Louis Aquamarine Jewels of the Aegean Cruise May 3, 2010

[YoungDubFan]

Now that I am finally back and recovered from the trip, I wanted to post a review of our cruise. I went with a good friend and we both had a wonderful time. This review is a bit long, but I am going to try to cover most parts of the cruise.

 

CABIN: We had an outside cabin on the Adria deck, with two lower bunks. We were lucky in that our beds were in an L arrangement rather than next to each other. Our cabin seemed a bit bigger as a result. I looked into some cabins with the beds next to each other and they were very tight. Our cabin was very clean and had no foul smells. The only complaint that we had was that the cabin always seemed warm. We reported it to engineering and they came and took a look, but it was always warm. Unfortunately we were not able to open our round porthole. Once we started keeping the drapes closed during the day, it helped some. Other decks were much cooler than ours, so there may have been a problem with the A/C. It wasn't enough to ruin the trip. Our beds were a bit stiff, but we were able to sleep each night. On the last day, we finally found the extra pillows in the closet. If I had found those on the first day, I probably would have slept better.

 

ALCOHOL: We purchased the all inclusive alcohol cards. Both my friend and I felt it was worth it, as we each had a few drinks with lunch and while sitting by the pool and then also wine and after dinner drinks. Sodas were also included in this. Each person will have to decide for themselves how much they plan to drink / spend.

 

PORTS OF CALL: We did not do any of the excursions offered by the cruise line. In Mykonos, we walked up to the windmills ourselves, then wondered up and down many of the streets / lanes. We watched an amazing sunset by the harbor while eating chocolate crepes. This was the best sunset we saw the entire trip to Greece. There was plenty of time to explore Mykonos. We docked at the new harbor and the ship provided shuttles to the old harbor for 8E round trip.

 

We arranged a private tour of Ephesus through http://www.************.biz. Our tour guide, Semira, was amazing. I will post her contact info if anyone is looking for a tour guide. We had a private mini van for the 2 of us. We saw the Terrace Houses and Ephesus for $74 USD each. I definately recommend booking a private tour. We were able to see much more that the big groups and were able to move at our own pace. After Ephesus, we went to a ceramic factory. Semira offered us a tour of a ceramic factory, carpet store, or gold store. I had already seen carpets being made in Egypt and did not want to repeat this. We were happy with the ceramic store and were not under any pressure to buy anything, although both of us did. We then had a bit of a drive around Kusadasi and then back to the ship with plenty of time to spare.

 

We skipped the monastery in Patmos, mainly because my friend wasn't feel well that day. I wish we had made it up there, but we enjoyed walking around Patmos. There really isn't much to see here if you are not going up to the monastery. A lot of people skipped the ship's tours and just grabbed a cab up. I think the going rate was 30E for 4 people in a cab. We were 1 hr. late getting to port but they extended the all aboard time to make up for it.

 

Rhodes was amazing. Again - we skipped the ship excursions. In the morning, we wondered around old town, went through the Palace of the Grand Masters (6E admission), walked the Street of the Knights, and just enjoyed the city. It was not very crowded and the shops and cobbled streets were great to poke through. We went back to the ship for lunch, then afterwards we explored the new town and harbor. We walked to where the Colossus of Rhodes used to be. Some people took the opportunity to go to a beach this afternoon.

 

In Crete, we hired a taxi for 2 hours to take us to the Palace of Knossos and then drive around Herakalion. We paid him 40E and I think we got a great deal. We spent about 75 min at the Palace of Knossos. It was not too crowded at first but then the ships tours came in. We enjoyed going at our own pace. Our driver took us around the city and we were able to stop for pictures.

 

We got off the boat in Santorini and spent three days there, so we obviously skipped the excursions there. Disembarking in Santorini went very smoothly. We had our bags in the hall by 1 pm and had to be out of the cabin by 2:30. We caught the afternoon show in the lounge and then spent the rest of the time on the pool deck. They disembark people on the tours first, then people not taking tours, then they had everyone who was staying on Santorini get off after they had off loaded our luggage. It went very smoothly considering there were almost 175 of us getting off. We found our luggage right away and also found the van for our hotel that was picking us up.

 

I have to say that Santorini and Rhodes were our 2 favorite islands.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: Yes the entertainment was not as good as you might find on the newer / bigger ships, but the singers and dancers really worked their buts off. They were not just going through the motions. We watched all of the shows and the Greek themed show was the weakest. The fist show, from New York to Paris, was really not bad. I guess on the night after leaving Santorini, there was a talent show, but we missed that. There were also events going on all day on the ship, including games around the pool, dancing lessons, greek lessons, bingo, etc. I had to give the staff credit because they really did try.

 

FOOD: We ate at all different places on the ship. Our least favorite was the lunch buffet on the pool deck. Breakfast was always good with lots of choices. In the bistro, there was a chef making waffles to order. Lunch in the bistro had different foods on the buffet each day. There was also a pasta station here. We had dinner each night in the dining room. The nights of Mykonos and Santorini were open seating. The other two nights we picked the early seating, which was around 7 pm. We were about 1 hr late getting into Patmos and they pushed dinner back 45 min. to compensate. We were really happy with all the food. At dinner, there were always 4 -5 entrée choices, including a Greek dish and a vegetarian dish. Sometimes getting a wine / drink waiter took a bit, but just be persistent. I didn't have any food that wasn't good. Everything was always hot and again, there were plenty of choices.

 

Yes this ship is a bit older, but it was very clean and the staff and crew obviously took pride in it. There was always someone fixing something, painting something, and wiping down things. This ship really reminded me of the first Carnival cruise that I took in 1991 to Mexico. It was full (1200 passengers) when we sailed. I really don't know what people were complaining about this ship for. It was a perfect way to get to see multiple islands in a short amount of time. As long as you go into it with this expectation, you should not be disappointed. If you want lots of time to explore the islands, then this cruise is probably not for you. I am really glad that we took this cruise and I would not have any problem recommending it to anyone. I was pleasantly surprised by our experience. I also should note that I hardly ever felt any movement of the ship. Our entire cruise was very smooth. I normally felt the movement more when we were tied up at a pier than when we were sailing.

[Canadian Guider]

Hi YoungDubFan

I enjoyed reading your review on the various ports of call. We are sailing on the Louis Cruises - Cristal on June 11 with the same ports of call. Can you provide me with the contact info for the tour guide used in Ephesus.

Thanks.

[mnegra]

Looking to take a trip w/a 3 day cruise in Greece. Am uncertain about the cruise lines..Has any one had an experience w/ Louis Cruise Lines?? Any positive or negative input?

Thanks

[YoungDubFan]

Perhaps you didn't read my review entirely. There is also another very detailed recent review on her from PetPringles, or a user name very similar. I was pleasantly surprised at the cruise and was very happy.

[toc toc]

Hi, I am going to my first Louis Cruise Line (Aquamarine) and I an wandering what is the dressing code and if they have a captain's cocktail or anything asking a smoking (for my son) on the boat.

 

You were talking about private excursion in Ephesus...can you give me the name of the www.***********biz ?

 

Thanks for help

 

Toc Toc

[whereintheworld]

Thankyou YoungDubFan for the informative review of your Greek Island cruise. I will be doing the same cruise (but on the Cristal) in September and would also like to know more about the dress code for dinner. Thanks.

Jennie

[YoungDubFan]

Sorry it took me a bit to respond to both of the above questions. I got busy at work and forgot to check back here for a bit. The dress on the ship was very casual. There were always 3 places to eat meals: on deck - very casual could wear swim suite with a cover-up. Then there was the Bistro - buffet, no swim suits allowed but could wear shorts. The final option was the main restaurant. It was the most formal of the 3. You could wear shorts for breakfast or lunch but no shorts at dinner. Men needed to be in long pants. Women could wear capri's / dress/ skirt, etc. In the restaurant, you ordered off the menu. Lunch was 3-4 courses and took a bit of time. We only had lunch here one day. We had lunch one day at the pool buffet as well. The rest of the time, lunch was in the bistro. The menu seemed much the same at the pool buffet but the items changed in the bistro buffet. We had dinner every night in the restaurant and the menu was different every night.

 

There was 1 night that was the Captain's cocktail reception. The cruise line says it is the elegant night, but there was a lot of different interpretations of what that meant. Some men were in khaki's and shirts to sport coats. Again, very different for the women as well from simple skirts to sequins. I wore a somewhat dressy top with black pants and did not feel over dressed. Just wear what you feel like.

 

There was one night that was a Greek Night. The menu in the restaurant was mainly Greek foods (there were some other options). They encouraged everyone to wear blue and white. The show that night was Greek dancing and music.

 

Overall, Greece and the cruise ship were pretty casual. Dress according to the weather. It did get very cool and windy up on deck at night. I would recommend a sweater / wrap / jacket of some sort if you plan on spending any time up there. We spent 3 nights in Santorini and again it got VERY COOL / WINDY. One night we actually had to move inside the restaurant because it was too cold outside.

 

The main issue with the cocktail party was that they were taking photos of everyone in the lobby before going into the lounge and then again with the captain. We skipped out on the photos in the lobby but they would not let us into the lounge without the photo with the captain. This really took forever to get everyone into the lounge. I would recommend getting to the lobby at least 15 min before the cocktail party is supposed to start and also try to skip the photo sessions, unless that is really important to you. We skipped every photo opportunity that was presented. We had our own cameras and knew we were not going to buy any of the overpriced ship photos.

 

The tour company we used in Ephesus was Ephesus Tours.biz. Take the space out between Ephesus and Tours. This site won't let me type it in for some reason. Our tour guide was Semira. She was fabulous. We saw the Terrace Houses as well as Ephesus. We were the only people in the Terrace Houses at the time, which made it even more special. I have the daily newsletters from our cruise if anyone is interested in them. I can scan them in to a PDF format and send them.

 

I hope this helps. I am more than happy to answer any questions. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice our cruise and entire trip turned out to be.

[whereintheworld]

Thankyou for the reply YoungDubFan. I have only sailed on the QE2 before and that was dressy even on the rare "elegant casual" night. I will take black evening pants and a dressy top.

Jennie

[M&T]

I am looking for a smaller ship and the itineraries look good for Louis. Is this the site for the cruise you are discussing: http://www.greecetravel.com/dolphinhellas/dolphin_cruise.html#7daycruises

 

I am not finding any prices. Hope you can help. Thanks. Marlyne

[YoungDubFan]

Whereintheworld- if you have only cruised the QE2, please be prepared that the Aquamarine is a much older, smaller ship. It is not a destination ship like the QE2 but more a way to get to the different islands. If you are expecting the cruise to be similar to th QE2, you may be very disappointed. If you go with lower expectations, you will be fine.

 

M&T - the website is: http://www.louiscruises.com. You can book directly through the cruise line or go through many tour operators. We booked a package through Homeric Tours (http://www.homerictours.com). We had 2 nights in Athens, then 3 nights on the cruise. We got off in Santorini and then spent 3 nights in Santorini. This was a perfect way to do it.

[M&T]

Thanks for the sites and the review. I really like some of the itineraries. It is nice to know the ship is clean. Marlyne

[YoungDubFan]

M&T - I am really glad that I went on this cruise. The ship was very clean and the staff worked very hard to keep it that way. The entertainment staff also worked to have activities going throughout most of the day. If you go, you will have a good time.

[M&T]

For the itinerary we want, we would be on the Crystal. We are not going until July of 2012, so many things may by then. We do a foreign trip every other year and then USA the other. Thanks. It is great to see some options. Most of the big ships do not have the itinerary we want except Windstar and Seabourne. Marlyne

[YoungDubFan]

The Cristal shadowed us in many of the ports we were in. It is a smaller ship but newer. I think it went to Istanbul, which our ship did not do. I hope you enjoy your cruise. The people I talked to who were on th Cristal were enjoying their cruise.

[M&T]

Great. Thanks. My husband is wanting to do Istanbul. We have been there and some of the other places in 1997. We have always wanted to go back. Marlyne

[gebo]

Questions: how does tipping work? What is the price of the drink card ? Does water, coffee tea cost extra? Can I bring a bottle of winer on board, and what is the corking fee? Thanks for any info. I am going on the Calypso, but I would think info is the same.

[YoungDubFan]

The cruise line recommended 8 Euro per day for all of the staff and this is automatically added to your cabin account. You have the ability to adjust the amount, upwards or downwards, depending on how you thought the service was. The all inclusive drink option was 28E per day. This allowed unlimited soda / wine / ice cream at the Pool and most drinks. There were some drinks that were an extra charge but the waiters let you know which ones these were. My friend drank beer and she definitely got her money worth. I stuck with wine and the drink of the day. I think we saved money using this option. At meals, water / coffee / tea and sometimes juice was included. All other drinks were extra. They sell the drink card as you are boarding, but you can sign up once you are on the ship if you want. I don't know if you can bring wine on board, as we did not try this. We did purchase bottle water ashore and had no problems bringing that aboard.

[gebo]

Thanks for the info. One more question please; will I need to buy a converter for laptop, curling iron etc?

[gebo]

Young Dub Fan, sorry I just keep thinking of more questions. Does the cruise co take your credit card on board? Do they take cash? Do I have to buy the card for the entire trip or can I do it one day at a time? Thanks fgor your patience.

[anubis2]

Gebo,

 

What trip are you on? My wife and I are on the July 12-14 trip.

[YoungDubFan]

The power on the ship was 110 (US) not 220 (Europe) so if you are American, no need for converter. We had one outlet in front of the mirror in the cabin. I know there must have been another somewhere where the TV was plugged in, but we didn't need.

 

You don't need to give the CC until the end of the cruise (may be the day before disembarkation) to settle up your cabin account. You are given a Cruise card / boarding card that you use for all charges on the ship. Your passport is taken when you check in. You then use your card every time you get on and off the ship (the card is scanned). We were 2 single women on the trip so on the 2nd day of the cruise, I went to ship's registration so that they could split the charges in our cabin and make sure that my charges went to my credit card and that my friends charges went to her card. It just kept things easier for us. We signed up for the all you can drink option before we got on the ship. I suppose you could sign up for it once on the ship, but I am not sure. You will have to check at the registration desk in the main lobby.

 

As I think I mentioned, we got off the ship in Santorini, therefore our all inclusive drink card expired the day before. We could have purchased drinks on the last day but would have had to pay cash. Since we were in Crete for the morning, we didn't really find a need for this. We drank water at lunch and just waited to get off the ship in Santorini. There was time for drinks, but we were okay not having anything but water. I had purchased bottled water in Crete, so I had plenty.

[gebo]

Hey Anubus, I don't go until the 4th of October after 3 nights in Athens. I sure hope the political situation cools down!