MSC Fantasia

MSC Fantasia is a Fantasia-class cruise ship owned and operated by MSC Cruises and serves as the lead vessel for the Fantasia class of ships. She entered service in December 2008 and ushered in a new generation of larger ships for MSC Cruises, becoming the largest ship to operate for MSC at the time of delivery.[1]

MSC Fantasia
MSC Fantasia in Castries, 2017
History
Panama
Name: MSC Fantasia
Owner: MSC Cruises
Operator: MSC Cruises
Port of registry:  Panama[1][2]
Ordered: 1 June 2005[3]
Builder:
Cost: $550 million[2]
Yard number: A33[3]
Laid down: 11 April 2007
Launched: 8 February 2008[3]
Christened: 18 December 2008 by Sophia Loren in Naples[5][6]
Completed: 9 December 2008[7]
Acquired: 10 December 2008[1]
Maiden voyage: 20 December 2008
In service: 18 December 2008[1][2]–present
Identification: IMO number: 9359791
Call Sign: 3ETR7[7]
MMSI number: 370648000[7]
Status: In service[7]
General characteristics [7]
Class and type: Fantasia-class cruise ship
Tonnage: 137,936 GT
107,916 NT
15,000 DWT[7]
Length: 333.33 m (1,093 ft 7 in)
Beam: 37.92 m (124 ft 5 in)
Draft: 8.65 m (28 ft 5 in)
Decks: 13 passenger decks,[2] 18 total
Propulsion: Diesel-electric
Two Converteam propulsion motors (2 × 20,200 kW) Fixed pitch propellers
Speed: 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph) (cruising)[4]
22.7 knots (42.0 km/h; 26.1 mph) (maximum)
Capacity: 3,274 (double occupancy) 3,959 (max) passengers[2]
Crew: 1,313[2]

History

Planning and construction

In June 2005, unconfirmed reports first emerged that claimed MSC had signed a letter of intent with STX France for two post-Panamax ships set to debut in 2008 and 2009. STX France did confirm that the new 1,600-cabin and 4,000-passenger prototype for the ships was being finalized and considered.[8] On 16 November 2005, MSC finalized a $1.2 billion two-ship order with STX France for what would be the largest ships in the fleet at the time of their delivery. The vessels were planned to be at 135,500 GT each, with a maximum guest capacity of 3,887 passengers, accompanied by 1,300 crew.[9]

The first of the two ships, known as A33, began construction with a steel-cutting ceremony at the shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France on 9 September 2006.[10] Her keel-laying ceremony was celebrated on 11 April 2007, where a gold coin earned by Rafaela Aponte in a piano-playing contest was welded to the keel.[10][11] She was floated out from the shipyard on 8 February 2008.[12] The ship left to perform her sea trials for 48 hours in the Bay of Biscay on 24 October 2008 and returned on 27 October 2008.[13]

Delivery and christening

She left the shipyard for the last time on 10 December 2008 and was officially delivered to MSC thereafter.[14] From France, the ship sailed her first voyage headed for Naples for her christening via Lisbon, Gibraltar, Alicante, Barcelona, and Marseille.[14] She was officially named on 18 December 2008 by her godmother, Sophia Loren.[5][6]

Operational career

Following her christening, MSC Fantasia spent her inaugural season cruising from Genoa. Her inaugural cruise departed on 20 December 2008 for the Eastern Mediterranean, calling in Rhodes, Alexandria, Messina, and Naples.[15] She then cruised round-trip Canary Islands and Western Mediterranean itineraries.[15]

On 5 March 2009, high winds snapped the forward mooring lines of MSC Fantasia while she was docked in Spain. The bow drifted away from the dock side and caused a passenger gangway to collapse into the water. One passenger and three crew members had to be rescued from the sea. One passenger was taken to hospital with head injuries, while the other three were treated for hypothermia.[16][17]

MSC Fantasia has also cruised beyond Europe and has been deployed to sail in the Caribbean from Guadeloupe and Martinique during the winter months.[18] Between 2019 and 2021, MSC Fantasia cruises in South America in the fall and winter before returning to Europe in the summer.[19] In summer 2021, she will cruise weekly Mediterranean itineraries from Genoa in the place of MSC Seashore until 1 August, because Seashore's delivery was postponed due to construction delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

Design and specifications

MSC Fantasia is powered by two shaft-driven propellers from three 12-cylinder and two 16-cylinder Wärtsilä 46 diesel-electric engines, producing a total output of 71,400 kilowatts (95,700 hp).[10] The ship's electric motors come from Converteam, which drive the propellers located aft of two Becker Marine System flap rudders and stern thrusters.[10]

Aboard MSC Fantasia was also the first "MSC Cruises' Yacht Club" concept, a special VIP space dedicated to passengers paying a premium for cabins and upgraded amenities within the Yacht Club cabin category.[21] Other notable features include an expansive spa, a 4D cinema, musical fountains, and a race car simulator.[10]

References

Notes
  1. "MSC Cruises takes delivery of MSC Fantasia". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 11 December 2008. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  2. Ward, Douglas (2009). Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships (18th ed.). Singapore: Berlitz. p. 439. ISBN 978-981-268-564-3.
  3. "Data from XVAS". Vessel Assessment System. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  4. "MSC Fantasia". ShipParade. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  5. Garrison, Linda (29 December 2008). "MSC Fantasia Named in Naples". About.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  6. "MSC Cruises launches Fantasia". travelbite.co.uk. 19 December 2008. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  7. "MSC Fantasia (9359791)". Veristar Info. Bureau Veritas. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  8. "New MSC Ships". Cruise Industry News. 17 June 2005. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  9. "MSC Expansion, Two New Ships Ordered". Cruise Industry News. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  10. Saunders, Aaron (2013). Giants of the Seas: The Ships that Transformed Modern Cruising. Barnsley, England: Seaforth Publishing. p. 148. ISBN 978 1 84832 172 4.
  11. "MSC Cruises put their coins where their mouth is". Times of Malta. 13 April 2007.
  12. Staff, C. I. N. (14 February 2008). "Float Out for MSC Fantasia". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  13. Staff, C. I. N. (27 October 2008). "MSC Fantasia's Sea Trials". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  14. Staff, C. I. N. (11 December 2008). "MSC Fantasia's Hand-over Ceremony". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  15. Staff, C. I. N. (19 June 2008). "MSC Cruises' 2009 Europe Sailings Now Available". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  16. "Cruise ship gangway collapses in high winds". thinkSPAIN. 5 March 2009. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  17. "MSC Fantasia Passenger Dramatic Rescue". sky.com. 6 March 2009. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  18. McCarthy, Daniel (26 September 2017). "Post Hurricanes, MSC Cruises Updates Caribbean Sailings". Travel Market Report.
  19. Mathisen, Monty (10 September 2019). "MSC Grandiosa to South America for 2020-2021". www.cruiseindustrynews.com.
  20. "MSC Extends Pause, Retools Summer 2021 Program". Cruise Industry News. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  21. Higgins, Michelle (11 November 2007). "Paying a Premium Not to Mingle at Sea". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Bibliography
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