Two couples travelling on the Ruby Princess next year Venice to Ft. Lauderdale in October, yes it's a long way off! We are, however just trying to sort out our shore excursions so we have some sort of plan to work with.

I have done plenty of reading and it seems that there isn't an awful lot to do in Casablanca itself apart from the Hassan II mosque which we would love to see. The ship excursion to Marrakech seems like a very long day, most of it spent in a bus. Would be willing to consider it if the 4 hours spent there are worth it.

Then I came across Rabat as a likely place to visit. Seems there is the choice of taking a train from near the port for a DIY day however we feel like a driver and guide might be the way to go. Does anyone have any suggestions/recommendations.

Many thanks

The mosque is definitely worth the visit and be sure to get the English tour as it really is helpful.Besides that Casablanca is(to me just another big city with congestion).
My family did a two week self drive tour last Christmas throughout Morocco and we spent the day in Rabat which really didn't do much for me? The Marrakech daytrip would be really long from Casablanca and to me really wouldn't do this city justice for just 4 hours.
Personally I would try and go south to Essaouria for the day on the coast. It has everything that you would want for a quick stopover for Morocco. It is an old fishing village and harbor with beautiful beaches;old souk/medina for great shopping;wonderful restaurants with fresh seafood and Moroccan treats and a more modern area with cheaper prices for shopping than Marrakech.It combines the history and beauty of Morocco that one would want to see and do.
How many days or hours do you have in port in Casablanca?

Hi there dutyfree, thanks for your reply. We only have one day, just the usual dock in the morning and out in the evening.

In some ways I really wonder why the ship even goes there as all I hear are similar things to what you have said. Essaouria looks fabulous though, but getting there would be the problem.

Our other thought is to do an excursion from the ship which is a 4 hour city tour on a bus, guess we would see the highs & lows! Then maybe do the mosque and a walk on our own then chill out for the rest of the time on the ship and enjoy some down time.

The mosque took us several hours which included the one hour tour and just walking around outside. It truly is worth the stop as it is absolutely beautiful and reminded me a great deal of my visit to the Taj Mahal in India. Since you only have 8 hours you might want to seriously think about the mosque visit with your bus tour.The ride to Marrakech and back would make for a very long day.Good luck!

Yes, that sounds like a plan. We have discarded the trip to Marrakech, as you say its just too long.

The mosque certainly sounds very interesting, I shall do some research on it then.


Thanks for your help and kind wishes.

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Enjoy!

qwovadis, thanks for your post. I have been looking at a few tours for other places on viator and wasn't sure on how reliable they are.
We are not usually into bus tours but some places it just makes sense.

We always take travel insurance out, never leave home without it!

Interesting site for the travel alerts, we will be also checking our Aussie one before we leave.

Thanks again.