| IMO | 9601132 |
|---|---|
| Gross tonnage | 71,304 GT |
| Length | 253.0 m |
| Beam | 32.2 m |
| Passenger capacity (double) | 2194 |
| Passenger capacity (max) | 2700 |
| Crew | 620 |
| Builder | Meyer Werft |
| Hull number | 695 |
| Launched | 2012 |
| Maiden voyage | 2013 |
| Class | Sphinx-class cruise ship |
| Operator | AIDA Cruises |
| Status | Active |
Overview
AIDAstella is the seventh and last ship of AIDA Cruises' Sphinx class, delivered by Meyer Werft at Papenburg in March 2013. She closed one of the most successful class programmes in modern German cruising: seven near-identical ships, built over six years, that took AIDA from a niche "club ship" operator to the dominant cruise brand in the German market.
Ordered in August 2010, after the class had already been extended twice beyond its original four-ship plan, AIDAstella was the tenth ship in the AIDA fleet. She is a ship of the enlarged, 71,304 GT version of the Sphinx design shared with AIDAblu, AIDAsol and AIDAmar, and she has spent her whole career, like her sisters, in AIDA service under her original name.
Key specifications
The dataset records AIDAstella at 71,304 GT, 253.0 metres long and 32.2 metres in beam, with hull number 695. Wikipedia gives 253.26 metres, 14 decks, diesel-electric propulsion with two shafts and twin five-bladed propellers, and a service speed of about 21 knots.
One dataset figure needs interpretation. The dataset lists her passenger capacity as 2,194 under its maximum-capacity field, but other sources are clear that 2,194 is her double-occupancy figure, with a true maximum of about 2,700 passengers and a crew of roughly 620. The discrepancy is logged in the batch notes; this guide treats 2,194 as the normal capacity and about 2,700 as the maximum. She is registered at Genoa, Italy, within the Carnival group's Costa ownership structure, while operating as a German-market AIDA ship.
Design and construction
The Sphinx class was originally planned as four ships. Their commercial success led AIDA to renegotiate: the fourth ship and those after her were enlarged by an extra deck, and further orders followed, of which AIDAstella, ordered on 12 August 2010, was the last. She was laid down at Meyer Werft, Papenburg — her keel-laying is dated to 17 December 2008 in the ship's infobox record, reflecting the class's pooled construction programme — and she left the building dock on 25 January 2013.
On the night of 9–10 February 2013 she made the traditional Meyer Werft conveyance down the River Ems to Emden, completed sea trials in the North Sea, and was delivered on 11 March 2013. Her propulsion plant, four engines totalling 36,000 kW driving two shafts, follows the class pattern, with twin rudders, stabilisers and pairs of bow and stern thrusters.
Naming, launch and maiden voyage
Stella — star — completed the class's set of short, lyrical AIDA names. Her christening was distinctive: at Warnemünde on 16 March 2013 she was christened not by a single celebrity godmother but by ten women — eight drawn from AIDA's own staff, together with representatives of Meyer Werft and of Partner Ship Design, the class's designers. The ceremony was a deliberate celebration of the people who had built and crewed the class across its seven ships.
Her maiden voyage followed immediately, departing on 17 March 2013 on a northern European cruise from Warnemünde, calling at ports in Denmark, Norway, England and France among others.
Career by operator
AIDAstella has had one operator and one name throughout her career.
| Name | Operator | Years |
|---|---|---|
| AIDAstella | AIDA Cruises | 2013–present |
As the last Sphinx ship, she entered a mature deployment pattern, rotating through the fleet's northern European, Mediterranean, Canary Islands and longer-haul winter programmes in the same manner as her sisters. She has never been transferred within the Carnival group, chartered out or renamed, and the dataset's operator history — AIDA Cruises alone — accurately reflects an unbroken career.
Onboard character
AIDAstella carries the full Sphinx-class formula in its final, enlarged form. At the centre of the ship is the Theatrium, the three-deck glass atrium-theatre that replaced the conventional separate show lounge and main atrium, and around it the class's arrangement of included buffet restaurants, a small number of speciality restaurants, extensive open deck and pool space, and a large wellness area.
Because she was the last of the class, she also embodies its accumulated small refinements rather than any single headline innovation: among the details noted at her delivery were LED screens in inside cabins giving those rooms a virtual sea view, a feature introduced on her immediate predecessor. The character of the ship is that of the mature "club ship" — informal, German-speaking, family-capable and entertainment-led, with the ship itself rather than ceremony as the attraction.
Major refits and incidents
The best-documented maintenance episode of her early career is her dry-docking in Dubai from 3 to 8 March 2018, during which various public venues were refurbished — a short, five-day docking typical of the class's rhythm of periodic hotel refreshes rather than structural change.
No fire, collision, grounding or other major incident is recorded against AIDAstella in the sources consulted for this guide. Her service history to date is that of a ship that has worked continuously in the trade she was built for.
Sister ships and class
The Sphinx class comprises seven ships, all built by Meyer Werft for AIDA Cruises: AIDAdiva (2007), AIDAbella (2008), AIDAluna (2009), AIDAblu (2010), AIDAsol (2011), AIDAmar (2012) and AIDAstella (2013). The first three were built at 69,203 GT; the last four, including AIDAstella, at 71,304 GT with an additional deck, a grouping sometimes distinguished as the Icarus sub-class, though all seven are generally referred to simply as Sphinx class. After AIDAstella, AIDA moved to the much larger Hyperion class, making her the final expression of the mid-sized design that built the brand.
Fate and where she is now
The dataset records her status as active, and she remains in AIDA Cruises service under her original name — the youngest and last of the Sphinx sisters, in mid-career, with no transfer, renaming or withdrawal recorded.
Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cruise_ships; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDAstella