These are our favorite specialty restaurants on cruise ships and cruise lines.

A growing trend in shipboard dining is the emergence of sophisticated specialty restaurants (increasingly with menus designed by famous name chefs) that require reservations and frequently charge a fee. You’ll often find some of the best food on a ship in one of these restaurants, but on most mainstream and premium ships you’ll pay between $25 to $100 per person extra to dine in one.

There’s no doubt that specialty restaurants offer a refined dining option that cannot be duplicated in a big ship’s main restaurants, which must feed hundreds of passengers in a very short window. Food in specialty restaurants is generally cooked to order, as in an upscale restaurant on land, and is just as good as in any special-occasion spot you may frequent at home.

Some of these restaurants may be fancy alternatives, offering rarefied cuisine with foie gras, caviar, lobster, and prime aged beef. Or the concept may be more casual with a menu of popular Italian or Asian specialties.