Louis Cruise Lines M.S. Perla

We are scheduled to sail on this ship from Athens the middle of May 2006. Can anyone give us some information based on their experience onboard this ship cruising the Greek Islands? We would particularly like to know about shore excursions. Recommendations? Also, what can you tell me about life onboard the ship? Some of the reviews I've read have been less than complimentary; others have been downright scary.

Are you doing a seven day cruise? If you're doing a three or four, the Perla has been replaced with the Sea Diamond.

If you want a little info on either ship check the thread Louis Hellenic Cruises - Greek Islands (last pages have discussion on the Sea Diamond

Thanks for the info. I went out to the site and that does not appear to be one of their listed cruise ships. I emailed our travel agent to check it out. We are doing the 4-day cruise. We board the ship on Monday and debark on Friday morning. Do you have any cruise experience on either one of these ships? Something positive perhaps?

I got a fax from my TA who was faxed from Louis about being put on the new Sea Diamond for my end of May 2006 four day'er. If it's a three or four day, according to the Louis fax, it's on the Sea Diamond, and that's likely a good thing because she's a much newer ship.

I've not sailed on her, nobody has yet (she's being Louis'ized as we speak) but in general I can guess a bit about her having sailed older two star ships in the past.

They aren't as glamorous as the princess and RCL boats out there. Food is good, but write home about... usually not. The cabins are much smaller 100 sq ft is not unusual and the public areas compact.

But they do offer a great ambiance, I can never figure out why my Old little boat experiences are so favorable.

And lets face it, the itinerary is so interesting and such a whirl wind I can't imagine being disappointed... especially for the price.

That's my two cents!

Gypsy Queen - I'm with you. I'd like some input from others on what types of excursions they were able to book from this particular cruise line. When booking with Gate 1, they say there will be excursions, but don't say what they are, or how much they cost.

Can anyone out there tell us what you did? What excursions did you find the best? How much did they cost?

Most important of all, many people have said that you can hire taxis much cheaper, and leave some of the big crowds behind. How did you do this? Is it easy, can you get ripped off?

I really need some help from some of you veterans. I'd like to get as much information as possible before my Greek adventure! Please share your tips :p

Thanks for the info, A Sixth. My TA has not been able to get anything back from Central Holidays, even after repeated emails. I'm assuming we will be on the cruise ship around the same time: May 22 - 26.

MCOjerry, I can give you something my husband got off another message board yesterday.

The excursions offered were really quite good . You do, however, need to participate in these to take full advantage of the VERY short amount of time that you spend on each island. This adds a considerable cost to the trip! Those folks that did not sign up for the excursions sometimes had only 3 hours on an island - keep in mind that the ports are not always in the best part of the island or near the island's main attractions. You are then left to find your own way around - mindful that there are often a limited number of taxis available when 2-3 cruise ships disembark at the same time. The other piece of information that I wish I had had before we went (my sister and I took our 82 year old parents) is that this is really a SIGHT-SEEING tour not a "leisurely see and experience the Greek islands tour". The excursions departed each morning at 7:00-7:45 - requiring you to be up way before 6 am to get in the long breakfast line in order to be ready to wait to be assigned your tour number. (I am assuming hat the departure time depends on your cruise ship.

and another...

As Philadelphia stated the tours can be very expensive and are difficult for older people and/or are not recommended for those with walking difficulties. For example: Tour of Rhodes and Lindos combined...indicates there would be steps to reach the Acroplis of Lindos...however they do not say it is 300 steps and that you would be walking up to the top of the mountain. Many people were left to wait at the bottom, although they paid for the tour. Personally, that tour was not worth the price of 42 Euro's. Except for Heraklion/Crete, which is an industrial port and there is a tour available, the islands are very pretty but mostly shopping areas, so either way you're spending money. When we came into the port of Mykonos it was 6 PM, not much daylight left but the shops were all lit up! The last island to visit was Santorini which was Awesome.

If anyone else has any input about the excursions, there are at least two of us who would appreciate you posting comments. I did find the tours listed for the Sea Princess at this link http://www.louiscruises.com/scripts/cgiip.wsc/cruise_details_agea.html?selected-date=SD04060522&in-cur=EUR&dst=aegean&pw=&d1=18&m1=5&y1=2006&d2=28&m2=5&y3=2006"

There are only descriptions with no prices, but it might enable you to plan your excursions ahead of time.

Great info. THANK YOU!:D