Aida German cruise line

The company was founded as Deutsche Seereederei (German Shipping Company) with a ship called Völkerfreundschaft (“Peoples’ Friendship”), and entered the cruise industry in the 1960s.^[1] After the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s Deutsche Seereederei was privatised and became DSR. DSR acquired Seetours of Bremen and cruises were marketed under the Seetours brand.^[1] On 1 January 1998, DSR split their operations into cargo and tourism, with a new company Arkona Touristik taking over the cruise business.^[4] Then during 2000 a company was formed, known as AIDA Cruises; with P&O Cruises acquiring a 51% stake in the new organisation, and Arkona Touristik retaining the other 49%.^[5]