Louis Hellenic Cruises - Greek Islands

[Studebaker59]

My friends, two couples who went on the Perla, had a "fabulous" time.

 

They were on the last sailing of the season. They sailed from Istanbul to Athens.

 

I had warned them about the ship so they knew what to expect.

[Hot Hockett]

Noone has used this board in a while, but i needed to give an update. The cruise was fun. One stop in Mykonos, great gyros and such. Next day, Rhodes was fun and i dont remember the itinerary, but we missed getting off the Patmos stop. Kusadasi was awesome. Take the Ephesus tour no matter what. It's a blast. Then, when they take you to the rug store, leave. Go shop and get fake POLO and Lacoste shirts for 10 euros. The room was small, 2 beds, but got me and my friend fine. We were never in the room, so don't worry about the size. Hope that somewhat helps.

 

Oh, Sea Diamond.

[Rob10]

Radcom,

From Melbourne myself and noticed the post of yours re Greek Island trip and Perla this time last year. 2006.

We're on the Perla (7 days) from April 7 this year and would like your informative advice again re the Perla and trip.

Early posts were the Perla a ship from hell but it seems to have improved later.

Wife and I are on the Queen Mary2 before that and dont expect the same but hope it will be reasonably comfortable. As they say its the destinations and not the conveyance that is the attraction.

Only problem will miss the start of the footy season but sacrifices must be made!!

Any other contributor been on the Perla in recent times with a review would also be appreciated.

Thanks

Rob(Cheltenham)

[lh53528]

Yikes -

I am going on my first cruise this June - just a quick 3 days on the Sea Diamond as part of a longer tour of archeological ruins in Greece and Turkey.

 

Has anyone been on the Sea Diamond recently? this seems kinda scary to me. My BF has a 42' Endeavor sailboat and I am just getting used to sailing that - but at least since I help clean and disenfect it before we leave port I know everything is clean. He keeps telling me to think of the Diamond as a greyhound bus on the water (that definitely does not help)

He thinks it will be great adventure - like being on a live aboard when when you go scuba diving.

Any ideas? hints?

[chal]

My daughter and I just returned from a 4-day Greek Island cruise on the Sea Diamond. The cruise was part of the Athens and 4-Day Greek Island package offered through Friendly Planet.

 

We enjoyed the cruise because we are active travelers. Our goal was to see the islands and the Sea Diamond itinerary gave us the chance to quickly visit lots of islands. The ship was much better than I expected after reading the previous posts.

 

Our room on the 3rd deck (with a porthole) was very, very small but clean and comfortable. We both pack lightly so the size of the room wasn't a problem. The seas were very rough but neither of us got sea sick.

 

I liked the fact that you could dress casually. Again, the focus was on the islands, not on the cruise. We didn't attend any of the activities on board because we relaxed and slept whenever we got the chance. The food was not high quality but there was a good selection. The coffee was very good.

 

We didn't take ANY of the optional tours and had plenty of time to see the highlights on each island. We'd get off the ship as soon as possible and catch a taxi. On each island we saw those on the ship tours being led around by a guide and going at a very slow pace. Often we were able to get to the sites before the tour buses. I felt we saw more and we could stop whenever we wanted to take photos or explore. The taxi drivers, all locals born and raised on the island, were all very interesting and tried their best to answer our questions. We read about the islands ahead of time so we knew what we wanted to see.

[MMSmith]

CNN:

"A cruise ship carrying 1,200 passengers and a crew of 400 was being evacuated off the Greek island of Santorini on Thursday after issuing a distress signal, authorities said. The Sea Diamond was listing near the main port of the island, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. More than a dozen ships in the area were involved in the evacuation. State-run NET television said five navy rescue helicopters had also been sent to the area. The Greek-flagged Sea Diamond is operated by Louis Cruise Lines."

[MMSmith]

Time online:

 

The Greek navy rushed to evacuate a cruise ship carrying some 1,200 passengers and crew this afternoon after it issued a distress signal off the Greek island of Santorini.

The Sea Diamond ran aground near the island’s main port. According to Greek television, five navy rescue helicopters have been sent to the area and more than a dozen ships are involved in the evacuation effort.

The 143-metre (472-foot) boat operated by Cyprus-based Louis Hellenic Cruise Lines was reportedly taking on water. The passengers on board, mainly from the United States and Germany, were abandoning ship, news reports said.

A spokeswoman for the cruise company said: "All the passengers are safe, everybody is OK, that is the important thing. We are disembarking the passengers into little boats."

The vessel was in the final stage of a four-day tour of the Greek islands when it ran into difficulties off Santorini, the spokeswoman said. It was due to dock in Piraeus tomorrow.

“The boat was attempting to moor but ran aground in shallow waters,” a local boatman told private Antenna television. “Weather conditions are good, but the ship is taking on water and has listed heavily,” he added.

The Sea Diamond was launched in 1986, and was renovated nearly a decade ago. It has a crew of 400.

Santorini is in the Aegean sea about 200 km south-east of mainland Greece. The volcanic island boasts a dramatic landscape and is a popular tourist destination.

[Capt_BJ]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/05/international/i071054D10.DTL

[causeyoutdoor]

My kidss are on the Louis Cruise Sea Diamond this week (school trip). We just heard from someone who had spoken to the teacher in charge of our group in Greece and he said everyone got off safely.

[smeyer418]

this contains a video althoug it doesn't show much

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070405.wcruiseship04005/BNStory/International/home

[A Sixth?]

Wow, to think we were on her last June (not a great "cruise" cruise, but fabulous country)

 

Glad no one was hurt, from what I saw on TV tonight (Lots of Montreal kids aboard on a school trip) looks like she'll be the scenery de jour tonight in Santorini.

 

 

[MMSmith]

Two French tourists are missing after 1,600 passengers and crew were evacuated from a stricken cruise ship off the Greek island of Santorini.

A 45-year-old man and his daughter were reported missing by family members also on the cruise, officials said. The Greek-flagged Sea Diamond issued a distress signal on Thursday after running aground and taking on water. Passengers told the BBC the three-hour evacuation proceeded calmly. The ship sank 15 hours after the accident. "The missing are Jean-Christophe Allain, 45 and his 16-year-old daughter Maud," a merchant marine ministry official told AFP news agency.

A flotilla of commercial ships plus six navy helicopters and various navy vessels assisted the rescue. The remaining passengers were being taken to the port of Piraeus, the ship's original destination.

The Sea Diamond was about one nautical mile (1.8km) off the coast of the island in the eastern Aegean Sea while on a short tour of the Greek islands. After running aground several hundred metres from shore in Santorini's volcanic lagoon, it was towed off the rocks for the rescue. Many of the 1,200 passengers are from Germany and the United States, and about 20 are believed to be from the UK, said Louis Cruise Lines, the Cypriot firm which runs the ship. There are also up to 400 crew. The missing French pair were in a four-berth cabin when the vessel struck a reef. The man's wife and son narrowly managed to escape to the upper decks, the BBC's Malcolm Brabant reports from Athens. Divers are preparing to examine the wreck, now about 200m down. American passenger Cliff Jones said: "We were pulling into the port and I think the ship hit a few rocks. "The ship tilted so far to the right the first five floors were flooded. We just waited at the top to be rescued," he told the BBC. Greek Tourism Minister Fanny Palli Petralia has said whoever is responsible for the incident will be held accountable in the strictest way.

[sgriff17]

OMG - how could they lose 2 people!?

[MMSmith]

The missing French pair were in a four-berth cabin when the vessel struck a reef. The man's wife and son narrowly managed to escape to the upper decks, the BBC's Malcolm Brabant reports from Athens. Divers are preparing to examine the wreck, now about 200m down.

............ 200m down .......... :(

[giorgosz]

The company has chartered the Oceanic II (ex. Mona Lisa) for the period from April 30th to May 25th to do the cruises of the Sea Diamond.

They also announced today that in the next weeks they will make another addition to their fleet.

[photographia]

Does anybody know anything about Oceanic II? I've already purchased a Greece/Turkey package (too late to back out) that includes a 3-day cruise, which was supposed to be on the Sea Diamond, leaving Athens June 8. On the Louis website, they have ALL the tours that were apparently scheduled for the Sea Diamond linked to a description of Oceanic II, not just the ones through May. (Don't know if that's the way it'll play out or if they're just scrambling to put SOMETHING on their website for the later dates.) Anything that you folks can tell me would be appreciated!

[giorgosz]

For what i know, the Oceanic II is chartered to Pullmantour Cruises from June 4th to do 7-day cruises in the Aegean.

I think that another vessel will be used for your cruise.

[JanineM]

My boss is scheduled to be on Sea Diamond during the first week in July. I received a communication from their rep in London earlier today confirming what others have said - they have a ship available through late May, but nothing confirmed yet. She forwarded my request to the Greek office for cofirmation. I'm trying to make flight arrangements for them, and don't want to go through all the machinations only to find out that there will not be a ship available to them.

[photographia]

<P>Thanks to you both for the info.  Please keep us informed if you hear anything from the Greek office, Water Baby, and I promise to do the same...</P>

[JanineM]

<P>Thanks to you both for the info.  Please keep us informed if you hear anything from the Greek office, Water Baby, and I promise to do the same...</P>

 

I received an e-mail from the Greek office today, and they indicated that they were confident another ship would be procured for summer cruises. They are going to provide further details as they become available.

 

Hope this works out for everyone who has planned this itinerary!

[saqui]

We cruised the Greek Islands the first week of October of 06 and were on the Sea Diamond the entire week. We had cruised here in the U>S> may times and as far as we were concerned the ship and its amenities were fine if you looked at it as really a means of transportation from one island to another.

 

The standard rooms were extremely (i'm not exaggerating) small. Idon't think both my husbands and my suitcases could have fit in the room with us in there too. My travel agent upgraded us to a suite which was great.

 

I'm not sure but the Sea Diamond I think was the newest in Louis' fleet. It was clean and had 2 restaurants. The staff was great. Don't know what's become of the staff or how they are replacing the Sea Diamond since her demise.

 

We did meet up with people who had sailed on the Perla and they said it was acceptable and did not mention anything bad about the ship.

[CPeters40]

Does anybody know anything about Oceanic II? I've already purchased a Greece/Turkey package (too late to back out) that includes a 3-day cruise, which was supposed to be on the Sea Diamond, leaving Athens June 8. On the Louis website, they have ALL the tours that were apparently scheduled for the Sea Diamond linked to a description of Oceanic II, not just the ones through May. (Don't know if that's the way it'll play out or if they're just scrambling to put SOMETHING on their website for the later dates.) Anything that you folks can tell me would be appreciated!

 

Here's a link to the Oceanic II deck plans.

 

http://www.louiscruises.com/oceanicll/deck_plans_lido.html

 

We just got back from the April 23 to April 27 cruise on the MS Emerald (which was the substitution for the Sea Diamond.)

This ship was in major need of new beds and new bedding, so I am glad you have a different ship. I have to say though, that didn't dampen the trip--those ports of call were fabulous! We did all the optional tours so we would be off the ship right away, as we were the next to last tender out of Mykonos and didn't even get to the island till 8:22 p.m., so that was a waste of a port (we didn't do the optional tour here.) Have a GREAT time! I actually would like to go back and do the entire cruise all over again!

Chris (Iowa)

[lh53528]

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.

[Queensland Girl]

Just wondered if anyone was booked on 30th July, leaving Piraeus. Have no idea which ship - Was to be Sea Diamond. !!!!!!!!!:) :) :)

[A Sixth?]

Just wondered if anyone was booked on 30th July, leaving Piraeus. Have no idea which ship - Was to be Sea Diamond. !!!!!!!!!:) :) :)

 

When we sailed the Sea Diamond last June, we only found out that was our ship a month or so before departure. Louis Cruises isn't a "real cruise ship company" and they aren't booked by most cruise ship suppliers. Hope you are not expecting more than beautiful islands and a 2 star ship.

 

We had an okay time thanks to Greece.