We have just returned from 3 weeks on the Costa Classica sailing from Dubai to Singapore. It was a bit like the Curate's egg - good in parts. We have cruised with Costa before, but on a newer ship and we found the Classica very basic and ferry-like (definitely not Italian-style!) and not really suited to expectations of modern cruising. The main plus points were the itinerary - fantastic (see more below) and we liked the evening entertainment (except for the few nights that they showed videos!). They had a good classical duo, two acrobats/aerialists, an illusionist, a ventriloquist, various singers, and excellent crew show and a couple of production shows, which were OK but a bit thin with just one singer, three male dancers (until one got injured and then there were just two!) and six female dancers.

BUT - the air conditioning in our cabin, along with many others we heard of did not work properly, despite repeated complaints and efforts to repair it, which made for a very uncomfortable time indeed in such a warm climate. It was probably because it was an old ship, but apparently there have been problems with cabins in some areas for months and (since it wasn't fixed) these will doubtless continue as Classica does her Far Eastern itineraries. Some cabins on our level (Deck 4) got flooded - at least we escaped that!

The food was generally poor, and I am not a fussy eater! The buffet was also totally inadequate and poorly designed, and overcrowding in the area was exacerbated by maintenance that shut one of the two exit areas for most of the cruise. There was also no food available after 9 pm apart from pizza on Deck 9 and room service (at a charge). Also no free tea, coffee and water after 9 pm, which is totally outrageous. The service in the restaurant was very poor and the food was badly presented and sometimes poorly cooked. Our waiter was the worst we have ever had (and since 'gratuities' are compulsory there is no opportunity to reflect that in your tipping!). His English was poor, he got orders wrong and then argued with you, then went off and argued with the assistant waiter, and some evenings was in a real strop, while other times he appeared to be high as a kite. Read more