AIDA Cruises will open bookings on Friday for its second-ever world cruise as the AIDAaura offers the sailing in autumn of 2018. This comes on the back of AIDAcara's sailing this fall.

On October 8, 2018, the AIDAaura will sail from Hamburg for 117 days, visiting 41 ports in 20 countries on four continents. Many of the destinations will be visited for the first time in AIDA's history. These include South Africa, Namibia, Melbourne, Tasmania and the South Seas archipelago of Fiji, Samoa and New Caledonia, the company said. 

From Hamburg, AIDAaura will set a course for South America. The cruise continues on to Tahiti, Bora Bora, Samoa and Fiji French Polynesia. Sydney, Tasmania, Perth (Australia), Madagascar, South Africa and Namibia.
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The ship will spend New Years 2019 in Mauritius. Pricing for the full sailing starts at 12,995 euro per person.

The global cruise ship orderbook has reached another new record, with 87 ships on order between now and 2026. 

Recent orders from The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection and Disney Cruise Line have added to an already blockbuster growth agenda for the cruise industry, and more cruise ship newbuild news is expected to follow from multiple brands this summer.

By the Numbers:

Current Ships on Order: 87

Berths: 235,506

Ships Designed for Chinese Passengers: 8

LNG Powered: 16

Expedition Vessels: 19

Average Size: 107,952 Tons

Average Passenger Capacity: 2,707

Average Cost: $660 Million

Shipyards with Orders: 13

Biggest Orderbook: MSC (10 Ships), Norwegian (6 Ships), Royal Caribbean (6 Ships)
 
Biggest Yard Orderbook: Fincantieri (26 Ships)

Biggest Ship: Two more Oasis-class Royal Caribbean vessels at 227,625 tons and 5,400 passengers, and four MSC World-class LNG-powered ships at 200,000 tons and 5,400 passengers
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Smallest Ship: Antarctica XXI's 100-passenger, 4,900-ton Magellan Explorer

The Chinese cruise market is being served by 20 ships this year, sourcing locally and with a combined capacity of nearly 3 million passengers, including the new Majestic Princess and Norwegian Joy, entering service now, according to the 2017-2018 Cruise Industry News Annual Report.

The year-over-year 2017 capacity is up 33.8 percent from 2016.

Next year, the Majestic Princess will be sailing seasonally in China as will the MSC Splendida, both ships were previously announced to have year-round deployment in China. The total estimated 2018 capacity will be for 3.3 million passengers, up 11 percent from this year.

Other ships, from Carnival Cruise Line and AIDA Cruises, that were previously announced to be entering the market in this time period, have since been deployed elsewhere.

2019 will see a slight increase from the late-year introductions of the first of two Costa newbuilds and a second Norwegian ship for China. Capacity is projected to move up by 1.1 percent to 3.4 million passengers.

The first big bump up, based on announced deployment, happens in 2020 with full-year service of the first of two Costa ships that entered service in 2019, plus the introduction of a second new Costa ship, and the first of two newbuilds by Star Cruises. Capacity will be up 11.5 percent to more than 3.7 million passengers.
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With a second newbuild from Star in 2021 and two newbuilds from Carnival’s domestic brand slated to enter service in 2023 and 2024, capacity will reach 5.5 million by 2025.