Louis Hellenic Cruises - Greek Islands

[suziern]

That is hot off the presses! I checked 2 days ago and they still just had the Perla routes listed. Thank you for the information!!!!!! Can't wait to hear what you thought!:D

[MCOjerry]

The Louis site show that the Emerald's last 3 or 4 day sailing will be from 28/04/06 to 01/05/06, and after that the Sea Diamond will take over 3 and 4 day Aegean itineraries.

 

http://www.louiscruises.com/cruises_from_greece/cruises_from_greece_home.html

 

How did you find this information on the site? Did you just enter dates into the search engine.

 

My friend and I are booked on a combo tour with Gate 1, and our cruise is 4/10 - 4/14. Originally, Gate 1 listed the ship as the Perla, but the site (Gate 1's) now says Sea Diamond.

 

After reading all of the bad press on the Perla, I became concerned, but had my hopes lifted when I saw that the Sea Diamond was 10 years or so newer.

 

What is the Emerald like? Please tell me it's clean??? I have allergies, so It would really suck if I got sick from the ship.

 

I'd really like to hear what everyone has to say.

 

Also, is anyone else going to be on this particular cruise? 4/10 - 4/14

[dougnewmanatsea]

What is the Emerald like?

I have not been on any of these ships, but she is probably the nicest of the bunch.

 

During most of the year she is chartered by the UK tour operator Thomson and she has a very good reputation there as a good value-priced choice.

[MCOjerry]

I have not been on any of these ships, but she is probably the nicest of the bunch.

 

During most of the year she is chartered by the UK tour operator Thomson and she has a very good reputation there as a good value-priced choice.

 

Thanks :) I hope we get that one then :D

[grizzmemnoch]

I found the deck plan for the Sea Diamond today at :) ...http://www.gate1travel.com/cruises/ships/louis_seadiamond_deckplan.htm

[A Sixth?]

Thanks grizzmemnoch. Does any one actually have their cabin assignments? We don't, and have been warned we may not get them until we get on the ship :(

[Danielbdc]

Hi guys,

 

Anyone here take the cruise Sea Diamond recently ?

I'm in doubt about taking Perla or Sea Diamond because of the numbers of days and the quality of the cruise.

The reviews about the Perla are quite scary :eek:

 

Which one do you suggest ?

What's the best cruise from Louis Lines ?

 

Thank You,

Daniel Castro

Brazil

http://br.share.geocities.com/HorusStrategy/

:)

[moksha]

Just returned from a 4-day cruise on The Emerald (March 13-17). It was a solid 3-star experience. The ship was spotless clean, quite comfortable and the entire staff bent over backwards to ensure a pleasant journey for all. The ship exceeded my rather low expectations on every level. Dining room service was great and the shows were fun to watch. I also had a terrific massage while on board! I would not hesitate to sail on The Emerald again in the future. My only complaint is that disembarkation took way too long.

[Guest marmiepoo]

Hi Sixth, I am scheduled to "do" a 6 day cruise of greek Iles in late October, as part of a cruise/tour with Homeric, departs from Istanbul, does: Mykonos, Patmos/Kusadasi, Rhodes, Heraklion/Santoreni, Piraeus, & disembarks in Athens. Thought we were scheduled for Serenade, but looks like we might be on "Birka" or "Perla? Could I be right? Thanks

[suziern]

The Louis website now has the Sea Diamond pictured under "ships" for cruises from Greece, but no extra information like deck plans yet

[A Sixth?]

:confused:

Hi Sixth, I am scheduled to "do" a 6 day cruise of greek Iles in late October, as part of a cruise/tour with Homeric, departs from Istanbul, does: Mykonos, Patmos/Kusadasi, Rhodes, Heraklion/Santoreni, Piraeus, & disembarks in Athens. Thought we were scheduled for Serenade, but looks like we might be on "Birka" or "Perla? Could I be right? Thanks

 

A six day cruise, leaving Istanbul? Got me. It won't be on the new Sea Princess (old Brika) that's for sure.... what are the dates?

 

Maybe they're making a special run????

 

Are you sure they're using Luis Cruises?

[A Sixth?]

Hi Sixth, I am scheduled to "do" a 6 day cruise of greek Iles in late October, as part of a cruise/tour with Homeric, departs from Istanbul, does: Mykonos, Patmos/Kusadasi, Rhodes, Heraklion/Santoreni, Piraeus, & disembarks in Athens. Thought we were scheduled for Serenade, but looks like we might be on "Birka" or "Perla? Could I be right? Thanks

 

Beats me, the Sea Diamond is only doing Piraeus-Piraeus 3 and 4 day cruises.

 

Are you sure there isn't some sort of "land tour" component to your six day?

 

Louis cruises doesn't have any six day cruises, a seven, but not a six.

[dgk_kos]

You will be aboard PERLA for sure.

The seven day cruises arrives on Saturday at Istabul and departs on Sunday and follows exactlly the itinery you mentioned. So in your case it will be a six day cruise

[A Sixth?]

Here's a strange question.

 

Can we get off a 4 day Greek Islands, Turkey cruise aboard the new Sea Diamond at the last port Santorini? (the one before sailing overnight to Piraeus)?

 

We were going to tour the Islands for another week via ferry boat after our Sea Diamond cruise, ending our week in Santorini and flying back to Athens. As crazy as it sounds, since the boat only leave Santorini at 21:00 to sail back to Athens, why not?

 

Anyone do this?

[A Sixth?]

Got the answer myself, yup we can.

 

TA has arranged it so we leave at Santorini.

 

Goes against my usual mantra of maximizing my stay on the boat, but it makes so much more sense.:D

[suziern]

I just noticed on the Louis site that they have 2 ships listed for the May/June 3 and 4 day Greek island departures, the Sea Diamond and the Ausonia. Does anyone know anything about this ship? It looks older, but the site says it was refurbished in 2000. I'm not even bothering to e-mail friendly planet to ask which ship I'm going to be on because they just keep telling me "you have to wait until you get your cruise documents."

[A Sixth?]

I just noticed on the Louis site that they have 2 ships listed for the May/June 3 and 4 day Greek island departures, the Sea Diamond and the Ausonia. Does anyone know anything about this ship? It looks older, but the site says it was refurbished in 2000. I'm not even bothering to e-mail friendly planet to ask which ship I'm going to be on because they just keep telling me "you have to wait until you get your cruise documents."

 

Wow, my cruise May 29th for four days now lists both boats too. Sure a crap shoot with these guys isn't it?

[BevieJune]

We will be taking a trip with Grand Circle Tours called "Athens, The Greek Islands & Beyond," on June 3, 2006. The two ships listed for our 4 night cruise were Calypso or Perla, of Louis Cruise Lines. After reading all of the negative remarks about the Perla, I phoned GCT today to confirm which one of the ships we would be on. I was told that they have been changed to either the Emerald or Sea Diamond. But as usual, we won't be informed as to which one it will be until we actually start our tour. I have never heard of the Sea Diamond or the Emerald. Does anyone out there know anything about either one of them?

I am used to sailing on small ships with 100 passengers or less to, France, Germany, Russia, etc. They have all been great. The rooms were small, but that's ok because you don't plan on spending much time in them anyway. The food was very good, as was all of the service. The ships were all very clean, and the Captains were very friendly. My only complaint was on our trip down the Volga River in Russia which we took with with Go Ahead Vacations. The cooks put dill in everything we were served. It was always tasty, but I told my friend that if they put dill in our icecream, I was going to talk to the Chef!!

 

Thanks for any info you can give me.

Bev

[A Sixth?]

My TA assures me that I'm on the Sea Diamond. We'll see! The whole process of booking and details may be more tiring than the trip.

[Guest marmiepoo]

Thanks Sixth & DGK, that actually makes me feel better, since I read that Perla has improved a lot. I've been on large/med & small ships, old is ok with me, clean is important. Every cruise is an adventure, & I like to enjoy every adventure. You've set my mind at ease.

[A Sixth?]

Wow! Louis Cruises change their minds more than the weather man!

 

Now my TA is telling me that we will be either on the Sea Diamond OR the Ausonia. The Ausonia is older than I am (by a little) :rolleyes:

[soaringpa]

We are scheduled for a 12-day trip w/ 4-day cruise to Athens and the greek islands in August. I came across this site looking for information on the cruise ship La Perla which was originally tagged for the 4-day cruise. I was horrified by the reviews and considered cancelling since my daughter and neice (13) will be cruising for the first time. We had resigned ourselves that it was no more than a floating bus. I was relieved to see that Louis has bought a newer ship Sea Diamond to run the 4-day cruises out of Piraeus beginning April 2006 and it looks like we will now be on that ship. The Sea Diamond was originally the Birka Princess owned by a Swedish or Finnish company. Louis Cruises renamed her the Sea Diamond. It's not as old as La Perla and it says it was recently refurbished about 5 years ago. Has anyone cruised on the Birka Princess or if you will be cruising out of Piraeus on the Sea Diamond in the near future? Anxiously looking for a good report.

P.S. According Louis Cruise lines the La Perla will now be used for their 7-day cruises. I'm glad I'm not sailing on that ship.

[A Sixth?]

Well soaringpa, accoarding to the cruise line, for 3 and 4 day cruises, you may end up on either the Sea Diamond, or the Ausonia. The Ausonia was launched in 1957.:eek:

 

On the bright side, the Ausonia has a better ratings sheet than the Perla... just:( . http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/ships/lo_ausonia.asp

 

[dougnewmanatsea]

The Ausonia was launched in 1957.:eek:

What's wrong with that ;) ?

 

This little gem of a ship - only 12,000 GT - was built as the flagship of the Societa Adriatica di Navigazione or "Adriatic Navigation Company" of Trieste, part of the Italian state-owned shipping conglomerate FINMARE, for their most prestigious service in the Eastern Mediterranean, sailing from Italy to Greece, Egypt, and Lebanon, along with periodic cruises.

 

In design terms, she was very much a smaller version of the more well-known Italian liners of her period such ANDREA DORIA and CRISTOFORO COLOMBO. The Italians were anxious to regain their prominence after World War II and so the Italian government, through FINMARE, spared no expense in a new and highly ambitious building programme to create a magnificent new passenger fleet that would carry the Italian flag around the world and restore the prestige of Italian passenger shipping. They comissioned the most prominent Italian architects (including Gio Ponti and Gustavo Pulitzer) and artists (including Enrico Paolluci and Emmanuele Luzzati) of the period to design and decorate the new ships, which became collectively known as "The Renaissance Fleet" both because most of the ships were named after famous figures from the Renaissance (AUSONIA was an exception as Adriatica's ships were named for Roman provinces) and because they represented Italy's post-war Renaissance. Many consider the ships of the post-war Renaissance Fleet to be the best-designed and decorated liners regardless of time period or nationality.

 

AUSONIA, the largest and fastest liner ever built for Mediterranean service, operated for Adriatica until 1979, when she was rebuilt as a full-time cruise ship for a new venture, Italia Crociere Internatizionale (ICI), a partnership between FINMARE and private operators including Costa, and an attempt to bring FINMARE's passenger services out of the red, where they had been since the advent of long-haul jet airline service. Of FINMARE's three long-distance subsidiaries, each contributed their finest ships to ICI: AUSONIA from Adriatica, LEONARDO DA VINCI from Italia, and GUGLIELMO MARCONI and GALILEO GALILEI from Lloyd Triestino. Unfortunately, ICI was a failure and in 1983 AUSONIA was sold to Grimaldi Lines who operated her as a cruise ship through 1998. At that point she was sold to Louis who extensively refurbished her for a four-year charter to the big UK tour operator First Choice. This was so successful that First Choice decided to join with Royal Caribbean to create a new cruise line, Island Cruises, rather than extend their charter of AUSONIA beyond 2002. Since then, she's been sailing under Louis' own brand name. I know several people who have sailed in her in the past few years and all have been absolutely charmed by this ship. Sadly, most of her original interiors are long gone, which is a pity - as the Adriatica flagship, she was fitted out to the very highest standard including artworks by major Italian artists of the day, a few of which remain intact.

 

If you wind up sailing in AUSONIA, consider yourself lucky to have the chance to experience one of the very last of her kind in the world. She is one of a very few remaining steam turbine passenger ships in operation (less than ten). Personally I would love to sail in her before she's gone, but I'm a nut who thinks of ships like wine, the older the better ;) ! The lovliest ships around today are the few remaining from the 1960s and earlier... They have grace and charm that today's anonymous new ships lack.

 

Another very notable thing about AUSONIA is that she has kept the same name for her entire career - 49 years and counting! She has had the same name for longer than any other oceangoing passenger ship but for one, MSC's MONTEREY, which celebrates 50 years as such this year (a friend of mine is aboard her right now and I am green with envy!).

 

For a very nicely-illustrated review of a cruise in AUSONIA from Cyprus last year, click here. Just look at the panelled interior of that former first-class cabin! Sadly most of the ship appears quite bland inside these days, but as the photos show, there are a few areas like the old first-class cabins and the main staircase where her original beauty shows through.

 

You also might want to take a look here for a brief history of the ship and excellent photos showing the ship over the past five decades.

 

Also do not overlook Louis' web site which has deck plans and a good virtual tour of some of the cabins and public areas. As you can see, most of her interiors are quite modern (disappointingly so for fans of old ships like myself). Nonetheless she is a very special ship with a storied history and hopefully she has a few more years of service left in her yet! Personally I would much rather sail in her than the modern and characterless SEA DIAMOND...

[A Sixth?]

What's wrong with that ;) ?

 

......If you wind up sailing in AUSONIA, consider yourself lucky to have the chance to experience one of the very last of her kind in the world. She is one of a very few remaining steam turbine passenger ships in operation (less than ten). Personally I would love to sail in her before she's gone, but I'm a nut who thinks of ships like wine, the older the better ;) ! The lovliest ships around today are the few remaining from the 1960s and earlier... They have grace and charm that today's anonymous new ships lack.

..... Nonetheless she is a very special ship with a storied history and hopefully she has a few more years of service left in her yet! Personally I would much rather sail in her than the modern and characterless SEA DIAMOND...

 

Thanks for the history on the ship, I didn't mean to sound like we aren't happy to be on either ship, and in-fact the Ausonia does sound like the boat with character.

 

It's just such a merry-go-round with Louis trying to find out what's going on. We booked a higher level cabin category on the Perla and are curious how that'll translate on what ever boat we're assigned to.

 

One of the most interesting cruises we ever did was the 15,483-gross-register-ton/832-passenger 1958 launched Federico C, the first new ship built for Costa Line. When we sailed her in the early 1990's she was owned by Dolphin Cruises and called the SeaBreeze.

 

She was a very nice boat, and our week aboard her was one of the nicest cruises we ever had (the weather was perfect, and the sea were flat calm for the whole week which always helps! :D )

 

I was saddened when I heard that she sank after taking on water in high seas December 17, 2000, approximately 200 miles east of the coast of Virginia. (The U.S. Coast Guard rescued all 34 crew-members; there were no passengers on-board.)

 

You're right, maybe we should ask to get the Asonia before all the old classic ships are gone.