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Casablanca/Rabat MSC Tour


Captain-John
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I've been to Casablanca before with NCL, and I wasn't overly impressed with this port (apart from the Hassan II mosque which was very grand). Rabat has been recommended on these boards as being a superior alternative to Casablanca (I don't want to do the 3 hour each way coach ride to Marrakech), however for my own comfort I'd prefer to take a cruise line excursion in this port (I mostly DIY in other ports). I don't mind paying a bit over the odds for this port (and MSC is much cheaper than NCL for tours anyway).

 

The problem is MSC are advertising a Rabat tour of 5 hour duration, but the journey there and back will presumably take up 3 hours of the 5 hour slot.

 

Is 2 hours enough time to see the main sights of Rabat? I can't understand why the trip is so short as we are in port from 7AM to 10PM.

 

The code on MSC's website is:

 

RABAT

CITY TOUR | Cod: CAS03

 

 

Has anyone done this tour or one of similar duration and is it worth it?

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  • 2 months later...

Not sure if this info finds you too late but...

 

Just last month, we did Casablanca to Rabat on our own. I would really reconsider the ships excursion in favor of taking the train yourself. The train station in Casablanca is just outside the gates of the port, about a mile walk or €5 taxi. Round trip tickets are $8 in 2nd class or $16 in first class and there is train every 1/2 hour. Train takes 75 minutes each way.

 

Once in Rabat, all of the popular points of interest are walkable from the Rabat Ville train station if you're physically fit, but trams and taxis are also available.

 

We had about 4 1/2 hours in Rabat and managed to see the Hassan Tower/Mausoleum, the medina, and Kasbah of the Udayas without feeling rushed. Since your ship is in port much longer than ours was, you could easily add the Chellah Gardens to your intinerary, as well as a nice lunch.

 

You could see all of the main sights in 2 hours, especially if traveling by coach, but it will definitely feel rushed.

 

I listed detailed instructions on how to take the train on my blog. And here is how we spent our half day in Rabat.

Edited by rsachek
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Not sure if this info finds you too late but...

 

Just last month, we did Casablanca to Rabat on our own. I would really reconsider the ships excursion in favor of taking the train yourself. The train station in Casablanca is just outside the gates of the port, about a mile walk or €5 taxi. Round trip tickets are $8 in 2nd class or $16 in first class and there is train every 1/2 hour. Train takes 75 minutes each way.

 

Once in Rabat, all of the popular points of interest are walkable from the Rabat Ville train station if you're physically fit, but trams and taxis are also available.

 

We had about 4 1/2 hours in Rabat and managed to see the Hassan Tower/Mausoleum, the medina, and Kasbah of the Udayas without feeling rushed. Since your ship is in port much longer than ours was, you could easily add the Chellah Gardens to your intinerary, as well as a nice lunch.

 

You could see all of the main sights in 2 hours, especially if traveling by coach, but it will definitely feel rushed.

 

I listed detailed instructions on how to take the train on my blog. And here is how we spent our half day in Rabat.

 

Thank you so much for the reply and detailed information. Just a week or so late for us I'm afraid, but a fantastic resource for anyone else visiting and if we return in future I will definitely be seeking your instructions out again to DIY. Below I've posted an excerpt of my review of our trip on MSC Orchestra, covering the Rabat tour. As suspected, and as you note above, the 2 hours in Rabat did feel rushed and it was an underwhelming experience overall.

 

 

It certainly looks like you had far better weather than us too which no doubt impacted our feelings about the experience.

 

20180226_174617.jpg

 

20180226_174514.jpg

 

 

Excerpt from review:

 

Casablanca, Morocco

We booked an MSC excursion to Rabat here, as we've seen the Hassan II mosque before, and Casablanca has little else redeeming about it. I was really looking forward to this trip, but it was a cool and wet day and I think this impacted on our experience. Coupled with the transfer taking 90 minutes each way and the actual tour only lasting about 120 minutes, it was a missed opportunity to provide a fuller tour. I'm guessing MSC are hoping you'll do a Casablanca tour in the morning and book the Rabat excursion for the afternoon. The Royal Palace wasn't particularly grand, and we couldn't get very close to it due to security concerns. We had to battle through traffic to make it to the site of the Hassan Tower & the Mausoleum, the tour could have been better organised to avoid the peak traffic. The site itself was fine and better than the underwhelming Royal Palace.

 

Final stop was the Kasbah of the Udayas which was again an improvement on the previous stop. Then the tour ended. We had a pleasant drive along the coast and then rejoined the motorway back to the ship.

 

Not quite worth the £54 per head and I wouldn't recommend or do it again. I don't think I could bring myself to do the 3 hour transfer each way to Marrakech so if I stop in port here again I'll stay on the ship.

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