The first of 11 luxury cruise ships, the Oosterdam, which will accommodate guests at the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games, was unveiled to the media Monday.
The ships will house 13,000 passengers in 4,000 luxury rooms and suites, for the extended Olympic family of state dignitaries, VIP’s and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The Oosterdam will dock at Piraeus, Athens’ port city, on the evening prior to the Opening Games ceremony on August 13, 2004. Members of the Russian and South African national Olympic committee are included in its guest list.
Prices for rooms on the five-star 10-deck Oosterdam start at 300 euros a night rising to several thousand euros a night for penthouses.
Although about 30 per cent of rooms on the cruise ships have been reserved for the Olympic family, cabins were still available for visitors, although reservations should be made immediately.
Organizers are rushing to complete road projects from the port where the ships will anchor, 10 kilometres west of Athens to venue sites.
Meanwhile, Beijing 2008 opened its fifth ring road to traffic Saturday. The road is one of the large-scale infrastructure projects for the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
The ring road is located on the outskirts of Beijing about 100 kilometres long and is 10-15 kilometres from the city centre. It connects several large residential areas, Olympic stadiums, science parks and the economic development zone.
