Two cruise ships, Norwegian Getaway and Silversea’s Silver Cloud, and will serve as floating hotels during the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Norwegian Getaway will dock at the Pier Maua in Rio from August 4-22 providing an additional 2,000 hotel rooms for the city. The cruise ship will house corporate sponsors, the Rio Host Committee, members of the International Olympic Federation, and the National Organizing Committees. This will allow the corporate sponsors to attend business meetings and other hospitality functions.
Norwegian Getaway is being chartered by Landry & Kling and the 40 day charter of the 4,000 passenger cruise ship is the largest ship charter ever by the company. The company once chartered five cruise ships for Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville in 2005.
Close to 90% of the ship will be reserved for Corporate Sponsors and others members of the Olympic Family. The remaining 10% of the cabins have been sold with a Brazilian tour operator.
The second cruise ship being used as a floating hotel for the Rio Olympic Games is the luxury cruise ship from SilverSea Cruises, Silver Cloud. This 296 passenger ship will house members of the United States men’s and women’s basketball teams.
This isn’t the first time that the basketball teams have stayed on a cruise ship during the Olympics. During the 2004 games in Athens, the teams stayed on the Queen Mary 2.
Silver Cloud will anchor offshore and provide the needed security that the teams need. The men’s basketball team stopped staying in the Olympic Village due to the popularity of the Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics.
Staying on the ship will allow the team to spend as much time as possible with family and friends and to properly prepare for the games.
