On April 16, 2023, AIDA Cruises celebrated the start of this year's cruise season with the double call of AIDAsol and AIDAmar in Rostock-Warnemünde and a cruise industry first in Germany, according to the company's release. For the first time, two cruise ships were connected simultaneously to a shore power facility in a German port on the same day enabling the ships to reduce emissions and noise by turning-off the engines.
Shore power pioneer AIDA Cruises has been considering the use of this environmentally friendly technology in the planning and construction of its ships since 2004. More than ten years have passed since Europe's first shore power plant started its regular operations with an AIDA ship in Hamburg Altona (Germany).
In 2021, the first shore power facility for cruise ships opened in the Baltic Sea region opened with AIDAsol in Rostock-Warnemünde on the occasion of the 12th German National Maritime Conference. With a capacity of up to 20 megavolt amperes (MVA), two cruise ships can be supplied with electricity at the same time in Warnemünde at berths P7 and P8.
As part of its Green Cruising Strategy, AIDA Cruises has been investing in a sustainable cruising for many years. For example, AIDA Cruises pioneered the use of low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the cruise industry as an important bridging technology. The company is further expanding the use of alternative energy sources such as shore power and the usage of battery systems to operate its cruise ships. In addition, jointly with various partners the company is intensively working on solutions for the usage of regenerative or synthetic fuels. In July 2022, AIDAprima became the first large scale cruise ship to use a blend of marine biofuel. As part of the Carnival Corporation & plc family of cruise brands, AIDA Cruises aspires to achieve carbon-neutral ship operation for its fleet by 2050.