Casablanca tours

[newfarmers]

Hi all,

 

Rotterdam is only sceduled to be in Casablanca for 12 hours on the Three Continents cruise later in the year.

 

In the online excursion brochures Marrakesh and Rabat tours are both 12 hours plus. Does anyone now if they'll either shorten the tours, stay in port another hour or not include the tours at all?

 

If HAL don't offer the tours has anyone booked private tours to either city and if you have would you be able to provide us with some details?

 

thanks in advance

 

the newfarmers

[dakrewser]

Casablanca is a fabulous city, I can't think of any reason to go to either of the others before seeing all there is to see in "Casa".

 

 

You might also gather more info on the Ports of Call boards to help you make your decision. But consider this, any shortening of the tours comes off the actual time you are visiting those cities as the bus trip out and back will stay the same length.

[newfarmers]

thanks for the advice, we've never stepped foot in Africa so Casablanca it will be!

[jjb415]

There is quite a lot of discussion about Casablanca indepandant tours on the Roll Call Boards for the Westerdam, April 1, 2007, TransAtlantic sailing. After quite a bit of research, I can summarize the information that I have gathered.

 

The most hightly recommended guide on these boards is Abdel. He offers tours of the area and by all reports is well worth the prices that he charges. Tours with him of Casablanca run 35 Euro and a 7 hour tour of Rabat are 135 Euro. His email address is tangiertour@yahoo.co.uk and he replies promptly to messages. Information on his services can also be found at www.private-guides.com.

 

I am currently awaiting a response from another guide 'Ali' who offers tours of Casablanca/Rabat. His email address is www.morocco4you@yahoo.com.

 

If you'd like additional information and opinions about the area, just do a search over on the Roll Call for the Westerdam or on the Africa area of the Message Boards.

 

Good luck!:D

[newfarmers]

thanks jjb415, excellent info and much appreciated!

[rkacruiser]

Three years ago, I visited Casablanca while aboard the positioning cruise of Royal Princess. I did take the tour to Rabat and found it to be most interesting and worthwhile. Part of our tour did include just a bit of Casablanca as well.

[sfocruiser]

Casablanca is a fabulous city, I can't think of any reason to go to either of the others before seeing all there is to see in "Casa".

 

 

You might also gather more info on the Ports of Call boards to help you make your decision. But consider this, any shortening of the tours comes off the actual time you are visiting those cities as the bus trip out and back will stay the same length.

 

We're going there on our upcoming TA. Can you toss out some suggestions for a "self-guided" walk through the city??

 

many thanks!

[dakrewser]

We're going there on our upcoming TA. Can you toss out some suggestions for a "self-guided" walk through the city??

 

many thanks!

 

Yes, don't do it. While Casablanca is safer than, say, Tangiers, it isn't a place tourists should try to do on their own. Either take a ship's tour or pre-book a reputable tour agency. We were fortunate to be able to see the city with our DIL's two sisters (who live there) and there were areas they wouldn't take us to for safety reasons. Also, unless you're very familiar with Islamic culture, it's very easy for westerners to inadvertently show offense, and Casablanca is a very cosmopolitan city. Rabat's tough even for Moroccans from the big city ;)

[Funny Daddy]

Hi all,

 

Rotterdam is only sceduled to be in Casablanca for 12 hours on the Three Continents cruise later in the year.

 

In the online excursion brochures Marrakesh and Rabat tours are both 12 hours plus. Does anyone now if they'll either shorten the tours, stay in port another hour or not include the tours at all?

 

If HAL don't offer the tours has anyone booked private tours to either city and if you have would you be able to provide us with some details?

 

thanks in advance

 

the newfarmers

 

Having been in Casablanca many times, if you book through HAL the ship will wait, however if you book it through another agency, the ship won't wait. This happened to 40 Canadians in 2000, they booked Marrakech by another canadian agency and got stuck in traffic, they were an hour late

and the MS. Rotterdam left, so they had to drive all through the night in a chartered bus to Agadir, because that's where we were the next day!

and by the way the tour to Marrakesh is 8 hrs in the bus and not worth the effort.Rgds PD....:cool:

[lostatsea200]

dakrewser said it all-----do not do a walking tour on your own-----We were in Casablanca and Rabat in the spring of 2006, and went back to Casablanca and Marrakesh in December 2006. We did notice the change in attitude from the Spring---Both my husband and I do speak Arabic and some French, but are fair skinned. DO ONLY take ship tours. On our December crosing we did hear of several people who had trouble in the cities unguided. Loved the tours and enough yourself....................

[sfocruiser]

Yes, don't do it. While Casablanca is safer than, say, Tangiers, it isn't a place tourists should try to do on their own. Either take a ship's tour or pre-book a reputable tour agency. We were fortunate to be able to see the city with our DIL's two sisters (who live there) and there were areas they wouldn't take us to for safety reasons. Also, unless you're very familiar with Islamic culture, it's very easy for westerners to inadvertently show offense, and Casablanca is a very cosmopolitan city. Rabat's tough even for Moroccans from the big city ;)

 

Thanks for the insight. Am usually a "wander on your own" type, but this seems to be a situation where there is safety in numbers.

[dakrewser]

Thanks for the insight. Am usually a "wander on your own" type, but this seems to be a situation where there is safety in numbers.

 

We too like to wander on our own (and have done throughout Alaska, Mexico, Europe - except St. Petersburg) but when the locals tell us that precautions are necessary - we listen!

[newfarmers]

I think we'll try an email to Abdel first then if we have no luck go with a HAL tour.

 

I'd just like to thank everyone for their advice. This is a big holiday for us - 25 days on Rotterdam - plus Rome & Venice pre-cruise and Rio after, 32 days in total. Not going to take too many risks.

 

We've had no response to our roll-call yet, either we're the only ones going or that nasty 'gay' word has scared any off any respondants. Ah well, we'll have the pick of the deck chairs!:)

[jjb415]

Hey again,

 

Our group of six has now grown to 8 on the Westerdam. We've decided to have Ali help us out, his rate is 160 Euro total for the group for Casablanca/Rabat. Rabat, from what I understand is about 1 1/4 hours away from Casablanca, so we'll give ourselves plenty of time to get back to the ship. No more running down the pier for me. Thanks to everyone who offered advice.:D

 

Have a fantastic time and good luck on the Roll Call newfarmers.

[sfocruiser]

We too like to wander on our own (and have done throughout Alaska, Mexico, Europe - except St. Petersburg) but when the locals tell us that precautions are necessary - we listen!

 

 

I had to smile about your comment on St. Petersburg. When we went there in 2005 on a HAL sailing, we had a tour with what seemed to be an ex-intourist guide, very strict, felt like I was part of a chain gang. So when we sat down for lunch at a downtown Hotel (I forget the name it was on Nevsky Prospect), I whispered to my wife "lets skip lunch and explore". So we had an hour to ourselves exploring Nevsky Prospect, was a great time but felt like I was skipping school. Got a very disapproving look from the Matron Guide on boarding the bus at the appointed time...

[dakrewser]

I had to smile about your comment on St. Petersburg. When we went there in 2005 on a HAL sailing, we had a tour with what seemed to be an ex-intourist guide, very strict, felt like I was part of a chain gang. So when we sat down for lunch at a downtown Hotel (I forget the name it was on Nevsky Prospect), I whispered to my wife "lets skip lunch and explore". So we had an hour to ourselves exploring Nevsky Prospect, was a great time but felt like I was skipping school. Got a very disapproving look from the Matron Guide on boarding the bus at the appointed time...

 

And that reminds me of the guide we had in the Gold Room at Hermitage :) While we had a fantastic 3-days in Petersburg with a wonderful guide and driver from Alla Tours, you have to go into the Gold Room with the Hermitage's own guides who definitely sounded like ex-prison wardens ("you vill stay vith your group!") We kept inching away to look at the stuff that interested us, rather than hear the rote presentation (in bad English) of just who gave whom which snuff box!

[sailorbill]

Echoing what the others have said, don't even think about doing a walkabout by yourselves in Casablanca for several reasons. One is that the ship will dock in a container ship port and it is up to 1/2 mile to the port gate depending on which pier the ship ties up to. The gate is crowded with men that do not look like welcoming hosts. The second is that, if you get stuck in Morocco for any reason, it is very difficult to get out and you will have no visa for more than the first day. There used to be only a couple of flights a week to Spain or France out of Casablanca. It is not a friendly country with ready access to everywhere. The third reason is that the interesting places in Casablanca are quite a distance apart necessitating a taxi or local tour operator.

 

I did the ship's 4 hour city tour of Casablanca in January 2001 and it had a mix of good and bad periods. The seaside mosque was and is a must see. The olive market was not a highlite. Some of the other sites were forgettable and too much time was spent in a souvenier shop (did I hear the word kickback?).

 

In 2004 I took the ship's long tour to Marrakesh, and since I've been there, done that I don't have to go back when the Prinsendam visits Casablanca in November. The tour busses loaded at 6:45 am and got back to the ship right at departure time of 8:00 pm. The ship would have waited if we had been late in returning. The study of the countryside and the towns and people from the bus window was fascinating with a great mix of modern and old. Marrakesh was very interesting inside the old walls. The outer city was mostly new and less interesting. The inside of the palaces were beautiful, quiet and peaceful. Outside the palaces was crowded, dirty, noisy, claustrophobic and unsettling. We had a great buffet lunch at a five star hotel. After that cruise I came down with a nasty respiratory virus that took 6 months to get over and I blame it on a souvenier from Marrakesh.

 

Bill