Cruise Ships Double as Floating Hotels for the Rio Olympics

Organizers expected hotels in Rio to fill quickly for the Olympics. But instead of building all new structures to house visitors, the Olympic committee had a creative solution to expanding the amount of rooms available.

This month, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Getaway will dock in Rio to provide additional accommodations for visitors to the city.

The 4,000-passenger ship will dock in Rio’s Pier Maua from August 4 to 22 to house members of the International Olympic Federation, National Organizing Committees and corporate sponsors.

The ship will still continue providing all of its regular services during the Olympics. So, if its “passengers” wish to escape Olympic madness, they can dine and entertain themselves onboard the vessel. The Getaway houses an Aqua Park and sports complex, spa and dinner with live musicians.

Housing on the Getaway is very different than conditions reported in the Olympic Village.

Australian athletes refused to move into the buildings because of significant plumbing and electrical issues. Argentina’s athletes are also renting apartments outside of the village until it can be proven safe.

Meanwhile, the U.S. basketball team is staying on the luxury cruise liner the Silver Cloud.

#TeamUSABasketball is staying at a luxury cruise ship while at #Rio2016 instead of Olympic Village. https://t.co/vMMYzP0BPb

— Brad Congelio (@BradCongelio) August 2, 2016

Norwegian had been planning the “floating hotel” since 2007, and this is not the first time the Getaway has offered accommodations for a special event: The ship docked in New York harbor in 2014 to serve as a floating “Bud Light Hotel” during the Super Bowl.