Exclusive Magical Marrakech - Casablanca ShoreX

[j-9]

Hello past Canary Island cruisers,

Wondering if anyone has done the Exclusive Magical Marrakech shore excursion, and can tell me the number of people in the group, and if the is any difference between it and the non exclusive version in terms of what you see.

 

Also, does it really last 12.5 hours? It looks like it leaves at 9:30 am, and it mentions lunch, but not dinner... I think I would be very hungry by 10 pm.

Thanks for any info,

J9

[buckeye82]

We did the Exclusive Magical Marrakech shore excursion on our March 1 cruise aboard the Spirit. There were 10 of us in a mini bus. We got back at 9:15 PM. You will make a rest stop on the way and on the way back. They are nice modern rest areas with bathrooms and cafe. The tour guide got us drinks each time, but you would certainly have time to purchase a snack if you wanted to. But we had a very nice, large lunch in Marrakech.

 

 

I enjoyed the tour very much, but there were a few negatives. We spent way too much time in the rug factory where no one bought anything. We would have preferred to spend more time in the market looking for trinkets. We also had to sit through a talk about spices and then wait as people made their purchases. Again, I would rather have been in the market. The smaller tour gets to wander a little more through the back streets (which was really interesting, but hurried). We also got to walk through the maze of the market before getting to the main square with the snake charmers and other performers. But again very hurried. We stopped at a lake that I did not see any other groups at. The tour guide was attentive and friendly and as we drove back to the ship made a stop in Casablanca at the Mosque and did a drive by of Rick's Cafe at the group's request.

 

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!

[j-9]

Thanks for the info! Sounds more appealing than the big bus, and I do like the idea of going to an oasis...

 

Another question if you don't mind. For the market, what do we need to have on hand in terms of cash? USD? Euros? If we need to have local (which I don't even know what it is at this point lol), I guess we will have to get it at home or in Barcelona - don't imagine the ship performs currency exchange. Any advice here?

Thanks.

[buckeye82]

Thanks for the info! Sounds more appealing than the big bus, and I do like the idea of going to an oasis...

 

Another question if you don't mind. For the market, what do we need to have on hand in terms of cash? USD? Euros? If we need to have local (which I don't even know what it is at this point lol), I guess we will have to get it at home or in Barcelona - don't imagine the ship performs currency exchange. Any advice here?

Thanks.

 

We used Euros. They are very geared toward tourists!

[barrydoll]

Thanks Buckeye for the excellent info. You said there were 10 of you in the minibus, was it a 10-seater or were there spare seats? Just wondering if potentially it could have been, say, 20 people - which of course makes it less appealing than a 10 person group.

[buckeye82]

Thanks Buckeye for the excellent info. You said there were 10 of you in the minibus, was it a 10-seater or were there spare seats? Just wondering if potentially it could have been, say, 20 people - which of course makes it less appealing than a 10 person group.

 

 

There is no way 20 would fit in that mini bus. There were 10 of us plus the driver and tour guide in the front. There were single seats on one side and two seats together on the other side. One of the single seats was open, because I put my backpack on it. I believe there was actually a seat between the driver and the guide, so the bus probably could hold 14 total.

[bowbiter]

How was traffic on the way back? The distance between Casablanca and Marrakech. I will be there in December

 

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[buckeye82]

Traffic was fine on the highway. Normal stop and go in Marrakech and Casablanca. Actually, traffic getting out of Casablanca in the morning was the worst part. Expect three plus hours travel time including a rest stop.

 

 

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[bowbiter]

Traffic was fine on the highway. Normal stop and go in Marrakech and Casablanca. Actually, traffic getting out of Casablanca in the morning was the worst part. Expect three plus hours travel time including a rest stop.

 

 

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Thanks!

 

Think there is anyway to get out of the rug/spice demo thing?

 

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[buckeye82]

Maybe if your whole group was interested in bypassing the rug and spice places you might have a chance. In our group there were a few interested in the rug place and many interested in the spices. The rug stopped seemed very long. My husband and I walked around the rug shop for a little (rugs upstairs, other stuff down) and then we went outside and chatted with our guide a bit. We probably could have walked around for a little. At the spice and cosmetic place we sat down and they talked to us about the health benefits of certain spices. We were asked to smell and rub into our skin different mixtures. My husband let those pass him by and again when other members of our group rushed up to make purchases we went and waited outside the door.

 

 

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[TravelingSmurf]

Hi buckeye82,

 

I am not sure if you will see this, but I am wondering if you think it was worth the extra $100 per person to do the exclusive tour versus the regular tour. I know you didn't do both, but I am wondering if you regretted not doing the other one since it was cheaper.

 

Thanks!

[bowbiter]

Hi buckeye82,

 

I am not sure if you will see this, but I am wondering if you think it was worth the extra $100 per person to do the exclusive tour versus the regular tour. I know you didn't do both, but I am wondering if you regretted not doing the other one since it was cheaper.

 

Thanks!

 

I'm not buckeye but I just got back from the spirit and took the exclusive tour. I'm not sure it was worth the extra money. Our tour had 14 people on a minibus that held 18? We made the same exact stops as the cheaper tour including the rug and spice shop ugh. I do think we had longer at the sites since it was faster gathering everyone. And we had a different lunch - it was mostly the same but we had chicken and lamb. Ours was the "most expensive" dish the restaurant had. And I do think people who pay for exclusive dislike waiting for stragglers so everyone was on time for everything. We were the first to leave that day and the last to return. You do get water on the way and tea or soda on the way back. I enjoyed the smaller group though

 

 

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[buckeye82]

No regrets! As we were wandering through the maze of the market our tour guide commented that he could never take a big group in there. I also remember when we were in the main market area seeing many large tour busses pulling up and thinking that I was glad I was with a smaller group.

 

 

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[TravelingSmurf]

I'm not buckeye but I just got back from the spirit and took the exclusive tour. I'm not sure it was worth the extra money. Our tour had 14 people on a minibus that held 18? We made the same exact stops as the cheaper tour including the rug and spice shop ugh. I do think we had longer at the sites since it was faster gathering everyone. And we had a different lunch - it was mostly the same but we had chicken and lamb. Ours was the "most expensive" dish the restaurant had. And I do think people who pay for exclusive dislike waiting for stragglers so everyone was on time for everything. We were the first to leave that day and the last to return. You do get water on the way and tea or soda on the way back. I enjoyed the smaller group though

 

 

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No regrets! As we were wandering through the maze of the market our tour guide commented that he could never take a big group in there. I also remember when we were in the main market area seeing many large tour busses pulling up and thinking that I was glad I was with a smaller group.

 

 

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Thank you both for your opinions! I am not sure if it is worth the money but my husband thinks it is. I'll let him win this one! :)

[bowbiter]

If it helps I would lean towards is worth the extra money versus not. I agree with buckeye's comment about the market. It was easier to navigate as a group with the smaller #'s and he worried less about giving us "free time" in the area since he was able to show us around a bit before. It definitely helped with navigation.

 

Also, with the small group, our tour guide was totally ok with letting a few of us wait outside during the rug and spice demos. I'm not sure the larger groups had that option.