The Fantastic was laid down on February 25, 1994 under the hull number 1182 at Nuovi Cantieri Apunia in Marina di Carrara and was launched on December 2, 1995. The delivery to Grandi Navi Veloci took place on May 25, 1996. After a single cruise from Genoa via Málaga and Lisbon to Palma on June 14, the ship began ferry service on June 28 on the route from Genoa to Porto Torres .
After a good two years in service, the port of destination of the Fantastic moved from Porto Torres to Barcelona in September 1998. The ship has been operating the route from Tangier via Barcelona and Sète to Genoa since 2012.
On January 12, 2018, the Fantastic collided with the cruise ship Viking Star in the port of Barcelona , causing both ships to suffer slight damage. There were no personal injuries.