MOROCCO -Tangier & Casablanca vs Fez vs Rabat vs Marrakech

[Funcouple]

Oct 2007, 11N cruise out of Barcelona. Late 30's couple. France and Italy in the early part of the cruise and then Morocco near the end.

 

1s stop: Tangier 1p-7p

2nd stop:Casablanca 7a-8p (CB, Fez, Rabat, or Marrakech?)

 

We're First timers visitng Europe and North Africa. We really don't know much about Morocco at all. We'd like to use our time wisely and not dupicate experiences between both ports. We'd prefer not to jam pack a day with too much. We're not affraid to spend the entire day off of the ship, just don't want to do so much that we forget what we experienced. We know that we want to experience:

 

- an authentic Morocco dining experience. (Duplication is ok on this one)

- an authentic Morocco shopping experience (market)

- See interesting architecture

- Visit one or two things completely unique to Morocco

 

- Plus any other ideas that others can recommend.

 

BTW, we know that the travel time to Marrakech is extensive, yet to see this unique city is worth it -- but it only leaves us with 4 hours to experience the city. We're ok with it IF the experience would prove to be a deeper one than that of Fez or Rabat where we'd actually have more time to dive into the culture.

 

What is a Medina?

What is a Souk?

 

Thanks.

[dawnprincess]

Hi,

 

Just returned from a 12-night cruise on the Millenium which featured a stop in Tangier. We had a private guide (for 8 people) arranged by one of our Cruise Critic people. Our guide was Abdel and he was AMAZING! DH and I were a little leery about Morocco but LOVED our experience, especially the Camel ride! Abdel can tailor the tour to your wants. His website is:

http://www.private-guides.com/guide-in-morocco/moroccan-guide-charif-444

Check it out and email him with any questions. Medina literally means "city", now used for the original Arab part of any Moroccan town. And a souk is a market or bazaar. Also Kasbah (as in "Come with me to the Kasbah") simply means the fortified part of the city.

[MercedMike]

Wow -- it is hard to pick just one!

 

To tempt you, check out our tour of Morocco with stops in all those cities.

 

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/moroccomain.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[dawnprincess]

WOW MercedMike! Those pictures are AMAZING! I checked online and don't think Globus offers this in-depth tour of Morocco anymore. The photo of you two against the red sands of the Sahara is totally breath-taking!

[MercedMike]

WOW MercedMike! Those pictures are AMAZING! I checked online and don't think Globus offers this in-depth tour of Morocco anymore. The photo of you two against the red sands of the Sahara is totally breath-taking!

 

You know, I just checked the Globus web site. If you search for Morocco, it only shows the ones of Spain and Morocco which include the royal cities. But -- if you search for Africa, it turns up the Morocco trip:

http://www.globusjourneys.com/product.aspx?content=price&trip=7QM&source=book-it-3

Clearly Globus needs to work on its website!

 

The Sahara is indeed amazing! Sadly it is not accessible from a cruise ship as an excursion. But the cities that are will be amazing experiences, too.

[Parrot Mom]

Okay... so the question is.. If your cruising into Casablanca...and we know the trip to Rabat is approx. 8 hours...and Marrakesh is 13 hours and Fez is 14 hours...--we don't want to do a tour of Casablanca...so... which one should we bite the bullet for...

[Parrot Mom]

When we get off the cruise ship.... are there licensed guides available for hire or should we plan in advance? Is Tiznit also a possibility?

[MercedMike]

Okay... so the question is.. If your cruising into Casablanca...and we know the trip to Rabat is approx. 8 hours...and Marrakesh is 13 hours and Fez is 14 hours...--we don't want to do a tour of Casablanca...so... which one should we bite the bullet for...

 

Well, my impression was that Rabat was the least interesting of the three. Fez was great, and the medina known as the Fez-el-bali is amazing. That would be a memorable trip. But if you can only choose one, I think I would opt for Marakesh and the Djeema-el-Fna. It is truly amazing! (It is also where you are pretty much guaranteed to see snake charmers if that is interesting to you.)

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[MercedMike]

I just went over and checked the descriptions of the shore excursions. They are essentially identical to the days we spent in each of those cities on our tour. So I do suggest you go to these pages:

 

Rabat: http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/morocco3.html

 

Fez: http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/morocco4.html

 

Marakesh: http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/morocco9.html

 

Those should give you very good ideas exactly what each tour covers, except that of course you have to consider the bus rides. (Note that spelling is erratic -- Djeema-el-Fna for example is spelled many ways, like Jaama-el-Fna ... they are all the same place!!)

 

Have a GREAT cruise!