Thousands of migrants are being given rooms aboard a luxury ocean liner which comes complete with a theatre and swimming pool because Sweden can no longer cope with the numbers arriving at its borders every week, it has been revealed.

Sweden's Migration Board is renting the Ocean Gala - once the world's largest cruise liner where holidaymakers pay £2,500 for a two-week break - for at least the next year at the eye-watering cost of of £65,000 a day.

When the giant cruise ship is full it will provide bed and board for 1,790 migrants - about the number arriving in the country every single day at the height of the crisis.

A spokesman said: 'Having a theatre sounds really nice. Those who are going to stay at the ship will probably have to do that for quite a bit of time while their applications are being processed. So they need every encouragement they can get.'

Luxury: The Swedish Migration Board has hired out the Ocean Gala, a 623-foot cruise liner which was once the largest in the entire world, to help it cope with the influx of migrants to the northern European state

Added extras: The ship, which previously sailed under the name Island Escape, pictured and below, boasts a swimming pool, as well as a theatre and even a casino - although the latter has been removed by the new owners US Shipmakers

Spacious: The best rooms onboard have their own private balconies, for guests to enjoy the views

Privacy: The suites also come with their own living and dining areas - which will no doubt be a 'step up' for those who have been cramped in tiny accommodation in Sweden, said Kjell Tandberg, of US Shipmakers

Influx: Sweden is struggling to cope with an influx of migrants like those pictured above

However, at that cost they will not enjoy the same luxuries afforded those who paid as much as £2,500 for a two-week cruise during the ships previous incarnation as the Island Escape, then owned by Thomson Cruises.

The 768 cabins on the 623-foot ship, which range from smartly turned out but snug doubles, to expansive suites with private dining areas and balconies, was then a haven for those in search of entertainment, sunbathing and sightseeing.

But those who make it their home in the next year will not be treated to all the extras holidaymakers who floated around the Med were used to enjoying, including a casino, outdoor pool and even a beauty salon.

In fact, if the Swedish Migration Board is successful in finding a spot in the northern port of Härnösand, where temperatures are currently firmly below freezing.

Having a theatre sounds really nice. Those who are going to stay at the ship will probably have to do that for quite a bit of time while their applications are being processed. So they need every encouragement they can get. Swedish migration board

Willis Åberg, head of housing issues at the Swedish Migration Board, boasted that the organisation was 'thinking outside the box'.

'Those who are going to stay in the boat will of course be a bit cramped in the cabins, so it is really important that we arrange for them to have large common areas outside,' he told MailOnline.

'But having a theatre sounds really nice. Those who are going to stay at the ship will probably have to do that for quite a bit of time while their applications are being processed. So they need every encouragement they can get.'

Mr Åberg revealed the Migration Board, which has been open about its struggles to house the refugees arriving in Sweden, even setting up tents in the middle of winter, came up with the idea of the floating asylum centre a number of years ago - but had never had cause to use it, before now.

'We came up with it ourselves,' he told MailOnline.

'We are trying to think outside the box to solve this situation. We had this idea already in the 1990s when we had a huge influx of immigrants coming from the war in the Balkans, but it was never implemented then.

'But we took up the idea again last year when we saw that the situation was going to be hard with immigrants coming by the thousand every day.

Staying: Not everything will be there for the new residents to use however - but the restaurants (pictured) are likely to remain, as the 1,790 asylum seekers will be fed three times a day by the Migration Board

New start: Communal areas are being turned into education and social spaces - but it seems unlikely the games room will stay once the refugees are housed here

Keeping fit: The gym was an added bonus for guests when it was the Island Escape, and will likely be enjoyed by the people who could be living on the boat for months

Encouragement: Willis Åberg, head of housing issues at the Swedish Migration Board, hopes that the theatre (not pictured) will remain so it can provide 'encouragement' for the people living on board

Entertainment: 'Having a theatre sounds really nice,' he told MailOnline

STOMACH FLU AND REALITY TV: THE OCEAN GALA'S HIGH PROFILE PAST This is certainly not the first time the Ocean Gala has hit the headlines. The Island Escape, then owned by Royal Carribean, was the star of a 2002 documentary, which lifted the lid on life on a cruise ship sailing for Palma Majorca with 1,500 party-loving customers. It was far from a success, with plumbing troubles and inappropriate advances - as well as Rik Waller - keeping viewers hooked. In its latter years, it was plagued by problems with stomach bugs. During its 13 years as the Island Escape, legal firm Irwin Mitchell pursued it on six different occasions, representing more than 300 people who fell in on board between 2009 and 2012. Some even went as far to describe it as the 'cruise from hell'. Advertisement

Kjell Tandberg, managing partner of Florida-based US Shipmanagers, which now own the Ocean Gala, told MailOnline: 'The swimming pool will be closed off, we will have decking on the top of it.

'The casino has already been removed, but there will now be some offices on board for organising, and the lounges will be education and common areas.

'The restaurants are still there. The people on board will have three meals a day, but whether there is going to be one or all three, I don't know.'

It is also not the first time US Shipmanagers has rented one of their vessels to a large group for a lengthy period of time - and Mr Tandberg was confident the Ocean Gala, while not a 'luxury' liner, would have another incarnation as a cruise ship.

But for now, it is the 'perfect vessel' for the Migration Boards needs, he added.

'It is well suited for the purpose of long term stays,' he said. 'It was originally built as a car ferry, and has large rooms.

'I think it will be a step up for many families that have been living in cramped quarters.'

Snug: The idea was first considered during the Balkans conflict during the 90s, but was never needed

Desperate: However, this latest influx has meant the Swedish Migration Board needed to 'think outside the box'

Rejected: But attempts to keep the Ocean Gala in Härnösand, 260 miles north of Stockholm, have been objected to by locals, who say it is 'not appropriate'

Anger: The influx of migrants to Sweden has caused controversy and far-right gangs have stoked fear, rampaging through Stockholm's central station on February 1 attacking people of 'ethnic' appearance at random

However, the deal may still fall through as the ship now needs to find somewhere to stay for the next 12 months.

Already, an application to berth the Ocean Gala at Härnösand, 260 miles north of Stockholm, has encountered opposition.