The MV Norwegian Star will be a floating hotel in the Port of Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics, to held in Vancouver, Canada, local media reports. The ship will be based at Kinder Morgan Terminal's Vancouver Wharves for twenty days, from February 16th to March 2, 2010. The berth is situated opposite picturesque Stanley Park and just inside the first narrows of Burrard Inlet where the Lions Gate Bridge stands.
In news story, Calgary based Newwest Special Projects says a good deal of interest has been generated. The company has reportedly chartered Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Star for $10 millions dollars and expect to make another $900,000 in upgrades to the pier to accommodate the ship. Being 15% booked already, they expect to pass the break even point of 60% occupancy. You can read more here, here and here. With its ten restaurants, 14 lounges and bars catered by 1,100 crew members, along with all the normal cruise ship passenger amenities, I am sure that this idea will be a success.
On the practical side I wonder if they will use a cold ironing system and what will be done with gray and black water, among other waste. These ships are usually designed with a 1 to 2 week endurance, so it will be interesting to see how they manage 20 days alongside and that aspect of the charter. Mind you in the engine room, this will most certainly be a quiet time, to catch up on maintenance or just do some sightseeing. One things is for sure the crew will most likely be invading the nearby Park Royal mall.
The City of North Vancouver is also making final plans to host a two more smaller ships at the new Burrard Dry Dock pier, near the the Lonsdale Quay.
Norwegian Star
Owner: Norwegian Cruise Line
Operator: Norwegian Cruise Line
Port of Registry: Nassau, Bahamas
Builder: Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany
Yard number: 667
In service: 2001
Class and type: Libra class cruise ship
Tonnage: 91,000 gross tons
Length: 965 ft (294.13 m)
Beam: 105 ft (32.00 m)
Draft: 28 ft (8.53 m)
Decks: 15
Capacity: 2,240 passengers
Crew: 1,100 crewLabels: Canada, cruise ships, NCL, west coast
Norwegian Star