Isn't this the sort of thing that eval is good for?

eval {
 my $ftp = Net::FTP->new(...)
   or die "Can't connect: $@\n";
 $ftp->login(...)
   or die "failed to login:".$ftp->message;
 $ftp->cwd(...)
   or die "failed to chdir:".$ftp->message;
 ...
};
warn $@ if $@;  # or whatever
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UPDATE: Shortened and fixed typo, per runrig.

    -- Chip Salzenberg, Free-Floating Agent of Chaos