Name Fantasia Preceded by Musica-class | Cost $ 550 million | |
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Succeeded by Project Vista & Project Seaside | ||
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, MSC Fantasia, MSC Splendida, MSC Divina and the MSC Preziosa, which are built by STX Europe in St. Nazaire. MSC Divina and MSC Preziosa are modified Fantasia-class ships. They have a 139,400 gross tonnage (GT) and have expanded amenities compared to their earlier sister ships.
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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 with the fourth and final ship, MSC Preziosa entering service in March 2013. The ships have post-Panamax dimensions, which makes them unable to pass through the Panama Canal, until the canal is widened in late 2016.
Overview
The Fantasia-class are 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.
MSC Fantasia and MSC Splendida have a 16,000-ft2(1,500-m2) spa facility, four swimming pools, a Tex-Mex restaurant, a 1,700-seater showlounge, a Mini golf course, a Tennis/Basketball court. They also have 1,637 staterooms, with 80% having an ocean view. Each stateroom area ranges from 193 to 571 square feet.
MSC Divina and MSC Preziosa have 1,751 staterooms, 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; the Aft Lounge, Casino and Discotheque are some of the amenities that received expansion procedures.
Phoenicia/MSC Preziosa
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. 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. 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.