Wednesday, October 29 - Casablanca, Morocco

 It is now Wednesday, October 29.  We docked in Casablanca but I'm too lazy to get off the ship.  I think it is telling that the majority of the shore excursions are to other cities (Rabat and Marrakesh) .  I've been to Rabat and Fez, which I enjoyed but am very happy enjoying the ship and view from my balcony.  I might feel differently if the weather forecast wasn't for both thunderstorms and sand storms.

I haven't gotten into a set routine yet.  One of the joys of traveling alone is to go with whatever flow I'm feeling in the moment.  I had two things on my agenda for today - brunch at The Wake and an evening magic show.  In between I spent hours in the hammock, enjoying the rain and my down blanket.

Photos!

Arriving in Casablanca.

Much of my hammock time was watching a guy load containers onto a freighter.  Being able to go up there and see how it's done would be a dream come true.  Seriously - in every port, I love watching them load the freighters.  My dream job!

It's a big port and I enjoyed that the weather seemed to change every hour.

Would you cross the ocean in a sailboat?  Not me.  I love the ocean.  I fear the ocean.  And, especially not during hurricane season.

It got windy and sandy.

Then the sun came out!

The pillow was the perfect addition to the hammock.

Then the rain and cooler temps came.  I always travel with a down blanket.  Light, folds away to nothing, is ideal on long plane flights and came in handy today.

There were large seabirds throughout the day, wheeling about as if they were there just to entertain me.  When the rain started, these smaller white birds flocked to an area near the freighter, dining happily.  Please try not to be jealous of my extensive ornithological knowledge.

Unfortunately, I was having so much fun at the comedy show, I didn't take photos.  Fun fact - the magician strolled through the audience before the show, chatting.  I found he's from Tucson Arizona, too.  

Free pastries at the coffee shop.

My view in The Wake.  It is the most upscale restaurant and I assumed great views, since it is aft (back of the ship).  There were four tables  (for 2) with ocean views.  3 were taken.  1 was not.  I was disappointed.

I could see the ocean.  Compared to the other cruise lines I've been on Virgin provides the fewest places to enjoy an ocean view from indoors.  Perhaps it is because they focus on 4-5 day Caribbean cruises, where it wouldn't be used.  It is one of the few things I miss, but, since I have a balcony, it isn't a problem.

I wanted to steal the cute little sugar bowl, which came with cubes of both brown and white sugar.

Eggs Benedict (eggs cooked hard) with breaded, deep fried pork belly, spinach and a bone marrow Bearnaise.   Served at room temp.  The muffin looked homemade but was so hard I couldn't cut it. While I wasn't wild about the food, I had a great conversation with the couple next to me.  They'd spent a month in Europe prior to boarding and told me a great story about their experience in Paris.  They'd rented a houseboat on the Seine.  They got a taxi there about 9pm but the gate to access the boat was locked and when the taxi driver helped find a worker, he informed them that the boat they'd rented was already occupied.  So, the Parisian taxi driver insisted on taking them home to stay at his house, as guests of he and his wife.  Long story short, they stayed with the driver,  until they could get a hotel room the next day.  He took them on tours for the next couple of days (for free!) and after enjoying Sunday dinner with extended family, they're now friends.  I love that sort of travel story.

The crepe layer cake, on the other hand, was huge and excellent, with a strawberry/rhubarb compote and crumble.  I've always wanted to try a crepe cake so this redeemed the rather "meh" entree.  I'm also curious.  There were at least 6 servers standing around but only one seemed to be actually serving, which was shocking, given the high quality service I've had everywhere else.  The couple I was talking with are Virgin regulars and were also surprised that getting a refill on coffee at brunch was a 15 minute wait.

The dock in Casablanca.

In 2019, I broke my leg while walking on a deck that looked very much like this.  I ended up having surgery in Genoa Italy.  When they warn water makes the deck slippery, they aren't kidding.

There are a variety of places to hangout outdoors on the ship.  Some in the sun, some not.

Am I the only person on earth not obsessed with ice cream?  I'll take pastries over frozen treats anytime.  Anyway - they have a variety of cones and creative flavors and it is packed when open.

I thought this was hilarious.  Trivia sheets and pens.  On the Holland America Grand World Voyage, they no longer offer pens.  And the paper provided to write answers is literally scrap paper from the office - used copy paper that they cut up so we can use the part that hasn't been printed on.  Hurray for Virgin for not cheaping out!

I like that you can sit in the window, lean back and put your feet up.  I'd love to be able to do this in an ocean view cabin.

I like having a map to see where I am on my itinerary.  I also enjoy knowing the schedule of times in port, in advance.  It would be nice to have it on the app.  

More seating but not really conducive to ocean-gazing.

This is why I stayed on board.  It was windy and that brown stuff is sand.  They cleaned the balconies in Valencia but they need another rinse now for the dust.

I didn't get photos of The Charmer doing his magic show but it was fun.  There was a big crowd in the bar so not easy for everyone to see but The Charmer did a great job.  At one point he was doing a card trick and the card disappeared and he said "Now, sir, in the second row, do you have the card in your left rear pocket?"  We all gasped and the guy started checking his pockets when The Charmer laughed and said "Hey, I'm not Criss Angel!"  but then completed the trick in a way that I couldn't figure out.  He also did some mentalist stuff that was fun.  I couldn't figure that out, either.  Entertaining and I sat with a brother and sister from Florida and we had a fun time.

After four days, I'm sold on Virgin Voyages.  Is it perfect?  No.  Is there lots of good food and excellent service?  Yes.  And, the general vibe is terrific.  I put down a deposit to do another cruise next year.