We were not expecting a good Mediterranean cruise on Costa Atlantica having read the reviews, but we wanted to see the places that it visited. No other ship did the same route so in May '09 we took a chance. Coata's package travel to Savona from Birmingham was via Amsterdam with a four hour wait for the plane to Milan. Then we had a two and a half hour bus ride to the cruise terminal; it took us all day! Instead we could have flown directly to Genoa just 20 miles from the Savona Cruise teminal. There were only a few hours at each port which limited our sightseeing. We were taken aback by the glitzy decor as we expected, but we quickly got used to it, and liked some areas of the ship. There were some good features like the large dance floors. The music in the corridors to the cabins and some of the lounges was pleasant. Our cabin, with a restricted view balcony was nice. The computers were slow and very expensive so I resorted to sending text messages to our family. The sun loungers at the pool were unbelievably close together. We had to pay for all drinks even fruit juice at the buffet lunch with the exception of tea and coffee. I did not like the thick plastic mugs although the melamine plates were suitable. The buffet meals were rather chaotic and it took time to find the various types of food. On the whole the food was fair, especially in the main dining room. The staff were attentive and nice to chat to. We had booked a table for eight but we were put on a table for four as there were only two other English speaking people on the whole ship. Fortunately they were nice people and we quickly made friends. Otherwise we felt very isolated. I had taken antiseptic wipes for the plane tables and to clean around our cabin in view of Swine Flu, but soon found that it was futile as you have to handle so many things! We were shocked to find that there were no hand wipes as we boarded the ship after an excursion although I saw one empty box in the background. Neither were there any as we entered the dining areas! I complained but it had no effect. This was our tenth cruise taken on various other ships, and although we enjoyed the places that we visited, I doubt if we would choose a Costa cruise ship again.