- Tiana Templeman is onboard the Carnival Encounter, and she gives us her honest review.
- She reviews the food, activities, entertainment, and cabins.
- What do you think of her review? Tell us in the comment section.
The absorption of the P&O fleet into Carnival has received a mixed response, with some one and two-star reviews for Carnival Encounter and Carnival Adventure and others in favour. Cruising with Honey wrote a blistering piece, but a Cruise Passenger reader poll of nearly 400 gave the new ships an approval rating of 70%.
Even as a specialist cruise journalist who has been covering the industry for years and has previously travelled on both ships, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would my sailing on Carnival Encounter be enjoyable or a frustrating cruise experience spoiled by the three most common complaints: disappointing food, poor service and no changes to the cabins? Here’s my take on what you can expect onboard, based on my recent sailing.
Food: Remains mainly the same, with a few exceptions
P&O Cruises never set out to be a line known for its fine cuisine, and neither does Carnival. The food aims to be tasty with broad appeal, and most of the time it succeeds.
On our three-night sailing, the complimentary venues were consistent, with The Pantry having some of the best Chinese takeaway dishes I’ve had for years. There was enough spice to make them interesting but not enough to turn other diners off. The Indian curries at lunchtime were also good, as was our complimentary multicourse dinner at Dragon Lady, where the food was hot, ideal for sharing and arrived right on time.
In fact, we found the food on our Carnival Encounter sailing to be pretty much identical to when we sailed on the ship in its P&O Cruises days. Right down to the rather ordinary burger from Luke’s Burger Bar, which had a beef patty that lacked flavour, and French fries that looked a lot like the free ones you could get elsewhere on the ship. Why did we pay for another burger when the one we’d had on Pacific Encounter was disappointing? Good question, lesson learned. Save your money and put it towards an a la carte dinner at Luke’s Bar and Grill or Trattoria, both of which were excellent.
Speaking of paying for food, there was one change we noticed: an increase in the number of chargeable options in the complimentary dining venues. There’s no need to pay more, but if you have your heart set on a particular dish and are unwilling to consider the other complimentary options, you may have to. You’ll also still have to pay for ice cream. This is the same as when Carnival Encounter and Carnival Adventure were sailing for P&O Cruises, so it is nothing new – which has drawn criticism.
In a previous story, Cruise Passenger reported that one of the complaints is that some things haven’t changed enough and the new ships don’t have all the perks and amenities that typically come with a Carnival sailing. This is true, but we didn’t miss the complimentary late-night pizza or soft serve. We were happy with the free pizza that is available until 4pm and we could enjoy it in the upmarket surrounds of Trattoria, a specialty restaurant that usually costs extra. This beat the pool deck, hands down.
Cabins are showing their age
Of all the complaints being levelled at the new Carnival ships, the one about the lack of changes in the cabins rang true. When you’re surrounded by upmarket décor in the public areas, it’s easy to forget the ship you’re sailing on is 23 years old. Except perhaps when you’re inside your cabin, as we discovered on Carnival Encounter.
Aside from new carpet and bed linens, our accommodation hadn’t been renovated since the ship finished sailing as Star Princess for Princess Cruises in 2018. Seven years later, the decor and artwork seemed old-fashioned and didn’t match the ship’s otherwise contemporary look.
Our cabin also had none of the modern conveniences like an interactive television which are standard on newer ships, although the bedside lamps with a USB charging port were handy. While our balcony stateroom was in good repair, there was no denying it was looking rather tired.
If you’re like us and know what the cabins will be like before you get onboard, you will probably have a similar reaction to ours. We noticed our accommodation was showing its age, but this didn’t impact our overall cruise experience as we were out and about most of the time. Passengers who weren’t aware the cabins hadn’t been recently renovated, however, will likely have a different reaction.
Staff: Hard working, friendly and engaged
And the criticisms that made the least sense based on our cruise? The ones about poor service, a lack of smiles and confused crew. We braced ourselves for an unhappy ship ‑‑ and believe me, we’ve sailed on a few — but the service was good, and the staff we encountered and observed were working hard to please passengers.
That said, it was easy to understand how difficult it must have been for the crew on some of the earlier cruises as they struggled to learn the new back-of-house systems while dealing with a full ship. On our sailing, the staff’s good humour and enthusiasm added significantly to what was already an enjoyable cruise.
The verdict
If you’re expecting a fancy experience on Carnival Encounter or Carnival Adventure, or one with the razzle dazzle of a ‘new ship’, you could be disappointed. In fact, this is perhaps the ships’ biggest downfall.
Not because the new Carnival ships don’t deliver on their promise of a fun, affordable and enjoyable cruising experience — our sailing certainly did — but because their transition isn’t fully complete. Sometimes the upmarket surroundings also make it easy to forget you’re not on a more upmarket line.
Provided you keep your expectations reasonable, there is a lot to love on Carnival Adventure and Carnival Encounter, including P&O Cruises’ favourites like Blanc de Blanc Uncorked and Luke’s Bar and Grill that you get to enjoy for a little while longer.
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The most disappointing thing with the merge is that Carnival no longer have the short cruises in New Zealand or depart/return to Auckland holidays, having to travel to Australia to enjoy a family getaway is now out of reach for the average customer, we looked forward to our yearly trips on what was a great deal and experience all round.
I have cruised on Carnival Encounter when it was still P&O. I have no complaints about anything. I think a lot of people go around picking faults in everything and everywhere they go. I have 2 such people in my family. There is so much to do to keep you occupied that you shouldn’t have time for super close inspections.
The writer of this piece says the rooms are dated, my goodness, how many 5 star hotels are exactly the same. Luckily she was on a free trip
we have done 19 cruises no matter what cruise ship you go on some passengers always complain about something, I never have we just sit back and enjoy ourselves instead.
The various eating restaurants caters for all tastes whether guests prefer buffet style eating or more personalized service. We have chosen an inside cabin, balcony and junior suit accommodation and enjoyed each one. I do think Tiana was correct in her opinion that they could do with a little more of an upgrade. In relation to staff, we’ve been very lucky as we’ve always found them most helpful and well mannered. I love the way they are so caring in the way they treat children. Our 6 year old great-grandson loved the staff.
I agree with Tiana’s comments which were pretty accurate.
I have completed several P & O and Carnival cruises ,and already have three more booked for this year. I believe Carnival caters very well for guests looking for a family friendly, and inexpensive cruise, which is great for first time cruisers, who are still to decide if cruising is something they’d enjoy. My granddaughter and her family asked us to cruise with them at Easter last year as they wanted to see if they’d enjoy it. They loved it, and we’ll be doing Carnival’s New Years Eve Cruise this year. I definitely think Carnival gives great value for money.
We sailed on the last P&O cruise ship Pacific Adventure, treated ourselves to a suite. Really tired for a suite, but confortable bed & Nespresso machine.
Food was very average, Waterfront restaurant awful quality, service poor. Ww had a meal at Dragon Lady, disappointed, my beef curry inedible, tough meat.
It was a happy ship though despite the change from the P&O to Carnival, staff tried hard, Trivia with entertainment staff great fun.
Having done many cruises we have experienced both good and not so good from not only the same cruise line but even the same ship. We have NEVER been in a position to criticize ANY of the food we have been presented as it has always been of a reasonable to high quality and cooked to perfection. The cruise director can make all the difference when it comes to activities and on one cruise we went through three cruise directors with the last one being WORSE than the first two. Nine days at sea and there was no entertainment except for what the passengers organised. The entertainment (singers, dancers and comedians) were livid that they were NOT given the opportunity to perform and the passengers felt short changed. This is NOT what you would expect from a premium cruise line.
I am sure that you will get people complaining regardless and there will be others who will make the most of their time on board without complaint. I have NOT travelled with Carnival but from your synopsis I would NOT shy away from them.
I do not believe this review is a review by an every day cruiser. Did she encounter an 80 year+ passenger, traveling by herself on a walker, asking for help with her luggage off the ship as she was doing a back to back cruise as was told her luggage had to be taken off then brought back on and was rudely told NO. Did your reviewer notice the depletion in staff under Carnival? Did your reviewer have to wait in Dragon Lady and again in Waterfront for over 30 minutes, once seated, to be issued with Menus? Did your reviewer comment that the breakfast menu in the Waterfront/Angelos is the same every day? Did your reviewer comment that you can no longer purchase a Non-Alcoholic drinks package to cover teas/coffees/mocktails/etc? Did your reviewer comment that under P & O mocktails were $5 and now they are $13? Did your reviewer comment on the major change to Bingo? Did your reviewer comment on the removal of visual aids for Trivia? I can go on and on.
The biggest difference is very noticeable that the ship is now under American Control 100%.
I’ll be crucified for this and called an Elitist, but here goes: The worst part about Carnival is their prices. That’s right! They unfortunately attract a particular clientele with their cheaper fares, clientele with no sense of dining attire or manners or courteous behaviour toward staff and fellow passengers.
Unfortunately again, cruises ex-Brisbane (Queensland) are now almost entirely limited to Carnival ships. So, it’s back to coastal resorts and hotel stays for us.
Maybe a fairer review would be once the ships have had a full Carnival makeover not a quick 2 week slap of paint to remove the old P&O Logo etc and few Carnival brandings on the ships, As for tired looking cabins etc this is a P&O legacy not Carnival.
My husband and I were very disappointed with our Carnival 5 day cruise on the Adventure in April. The food was very disappointing in the restaurants and the night entertainment was also. Previously we had sailed P & O on the same ships and enjoyed them all greatly. We spoke to many others on board and they felt the same. The waiters and room staff were excellent.
Been on the P&O Adventure on 3 Occasions the last one is definitely the last time being the worst of any our Cruises,The food was definitely the worst we’ve come across on any of our previous 8 P&O cruises
Not really sure I personally agree with this review having sailed on Encounter very recently. Everyone to their own I guess. My thoughts are much more in line with Cruising with Honey review.