Louis Hellenic Cruises - Greek Islands

[mandyh]

I just got off the 3-day cruise on the Pearla. The ship is nice however as others have mentioned it is older. The staff is nice and like that, their all-inclusive package includes alcohol, along with pop and coffee drinks. This was not too bad, the group I was with all purchased it, and we even adopted our own waiter at the Piano bar. Yes, there is smoking inside the ship. However, I did not find the smoke too bad. The islands are great. In Mykonos, buy the ships 5-euro bus ticket just to get back and forth to the ship. There is no tour but walking around and shopping is good and try to catch the sunset it is unbelievable. In Rhodes, I went to the beach, make sure to wear your sandals because the rocks are hot, and burn. We went to the beach that is a bit of a walk but rents Jet Ski’s and has parasailing on it. The next day we went to Patmos in the morning and it was nice however, time was short and if you are not on a tour most people slept through the island. We were on the ship during the bombing in Kusadasi, happening the day before we were supposed to go so; the ship went to Santorini, instead. Santorini was great however, not enough time. If you have the chance to take the Volcano Sailing, tour do. However, be aware the hot spring you swim in is not clear. Overall, it was a good experience. The ship does not compare to other cruise ships but the islands are worth it.

 

[Wanttoknow]

My husband and I are booked on World of Vacations Glorious Greece itinerary "Mediterranean Delight" leaving Sept. 15 which includes the 7 day Greek Island & Turkey Cruise starting Sept. 23. I think the ship will be The Coral. I spoke with someone today who was on that ship about 3 weeks ago and she said she had a great time. The food was very good, the staff were great and she really didn't have a bad thing to say about it. She did say the cabins were small but they were clean. It made my day because after reading some of the comments on the internet I was wondering what had I got into.

 

Message for Passaporta maybe we are on the same cruise. Let me know if your cruise starts Sept. 23.:rolleyes:

[Wanttoknow]

What will the weather be like in the Greek Islands in late Sept.?

[henry12345]

Hello everyone. Well, I'm with a lot of the others...I have a trip booked, supposedly on the Perla and I don't like the earlier readings of the ship. Although my expectations are not that of an American cruise ship...I do expect clean rooms, decent food and generally good service. But for the most part, safe and secure conditions! When I read something about water leaking from the walls and smelling fuel, I literally started looking for ways to get the heck out of my contract. I've read some of the latest postings and they sound a little better however...has anyone seen what is going on in Kusadasi, Turkey...2 terrorist bombings in the last 30 days. I'm extremely worried. Does anyone have anything to add to ease my concerns? I have approx. 6 weeks before my trip...and at this point, I don't know what I'm going to do.

 

Thanks

[Wanttoknow]

What date does your cruise begin?

 

 

 

We are preparing a cruise on the Coral in September 2005 and were wondering about a formal night as well as what the on shore excusirons consisted of. I imagine there would be no time for a Formal night since we are not at sea that much.

Any help on these tours would be helpful.

[acaltab]

My family and i took the same cruise on the coral at the beginning of June. Just want to echo the other comments. Clean, good food, helpful staff and wonderful ports. We had a very good time.

[majmaj4]

Those of you who have been on the cruise, which ship tours did you go on, and how were they.

 

I am considering booking alternate tours for a few places.

 

Thank you,

[Aphrodite]

I have just returned from this ship. My mother fell on this ship, Ships doctor was just wonderful. Chief Purser said as we returned from the hospital, and this is a quote: If you fall on our ship it is your fault. Remember this when you are traveling 17 knots and the sea is rough. Food was cold, and not enough seating, if you like standing to eat than this cruise is for you. We are planning to travel to Greece next year again, but will never travel with such a rude Cruise Line as Louis Cruise, Calypso.

[Aphrodite]

My husband and I are booked on World of Vacations Glorious Greece itinerary "Mediterranean Delight" leaving Sept. 15 which includes the 7 day Greek Island & Turkey Cruise starting Sept. 23. I think the ship will be The Coral. I spoke with someone today who was on that ship about 3 weeks ago and she said she had a great time. The food was very good, the staff were great and she really didn't have a bad thing to say about it. She did say the cabins were small but they were clean. It made my day because after reading some of the comments on the internet I was wondering what had I got into.

 

Message for Passaporta maybe we are on the same cruise. Let me know if your cruise starts Sept. 23.:rolleyes:

:eek: Remember a quote from the Chief Purser if you get hurt on my ship it is your own fault. Just returned from cruise.

[Aphrodite]

You should be worried. Just returned from this ship on 8/15/05.

[Aphrodite]

Don't worry about it they automatically charge your account 7 Euros a day without your consent. Though they do inform you of this your last day...

[LHT28]

My husband and I are booked on World of Vacations Glorious Greece itinerary "Mediterranean Delight" leaving Sept. 15 which includes the 7 day Greek Island & Turkey Cruise starting Sept. 23. I think the ship will be The Coral.

 

I don't see the CORAL listed as one of the ships they use.

Maybe check with your TA for the ship you will be sailing on.

 

Greek cruise ships are not noted for their good food or charming crew. ;)

 

We were looking at the Classical Odyssey but not sure about flying AT.

 

Enjoy the trip

[catherined]

I just returned from a Glorious Greece package run by World of Vacations/Air Transat leaving from Toronto. Part of the package was a 7 day Greek Island & Turkey cruise on the Calypso. My family and I had a wonderful time. This was the first cruise for any of us, so we didn't know what to expect. My sense is that if you are used to the huge ships that travel around the Caribbean, you will be disappointed, but if you are more focused on visiting the ports of call rather than spending time on the ship, you will have a great time.

 

We had inside cabins, which were clean and comfortable, and a decent size. The comment about lack of insulation is true, you can hear what's going on in the next room, but the biggest problem was the motors. We were on the second (Bolero) deck, and at times the ship's motors were extremely loud. I would recommend bringing ear plugs for sleeping, or else booking a cabin higher up, where I think the motor noise was less of a problem. The noise wasn't a huge problem to me, just a minor annoyance. We didn't have any problems with mold, broken furniture, diesel smell in the cabins, etc. that some people have mentioned about the Perla (in certain winds certain areas outside on the deck would smell a bit of diesel, but I never smelled it inside the ship). Also, although there were many Europeans on the ship (about half Europeans, half North Americans/Australians I would say) I didn't have a huge issue with smelling smoke everywhere I went either. I also didn't have a problem with seasickness, I found the boat to feel relatively stable.

 

I thought that the food was great. They had a fairly wide selection each night, and it was always good. There was also a buffet for lunch and breakfast, in addition to the restaurant. As for dress code, there were two "formal" nights but formal was pretty lax. Men had to wear long pants and a dress shirt, a couple of men wore suits. Women wore dresses or pants/skirts and blouses. The rest of the time the dress was casual (no shorts in the restaurant at dinner, but t-shirts, khakis etc. were fine). To me, the staff, especially the wait staff, was excellent. Everyone was extremely friendly. They automatically charge you a 7 euro per person gratuity at the end of the trip, and I thought that was well earned.

 

People on board who had travelled on some of the huge ships in the Caribbean were disappointed by the ship's facilities. There is a small pool, and a few lounges, and a sun deck but not much else. Bring a good book, because during the time when you are on the ship, there isn't a ton to do. The good part is you don't have to spend a lot of time on the boat, the itinerary is jam-packed, so you should be spending most of your time at the ports of call (except on the journey from Athens to Istanbul, where you have pretty much a full day on the ship). The lounges and restaurant were well appointed, the furniture and carpets looked relatively new. The staff was always at work polishing and cleaning everything, so it was extremely clean.

 

The ports of call were the highlight of the cruise, obviously. They are the reason we went. We did two organized excursions and did the rest ourselves. We did Istanbul on our own, but the vast majority of people seemed to book the organized tour for Istanbul. I would say in Istanbul you should try going it alone, you can get more done, and spend less. The port is very close to the Old City (a 10 euro cab ride, or about 30 minute walk). We took a cab to the Old City in the morning, and then walked back in the afternoon. We left the ship early that morning, so we were able to beat the tour groups to both the Blue Mosque and Haya Sofia, we basically had both places to ourselves, which was great. We also had time to see the Cistern, which the organized tours skip. Topkapi Palace was more crowded by the time we reached it, but not unbearably so. The down side is the Grand Bazaar is closed on Sunday, the day you're there, but the shop owners in Istanbul (and it's worse in Kusadesi) are very agressive, so we may not have enjoyed it anyway. Their tactics backfired on us, making us less likely to go into their stores. Instead we bought most of our tourist-y things in Patmos and Rhodes, where shop owners are considerably more laid back.

 

We did do the excursions to Ephesus in Kusadesi and the Palace of Knossos in Crete because both of these sites are located about 30 minutes drive away from the port, so we were concerned about being able to find taxis if we went alone. The trip to Ephesus was great, the site is amazing. It's something you should definately not miss. I wasn't even aware of the bombing in Kusadesi before we left, but I would not decide not go to a place I really wanted to see because of something like that. As we've learned in the past few years, no place is 100 percent safe. The Palace of Knossos and museum trip in Crete was frustrating because both places were extremely crowded. There seemed to be about 3 or 4 cruise ships that all landed at exactly the same time, and were all running exactly the same trips, so that meant you had at least 1500 people deluging the site and museum at the same time. But then again, both the site and museum are amazing, and Crete is the only place in the world where you can see things related to Minoan culture, so I was not going to go all that way and miss out due to crowds. At Santorini, there was the same problem, 3 ships disembarked at the same time, so there was a 45 minute wait to take the cable car up to the town. Your other options were riding a mule up, or a long and hot walk. But once you reached the top, it was incredible. We walked down, which was a bit smelly (the mules use the same road) but offered spectacular views. I do wish that they stayed longer in Crete and Santorini, but I don't see how they could do that without extending the trip to 8 or 9 days. I enjoyed the full day in Rhodes, it offered time to relax and go to the beach. The water is beautiful - crystal clear, but bring sandals because it's a pebble beach close to the town, and the pebbles get extremely hot!

 

Basically my advice is if you want to see as many places in Greece and Turkey as you can for a reasonable price, conveniently (i.e. not having to figure out hotels and ferry schedules yourself, especially in the summer, when Greece is extemely busy), and aboard a ship with a friendly staff and comfortable surroundings, this is the cruise for your. If you are looking for a top of the line cruise ship, and the ports of call are only incidental to spending time at the casino and shows and whatever else the huge ships have on board, don't take this cruise. You just have to decide where your priorities are when you book this cruise.

[LHT28]

I just returned from a Glorious Greece package run by World of Vacations/Air Transat leaving from Toronto. Part of the package was a 7 day Greek Island & Turkey cruise on the Calypso. My family and I had a wonderful time. This was the first cruise for any of us, so we didn't know what to expect. My sense is that if you are used to the huge ships that travel around the Caribbean, you will be disappointed, but if you are more focused on visiting the ports of call rather than spending time on the ship, you will have a great time.

.

 

Thanks for posting your review.

How was the Air Transat flight to Greece?

Last time we went Olympic airlines.

[ST AUGUSINE GATOR]

We just returned from a six day boat trip on the Pearla from August 6-12,2005. We picked up the cruise in Istanbul and exited in Athens. I have cruised on Royal Carribean and Carnival 7 or 8 times. The Pearla is much smaller

and is sparten in comparison to those cruiselines. The Pearla can hold 800 passengers.

That being said we :rolleyes: loved the cruise. The Pearla was exceptionally clean,the food was great, the overall sevice was very good and the off the boat excursions were fantastic. The smaller boat was more intimate and we got to know other passengers. We did an excursion at each island except Mykanos.

Our family would cruse again on the Pearla in a heartbeat.If anybody has any questions e-mail me at eejosh@aug.com.

 

ST AUGUSTINE GATOR

[catherined]

The Air Transat flight to Greece was ok, but not fabulous (but then again, no plane rides are really). We used them in 2000 to fly to London, England from Toronto, and I had terrible memories of the plane being horribly cramped. Since then, Air Transat has upgraded its fleet, they only have Airbuses now, so this flight was a lot better. The plane inside is pretty nice, everything is brand new, and all of their seats are leather (a selling point I guess, although I didn't care that much). I'm 5'7" and I had about 3 inches of leg room infront of me, so I was relatively comfortable. My brother is 6'2" and his knees were right up to the seat in front of him, but he said he was relatively comfortable as far as plane rides go. The Glorious Greece packages are a pretty good deal, so I wouldn't let the flight deter you unless you are really tall. They also have a business class on those flights, so you could try upgrading. The flight home from Athens was pretty long - 11 hours - due to a strong headwind, the trip to Athens was about 9 and a half hours.

 

Also a tip - we booked the WOV Olympian Voyage Option 1 through exit.ca (the Olympian Voyage was great by the way, you see tons of stuff in two weeks). Our Athens hotel was supposed to be Kaningos 21, but upon our arrival we were told that we had been "upgraded" to the Hotel Titania, which was the Option 2 hotel. On our last night in Athens after the cruise, we were back in the Kaningos. Both hotels are really nice, the Titania is bigger and has a more impressive lobby, but I actually prefered the rooms in the Kaningos 21. The rooms themselves were a bit bigger (although European hotel rooms in general are smaller than in North America), the beds were bigger and softer, and the bathroom was huge. The decoration was really modern (sort of an upsale Ikea). The only downside was the elevators are small, and there are only two, so if a big group checks in at once, there may be quite a wait for the elevator. I would still recommend that you save the $100 or whatever the upgrade costs for the Titania and stick with the Kaningos 21.

[catherined]

Hello everyone. Well, I'm with a lot of the others...I have a trip booked, supposedly on the Perla and I don't like the earlier readings of the ship. Although my expectations are not that of an American cruise ship...I do expect clean rooms, decent food and generally good service. But for the most part, safe and secure conditions! When I read something about water leaking from the walls and smelling fuel, I literally started looking for ways to get the heck out of my contract. I've read some of the latest postings and they sound a little better however...has anyone seen what is going on in Kusadasi, Turkey...2 terrorist bombings in the last 30 days. I'm extremely worried. Does anyone have anything to add to ease my concerns? I have approx. 6 weeks before my trip...and at this point, I don't know what I'm going to do.

 

Thanks

 

I just returned from the 7 day Louis cruise that stops in Instanbul and Kusadasi on August 19. While I was there, the BBC was reporting that the Kurdish rebel group that had taken the blame for the recent bombings in Turkey had announced a 30 day ceasefire lasting until September 20. By the date of your post, it looks like you are travelling during the ceasefire. As I mentioned in an earlier post, no destination is 100 percent safe, so I guess you have to decide the level of risk you are comfortable with. I personally felt safe the entire time I was in Turkey (if a bit harassed by the shop owners!).

[LHT28]

The Air Transat flight to Greece was ok, but not fabulous (but then again, no plane rides are really). We used them in 2000 to fly to London, England from Toronto, and I had terrible memories of the plane being horribly cramped. Since then, Air Transat has upgraded its fleet, they only have Airbuses now, so this flight was a lot better.

 

.

Thanks for the report !

we flew to Gatwick a few years ago on AT and it was ok but cramped for DH who is 5'10"

 

We did the Glorious Greece trip 10 yrs ago and stayed at the Titania before the upgrages ...it looks so much brighter in the pictures ...we did like the location ..ease of walking around.

We stayed a week on Rhodes which was great.

We would like to do the trip again so we can see what we missed ;)

 

thanks again

[Wanttoknow]

At this time we don't know what ship we are on. The Coral (ex. Triton) is in the book we have from World of Vacations. I was speaking with someone who went in June and she was on the 7 day Greek Island and Turkey cruise. She was on the Coral. At one time on the Louis website it was showing The Coral as doing this intineray. I know that they have changed their website from when I first starting checking it.

[passaporta]

Yes, it looks like we will be on the same cruise. We sail on the 23rd, which is a month tomorrow. I have enjoyed the info sharing on this site. We flew AT in Feb/05 & they have much improved. We fly out of Toronto on the 18th & will be doing the Classical Tour.

 

On other cruises we know at least our cabin number, but this time we aren't even sure what ship we'll be on. Oh well, we look on it as 'the Magical Mystery Tour'.

 

This trip has a great itinerary, wonderful places to visit & terrific value.

Sounds good to me!!!

[TorontoTL]

Hi, I haven't posted here in a while. I had taken a 16 day Glorious Greece package earlier this summer and did spend several nights on the Calypso. As I mentioned in an earlier post, if you lower your expectations and think of it as just a comfortable way of getting from island to island, you will certainly have a good time.

 

If anyone is interested, I have the one page Calypso deck plans and can scan them if anyone is interested in seeing them. Let me know.

[lolababe150]

Hi

Thanks for the information on this trip to Greece. I'm going to Greece and cruising on the Louis Hellenic on 9/7/05. Two days in Mykonos and Santorini, 2 nightes in Athens. this trip was organized by All Singles Travel and even though it was pricey, I decided to take a chance. The info on the Louis wasn't very good, but at least I'm prepared for whatever happens.

[Capobasso]

We'll be on Perla during the second week of October, and while things might be looking better, any current info would be appreciated. B.V.!

[soonerlaw]

We just got back from a cruise on the Perla a few days ago. What everyone said is basically true. It is an older boat and definately not up to the caliber of any American cruiseliner. But there are things that you can do to make it better. First, make sure your room is an upgraded one with a window. Second, eat only in the sit-down dining room, not the "buffet." There are not alot of things to do on the ship, but if you grab a beer and sit out on the deck and watch the islands go by and the stars in the sky, it is amazing scenery. Most american cruises all you see is water. Do the excursions because the islands are the best part and the reason why you are there. Basicially, if you want to relax on a cruise boat and have a lot of food and entertainment, go to carnival. If you want a place to chill out while you go from amazing island to island, this is fine. Most of all, spend as little time in your room as possible.

 

The crew and other service personnel is nice but you have to remember that they are european, and not from a service oriented background as you would find in the states.

[mizner]

My daughter and I were on the 3 day Calypso cruise going to Mykonos, Rhodes,Patmos and Kusadasi. We had a wonderful time!The ship is small but very clean. The staff is friendly- I don't know how they can be so enthusiastic with a constantly revolving group of passengers! We had an outside stateroom- A category, which I recommend. I have taken several Caribbean cruises and this is a totally different experience. In the Caribbean, the ship is the goal, and the ports are almost secondary. On the Calypso, the ports are everything, and the ship is meant to bring you to the ports in comfort. My advice is to forget your preconceptions of what a cruise should be and enjoy the experience.

 

Some notes:

1.Cruise Wardrobe- informal! No formal nights for dinner on the September cruise, although dinner was more "dressy casual" and some people got more dressed up.

2. Smoking- Dining room is non-smoking. Festival lounge non-smoking during shows. The smoking, while apparent, did not bother me.

3. Tipping policy. You will be billed $7 per day per personon your final cruise bill This is very reasonable, considering that this includes stewards, waiters/waitresses, bar personnel. People do not need to tip as they order.

4. Drinks- there is an "all you can drink" option at 51 Euros for the cruise. We did not choose that option, as juice/regular water/coffee are provided at each meal.

5. Restaurants- We did not eat at the bistro bar on the deck. It appeared very crowded. Instead we ate at the sit down restaurant for all meals. Food is substantial and though not gourmet, very satisfying. Vegetarian options are noted. The waiters are attentive. There is open seating first night as we were in Mykonos. Other two nights were set seatings. Unlike the Caribbean, most people seemed to prefer the earlier seating, perhaps because the tours started early in the morning.

6. Entertainment- There is an enthusiastic cruise director and staff. Definitely not the big cruise ship broadway entertainment, but fun.

Bingo, name that tune, dance lessons are available. Not a time to be cynical, just have fun. We went to Greek night, where a lot of the staff performed. Then we had an opportunity to put our new found syrtaki skills to work as we danced to Zorba the Greek.

7.Internet on board- Available but expensive. use internet cafes in Rhodes if you need to.

8.Ports- Wonderful, wish we could stay longer in each port. Tours were well done. We took shuttle to Mykonos to see the sunset- it was beautiful of course. Took the Rhodes-Lindos tour, which is recommended. The benefit of using the ship tour was the ship's keeping the dining room open later because our tour came back later. We took the Scenic Patmos tour and the Ephesus tour. Tours do provide a "buying opportunity" but we actually enjoyed this. One note- you may be frustrated in Kusadasi if you wish to see Ephesus and shop- not really enough time to do both- though we somehow managed! Also, Louis cruise provides opportunity to disembark at one port and wait to embark on another ship.

9.Ship amenities- sundeck was sufficient. The public rooms are small, but again not that necessary because of the amount of time spent in port. I liked the smaller ship as I felt there were more opportunities to talk to people.there is casino, which we didn't use. Also, ship store which we didn't use. There is also a ship photographer, and beauty salon.

10. Passengers- on our ship, there were persons on different tours-globus, trafalgar(from Australia & New Zealand), friendly planet, Americans, Greeks, South Americans. Everyone was friendly.

11. Would we take this cruise line again? Yes!