Costa Serena to House 4,000 at 2026 Asian Games

Updated September 24, 2026

Costa Cruises’ Costa Serena is serving as the main athletes’ village for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after arriving at Nagoya Port on September 15. About 4,000 athletes are staying aboard the Italian-registered ship during the Games, which opened on September 19 and run through October 4. The vessel will remain docked through October 6.

The organising committee leased Costa Serena for 22 days at a reported cost of 4.48 billion yen after abandoning plans for a purpose-built athletes’ village because of the project’s cost.

Nearly 15,000 athletes and officials are attending the Games. Costa Serena is the first cruise ship used in Japan as an athletes’ village for an international sporting event of this scale. It brings competitors from multiple sports together aboard one vessel.

Inside the floating athletes’ village

Costa Serena, a Concordia-class ship built by Fincantieri and delivered in 2007, measures 290.2 metres long, 35.5 metres wide and approximately 60 metres high. It has 1,502 cabins.

The ship has eight restaurants of varying sizes, a theatre and shops, along with lounges and fitness facilities. It also has seven swimming pools and jacuzzis. General cabins are approximately 13 to 20 square metres and include beds, showers, televisions and climate controls, while suites are around 40 square metres.

“Designed to accommodate up to 4,890 people, including passengers and crew, under normal circumstances, the ship poses no issues for housing 4,000 athletes during the Asian Games,” the organising committee said.

Where the other participants are staying

Cabin allocation plans called for Costa Serena’s six accommodation categories to be distributed among participating countries to provide consistent treatment. Substantial changes to the vessel’s interiors were not possible within the preparation period.

“For the athletes, the accommodation is a place to relax and socialise with their fellow competitors,” said Kazuhiro Yagi, vice-secretary general of the Aichi-Nagoya Games organising committee.

Another 2,000 athletes and officials are being accommodated in a temporary village of 200 wooden, shipping container-style units in Nagoya’s Garden Pier area. About 9,000 people are staying in existing lodging facilities across Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya.

Nagoya Port is about 10 kilometres south of central Nagoya. Organisers included traffic routes between the port and Games venues in their access and passenger-movement planning.

Customs, security and typhoon plans

As a foreign-registered vessel operating in Japan, Costa Serena remains subject to Japanese customs and quarantine requirements. Preparations for its use included reviews of the applicable procedures. Organisers also planned security for the vessel and surrounding port area, as well as for athletes and spectators.

The Games are taking place during Japan’s typhoon season. Plans remain in place to move Costa Serena to safer waters if a typhoon or other adverse weather threatens Nagoya Port.

Costa Serena’s next voyage

After its athletes’ village assignment, Costa Serena is scheduled to begin a 65-night itinerary from Tokyo on October 18. The voyage will call in Taiwan and Hong Kong, followed by Southeast Asia, Australia and the South Pacific, before ending in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

See current Costa Serena fares and itineraries on Cruise Lookup.