Jade 9 Day Western Mediterranean - WINTER Itinerary!

[miztravels]

Has anyone taken the Winter sailing, which goes to Morocco and the Canary Islands? I see plenty on the other ones, which go through Italy, but very little on this one. We're booked on it and I'm hoping to get some tips for good private tour companies at our ports: Casablanca, Agadir, Las Palmas, Funchal, and Malagas.

 

The only thing that's for sure is from Agadir, we definitely want to find our way into Marrakech as we'd be too close to miss it! Casablanca doesn't seem to have that many 'can't miss' highlights, from what I've found. And I'm still resarching the others. Would love to do the Mystical Nights overnight excursion, but there are 4 in our group and we can't reconcile spending almost 2K in one pop.:eek: So if there's any info on booking that separately, I'd be thrilled!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for any input.

[mimirocks]

Save all your money and definately put it towards the overnight trip. It's actually the most memorable part of the 9 day cruise. You will definately not regret the experience you have for those two days. There is NOTHING in Casablana that the bus doesn't shuttle you by for photo ops on your way to Marrakesh. The Canary Islands are nice, but pretty typical and not too exciting. My husband and I took this tour last year just for the overnite to Marrakesh because we had been warned that the rest of the tour is not too exciting. My husband and I still talk about the Marrakesh experience and don't regret the expense. Hope you all have a good time

[Fishbait17]

When we did this itinerary in March 2009, we tried in vain to book an overnight in Marrakech on our own. I would have paid much, much more than the ship was charging to not be on a group tour, but no matter who we spoke with at NCL, this was a no-go... There was a problem because we would have been disembarking at one port and embarking at another the next day.. At one point we even toyed around with the idea of just not showing up for the sailing (perhaps just "missing the boat") and then catching up with it the next day, but it was too risky and we never really considered it seriously. The group tour wasn't too bad - not my favorite way to visit such a great place, but at least we got there... We will be returning there this winter for a slightly longer stay.. Call NCL and see if anything has changed - maybe they have figured it out at this point..

 

Robin

[Ms belp]

Did you know we're riding on the...

[Cowdengelly]

There is a new 'motorway' to Marrakesh but it is still a 3hr 30min drive each way from Agadir.

 

Casablanca is a dump but Madeira is a gem of a place while the Canaries guarantee warm weather

[arlenez]

Did you know we're riding on the...

 

Marrakesh Express.....Now I can't get that song out of my head!

[miztravels]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm thinkin' we'll probably buckle down and do it because navigating the two ports would be risky. Hopefully, they'll have an excursion sale... but if not, it really does sound too good to miss.

 

Happy Sailing!

[mimirocks]

Pls don't get me wrong, Marrekech is one of the most fascinating places I have visited..however navigating your way around is treacherous on your own, to say the least. When you depart for Agadir to catch the ship you have to travel a 2lane road through the Atlas Mtns and anything can happen..rock slide, goats in the road, broken down old vehicles..so by doing the Ncl tour the ship has to wait for you, and we made the ship 2hours late leaving agar..but they had to wait for the tour. The locale police pulled our bus over for speeding and they were arguing in Arabic when an armed security detail who followed us through the mtns convinced him that we had to go immediately to the ship..all of our fellow passengers were clapping and cheering us when we finally arrived and we all took a bow! Great fun in all. You won't be sorry if you splurge. It's as if you step back into history and your part of the 1000 Arabian nights. You are greeted at a 5star hotel with the ceremonial tea service, which is incredible. And the you are shown to the huge guest suites, the balcony was HUGE and totally private facing the Atlas Mtns, and it's in a very modern safe location. Marrakech has it's own currency, but all vendors will take euros. Pls, do not take pictures of the locals w/o permission as some feel that it is " stealing the soul". Wear shoes that cover your feet so you don't get donkey dung in your flip flops. And BUY the spice Saffron. It is dirt cheap and check how expensive it is here, then you will know what to bring back for a great gift. Also, morrocan oil is plentiful and cheap there. Step into any apothecary and buy the real stuff. Salons here charge a fortune for the oil. Voice up to the guide and tell him what You want..don't be afraid to be forward and do tell them you are not interested in any rug sales! That is one sales pitch that made us angry. I wanted authentic stoneware, saffron and morrocan oil to take home. The guides want to make you extremely happy and they will go above and beyond to accommodate you, that is why we were late to the ship. We all wanted to stop by the roadside for these fossils and pottery, and they stopped but told us to hurry! Also pack your own Kleenex, facility wipes or toilet paper....just in case. Again, you'll have the time of your life! Good Sailing to you all!