A HOLLAND America cruise liner operating
a specialist “all-gay” European voyage was
forced to inform its 2,100 passengers that a
previously confirmed visit to Casablanca, in
the strict Muslim nation of Morocco, had
to be cancelled.
According to tweets sent to media
organisations by passengers, the official
message the liner was taking was that “Our
port agent in Casablanca has advised
us that authorities in Morocco have, despite
previous confirmations, now denied our
scheduled visit”.
“For all of us, this is a very disappointing
development…it was ultimately the
decision by local authorities in Morocco
that has necessitated us to adjust our plans”.
The planned visit to Morocco would have
been the only non-European port of call
for a voyage which departed from Barcelona
for a week-long sailing with mostly
American and European passengers aboard.
However, Morocco’s Tourism Minister
Lahcen Haddad said no official decision to
ban the ship from visiting the nation had
been taken, and when quizzed about
whether the vessel could still visit Morocco,
replied “if the organisers want to”.
