I had planned this vacation for over four months after a week long research into various cruising options. The deal that just came to my mail one day just tilted the scale in favor of MSC Fantasia. To say that I chose well will be an understatement. In fact after my limited experience on-board other cruising ships, MSC Fantasia was indeed beyond expectations.

Here is why: I had read at least three dozen reviews and was a bit skeptic of the boarding process as it talked a lot about ques, language issues & the confiscated liquor and water bottle. I had checked in online so our embarkation process was a breeze. I am sure they looked at the two duty free single malt scotch bottles and some water but throughout the cruise my experience was that if you are taking water for your consumption (a bottle or so), they ignore it. If you want to make money out of it, well that may be a totally different matter.

We were escorted to our cabin from reception, it was towards the front on deck 13. The cabin was larger than my expectations and very clean and functional. The Indonesian housekeeper appeared promptly and explained everything and made sure that we were comfortable. Read more