Who Pays for all of this ?

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2016/08/02/488421196/in-rio-u-s-men-s-basketball-will-stay-on-a-cruise-ship-the-silver-cloud

Too bad the athletes couldn't just stay in the village with others.

Most likely Silversea pays for it and I applaud them for it. Thankfully the athletes will be safe and able to eat good food while on the ship. Reports from Rio regarding housing for athletes is not very positive (housing only completed within the last few days). IMO, Rio is a mess and has been so for a very long time. The last time we were in Rio (December, 2015), we were reminded while onboard the ship (Regent) to remove wedding rings, necklaces, etc. This can truly be a dangerous area (more than anyplace else in the world that we have been).

Hopefully Silversea will receive a lot of positive publicity for what they are doing. Bravo Silversea:)

It has been chartered (and paid for) by Cisco on behalf of the NBA. They have even paid for the beds to be replaced with 7 foot beds.

Jeff

Too bad the athletes couldn't just stay in the village with others.

From my posting and pictures yesterday on this CC Silversea board, it seems that the computer network/tech giant Cisco is the sponsor underwriting the costs in connections with getting the Silver Cloud over and back from the Med/Europe, plus the several weeks there in Rio for the Olympics. Not cheap, but Cisco is company with deep pockets.

WHY?? There are serious security and safety issues with these pro basketballers. Most of these stars, plus certain coaches, are millionaires, high-profile sports figures, recognized faces around the world, etc. They are not just your average and unknown high school and college athletes!! Starting with the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, the USA basketball team became the "Dream Team" and attracted huge attention. In 1992, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and the Dream Team stayed in a luxury hotel in Barcelona, not the Olympic village.

Does it sound "fair"? Maybe. Maybe not. Whether we like it not, sports is high-profile and with big money involved. These are not the Olympics of old when only supposed "amateurs" were participating.

Also professional athletes are not grabbing whatever food they like from McDonald's or Subway. Even in minor league baseball here, plus even more so in the major leagues, teams have players on carefully controlled diets and training tables. It's a business!!

There are serious safety issues in Brazil with kidnappings, people held for ransoms, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 151,788 views for this posting.

Here is visual from the London/UK Daily Mail website regarding the Silver Cloud and its "special duties" in Rio. This pictures bring back exciting memories from our four sailings on this luxury ship? Plus this picture shows just a small portion of the special security for the professional athletes.:

Terry,

Cisco sponsors the NBA out of it's marketing budget. They are not sponsoring Silver Cloud out of philanthropic motives but because they will be hosting meet and greets for their top customers and prospective customers on Cloud and the temporary marketing facilities close by.

This is paid for by Cisco, and only obliquely by the public when they pay their monthly internet charges a small amount of which will eventually reach Cisco's coffers.

Jeff

My daughter has friends in the Australian team as well as others who are in the support contingent.

Those in the support contingent spent several days making alterations to the rooms in the village to make it habitable

Its not the first time athletes form the US or UK have resided ex village.

The olympics are now a huge marketing tool with commercial franchises...

look at past olympics and wonder why certain events are on at particular times

:D:cool::eek:

Hi Mrs W,

Yes - completely right!

There is an accomodation issue but this has nothing to do with "accomodation" as such because it was planned years ago and is a part of Cisco's marketing. Cisco are Rio "supporters" which essentially means they are supplying substantial internet/networking infrastructure to the games. They will therefore have access to a substantial number of events tickets including the highly prized opening and closing events. These tickets, including all those tickets for individual events will be used to complement the accomodation they have on Cloud. Sales teams would have been sounding out CEO's of their major customers to find out what events they would "like" to be invited to ... and this keeps customers.

https://www.rio2016.com/en/sponsors/cisco

http://www.cisco.com/c/r/pt/br/rio2016/stories/cisco-in-brazil-en.html

They will probably be used to meet and greet with their top client executives with wives who will fly in and out for a night or two as well probably as sales incentive awards for their own sales teams. They will stay on Cloud and attend events hosted by Cisco's senior team.

These sponsorship schemes are always started on the basis that "if we don't get any leveage we can always stop" but of course sponsorship is something that once started is difficult to stop because it sometimes reflects badly. It is difficult to justify expensive sponsorship because the benefits are difficult to quantify. I use to work for an American corporation that spends huge amounts at Wimbledon. I once made the mistake of offering to personally sponsor for charity a 2CV on the Baja Rally, but thankfully I convinced one of our clients - Toshiba - to share the sponsorship with me which was a relief because it was very expensive, but our charity made a lot of cash.

Cisco will spend millions at Rio but will probably recoup many times that amount through incremental sales and customer retention.

Silversea would have made a packet out of this and need no applause or plaudits .... ;)

Jeff

They will probably be used to meet and greet with their top client executives with wives who will fly in and out for a night or two as well probably as sales incentive awards for their own sales teams. They will stay on Cloud and attend events hosted by Cisco's senior team. Silversea would have made a packet out of this and need no applause or plaudits .... ;) Jeff

Terry, Cisco sponsors the NBA out of it's marketing budget. They are not sponsoring Silver Cloud out of philanthropic motives but because they will be hosting meet and greets for their top customers and prospective customers on Cloud and the temporary marketing facilities close by. This is paid for by Cisco, and only obliquely by the public when they pay their monthly internet charges a small amount of which will eventually reach Cisco's coffers. Jeff

YES, agree with Jeff that this is a bigger and smart Cisco marketing effort in connection with their sponsorship of USA basketball team, the Olympics tie-ins, Rio Olympics, top corporate connections, etc. Well-summarized by Jeff in both posts.

The Olympics and their growth have been fueled and driven by lots of corporate sponsorships, tie-ins for the teams, TV coverage, etc. These Olympics and their marketing "hooks" have been growing bigger and bigger in recent decades. For future Olympics, the economics of staging these games with the billions in construction costs has gotten totally out-of-control and is another topic for another time.

Are these costs worth it in sales Cisco and others? That's another question that is hard to determine for us as mere "regular folks"! The Olympics are a unique, special "happening" that only is staged once every four years and has a dramatic, world-wide image/impact. Cisco must believe it works for them and their top customers. The Olympics and their locations are not just your average "game" or event that happens every week, every year. Being "special" at a talked-about world-class event gets the attention of top customers and becomes a powerful tool for Cisco's sales leaders.

Good to know about Mrs. Waldo's daughter and those connections.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo sailing over 26 days that started in Barbados, here is the link below to that live/blog. Lots of great visuals from this amazing Brazil river and these various Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, etc.) that we experienced. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 40,861 views for these postings.

Terry,

The key differentiator with the Olympics compared to say Wimbledon is that smart Cisco account managers would have been saying to their main executives of client organisations say around six years ago "I'm just sounding you out ... early days .... no promises ... but assuming you are still customers and if we were to invite you to Rio in 2016 what events would you like to be invited to".

A customer is then locked in for at least six years. ;)

Wimbledon is basically just a couple of tickets for a tennis match with some strawberries, lunch and champers and a free parking sticker thrown in.

My favourite sponsored events were the relatively lower cost cultural events. The most enjoyable one I did was Vladimir Ashkanazy conducting the London Philharmonic at Ely Cathedral with lunch in the school on benches and by candlelight. I mentioned in the cooler some time ago "my night with Vlad the Impaler" and our reuninion in Sydney on our balcony at Sydney Grand Quay when he was director at The Opera House and still on salads but preferred our "bring in" Chinese.

Sponsorship is as good as the harvesting you make from it.

Jeff

Wimbledon is basically just a couple of tickets for a tennis match with some strawberries, lunch and champers and a free parking sticker thrown in. Sponsorship is as good as the harvesting you make from it. Jeff

YES, appreciate this excellent comparison by Jeff to Wimbledon . . . versus . . . the more "long-term" marketing process/connection that can be done through use of these Rio offerings/hostings.

On TV news shows this morning here in the U.S., the use of the Silver Cloud for the basketball teams gets mention and attention. AND, the comparisons to Rio's poor prep and lack of readiness of its facilities makes using this ship look smarter and better.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 215,112 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

YES, appreciate this excellent comparison by Jeff to Wimbledon . . . versus . . . the more "long-term" marketing process/connection that can be done through use of these Rio offerings/hostings.

 

On TV news shows this morning here in the U.S., the use of the Silver Cloud for the basketball teams gets mention and attention. AND, the comparisons to Rio's poor prep and lack of readiness of its facilities makes using this ship look smarter and better.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 215,112 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Also saw some of the news this morning about the US basketball team staying on the Cloud. Unfortunately, at least according to the report I watched on one station, they were not allowed on board the ship. The pictures on board the ship they did show were stock stills probably provided by Silversea.

Also saw that the Norwegian Getaway is scheduled to arrive in Rio soon, if not already there, to provide "extra hotel" space for Olympic officials and guests. I believe this was the same NCL ship used as extra hotel space for the Super Bowl in New York in 2014.

No mention in either case of who exactly is picking up the bill for the ships, food, etc. They did show some stills of athletes from other countries doing things like putting up shower curtains in their showers in the Olympic Village. Also some mention of countries and sponsors going into the Olympic Village and finishing or making the rooms habitable or more comfortable.

You can bet the NBA and the WNBA are coughing up big bucks, supplemented by owners and sponsors!

Also saw some of the news this morning about the US basketball team staying on the Cloud. Unfortunately, at least according to the report I watched on one station, they were not allowed on board the ship. The pictures on board the ship they did show were stock stills probably provided by Silversea.

Here is the link to the nearly two-minute video segment that NBC-TV's Today Show did this morning on the Silver Cloud, etc. Yes, there was some stock still shots used of the Silver Cloud suites, offerings, etc.

Below are some visual highlights from that TV reporting. NBC is paying millions for the Olympic TV rights, but their reporter and camera operator did not get on the ship. YET??!! Maybe later there will be more from the ship and interviews with some of the players as to how they like this Silversea ship and service.

Looks like great visibility and PR for Silversea.

Silver Cloud/NBA/Rio Video Link:

http://www.today.com/video/go-aboard-the-luxury-cruise-ship-housing-nba-players-in-rio-738000451603

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

If Venice is one of your future desires or past favorites, look at this earlier posting for many options and visual samples this city that is so great for "walking around", personally seeing its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 61,715 views.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

Here are some visual highlights from the NBC-TV Today Show segment this morning on the Silver Cloud, the pro basketball stars and Rio. First, is their reporter standing with the ship in the background. Notice what appears to be a Silversea staff officer walking by? Second is one of the Silver Cloud staff being captured on the ship with a long-range lens. Third are some of the basketball players walking around on the top deck to check out the Silver Cloud. Finally, here is one of their visuals showing the Silver Cloud docked in Rio.:

You can bet the NBA and the WNBA are coughing up big bucks, supplemented by owners and sponsors!

I hope they got the Silversea early booking discount and saved 10% ?:p

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2016/08/02/488421196/in-rio-u-s-men-s-basketball-will-stay-on-a-cruise-ship-the-silver-cloud

 

Too bad the athletes couldn't just stay in the village with others.

Too bad or not, once active NBA players were allowed (1992) the US Men's team has never stayed in the Olympic village. It was felt their presence would be too distracting.