The Fantasia class is a class of cruise ships, operated by MSC Cruises. At present, there are four active Fantasia-class cruise ships, the lead vessel,,, and the, which were built by STX Europe in St. Nazaire. MSC Divina and MSC Preziosa are modified Fantasia-class ships. They have a and have expanded amenities compared to their earlier sister ships.[1]
The lead ship, MSC Fantasia, was completed in December 2008 and is the namesake of the class. The second ship, MSC Splendida, followed in March 2009. The third ship, MSC Divina entered service in May 2012 while the fourth and final ship, MSC Preziosa entered service in March 2013.
At the time of their construction the Fantasia class were the largest ships in the fleet of MSC Cruises, and were preceded by the much smaller Musica class, which are at 93,300 tons. The ships are designed to complement the previous Musica class.
and have a spa facility, four swimming pools, a Tex-Mex restaurant, a 1,700-seater showlounge, a mini golf course, a tennis/basketball court.[2] They also have 1,637 passenger cabins.[1]
and have 1,751 staterooms,[1] 114 more than the previous ships. They also have two additional elevators and their decks and restaurants are redesigned to allocate more space per passenger.[1]
On June 4, 2010 a letter of intent was signed between STX France and Libyan state-owned company General National Maritime Transport Corporation (GNMTC), to build one cruise ship similar to MSC Fantasia, and MSC Splendida. Nominally named Phoenicia she was specified by Hannibal Gaddafi, who had a 120-ton shark aquarium integrated into the design.[3] During construction, the Libyan Civil War broke out on 15 February 2011. In June 2011, STX France cancelled the contract, and began looking for a new buyer of the hull.[4] [5] It was announced on March 13, 2012, that MSC reached an agreement to buy the ship for 550 million euros, and be named MSC Preziosa.[6]
| Ship | Built | Builder | Entered service for MSC | Flag | Notes | Image | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Aker Yards/STX Europe (St. Nazaire) | December 2008 | 137,936 tons | |||||
| 2009 | Aker Yards/STX Europe (St. Nazaire) | July 2009 | 137,936 tons | Ordered as MSC Serenata and renamed MSC Splendida in 2008. | ||||
| 2012 | STX Europe (St. Nazaire) | June 2012 | 139,072 tons | Modified Fantasia class. Ordered as MSC Meraviglia and renamed MSC Divina in 2010. | ||||
| 2013 | STX Europe (St. Nazaire) | March 2013 | 139,072 tons | Modified Fantasia class. Originally ordered for Libyan-based General National Maritime Transport. |