02/15/2016
We are putting together several vacation/mission trip combos in the spring and fall with a new company called Fathom Tours. Here is a brief description. Message me for more info. Stay tuned for many more details on "Fathom"
Written by Paul Brady
Photo Courtesy Fathom
Carnival’s new Fathom brand will take cruisers on volunteer vacations in the Dominican Republic.
Carnival will launch a new cruise line called Fathom today, with a focus on volunteer vacations that the company says will have a “meaningful impact” on the communities served. The first trips aboard the line—which Carnival styles in lowercase, “fathom”—will depart April 2016 for the Dominican Republic, where “travelers will have the opportunity to choose from a range of social impact activities and experiences both onboard and onshore,” the company says.
The experience will be quite different than the typical Caribbean cruise. On Fathom trips departing from Miami, guests will start with one or two days at sea, practicing Spanish and learning about the destination. Upon arrival in Puerto Plata, passengers can spend “up to three days” working on projects ranging from teaching English to schoolchildren to building filtration systems to improve drinking water, Carnival says. Guests will sleep aboard the ship during their stay in the Dominican Republic.
Trips will start on the MV Adonia,a 710-passenger ship that was previously part of P&O Cruises, another Carnival-owned brand. As a P&O vessel, the ship has seven bars and restaurants, a spa, and a small pool. Cabins were divided into four main categories: suites, balcony, outside, and inside. Reviews of the ship on Cruise Critic praised its dining options and public spaces.