Qatar Hires 3rd Cruise Ship as Floating Hotel for World Cup

Qatar Hires 3rd Cruise Ship as Floating Hotel for World Cup
The MSC Opera cruise ship passes the Malecon sea wall as it leaves the harbor in Havana on Feb. 4, 2016. Desmond Boylan/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:

GENEVA—A third cruise ship was hired by World Cup organizers in Qatar on Monday to operate as a soccer fan hotel docked in Doha Port to add much-needed rooms for the tournament.

Geneva-based MSC Cruises announced the agreement only six weeks before the World Cup is scheduled to start on Nov. 20. The 1,075-cabin MSC Opera will be available from Nov. 19 to Dec. 19.