Review: Grimaldi Lines Ferry from Tangier to Savona

Early in March, Mac and I took a Grimaldi Lines Ferry from Tangier to Savona. During our researching phase I struggled to find genuine information about this trip, so I’m hoping this review might be helpful for others with similar travel intentions!

Why Ferry?

After seven long weeks spent touring around Morocco, it was time to move on from this north African country and begin another European adventure. We had a few transportation options to consider to get back to Europe. But we also had to keep in mind the expiry date on our Schengen Visa*. Mac and I try to travel overland as much as possible for various reasons. Mainly because we enjoy travelling slow, but also because flying is harmful to the environment and we try to lessen our impact as much as possible. Mac and I knew we wanted to travel through the Balkans (the group of countries along the Adriatic Sea: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, etc) which are a long way from Morocco. To travel overland via Spain, France, and Italy would eat into our few remaining days of our Schengen Visa, and we didn’t want to fly if we could help it. So, we did some researching and discovered trans-Mediterranean ferries!!! After a lot of debate, we decided to book passage on a Grimaldi Lines ferry from Tangier to Savona, Italy.

*“A Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows a person to travel to any members of the Schengen Area (most of Western Europe), per stays up to 90 days (within a 180 day period) for tourism or business purposes. There are no border controls within the Schengen Zone.” (source)

Grimaldi Lines Ferry from Tangier to Savona

In this review, I’ll be going over the basic information of this journey from cost to what we ate to how we spent our days on the ferry. Like I mentioned above, I struggled to find helpful information about this ferry, so I’m documenting all the details here in the hopes it might be useful for someone else!

Journey Details

Our ferry was scheduled to leave Tangier at 3:00pm on Tuesday. The ticket stated it would be a 48-hour journey. In reality, we left Tangier at 5:00pm. We arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday around 7pm and left around 11pm. The following evening we docked in Savona at 6pm but weren’t able to leave until 8pm. Because our tickets advised checking in three hours before departure, we were on the ferry for approximately 54 hours.

Getting to the Port

Many Mediterranean ferries in and out of Tangier actually use the new Tanger-Med port which is located 40km east of the city center. (The port in the center is called Tanger Ville and sees mainly ferries from Gibraltar.) Fortunately the city buses in Tangier are very well connected. The #i3 bus runs from the center all the way to Tanger Med and costs 7dh (~€0.70) per person. The bus ride takes about an hour.

Check-In

As I mentioned above, we were advised to check in three hours before departure. The #i3 bus dropped us off on the road outside the main ferry terminal. After a semi-confusing walk through the lawns & parking lots we found the main doors. (This building is also a train station.) We put our bags through security scanners then proceeded to the Grimaldi Lines desk. Here we showed our reservation and passports and were issued tickets. From the check-in counter we went through passport control then caught a shuttle bus to the Grimaldi Lines ferry. There are a number of ferries using this port, so be sure to keep an ear out for the appropriate shuttle bus announcement.

Price

We learned the hard way that prices for the ferry go up closer to the departure date. We had been looking at prices a week or so before and they went up about €20 in that week it took us to commit to the booking. So, keep in mind that earlier is better for a lower fare!! All prices below are from when we booked our tickets (about two weeks before departure).

Another downside of us waiting to book was losing out on the more economical sleeping accommodation. Normally we would have ‘cheaped out’ and opted for the least expensive ticket possible, but given that we would be on this ferry for two nights we decided to suck it up and book beds in cabins. At the time of booking there were no longer any (less expensive) inside cabins available, so we ended up having to book (and pay a bit more) for outside cabins. The standard four-berth cabins are separated by gender, but there are also family cabins, or two-person berths available too.

The price breakdown for our tickets is as follows:

Adult passage – €50 Dues and Taxes – €15 Berth in Quadruple Outside Cabin – €30 Total: €95 per person

If you’d rather not book a bed (something I’ll discuss next), basic deck passage (excluding any sleeping accommodation) was €65. A Pullman chair* was €67.

*A Pullman chair is essentially just a leather bus/airplane seat in a room of about 50 other similar chairs.

Sleeping Options

Although I might have moaned a bit about the cost of a berth, I am so happy we opted to go that route and have zero regrets. Each quadruple cabin has two sets of bunk beds and a simple bathroom. Our outside cabins had a nice big window and there were also some storage units for luggage. I slept great each of the two nights and was happy to have a room to securely store my things (and a place to have a mid-afternoon nap!).

That being said, Mac and I were almost certainly in the minority for having chosen to pay for a cabin. Although there are numerous “NO CAMPING” signs all throughout the ferry, the hallways, couches, benches, and any spare floor space were taken up by people sleeping. These passengers brought blankets and pillows and essentially set up camp wherever they could find space. I don’t know for certain, but I don’t think the lights were dimmed in the common areas at night. So in addition to sleeping on blankets/benches/the floor having bright lights shine down would have made for an even more uncomfortable sleep (in my opinion).

During the day folks that didn’t have cabins tended to stay near where they slept, with their luggage and belongings by their side. Some of the horror stories I had read online included someone having all of their luggage stolen. I’m not saying that’s a guarantee, but as someone who was travelling with literally all my belongings, it was nice to know they were safe and secure back in my room.

Food & Meals

At the time of booking, it is possible to add on meal plan options for a discounted rate than what you’d pay on board. Mac and I went the “cheap backpacker route” and brought all of our own food, but I did take a look around to see what other options were available. There were two main eating areas on the ferry – a proper restaurant and a “self-catering” cafeteria. We never saw anyone in the restaurant, but we did see a few folks with trays from the cafeteria. Prices ranged from €13 to €18 for a meal in the restaurant.

The day before we boarded, Mac and I went to the local markets to stock up on food for the journey. In total we spent about 160dh (~€16) total for all of our meals and snacks on the ferry. Here’s a rough outline of what we ate for those two days.

Breakfast: peanut butter and banana sandwiches

Lunch and Dinner: sandwiches with avocado, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce

Snacks: carrots, bell peppers, eggs for Mac (pre-hard boiled), oranges, apples, peanuts, dates, and chocolate

The bread we used for sandwiches was the classic Moroccan khobz. We bought six for the journey.

Snacks were available for purchase at the bars, but we managed to bring the perfect amount of food and didn’t have to top at all.

In addition to the “NO CAMPING” signs, there were also several “NO COOKING” signs throughout the ferry. I thought this was odd until I saw a Moroccan guy with an electric tagine cooking a chicken dinner for him and his family in a hallway. Mac also saw two guys holding an electric kettle up to a socket near the ceiling to make their beloved Moroccan mint tea. (Despite the lax safety & security enforcement on the ferry, I would not recommend doing either of these things.)

Water

The water in the washrooms on the ferry is not potable. Plastic bottles of water are available for purchase on board, but in the interest of the environment (and our wallets) Mac and I brought our own. We purchased a giant 5L bottle of water to accompany our cache of 2L of water in our reusable bottles. This 7L was almost enough for the journey for the two of us. (Mac took a litre from one of his kind & generous cabin-mates.)

WiFi

WiFi is available on board, but it’ll cost you. If I recall correctly, it was €8 for one hour of usage. And I reckon it wouldn’t be fast WiFi either. Depending on your SIM card (if you have one), you might be able to get service at various points along the journey, but your best bet is to just disconnect!

Entertainment

With no internet to keep us entertained, Mac and I prepared by downloading plenty of podcasts and e-books to our Kobos. We spent our days reading, listening to said podcasts, playing cards, and wandering about the ferry. There were a few sitting areas with TVs playing soccer matches or Italian Judge Judy-esque shows. The outside decks had tables & chairs (which were mainly occupied by people smoking), but there was also a pool and hot tub! Sadly they were empty and roped off, but I imagine in the summer sailings they would get used by young families.

Safety

One final thing to note about our Grimaldi Lines ferry from Tangier to Savona were the safety precautions. The most glaring observation were the incredible amount of people sleeping in the hallways and in potential escape routes. The staff didn’t blink an eye at the people sleeping on the floor, but we heard from a bartender that on some other Grimaldi Lines ferries, the staff are less accommodating.

While there was a drill in the afternoon of the second day, passengers weren’t directly involved. It was mainly a drill to ensure the alarms were working. I don’t think the ferry line was negligent or anything, but not speaking Italian meant that we weren’t able to fully understand the signs on board. If there was an emergency while sailing, I’m sure I could have figured out where the life jackets were and what muster station to gather at, but not having it directly spelled out our instructed might be less than ideal for some passengers.

As for personal safety, like I mentioned above, our luggage was scanned prior to check in. We were walk-on passengers, so I’m not sure what the process is for passengers with vehicles. In Savona, we walked to the passport control office on the port where we were stamped back into the Schengen zone. Our bags weren’t checked at all here.

Final Thoughts

Having read downright awful reviews on TripAdvisor, I was initially hesitant to take this Grimaldi Lines ferry from Tangier to Savona. However, after having survived (and dare I say it, thrived for) 54 hours on a boat, I can’t align myself with those negative reviews. I believe we paid a fair price for our accommodations, and I wouldn’t hesitate to book similar berths in the future. The staff were all very friendly and willing to help. The sailing was smooth – even if it did take us longer than anticipated. It’s a fun story to tell, and more importantly it was a travel journey that worked well for Mac and me.

By crossing such a huge distance in a relatively short-ish amount of time, we avoided eating into the meagre amount of days left on our Schengen visa (which we could then use by spending two weeks in Slovenia – stay tuned!!). We could have flown, but as we’ve been reading and learning more about the negative environmental impacts of flying, Mac and I have consciously been trying to limit our air-borne hours. I’m not saying that taking a trans-Mediterranean ferry is zero-emissions or anything close to that, but ferries are notably more eco-friendly than planes. Additionally, it was a fun adventure exploring options outside of flying. I don’t know that my travels will take me on this same route again, but if they do I wouldn’t think twice at booking a Grimaldi Lines ferry from Tangier to Savona.

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Tell me, what’s the longest ferry ride you’ve taken?

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