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. 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. 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. She was floated out from the shipyard on 1 March 2008. 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.
Delivery and christening She left the shipyard for the last time on 10 December 2008 and was officially delivered to MSC thereafter. From France, the ship sailed her first voyage headed for
Naples for her christening via
Lisbon,
Gibraltar,
Alicante,
Barcelona, and
Marseille. She then cruised round-trip
Canary Islands and
Western Mediterranean itineraries.
MSC Fantasia has also cruised beyond Europe and has been deployed to sail in the
Caribbean from
Guadeloupe and
Martinique during the winter months. Between 2019 and 2021,
MSC Fantasia cruised in
South America in the fall and winter before returning to Europe in the summer. In summer 2021, she cruised 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. ==References==