Needed .... Recent Port and Tour info for Casablanca and Agadir

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

We will be in these ports in April and need info on tours, security and safety.

[freddie]

DramaQueen - There are several recent threads on this board concerning Casablanca and Agadir, including the following:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=695272

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=447912

 

What you will see from those posts is that Agadir is emphatically not interesting but that a day tour to Taroudant is a very special adventure. It is far better to go to Taroudant on a private tour, as you can stop to visit the tree-climbing goats and spend as much (or as little) time in the souk as you choose.

 

In Casablanca, the highlight of the city is the fantastic Hassan II mosque.

 

Cheers, Fred

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

Thank you Moroccanguy. I appreciate the info. My question would be, what is the one thing indiginous to the area that I should purchase to best remember my visit to Morocco?

[cruisemom42]

Be aware that several recent cruises have opted not to stop in Casablanca due to security concerns. I mention this only because you might want to take it in consideration if planning to meet a local guide -- you might need to cancel your plans if the ship decides to substitute another port.

 

Although it makes for a long trip, the best thing to do from Casablanca seems to be a day trip to Marrakesh. It makes for a long day, but Marrakesh is lovely and has much more to offer than Casablanca.

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

Argan oil could be it. It only exists in the south west of Morocco and you can't find it anywhere else in the world. It's becoming more rare now as the international companies are importing it from Morocco to be used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes aside from being used for cooking. You can look it up online to learn more about it.

Leather goods, traditional costumes (e.g; Jellabas for men and women,) Amber and musk perfumes, spices, etc are also worth considering.

One thing that I'd like to mention here though is that you might not get the best quality items when you buy them yourself. If you are escorted by a guide you trust, tell him to help you purchase what you like.

Enjoy the cruise! :)

 

Thank you again for your response. Will look for some of the above.

[moroccanguy]

You're most welcome.

[freddie]

Dramaqueen - If you go to Taroudant, you can also find lovely wooden boxes made of Argan wood, as well as beautifully detailed pottery with intricate Berber designs in the glazes. There are several excellent shops in the souk. A good guide will be able to take you to one of them. The goats in the Argan trees are simply not-to-be-missed. At our stop, we played with them and held the babies. They're extemely friendly. Have fun. Fred

[wripro]

Freddie,

 

Thanks for your helpful insights.

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

Dramaqueen - If you go to Taroudant, you can also find lovely wooden boxes made of Argan wood, as well as beautifully detailed pottery with intricate Berber designs in the glazes. There are several excellent shops in the souk. A good guide will be able to take you to one of them. The goats in the Argan trees are simply not-to-be-missed. At our stop, we played with them and held the babies. They're extemely friendly. Have fun. Fred

 

Thank you for the advise.

[jbond]

I have a question regarding currency. Are $US's or euros generally accepted or should we plan on getting some local money?

[freddie]

Jbond - When we were there a few months ago, we just used euros or credit cards. At the shop in the souk at Taroudant where I bought a beautiful argan box and berber pottery bowl, the dickering was done in euros and the final credit card transaction was translated into Moroccan currency at the current rate - came out just fine. Unless you're going to be there for longer than a day in each port, I wouldn't bother with local currency. We paid the nice goat herder at the tree-climbing goat stop his tips in euros (which we was quite happy to receive).

 

All of the current negative vibe on the cruise boards about stops in Morocco is very sad, as our recent brief (two stops) experience there was wonderful - delightful people, remarkable places to visit, and no sense whatever of any danger or lack of security. We are enormously pleased that Regent did not choose to cancel the port stops at Casablanca and Agadir. We would like to return to Morocco for a land trip at some point in order to explore more of that lovely country.

 

Cheers, Fred

[jbond]

Thanks for the info. I hope that RCI doesn't change ports on us as Morocco was one of the really big reasons we wanted to do this cruise. Visiting Taroudant sounds like something out of Beau Geste.

[Goofyisme]

Freddie,

Thanks for your view on Casablanca and Morocco. We are doing the Regent visit to Casablanca followed by the TA crossing this coming November and looking forward to seeing Casablanca and the grand Mosque and just looking around a bit hopefully with a guide who is proud to show off his city as we have found most every where we go. Would love to hear anything else you have to say.

[dramaqueen4lyfe]

You're most welcome.

 

 

Moroccanguy, I have appreciated your answers to my queries and the other responses you have given on other threads. Unfortunately we have just been informed that both Agadir and Casablanca have been removed from our itinerary. We are very disappointed. We were looking forward to visiting your area and it was one of the reasons we booked the cruise. We hope to find our way there in the future. Thanks again.

[jbond]

I wonder why your cruise ship canceled the Moroccan ports? There's no terrorist threat or anything, so what seems to be the problem?

RCI is saying that it is for security reasons on advice from the US government. Most of us believe it's because it would be more profitable for RCI to visit Madeira and Tenerife. As you can imagine, there are a lot of very upset people. Visiting Casablanca and Agadir was our main reason for the cruise. Thanks for answering our questions and as Sheila said, let's hope we will be able to visit Morocco on another occasion.

[cruisenfever]

Too bad to hear about that Dramaqueen.

I had most of my posts removed, but I guess that happened because I mentioned a tour company. CC forums guidelines say that one could only recommend a tour company in a reply to someone who's asking for recommendations. I thought I didn't break any rule but maybe I -unwillingly- did after all?!

I wonder why your cruise ship canceled the Moroccan ports? There's no terrorist threat or anything, so what seems to be the problem?:confused:

 

RCI is saying that it is for security reasons on advice from the US government. Most of us believe it's because it would be more profitable for RCI to visit Madeira and Tenerife. As you can imagine, there are a lot of very upset people. Visiting Casablanca and Agadir was our main reason for the cruise. Thanks for answering our questions and as Sheila said, let's hope we will be able to visit Morocco on another occasion.

We are also on the cruise with Sheila and jbond and we are also very disappointed in the canceling of Casablanca and Agadir. I think we are more upset by the way RCI handled the situation............we found out by an email from the Shore Excursion Dept. informing us that our tours were cancelled. Of course, if you didn't have a tour booked...........you learned about it on our roll call.

[allangraham]

Back in October a suicide bomber tried to force himself on to one of the buses waiting for tourist at the port in Casablanca. This is the reason the cruise ships are not stopping at Moroccan ports, purely for safety reasons

[moroccanguy.]

Back in October a suicide bomber tried to force himself on to one of the buses waiting for tourist at the port in Casablanca. This is the reason the cruise ships are not stopping at Moroccan ports, purely for safety reasons

 

That happened in Meknes not Casablanca, a guy with a little gas tank (used for cooking) tried to get into a tourist bus but the guide stopped him so he blew the tank outside the bus and the only injured was him. His family, friends, and neighbors couldn't believe he would do something like that, as he's always been a friendly peaceful person, but later on it was said that he was not mentally stable.

Anybody that gets into a port (like Casablanca's or Agadir's) has to go into at least two check points so can't imagine how anybody with a bomb would be able to go into the port of Casablanca.

In spite of the bombing attacks in recent years, Morocco is a very safe country, far safer than countries like the UK and US with their high rate of crime and gun violence, and also "suicide attacks" as the recent Illinois killings or Virginia Tech.

[wripro]

I am on an Oceania crossing from Rio to Barcelona next month, stopping in Agadir. This port has not been cancelled. I think jbond might be on to something re: Madeira and Tenerife being more profitable for the cruise lines. One needs to use common sense when visiting anywhere and I'm sure Morocco is no different.

[MMDown Under]

We chose MSC Lirica's transatlantic cruise, in November, because of its interesting itinerary, including a stop in Casablanca.

 

We would be extremely disappointed if this port of call was deleted, as this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us.

 

African ports of call were a highlight of my first cruise overseas, but didn't Morocco.

 

As the ship is in port from 9 am to 10 pm, looking for recommendations on what to do there. Would prefer independently, but would consider ship excursion for this port of call.

[wripro]

If you will be in Casablanca until 10PM I strongly suggest that you use the day to go to Marrakech. It involves a lot of riding in a bus but so worth it because you will get a true flavor of Morocco. Casablanca itself is quite boring, and other than the King Hasaan mosque, there is not much to see.

[MMDown Under]

Thanks for your recommendation.

 

The cruise has a 13 hour tour to Marrakech, with lunch, for $166US.

[MMDown Under]

Has anyone done a private tour to Marrakech from Cassablanca, or do most do ship tours?