What You'll Pay:  All ships offer free dining in the ship's main dining room and buffet venue, but most ships today also are sporting more and more extra-fee venues. You'll pay extra for everything from casual, family-style Italian to exclusive chef's tables and restaurants designed by celebrity chefs. Even room service, once free 24/7, now comes with a surcharge on many lines, with fees applied for certain items, during certain hours or all the time. Lines like Norwegian and Royal Caribbean tack a fee to all room service orders.

Most alternative restaurants charge in the range of $15 to $50 per person, but a chef's table experience or wine-paired meal could be upward of $100 per passenger. Some lines, like Norwegian, are starting to move toward a la carte prices in their alternative venues.

Specialty desserts (ice cream, gelato, cupcakes and other fancy pastries), special dishes in the main dining room (such as high-quality cuts of steak and whole lobsters), dinner theater, pizza delivery and even pub grub will cost extra.

Savings Tip: Don't go! You can typically find 24/7 dining for free onboard, and main dining room meals are often quite good, with multiple courses and decadent desserts. The newest, largest ships often have additional casual, fee-free eateries. Carnival is a good cruise line to choose if you want variety in free dining options.

If you're tempted by the specialty options -- and many are worth a splurge -- just be sure to budget the price of dinner into your onboard spending (or skip those afternoon cocktails or wine with dinner to mitigate the cost). Alternatively, look for cruise deals that offer onboard credit or free meals in specialty venues as part of the incentive package to book.

Some lines, including Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, offer dining packages that bundle several for-fee restaurants for a discounted rate; others, like Holland America, offer lunch in the specialty venues for a lower price than dinner, allowing you to enjoy the alternative dining experience at a lesser cost. #inCruises