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Norwegian Spirit vs Carnival Encounter
The Norwegian Spirit was built in 1998. It was renovated in 2022. It's 4 years older than the Encounter, which was built in 2002 and renovated in 2025. The Carnival Encounter is a rebranded ship, previously sailing as Star Princess with Princess Cruises and the Pacific Encounter for P&O Australia. It has been brought into the Carnival family and they added things like the HUB app and Camp Ocean, but it missing several key Carnival elements. For example, they charge for pizza outside of lunch hours and there is no complimentary soft serve ice cream or burgers.
Comparison Overview
- Ship Size
- Number of Passengers
- Food and Restaurants
- Bars and Drinks
- Pools and Hot Tubs
- Ship Features and Activities
- Cruise Costs
- Onboard Costs
Ship Size
The Spirit is considered a small size ship. Coming in at 880 feet long and 126 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 2.4 football fields, as wide as 2.4 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 9-story building. Compared to the Carnival Encounter, the Spirit is 30% smaller in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Norwegian Spirit holds 23% fewer passengers than the Encounter based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Spirit has less space per person compared to the Encounter.
| Norwegian Spirit | Carnival Encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Spirit | Adventure |
| Gross Tonnage | 75,904 | 108,865 |
| Length | 880 | 951 |
| Beam/Width | 126 | 118 |
| Passenger Decks | 9 | 14 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 2,032 | 2,636 |
| Crew | 912 | 1,100 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 38 | 41 |
Food and Restaurants
Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.
The Spirit has twelve different dining options like Main Dining Room, Sushi Bar, and Le Bistro French. Of those options, ten are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other seven options have an additional fee.
The Encounter has two fewer dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Waterfront Restaurant, Dragon Lady, and Angelo's. six of these restaurants are complementary and the other five have an additional fee.
If you like having a variety of places to eat, the Spirit might be a better choice. It has 20% more dining options than the Encounter.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Encounter might be a better choice then the Spirit. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
| Norwegian Spirit | Carnival Encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Dining Options | 12 | 10 |
| Complimentary Dining Options: | 10 | 6 |
| Additional Fee Dining Options: | 7 | 5 |
| % of Included Options | 42% | 50% |
| See the options | See the options |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. The Spirit serves Coca Cola branded products. That includes drinks like Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship. The Encounter serves the Pepsi family of products. That means Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Starry, Mug Root Beer, and Mountain Dew.
There are also plenty of bars available on these ships. You can check out recent the bar menus for the Spirit and the Encounter below.
Pools and Hot Tubs
Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Norwegian Spirit has a total of 2 pools and 4 hot tubs.
Carnival Encounter has more pools than the Spirit and more hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Encounter. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
| Norwegian Spirit | Carnival Encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 2 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 2 | 2 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | |
| Total Hot Tubs | 4 | 8 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 4 | 6 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | ||
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 2 |
Ship Features and Activities
Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. On both ships, 60% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare.
| Norwegian Spirit | Carnival Encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (free) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✓ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dr Seuss Breakfast | ✗ | ✓ |
| Edge Adventure Park | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pool-side Movies | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - musical review | ✓ | ✗ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✗ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✗ |
| Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✗ |
| Water slides | ✗ | ✓ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
Norwegian and Carnival are both considered "Mainstream" cruise lines. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.
Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on Norwegian Spirit will likely be cheaper than on Carnival Encounter.
Onboard Costs
Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.
Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.
The table below will help you compare onboard prices to see if you might spend more on a specific ship.
| Norwegian Spirit | Carnival Encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $20.00 | $16.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 20% | 18% |
| Soda Price | $3.50 | $3.00 |
| Domestic Beer Price | $7.50 See drink menus | $8.75 See drink menus |
| Drink Package Price | 106 Learn more | $83 - $88 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device | $18.70 to $23.80 per device per day |
| *Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. | ||
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a More at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the More at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.
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