Having only been on a much smaller cruise ship previously we were swept away by the Fantasia. Although the ship is huge, we found our way around easily and after 2 days we didn't even need our deck plan map. We were extremely happy with our cabin (having been upgraded by 3 decks), the room was spacious and clean and the balcony was perfect for sitting out in the early evening watching the sun setting. The pool area, although busy, was never too crowded and we discovered a much quieter adults only pool at the back of the ship. As we are not early risers we took advantage of the breakfast room service which was ideal although the times that we ticked were not always the times that it was delivered! We ate in the main restaurant a few times but we also tried out the speciality restaurants, El Sombrero Tex Mex was a particular favourite. We found the waiters & bar staff were always very friendly and chatty. We wasn't too keen on the entertainment as one show featured Irish dancing, acrobatics and ballroom dancing all within 10 minutes with no relevance to the storyline that started and ended the show. The embarkation and disembarkation procedures were a bit confusing but this may have been due to the staff speaking mainly Italian (there were not many British tourists on the ship) and a lot of the announcements were made in 5 different languages, with English being the last. This may have been easier if we had been experienced cruisers and knew what to expect. The ports of call were interesting and the excursions were adequate although we only went ashore at three ports of call, one being an escorted tour.

The ship itself is very well laid out with light, airy bars and plenty of seating areas. The gift shop and duty free shop were well stocked and the sweet shop was a delight! The crystal staircase and elevators in the main atrium are spectacular.

We would definitely cruise again on MSC Fantasia and would consider trying another MSC ship although we prefer the larger ships.