Louis Hellenic Cruises - Greek Islands

[lh53528]

I was not expecting any moe than transportation from island to island a bed and some college dorm type meals - I just want to know what I am going to be on

[cruznurz]

We are doing a 16 day tour of Greece and the Greek islands in July. We too were supposed to be on the Sea Diamond July 13-16. Transat Holidays, the Canadian tour company I have booked with, tells me the Orient Queen will be the substitute ship. We took our first Caribbean cruise in 1997 on the Bolero which has been renamed the Orient Queen. We are delighted because we have very fond memories of her. At the time she seemed enormous but I imagine after ten cruises on some of the "big" ships, she will seem to have shrunk.

[lh53528]

So my TA telling me we will probably be on the Orient Queen might actually be correct?

[photographia]

where did you see that the oceanic II is linked to all the tours? I looked on the lc site and it said to be announced. I am going nutso wondering what boat we will be on in June. Our TA siad it was going to be the Orient Queen but I think he is just trying to shut me up.

 

On the Louis website, if you click on "To be Announced" right above the schedule of dates/cruises, it takes you to a blurb about Oceanic II.

 

Has anyone contacted Louis directly with this question lately?

[giorgosz]

lh53528, your TA is correct

From what i know till now, Orient Queen will be your ship.

[photographia]

lh53528, your TA is correct

From what i know till now, Orient Queen will be your ship.

 

But apparently it depends on whether you're taking one of the seven-day cruises (heading to Istanbul first) or the three- or four-day cruises in June. The Orient Queen is evidently slated to do the seven-day cruises in June--assuming that the Louis website is accurate, which is a risky assumption... All these cruises are taking place simultaneously, and their itineraries are definitely different, so the Orient Queen can't be handling all of them! :)

[lh53528]

we are on the 3 day - I got an email from Julie Baker in sales somewhere in the UK this AM saying that a ship would announced in 1 or 2 weeks.

[giorgosz]

The thing that i heard is that the Orient Queen is going to do the 3 & 4 day cruises.

You never know with Louis, the seem to change the vessels on demand.

Rumors have it that they are purchasing another vessel but i don't believe that it will be ready to start cruises in June.

[Sil]

I'm scheduled on the 4 day cruise as a part of a Cosmos Tour which places my ships departure on 5/28. According to the Travel Agent (via Cosmos) I will be on the Oceanic II. Yet the corporate site indicates the last departure for that ship is the 25th. (Which coincides with an article I'd seen referencing the fact that the Oceanic II would have to be turned over to another company post the 25th.)

 

I just don't trust Cosmos to be correct, originally they told me it'd be ther Emerald. (Which of course only filled in for April.)

[giorgosz]

Τhe Emerald is chartered to Thomson for their cruises.

I think that you will be to the new vessel that Louis Hellenic Cruises chartered.

It is the M/V Ruby and it will be cruising from May 28th till October 29th.

The vessel is the former Olympia Countess, Lili Marleen and you can find some pictures here.

[photographia]

Τhe Emerald is chartered to Thomson for their cruises.

I think that you will be to the new vessel that Louis Hellenic Cruises chartered.

It is the M/V Ruby and it will be cruising from May 28th till October 29th.

The vessel is the former Olympia Countess, Lili Marleen and you can find some pictures here.

 

giorgiosz, your info is apparently dead-on. There's an announcement from May 9 on the Louis Group website, www.louisgroup.com, in Greek only, stating that after Oceanic II ends its cruises on May 28, the M/V Ruby will be taking the 3-day and 4-day cruises through October 29, 2007.

So that's our ship!

Has anybody cruised on it before? Comments?

[giorgosz]

Τhe Emerald is chartered to Thomson for their cruises.

I think that you will be to the new vessel that Louis Hellenic Cruises chartered.

It is the M/V Ruby and it will be cruising from May 28th till October 29th.

The vessel is the former Olympia Countess, Lili Marleen and you can find some pictures here.

 

My last message was regering to "Sil".

As for the replacement of Sea Diamond, the company just announced that they purchased the Μ/V Opera , ex Silja Opera.

At the announcement they state that the vessel will begin cruising in the Aegean in July.

[Sil]

Thank you so much giorgosz! It's nice to at least know some detail before I leave for my trip! Nice to have some pictures as well, l just hope things are smoother in this first departure than I've heard for of some of Louis's previous voyages.

 

Thanks again!

Sil

[celcruiser]

It is true. OPERA (SILJA OPERA) is the replacement ship for SEA DIAMOND. Crew (deck and engine) are already on their way to Tilbury. She is expected to arrive in Piraeus end of May. Info on the ship can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Leeward

My only objection is that she is not considered to be the most lucky vessel in the world.....

[Wander4now]

My wife and I just returned from a trip that included a 4 day cruise on Sea Diamond's replacement, Oceanic II.

 

While the ship does not compare with the new mega ships, it had good closet space and storage space. Many postings on Sea Diamond and Perla complained on this point. The cabin size was comparable to many newer ships. The workout facility was minimally adequate....had 5 or 6 weight machines and 5 or 6 aerobic machines.

 

The food was quite good, I thought comparable to Carnival...however, the service was spread a little thinner. The average waiter wasn't up to par, but they had more management staff and these folks were very observant and jumped in to bail out the wait staff.

 

I thought the organization was quite good. There is a lot of disembarking and embarking with 2 port calls each day. They do generally let the organized groups and ship booked excursions off first, before independent travelers. This sometimes takes as much as 45 minutes, but I saw no artificial delay....the last tour group left immediately before the independent travelers.

 

The entertainment on board was pretty lame, though some of the musicians were talented...but frankly with 2 shore excursion on most days, I was too tired to stay up for the show and wanted to get up early for the next day.

 

I found the Louis Cruise Lines to be a very good experience. The crew kept guests well informed, were attentive, and very positive. The ships are old. They are an efficient way to get a overview of the Greek Islands if you are in a hurry. I went on one shore excursion in Kusadasi, a tour of the Ephasus ruins, the guide was average and the price was high. I wasn't sure of the cost of getting there by taxi....some people booked a private tour over the internet and were very happy with the experience, more time at the site, great guide, and less cost by about 30%. In Crete, its simple and cheap to get to Knossos by taxi or public bus. In Mykonos and Santorini, you only have time to explore the main town and your there in the evening, so I didn't see any reason to take the tour and heard nothing from those that did that made me regret the decision. Rhodes is the only all day stop and I found it quite pleasant to take a slow pace exploring the old city. In Patmos, you can walk up to the cave and fort via a cobble stone trail and taxis are available (contrary to what my guide book told me).

 

I recommend this cruise for the itinerary. The ship was OK and the crew was very accomodating, pretty efficient, and pleasant....but its not a luxury event. To compare it to the Marriott chain, its definitely a Fairfield Inn.

 

Hope you find this info useful,

 

Wander4now

 

Cruise History: 2-7day Carival Cruises, 4 day NCL Cruise, 4day Nile Cruise

[cruiseMaster991]

just came back from a cruise with Perla;friendly atmosphere,good,safe sailing

Cruise on board Perla ,Louis Cruises,greek cruiseline,felt at home!Good food,thrilled with the ports of call!wished we stayed all day in Myconos!

Our Louis hellenic cruise on the PERLA is one word: Yiannis,our dining steward;I will go back.

Our group could never imagine that our experience on board the PERLA could be so special;better on a smaller human ship like Perla but on any ship we have been;we requested for a room for our Sunday meeting(our Pastor sailed with us) and the cruise manager arranged this right in aminute with a big smile!

Visited Ephessus and Patmos the best way;the Perla was our nest for three days.Thank you Nicos (Hotel Director)

[cruiseFan676]

Wondering if anyone has had any dealing with this cruise company. Since Royal Olympia cruises went bankrupt I surfed the internet and this company seems to be taking over the same itineraries offered by the now defunct Royal Olympia Cruises

 

Has anyone sailed on any of their ships?? We're contemplating an 8 day trip including Athens with 4 night sailing on MS PERLA (formerly NCL Southward).

WoW PErla Is a beautifull ship I really enjoyed it!Me and my family had a great time onboard!

I love the cosmopolitan island of mykonos!Hope we had more time there!But the rest of the cruise of very good as well!

I hope I get the chance to go on cruise again with Perla~!!!

[cruiseclassic!]

Are you going cruise for fancy casinos and climbing the funnel?

If so,dont go on Perla;we have been on board their 4 day cruise and called at seven islands;ship is classic,well maintained but you just stay on board for dinner(good food!) and going to bed(good size cabins on Perla)

A cruise to explore greek islands;no time for parties!:) :) :)

[cruiseclassic!]

just came back from perla cruise to the greek islands;ship good,cre super,cabins good!

[Zackeya]

My family and I just got of the Perla early this month. We didn't want to come home. It was the best cruise we have ever had. The ship looked wonderful, it had just been refurbished. My daughter loved the pool and the night light and I liked the piano bar. We all loved the food, anything you wanted and a lot of it. We will go again. The staff was wonderful, very friendly and helpful.

[Zackeya]

My family and I just got of the Perla early this month. We didn't want to come home. It was the best cruise we have ever had. The ship looked wonderful, it had just been refurbished. My daughter loved the pool and the night light and I liked the piano bar. We all loved the food, anything you wanted and a lot of it. We will go again. The staff was wonderful, very friendly and helpful.

[photographia]

Okay, everybody who's taking a June or July cruise with Louis, HEADS UP! Louis is totally shifting around its ship schedule for the summer. We ourselves are scheduled for a three-day cruise beginning June 8, which was SUPPOSED to be the Ruby, right? Well, now my travel agent says it'll be the Orient Queen. Originally, the Orient Queen was only scheduled to do the seven-day cruises, all summer long.

 

Meanwhile, I rechecked Louis's website, and it now is in disarray (which seems to be the operative word for the company as a whole)--BUT if you go to http://www.louiscruises.com/cruisesearch.html, and check out the schedules for June and July, you'll see that now they appear to be sort of rotating the Ruby, Perla, and Orient Queen. FYI!

 

Man, this is getting ridiculous. If I hadn't booked a package tour which includes this cruise, I'd have backed away from Louis long ago...

[lh53528]

The Perla has a different itinary then the Ruby, (includes Santorini) I don't know about the ORient Queen and the Ruby both leaving on June 8 on the same itinary - maybe they put that in there in case Ruby is not ready for her first cruise on June 8? Interesting, please update when you return (or before if possible - I leave 6/12 on a tour that includes a cruise on Ruby departing Piraeaus 7/15.

[giorgosz]

Τhey change the vessels on demand.

If you see two vessels in the same itinary maybe the one is fully booked...

[PhylHarv]

My husband and I are scheduled to leave Piraeus on a 4-night cruise. Louis Cruise Line website shows both the Perla and the Ruby leaving that day on identical cruises. We are leaving home June 6 on a Grand Circle trip through parts of Greece, including this 4-day cruise, but we haven't been able to find out which ship we'll be sailing on. Does anyone reading these messages have any information about the sailings on June 18? Our family would really like to know which ship we'll be on.