Asian Games cruise ship arrives as accommodation complaints grow

NAGOYA – A cruise ship that will house thousands of athletes at the Asian Games arrived in Japan on Sept 15 as complaints over accommodation at the multi-sport event grew louder.

The Italian cruise ship Costa Serena docked in Nagoya, where the Games are taking place until Oct 4.

Around 4,000 athletes and officials will be housed on the ship, which is almost 300m long, weighs over 100,000 tonnes and has 1,500 cabins.

More than 17,000 athletes and officials are expected at the Games, which officially open on Sept 19, a bigger number than the Olympics.

Participants will also stay in wooden container-style huts and standard hotel rooms in a bid to cut costs.

South Korean officials said earlier this week that the container hut rooms were the “worst ever” and claimed on Sept 15 that concerns had been shared by every team at the Games.

Local organising committee president Hideaki Omura said the temporary accommodation could be a model for hosting financially sustainable sporting events.

“This is the first time in Japan that a cruise ship is being used as accommodation for a big international sporting event,” Omura said at a ceremony to welcome the cruise ship to Nagoya.

“We’re happy that we can provide a new type of accommodation for a large-scale event like this.”

Cruise ships have been used previously as accommodation at international sporting events, but never on this scale.

Jung Jae-yong, vice president of the Korea Basketball Association, told AFP he was deeply unhappy with the cabins where the men’s basketball team are staying.

He said beds were too small for the athletes, and a player from the team posted a video on social media showing a leaking sink and soaked floor in his hut.

He posted the caption: “Please help us.”

Hundreds of athletes were briefly evacuated from their accommodation last week as record rainfall lashed Nagoya causing flooding.

‘Shortage of beds’

A South Korean Olympic committee official said there was “a serious shortage” of rooms and they were not alone in finding the accommodation lacking.

“Concerns over the accommodations have been shared by all representatives of the 45 nations competing in the games,” a South Korean Sports and Olympic Committee official told AFP on Sept 15.

“Every country involved is now working together to resolve the issue.”

A Taiwanese sport official said there was “a general shortage of beds”.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino said all his country’s athletes had been given a room.

But “some officials, like coaches, were moved to different hotels and Airbnbs”.

Organisers are hoping there will be fewer complaints about the cruise ship, despite the Games taking place during Japan’s typhoon season.

Organisers said earlier in 2025 that the vessel was being chartered at a cost of about 4.5 billion yen (S$35.6 million).

It is a sister ship of the Costa Concordia, which sank off Tuscany in 2012, killing 32 people.

Costa Serena captain Federico Sias said he hoped the athletes would have a “comfortable, safe and memorable stay”.

He added: “Today, our ship becomes more than a destination.

“It becomes a home where athletes and guests from across Asia can come together in the spirit of friendship, mutual respect and unity.” AFP