Just off Fantasia - any questions?

[Viccarol]

Just got back from a fabulous cruise on Fantasia around the Med - if anybody has any question s please feel free to ask away.

 

On the hole the whole holiday was fab, I can understand some of the frustrations that US and UK passengers may have, it is a VERY mixed European clientele and some (not all) really don’t get the concept of the que! But if you go with that in mind you will have a great time. We spent a lot of time on Top 18 it was a bit of a relief from the hustle of the main pool areas - it has a bar service, a decent sized hot tub and plenty of comfy sun beds. 

 

We also upgraded our drinks from easy to premium which was brilliant value. 

 

In terms of food, and this is a personal opinion, it was better than most of the all inclusive hotels we have been to - the buffet at lunch time was crazy trying to find a table could be a bit of a nightmare but the food was fine. There was also food all over the ship included in the fare which I wasn’t expecting (the tapas in the wine bar is lovely). 

 

Our only real complaint though was the lack of information given out. It would have been nice to have actually been told to go to our room for our cruise cards, that we needed to register our credit card at the machines, what time pre booked tours would be (we also had one cancelled and would have only found out the night before if I hadn’t gone to the excursion desk to ask about something else) and the biggest issue not getting given disembarkation info until late the night before we got off (we ended up having to take our own cases off as we were 2 minutes late getting them out). Passing on information is not a strong point! If I hadn’t researched on here before hand it would have been a bit stressful. 

 

Anyhow if anybody has has any question please feel free to ask - I found very little info about Fantasia on here so I’m here to help if I can 😀

Edited August 25, 2019 by Viccarol

[sidari]

With regard to your cases if you had put them out they would have still been taken by the crew.

[Viccarol]

4 minutes ago, sidari said:

With regard to your cases if you had put them out they would have still been taken by the crew.

We did, honestly we were two minutes late but they were still there when we got up in the morning 😢 it wasn’t a massive issue but if we’d had the info earlier they would have been out before we went for dinner - just wanted to warn people to get them out early. It was quite comical watching us pack in about 15 minutes there was stuff been thrown everywhere 🤦‍♀️

[DDClown12]

What were your Ports of Call?  Would like information if you went to Palma de Mallorca & Ibiza.  We are traveling 

out of Livorno on October 4th, Genoa, Marseille, Palma & Ibiza, and then Naples back to Livorno.  Did you have

the day at sea and did you go to the spa and were there any specials in the spa?  Thank you for any response.

Diane

[ziggyuk]

Viccarol, we are on the Fantasia in December out of Rio in South America.

I would love to know more about the included food you found around the ship and also the entertainment, which I guess will not have changed by the time we sail.

I booked a long time ago and have the old deluxe drinks package so anything you can share on gelato would be great. 

[citizenfrank]

Glad you enjoyed!

Sailed her last year and had a great time overall.

Get the mixed passenger thing and some of the frustrations (though that is nothing to a ship full of Brazilians! OMG), but it is part of cruising with a cosmopolitan line like MSC and has advantages too I feel.

Loved the complimentary tapas at night in the bar close to the theater ...and not because they were free ...they were genuinely nice with a drink.

Although the vibe was actually next door, my fav bar was the Atlantic lounge ...those mixology cocktails were the business!  

[Viccarol]

5 hours ago, DDClown12 said:

What were your Ports of Call?  Would like information if you went to Palma de Mallorca & Ibiza.  We are traveling 

out of Livorno on October 4th, Genoa, Marseille, Palma & Ibiza, and then Naples back to Livorno.  Did you have

the day at sea and did you go to the spa and were there any specials in the spa?  Thank you for any response.

Diane

Hi Diane 

We embarked in Majorca so we just did our own thing in Palma, in Ibiza we took the local shuttle into the town and had a wander around, it has a nice marina area with some lovely shops and bars (and some of the most spectacular yachts I ever seen!), we did the MSC trip to the aquarium in Genoa, the aquarium was interesting but I felt the trip was overpriced the ‘ferry’ transfer took about five minutes and we walked back so it worked out over €20 each for a one way trip.

 

In Marseille we did the short walking tour which was actually great value, after the tour you could use any of the shuttles to get back to the ship. We went up Vesuvius from Naples again good value the tour guide was great - kept it interesting even having to do the tour in three languages.

 

Just as a side note our tour in Livorno was cancelled as there weren’t enough English speakers on it - we only found out as I went to ask about the Vesuvius tour.

 

We did have a day at sea and the ship was very busy but not unbearably, the buffet at lunch was a bit crazy but the MDR’s were open. We booked an Aurae package so had use of Top 18 which we made a lot of use of - we are not the dancing round the pool types. We only used the spa for our included massage as we had our 16 year old daughter with us and didn’t really want to leave her on her own - she actually wanted to spend time with us which is rare!! 

 

I hope you have have a great cruise 😀

[Viccarol]

4 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

Viccarol, we are on the Fantasia in December out of Rio in South America.

I would love to know more about the included food you found around the ship and also the entertainment, which I guess will not have changed by the time we sail.

I booked a long time ago and have the old deluxe drinks package so anything you can share on gelato would be great. 

I can’t comment about the Gelato as although we had the premium package it wasn’t included for us (we booked late) there was food in the evening in the wine and beer bar, which also had more beers to choose from than any other bar. They also had burgers and things in the sports bar - we didn’t have any as we were always full from the buffet but a group of lads ordered some one day and they looked great. Most of the bars also brought snacks out in the evening with drinks, the usual nuts, olives, crisps - they were very generous.

 

The shows in the theatre were great (this is a passion of mine I’m a dance teacher) on the whole the dancing was of a high standard and there were a couple of exceptionally talented dancers. The singers were great and the shows were well put together. There were also musicians all over the ship if the theatre show doesn’t appeal to you - we missed the show one night as we were enjoying the music and drinks in the Fantasia Bar 🍸

[ziggyuk]

13 minutes ago, Viccarol said:

I can’t comment about the Gelato as although we had the premium package it wasn’t included for us (we booked late) there was food in the evening in the wine and beer bar, which also had more beers to choose from than any other bar. They also had burgers and things in the sports bar - we didn’t have any as we were always full from the buffet but a group of lads ordered some one day and they looked great. Most of the bars also brought snacks out in the evening with drinks, the usual nuts, olives, crisps - they were very generous.

 

The shows in the theatre were great (this is a passion of mine I’m a dance teacher) on the whole the dancing was of a high standard and there were a couple of exceptionally talented dancers. The singers were great and the shows were well put together. There were also musicians all over the ship if the theatre show doesn’t appeal to you - we missed the show one night as we were enjoying the music and drinks in the Fantasia Bar 🍸

 

Thank you for that, the shows are a highlight for me too, I really look forward to each evenings show, it's good to hear you enjoyed them, especially as a dance teacher who knows what to look for.

 

[citizenfrank]

6 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

Viccarol, we are on the Fantasia in December out of Rio in South America.

I would love to know more about the included food you found around the ship and also the entertainment, which I guess will not have changed by the time we sail.

I booked a long time ago and have the old deluxe drinks package so anything you can share on gelato would be great. 

Just spotted your reply here!

The gelato on Fantasia I recall was limited to the piazza san giorgio area.

To the left as you stand ahead of the large counter area serving cakes/pastries/sandwiches/coffee and alcohol.

There were around a dozen flavors with some changing daily.

Served by the cup/cone or in the delightful sundea offerings that have slowly contributed to my expanding trouser sizes!

Nice sitting area and good waitress/waiter service.

I'm getting the rush now thinking about it lol

Do you like 'special' cocktails?

[ziggyuk]

54 minutes ago, citizenfrank said:

Just spotted your reply here!

The gelato on Fantasia I recall was limited to the piazza san giorgio area.

To the left as you stand ahead of the large counter area serving cakes/pastries/sandwiches/coffee and alcohol.

There were around a dozen flavors with some changing daily.

Served by the cup/cone or in the delightful sundea offerings that have slowly contributed to my expanding trouser sizes!

Nice sitting area and good waitress/waiter service.

I'm getting the rush now thinking about it lol

Do you like 'special' cocktails?

 

Thanks Frank that's really useful, we love special cocktails, not too sweet for me but love trying new cocktails.

[Viccarol]

1 hour ago, citizenfrank said:

Just spotted your reply here!

The gelato on Fantasia I recall was limited to the piazza san giorgio area.

To the left as you stand ahead of the large counter area serving cakes/pastries/sandwiches/coffee and alcohol.

There were around a dozen flavors with some changing daily.

Served by the cup/cone or in the delightful sundea offerings that have slowly contributed to my expanding trouser sizes!

Nice sitting area and good waitress/waiter service.

I'm getting the rush now thinking about it lol

Do you like 'special' cocktails?

Forgot about those cakes and pastries in that area.

It was a lovely place to sit and people watch.

We also had some amazing cocktails (off menu) in the Fantasia bar - hence the reason we missed the show 🤦‍♀️😂 

[Aunt Holly Rose]

We're thinking about booking the Western Mediterranean cruise on Fantasia out of Rome next fall.  I agree that there's very little info on CC and appreciate your thread.  We have lots of questions.

1.  It doesn't look like there's much benefit for us to choosing the Fantastica over Bella package as we really wouldn't use the room service.  Am I missing something?

2.  There is an "All In" promotion now offering the Easy Drinks package and WiFi for an additional $190 per person.  That looks like a great value to me.  Any comments?

3.  We've seen reports that Fantasia is due for refurbishment in 2020.  Do you know anything about that and if so, when it's scheduled (before or after the summer season)?  It looks like a beautiful ship, but there are lots of comments that it's gotten tired and is in need of a facelift.

4.  Did you try the specialty dining rooms at all?  If so, are they worth the a la carte premium pricing?  Or did you find the MDR to be perfectly fine?  There are so many complaints about bland food, small portions, etc. online that my mind is boggled.  I don't like the term "foodies" but we kinda are...

5.  I know any European travel will involve more smoking than many of us US travelers are accustomed to or comfortable with, but how prevalent is it?  I've seen lots of complaints about smoking on adjacent balconies, for example, with no cruise staff intervention available.  Do you think these complaints are exaggerated?  I am very allergic to smoke and don't want to cough, wheeze and sneeze my vacation away.  I know that means no casino for me, but what about other areas?

I know I'll have lots more questions as we get close to booking.  Thanks for reading!

 

[ziggyuk]

2 hours ago, Aunt Holly Rose said:

3.  We've seen reports that Fantasia is due for refurbishment in 2020.  Do you know anything about that and if so, when it's scheduled (before or after the summer season)?  It looks like a beautiful ship, but there are lots of comments that it's gotten tired and is in need of a facelift.

 

She had a dry dock refit in April 2019, I could be wrong but I would be doubtful she would get another drydock in 2020.

Maybe the "tired" comments were prior the the refit 6 months ago.

I will be on her 6th December so can't help with the rest yet.

 

Edit: Here is the 2020 schedule. http://crew-center.com/msc-cruises-dry-dock-cruise-ship-schedule-2020

And here are lots of pics of the dry dock if interested 

 

Edited November 21, 2019 by ziggyuk

[unitedgirl]

Hi there, I am a little late to the party so not sure if you are still replying!

I heard that this ship has wristbands as well as key cards? Is that correct (I heard they were for Aurea guests but is this for adults as well as kids?) 

How was the anytime dining with Aurea. We sailed on the magnifica last year and although we had anytime dining the maitre 'd kind of coerced us into agreeing a set time every night, this was fine I supppose as our waiters were lovely and we got excellent service but we are travelling with firends and their two daughters this time so may need to be more flexible.

Thank you!

[Viccarol]

On 11/21/2019 at 8:56 PM, Aunt Holly Rose said:

We're thinking about booking the Western Mediterranean cruise on Fantasia out of Rome next fall.  I agree that there's very little info on CC and appreciate your thread.  We have lots of questions.

1.  It doesn't look like there's much benefit for us to choosing the Fantastica over Bella package as we really wouldn't use the room service.  Am I missing something?

we had an Aurea suite so can’t really comment - the room service for coffee and tea in a morning was nice but not a deal breaker.

2.  There is an "All In" promotion now offering the Easy Drinks package and WiFi for an additional $190 per person.  That looks like a great value to me.  Any comments?

We had the premium drinks package which was great (we both like a tipple so it suited us) I would definitely have some sort of drinks package - the WiFi we did without as all the ports had 3G which was included in our own phone packages (were from the UK so data roaming is the same as home) 

3.  We've seen reports that Fantasia is due for refurbishment in 2020.  Do you know anything about that and if so, when it's scheduled (before or after the summer season)?  It looks like a beautiful ship, but there are lots of comments that it's gotten tired and is in need of a facelift.

It absolutely is a beautiful ship - and in extremely good condition - no complaints here - you’d have to be very picky to find something to complain about.

4.  Did you try the specialty dining rooms at all?  If so, are they worth the a la carte premium pricing?  Or did you find the MDR to be perfectly fine?  There are so many complaints about bland food, small portions, etc. online that my mind is boggled.  I don't like the term "foodies" but we kinda are...

we didn’t try the speciality restaurant - there was nothing on the menu for our daughter so it would have been a waist - the MDR was fine we had a couple of great dishes and a couple that we really didn’t like but that’s a personal thing. If you want stake every night you’ll be disappointed but the food was ok for us.

5.  I know any European travel will involve more smoking than many of us US travelers are accustomed to or comfortable with, but how prevalent is it?  I've seen lots of complaints about smoking on adjacent balconies, for example, with no cruise staff intervention available.  Do you think these complaints are exaggerated?  I am very allergic to smoke and don't want to cough, wheeze and sneeze my vacation away.  I know that means no casino for me, but what about other areas?

We never had any issues with smoking from adjacent balconies - but that could just be luck. Only really noticed it in the casino which we only walked through to get to other areas. 

I know I'll have lots more questions as we get close to booking.  Thanks for reading!

 

Not been on the boards for a while I’ve answered what I can above - we had a lovely cruise and saw so lovely places. Hope I’ve helped 😀

[Viccarol]

On 12/5/2019 at 11:19 AM, unitedgirl said:

Hi there, I am a little late to the party so not sure if you are still replying!

I heard that this ship has wristbands as well as key cards? Is that correct (I heard they were for Aurea guests but is this for adults as well as kids?) 

How was the anytime dining with Aurea. We sailed on the magnifica last year and although we had anytime dining the maitre 'd kind of coerced us into agreeing a set time every night, this was fine I supppose as our waiters were lovely and we got excellent service but we are travelling with firends and their two daughters this time so may need to be more flexible.

Thank you!

Just popped on today - I haven’t been on here for a while. We didn’t get offered wrist bands just a key card (we were Aurea guests) it might be simething new but it wasn’t an option in August. 

We had a similar experience with the dinning times - we ended up going the same time each night. We did go early one night and ended up on a different table than we had been on for the rest of the week - seemed more of an issue for them than for us.

hope that’s helped 😀

[Friend16]

Hi there, 

 

How long did it take you to disembark? Planning to take this cruise in June - sailing out of Civitavecchia. Itinerary states that the ship docks at 7AM, so i am wondering if booking 12:50PM return flights out of FCO will be pushing it..

 

Thank you!

[joat]

We are looking at MSC as a good possibility for us to get from South America to Europe in the spring of 2021.  We have sailed on several cruise lines for lengthy periods and find it a great way to check out locales/countries to which we want to return for more time than a cruise stop permits.  Since we will be in South America and want to move onward to Europe (as spring/summer begins there), this just seems like a cost effective way to do it.  Time is not a factor for we are retired.

Anyone who has sailed a relocation cruise with MSC?  

17 Night

Transatlantic Cruise

Leaving: Santos

Cruise Line: MSC Cruises

Ship: Fantasia

[Kalum]

Is there a steakhouse onboard?

Thx

[Malibustacey79]

Not sure if anyone is still following this, but! We sail on Fantasia in October this year, first time with MSC. 

 

I am worrying a bit about the early dining. We have always had anytime dining on previous cruises but were asked to choose between early and late on this one. Early being 6.30-7.30 and late being 8.30-9.30. 
 

We are travelling with kids (teens not little ones) and have always done dinner then show so I went with early, but it does feel awfully early! Does anyone know if you can arrive at any point during the slot? So could we get there at 7.30? Or will that not leave enough time to eat and be out for the late diners?

 

If I try and swap to the late slot, will we miss the show every evening, or is it on twice? Thanks for any help!!

[rool]

Hi, The restaurant doors will be closed around 10 - 15 minutes after the scheduled dining time as it is not like anytime dining. We were late once due to a friend we were travelling with getting lost on the ship and were given a lecture at the table by the Maitre D.

The shows are on twice to accommodate the two dining times. 

[Malibustacey79]

Hi, thanks for your reply, that’s really helpful. So that sounds like we could arrive towards the end of the slot rather than having to arrive, eat and leave all the within the slot?

Arriving from 7pm onwards would be fine, just 6.30pm would be pushing it I think (especially with a teenage girl getting ready..!)

[rool]

No, apologies I wasn't clear enough, for a 6:30pm seating the doors will close around 6:45pm. They will get a bit sniffy if you walk in after that.

I know where you are coming from with the teenage girls so you should be able to switch to the late seating as soon as you get on board if you go to see the Maitre D in the restaurant.

The problem you will have is the early show time is likely to be 6:30 I think and so you still have the issue of getting the girls ready as what generally happens is late diners go straight from the theatre to the restaurant.

[Malibustacey79]

Ah I see what you mean now, yes that makes sense. Maybe we ought to be thinking about how important seeing the show is to us, it’s always been a highlight on previous cruises but then maybe it will be a different type of show on a mostly Italian ship anyway... We are used to mostly musical theatre type shows. 
 

More to research/think about, but you have answered my question perfectly so many thanks!