Rostock, Germany  - The AIDA cruise company has added a new vessel to its fleet of ships, The Aidabella.

The ship is based in the north German port of Warnemuende which is also the starting point for the ship's seven-day cruise of the Baltic Sea. The Aidabella's maiden voyage will see the ship stop in Oslo, Gothenburg and Copenhagen.

During winter 2008-9 the Aidabella will visit different waters when it travels to the Canary Islands. The Aidabella is one of the most luxurious ships in Aida's fleet.

It belongs to the Sphinx Class, and at 252 metres long and 32.2 metres wide, has place for 2050 passengers.

Orange, yellow and brown are the three main colours to be found on board interspersed with some green.

Natural materials such as wood and stone dominate the interior and particular care has been put into creating the right special feeling.

There are plenty of areas where guests can withdraw from the crowd and retreat to alcoves or sit down and relax.

Guests can visit the vessel's prow and sit behind floor-to-ceiling windows on large, soft couches and admire the view.

The ship's Body & Soul area is over 2,300 square metres large, and according to the shipping company, is "the biggest floating wellness spa in the world."

Cabins have been designed with luxury in mind. There are two special suites that couples can rent with special facilities for massages. A suite costs 190 euros (295 dollars) for four hours.

Just like its sister ship, the Aidabella has a 3,000 square-metre theatre where passengers "can meet to watch shows or listen to live music against an Italian piazza backdrop."

There are 11 bars spread across the ship's 13 decks together with seven restaurants and there are 8,000 square metres of open-air decks to go jogging or just sit in the sun.

A new innovation on board is the 4D cinema with large leather chairs where guests can relax - at least until the chairs begin to move and steam or aromas stream from a jet just in front of them.

There are seven different types of cabin for passengers to choose from, some of which come with children's beds.

The ship has 666 outer cabins, most of which have balconies.

The Aidabella also has 18 cabins designed as suites.

The vessel has also retained the feature of small interior cabins with two bunk beds.

Aida plans to launch another four ships in the Sphinx Class in a bid to reach its goal of turning sea voyages into a mass tourism market.

Sailing the Baltic has become very popular in recent years and the Aidabella is likely to call into many ports along the German, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish coastlines.

The Baltic is a relatively calm sea with many shallow areas so it's appropriate to wish the new ship and her Captain Josef Hussman the old German sailors' saying: "Always have a handbreadth of water under your keel". (dpa)