The best of these main dining rooms are quite good indeed, and these are our favorites.

Almost every ship has a “main” restaurant (or two) that is set up to serve the vast majority of passengers every evening. Meals in a ship’s main restaurant are always included in your base cruise fare, and there are rarely extra charges for food (though ships increasingly charge for espresso and cappucino). Most mainstream and premium ships also charge for wine and other alcoholic drinks served with meals.

Since food quality is something passengers pay more attention to these days, cruise lines have been making great efforts to improve the quality of the food served in their main dining rooms, but food on a luxury line will almost always be several steps above what you’ll find on a mainstream or premium cruise. But even in the biggest mainstream ship, you’ll often find luxury ingredients like steak and lobster available at least one night of a cruise.