Quest Transatlantic Crossing Excursions

[offtoalaska]

We are sailing on the Quest April 17 from Barbados to Lisbon.  The itinerary includes stops in Casablanca and Tangier plus the Canary Islands and Portimao, Portugal.  I've searched for reviews of excursions in Morocco.  I've read a few from other cruise line passengers but not Seabourn.   Has anyone taken any of the Seabourn excursions In Casablanca and Tangier on previous crossings?  I'm hoping past passengers will see this post.  Our roll call is very quiet with only a few posters.

[Sunviking]

On our first Seabourn cruise (on the Quest) several years ago we stopped in Casablanca.  We took the Seabourn tour to Marrakesh.  It was a long ride but interesting to us as we passed through lots of agricultural areas including olive, citrus and pomegranate groves.  We had expected to leave Casablanca and see scenery more reminiscent of Lawrence of Arabia.  Marrakesh itself was splendid.  It's known as the "Red City" because many of the buildings are constructed of red sandstone and it sits at the foot of the Atlas Mountains.  We visited the Bahia Palace, a Jewish souk, and the Medina, or old city within the walls.  The main square had everything from snake charmers to dancers and the surrounding souks and kasbahs were  fascinating and definitely a sensory overload.  Despite the long ride to get there we were glad that we had made the journey. Some of our fellow shipmates stayed in Casablanca and were not overwhelmed.

 

I hope this helps a little.

[ibnoland]

We did that cruise last year and took Seabourn’s excursions in both Morrocan ports. My personal take is that those cities are very different from the European places we love so much, and that neither of them fits my definition of “beautiful”.  Adjectives which I would use to describe them include: hot, dusty, dangerous and in places impoverished and odiferous. 

It was great to experience such profoundly different architecture, etc., but I don’t want to go there again. I’m sure some folks prefer Morroco over any other place on earth, but I’m not one of them. 

[offtoalaska]

Thank you Ann and ibnoland for your replies.  They give me something to think about.

[tsavorite]

We were there on Odyssey last year. One of our party had visited Casablanca a decade before and had not been impressed.  It is a modern city with limited charms.  So we booked the cookery course, which was delightful - quick trip to the market, obligatory visit to the mosque, and then a decent cookery demo and lunch.  I have been able to make the chicken tagine back at home. Just don't think it will have anything to do with the film (which was Tangier in any case).

 

Those who did the trip to Marrakesh all seemed to enjoy it although it was a long day.

 

Tangier is a rather lovelier city. We did the all day trip to Tetouan.  We enjoyed the journey across Morocco,  a very good lunch, a walking around the old town (World Heritage site).  Things went awry towards the end of the trip, when one of the other buses failed, and one of the three groups (each taking a different route through the steep and winding town) was unimpressed by the meat market they came across.  Out group came across strawberry sellers, which was much more fragrant.  

 

Overall, I think I prefer Tunisia to Morocco, but that does not mean there is no joy in visiting Morocco.  Although the Tetouan trip was long, and had issues towards the end, I am glad we did it. And the food is excellent.

[patnlcc]

I agree totally with the others. Casablanca is underwhelming to say the least. A trip to Rabat, the Moroccan capital, is very interesting. Royal palace etc. Much nicer than Casablanca, in fact the last time we were there, we didn't get off the ship.