Specialty Dining vs. Main Dining on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise

When I booked my seven-day cruise on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise, I made a decision I wasn't sure I'd stick with: I'd try both the included main dining room and spring for at least a few specialty dining experiences. I'm not someone who typically drops extra cash on vacations, but I wanted to figure out once and for all whether the upcharge restaurants were actually worth it, or if I'd be throwing money away. Spoiler alert: the answer is way more nuanced than I expected. I arrived on boarding day with my stomach already growling—I'd skipped lunch to get to the port on time—and my friend Marcus, who I was cruising with, suggested we grab dinner right away. We checked our itinerary and saw the first seating for the main dining room, the Latitude Restaurant, was at 5:45 p.m. "Let's just do this tonight and scope out the specialty restaurants tomorrow," he said, loading up our room key cards. The Latitude is a sprawling space that takes up two decks with soaring ceilings and this laid-back, tropical vibe that actually lives up to the Margaritaville brand. The lighting is warm but not stuffy, and there's this general feeling of relaxation rather than formality. Our server, a guy nam…