The ship was built, at a cost of DM 300 million, by Kvaerner Masa-Yards at their Turku New Shipyard in (Finland), for Deutsche Seetouristik/Arkona Reisen, Rostock, as a "Clubschiff" (Club Ship),[1] [2] She was launched in 1996 and entered service in June that year with the name Aida. When P&O Cruises purchased a controlling stake in Arkona Reisen in 1999, they transferred the ship, and it became part of the new Aida Cruises fleet. She was renamed Aidacara (styled AIDAcara) in 2001, after two sister ships entered operation as AIDAvita and AIDAaura.[2] In 2005, the vessel underwent a refit, which increased the number of cabins.
In 2021 the ship was sold to a Russian company and renamed Astoria Grande.[3]
In the summer of 2023, the ship began sailing from the Russian port of Sochi. On Monday, July 31, 2023, Russian passengers disembarking the ship in the Georgian port city of Batumi were met by protesters who threw eggs at the ship, waved Georgian, Ukrainian and EU flags and chanted anti-Putin slogans. The ship left the port on the evening of August 1, ahead of its scheduled departure. Although the ship had been scheduled to dock at Batumi every two weeks, following the incident the ship's webpage had dropped Batumi from its itinerary.[4] [5]