3rd day, april 18th 2023

On bard of the GNV Majestic

The first of the two nights on the ferry was quite an experience. The air conditioning in the cabin was freezing, and unfortunately, I couldn’t adjust it. Despite that, the night was calm, and I managed to get some sleep.

Around 7:00 am, we arrived at the port of Barcelona for a four-hour stopover. Several cars boarded, and we left the Catalan capital around 11:00 am.

Unfortunately, there is no internet access on board, which made working on my blog quite tricky. So, I bought a four-hour Wi-Fi package for €10. However, when I finally managed to connect my laptop, I realised there was no Wi-Fi in my cabin. I went back to the information desk to ask if there was a setting to change or a connection issue.

The GNV staff member I spoke to was rather rude and arrogant, telling me that if I wanted high-speed internet everywhere, I should have stayed at home! Another passenger asked if there was a pharmacy on board, and the response was just as discourteous. Sadly, the Wi-Fi, when it worked, was so slow that working was impossible, and downloading photos from my phone took forever.

Since we’ll be at sea until tomorrow evening, I have plenty of time to complete the necessary customs formalities and register my motorcycle with the police. Luckily, both authorities have desks on board, which should save time during disembarkation (hopefully!). We are due to arrive tomorrow evening at 6 pm, and I expect the disembarkation will take some time before the real Moroccan adventure begins!

Given the late arrival time, I’ve booked a hotel near the port ,  the Ksar El Maja hotel at Tanger Med. The Tanger Med port is about 40 km east of the city of Tangier.

Muslim countries are currently observing Ramadan until Friday.