Morocco cancelation

I've read on this site that the port of Morocco is often canceled for safety reasons. If so what do they replace it with? Cruisfan

Cruisfan: We purchased a cruise on Celebrity Century out of Barcelona sailing in Nov 07 with stops in Tangiers and Casablanca, Morocco. A couple of months prior to sailing these 2 ports were cancelled and Gibraltar and Malaga, Spain were added in their places. While we enjoyed both of the new ports as we had not been to them previously, we had really wanted to visit Morocco. At our Roll Call get together aboard ship, a ship's representative told us that passengers and crew on previous cruises to Morocco had been verbally abused and spat upon, and for safety's sake it had been decided to cancel these 2 ports. Don't know if this is the real reason for the cancellations or not, but making safety paramount made the decision ok by us.

Hi,

We were on the Crystal Serenity in November and two other cruise lines decided not to stop at Casablanca. Crystal insisted on stopping there and we didn't want to cancel my very special birthday cruise. I was receiving daily info on the terrorist activity in Casablanca and did NOT get off the ship in Casablanca. The intelligence was that the terrorists wanted to strike at Western tourists. During 2007 there were various terrorist activities, including a terrorist blowing himself up at an internet cafe which was just used the week before by cruisers off a ship. We had been to Tangiers years ago and everyone was IN OUR FACE selling things. So, we passed on Casablanca. If you Google Casablanca or Moroccan Terrorists, you will see the amount of weapons they found when they rounded up over 35 suspected terrorists about ten days ago. They even got the ring leader who is a millionaire living in Belgium and they think he was responsible for financing the bombings in Spain as well as other bombings and killings. So, four months ago, I passed on Casablanca and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

Sheila

Shoshona2,

I'm sorry but it sounds like you got plenty of wrong news on your side.

"The intelligence was that the terrorists wanted to strike at Western tourists"...Tourists were and are never harmed or targeted in Morocco by terrorists. It amazes me how cruise stops are not canceled in Israel where there's always a constant conflict, but when it comes to Morocco, all these forms of "intelligence" warn tourists to not go to Morocco due to terrorism threats, while in fact, they don't tend to warn visitors going to the states or the UK that there is a high threat of terrorism in those countries as well.

"During 2007 there were various terrorist activities, including a terrorist blowing himself up at an internet cafe which was just used the week before by cruisers off a ship"....The internet café was not the 'final destination' where the suicider decided to blow himself up. He went there to get in contact with his people for final instructions. The internet café owner had his doubts about the guy so he closed the place and called the police. The guy went crazy and blew himself up inside the internet café. No one was killed though but him. And that internet café is not used by tourists. And does it really make any sense that cruisers would get off a ship and have only a limited time and instead of exploring the city they go looking for an internet café instead?? It doesn't make any sense, at least to me.

I agree with you about the last part of your post, but nothing is confirmed yet as the investigations are still going.

"Internet cafe where ship passengers had checked e-mail"...

The guy who blew himself up at the internet cafe did so in a very poor, crowded area of Casablanca, quite far from the port. I don't think it's quite on the beaten path of most tourists...

I find it very hard to believe that people were spat on. I guess it could happen anywhere.

It's too bad Casablanca was canceled for your itinerary...it's a nice city. I hope you have a safe trip.

We were on a Regent cruise in November, 2007 that stopped in both Casablanca and Agadir, Morocco. We would have been very disappointed if Regent had cancelled either stop. The stops in Morocco were among the highlights of our 16 day cruise; and we encourage anyone to go to that fascinating country.

What did you do in Agadir? We will be there in May. Thanks.

fuzzy

Fuzzy - The thing to do when you stop in Agadir is to go to the lovely city of Taroudant, about an hour away. Agadir itself is a seaside resort city and not interesting; but Taroudant is fascinating. There is good discussion about Taroudant in some other threads on this board. Cheers, Fred

Our Star Princess cruise in Dec cancelled Casablanca, so when we were docked in Gilbralter, 10 of us took taxis to Spain port, high speed ferry to Tangiers, hired a guide for 5 hours, and had a wonderful time. We got back to the ship at 10pm for the 11 departure. The next stop was Cadiz Spain so we had a backup plan "just in case." It was a great day!

Did you use a tour guide in Casablance? If so, would you recommend them?

YES, a guide is essential! No one speaks English and the streets are a maze. We hired a guide at the ferry terminal. 12 euros for 4 hours or so.

Our Grand Princess sailing August 30 is scheduled to stop in Casablanca and my husband and I are thinking to try an independent guide to visit Marrakesh from there. does anyone have any recommendations for a guide or info on how much time and cost to anticipate? Any suggestions or prior experiences would be appreciated.

Our Grand Princess sailing August 30 is scheduled to stop in Casablanca and my husband and I are thinking to try an independent guide to visit Marrakesh from there. does anyone have any recommendations for a guide or info on how much time and cost to anticipate? Any suggestions or prior experiences would be appreciated.

Our family group of 16 people from Vancouver will be aboard Celebrity Century in Oct 08. We have booked our private tours in Barcelona, Marseilles, Villafrance and Livorno. We have been to Rome pre-cruise last Nov 07 so we'll do Rome, Ajaccio and Gibraltar on our own.

There aren't that many recommended Casablanca/Tangiers tour operators to choose from. After searching CC, tripadvisor and fodors forums, we've decided to book our Casablanca-Marrakech day tour with Blue Men of Morocco based on positive recommendation by an active fodors and tripadvisor forum member, familyof4travels, who used this company on their 8-day Morocco land tour in Mar 07.

Here is her fodors trip report -

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34974589

The co-owner of Blue Men of Morocco is an American, Elena Hall, who now resides in Malaga, Spain, and spends time back and forth between Spain and Morocco. I contacted Elena over a month ago and her proposed itinerary covers the following attractions. Our tour cost does not include lunch and admission fees.

- visit at Menara Pool and Gardens

- visit or stop by the Koutoubia Mosque and Minaret

- visit Bahia Palace

- visit kasbah of Marrakech Saadien tomb

- horsedrawn carriage to Majorelle Garden (optional)

- visit Majorelle Garden

- walk through the old town of Marrakech and souks

- finally we'll spend some time at Jamaa El Fna Square

I didn't book with Elena right away because she requires a 25% deposit (with the balance due on the day of the tour). Also, I wasn't too sure if Casablanca would be cancelled or not. Elena assured me that my deposit will be refunded in the event that the ship does not dock at Casablanca.

Since Oct is a busy period, she suggests that I book right away to secure one of her best driver/guide, Zaid. Familyof4travels had Zaid as their driver/guide and their family simply loved him. We will be picking up a local licensed tour guide, Omar, in Marrackech, who will take us to all the attractions. I am also assured that Zaid, an experienced driver/guide, will allow for and monitor any traffic delays enroute.

Just in case we miss our ship due to unexpected major traffic delay (hopefully not), Tangiers is our next stop and we can take a train from Casablanca to meet our ship. Alternatively, Zaid can drive us all there at an additional cost.

I'll report back on our Casablanca-Marrakech day trip in Nov 08.

Will be very interested to read your report when you get back! Can you give an approx. pp cost for the tour you are taking with Blue men of Morocco on the Marrakesh day trip? Hope your family has a fabulous vacation!

Will be very interested to read your report when you get back! Can you give an approx. pp cost for the tour you are taking with Blue men of Morocco on the Marrakesh day trip? Hope your family has a fabulous vacation!

Blue Men quoted 300 Euros for our minibus and it can hold 16 pax max. Tour price does not include admission fees and lunch so we would have to go to an ATM machine and get Dirhams for our admissions fees/lunch. I googled and most of the attractions we will be visiting will be free (except for Majorelle Garden and maybe 1 or 2 other places).

My sister lives in San Diego and she direct deposited US$116 (Euro 75) to Elena's bank acct in USA last week - so no wire transfers or moneygram required.

I read somewhere that Moroccans take lunch break between 12:00 to 2:00 pm (some businesses are closed) so hopefully our guide has a plan to maximize our time there.

Verga -Thank you so much for the information. A tour like you describe might just be the solution for a group of us from our January Jade roll call who do not want to do the only option the ship provides, a very pricey overnight in Marrakesh. Yet we all wanted to get a chance to go there and could not find a recommended tour guide until your post. I had been looking on Fodors for some other locations, just not Morocco. Thanks so very much for sharing your discovery, as I know there are many others looking for a way to have a day tour there. :)

I don't know if Century would allow us to do an overnight and then meet our ship in Tangiers like your Jade would. I am actually toying with the idea of doing that because it would give us more time in Marrakech to enjoy the evening activities in Jamaa El Fna.

I checked the train schedule and there is an overnight one from Marrakech to Tangiers. The cost of the 1st class ticket with a bunk bed is 350 Dirhams. The train leaves at 21:00 and arrives Tangiers at 7:25 am the next day. Some members in my group may not want to do that as it is out of their comfort zone.

Maybe you can check that option with your group too.

Here is the train schedule link:

http://www.oncf.ma/En/index.aspx?md=156&rb=228

We actually do NOT want an overnight in Marrakesh, simply a day tour like the one you describe. I was just saying that our Jade sailing does not offer any tour to Marrakesh at all except for an overnight that costs more per person than what you were quoted for a van that holds 16!:eek:

The problem will be time as from everything I have read, what SHOULD take less than two hours each way to and from Marrakesh based on the mileage figures, for some reason, seems to take three hours each way. That does not leave much time for touring Marrakesh!

Oh, sorry. I misunderstood what you meant. Yes, I don't understand too why it takes 3 hours each way if the distance between the two cities is 140 miles.

Oh, sorry. I misunderstood what you meant. Yes, I don't understand too why it takes 3 hours each way if the distance between the two cities is 140 miles.

The normal rule for most bus travel is 50 miles per hour(includes minor stops traffic and etc) so 140 miles each way for three hours is normal planning time with a slight extra built in. It may take slightly less but for planning its a good estimate.

Oh okay, thanks. I guess it is better to be safe in our travels. I am thinking of our bus ride from Alexandria to Cairo - whew, that ride was so fast and a bit scary.

Anyone out there actally use Blue Men of Morocco for a tour from Casablanca to Marrakesh?

(I am reviving this thread to help answer another question asked today.)

Blue Men quoted 300 Euros for our minibus and it can hold 16 pax max. Tour price does not include admission fees and lunch so we would have to go to an ATM machine and get Dirhams for our admissions fees/lunch. I googled and most of the attractions we will be visiting will be free (except for Majorelle Garden and maybe 1 or 2 other places).

 

My sister lives in San Diego and she direct deposited US$116 (Euro 75) to Elena's bank acct in USA last week - so no wire transfers or moneygram required.

 

I read somewhere that Moroccans take lunch break between 12:00 to 2:00 pm (some businesses are closed) so hopefully our guide has a plan to maximize our time there.

Hi, hope this isn't a silly question, but will we need Dirhams for buying souvenirs in Casablanca? Thanks!

Hi, hope this isn't a silly question, but will we need Dirhams for buying souvenirs in Casablanca? Thanks!

In 2004 they took dollars.

Last year we were on the Galaxy when Casablanca was cancelled and instead Cartegena, Spain was substitued...MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT. We did take the ships tour of Touradant.the guide gave us a non-stop lecture on Islam,the women, etc. and raced us through the old city to a herbal shop and then to an overpriced souvenier shop. Complaints were made immediately to the ship. This year on the Constellation most of the CC passengers have opted for the ships tour to Marrakesh because of the distance. As of Malaga, we are returning to that beautiful little city and going to viit Mijas again.. Most of the group are going to the Alhambra