My husband and I and 4 other friends have booked a trip on the Norwegian Jade for Feb. It departs from Barcelona and one of the ports is Casablanca. I was wondering if anyone had done this cruise and had advice for excursions, especially in Casablanca. We prefer tours that I arrange with help of fodorites who have never given me a bad steer. So if anyone has a suggestion I would like to hear from ytou. Thanks.

I've only been to Casablanca on a Moroccan holiday and we had two nights there. The Hassan II mosque is not to be missed and I would recommend a visit if the excursions include it.

I would suggest you go to cruisecritic dot com and look at the Roll Call for your cruise for ideas. You can also check their Ports of Call which usually has lots of suggestions for tours and guides.

Thanks so much. I had forgotten that I posted. I'll definitely check out cruise critic.

My wife and I visited Casa in November on a Istanbul to Cape Town cruise. Frankly there's not a lot to do in Casa. That said, the Hassan II mosque is magnificent - you must see it. Instead of spending our day in Casa however, we toured with a group of friends to Rabat for the day - we had a wonderful time. It's only one hour away by motorway (think interstate highway), with lots to see. We had no problem returning to Casa in time for a quick driving tour of Casa (including the Mosque) before returning to our ship. You may be tempted to visit Marrakesh - I'd advise against it - it's a solid 3 hours away. BTW, we had a tangine lunch in a Rabat restaurant - it was terrific. Have fun.

mobilemc: Did you use a taxi or van to get to Rabat or a tour package. The ship has excursions but they are really pricey. I usually book local but not so sure about Morocco.

heyjude2919: From contacts on Cruise Critic, I arranged our tour with Omar Chouiyakh ... [email protected]. He delivered as promised - a Mercedes van with driver and English-speaking guide. We were picked up at our ship in Casa at 9:30am and returned to the ship at 6pm. I delayed our start so we wouldn't have to contend with everyone who likes to push and shove to get off the ship as soon as we dock. Might as well enjoy a relaxed breakfast before we start our day!

We went to Rabat for most of the day and returned to Casa for a driving tour of the town and a walking tour of the Hassan II mosque (magnificent!) BTW, the tour start/return times are all flexible based on your ship's schedule - you simply arrange whatever you want with Omar. Our price was 55 euro pp, which included most fees, guide, driver, minivan. We bought lunch and our guide's lunch (not expected or required) and tipped the driver and guide. By comparison, the ship's tour only went to Rabat, skipped Casa, hurried back in 5 hours, and cost $159 pp.

BTW, all our fellow passengers who stayed in Casa and did a DIY tour were disappointed. Many couldn't even understand why we bothered stopping in Casa ... little did they know what they missed!

Thanks mobilemc. I will contact omar and see we happens. There are 6 of us and I have to get everyone to agree. It sounds like the way to go to me!

We were in Casablanca a few years ago and did a ship's excursion to Marrakesh. I think mobilemc is absolutely right... the trip there seemed to take forever and coming back seemed even longer. I wasn't thrilled with our tour (the one we did in Tangiers the next day was far better) and missed seeing the mosque in Casablanca. Next time I would go to Rabat as mobilemc advises.

Linda

P.S. Those from our ship who did Casablanca tours or saw the city on their own were not impressed or happy with their day either.