''Astoria Grande'' is a

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

which entered service as ''Aida'' in 1996 in the fleet of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

cruise company,

AIDA Cruises AIDA Cruises is a German cruise line founded in the early 1960s and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Costa Crociere S.p.A., which in turn belongs to Carnival Corporation & plc. Based in Rostock, Germany, AIDA Cruises caters primaril ...

. She was their first

and in 2001 became ''AIDAcara''. In 2021 the ship was sold to a Russian company and renamed Astoria Grande.

History

The ship was built, at a cost of DM 300 million, by

Kvaerner Masa-Yards STX Finland Oy, formerly Aker Yards Oy, was a Finnish shipbuilding company operating three shipyards in Finland, in Turku, Helsinki and Rauma, Finland, Rauma, employing some 2,500 people. It was part of STX Europe, a group of international shipbu ...

at their Turku New Shipyard in (

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

), for Deutsche Seetouristik/Arkona Reisen,

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

, as a "Clubschiff" (Club Ship), She was launched in 1996 and entered service in June that year with the name ''Aida''. Aidacara mittelmeer

When

P&O Cruises P&O Cruises is a British cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, operated by Carnival Corporation & plc#Carnival UK, Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. It was originally a subsidiary of the freight transp ...

purchased a controlling stake in Arkona Reisen in 1999, they transferred the ship, and it became part of the new

Aida Cruises AIDA Cruises is a German cruise line founded in the early 1960s and organized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Costa Crociere S.p.A., which in turn belongs to Carnival Corporation & plc. Based in Rostock, Germany, AIDA Cruises caters primaril ...

fleet. She was renamed ''Aidacara'' (styled ''AIDAcara'') in 2001, after two sister ships entered operation as '' AIDAvita'' and '' AIDAaura''. In 2005, the vessel underwent a refit, which increased the number of cabins. Kiel IMG 3826 AIDAcara imo 9112789

AIDAcara IMO 9112789 und AIDAaura IMO 9221566 P Hamburg 24-03-2020

In 2021 the ship was sold to a Russian company and renamed Astoria Grande.Морской круизный лайнер Astoria Grande
/ref>

2023 Port of Batumi Incident

In the summer of 2023, the ship began sailing from the Russian port of

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

. On Monday, July 31, 2023, Russian passengers disembarking the ship in the Georgian port city of

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

were met by protesters who threw eggs at the ship, waved Georgian, Ukrainian and EU flags and chanted anti-Putin slogans. The ship left the port on the evening of August 1, ahead of its scheduled departure. Although the ship had been scheduled to dock at Batumi every two weeks, following the incident the ship's webpage had dropped Batumi from its itinerary.

References

External links

* Official ''AIDAcara'' website *
Deck Plans of ''AIDAcara''
* Ships built in Turku Ships of AIDA Cruises 1996 ships {{cruise-ship-stub