Louis Hellenic Cruises - Greek Islands

[tully07]

I travelled on the Cristal for 7 days (Athens - Istanbul and through the Greek Islands) beginning September 28, 2007. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. I found the ship to be very clean, the food was much better than I expected, and the service was quite good. The entertainment is a bit cheesy and not nearly as professional as on the mainstream cruise lines - the ship is small (1200 passengers) and will be a disappointment to anyone expecting the facilities of Princess, RCCL, etc. However, I did not encounter any of the problems outlined by Steamboatin. The air conditioning in our cabin worked fine -- and no problems with the shower. We only had one day at sea - the rest of the time we were visiting the various ports (Istanbul, Kusadasi, Patmos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini) so we didn't spend much time on the ship other than the first day.

[Miss K]

I have just joined CC as a member, but spent a lot of time on here last year prior to booking our cruise for June 2007. I had read many less than flattering reviews of Louis Cruises.

As we were travelling Europe with our family group of 5 (husband and I, my parents and sister) on a budget and had never cruised before, we were prepared to forego the 5 star experience we had heard about with other lines. What did not help, however, was that the Sea Diamond (the ship which we were booked on), sank off Santorini in May 2007, the month before we were due to leave. Must say, it did not inspire a lot of confidence in us. :eek:

We ended up being placed on the Ruby, with the Perla following a similar itinerary. The Ruby - don't know if they are still using it?- was a relatively small ship, that we found to be borderline satisfactory. The rooms were clean, as were the bathrooms. Decor was in need of refurbishment, but nothing we couldn't live with. We were in some of the cheapest cabins. These were fairly noisy, you could hear a lot of the 'ship sounds', anchor, engines etc. My father ended up referring to his cabin as a 'diesel dungeon', as you could smell fuel type engine smells in the hall and occasionally in the cabins where we were. One complaint was the pool - was not always filled, when it was it was only half full. The pool area was small, with glass walls which were horribly cloudy - could not see through them. The pool area also did not seem awfully clean.

We found the food to be good, and thoroughly enjoyed our time. We ate almost all of our meals in the dining room. Our waiter was lovely, he paid special attention to my little sister and was very sweet with her. The drinks package, for 72 Euro was excellent value (included alcoholic beverages - wines, beers, standard cocktails, as well as coffees, juice and soda).

 

Basically, we went on the cruise to see the Greek Islands and enjoy the area, not to relax on a first-class ship. If that kind of cruising is for you, you will definitely want to choose a different line. If you just think of the ship as the hotel, basically for sleeping and eating, it will be fine. We had a great time - and overall enjoyed the experience. :)

 

We loved cruising (even on this ship), and are going back for more in 8 months, with Celebrity Sydney to Auckland (this time to relax on a first class ship!!). :D

[daisy47]

We are scheduled to go on the Cristal in May and was wondering how you found it to be. Any suggestions on tours? Thanks

 

Daisy

[daisy47]

Did you take the trip on the Cristal? If so, how was it?

[daisy47]

Did you take the trip on the Cristal? If so, how was it? How about tours?

Thanks

Daisy

[Miss K]

I went on the Ruby, not the Cristal. The tours I took were the one to Ephesus (if you are into ancient history or archaeology, you will especially love it. I am a history teacher, so it was fabulous). We also went on a tour to the Palace of Knossos on Crete - the port was Heraklion. I had learnt about the Palace previously, as it was one of the earliest archaeological finds. I was a bit disappointed to have our tour guide say that it was 'part original, part reconstructed', due to the archaeological methods in the early 1900s or so. They thought it would be a good idea to 'guess' at what it might have looked like during its heyday. That said tho, it is a beautiful site, with some pottery that is thousands of years old. Well worth it, also.

 

At the other stops, we just did our own thing. On Patmos, we swam in the ocean. Rhodes had some good sites that you could find on your own, within walking distance of the port. My parents enjoyed Rhodes quite a bit.

[Livestotravel]

I travelled on the Cristal for 7 days (Athens - Istanbul and through the Greek Islands) beginning September 28, 2007. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. We only had one day at sea - the rest of the time we were visiting the various ports (Istanbul, Kusadasi, Patmos, Mykonos, Crete, Santorini) so we didn't spend much time on the ship other than the first day.

 

Did you take any of the ship tours? In which ports could you walk to town and do sightseeing on your own? Did you encounter any rough seas? We are booked on the October 24 cruise - last one of the season.

[photographia]

Last year we went on Louis for a three-day cruise, and did all the ship's tours (except for Mykonos, which doesn't have one, and doesn't need one either), including Rhodos/Lindos combined, Patmos, and Ephesus. They were EXCELLENT, every single one of them. Normally I try never to do group tours, since I have an ancient history background and can usually do just as well on my own, but these were fabulous! I highly recommend them.

[tully07]

Hi Livestotravel

 

I travelled with a tour group (Insight Vacations) so, while the tours we took were the same as offered by the ship, we travelled with our own tour director so can't speak directly to the organization of such tours by the ship. I took the following excursions:

 

Highlights of Istanbul (lunch on board)

Patmos - Scenic Island Tour

Kusadasi - Ancient Ephesus

Rhodes - Rhodes and Lindos combined

Santorini - Thira and Oia Village

 

I enjoyed them all but "Ancient Ephesus" was a particular highlight. And Santorini - in person - looks just like the pictures on the calendars and postcards.

 

We did not take tours in Mykonos (there is a shuttle bus from the dock to the town - about 7 euros per person). We took the shuttle and walked around the town. It is also easy to get into Heraklion, Crete by walking or taking a taxi.

 

There were some rough seas -- particularly around Mykonos (some ships were unable to get into the harbour due to the rough seas) and en route from Santorini to Athens. I don't get seasick (must be the fact I grew up near the Bay of Fundy!!) but be prepared if you do - just in case.

 

You are travelling later in the year than I did -- many of the shops in Mykonos and on Santorini were preparing to shut down for the season when I was there (early October).

[fuzzysimba2]

My husband and I are going in May for our honeymoon and I have a couple of questions.

 

How much are the Visas to get into Turkey?

 

How much are the Safes in the rooms?

 

We Have a Superior Outside Room.

 

Very important Can we change the automatic tipping? 8 euro (about $13 dollars)seems high for a small cruise. There are other sites that say $6 to $10 a day per person. Even Cunard home to the QE II is only $11.00 a day per person.

 

I have been going back and forth on this for many weeks whether or not to leave it alone.

 

Thanks ever so Much

 

Dawn

[photographia]

Can we change the automatic tipping? 8 euro (about $13 dollars)seems high for a small cruise.

 

When I was on the Orient Queen last summer with Louis, here's what they did: you gave them either some cash up front or a credit card number, and any extras you purchased onboard (drinks, e.g.) were charged against it. They also added an automatic amount per day for tips. At the end of the cruise, you had to go to the bursar to settle your account (and they wouldn't give you your passport back until you did this!), and at that time you could change the tip to anything you wanted. In fact, you could even change it to zero. But considering how hard the crew worked the whole time I was unboard, that would have been unfair.

 

Anyway, I'd be surprised if Louis has changed this system in any significant way. It worked out very well, in our experience. FYI!

[tully07]

Hi fuzzysimba2

 

We did not have to pay for visas to Turkey while on the cruise -- if you are spending 24 hours or less in a Turkish port as part of a cruise, you do not need to get a visa.

 

There is a safe in the cabin -- no extra charge to use it.

 

I found the ship's staff to be very helpful and they worked extremely hard. I thought they deserved every penny of the automatic tipping amount. In fact, we left some extra for our cabin steward.

[fuzzysimba2]

Hi

 

I am off the Greece in 2 1/2 weeks I am so thrilled, but I have one more question? I am seated at the 7pm dinner what happens if I miss it can we be seated at the 9 pm dinner, will I not be seated and have no dinner?

 

Thank you

 

Dawn:eek:

[tully07]

You will be assigned a table to sit at for most of the evening meals. All the rest of the meals are open seating (including a couple of suppers). If I remember correctly, the open seating dinners are days when the ship is in port over the dinner hour, so on those evenings you just show up at the dining room sometime during the hours it is open. If you are late for a meal when there is assigned seating, just talk to one of the waiters or the maitre d. There always seemed to be a couple of empty seats around -- - they should be able to find you a place to sit.

[falconbrother]

We just got back from a 10 day on the Cristal, Athens, Rhodes, Turkey, Israel, Cyprus, Santorini, Athens. Overall it's a good ship. The size is nice, the ships crew are as good as any. I found that the food was good but, not as totally awesome as some other ships I have been on. I think it's more the menu. Breakfast is always the same, or it was on our trip. We had open seating at breakfast and lunch, assigned seating at dinner with rotating schedules.

 

I am a big breakfast eater and the daily buffet was always exactly the same. Cerial, fruit, couple of different eggs, european style bacon and sausage, potatoes, breads, etc.. Good, but not awesome. They should try an omelet bar and eggs benedict to up the score.

 

Dinner was pretty good every night. Read the whole menu as there are some every meal options at the bottom of the page like Greek salad. I will say that they give you lots of good bread at dinner, and I love good bread.

 

Some people complained that the rooms were small. I found them to be pretty much typical cruise ship rooms. I have never been on a cruise ship with big rooms, at the normal person price range. More TV channels than you usually get and if you speak, Greek, German, or French you will get even more. I speak a touch of German. My skills got better from the German programing.

 

The workout room was decent for a cruise ship of it's size. Heck, I have been on ships four times bigger that didnt have as good of a gym. The Cristal has a good band on board with a fantastic Bozuki player.

 

If you are from the US the exchange rate right now, April 2008, is horrible. The ship is on Euros and that will sting. A beer will cost you about seven dollars.

 

Otherwise, the Cristal is a good ship with a good crew. In typical Greek fashion they are friendly, and want you to have a good vacation. I give it two thumbs up.

[Modernnycruiser]

I know this is very late but I had just found this thread. I went on a four day cruise of the Greek Isles as part of a honeymoon package (via Tourlite). We were originally supposed to be on the Cristal (which I was excited about), but we found out that morning that the ship wasn't ready so we had to go on the Perla instead. I was quite disappointed because I had read some negative reviews previously. Once we entered the cruise, we were escorted to our room. It had two twin beds which was a problem considering that we were on our honeymoon:eek: After complaining we were told that they didn't have any extra rooms because the ship was full. They ended up pushing the beds together and we just made the best out of it. The rooms were very small and the linen was old. They did give us a free excursion for the last minute changes, which was nice. During dinner we seated with another couple that was supposed to be on the Cristal and had the same problem. They also made several complaints about their room. The food during dinner was decent. I've been on several cruises and the food on this cruise was the worst. It was edible but definitely not great. The food in the main dining room was better than the buffet. The breakfast was simply not edible (in my opinion). We ended up eating breakfast and lunch at the ports. The shows were interesting. My DH hated them, but I enjoy watching corny magic shows and dancing. Again, I've seen better shows on other cruises. The casino was small and not very crowded. I loved the ports and enjoyed the excursions. This was my DH's first cruise and in a way I am glad. We have a cruise on Carnival this summer and he is going to think it is the best thing ever after this. He already asked if the food on Carnival is similar to the Perla. Boy will he be surprised.

Anyway, as much as this wasn't my dream cruise, I did enjoy myself. I loved the couple that I met from Canada. We ended up hanging with each other every night after dinner and we had a lot in common. I also liked the ports. On top of this we were able to laugh about everything and really did make the best out of it. We still talk about it a year later and tell the stories to our friends. With that said, it couldn't be that bad.:p

[pommefrite]

Does anyone have up to date information on this boat or cruise line? We are thinking of taking it on a 4 day trip in June?

[belgiancruiser]

Hello,

my parents will be on the "Orient Queen" for the 10 day Med cruise from Marseilles to Italy, the Greek Isles and Turkey. They cruised before with Seabourne and Pullmantur's Oceanic, (and in the early sixties my father on Epirotiki's "Rhodos"...)

 

Any recent news, experiences with the Orient Queen ? Most reviews I read here on Louis were not really positive, though i thought that the OQ was finely and costly renovated some years ago.

 

Any thoughts ? comments ? Ideas for when using excursions and when on your own ?

 

Thanks,

 

Belgian Cruiser

[icemachine]

I am going on a Transat Tours Minos Magic Package, departing Piraeus Oct 5, and it appears from the Louis Cruise site that we will be sailing on the Aquamarine. Ports of Call include Mykonos, Kusadasi, Has anyone been on this ship yet?

[Madeline815]

I just returned from the May 23 to 30 sailing of the Cristal and had a good experience. Although the ship is not glitzy, it has recently been refurbished and is in good shape. We upgraded to Outside Premium cabins, TB, and it was worth every nickel. We had two twin beds separated by a 3 foot aisle, a two seater couch, desk, and large closet. There was enough room at the foot of the bed to leave our suitcases flat there. Bathroom was shower only but adequate. A/C worked perfectly. Cabin steward was awesome. We had early seating for dinner, and did mostly buffet for lunch and breakfast. Food was not 5 star gourmet - but well presented, good variety, and plenty of it. Evening shows were basically 4 singers and 4 dancers with lots of enthusiasm but still working on their routines. The best night was "Greek" night when the crew entertained us with Greek dance and song. The pool was small, but you were so busy with port visits and excursions it was not a big issue. Everything was run on the ship with good efficiency and organization. My only warning is that you have a very, very brief visit - 3 hours - in Santorini on the last full day of the 7 days cruise, so be forewarned. Even in May the crowds of people in each port were HUGE. In Santorini we just surrendered -- we got off the ship, took the cable car to the top, found a cafe overlooking the ocean, and relaxed for an hour -- then went back down and returned via tender boat to the ship.

 

We sailed Friday night, arrived in Istanbul on Saturday afternoon around 3, and went to the Bazaar as it is closed on Sundays. Sunday the ship ran their Istanbul all day excursion. Because of my Mom's limited mobility, we hired a private guide through Ekol Travel and had a nice relaxing day visiting the sites at our own pace. Monday was Mykonos and we did our own thing and just wandered around, had lunch in the shadow of the windmills, and did some shopping. We skipped the tour to Delos. Tuesday was two stops --

Patmos in the am (St John's Grotto, which we skipped) or a scenic island tour (which we skipped) both of which started at 6:45 AM. Then in the afternoon we visited Kusadasi and Ephesus, arriving at 2:30. We hired our own guide here through Ekol Travel. The ship also ran an excursion to visit the ruins. We left at 8 pm. Wednesday was Rhodes and the tour exursions started at 7:15 am - Rhodes and Lindos, or the Old City and Philerimos, or the Full Day tour. We took the middle one so we had more free time in the walled city. We left around 5:30. Thursday was Crete from 7 am to 11 am. Excursions were either to Knossos Palace or a scenic bus ride with a stop at an olive oil farm and a cafe with local dancing. We did the latter and enjoyed it very much. We left Crete at 11:15, arrived in Santorini at 4:30. Tender boats took the excursion people first, then us. By the time we got off the ship, got on shore, waited in line for the cable car, got up to the town - it was 6.

As we knew we would have to wait in line to get back down and onto the cruise ship, we just sat down at a cafe, enjoyed the view, watched HORDES of people push their way through narrow alleys -- finished our drinks and

headed back down. They ship was supposed to leave at 8:30 but by the time they got everyone back on board it was closer to 9:30.

 

The ship docked in Piraeus by 5 am, by 8 am everyone was off. We had a transfer included to the airport, it took about an hour, and had plenty of time before our 11:30 am flight home.

 

So, this 7 day really gives you a "taste" of Istanbul and a "taste" of the islands. Next time we go we'll spend 3 or 4 nights in Mykonos and 3 or 4 nights in Santorini to really get to know those places better.

 

The overall experience was positive and the Cristal was fine!!! Lots of Europeans, lots of Aussies, a few Americans -- nice mix. I cannot comment on the Perla or Aquamarine, but would recommend the Cristal.

 

Have a great time!

[ILoveScotland]

Madeline815, thanks for this review. Since I was part of a very large group that had chartered the entire ship for a specific itinerary I was interested in how a regular cruise would be. With the exception of the limited time in ports it actually sounds quite good.

 

Our group was 100% American, but I think I would have enjoyed being a part of a cruise with people from Europe and other parts of the world.

We did not have the regular entertainment each night, but we did have the Greek night when the staff entertained. What a surprise when I realized that Costas who was one of the dancers was my cabin steward.

 

I have one question about booking the Cristal. Did you book directly or through a travel agent?

[Madeline815]

I booked through Brian Moore International Tours - http://www.bmit.com. I do not think that Louis Lines sells directly to the public. I believe you have to go through either a tour company or an agent.

[jody]

Madeline815,

Thanks for your review. I'll be on the Aquamarine for a 4 day cruise July 21-25, 2008 and appreciate any info that people share about their cruise. Can you tell me what the dress was like the formal night (Captain's dinner night, I believe). It sounds like dresses or skirts for the ladies and dress pants and a shirt are what most people are wearing.

 

For Santorini, it sounds like the safest way to see Oia is to take the ship's tour as there may not be time to take a taxi or bus on your own.

jody

[ILoveScotland]

Madeline, thanks for the link. Don't know yet what we'll do in 2009. As DH is 86 next month and basically healthy except for being in a wheelchair we don't plan too far in advance these days.

[Zippee]

Hi Everyone. I came back about a week ago from my Cristal 7 days Greece islands/turkey cruise the 23may sailing. I have to say that i was very impressed and it was more than i had expected. I think too many people are too hard on this cruise line as they are expecting the typical American cruise lines when this is a smaller, european cruise line which is very different from American ones. People don't realize American expectations are much different than European expectations. If you go on this cruise line expecting the same big ship and amenities as the American cruise lines - don't go. If you can't handle the smaller ships and the not too extensive amenities then obviously you will have nothing but complaints. I am not a picky person and i went on this cruise to see GREECE and TURKEY - not to nit pick about every little thing on the ship.

With that said, i had no complaints whatsoever about the ship. The staff were incredibley friendly and helpful. I had cabin 7228 which had a very big window, a nice sitting area and very spacious bathroom. Our bathroom had a sliding door and the shower was quite big. we had no problem with water spilling into the washroom. Even still - I went on a Royal caribbean and i had water all over my bathroom floor. But who cares just throw down a towel and mop it up. You cant throw tissue down the toilet, which wasn't a problem or a surprise to me as while we were on mainland Greece this was the case as well, they do not put toilet paper in the toilet in most areas of Greece or Turkey. We jsut put the tissue in the garbage and it was cleaned and changed very frequently.The beds were comfy and the room attendant always had everything made up and clean for us. We kept our luggage under the bed and our clothes int he closets and drawers with space to spare. The ship was very clean and presentable, i dont see any problems it. They had good restaurants and lounges, a pool, a jacuzzi that was in working condition and used quite often. The food for breakfast and lunch was buffet, which was pretty good. i loved the food on the cruise. I had late sitting for dinner, around 9pm. We got a table for two which was awesome because its very hard to get one of those on a normal cruise line so we were very happy. Our waiters were very attentive and we had very fast service, as soon as we finished one serving they came ready with the next. Dinner took an hour or less. the food was very good and good variety. Louis was very good with getting into the ports. they were almost always the first ship to arrive and on many times arrived into ports much earlier than scheduled which allowed us more time to explore. We did most of the excursions, which are a bit pricey but if you want to get on the island and make the time worthwhile - do the excursions. You do get what you pay for, The guides on it are very very good, they all knew their stuff so well and could answer anything. If we did not go on the excursions we wouldn't have seen or learned half of what we did. THe excursions make the time on the island worthwhile, you wouldnt be able to do it on your own. The ship was very organized and orchestrated everything very well. the casino on board was small but still fun, we frequently visited to play black jack or roulette. THey had a disco open until 2am or so with good music for younger people. Always had good deck space to get a spot to relax during sailing. They charge per day 8euros for tipping but you CAN change this amount to whatever you feel is needed. I left it as is as the staff were great and attentive. The dress code thoroughout the cruise was mainly casual - a few nights were elegant, i think two were. There was one blue and white night. I found alot of people did dress elegant for the captains party. Other nights alot of ppl ignored the dress code and would show up in sweats or shorts and flip flops.. to each their own. The age group on the cruise is a bit older, id say 40 + at least. There were some younger people on the ship from a Contiki group. Didnt feel much waves on this one, really only felt it on the last night sailing from Santorini back to Piraeus, it was late though and i loved the rocking. The optional excursions can be booked on board - not to worry they wont fill up so you can book them day by day by the deadline they set for each one. Overall i had an amazing time with no complaints. The ship was more than adequate, good rooms, comfortable, lots of restaurants, good lounges, good food. All spaces were well maintained and clean. Pool to swim which many ppl did use. They also planned alot of acitivites that you could attend as well during sailings to keep busy. I was as happy on this ship and cruise line as i was on a Royal Caribbean. I work in the travel industry and i think people need to give this cruise line a break - they get alot of uneeded flak and they have amazing itineraries and very good service. Thats all i can think of for now.. if anyone has any specific questions feel free to ask. I know another poster had posted about Santorini, this is the one place i would suiggest doing the Oia excursion. We got off the boat first and we were coached up to the top and over to Oia quickly. Oia was BEAUTIFUL. those who did Santorini without an excursion would never haven been able to get over there on their own since its on the other side of the island, and they missed out.. this was one of my favorite places on the entire cruise. Oia is where you see those picture perfect Greece photos high on the cliff overlooking the ocean with white houses and blue tops. Was amazing took tons of photos. this is THE spot to go. and tons of cute souvenir shops. the cable car was a long wait and waste of a wait if you ask me, could easily walk down or take the donkeys in half the time it took just to wait for the cable. We opted for the donkeys which was a fun traditional experience :) we didnt have to wait at all and were at the bottom within 15min. need to make the best of your time on the islands, best done with the excursions!