The world’s most luxurious cruiseships make a rendezvous at the port of Pireaus in 2004

Athens, 18 September 2002

The most luxurious and technologically advanced floating hotel in the world, the QUEEN MARY II (5 star), will dominate the cruise ship-filled port of Piraeus during the Athens Olympic Games (from 12-30th August 2004) with its imposing presence.

The QUEEN MARY II has 173 apartment-suites and 1,137 cabins, on 15 different deck levels.

It will be launched in the 2nd half of 2003 and will have its maiden transatlantic voyage from Southampton to New York on 12 January 2004. It is 345 metres long, 80 metres tall, weighs 150,000 tons and has 10 different restaurants, 14 bars, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a Gym and a Beauty Parlour, a cinema, convention halls and facilities, etc. There will be more than 1,200 crewmembers assisting passengers. Construction costs are estimated at $800 million dollars and it will be the longest, tallest, widest and heaviest cruise ship ever built.

Taller than the Statue of Liberty, it is equivalent in height to a 23-storey skyscraper. It is longer than 3 ½ football grounds. Its engines, of a 157,000-horsepower capacity, are capable of meeting all the electrification requirements of an entire city of 70,000 people. It is 19 times heavier than the Eiffel Tower.

It will be flanked by the equally luxurious and newly built, Greek-flag cruise ships OLYMPIA VOYAGER (4-star) and OLYMPIA EXPLORER (4-star), the OOSTERDAM (5 star) that is under construction, the club-ship AIDAVita (4-star), the (4-star) ROTTERDAM, which is the flag-ship of the Dutch passenger fleet, and the Greek-flag OLYMPIA COUNTESS (3 star).

Apart from the cruise ships selected in accordance with the ATHENS 2004 bidding procedures for a declaration of interest, the situation is completed as follows:

The SPLENDOUR OF THE SEAS (4 star), a ship that will host delegations from National Olympic Committees.
The TOPAZ (3 star), a ship that will host French media delegations.
The SEABOURN PRIDE (5 star) and SILVER WHISPER (also 5 star), ships will host delegations from Olympic Games International Sponsors.
Overall, the 11 cruise ships cover an equivalent number of mooring slots at the port of Piraeus, have 6,640 apartments, suites and cabins of all categories (external with window, internal without window, with balcony, etc.) and can host up to 13,280 visitors. It is estimated that they will employ more than 5,000 crewmembers.

In August 2004, the broader area of Piraeus will be transformed into a cosmopolitan port, offering its visitors the opportunity to get to know, in addition to Athens, the modern aspects of the city of Piraeus.

The Master Plan for the operation of Piraeus during the Olympic Games has been worked out by ATHENS 2004 and delivered to the Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), under the responsibility of which all the projects will be completed. Of the 3 kilometres of harbour front that has been granted for the mooring of these cruise ships, 600 metres are new constructions. Under the responsibility of services of the ATHENS 2004 Organising Committee, plans have also been delivered for the supply of water and for drainage, through which cruise ships will be served directly via the land facilities of the country’s main port. Furthermore, other works are foreseen to upgrade the electricity, communications and fire-fighting networks, to extend existing and create new buildings for passengers, as well as parking areas.

[ 09-27-2002: Message edited by: Britanis ]

I'm happy my cruise is for May of 2004.

I don't get their rating standards though... I mean, I'll be delighted if Zuideram (same as Oosterdam) turns out to be as luxurious as Silver Whisper... But why have they knocked poor Rotterdam down a star in comparison with Oosterdam?

And I would say Olympia Countess and Topaz sure don't deserve three stars... Some would say that the latter has "charm" but no such excuse can be made for the rather ghastly 1970s creation ...

I should like to be there... The Olympics would be an exciting event, I like Greece, and all those ships at once...

A deal for the use of the cruise liner ''Queen Mary 2'' to cover hospitality needs for the Athens Olympics in 2004 has been signed between the ship's owner Cunard Lines and the Athens Olympics organizing committee ATHOC, it was announced on Sunday.

The 800-million-dollar luxury liner, which will have 1,310 cabins, will dock at Piraeus port on August 12 in 2004 and stay until August 30, when the Games end.

ATHOC executive director Spyros Kapralos, who was in Miami for the signature of the cooperation memorandum with Cunard Lines, said that the "Queen Mary 2" would be the centerpiece in an 11-ship flotilla that would host up to 13,280 visitors to the 2004 Games.

''We are delighted that the newest and grandest luxury liner in the world will be the flagship for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens,'' he said.