MSC Fantasia vs MSC Europa

[whataboutport]

We are looking at these two ships for March 2025 out of Barcelona. We are active mid 40's with a young kid (6 at sailing). Prices and itin are similar. Major difference is size of ship and year built. Hubby and son have only one cruise so far on Discovery Princess (new ship). My sweet spot is about 4000pax. Should we choose big ship or bigger ship? Many more choices as far as cabin location on Europa (bigger/newer ship). Your thoughts?

[FionaMG]

44 minutes ago, whataboutport said:

We are looking at these two ships for March 2025 out of Barcelona. We are active mid 40's with a young kid (6 at sailing). Prices and itin are similar. Major difference is size of ship and year built. Hubby and son have only one cruise so far on Discovery Princess (new ship). My sweet spot is about 4000pax. Should we choose big ship or bigger ship? Many more choices as far as cabin location on Europa (bigger/newer ship). Your thoughts?

 

I would pick the one that offers most indoor activities (for example, does either have an indoor pool for family use?). March in the Med can be chilly and changeable. Warm sunny weather is a bonus and far from guaranteed at that time of year.

[notley-cruise]

Both Fantasia and World class shps have an indoor pool.  Both have splash park and indoor amusements.  World class is enormous, Fantasia felt more manageable and less crowded, than the Mergavalia and World class ships.

[markwfpb]

We're looking at the exact same thing - Med sailings in March 2025.

I searched other cruise lines as well but couldn't find any that started their season before the end of March. 

We're liking the Fantasia option, flying into Rome a few days early then taking a train to Naples to board. The Europa has a stop in Rome but it's a long haul to get to the center of things from the port. So we'll just hit the three smaller Italian ports on the itinerary.

Having been on the Seascape a couple months ago, I can't imagine a super large ship in some of the smaller Med ports. But we've been on the Divina a few times and it seems like a manageable size for us for this trip. 

For us it's all about the ports and less about exploring the ship/nightlife/pools/etc. since we've never visited the Med by ship.

[whataboutport]

Thanks for your opinions everyone. I've been Allure once and thought it was way too big. That's was before I had a kid tho. I am leaning more towards Fantasia. Is it true that Med cruises don't have much choppy waters since it's a fairly enclosed sea?  Only inside cabins remaining are fwd.

[whataboutport]

18 hours ago, markwfpb said:

We're looking at the exact same thing - Med sailings in March 2025.

I searched other cruise lines as well but couldn't find any that started their season before the end of March. 

We're liking the Fantasia option, flying into Rome a few days early then taking a train to Naples to board. The Europa has a stop in Rome but it's a long haul to get to the center of things from the port. So we'll just hit the three smaller Italian ports on the itinerary.

Having been on the Seascape a couple months ago, I can't imagine a super large ship in some of the smaller Med ports. But we've been on the Divina a few times and it seems like a manageable size for us for this trip. 

For us it's all about the ports and less about exploring the ship/nightlife/pools/etc. since we've never visited the Med by ship.

We've also never been to that region of the world before and noticed it is a very port intensive itin. Might not have any time to explore the huge ship!

[Preziosa]

I have been on both ships. I Will Go with Fantasia. A Better deck plan

[perakcruiser]

23 hours ago, whataboutport said:

Prices and itin are similar.

Then probably the Fantasia is way to expensive because normally the WE costs about 30 percent more. Or it is European Easter holidays, then certainly all cruises are much more expensive than normal. 

[whataboutport]

1 hour ago, perakcruiser said:

Then probably the Fantasia is way to expensive because normally the WE costs about 30 percent more. Or it is European Easter holidays, then certainly all cruises are much more expensive than normal. 

I'm not sure when European holidays are but we are looking at the week of March 15 sailings for both. I think the Europa leaves one day later. Prices are about mid $700pp for interior and both have kids sail free promotions. I was also surprised to see the prices were nearly the same after learning one ship is much bigger and newer than the other.

[notley-cruise]

12 hours ago, whataboutport said:

 I was also surprised to see the prices were nearly the same after learning one ship is much bigger and newer than the other.

The ship may be larger, but your cabin isn't, some grades are actually smaller on World class than Fantasia class.

[perakcruiser]

20 hours ago, whataboutport said:

I'm not sure when European holidays are but we are looking at the week of March 15 sailings for both. I think the Europa leaves one day later. Prices are about mid $700pp for interior and both have kids sail free promotions.

I checked, Easter holiday 2025 in Europe is from April 12 to 27. Certainly much higher prices, the WE starts from $1,224pp and as usual NO kids sail free. 2 adults, 2 kids, $3,595, uhh, ugly. 

 

Fantasia is $822pp but with kids sail free. This is really a good price! Or to say would be, because all inside and oceanview for families sold out already. 

 

So with seeing this price gap, it would be a no brainer for me to take the WE on your selected date. You certainly can get a good deal for the Fantasia from time to time, but these mid $700pp

(starting) prices with kids sail free for the WE are more than excellent. 

 

[whataboutport]

1 hour ago, perakcruiser said:

I checked, Easter holiday 2025 in Europe is from April 12 to 27. Certainly much higher prices, the WE starts from $1,224pp and as usual NO kids sail free. 2 adults, 2 kids, $3,595, uhh, ugly. 

 

Fantasia is $822pp but with kids sail free. This is really a good price! Or to say would be, because all inside and oceanview for families sold out already. 

 

So with seeing this price gap, it would be a no brainer for me to take the WE on your selected date. You certainly can get a good deal for the Fantasia from time to time, but these mid $700pp

(starting) prices with kids sail free for the WE are more than excellent. 

 

Thank you for your information. I ended up putting a deposit on the Fantasia instead. $1493 for two adults and one kid in an inside, not bad. I discussed the differences with my husband and he agreed, larger ship does not equal larger cabin, and I told him about my experience on a similar sized ship (Allure) many years ago, with only 3 ports of call, I still was not able to see everything the ship had to offer. With Med cruises being as port intensive as they are, and none of us ever being in that region of the world before, we most likely will stay off ship for the maximum time allowed and again not have much time to explore on a megaship.

 

I am also excited to book one of the sideways oriented interior rooms. Never been in one before and I read they feel more spacious. So we'll see about that. My hubby and kid are not picky at all. I think it will be a great opportunity for us.

[Até]

2 hours ago, whataboutport said:

I am also excited to book one of the sideways oriented interior rooms. Never been in one before and I read they feel more spacious. So we'll see about that.

A note about the "sideways" interior cabins on Fantasia class ships.  There are two sets of forward elevators, the most forward set with two elevators are for staff and the set with four (just aft of the other set) is for passengers.  Cabins such as 11070 and 11087 are near the staff elevators and cabins like 11082 and 11099 are near the passenger elevators.  The cabins near the staff elevators get LOTS of complaints due to movement and storage of luggage in that elevator area, which is particularly an issue on a Med sailing with multiple embarkation ports. You will hear them moving the luggage almost until dawn every night before the several ports of disembarkation.  The ones by the passenger elevators are a bit better but that's a steward's storage closet between the two.  This is true for all decks with this layout.

 

While all Fantasia class insides (not the Junior insides, which Fantasia the ship doesn't have anyway) are larger than most MSC's other ship classes.  To many the most desirable of the insides are actually the square ones like 11045 to 11057 or those like 11083 and forward (particularly with other cabins above).  They're actually a couple square feet smaller but the layout makes them feel roomier.

 

Oops, I remember you have three people and the square insides only hold two.  Well, I'll leave that info in here for other's information.

 

 

 

Fantasia Deck Plan.pdf

 

 

 

Edited July 11 by Até
Typo

[whataboutport]

7 hours ago, Até said:

A note about the "sideways" interior cabins on Fantasia class ships.  There are two sets of forward elevators, the most forward set with two elevators are for staff and the set with four (just aft of the other set) is for passengers.  Cabins such as 11070 and 11087 are near the staff elevators and cabins like 11082 and 11099 are near the passenger elevators.  The cabins near the staff elevators get LOTS of complaints due to movement and storage of luggage in that elevator area, which is particularly an issue on a Med sailing with multiple embarkation ports. You will hear them moving the luggage almost until dawn every night before the several ports of disembarkation.  The ones by the passenger elevators are a bit better but that's a steward's storage closet between the two.  This is true for all decks with this layout.

 

While all Fantasia class insides (not the Junior insides, which Fantasia the ship doesn't have anyway) are larger than most MSC's other ship classes.  To many the most desirable of the insides are actually the square ones like 11045 to 11057 or those like 11083 and forward (particularly with other cabins above).  They're actually a couple square feet smaller but the layout makes them feel roomier.

 

Oops, I remember you have three people and the square insides only hold two.  Well, I'll leave that info in here for other's information.

 

 

 

Fantasia Deck Plan.pdf 3.54 MB · 0 downloads

 

 

 

Well darn it, we got one by the staff elevators. But we'll be prepared so thanks for that information. We usually sleep to some type of show playing, so I'll be sure to tell hubby to bring the laptop and flash drive to watch some shows to fall asleep to in case we don't get internet. I guess that makes sense why those were pretty much the only ones left.

[whataboutport]

Well I was able to email my TA and get my cabin changed to one deck up and slightly more fwd to one of the regular orientation insides. I guess I won't know if the sideways ones feel bigger but I think the chance of extra annoyance every night doesn't sound like much fun. Thank you again @Até