Louis Hellenic Cruises - Greek Islands

[travel genie]

Hi everyone!

I am sailing on Sea Diamond July 9, for 4 nights...

WOndering if anyone hase any experiences on this ship, what should I expect. I have 2 outside cabins...

[Be a Traveler]

Hi everyone!

I am sailing on Sea Diamond July 9, for 4 nights...

WOndering if anyone hase any experiences on this ship, what should I expect. I have 2 outside cabins...

Travel genie,

 

I'll be curious what you think about Sea Diamond. Although I was on the sister-ship Perla for the 7-day, we did stop at Piraeus (Athens) after our stop in Istanbul to pick some passengers up for a 4-day cruise. Hope you are truly on Sea Diamond (Perla and Sea Diamond have the exact scheduled ports of call starting with Mykonos). The ship looks impressive in port and at sea. In fact, although we almost always left port before the Sea Diamond--no doubt because she has more passengers than Perla--we were always passed by the Sea Diamond and it seemed as though the ships were always drag racing toward each port.

 

Because we had the same schedule, we had virtually the same excursions and we met some passengers of the Sea Diamond at each port. In speaking briefly to Sea Diamond passengers, there were some complaints regarding some amenities "not up to par," but we didn't really get into specifics--it sounded like more cosmetic issue than anything major. Just realize that this is the first season for Sea Diamond with an all new staff/crew. Louis probably didn't get a chance to evaluate/fix all the cosmetic work needed to be done as she was placed into service just 3 months after the announcement that she was joining the fleet. But I'm sure that service will be as good as that we recieved on Perla. Have a great cruise.

[A Sixth?]

I'll be on the Sea Diamond very soon and will give a report, maybe as we travel depending on WIFI free access.

 

Be a Traveler, any idea whether free WIFI like in libraries and coffee shops exists in the Greek Islands for our Palm T/X?

[Be a Traveler]

I'll be on the Sea Diamond very soon and will give a report, maybe as we travel depending on WIFI free access.

 

Be a Traveler, any idea whether free WIFI like in libraries and coffee shops exists in the Greek Islands for our Palm T/X?

A Sixth?

 

Don't know much about free wi-fi in Greece. From what I can tell, there are internet cafes near every stop on our tour and in almost every port, but no obvious signage touting free wi-fi. I've seen wi-fi signs in cafes/hotels in Mykonos, Rhodes, and Santorini--no idea if it's subscriber based or not. There is a Starbucks at the port of Kusadasi--again, no clue if they have wi-fi. Perhaps your hotel has it--ours did not. As I said, the ship's internet supposedly cost about "1euro/downloaded min," whatever that means. Unsure if Sea Diamond even has a functioning internet lounge. I hope you enjoy your holiday. Let me know if you have any other questions regarding the cruise or Athens.

 

GPM

[Steve007NY]

1- anyone have more info on the Perla beverage card? is it good for soft drinks, coffee AND liquor? Price?

 

2-re: bringing alcohol on board... some ships prohibit vigorously, usually we can brink in bodka moved into water bottles. What was re-embarkation like?

 

3-anyone use a Run-of-Ship rate? We're being quoted only $950 + port charges for a week Istanbul-Istanbul on 8/27. Anyone else going?

 

Steve and John

[Be a Traveler]

1- anyone have more info on the Perla beverage card? is it good for soft drinks, coffee AND liquor? Price?

 

2-re: bringing alcohol on board... some ships prohibit vigorously, usually we can brink in bodka moved into water bottles. What was re-embarkation like?

 

3-anyone use a Run-of-Ship rate? We're being quoted only $950 + port charges for a week Istanbul-Istanbul on 8/27. Anyone else going?

 

Steve and John

Steve007NY,

 

Beverages: for "unlimited" beverages, Perla has a 18euro/day (per person, of course) program between the hours of 10a-2a (don't even ask why not 24hrs) for most soft drinks, liquor, and coffee/tea. I believe certain cocktails and spirits are not included, but you will receive a letter about that info while you are literally standing in line during embarkation. Not many people in our group took advantage of the service and bought as necessary or shared bottles of wine at mealtimes. Keep in mind, you can't get free coffee/tea outside of mealtimes. We did have several free cocktail hours-mainly before dinner-hosted by the cruise line and the tour I was on--double-fisting was clearly in play for some passengers. As our tour director suggested, look at the menu of drinks they include in the beverage package ande seriously figure out if you are going to consume enough to get you money's worth. Soft-drinks were 2-3euro, beer 4euro, cocktails start at 4-5euro from what I remember. Other than the run to and from Istanbul, you will most likely be taking advantage of time on shore rather than sipping drinks on deck.

 

Embarkation/re-embarkation with alcohol: large packages/shopping bags are searched upon embarkation, esp if it looks like it's from a duty free shop--you have been warned. Louis' policy on alcohol brought of bought (from on-board duty free shop) is that it cannot be consumed during the trip. That said, I can't say I saw anyone having their alcohol confiscated.

 

I saw your post on the other Louis Cruise Line thread and hope my posts as well as Radcom's post about the Perla helps.

 

GPM

[suziern]

Be a Traveler,

 

does the drink package include bottled water? I'm worried about water for the cabin and on excursions. If they charge 2-3 euro for a bottle of water than I'm thinking the drink package might be worth it. Do they let you get more than one drink per person at a time?

Thanks,

Suzie

leaving for Athens in 10 days!!!!

[Be a Traveler]

Be a Traveler,

 

does the drink package include bottled water? I'm worried about water for the cabin and on excursions. If they charge 2-3 euro for a bottle of water than I'm thinking the drink package might be worth it. Do they let you get more than one drink per person at a time?

Thanks,

Suzie

leaving for Athens in 10 days!!!!

suziern,

 

Water on board is safe to drink as it is from the desalinization system used on all ships. Water is also included during meals (along with tea or coffee). I really cannot say that I actually saw anyone ask for small bottles of water to take with them as most people who took the beverage package were more concerned with alcohol. I'm assuming drink prices on Sea Diamond will be the same as on our Perla, but you might check just in case you're serious about the beverage package. Although I'm sure they're not supposed to do so, I've seen people ordering several drinks at a time even with the beverage package--it basically depends on the waiter/waitress serving you whether they will be a stickler or not.

 

There will always be a 2-liter bottle of water for purchase in your cabin (2 or 3 euro?) to be replenished by the cabin steward as needed. We actually carried on-board two 2-liter bottles of water for use in our cabin and to replenish our personal water bottles we took on excursions. A 2-liter bottle of water in Athens is 0.50 euro in a convenience or grocery store and 1 euro in touristy areas like the Plaka. Funny how you can bring bottled water and sodas on-board for consumption, but not alcohol.

 

Enjoy your trip. Let me know if there are any other burning questions about the cruise. If you haven't already found this website, take a look at the following guide about Athens:

 

http://www.athensguide.com/

 

GPM

[suziern]

GPM,

Thanks for the advice, I'm sure I might have another question or two before we go. 9 days! I got my travel documents today, definitely on the Sea Princess, not the Ausonia. I must admit I'm a tad disappointed, it would have been interesting to be on the older ship. No cabin assignment was given, however, so I might call tomorrow to check on that.

Thanks again,

Suzie

[A Sixth?]

GPM,

Thanks for the advice, I'm sure I might have another question or two before we go. 9 days! I got my travel documents today, definitely on the Sea Princess, not the Ausonia. I must admit I'm a tad disappointed, it would have been interesting to be on the older ship. No cabin assignment was given, however, so I might call tomorrow to check on that.

Thanks again,

Suzie

 

I assume you mean the Sea Diamond, not the Sea Princess

 

 

We got our stuff awhile back, and our cabin assignment on the SD. We too are a bit disappointed that we aren't on the Ausonia, but we think that the SD is an improvement over the Perla by all guesses.

 

We're outta here Saturday, flying to Greece and all set to enjoy the trip we won before sailing (at our expense) on the SD May 29.

 

Sounds like you'll be back as we board.

[suziern]

A sixth,

 

Yes, you assume right, Sea Diamond. I was trying to type as my 2 little ones were talking non-stop to me, hard to concentrate. Have a wonderful trip! We'll be getting off the ship as you are getting on. I hope we both have a great experience! :D

[travel genie]

Hi there!!

I am looking forward to hearing how your trip goes on how the expierence on the Sea Diamond is...I cant wait for my trip!! If anyone has been recently please post!!

[Gypsy Queen]

We'll be sailing on this ship next week so I will be glad to post our impressions when we get home. Hopefully, it's more pleasant than some of the comments would lead you to believe.

[suziern]

For those of you who recently sailed on Louis, what did people wear on Greek night? My travel documents didn't mention anything about the cruise, but I read in other places that one night you are supposed to dress as Greek as possible. Did people get more dressy that night? I know you can just wear blue and white, but I was wondering how dressy or casual that night was, and what other people wore.:confused:

Thanks!

Suzie

[Be a Traveler]

For those of you who recently sailed on Louis, what did people wear on Greek night? My travel documents didn't mention anything about the cruise, but I read in other places that one night you are supposed to dress as Greek as possible. Did people get more dressy that night? I know you can just wear blue and white, but I was wondering how dressy or casual that night was, and what other people wore.:confused:

Thanks!

Suzie

suziern,

 

While the dress code for the entire cruise was mostly "smart casual" during dinner in the main dining room (at least on the Perla), most people did not get dressy until the captain's dinner near the end of the cruise. For the captain's dinner, most men wore sportcoats or at least a nice shirt and tie over slacks, while women wore simple cocktail dresses or a nice top with a skirt or dressy pants. Those wearing tuxedos and beaded gowns (there were a few) were definitely out of place. The rest of the time, khaki's/dressy jeans and a collared shirt (for both men and women) was acceptible to gain entrance to the main dinning room. As long as you're not wearing shorts or bathing suits, you'll be fine.

 

For the most part, Greek night was just what it sounds like--slap on some blue and white. Not dressy at all, so long as you're appropriately dressed for dinner.

 

Hope that helps.

[suziern]

It does help, thank you. I have a white, strapless sundress I was thinking of wearing with a blue wrap, but I don't want to be too dressed up. Oh well, I'll figure it out.

Thanks again!

[BevieJune]

My friend Barbara and I will be sailing on either the Emerald or Sea Diamond. We won't know which one until we start our tour. We will be traveling with Grand Circle Travel. We leave San Francisco on June 3rd for a pre trip to Istanbul for 4 days, then on to Greece on June 8th until June 25th. If I have done my figuring correctly, we should be boarding our ship for the Greek Islands on June 19th. By chance, is anyone else going to be doing the same tour? Would love to hear from you if you are. Also, any of you returning that have been on either ship, and how were they??

[Be a Traveler]

How did most people book their Louis cruise? Was it through a travel agency, directly through Louis, or some other way? Some of you know that I just came back from the 7-day Greek Isles/Turkey, but that was a part of a Cosmos tour and I am not aware of a way to book directly through the Louis site. From my suggestions, my friends want to do the 4-day cruise without having to join an organized tour group. Any sugesstions?

 

GPM

[Gypsy Queen]

We just returned from Greece and a cruise on the Sea Diamond. We upgraded to the cabins with the window and not the porthole. When I tell you they are miniscule, that is an overstatement. In the bathrooms, you can use the toilet, brush your teeth and take a shower all without changing position. There are no drawers and the closet holds about 4 hangers -- by the way bring your own. You will literally be living out of your suitcase from Monday through Thursday night when you put your suitcase outside your door for pickup. I'll try to post a picture of the cabins and the bathroom as soon as they are uploaded out of our camera.

 

Your sign and sail card is not the key to your stateroom. We had to stand in line to get our keys. You must also stand in line to activate your sign and sail card with a credit card. It is not automatically done upon checkin like on a Carnival or Royal Caribbean cruise. When they tell you to confirm your dinner reservations upon boarding the boat, listen to them. Just because you have a dinner hour preference stated doesn't mean you have a table. If you don't go get a table assignment, you must wait to see if there is anything available before they will seat you. Fortunately, the Maitre D in the aft dining room is a terrific guy and goes out of his way to make your voyage and dining experience pleasant. The food is definitely mediocre. Service is extremely slow so figure it's going to take at least two hours for dinner. There are not enough bar waiters to take orders for cokes or wine or whatever cocktail you would like so the wait will be long. On most nights there were only two working the dining rooms. The night they were supposed to parade the Baked Alaska more than half the dining room left because it took so long to get organized and it was after 11:00. On Captain's night, there is no dining service in the buffet. You must eat in one of the two dining rooms. That being said, you don't have to dress up either. A lot of people ignored the dress code for the night and just wore slacks and shirts or blouses. After touring in the heat all day, you aren't really in the mood to change and dress up for dinner. Maybe your cruise will be different. Our cruise was more than half Americans.

 

The shore excursions are not cheap. All morning excursions leave between 6:30 and 7:15 a.m. so be prepared to get up very early to shower, dress and make it through the breakfast lines before your tour departs. We did all of the island excursions, but if we had it to do over, we would skip a lot of them. Mykonos was delightful, but you do that one on your own anyway. The magic of Santorini was lost on our party. It was so hot and crowded, you could barely move in the alleys. Make sure to allow enough time to get down in the gondolas. The line was over an hour. With three or four cruise ships disembarking thousands of passengers at the same time, it gets really crowded in those little towns. Bear in mind that you are all trying to get back to the port to board the tenders at the same time.

 

We bought the beverage cards for all of us. I forget how much it was per person, but I can check for you on the statement if you are interested. Coffee, iced tea, etc., are not served outside of posted meal hours except in the bars. The bar card allows you to get a number of things "free" between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. It's not just coke, but includes beer, cocktails (Brandy Alexanders, Margaritas, Grand Marnier, etc.), mixers like ginger ale and wine. There is a bar card menu on the tables telling you which drinks are available with your bar card. Just in Diet Cokes alone it was worth the money. The water on the ship is fine to drink without purchasing bottled water, which you will want to take with you on shore excursions.

 

This is kind of a quick and dirty overview of the ship. The crew was friendly and everyone speaks English. If you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer them. You must remember this is an old ship and not the mega ships we are used to sailing on. The amenities are not there, but they do try to make your voyage as pleasant as possible. The casino is a small room with one roulette table, one blackjack and some slots. The ship duty free store is small and not open except for a few hours during the evening. Selection is very limited. Don't look for the 24-hour pizzeria or the midnight buffet because there aren't any. It's a very bare bones cruise, but it could have been a lot worse. We heard some really wickedly nasty comments from people who sailed on the Perla.

[travel genie]

Oh my, I dont know what to think...Im afraid, you mention some of the shore excursions werent worth doing..Any advice for me? Which are a must see.. How was the bedding and towels? Was it hard to get the upgrade? Im freaking out URGHHHHHH

[suziern]

:)

Travel Genie,

 

My husband and I just returned from a 3 night Sea Diamond cruise and 3 nights in Athens. Don't worry, your trip will be amazing.

 

Everything said about the Sea Diamond was true, but the quality of the ship certainly didn't ruin our vacation. Yes, we are used to American ships with more space and better quality food, but when you are surrounded by the Aegean Sea and the gorgeous islands, you hardly notice anything else. Even though the ship was older and smaller, it was clean and everyone was friendly and helpful. My husband and I booked the following tours: Ephesus and house of Virgin Mary at Kusadasi, and St. John Monestary and Grotto at Patmos. We found them both to be amazing, and were glad we did them with the tour guides. We got so much more out of the sites with an informed guide, explaining every detail along the way. They were well worth the money. I wouldn't recommend doing tours at every stop, or else you'll never have time to relax. Just figure out which are important to you and go with those. Another option is to take a taxi to the important sites and just listen in on another tour group (people we met on the ship did this) but you have to arrange your own taxi transportation. In Mykonos we just walked around and had a lovely dinner in a local taverna, and in Rhodes we explored the old town ourselves, and went to Eli beach which is in walking distance. Yes, on the ship the cabins are tiny, the food isn't great, and the evening shows are a bit lame, but none of that mattered. We ate meals at local tavernas on the island instead of eating all meals on the ship and it was worth it. The beauty of Greece and it's history is overwhelming-you will LOVE your vacation. Just take it for what it is, a EUROPEAN ship. It will be fine. :D

If anyone has questions for me, feel free to e-mail selliottrn@sbcglobal.net.

Suzie

[travel genie]

Thank you so much! You have put me at ease!!

Your info is great...:)

[suziern]

We booked our 3 night Louis cruise as part of a package through Friendly Planet Travel. (online) It was part of their Athens/Greek Isles tour. I loved Friendly planet because they fly you there, take care of transfers, and have people there to assist you every step of the way, but if you don't want to do tours with them, you don't have to. All tours and excursions are extra, so you can either roam free or join the group if you want. No name tags, no one hounding you, etc. I will say that when people were organized to leave the ship for excursions and disembarkment, those with tour companies were let off the boat first. Always the last to leave were "all other English speaking travellers." I think Friendly Planet just started having a tour including the 4 night cruise, as well, but I'm not sure when they start. If you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer them.

 

Suziern

[Gypsy Queen]

No, it is not hard to get an upgrade. Tell your tour company or travel agent you would like one. I think it's about $200. The bedding and towels were just fine. Actually, we were so exhausted, we would have slept on anything, but the beds were comfortable and everything was clean. We booked our tour through Central Holidays, and I can't say enough nice things about them. My luggage was lost when we got to Athens, but the hotel staff -- the Divani Acropolis -- went out of their way to track it down so I had it before the cruise left on Monday morning. It arrived on Sunday. The tour people waited patiently at the Athens airport while we filled out all the paperwork with British Air and then put us in two cabs to the hotel -- we had our sons (30 and 24) with us. When we got off the cruise ship, there was some mixup about the transfers back to the hotel, and we ended up waiting 1 1/2 hours before we finally got moving. That afternoon the tour company called the hotel and sent us a voucher for a complete dinner for four that night at one of the little tavernas in the Plaka. Greek people go out of their way for you. I'm sure some of it has to do with my husband being Greek and speaking the language, but they are just nice people. While going around in Athens, negotiate with the cab drivers. My husband would always ask how much for four people to go wherever we wanted to go, and you would be amazed at the price differences.

 

As for the shore excursions, as I said, we did every one of them. Rhodes you can do on your own and that allows you to sleep a little later in the day because your spend the whole day there. The ship docks at the pier and it's about a 5 minute walk to the town. Ephesus was absolutely amazing. I can't imagine what happened between Ancient Greece and the Middle Ages, but peoples' brains must have fallen out somewhere. Ephesus had running water to all homes and a sanitation system way before it's time. They even figured out how to heat their homes and had the second largest library to Alexandria. Their theater was amazing and you got to stand where St. Paul preached to the people. The sound is spectacular anywhere you sit, and the tour guide said they still use it for concerts. We also did St. John and the Virgin Mary house, which is unbelievably peaceful. Those were our pilgrimage tours. Crete was OK, but I would not be in a big hurry to go back. The same can be said for Santorini even though the beautiful people have sort of adopted it. It's just nice to say you've been there. After a while the islands all blend together, but there are some standouts. My husband and I would love to go back to Mykonos and spend some time.

 

Every night we were in Athens we ate at a different taverna in the Plaka and they were all good. Dinner for four with wine usually ran around $70 US, which was not bad at all. Some of them have entertainment, but it's just great to sit outside, look at the Acropolis lit in the night sky and absorb all that's going on around you. Being a part of something that has lasted thousands of years will far outweigh the inconvenience of the small ship cabins and the phone booth bathrooms of the Sea Diamond. You don't spend much time in them anyway. Go and enjoy and make enough memories to last you a lifetime.

[A Sixth?]

Hi everybody, we're back all of a few hours from our three weeks in Greece including a 4 day Sea Diamond cruise which sailed May 29th. (Were you on the same cruise as us Gypsy Queen?)

 

Lots of pictures, and a full report coming.

 

Working title, "We had a pretty good time cruising the Aegean on our converted ferry boat"

 

Early advise, book it if pressed for time to visit the islands. Do not book it for the ship and service and especially not for the cabins which had less living space than two sheets of plywood (total room size is 80 sq ft including bathroom, closet, desk...:eek: )