonal cruising out of Florida! :)

Hopefully, they will do a short "cruise to nowhere" to begin their seasons, so that they can be experienced on a trial basis.

From http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/23789856/2013/10/25/port-of-tampa-adds-another-cruise-ship-line :

Port of Tampa adds another cruise ship line

By: Chris Chmura, FOX 13 Consumer Reporter (Bio: http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/17147753/chris-chmura)

TAMPA (FOX 13) -

Bay Area cruise lovers will have one more option beginning next year. And it could put downward pressure on prices.

The Port of Tampa announced on Friday that AIDA, a Germany-based cruise line, will sail ships from Tampa between late 2014 and early 2016. The AIDAvita will call Tampa its home port beginning in December, 2014; the AIDAmar will take its place in the 2015/2016 season.

The port authority says these easily-recognizable ships, adorned with colorful paint on the hull, will sail weekly seven-night itineraries to the Western Caribbean. That route is similar to its many competitors in Tampa.

AIDA joins Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Ryndam, and Norwegian in sailing from the Port of Tampa. The port just recently announced that Royal Caribbean will sail two ships from Tampa, up from one.

The addition of ADIA brings hundreds of extra cabins to an increasingly crowded market in Tampa, likely putting pressure on passenger fares.

Although itineraries and price quotes for the new AIDA cruises were not immediately available through public booking engines, other cruises from Tampa in the December 2014 time period are currently selling for $800 to $1,000 per passenger. However, those rates have, historically, fallen as the sailing date approaches.

Seven-night sailings from Tampa in December 2013, for example, are pricing at $400 per person—even without the addition of AIDA.

The port authority, which has worked aggressively to bring additional cruise lines to Tampa, made the AIDA announcement quietly, by e-mail:

"AIDA Cruises' announcement to come to Tampa is a milestone for us, not only at the port, but for all of our tourism and economic development partners in the region," Paul Anderson, TPA president and CEO, said in a statement. "We are thrilled to welcome AIDA to Tampa Bay and we know this will be the beginning of a long and rewarding relationship."

AIDAvita is the smaller and older of the two ships. The port says it was launched in 2002, has capacity of 1,266-passengers, and boasts a crew of 384. The younger AIDAmar can carry 2,194-passengers. It was launched in 2012 and has a crew of 609.

I just was reading about this as well.. Looks interesting. I went on their website, which is in German, but the videos looked cool... especially the onboard brewery and the german food..

It's going to be interesting...

Just saw this today. I am curious what the rates are. It is nice to get additional cruise lines in Tampa; however, I wish they could change some of the ports instead of just doing Western Caribbean cruises.

The fares start with 885 Euros Inside Cabin (10 days). All tips plus beer, wine and Softdrinks are includesd during the mealtimes.

Ports of call: Miami, Miami, Port Canaveral, San Juan, Tortola, Samana Bay, Nassau

or:

Miami, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, New Orleans, Cozumel, Key West, Miami

The cruise ship is named AIDAvita. Here you can see some pictures of her: http://www.aida.de/kreuzfahrt/schiffe/aidavita/360-rundgang.19377.html

In Germany AIDA is famous for their great poolpartys:

Have fun :D

According to the AIDA website the AIDAvita will be homeported in Miami calling Tampa on one of the two itineraries.

I don´t think she will be sold on the US market at all.

AIDA is sailing out of NYC/Manhatten with two ships for the New England/Canada cruises already. Those aren´t sold in the US either.

steamboats

According to the AIDA website the AIDAvita will be homeported in Miami calling Tampa on one of the two itineraries.

 

I don´t think she will be sold on the US market at all.

 

AIDA is sailing out of NYC/Manhatten with two ships for the New England/Canada cruises already. Those aren´t sold in the US either.

 

steamboats

I think you are right but it is possible to book an AIDACruise via their callcenter or through a German TA like www.kreuzfahrtberater.de :).

Tampa can't handle the large ships that can sail out of other Florida ports. It will be good to see another line, but only if they can offer a new itinerary.

AIDA should advertise their Tampa/Miami cruise as German Immersion Experiences. I am sure that they would attract North American passengers, even if they do go to same itineraries. It has been almost 20 years since I lived and worked in Germany, and I would love to experience the language, food, and culture again. I am sure that I might even remember a little German - maybe enough to order an Alt bier. :D

@RSLeesburg: Than you really should try AIDA. German Lifestyle in perfection ;). And you can draw your beer yourself :D during mealtimes.

They have wonderful itinearys in Europe especially Northern Europe and the Med.

@RSLeesburg: Than you really should try AIDA. German Lifestyle in perfection ;). And you can draw your beer yourself :D during mealtimes.

They have wonderful itinearys in Europe especially Northern Europe and the Med.

I will definitely look into those - unfortunately, we do not have the generous amount of vacation time that most Germans get :). Next year, we are partially committed to a Thanksgiving cruise on Grandeur. And, I think my wife is leaning towards Hawaii for our big trip in 2015...lol.

But Europe, especially Germany, is on our "to do" list as our son gets older - he just turned 4. In the meantime, I will have to experience AIDA through the reviews and posts on CC...

I think you are right but it is possible to book an AIDACruise via their callcenter or through a German TA like www.kreuzfahrtberater.de :).

Then you have to pay in Euro and have to accept that you are booking under German law ;). Nothing I would suggest an American to do unless he´s speaking German and knows what he´s doing.

steamboats

@RSLeesburg: Than you really should try AIDA. German Lifestyle in perfection ;). And you can draw your beer yourself :D during mealtimes.

They have wonderful itinearys in Europe especially Northern Europe and the Med.

I love how you are advertising AIDA ;) , but saying AIDA is german Lifestyle in perfection is just :eek: :rolleyes:. Sorry, but these crowded buffet-Restaurants Bella Donna and Marktrestaurant are just an imposition. Dont get me wrong, I really like AIDA.

Greeting from your neighbour City Theremouth :D

Back to the original post. It is very obvious why so many cruise line change the ports. At the beginning of 2015 the ECA Emissions Control Area 0.1 % sulphur Limit is taking place. So many cruise ship will avoid the Baltic and the North Sea. Just take a look at this

http://www.dnv.com/industry/maritime/publicationsanddownloads/publications/updates/maritime_update/2013/1_2013/efficiency_through_technology_choices.asp

According to the AIDA website the AIDAvita will be homeported in Miami calling Tampa on one of the two itineraries.

 

I don´t think she will be sold on the US market at all.

 

AIDA is sailing out of NYC/Manhatten with two ships for the New England/Canada cruises already. Those aren´t sold in the US either.

 

steamboats

All of the news articles I am finding are saying that Tampa will be the homeport for the AIDAvita, not just a port of call...starting Dec 2014 until an unknown date in the Spring of 2015.

(Here is another source article: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Germany-s-largest-cruise-line-to-sail-from-Tampa-4928830.php )

Honestly though, I don't know if the AIDA website has not been updated yet, or if these various news articles are wrong...I guess time will tell!

:)

I love how you are advertising AIDA ;) , but saying AIDA is german Lifestyle in perfection is just :eek: :rolleyes:. Sorry, but these crowded buffet-Restaurants Bella Donna and Marktrestaurant are just an imposition. Dont get me wrong, I really like AIDA.

 

Greeting from your neighbour City Theremouth :D

 

 

"Theremouth" - very funny :D

As to say I really love the buffet restaurants even if they are crowded. I like to eat this and that and talk to many different people every evening. But everyone is different and I can understand that crowded buffets can get on s.o.'s nerves :p.

Have a nice sunday...

Thanks for the pics! It looks nice!

Just to back up the print articles, the local news brodcasts this morning, which had a reporter on site of the Tampa cruise port, made it clear that Tampa was going to be the homeport for Aida western carribean trips.

I even cannot imagine AIDA's being attractive to US citizens.

Mainly buffet style food, no room service, staterooms only cleaned once a day.

AIDA doesn't cater for foreign paxes, even their website is not in english.

But you can check their rates on **********.com same as kreuzfahrtberater.de

.

My Travel Agent has already sent out notice that they will not be selling this line nor recommending it for the U.S. clients. I would not consider it as an option.

BTW here is the press release by the Tampa port. It clearly states that the AIDAvita is adding Tampa as port of call and not as a home port. Same for the AIDAmar. Both ships are sailing out of Miami.

AIDA announced this new port of call in Germany in January 2013.

steamboats

Interesting. But this is a very small ship compared to the rest of what sails in the US, especially for what is supposed to be mass market.

If they do have lots of beer it could make for interesting 4 day booze cruises out of the port.

BTW here is the press release by the Tampa port. It clearly states that the AIDAvita is adding Tampa as port of call and not as a home port. Same for the AIDAmar. Both ships are sailing out of Miami.

 

AIDA announced this new port of call in Germany in January 2013.

 

steamboats

steamboats...thanks for finding the missing piece of the puzzle - this press release is a correction of the original announcement, and definitely shows that Tampa will just be a port of call (which does make more sense)!

I look forward to going down to see her at the port when she makes her first call to Tampa, but won't be sailing on her.

:)

I saw an AIDA ship in port in Baltimore this morning, my first time seeing one of their ships. I went to the website to learn more only to see its in german. :( I'm wondering why it was there.

The AIDAbella is calling Baltimore today. She´s on her way to the Caribbean (to La Romana / Dom Rep, out of New York). So it´s a repositioning cruise.

steamboats