German actress will christen the ship, which has just been delivered by MHI in Japan
By
Rebecca Gibson |
German actress Emma Schweiger has been named as godmother of AIDA Cruises’ new flagship AIDAprima, which will be christened during the Hamburg Port Authority’s 827th anniversary celebrations on 7 May 2016.
On 7 May, AIDAprima will arrive in Hamburg alongside AIDAaura and moor at the new Cruise Center Steinwerder. AIDAaura will call at the Cruise Center Altona. Visitors will be able to take a free hourly barge service between Inner Harbor South and Steinwerder to see AIDAprima close up.
The ship will leave the Steinwerder Cruise Center and berth alongside AIDAaura in front of the Harbor Piers for her christening ceremony, which will start with an onboard light show at 10pm. At 10:15pm, 13-year-old Schweiger will accompany Captain Detlef Harms to christen name the vessel.
“Emma is perfect for the role of AIDAprima godmother,” said Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA Cruises. “She is an unparalleled embodiment of the young, fresh, unconventional attitude towards life that the AIDA brand stands for. With her naturalness and zest for life, she is a delight to many people in Germany, regardless of their age.”
Following the naming ceremony, AIDA will host a fireworks display and sail around the harbour before embarking on a seven-day voyage to Western Europe. The christening will be broadcast live on AIDA’s ships and online.
“I am so happy to have the chance to be godmother of this super cool ship. I think that no matter what your age is, everybody should be able to do what they think is most fun especially on vacation,” said Schweiger. “That is exactly what I can do on AIDAprima.”
AIDAprima was delivered to AIDA on 14 March at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ (MHI) yard in Nagasaki, Japan.
“AIDAprima is the first ship of an entirely new AIDA product family,” said Michael Thamm, CEO of Costa Group. “With creativity and great innovativeness, our team has managed to implement our high standards in terms of product quality and environmental friendliness in an exemplary and impressive way. We are extremely pleased with the successful design of the ship, and look forward to welcoming guests aboard her, who are going to be equally impressed.”
AIDAprima was handed over to the cruise line by Shunichi Miyanaga, president and CEO of MHI, and Yoichi Kujirai, president and CEO of Commercial Aviation and Transportation Systems at MHI.
“20 years ago, AIDA launched its concept of modern cruising and with our new flagship and the three newbuilds to follow, the company will continue to provide important growth impulses for the German cruise market,” said Eichhorn. “We are once again charting new territory by being the first German cruise line to offer cruises starting from Germany the whole year round. I am convinced that we will reach new guest groups with our unique variety of offerings aboard AIDAprima.”