Anthem of the Seas vs Encounter

The Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas was built in 2015. It was renovated in 2025. It's 13 years newer 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 Anthem of the Seas is considered a large size ship. Coming in at 1,141 feet long and 136 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3.2 football fields, as wide as 2.6 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 14-story building. Compared to the Carnival Encounter, the Anthem of the Seas is 55% larger in terms of overall tons.

Number of Passengers

Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas holds 59% more 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 Anthem of the Seas has less space per person compared to the Encounter.

	Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas	Carnival Encounter
Class	Quantum	Adventure
Gross Tonnage	168,666	108,865
Length	1,141	951
Beam/Width	136	118
Passenger Decks	14	14
Passengers (double occupancy)	4,180	2,636
Crew	1,500	1,100
Passenger to Crew Ratio	2.8	2.4
Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger)	40	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 Anthem of the Seas has sixteen different dining options like Cafe Promenade, Chops Grille, and Sorrento's Pizza. Of those options, twelve are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other nine options have an additional fee.

The Encounter has six fewer dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Dragon Lady, Angelo's, and Waterfront Restaurant. 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 Anthem of the Seas might be a better choice. It has 60% 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 Anthem of the Seas. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.

	Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas	Carnival Encounter
Total Dining Options	16	10
Complimentary Dining Options:	12	6
Additional Fee Dining Options:	9	5
% of Included Options	44%	50%
	See the options	See the options

In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. The Anthem of the Seas serves Coca Cola branded products. That includes drinks like Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship. Most Royal Caribbean ships also have Coke Freestyle machines where you can make 100 different flavor combinations. 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 Anthem of the Seas 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 Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas has a total of 3 pools and 6 hot tubs.

Carnival Encounter has more pools than the Anthem of the Seas 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.

Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools and two of the hot tubs are adults only on Anthem of the Seas.

	Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas	Carnival Encounter
Total Pools	3	4
Pools - General Access	2	2
Pools - Adults Only	1	1
Pools - Exclusive	0	1
Total Hot Tubs	6	8
Hot Tubs - General Access	4	6
Hot Tubs - Adults Only	2
Hot Tubs - Exclusive	0	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 the Anthem of the Seas, 76% of the activities below are included in the cruise fare. On the Encounter, only 60% of the activities are included, meaning you might spend more money while on board.

	Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas	Carnival Encounter
Adult Only Relaxation Area	✓	✓
Arcade	✓	✓
Basketball	✓	✓
Bionic Bar	✓	✗
Bumper Cars	✓	✗
Casino	✓	✓
Climbing Wall	✓	✗
Comedy Club	✗	✓
Dr Seuss Breakfast	✗	✓
Edge Adventure Park	✗	✓
Fitness Center	✓	✓
FlowRider	✓	✗
Indoor Sky Diving	✓	✗
Laser Tag	✓	✗
North Star	✓	✗
Pool-side Movies	✓	✓
Shows - Broadway play	✓	✗
Shows - musical review	✓	✗
Spa	✓	✗
Splash park	✓	✗
Water slides	✗	✓
	Learn more	Learn more

Carnival is also known for its energetic theme parties which vary per ship.

Cruise Costs

Royal Caribbean 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 Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas will likely be more expensive 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.

	Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas	Carnival Encounter
Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day)	$18.50	$16.00
Tip added to drinks & services	18%	18%
Soda Price	$3.50	$3.00
Domestic Beer Price	$8.25 See drink menus	$8.75 See drink menus
Drink Package Price	$77 - $118 Learn more	$83 - $88 Learn more
Internet Plan	$19 to $30 per device per day	$18.70 to $23.80 per device per day
*Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates.

Royal Caribbean uses dynamic pricing, which means the pricing for many things will vary per sailing. The daily gratuities and tip are consistent across the fleet, but the pricing for the drink package, internet, and excursions will change. The only way to know your price is to consult the Royal Caribbean cruise planner once you're booked.

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