US Basketball Teams Opt for Luxury Cruise Ship Over Olympic Village

Team USA’s men’s and women’s basketball stars will be living a life of luxury during this month’s 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

While many American athletes will be staying at the oft-criticized Olympic Village this summer, America’s best ballers will be laying their heads inside of Silversea Cruises’ Silver Cloud cruise ship.

The Chicago Tribune reported the players arrived on the 296-guest ship Wednesday.

The Silver Cloud, which is the oldest ship in Silversea’s main fleet, is anchored at Rio’s Pier Maua in the Guanabara Bay.

Inside the ship, highlights include generous-sized beds (ideal for basketball players), a spa, a pool, multiple dining options and even a cigar lounge.

Outside, security will be extremely tight. According to the Daily Mail, there’s only one entrance to the ship and it will be manned by security equipped with a scanner. Bulletproof glass will surround the ship and police boats will patrol the nearby waters.

READ MORE: Norwegian Getaway to Become Floating Hotel for 2016 Olympics in Rio

The reason for booking the Silver Cloud is simple, according to USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller, who told the Associated Press earlier this year that “we don’t stay in the village because we don’t feel it’s the best way to prepare for competition.”

“The players have a long professional season, and they want to spend as much time as possible with family and friends,” added Miller.

While staying outside of the Olympic Village is nothing new for USA Basketball — the last time being the 1988 Summer Games — this summer will be the first time in 12 years that the teams have stayed on a cruise ship.

The teams stayed on the Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Norwegian Getaway embarks on Olympic charter

The Norwegian Getaway departed Miami on July 24 on the first leg of its 40-day charter for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Details of the charter were provided for the first time by Landry & Kling, the Miami specialist in meetings at sea and incentive cruises, which brokered the deal.

Landry & Kling said the charter was first discussed in 2007 and is the largest in its 34-year history. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

The 4,000-passenger Getaway will take the better part of 10 days to get to Brazil before taking up residence at Pier Maua in Rio from Aug. 4 to 22. Chartered by the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, it will provide supplemental housing for corporate sponsors and Olympic committees.

The Getaway’s departure leaves Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Sky to hold down Norwegian’s Caribbean cruise business from Miami in August.

Firm co-founder Joyce Landry is blogging from the ship during the charter.