Cruise Drink and Dining Tips: What's Included and What's Not

Your cruise fare includes a lot of food already: the main dining room, the buffet, the casual poolside spots, and usually room service for a small fee or free depending on the line. You will not go hungry without spending an extra dollar.

What is not included is the fun-but-pricey stuff: specialty restaurants, alcohol, sodas, fancy coffees, and bottled water. Knowing that line ahead of time is the whole game.

Drink packages sound great until you do the math. Most lines price them per person per day and require everyone in the cabin to buy in, so it adds up fast.

Be honest about how you actually drink. If you have three or four cocktails a day plus specialty coffees, a package can pay off. If you are more of a one-glass-of-wine-with-dinner person, you will almost always come out ahead paying as you go. Add up a realistic day before you commit.

The specialty restaurants are genuinely good and worth doing once or twice for a special evening. Booking every night, though, means paying extra for food you already paid for in the main dining room.

Reserve your specialty nights early, ideally the first day aboard, since the good times book up. Then enjoy the included dining the rest of the week with zero guilt.

The main dining room is included and often the best value on the ship. You can order more than one appetizer or dessert, ask for a dish you do not see, and the staff will happily accommodate allergies if you tell them ahead.

If you like the same table and waiter all week, choose traditional fixed seating. If you want flexibility, pick the anytime dining option when you book.

The buffet is a highlight and also the single easiest place to pick up a bug on a ship. Many lines now have crew serving the first day or two for exactly this reason.

Wash or sanitize your hands before every single trip up there. It is the one habit that does the most to keep you healthy all week, and a clip-on sanitizer makes it automatic.

Bottled water and specialty coffees are classic onboard upcharges. Tap water on ships is treated and perfectly safe to drink, so an insulated tumbler you fill at the buffet station covers your hydration for free.

Check your line's policy, but many let you bring a limited amount of bottled water or soda aboard at embarkation, which is cheaper than buying it onboard.