OREANDA-NEWS. The crew and guests aboard the AIDAbella enjoyed a premiere of a very special kind on Saturday, May 23, 2015, in Hamburg. At around 7:00 a.m. AIDAbella was the first cruise ship to dock at the newly built Cruise Center Steinwerder. This state-of-the-art complex at Kronprinzkai (Crown Prince Quay) in the heart of the port of Hamburg will be officially inaugurated on June 9, 2015, as the Hanseatic City’s third cruise terminal.

During AIDAbella’s first docking the new Cruise Center was successfully subjected to a first, complex practical text with a guest changeover during which around 4,800 guests left or boarded the ship.

AIDAbella had docked at Kronprinzkai in Hamburg port after a 7-day Western Europe cruise. The cruise ship left the Cruise Center Steinwerder again at around 6:00 p.m. and resumed its Western Europe round trip. The itinerary takes in a number of stops including the ports of Le Havre (France), Southampton (UK), Zeebr?gge (Belgium) and Amsterdam (Netherlands). In total AIDAbella will dock at the new Cruise Center Steinwerder in Hamburg another 21 times during this year’s cruise season.

The new cruise terminal with a total area of 9,000 square meters comprises two different buildings where arriving and departing guests are handled separately. The Kronprinzkai in Steinwerder is designed for modern cruise ships with a draft of up to 13 m.

The new AIDA parking service is a convenient and cost effective alternative to parking in the grounds of the new cruise terminal. Guests drive to the car handover point close to the Cruise Center where AIDA staff are on hand to receive the vehicle and baggage. The car is brought to a nearby supervised parking lot, while guests are transferred to the AIDA ship by shuttle. On their return from the cruise, their car is ready and waiting for them at the handover point. The new AIDA parking service can be booked on www.MyAIDA.de. In 2016 the cruise company will open a new chapter in the cruise industry: AIDA Cruises will be the first cruise operator to offer cruises from Hamburg all year round with its new flagship, AIDAprima. At the end of April 2016 the Cruise Center Steinwerder will be the start and end port for AIDAprima’s seven-day round trips to the metropolises of Western Europe.