One of my favorite things about cruising with Carnival is that they offer so many free places to eat, including specialty restaurants.
That's not always the case. Some cruise lines like Royal Caribbean have only a small handful of eateries included with the cruise fare. While I've found Royal's dining selections to be excellent, I often spend a lot of extra money to try them and much prefer having as much free dining venues as possible.
On Carnival Radiance, there are 15 eateries, and only six of these are specialty restaurants with an evening dinner surcharge. Free options include the main dining room, buffet, and several standalone venues. But even some specialty restaurants that charge extra for dinner are free for lunch, like Italian eatery Cucina del Capitano. There, dinner is $18 per person, but the lunch menu is free.
Other free standalone eateries are quick serve-venues and they're also some of my favorites. I love Shaq's Big Chicken, which has crispy chicken sandwiches, chicken strips, chicken biscuits, and a bunch of sides like homestyle potato salad and jalapeno slaw, all at no extra charge.