Carnival Encounter

Carnival Encounter is operated by Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc. The ship began life in 2002 as Star Princess, built by Fincantieri at Monfalcone, Italy; after service with Princess and then P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Encounter, she was rebranded into the Carnival fleet in 2025.

In size, Carnival Encounter comes in at about 108,865 gross tons, runs roughly 951 feet in length, and sails with around 2,600 guests at double occupancy supported by about 1,100 crew. Those headline specs are published on Carnival’s ship page and align with trade references for the class.

On the dining front, you’re looking at eight distinct venues across included and specialty options: Waterfront, Angelo’s, Dragon Lady, Luke’s Bar & Grill, Luke’s Burgers, The Pantry, Trattoria, and New Zealand Natural. That mix covers everything from casual food-hall variety to a celebrity-chef grill and Italian classics.

Beyond restaurants, the ship packs family-friendly fun and adults-only escapes. Highlights on the official lineup include four pools and waterslides, the EDGE adventure park with ziplining, rock climbing and abseiling, the Byron Beach Club enclave and Oasis adults-only retreat, Dive-In Movies by the pool, the Cloud 9 Spa, and The Punchliner Comedy Club.

Today Carnival Encounter homeports in Brisbane year-round and runs itineraries around Australia, the South Pacific and parts of Asia, giving you everything from quick Queensland getaways to longer island-hopping voyages.

For completeness, the ship’s current registry is widely listed as Bahamas and her technical lineage traces back to the Grand-class design, facts commonly noted by independent fleet trackers and trade coverage of the transfer.