FFXIV... is it actually fun?

It's one of the highest (if not THE highest) rated MMOs out there. People swear up and down saying it's an incredibly fun game. I love the art style, I love the atmosphere, I love the music, I love the crafting, everything. Just one thing bothers me, and that's the combat. Very simplistic, INCREDIBLY slow, very repetitive. People tell me that the combat gets a lot better after 50, and it's not slow at all -- some even going so far as to say it's faster than other MMOs.

... but how much of that is true? I need an MMO or something to play that I actually enjoy, and since WoW is kind of braindead now, I can't really enjoy it. GW2 is incredibly fun, but there's just nothing to do, and no progression, so everything feels like a pointless grind.

Is FFXIV actually enjoyable (combat-wise) later into the game?