Would appreciate advice on the following -

Am going to visit Morocco this fall, coming from US. I need to fly over the Atlantic on United (UAL metal, no code share).

Denver/Lisbon is as cheap as about $1000.
Denver/Madrid is as cheap as about $1300.
Denver/Casablanca (routes as Denver/Franfurt, Lufthansa to Casablanca), $1500

Airfare Lisbon/Casablanca is about $300 (Iberia, routes through Madrid)
Airfare Madrid/Casablanca is about 1/2 that, $150.

For me, flying into Lisbon is attractive not only for price, but I have never been in Portugal, have been in Spain, so it is another country.

Am considering - simply arriving in Lisbon - going to the train station, train to Algeciras, ferry to Cueta. Since the ferries seem to cancel for weather, would plan on returning to Lisbon 2-3 days early, which would give me time to visit Lisbon

This avoids Casablanca, and the flyertalkers seem to agree that that is a good thing.

I am having a hard time figuring the price for the train/ferry, and am wondering if in reality, I am just going to spend a lot of time and even more money, than simply flying Denver/Casablanca.

Maybe someone would route completely differently?

So - what would you recommend?

Ron