We boarded the Fantasia in Genoa, having flown to Milan from the UK. The transfer provided by MSC from Milan to Genoa was superb. Just 6 of us in a very comfortable minivan. Boarding was very smooth and organised and we were able to go straight to our cabin before having some late lunch in the Zanzibar Buffet.
The cruise itself was very enjoyable with very few niggles. The main gripe was the lifts (elevators). Our daughter is in a wheelchair and we therefore relied on the lifts to get from deck to deck, as the stairs were not an option. The number of lifts for this size of ship (4,000+ passengers) is inadequate. We regularly found ourselves waiting for 10 to 15 minutes in order to be able to get in a lift and sometimes negotiate pushing people, which could be quite stressful at times. That said, we found the crew very polite and helpful and our overall cruise experience was very good.
The ship itself is very impressive, with diamond-encrusted staircases in the large atrium and a variety of public areas to suite all tastes. We found everywhere to be spotlessly clean although the casino, in which smoking is allowed, was smelly.
We had an accessiblecategory 3 interior cabin on deck 10, which was very spacious and comfortable. The shower had a seat which made it much easier for my daughter. Overall we were impressed with the cabin. The only negative really was there was some noise from the crew room service station which was located immediately behind our cabin, but this was not excessive. Also, being at the front of the ship and on a relatively high deck there was a lot of movement in rough weather. The cabin itself, however, was spotlessly clean and very spaciaous and comfortable.