Two Aida cruise ships AIDAmar and AIDAblu, set sail from the port of Rostock on Friday for test voyages with only crew on board. These test voyages are part of the company’s plan to familiarize the crew with the new set of health and safety rules and regulations and put them into practice before ships sail regular cruises with guests. In order to be able to successfully carry out the short trips, the employees must be fully prepared for the new health measures. The test cruises of the two cruise ships are carried out on the Baltic Sea. 

Aida Cruises' previous plan was to start test voyages with AIDAmar and AIDAblu last week, however, they were postponed because ten crew members who were scheduled to join the ships tested positive for COVID-19, and later another case amount the crew was detected.

Another setback for the cruise line is the approval from the Italian authorities since the cruise ships of AIDA Cruises sail under Italian flag. Therefore even ships will sail from German ports they still need authorization not only from the German authorities for the departures from Hamburg and Warnemünde, but also from the Italian government.

“After intensive preparations, with the support of many national and international authorities and health experts, AIDA has developed comprehensive concepts for the restart and implemented all increased hygiene standards and measures to protect against COVID-19 on board its ships.

The concepts and certifications for the restart of the cruise were successfully developed and confirmed with the responsible authorities. Contrary to expectations, the final state approval for the start of short trips from August 5, 2020 by the flag state Italy is still pending.” Aida Cruises said in a press release.

The company has now canceled several voyages including three short trips on AIDAperla from Hamburg (5th to 8th, 8th to 12th and 12th to 15th August 2020) and the four-day short trip on AIDAmar from 12th to 16th August 2020 from Warnemünde. 

The latest announcement is that first AIDA cruises after the lockdown will resume on AIDAblu on August 16 from Kiel, AIDAmar on August 16 from Warnemünde and AIDAperla on August 15 from Hamburg.