Man Pays $700 For ‘Barebones’ Cruise, Gets Hidden Fees for Breathing
KEY POINTS
- •Becky Pokora took a $700 seven-night solo cruise on Costa Pacifica, an Italian budget line.
- •The itinerary included five ports, mostly within the Dominican Republic plus one stop in Grand Turk.
- •Despite dated ship conditions and extra charges, she enjoyed the trip and would cruise with Costa again.
Becky Pokora boarded the Costa Pacifica, a massive 3,800-passenger Italian cruise ship from Genoa, expecting budget bliss at $100 per night for seven nights—totaling a suspiciously low $700 including solo supplements, taxes, and fees. The ship, boasting a six-story atrium and glass elevators from 2009, doubled as a time capsule with year-old carpets and wallpaper straight from a 2000s pastel nightmare. Dining was a gamble: pasta al dente, octopus carpaccio cold and classy, but pizza and sushi snacks cost extra outside 6–7 p.m. buffet hours. Water cost extra too, because apparently hydration is a luxury on the high seas. By week’s end, surprise €200 extras tacked on spa treatments, WiFi, drinks, and presumably air usage. The line’s Southern European siesta schedule forced Becky to rethink her American ‘early bird’ travel ways while exploring five Dominican Republic ports with a bonus stop in Grand Turk. Despite the nickel-and-diming and a theatre lineup that screamed 'low-budget fluff,' Becky would cruise Costa again, proving we’re all terrible drivers of our own life’s budget cruises.
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(1 of 3)Nothing says vacation like paying $700 upfront, then coughing up €200 extra because apparently even a slice of pizza wears a cover charge on the Costa Pacifica.
Costa Cruises: where ‘all inclusive’ means you just get access to the disappointment free of charge.
Imagine booking paradise for $700 but discovering it’s just the ticket to a ‘payful’ adventure where water drinks and gelato come at a premium.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 4/8/2026 | Author: Becky Pokora
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