Carnival Encounter
Carnival · Grand (ex-P&O) class
- Cabinverified
- Moneyverified
- Trapsverified
10 sources · checked 2026-08-18 · View source
Midship around decks 9 to 11.
- not checked:No deck stack transcribed for this hull — the call above is the operator's, not a table's.
Some balconies here are obstructed — section 03 has what by, and which.
- not checked:What is physically in the way is not established on this hull.
$17 per person per day, added to the folio automatically.
- not checked:Whether the drink package earns its keep depends on the itinerary — that call lives in the Booking Check.
Cabin intelligence
VerifiedWhere the operator puts people on this hull, and what is above and below them when they get there.
- Motion
- Push hard for midship. Extreme forward is the one to rule out; extreme aft is a negative when there's comparable midship inventory, and more so if vibration also matters to them.
- Vibration
- Lower decks are generally better for motion, not worse — closer to the waterline. The catch is vibration: a low cabin at the back can still pick up the propulsion, so "go low" isn't automatically the right call for a sensitive traveller.
- Minors
- For bookings made from 1 February 2025, anyone 14 or under has to be in the same cabin as their qualifying guardian or in one that genuinely connects — adjacent doesn't satisfy it. Guests 15 to 17 can be up to three cabins away. One exception worth knowing: a parent aged 21 to 24 can sail with their own children, so don't insist on a 25-plus guardian in that case.
- Lifts
- Three lift lobbies — forward, midship and aft, the Grand-class layout — and two of the three connect the accessible corridors, so the bank matters more here than on a ship where they're interchangeable. I couldn't establish car counts. The glazed panoramic lifts only run at the atrium on decks 5 to 7 and up at 14 over the pool, and the atrium is only three decks tall, so it isn't the landmark it is on a Carnival-built ship.
- Accessibility
- Only two of the three lift lobbies connect the wheelchair-accessible corridors, which makes the choice of bank a real decision rather than a convenience — check it against the accessible deck plan for the specific cabin. Dining and entertainment sit low around decks 5 to 7 while the pools are on 14 and the adventure park is on 16, so the vertical trip is substantial.
Category notes
- The deck 10 balconies need explaining rather than avoiding, and the honest version is less precise than what circulates. These are the Princess Caribe design — unusually deep, with the forward portion covered and a meaningful section left open. Some of those open sections are visible from the deck above. How much varies by position, and I don't have evidence good enough to give you a universal rule, so verify the specific cabin's geometry rather than quoting a fraction at a client.
- The cabins are still Princess rooms under Carnival category codes. Balcony size and coverage vary by deck in a way they don't on a Carnival-built ship. Check the specific cabin's dimensions rather than trusting the category to be uniform.
- I'd steer them off a porthole room — it's the cheapest category and they've felt small to me. Check the actual square footage for the specific cabin before you rule it in or out.
- Deck 8 carries a whole obstructed-oceanview category. If you're booking an oceanview here, read the code before the deck.
What is above and below the cabins
Worst first. The venue, the risk and what a traveller actually hears are the same on every hull — they come from the operator's own risk table. Only the locations are this ship's.
- The pool or Lido deckVery high risk
chairs scraping, cleaning, footsteps, music, deck parties, worst early morning.
ON THIS SHIP — deck 14, which carries cabins alongside the pools
- The buffet or a large restaurantHigh risk
carts, chairs, cleaning, early breakfast setup.
ON THIS SHIP — the main buffet on 14, on the same deck as those cabins
- The gymHigh risk
treadmills, dropped weights, classes, all day.
ON THIS SHIP — the fitness centre on 15, alongside the cabins there
- A kids' or water-play areaHigh risk
running, activity noise, daytime traffic.
ON THIS SHIP — the kids' club on 15, plus the adventure park and waterslides on 16 directly above the deck 15 cabins
Deck by deck
VerifiedThe working behind the placement call: for every deck, what is above it, what is below it, and what that makes it.
No deck stack has been transcribed for this hull. The placement call above is the operator's own, and it stands on its own — but there is no table here to check it against.
That is a gap in what we have looked at, not a clean bill of health. Check this part of the booking the way you would without CruiseRead.
Balcony views and obstructions
VerifiedObstructed is sold as one thing and is at least five. What is in the way decides the advice, not the label.
- On this ship
- Category 5A on deck 8 is the one, and Carnival's own deck material for both ships confirms it as an obstructed ocean view — that part is solid. What's NOT equally solid is what does the obstructing: secondary cabin data points at some mix of lifeboat, tender and steel structure, and I'd treat that as a lead rather than a fact when you're describing it to a client. No complete cabin-number list is published, so read the category code on the specific cabin. Keep this separate from the deck 10 balcony coverage question — different deck, different problem, and merging them is the obvious mistake.
- Which cabins
- the category 5A obstructed ocean views on deck 8
The mechanism is not established on this hull — the line publishes that a cabin is obstructed without saying by what, and we do not fill that in with a guess.
That is a gap in what we have looked at, not a clean bill of health. Check this part of the booking the way you would without CruiseRead.
Money
VerifiedThe rates and the structural rules. Whether a package is worth buying depends on the sailing, and that call is in section 05.
- Gratuities
- $17 per person, per day, added to the folio automatically.
- Drink package
- $83.94 per person, per day — the 20% service charge is already in that number.
- Before you price it
- CHEERS! is $83.94 per person per day bought in advance and $89.94 bought onboard, and both figures already include the 20% service charge — so the price you see is the price they pay. Every guest of drinking age in the stateroom has to buy it if one does. Worth saying plainly when a client is comparing against another line: some lines post the package before their gratuity and add it at checkout, so a lower-looking number can end up costing more.
- Specialty dining
- It's reservable pre-cruise through Cruise Manager, and times are first-come first-served, so lock in the nights that matter early.
What changes with who's sailing
This page has no client, so it cannot print one read. Here is everything the read engine says differently depending on who is on the booking — the alternative was to pick a default client and not mention it.
Derived by running this ship through the read engine on all 32 combinations of the four client questions and keeping what differed. Everything below is engine output, grouped by the answer that turns it on — nothing on this page decides for itself who a warning is for. Much of it also appears in the sections above, where it is filed by subject; what this section adds is which answer brings it up.
Who's travellingIf it's a family with kids4 changes
- Traps · the callKid access is the trap on this ship. What the parents picture and what their kids can actually use are two different things — and nobody finds out until day one.
- CabinConnecting cabins are the right call here. Never read connecting status off the category or off two cabin numbers being next to each other — only an explicit connecting pair counts.
- CabinFor bookings made from 1 February 2025, anyone 14 or under has to be in the same cabin as their qualifying guardian or in one that genuinely connects — adjacent doesn't satisfy it. Guests 15 to 17 can be up to three cabins away. One exception worth knowing: a parent aged 21 to 24 can sail with their own children, so don't insist on a 25-plus guardian in that case.
- TrapsConfirm the kids clear the height and age lines before you promise anything. Speedway Splash is the waterslide on this ship and Carnival publishes its limits: 47 inches minimum, 242 pounds maximum, included in the fare. Quote those rather than the fleet's usual numbers — this hull came from a different builder and the limits aren't Carnival's standard ones. Camp Ocean splits 2–11 into age bands (Penguins 2–5, Sting Rays 6–8, Sharks 9–11), then Circle C at 12–14 and Club O2 at 15–17. Turtles covers 6 months to under 2 at certain times. A tall six-year-old still gets turned away at the slide.
Who's travellingIf it's a multigen or mobility booking3 changes
- Traps · the callWatch the walking. This is a big ship, and the distance from a far cabin to the theater or dining room is longer than anyone expects — it wears on older travelers by day three.
- CabinBook them near an elevator bank — that's the call for anyone slower on their feet. Three lift lobbies — forward, midship and aft, the Grand-class layout — and two of the three connect the accessible corridors, so the bank matters more here than on a ship where they're interchangeable. I couldn't establish car counts. The glazed panoramic lifts only run at the atrium on decks 5 to 7 and up at 14 over the pool, and the atrium is only three decks tall, so it isn't the landmark it is on a Carnival-built ship.
- TrapsMap their daily route before you book the cabin. Only two of the three lift lobbies connect the wheelchair-accessible corridors, which makes the choice of bank a real decision rather than a convenience — check it against the accessible deck plan for the specific cabin. Dining and entertainment sit low around decks 5 to 7 while the pools are on 14 and the adventure park is on 16, so the vertical trip is substantial. A great-looking aft suite can mean a punishing walk to everything, every night.
Who's travellingIf it's a couple or a solo traveller1 change
- Traps · the callNot many traps on this booking — but don't confirm it before you've glanced at these.
Who's travellingIf it's a couple, a multigen or mobility booking or a solo traveller1 change
- CabinKeep them out of a connecting cabin. That door is a bonus when your own people are on the other side of it and a problem when it's strangers — check the deck plan before you confirm.
SeasicknessIf it's someone prone to seasickness3 changes
- Cabin · the callThis one matters here — book them on a lower or middle deck, toward the middle of the ship. Nothing high, nothing at either end. That's where the ship moves least.
- CabinThey're prone to seasickness. Push hard for midship. Extreme forward is the one to rule out; extreme aft is a negative when there's comparable midship inventory, and more so if vibration also matters to them.
- CabinLower decks are generally better for motion, not worse — closer to the waterline. The catch is vibration: a low cabin at the back can still pick up the propulsion, so "go low" isn't automatically the right call for a sensitive traveller.
SeasicknessIf it's travellers who don't get seasick1 change
- Cabin · the callPut them on a lower or middle deck, toward the middle of the ship — calmest ride, and the middle of the ship is the shortest walk to most of it.
Cruise experienceIf it's a first-time cruiser2 changes
- MoneySet the gratuity expectation up front. It's auto-added to the folio daily — around $17 per person, per day — and first-timers are always surprised by the bill at the end.
- TrapsWalk them through embarkation-day timing. Guests pick an Arrival Appointment during online check-in and need to turn up inside that window — anyone arriving early may be held until their assigned time. First-timers show up whenever, then wait in a two-hour line — a staggered check-in window is the easiest good impression you'll ever make.
ItineraryIf it's a port-heavy itinerary1 change
- Money · the callSkip the blanket drink package here. It's a port-heavy run — they'll be off the ship most days, and it rarely earns back its cost.
ItineraryIf it's an itinerary with lots of sea days1 change
- Money · the callThe drink package is worth it on this sailing. Lots of sea days means lots of bar time — what it takes to break even depends entirely on what they actually drink, so run it against their habits rather than a rule of thumb.
Expectation traps
VerifiedWhat the client pictures and what they get, where those come apart on this hull.
Particular to this ship
- This ship has had three names — Star Princess, then Pacific Encounter, and now this one. Reviews, photos and deck plans circulate under all of them. The deck and cabin numbers mostly survived the rebrandings but every venue name changed, so an old plan will navigate correctly and describe the wrong ship.
- Extra care searching this one: Princess launched a brand-new Star Princess in 2025, so searching that name returns a completely different, much newer ship rather than this hull's history.
- No mini-golf. Carnival's current availability list doesn't include either of these two. Don't treat them as ordinary Carnival ships on facilities just because they now carry Carnival branding — check each amenity rather than assuming the fleet default.
- What they do have is the P&O Australia inheritance: Speedway Splash, the EDGE adventure offering, and the outdoor complex up top. These are their own concepts, so name them rather than describing them by analogy to a Carnival venue.
- Height and age
- Speedway Splash is the waterslide on this ship and Carnival publishes its limits: 47 inches minimum, 242 pounds maximum, included in the fare. Quote those rather than the fleet's usual numbers — this hull came from a different builder and the limits aren't Carnival's standard ones. Camp Ocean splits 2–11 into age bands (Penguins 2–5, Sting Rays 6–8, Sharks 9–11), then Circle C at 12–14 and Club O2 at 15–17. Turtles covers 6 months to under 2 at certain times.
- Embarkation
- Guests pick an Arrival Appointment during online check-in and need to turn up inside that window — anyone arriving early may be held until their assigned time.
What's running right now
A status rather than a fact about the ship. It changes without this record changing, which is why it is dated and kept apart from everything else.
Nobody has checked what is currently in service on this hull. An empty list is not a working ship — it is an unchecked one, and an attraction that is shut is a refund conversation rather than a heads-up.
That is a gap in what we have looked at, not a clean bill of health. Check this part of the booking the way you would without CruiseRead.
Sources and verification
What has been signed off, by block, and what it was checked against.
What has been signed off
- CabinVerified
An operator has checked this against the line's own deck plans and policy pages and signed it.
- MoneyVerified
An operator has checked this against the line's own deck plans and policy pages and signed it.
- TrapsVerified
An operator has checked this against the line's own deck plans and policy pages and signed it.
Checked against
10 sources for this ship. Sourcing is recorded per ship rather than per block, so this list stands behind all three sections above — it does not tell you which source backed which call. Prices and policies go stale; the date is when someone last looked.
- Carnival raises daily gratuity to $17 (April 2026)
CHECKED 2026-08-17
- Cheers! package pricing and break-even
CHECKED 2026-08-17
- BOLT height and weight limits
CHECKED 2026-08-17
- Camp Ocean / Circle C / Club O2 age bands
CHECKED 2026-08-17
- Arrival Appointment and staggered check-in
CHECKED 2026-08-17
- Carnival Adventure accessible deck plan — category 5A obstructed ocean view
CHECKED 2026-08-18
- Encounter deck 11 balcony geometry — partial cover on the Grand-class pattern
CHECKED 2026-08-18
- Speedway Splash — 47 inch minimum, 242 pound maximum, included
CHECKED 2026-08-18
- EDGE adventure offering
CHECKED 2026-08-18
- Mini-golf availability list — neither ship appears
CHECKED 2026-08-18