Eurostar is fine for going through the tunnel but don't use it for internal journeys. You will have to go through immigration even if you aren't crossing any borders and that takes ages. Unlike the French TGV, Eurostar only stops at Calais Frethun station which is out of town and it takes two busses to get to the port (prices April 2008: €1.90 Frethun to Calais Ville Station and €1.50 Calais Ville to ferry terminal).
If you can afford it, travel Grand Class on the TrenHotel. The cabins for two are tiny but more than adequate. Have your evening clothes near the top of your bag because there's not much room for rummaging. Showering on a train is an interesting experience and calls for a good sense of balance.
There are two sittings for dinner - 8pm and 10pm (yes, Spaniards really do eat that late). All meals and drinks are included in Grand Class. Wine comes by the half bottle but you can have one each if you ask. If you don't ask you won't get. The same can go for the cooked component of breakfast if you are late. If there's not much time before the train arrives the waiter may quietly forget the hot breakfast unless you ask.
If you travel Preferente you can buy dinner a la carte but Grand Class customers have precedence for restaurant bookings. It will probably cost you around €40 a head for a three course meal with wine.
Moroccan rail prices are cheap and it's not much more for first class. First class is more like standard class on a European train. You get an allocated seat in a 6 seater air conditioned compartment. If the train is crowded, though, be prepared to fight for your seat.
If your journey is a long one, take a picnic if possible. A trolley service is available but the rolls are uninspiring and expensive. It's OK for canned drinks etc. but I wouldn't rely on it.
Rough Guide aren't joking when they say it can take an hour to complete formalities and buy a ticket. We never managed to find the fabled universal ticket office and had to visit several companies in turn to find a suitable sailing. Fortunately all the offices are in a row but it's still a hassle.
The fast ferries can be cancelled at the slightest hint of a breeze. Ferries don't sail at the advertised times (ours set off 50 minutes late) and can take longer than advertised to cross the water. Add to that the time difference between Morocco and Spain and you could have a real problem.
I would advise against booking any onward rail travel or accommodation which relies upon getting to Spain at any specific time. Better to take it as it comes and find a hotel or train as and when you arrive on Spanish soil even if it costs slightly more than booking in advance.
Don't believe anything anyone tells you about anyone in Morocco taking credit cards. They don't. Rail ticket offices don't take European credit cards nor do ferry operators. It's not so bad in the case of the ferry operators because there's an ATM right opposite their offices.
Any cash will do. If you don't have enough Dirham you can pay in Euro or sterling (or any combination) but generally it's cheaper to pay in Dirham if you can.
Note that you cannot use Dirham on the ferry once you have left Morocco. You will probably find a member of the crew willing to exchange your remaining Dirham but expect to pay a small premium for this service.
Always politely decline any offers of taxis as you leave any port or railway station etc. The ones touting for business are out to sting you. For example, leaving Tangier station I was accosted by a Petit Taxi driver and quoted 50 Dirham to take us to an address in the Kasbah. As I was walking away it dropped to 40 and he told me it was 6km which it isn't. I kept walking, flagged down a taxi in the street a couple of blocks away. The hailed taxi used his meter (compteur) and the journey cost about 14 Dirham.
With any taxi, always agree a price in advance or get the driver to start the meter (compteur). Beware if they start quoting prices in francs because they are probably trying to confuse you. Better to look for another cab. Petits Taxis are generally cheaper than the Grand Taxis for short journeys. Petits Taxis have a standard colour but it varies from one town to another (blue in Tangier, cream in Marrakech etc.). If it's a taxi and it's not a Mercedes then it's probably a petit taxi.
Never buy anything from a shop you are taken to by a guide, even if your guide is a reputable one. They will always take you to friends' shops and are probably working on commission.
You are expected to haggle at most tourist shops but don't assume that just because you've beaten them down to (say) half price you are getting a bargain. The initial price can sometimes be orders of magnitude more than the item's value. If possible, research a reasonable price before you go shopping. This can be difficult, though, because most Moroccans are cagey about what is a reasonable price. At the very least, decide in advance how much you are prepared to pay. Beware also that the quoted price for some jewelery can be per gram, not per item. Always make sure you are agreeing a total price for the item.
However hard the sell, you always have the right to walk away. Often the act of walking away can cause the price to tumble. For example, we looked at some trinket boxes in a Berber stall. His initial suggestion was 600 Dirham which was ludicrous. I wasn't that keen anyway and after not getting anywhere we walked away. At that point he was miraculously able to meet our suggested 150 Dirham for three. In just a few minutes the price had fallen from 600 to 50 each (and they were probably still slightly over priced at that).
Anyone who offers advice or a service will expect a tip. I found it very difficult to ascertain how much is appropriate and it is difficult to tread the line between a pittance and inadvertently tipping someone a week's wages.
If you can get some suggestions from impartial locals, particularly expat Europeans, it may help.
Ignore anyone offering you unsolicited assistance in the street. This can be easier said than done as they can be very persistent and sometimes you just have to be downright rude.
The best advice is to know where you are going or at least look as though you do. Never believe anyone who says you are going the wrong way (how do they know where you want to get to?) or the path you are about to take is closed (it isn't, they're just trying it on).
The most important Arabic phrase to learn is no thank you (la shukran). Repeating the la lots of times, making it into a little song (la-la-la) is sometimes more successful.
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