The ''Fantasia'' class is a class of

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...

s, operated by

MSC Cruises MSC Cruises () is a Swiss-Italian global cruise line based in Geneva, with operations offices in Naples, Genoa and Venice. It was founded in 1988 in Naples, Italy, as part of the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). In addition to being the wor ...

. At present, there are four active ''Fantasia''-class cruise ships, the lead vessel, , , and the , which were built by

STX Europe STX Europe AS, formerly Aker Yards ASA, was until 2012 a subsidiary of the South Korean STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. With headquarters in Oslo, Norway, STX Europe operated 15 shipyards in Brazil, Finland, France, Norway, Romania and Vietnam. Th ...

in St. Nazaire. ''MSC Divina'' and ''MSC Preziosa'' are modified ''Fantasia''-class ships. They have a and have expanded amenities compared to their earlier sister ships. 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 while the fourth and final ship, ''MSC Preziosa'' entered service in March 2013.

Overview

At the time of their construction the ''Fantasia'' class were 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. and have a spa facility, four swimming pools, a

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (derived from the words ''Texas'' and ''Mexico'') is a regional American cuisine that originates from the culinary creations of Tejanos, Tejano people. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern ...

restaurant, a 1,700-seater showlounge, a

mini golf Miniature golf (also known as minigolf, putt-putt, crazy golf, and by several other names) is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of poi ...

course, a

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

court. They also have 1,637 passenger cabins. and have 1,751 staterooms, 114 more than the previous ships. They also have two additional

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

s and their decks and restaurants are redesigned to allocate more space per passenger.

''Phoenicia''/''MSC Preziosa''

On June 4, 2010 a letter of intent was signed between STX France and

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

n 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 Hannibal Muammar Gaddafi (; born 1976) is the fifth son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife, Safia Farkash. Biography Gaddafi was born in Tripoli in 1976. He started his maritime career by joining the Marine Academy of ...

, who had a 120-ton

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

integrated into the design. During construction, the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. All figures are from the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks ...

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''.

Ships

Data

* Gross tonnage: 138,000-139,000-GT * Length: * Beam: * Draught: * Cost: $550 million

References

External links

MSC Fantasia cruise ship from MSC Cruises
{{MSC Ships MSC Fantasia-class Cruise Ship MSC Cruises