Volunteers work on water filtration system parts (Photo: Carnival Corp)
Carnival, mothership of nine different cruise line brands, is launching another, with a twist: Instead of high-end entertainment and gambling, the line—named ‘fathom’ with a lower-case f—is aimed at arranging on-shore volunteer activities with communities in need.
But it won’t be all work and no play for the passengers on fathom’s first ship, the MS Adonia, transferred from Carnival’s P&O brand. Just lower-key, and with options based on the cultures of the countries being visited. The initial visits will be to the northern part of the Dominican Republic, where Carnival has been developing a cruise port, and where fathom president, Tara Russell, has made ties with local organizations that can use the help in building water filtration, teaching English and more.
The one-week cruises will sail from Miami, and the plan is for the first two days, before arrival at Amber Cove, to be used for training the volunteers, who will then spend up to three days working on the local projects. If the idea takes off, other areas and more ships could be involved.
The plan is expected to appeal to younger people than the cruise-ship average of 49, and perhaps create new cruisers from people who have never taken a cruise before.
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