AIDA Cruises is a cruise line that is part of the Costa Cruises group. It offers cruises geared toward the market of German-speaking countries.

It was originally founded by the Deutsche Seereederei, a state-owned GDR company based in Rostock, which purchased the ship Stockholm in 1960, renamed it Völkerfreundschaft ("friendship among peoples") and entered the cruise industry with it in the 1960s. In 1993 the company was privatized, and in 1996 the first ship, called AIDA (today's AIDAcara), was launched.

In 1999 the company, which had meanwhile taken the name Arkona Touristik became owned by P&O, was renamed to Seetours - German Branch of P&O Princess Cruises International Ltd. When P&O Princess Cruises International merged with Carnival Corp and Carnival Corporation & plc was formed Seetours, renamed AIDA Cruises, also became part of this group.