Sitemap
.
Cruise Reviews for P&O, Cunard, Royal Caribbean and other cruise lines
Friday 3rd September 2010
All of these cruise reviews are written by REAL cruise passengers are their opinion & we DO NOT moderate or change any of the review. You can agree or disagree by posting up your own comment.
You can write your review and we will send you a Berlitz Guide to Cruising for FREE
Sign up to our newsletter for all the latest cruise news, reviews, photos and answers...
|
Great Fantasia - our second MSC cruise |
|
|
Reviewed By: Welsh, Donaghadee on 6th Aug 2009
|
| Cruise Line: MSC Cruises |
Times cruised before: 3-5 |
| Cruise Ship: MSC Fantasia |
Sailed:
July,
2009 |
| Destination: Mediterranean |
Age: 36-45 |
| Cabin: Balcony |
Occasion: Family holiday |
|
After really enjoying last years cruise on MSC Musica, we opted to go with MSC again this year. We have 2 children (6,11), and cruising with kids on some cruise lines can work out very expensive - with MSC kids under 18 cruise free (pay port tax and flights). This was the main reason for selecting MSC again and it is worth comparing MSC to other cruise lines - there really can be a significant saving with MSC.
Having cruised with Princess and RCCL, we have experienced the american style cruises, which most people in the UK will feel comfortable with however if you go on an MSC cruise, go with the knowledge that the vast majority of passengers are Italian/Spanish/French. English speaking/British people are a small minority of passengers. Personally we do not mind this at all, we tend to keep our selves to ourselves on holiday anyway and enjoy spending time with the family.
Fantasia is undoubtedly the nicest ship we have travelled on, in our opinion, the interiors, decor and finish are of a very high standard and surpass anyhing we have seen on any other ship. Our balcony cabin was ideal for 4 of us and again the furnishings and decor were superb and of a very high standard. The cabin service equalled anything we had experienced before with cabin being servivced twice a day.
Embarkation at Genoa was a breeze - we had an MSC Club card and were ushered to a priority check in and we were on the ship within 15 mins - the most efficient I have ever experienced.
The pool areas were large and the kids loved the many fountains etc in the aqua park. When at sea however, the pool areas get very crowded, however, you can easily get a sunbed on one of the higher decks - there were always more than enough to go round.
The food on board was generally of a high standard. I have read reviews on MSC before where the food was really slated, however we found the huge Africana/Zanzibar buffet to have a good selection at both breakfast and lunch. The food is not piping hot but it is certainly not cold , as i have read previously. The kids were well catered for - lots of pasta/pizza/fresh fruit etc (our kids are really fussy eaters and we had no problems). Like on all shios we have been on, the buffet can get busy at times - we never had a problem getting a table but sometimes the sheer numbers of people in the restaurant created some conjestion. To get a much more civilised dining experience, we ate several breakfasts and lunch in the main waiter served restaurants - we found the quality of food and choice to be good. In the evening agian we found the food to be good with 6 courses is you could eat it all.
We opted for 1 organised trip to Pompei, which was expensive but in my opinion well worth it. The tour guide was excellent, and for me one of the reasons for choosing this cruise. In the other ports, Palmero/Barcelona we did our own thing - taxis were available (bit of a queue in Barcelona). In Tuis where we had been before we stayed on board.
We opted for a weeks sop over in Majorca as part of the cruise package and we stayed in the Hotel Cala Vinas - a word of warning - if you opt for the stop over -- do not book this hotel. The location is fantastic but the hotel is the pits - food was very poor and the hotel is a typical 70's high rise tower block. Tour operators use this hotel as an all inclusive thing and coming from the high quality of the ship to this was a real let down and I will be bitterly complaining to MSC about this.
Overall Fantasia is a brillaint ship and represents very good value if travelling with kids - it is a beautiful ship and if you are Ok with travelling with mainly non English speaking passengers - you will have a great time.
We would book again with MSC
|
| Quality of Food |  |
| | Entertainment |  |
| | Shore Excursions |  |
| | Staff | |
| | Children's Facilities | |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| | Cabins | |
| | Overall Rating | |
|
|
