The newspaper writes that despite "very satisfying" occupancy levels and "excellent" bookings numbers for the upcoming winter months, more money could be earned by moving the ship to the Western Mediterranean where she will take over a route originally planned for her sister ship AIDAPERLA.

However, it remains not clear what Aida Cruises' plans are for the latter ship. Rumours are that the company is currently amending the vessel's open deck layout in order to make her better fit the rough weather conditions in winterly Northern Europe. In that case, AIDAPERLA, currently under construction at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki, would simply take over the route currently served by her elder sister in autumn 2017. An alternative, also rumoured for a while, could be the deployment of the second "Hyperion" class vessel in the Canary Islands.

Aida Cruises has so far declined to comment on the news report, referring to an upcoming press presentation of its future plans on Thursday, September 15.