Marrakech

[suzyheights]

Is this a worthwhile day trip? Any info and comments will be helpful.

We are on Royal Princess Nov. 16, 2009 Athens to Manaus.

[nna]

we have been in that country twice--first time went to marrakesh. we totally thought it was worth it--was 100 degrees (april). I would never do it on an independent tour--only ships tour. we ran into soccer game traffic going back and were two hours late.

 

take water --several bottles. don't expect to be able to wander around alone--it is too easy to get lost. don't expect prices to be super low. I liked it a lot more than seeing rabat.

[lawton54]

Marrakesh is truly an interesting place to visit. Seeing the city, the culture, the colorful vendors at the marketplace, BUT... There is a huge unknown factor in taking this trip. It is extremely long (3 plus hours each way) so hiring a private guide is risky since you might miss your sail time due to unforseen traffic problems. IF you chose to take a ship tour you have the comfort that the ship might wait for you but you are at the mercy of their contracted guides. Our tour had a horrible trip last December on a MSC ship tour. The guides used us as their personal captive audience, telling us that we were going to see local crafts, while actually forcing us to sit for hours in shops that tried to sell herbs, lotions, rugs, furniture, etc. until we literally rebelled and said "no more!" They unashamedly stood by while the sales were made and then took their cut.

 

We had dreamed and planned on seeing the main marketplace with all of the musicians, dancers, snake charmers and hundreds of shops, but instead we were hearded where the guides wanted us to go with no recourse because only they knew where the bus would be to pick us up for the next stop. It was such a rip-off that a loud shouting match and threats of physical confrontaion broke out between the guide and some of the tour members.

 

This is not unique to MSC, as I heard very similar complaints from other CC members using other lines. The guides get their money from the cruise ships regardless of the level of service delivered. I don't know about other lines, but our strong complaints to MSC fell on deaf ears.

 

I guess you will just have to weigh the desire to see this unique place with the downside the difficulties you may encounter in getting there and actually seeing what you paid all that money and spent all of that time on the road for.

[nna]

we went in a princess tour--with 6 busloads. 1 out of 6 was terrible--both bus and guide. our guide was outstanding--and since I was a professional guide myself, I have high standards...

as usual, you do take a chance but heck--I would go for it.

[Pam in CA]

I agree with those who recommend going with a ship's tour for a couple of reasons: much of the road is one lane in each direction so there is a lot of traffic that goes only as fast as the slowest car/truck/bus; another reason is that there can be other, unexpected delays. On our tour, we were on the last bus to go back to the ship and were stopped at a roadblock by soldiers examining each car/truck/bus going by. When we asked why, we were told, "Because they can." FYI, we arrived back at the ship about an hour after it was scheduled to sail, partially due to the roadblock.

 

As others have said, it's a very long drive in each direction; far more tedious than the long drive to/from Cairo for some reason. Our tour guide gave us a 3-hour lecture on Islam (ugh!) and told us little about Marrakech or the history of the country. We also had a bus that had the a/c fail as we were driving away from the dock (double ugh!) It was well over 100o inside the bus both going to Marrakech and returning to the ship; actually dangerously hot. Princess gave us a 30% refund on our tour price because of the issues.

 

Would I do it again? Probably not but I'm glad I went and saw Marrakech in spite of the issues.

[MMDown Under]

After a lot of prior research, we regretfully decided not to do the long day tour to Marrakech, as we decided it deserved a longer visit.

 

In the end, we were pleased that we visited Cassablanca instead. As it was a public holiday with lots of families in town, we spent a delightful relaxing day just walking around the town, people watching.

 

BTW In Cassablanca we discovered cheap internet tucked into the wall on the wharf, near the ship (follow the crew).

[jsmac3]

I spent three weeks in Morocco during 1987. All of these posts are accurate descriptions of what can and cannot happen there. Marrakech is definitely worth visiting, and so is Casablanca. Most of the other areas are not, although Morocco is stunningly beautiful in places. I do recommend a ship sponsored tour - if you run into any difficulties with a local tour/guide, their attitude about missing your ship will most likely be . . . "it is God's will." :)

[AAAAmerican]

Do you golf?

 

They have some of the nicest links and holes in the world.

 

Thanks to the last King there. He visted here in New Jersey a lot.:cool::cool:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this a worthwhile day trip? Any info and comments will be helpful.

We are on Royal Princess Nov. 16, 2009 Athens to Manaus.

[NorcalGuy]

IF you chose to take a ship tour you have the comfort that the ship might wait for you but you are at the mercy of their contracted guides. Our tour had a horrible trip last December on a MSC ship tour. The guides used us as their personal captive audience, telling us that we were going to see local crafts, while actually forcing us to sit for hours in shops that tried to sell herbs, lotions, rugs, furniture, etc. until we literally rebelled and said "no more!" They unashamedly stood by while the sales were made and then took their cut.

 

We had dreamed and planned on seeing the main marketplace with all of the musicians, dancers, snake charmers and hundreds of shops, but instead we were hearded where the guides wanted us to go with no recourse because only they knew where the bus would be to pick us up for the next stop. It was such a rip-off that a loud shouting match and threats of physical confrontaion broke out between the guide and some of the tour members.

We had this same experience a Princess tour. We also had a bus with no air conditioning, which we didn't realize until it was too late, as the tour left in the AM. We were led through shops of the guide's choice and didn't dare leave the group as it was literally a labrynth of narrow alleyways. There was a mutiny of sorts and passengers swarmed the excursion counter upon return. We later all got a 40% refund, which was fair, but only after being real pushy.

Definately wouldn't do it again. Not sure if I'm glad that I did the first time. Casablanca looked REALLY intersting on the way out of town. Marrakech was very "touristy". We only drove by the old minaret they talk about so much in the tour information. Didn't even stop for a photo op. I did enjoy the drive on the way out, as we saw a good deal of Morrocan countryside.

Next time in Casablanca, I will walk or taxi to the Hassan II Mosque nearby the dock, which is supposed to be fabulous. You might want to consider that. Docking in Casablanca was also facinating, as we were accompanied in by about 8 boats from the fishing fleet. Lots of cheering, waving, and fun.

[katisdale]

We took a ships tour in Casablanca and were very pleased with our choice. Our guide, a man named Larbi seemed to know everyone we passed on the street. While in the Casbah a friend of his exited his home and Larbi asked if we could have "a peek" inside. Although the outside of the home was a somewhat rundown the inside was pristine with beautiful tile work. We also went to the local market and saw the meat market as well as the olive souk. The King Hassan II Mosque was on our tour but only from the outside. Apparently you have to be muslim to go inside.

[Kiwi Kruzer]

The King Hassan II Mosque was on our tour but only from the outside. Apparently you have to be muslim to go inside.

 

 

We also took a ships tour in Casablanca and were very pleased with it. Our tour did include the Mosque, and our guide , who also seemed to know everyone, went to great pains to stress that all were welcome in the Mosque.

There may have been entrance fees involved in the various tours on offer.