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Louis Cruise Lines

MS Perla

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Ruth MacFarlane
# previous cruises: 3
Date of Trip: March 26, 2006
Itinerary: Mediterranean

A tired old ship, worn carpeting, cramped cabin, dreadful food, well-meaning crew in a bottom-of-the-list vessel. I went on this with a charter group from England, to see the eclipse in Libya. I would NEVER choose this ship voluntarily. Maybe because most of the 700 were from England, the staple food was baked beans, dull sausages and greasy potato fries.

Gloomy lounge, no walk around promenade. Small but attractive pool in a pleasant sun deck. So-called Library now an internet room with computers. But the satellite link was dead for 36 hours.... no internet, no ship-to-shore phone calls. I hope the captain was not depending on that link for his communications......

Awful food..... lots of dreary, stodgy "English" food at breakfast: bangers, chips, baked beans, poorly cooked. Dinners in dining room were better, but not interesting. Impossible to get tea except at designated tea hour in the afternoon. Always a buffet option on deck for breakfast and lunch, so you could avoid being herded in the dining room. The serving staff were always helpful and cheerful, not their fault the food was mass-produced and dreary.

Thin walls, worn carpets, bed lamps and metalwork in bathroom worn down to the base by thousands of fingers rubbing the metal. Excellent showerhead with plenty of hot water. Bathroom small but adequate. Airconditioning difficult to control: freeze or swelter. Laundry efficient and prompt.

Surprisingly-skilled dancers put on a cheerful and entertaining show. They deserved better: there were dead light bulbs in the array over the stage, the stage curtains were drab.

Mostly not applicable: it was a chartered trip, for adults.

An extraordinary band of astronomers, physicists and assorted eclipse-collectors, who seemed willing, in a typically British stoic way, to put up with this awful ship, for the sake of seeing the eclipse.