AIDA Cruises is a British-American owned German cruise line based in Rostock Germany. Originally founded as Deutsche Seereederei with a ship called Völkerfreundschaft (Friendship Between Peoples) the company entered the cruise industry in the 1960s and was later acquired by P&O Princess Cruises PLC in 2000. In 2003 P&O Princess merged with Carnival Corporation to form Carnival Corporation & PLC the worlds largest cruise holiday company.