Mediterranean - A lovely second family cruise on MSC Fantasia

Remember when we went on our first family cruise around the Baltic Sea, witnessing wonders in St Petersburg, Riga, Gdansk and Helsinki?

Well, we fell in love with it so much so that we decided to go on a second cruise during the last summer holiday. This time round, we toured around the Mediterranean and visited Genoa (Italy), Marseille (France), Barcelona (Spain), Tunisia (Africa), Messina (Italy), Valletta (Malta) and Rome (Italy).

Due to an amazingly cheap and timely offer, we went ahead with the Italian cruise company MSC cruises on board the magnificent MSC Fantasia. With a total of 18 decks, over 1600 cabins and a capacity near 4000, it was no wonder this ship was termed as “The largest cruise ship ever built for a European cruise company”.

So what are we waiting for? Come join us on our adventures on board!

The Atrium
Considering how guests walk past the atrium countless times a day, it's no wonder how ships pay extra attention to this area and come up with ways to impress. I have to admit I was truly blown away by the atrium on MSC Fantasia, with much credit going to the glittering, gorgeous, elegant Swarovski crystal stairs

With charming architecture including glass pieces on the ceiling, warm golden colours, the mirrors, the glass elevators, the brass banisters, the marble, the transparent piano and the diamond chandeliers, it was easy for guests to be immersed in a sea of visual luxury.











Facilities
Since its launch in December 2008, MSC Fantasia is the largest ship operated by MSC Cruises to date and has been its flagship ever since. It boasts an extensive range of facilities including 5 restaurants, 13 bars, 4 swimming pools, 12 hydro-massage pools, coffee bars, shops, a children’s area, a disco, a spa, a casino, a Formula 1 simulator and an interactive 4-D cinema. The hubby brought Angel for her first jacuzzi experience and it felt great to be able to laze around and relax as a family. Angel's favourite hangout place was of course the kids' area and there were many toys, books and even playground facilities for her to explore. Phew.

Programs
One of the main reasons why we love cruises is because there's never a moment of boredom. I mean, there's always some party, game or fun activity going on that's catered to the whole family. We love the poolside parties and the mass dance lessons even if that dance steps can get a little wacky and you get strangers bumping into you now and then. That's just the fun of it, right? Let your hair down, shake your body and have fun!

Angel loves to boogie to the music though she can get a little shy if people approach her. There was this crew member who told us he loved her so much and he was so delighted when she agreed to have a dance with him. That was how she managed to win a handful of mementos from this ship because they tended to flood cute kids with gifts.

We also loved watching the theater shows every night because they were simply awesome. Featuring stunts like human pyramids, somersaults, acrobatics, high energy dance movies to even opera singing and a memorable Michael Jackson tribute, we totally dug every minute of it.


















Food
I was never the food connoisseur and given how we had a wide spread of buffet breakfast every morning at Zanzibar, followed by a 4-course dinner at Cerchio d'Oro Restaurant, well, I can only say we ate like kings and queens. The only wish we had was if only they offered more Asian dishes like how Royal Caribbean catered to intercontinental tastes. At times we felt like we had an overdose of pasta, burgers and steak. Nonetheless, considering MSC is an Italian owned company, this wasn't unexpected. Being a typical Chinese chinese, Angel didn't really gobble up her meals no matter how appetizing they looked, which was a pity because they offered a wide range of children's food to choose from.

Precious memories
We had two formal nights on board where guests would take efforts to dress up and create a really nice ambience. One of the best things about having a girl is that I can dress her up in lacy dresses and pretty hairbands. Does she look adorable? She would look at herself in the mirror and do all kinds of poses, much to my delight. And she even wanted to carry my handbag and pretend it was hers.

As usual, there were photo-taking services on board the ship and you could purchase your pictures for a more-than-reasonable fee. Well, we loved our family portraits so much that we got sucked in and willingly burnt our pockets for these pictures.

Worth it or not? Definitely. Because memories are priceless. I'm glad we had a whole bag of it from this lovely holiday.

I will be writing up posts on the individual ports of call on this wonderful trip we had. So, stay tuned!

Have you gone on a cruise with your family? Did you enjoy it? I sure hope you loved it as much as we did!