Norwegian Cruise Line docked in Seattle. Photo by Sue Frause.
Other Vancouver Articles by Sue Frause
Vancouver's downtown hotels are nearly booked for the 2010 Winter Games, but people with tickets have a unique lodging option: staying aboard a luxury cruise ship docked along North Vancouver's waterfront.
Newwest has chartered Norwegian Cruise Line's Freestyle Cruising ship Norwegian Star for the duration of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. She will be docked in North Vancouver from Feb. 10 - March 2, 2010, adding ten percent capacity to the city's downtown inventory of 12,000 rooms.
The ship arrives in Vancouver on Feb. 10, following a four-day sailing from Los Angeles (tickets for the sailing from LA to Vancouver are $99 one way). On March 2, the Norwegian Star will head back south, arriving in LA on March 6. The ship was fully refurbished in 2006 and will feature all the activities, amenities and entertainment programs as if at sea. The crew of around 1,000 will look after a maximum of 2,240 guests. So it's no surprise that it will be the largest hotel in Vancouver. Oh, and they're turning up the heat in the hot tub and the swimming pools!
Four packages are available in four or six-night durations, with prices starting at $2,010 USD per person, based on double occupancy for a four-night stay. All packages include meals, airport transfers, daily transfers from/to the ship to North Vancouver's Sea Bus Terminal, a city tour of Vancouver and more.
Rooms and suites range from Inside and Outside Staterooms to Mini Suites with balconies or luxurious Penthouse Suites. The ship has 1,119 staterooms, allowing 8,960 guests to be accommodated throughout the duration of the Winter Games.
Comments
What amazes me is that there will likely be a market for these pricey rooms - despite the economy.
The "economy" is not a word for a lot of people, that's for sure! I do think it's a good idea to utilize a cruise ship as a floating hotel. I know they did it in Athens, and it was very successful. I'll most likely be watching from home in HD!
I'm confused - it looks to me like it's from $500 per person for a 4 night stay not $2,000. This includes 3 meals a day and all the usual cruise ship entertainment and service. I also think the views will be rather more scenic than those depicted in the photos.
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