CELESTYAL DISCOVERY

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Dancer medevaced off Karpathos

On April 4, 2024, the Greek Air Force medevaced a 25-year-old Cuban dancer who suffered serious injuries aboard the 'Celestyal Discovery' Air Force personnel swiftly responded to the distress call, initiating a rescue mission at 10:30 p.m. A Super Puma helicopter departed from the base in Rhodes to conduct the evacuation. The incident took place while the 'Celestyal Discovery' was sailing near Karpathos. The injured dancer, who was part of the ship's entertainment team, required urgent medical attention after falling and sustaining severe injuries. She was airlifted to a hospital in Rhodes for immediate medical treatment.

Handover of cruise ship has not yet taken place, world cruise in doubt

Almost a month after the scheduled sale of the 'AIDAaura' to the Turkish shipping company Miray Cruises, which wanted to send the ship on a three-year trip around the world as 'Lara' for the Life at Sea Cruises brand, the cruise ship is remaining at the Columbus Quay in Bremerhaven as of Oct 26, 2023, where the 'AIDAaura' ceased operations on Sep 21. The Italian flag has not yet been taken down because the cruise ship is still owned by AIDA parent company Carnival Corporation. The official handover of the ship has still not taken place. The crew of 'AIDAaura' continues to consist of crew members from AIDA Cruises, who look after the ship without guests. The number of crew members was, however, reduced to a necessary minimum. The crew that was supposed to take over the ship for Life at Sea Cruises flew home earlier in October. The start date of Nov 11, which has already been pushed back, is unlikely to be tenable, as the conversion work will take at least 18 days in a shipyard. Furthermore, stays in the shipyard must be planned precisely so that all necessary work can be completed in a short time. The fact that the departure port for Life at Sea Cruises' three-year round-the-world trip has now been changed from Istanbul to Amsterdam is unlikely to contribute to compliance with the last communicated schedule. The departure date must at least be pushed back again, if the departure takes place at all. Miray Cruises CEO Kendra Holmes said in early October that the ship's purchase would close in mid-October. This apparently did not occur. The information about the departure of the 'Lara' on the Life at Sea Cruises website now differs from the information provided by guests waiting for the ship to depart. According to the Life at Sea Cruises website, the departure is still scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Nov 1. The ship has already changed berths in Bremerhaven several times and completed short trips in the German Bight when the berths in Bremerhaven were needed by other ships.

AIDAAura to be removed from Aida fleet in September

The 'AIDAaura' will be removed from the Aida fleet in September 2023 due to her age and size. The sister ship 'AIDAvita' was removed from the fleet in 2021, never having returned to service after the pause in operations caused by the pandemic. The sister ships along with the 'AIDAcara', which was sold in June 2021, were the original cruise ships built for AIDA before the brand became part of Carnival during the 2003 merger with P&O Cruises. In more recent years, the ships were employed for longer and more distant cruises. The 'AIDAaura' is currently cruising around South Africa, where the farewell season begins immediately on Jan 9 from Cape Town. The ship returns to Northern Europe in the spring for her final season. She will be sailing from Hamburg and Bremerhaven with trips to Scandinavia, Iceland, and Greenland, as well as Northern Europe including the UK and France. The last 'AIDAaura' voyage for AIDA Cruises runs from Sep 9 to 21 from Bremerhaven, to the UK, France, and Belgium. The ship will have completed more than 800 cruises with around one million passengers during her 20-year career. No future plans have been announced for either the 'AIDAaura' or the 'AIDAvita'. It is believed both cruise ships are being offered for sale.