No Problem space around the pool but when pool side entertainment started was again aimed at Italians and no provision for English speaking travellers.
Shore excursions seemed okay and planned but if trying to disembark on our own was an unpleasant experience.
Stopped at Santorini but already had 4 cruise ships as well as ours and waited an hour for the cable car. Too many people at once trying to get to the same place.

We took a January cruise with Costa and were expecting a lot more than this, the food was nothing to get excited about, the weather was atrocious but that was not their fault, but the fact that there was nothing to do was. The gym was small and the equipment out dated and old.We could not swim as it was too cold. All the entertainment was directed at the Italian passengers. The flights with Airitalia were diabolical, on the outward journey they had no food or snacks, no duty free, and coming back my seat was broken and so was my husbands, there was dust coming out of the air vents, and the staff were none communitive. We shall not be travelling with Costa again.

Just back from a weeks cruising from Venice, Greek Islands and Dubrovnik with my wife and 8 year old.
Have not been cruising since we had our son, but have been with Cunard and Thomson before. In our opinion falls between the two in quality etc. which is exactly as expected.
The average age must be around 45 on this cruise compared to about 65 on Cunard, and also lots of families with kids, teenagers etc, which made it fun for our lad, and hence fun for us.
The cruise is very informal. If you never wore a jacket and tie to dinner no one would bat an eyelid. More like smart resort casual. I wore black tie to the gala dinners, and was in a minority of perhaps 25 out of 1000.
The only problem was that the French and Italian customers, who were the majority, seemed to have a real problem with queuing or the concept of waiting your turn in a civilised manner. The best way around this is to turn up about 5 minutes late for everything when the scrummage has collapsed and you arrive with dignity!
So if your idea of cruising is something trapped in history, and of a more elegant age then forget it, but if you want a spotless ship, spacious cabins, spacious public rooms, helpful and friendly staff, and where your kids can have fun too, then for £650pp you will find it hard to beat.

First cruise with outside cabin. Previous cruises were inside. Lot of light from large round "window". Costa Classica second sitting at 9.15pm later than the other cruise lines we have been on. Entertainment poor due to the diverse ethnicity of the passengers - dancers and a singer. In the buffet, one area would serve meat or fish; another would serve salad, bread and vegetables, so that for a complete meal one would have to queue several times.

Sailed from Venice on the Costa Classica on 7/10/2005. Enjoyed the ports Venice, Ancona, Athens, Heraklion, Corfu town, Dubrovnik. It seems to me that the cruise line is working hard to improve the level of service and the end product. However, this cruise is not for everyone. Do not expect a Carnival or Royal Caribbean experience. It is a European cruise line. Announcements are made in 5 languages. The majority of passengers are Italian. (There were less than 50 Americans onboard with us.) Because we did not have the same expectations for this cruise, we had a great time.

Booked 4 weeks before travelling, Costa Classica was our first cruise (and therefore we have nothing to compare it to). The first day from Savona was quite rough, and several were seen to be sick or suffer minor bumps. However, the rest of the week was calm, and often it was difficult to tell that you were on a ship. The meals were very good, and we cut down on the number of courses ordered at dinner after the first couple of nights because of the volume. Service was excellent, and the fact that we spoke English to at least 8 nationalities of waiters was never a problem. The outside cabin was adequately equipped and well serviced, with space equivalent to the standard rooms offered by hotel chains. As a family of 4, we found the trips quite expensive, and we found that at most ports we could see the same sights (in some cases with commentary) far cheaper by taxi, which were usually plentiful and queueing at the port. On the whole, good value for money, as it was heavily discounted because of the lateness of the booking.