By Anita Dunham-Potter

Travel columnist

Cruise lines would like you to spend more money, so they're expanding their menus of extras. Step aboard and you'll be bombarded with choices ranging artwork to wine tastings. There's some great stuff here, but beware. Are you cruisin' for a wallet bruisin'? Here's some advice.

Cruising is one of the best vacation values going. The “all-inclusive” fare includes accommodations, meals and entertainment. But “extras” can really bloat the bill.

Cruise lines have always charged additional fees for shore excursions, alcoholic beverages and spa treatments, and now they are offering many new onboard extras - everything from artwork to wine tastings. The key to avoiding a bank-breaking bill is knowing what to expect. Here’s how to keep your budget afloat.

Porthole paparazzi
After a cruise, you might have more sympathy for Paris Hilton — what with all the flashbulb-popping ship photographers chasing you from stem to stern. Suddenly you’re a celebrity. It starts before you even set foot on the ship, with the obligatory pose by the S.S. Life Preserver. Photographers even interrupt your meals in the dining room, demanding that you say “Cheese” while you are eating some.

Sadly, unlike Paris, we have to pay to be immortalized in photographs. Prices range from $15 to $30 for each portrait. You don’t have to have your picture taken and you don’t have to buy any photo taken of you. But photos do make nice souvenirs, especially when you’re all gussied up for the formal night of the cruise. And if the picture makes you look younger and thinner, by all means buy it — whatever the cost.

Insider Tip: Bring your own camera and ask fellow passengers to snap portraits for you.

The art of spending
Last summer, John and Helen Finch, of Pittsburgh, took their first cruise, a seven-day Alaska Inside Passage cruise on the Sun Princess. Seeing attractive art every day on the ship, Helen decided to attend one of the onboard art auctions. Before she knew it, she’d paid $800 for two lithographs — not something she had planned for.

Insider Tip: You usually get better art deals on land, where you can play the competition among art galleries. On a ship, you’re a captive audience. If you really like a piece of art, take a picture of it and see if a local art gallery can find it — or something like it — for you.

Bar bill blues
Soft drinks, bottled water and alcoholic drinks can really add up, particularly at the prices charged on most ships. These refreshments are seldom included in the cruise fare (except on luxury cruises). Naturally, cruise lines prefer that you buy alcoholic drinks directly from them, but you can bring your own wine aboard to be served to you at dinner. The catch is that you will be charged a “corkage fee” — usually around $10 per bottle.

Warning: Don’t try to bring your own liquor aboard; the cruise line will confiscate it (they will return it to you at the end of the cruise). However, you may be able to sneak a flask of your favorite spirits aboard for consumption in your cabin.

Don’t forget the kids — those soft drinks add up fast. Find out if your ship offers a “soda package,” a deal that offers unlimited sodas for $20 to $35.

Insider Tip: Don’t buy the drinks that come in the souvenir glasses. How are you going to get those glasses home in one piece?

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