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Back in April I was all packed up and ready to be one of the first passengers aboard the Fathom Adonia as she sailed into the Dominican Republic for a week of “impact travel”, whatever that meant. Of course, that voyage was not meant to be and lead to a great adventure in Colombia. Fast forward to June 5th, when I was finally able to make up for lost time and board the Fathom Adonia.
April 10th was slated to be the maiden voyage for Fathom, so no one knew quite what to expect. A couple of months later, there had been 4 previous sailings on this exact itinerary and many of the people I had met on the first sailing had been rescheduled to those. I had seen photos inside the beautiful ship and heard first hand stories about the cruise experience, but I still largely did not know what to expect.
What is “Impact Travel?”
What makes Fathom different from other cruise lines, specifically on the Dominican route, is it’s focus on impact travel. The idea that you could travel and really connect with the people and the place, and perhaps even leave the community a little better. This is a novel concept, especially on a cruise ship. The typical cruise ship passenger spends their days sipping margaritas at a Senor Frogs in any nondescript port in the Caribbean. This is not that kind of vacation.
Fathom does offer more traditional excursions, such as snorkeling or a city tour, for a fee, but the emphasis is on their impact activities, which are mostly offered to guests for free though there are a few that cost around $20 for materials.
The Experience on Board
I already had high expectations for the staff based on their stellar handling of the cancelled cruise back in April. Everyone was wonderful this time as well.
The boarding process was a breeze. I drove straight from my brother’s college graduation in Savannah to Miami to board the boat, in the nick of time. I was able to walk right on with little delay, though that was maybe due to the boat’s capacity. The cruise line is still new and the boat was nowhere near full, which was actually pretty nice, kinda felt like having a ship to myself.
To give you an idea of how sparsely populated the boat was, this is the pool deck during the Sail Away Party.
The Cabins are spacious and beautiful. It’s definitely worth the balcony upgrade. There are a few amenities you don’t see on most cruises too, like a tea kettle and stationary.
Can you tell it used to be an English ship?
The Activities on board were mostly focused on impact travel. There were Spanish classes to learn basic phrases to help communicate with the locals, photography courses, and courses on how to be a better storyteller. There were also a lot of “new age feel good” classes such as guided meditation and an activity designed to help you find your spirit animal ( I skipped that one since a bar stranger in New Orleans already told me that mine is a ferret). There were of course, some more traditional programs as well, trivia, karaoke, Latin dance (which was great!), and the like.
The Food on board was hit or miss. I was immediately impressed with the poolside burger grill at the Lido Deck. The Dominican Chimichurri Burger is the best thing on the ship. The sit down dinners left a little to be desired. I didn’t go the the Ocean Grill (there was an upcharge and I’m poor), but the main dining room had food that varied from just okay to pretty good. Nothing to write home about.
Top deck Flan for classic movie, mojito, and flan night
The Entertainment was sparse. There is a band, but don’t expect your usual cruise line up of dancers and comedians telling dad jokes. They did play Casablanca top deck though, which I wholeheartedly approve of.
As with most things, Casablanca is even better in the ocean.
Impact Activities
This is what it’s all about. Each passenger can pick up to 3 impact activities from the following list;
- Reforestation and Nursery
- Recycled Paper and Crafts Entrepreneurship
- Cacoa and Women’s Chocolate Cooperative
- Community English Conversation and Learning
- Student English Conversation and Learning (school year)/ Creative Arts, Music, and Sports (Summer)
- Water Filter Production ($20)
- Concrete Floors in Community Homes ($20)
You now know as much about these activities as I did going into it. Passengers are encouraged to sign up for activities and excursions through a portal online, though as many passengers (myself included) found out, that’s not fool proof. My reservations, and many others were lost. I had to wait in a huge line with everyone else to re-book activities and by the time it was my turn, many were full.
I missed the chocolate cooperative, which still irks me a bit (especially on an empty boat), but I ended up with some pretty good activities.
Reforestation and Nursery– This is not really divulged anywhere in the literature, but reforestation and nursery are, in fact, two different activities. On Tuesdays and Fridays there is less time for impact activities, so volunteers stay in the nursery and plant seedlings. The other days there is a rather arduous trek up a mountain side to do the actual planting. I opted for the latter. The view was incredible, but it was physically demanding. I lucked out too, and our group ended up with a group of local school children volunteering their time, so we got some cultural interaction as well.
Creative Arts, Music, and Sports– This one makes me glad that I waited until summer. This summer camp teaches kids English for a bit, then does some dancing and playing outside. Each traveler pairs up with a local child to help them learn a bit of English. I was paired with and 11 year old girl named Rosmerlyn, who already knew her alphabet better than me (in Spanish… I’m pretty on point with the English version), so we moved on to numbers before being told to stick to the curriculum. Oops. I don’t know how much I actually helped her since most of the time she was just teaching me how to say things in Spanish, but it was a lot of fun. I even sportsed a little, which I never do, and have the battle scars to prove it. (I will be going back to never sportsing again immediately).
My partner in crime, Rosmerlyn.
A rousing game of Baseball, featuring mostly adults while the kids laughed at us.
I ripped my favorite jeans, which they don’t make anymore.
I also ripped a pretty good hole in my knee.
Never again sports, never again.
Recycled Paper and Crafts Entrepreneurship, this was an amazing experience. This group of women is so warm and enthusiastic, you can’t help but have a blast. Here they take old paper and recycle it into new paper to make business cards, stationary, and the like. They also make jewelry and home goods out of everyday items like coffee beans and seeds and take plenty of dance breaks. At the end of the experience you do have to opportunity to purchase some of their crafts, so be sure to bring cash (USD or Dominican Pesos).
The bits of recycled paper go into an ordinary washer to break them down into pulp.
The pulp is then molded into squares to make new paper.
Then the paper is rolled out flat to get a smooth consistency.
Then of course, it’s time for a dance break!
I can’t speak to any of the other activities, but they all got rave reviews from the passengers on board.
Amber Cove
Unlike most cruise ships, the Adonia stays in port for 3 nights. Luckily it’s a great port to be in. The port itself is new and beautiful and features all of the things you’ve come to expect in a cruise port. There’s a restaurant that sells overpriced frozen drinks in souvenir glasses, Diamonds International, and a few souvenir shops. What makes this port a bit better is that it also features a resort style pool, water slides, and a zip line that make it worth having a port day. If port days aren’t your thing, there are also towns and a beach that are walkable from the port, which is always nice.
The closest major city to Amber Cove is Puerto Plata. It’s not really walkable, but it’s worth the cab ride. There are some great seafood restaurants, a few museums, and some really cool beach bars.
Fresh fruit as market in Downtown Puerto Plata
Amazing Seafood at Restaurant La Ponderosa del Mar.
The Good
There are many pros to a Fathom Cruise, some of which I hit on already, but here’s the cliff notes.
- Impact activities are included in the price and really help travelers connect with the community.
- Staying in port multiple days also helps with cultural experiences that are often missing on a cruise when you only have a few hours in a place.
- Wine and paint night is offered as an activity on the boat… and it’s free (except for the wine)!
Wine and Paint Night!
The finished product!
- Foreign language classes should be offered on every cruise! There were several “Spanish Phrases” classes that were offered to learn a few basics to help in communicating with the locals.
- You can get back on the boat with liquor bought on the island! Some cruises hold it for you until you get back to port… not Fathom!
- Free wifi while in port at Amber Cove. It’s terrible unreliable wifi, but it’s free wifi!
- The staterooms are spacious and well appointed.
- All of the toiletries are fair trade
Fair trade amenities!
- I still have dreams about the Dominican Chimichurri Burger
- The Latin dance classes with Laura and Garcia were amazing. We got to learn Salsa, Bachata, and Cha Cha routines. There were also Merengue classes, but I missed that one for wine and paint night.
- Classic movie, mojito, and flan night is a weird theme party… but I love it.
- Fewer people on the boat = fewer people in the hot tub!
- The staff are great!
- Postcards to your future self! Aboard the Adonia there are postcards that will be sent free of charge and delivered to your future self. I can’t wait to get mine!
This is an apology I need to hear right now.
The Bad
There were a few frustrations and issues that could use a little improvement. Many of these issues were to be expected on the first cruise, but after 5 sailings, these kinks should be worked out.
- The App. Fathom has an app that we were all encouraged to download, however as far as I can tell it’s completely useless. Basically the app has a schedule for activities on the boat and you can add the activities you want to your personal schedule. This is only for personal use and does not actually register you in any activities, which caused confusion among many passengers. Oh, and also the schedule is super wrong.
Oh Fathom app, so pretty and so useless.
- The schedule. As I mentioned, the schedule on the app was very wrong almost every single time. The schedule passengers were to go by was the Soundings, which was dropped at the stateroom every night. This schedule was a bit more accurate, but still not 100%. We surprised many staff member by showing up for activities that were on the passenger schedule, but had not been relayed to the staff.
- The website. I mentioned before that the activity sign up on the website didn’t actually register many people, forcing them (and me) to wait in line and sign up for whatever activities were left. This was probably the most frustrating part of the cruise, and the staff member assisting us with this issue was pretty “meh?” about the whole thing.
- The wifi… oh the wifi. You would have seen many more social media updates from my time aboard the Adonia if their wifi game were Stronger.
- This is a minor suggestion, but the Cocktail Class could use some improvement. the class is limited to 10 participants and costs $15. I love a cocktail class and it’s my favorite part of a Disney Cruise, so maybe I had unrealistic expectations (other people raved about this class). It was okay, but what I thought was a bit bizarre was that the bartenders made two or three of each drink and then the 10 people passed it around and tried it by the straw full. Sometimes if one person particularly liked a cocktail they would sloppily pour part of it into a small glass then give the rest of the drink to someone else. It just seems like it would make a lot more sense to make smaller versions of every drink for the participants to try. The drinks were also mostly very very sweet which isn’t really my thing, but like I said, other people loved them.
These beautiful layered drinks are slightly less impressive when hastily sloshed into a shot glass after a class full of people has stuck their straw in there.
Who is this for?
This is the question I asked myself and overheard others asking as well. Who is this for? How do you sell this experience. It’s hard to answer. I really enjoyed the cruise and would certainly do it again, but how do you sell people on a totally new concept like this, and who is the target audience?
The Millennial crowd eager to change the world is the first place I went, but I think Fathom has priced themselves out of that. Right now Fathom is running a lot of promotions to get people on board, so that works out well, but their “rack rate” starts at $999 + port fees for a shared inside room. They are currently running a $499 special for the inaugural season, but that ends in November and then the price for a shared inside room with port fees and taxes will run you about $1500 per person, a price that will get you just about anywhere in the world. Not to mention, the volunteer crowd is probably just going to travel to a place to volunteer for a few days at least, not 4 hours at a time in the middle of a cruise.
Retirees? There did seem to be a few of this crowd on the boat, but I didn’t see them at the impact activities. The cruise line is still new, so many of the people aboard were travel writers, agents, or bloggers, but those I spoke to that were not, just found a cheap fare for a week long cruise and took it. I saw them at dinner, but never out “in the field.” I imagine that crowd will also dwindle once the price jumps up.
Schools, church groups, or sports teams is a suggestion I heard and I think that’s a great idea, but I don’t know if that’s enough to sustain an entire cruise line.
Seeing a cruise ship in port after dark is kinda cool.
I do know a few people who have been on multiple Fathom cruises even in the short time they have been around, so maybe they are banking on repeat business. Hopefully enough people will try it out early on so that Fathom develops a fan base.
It is a really cool concept and I definitely recommend trying it out, and while it’s cheap there’s no reason not to! I don’t mean to come off as critical, it’s just always hard to market a new concept. I certainly wish them all the success and I would go back on this exact cruise in a heart beat… and on their cruise to Cuba in half a heart beat!
This is the life
Disclaimer: I was offered a reduced rate for this experience, but as always, opinions are 100% my own.
It is an interesting and more thoughtful concept to cruise travel. It does seem like they need to get a better handle on organizing the classes. Hopefully, they’ll get the kinks worked out as I like that they are providing a different niche for the cruising market.
I like the concept of Fathom, and I’d probably be more apt to taking a cruise that allows for more cultural immersion than one that barely stays at port for a day in the Caribbean. It seems like the execution needs a little work though. Hopefully, these are kinks that will work themselves out soon since it is such a new concept for cruise travel.
I’m definitely not a cruise person (even though I’ve never tried one), but this actually sounds like a concept I could get behind and give it a try. Shame it wasn’t all plain sailing but with time I hope all the little issues will be sorted out. Perhaps one to watch for the future!
I have never been on a cruise- mainly because I get the worst motion sickness ever on boats- but I keep hearing wonderful things about Fathom cruises! I just love the idea of Impact Travel. Making a difference while getting to travel at the same time: win-win! 🙂
Interesting! Especially what you write about the way of traveling 🙂 Connecting is one of the most important things!
Despite the frustrating issues, it looks like the cruise was an amazing experience. I especially like that the ship docked in one port for three days.
I appreciate you pointing out both the good and bad. I haven’t been able to do a Fathom cruise yet and am still debating whether it’s worth it.
I not really sure what to make of cruises as i have never been on a cruise. Its hard for me to compare as something i have never done. As far as the information you supplied goes it sounds like there was probably something for everyone to do and enjoy on the ship.
Its an interesting concept and one that could appeal to some, but I’m unsure if they could sustain it. Like you say, those who want to volunteer are hardly likely to think 4 hours per day in the middle of a cruise is sufficient. As someone who has never been on a regular cruise, if I was shelling out that amount of money I would want the typical cruise experience – but I could be lured to Fathom on the anticipation of that chimichurri burger!
What an interesting concept for a cruise line. I imagine the work up and learning curve on a boat of that size and with a new concept too is going to take a bit to work out the kinks – it’s good to hear the highs and lows of your experience
I had never even heard of “impact travel on cruises” before reading this post. It sounds interesting though the concept and execution probably needs to be refined a bit more. I have one or two friends who love cruises and I am sure this is the only way they would ever consider volunteer work. Personally I would probably opt to either cruise or volunteer – they don’t seem like a natural combo to me 🙂 Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I would like to try this but would also want decent food as the only cruises I have done had awesome food
This is interesting concept. I never did a cruise, and never planned to do one, but Fathom seems to have a unique approach. Despite some hiccups it looks like you had a fantastic time. I guess I would join to Cuba, too! In half a heart beat 😉
Interesting concept but not sure it will be sustainable. I am not sure that those inspired to do these things are interested in a cruise to get them to their destination and then only do it for a short time. I have never been on a cruise but If I did I would want to have the opportunity to spend more than a few hours ashore regardless of the activity I was doing. Looks like you had fun though.
Very interesting post! Cruising has been something I would love to experience, just for something new! 🙂
Fathom was fun, some of the activities were okay, but over all, I enjoyed the entire trip and the wonderful people I met on the voyage
Have never been on a cruise, so this is a very useful post for us, it would help us when we plan for one. Your candid review also is much appreciated, gives us various pointers on what all to look for.
I’ve never been on a cruise yet and this is different from the regular cruises I’ve seen online. Very interesting! I would love to join the Cacoa and Women’s Chocolate Cooperative, Community English Conversation and Learning Student English Conversation and Learning (school year)/ Creative Arts, Music, and Sports when I do go!
I have never tried this particular cruise. What a novelty idea, impact travels! This is a good one, though, as it’s important to know some basic language to communicate with the locals as you have said. I think Fathom has a great concept for cruises.
This is a really fantastic idea for a cruise company. I’d never really had the desire to go on a cruise before, since I always considered cruising to be a bit superficial. But I love that Fathom Cruise tries to be impactful and gives cruisers a more intimate look into into the places it visits. The price tag does seem a bit steep for the millennial audience though…especially when compared to other cruise lines…
Thanks for being so honest in your review! 🙂 I’m hoping to sail with Fathom sometime this year to make up for the lost April10th cruise. It’s too bad we weren’t able to sail together back then! Hopefully they work out the few small blips and also don’t mind cooking up some vegan food for me 😀
This sounds like such a great experience. I’ve been hearing so much about Fathom Cruises lately. Thank for sharing!
Looked like a great experience! I love that they had an outdoor movie showing…oh and wine and paint night? Yes please!!
I’ve been hearing a lot about fathom cruise ships, but I never really knew what it was all about. I love the impact activities and that the cruise ship stays in the port for 3 days. That’s one of the things I dislike about cruising. You spend so much time at sea and not enough time on land. I also like the class on Photography and Language lessons thats really cool.
I’ve never heard of “impact travel” before. It sounds like such an interesting idea – especially on a cruise! If I ever get my cruise fix, I think I’d enjoy one more focused like that
Impact travel on a cruise ship, I love the sound of that. Reforestation and nursery and fair trade products. Also looks like you had a great time all round.
It does look like a fun and unique way to travel, but cruises in general are just not my favorite. It really looks like you had fun helping out and doing all the fathom activities. That’s what really matters.
I just got back from the same cruise and had many of the same likes/dislikes as you. We did totally different impact activities and I loved reading about yours, plus seeing things Fathom had improved on since your trip. The WIFI was definitely a matter of concern and the food needs to be better and a wider variety. Yep, those Dominican burgers were rad! 😉
This is a very interesting concept. I follow a couple of other bloggers who were on this trip as well. They seemed to enjoy the experience overall, but were also unimpressed by the dining options. Hope they can improve their meal services.
I really love the sound of a Fathom Cruise – their focus on Impact Travel is a really big selling point for me, I’ve been hearing a lot of wonderful things overall about the set up. If they’ve only run a few cruises so far, perhaps they can take your feedback on board and smooth out the kinks. I would definitely sign up for a trip 🙂
I seldom went on a cruise but looks like this is a fun trip. Besides I appreciate the interaction (activities) that they arranged when passengers are ashore – after all it’s a foreign place and I would prefer the passenger could get to actually see the Amber Cove. @ knycx.journeying
I appreciate your honesty! I’d still definitely consider going on a Fathom Cruise, but crappy wifi would be hard to deal with 😉 Thanks for sharing!
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