Cruise Holidays Australia has announced it has secured an allotment of cabins on a sailing of Carnival Corporation’s new brand – fathom™. Launched in June 2015 fathom™ is defining a new travel category it is calling “social impact travel,” offering consumers authentic, meaningful impact travel experiences to work alongside locals as they tackle community needs.
Beginning in April 2016, fathom will embark on seven-day voyages from Miami aboard the MV Adonia, a 710-passenger vessel redeployed from Carnival Corporation’s P&O Cruises (UK) for the start-up of the new operation. Depending on their passions, interests and skills, travellers will have the opportunity to choose from a range of social impact activities and experiences both onboard and onshore.
“fathom will cater to a growing market of consumers who want to have a positive impact on people’s lives, and aren’t always sure where to begin,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. “We believe travel is a meaningful way to allow for personal growth while making purposeful and engaging contributions to the world. We are so pleased that fathom will give travelers a unique opportunity to work alongside local people as part of a larger scale effort that will demonstrably improve lives.”
Les Farrar of Cruise Holidays believes they are the first Australian agent to offer a group departure on fathom, for travel in September 2016.
“I believe in what Carnival are doing with this product. It offers people the chance to travel and make a contribution to the local communities of their destination at the same time. Sure many people donate financially to good causes but taking the next step from donating to actually being involved is often not easy. It can be difficult to find the right cause and the right vehicle to support their efforts. Fathom provides this, and it will appeal to the many people who have cruised in the past, as well as benefit our industry in introducing people to cruising in a positive way.”
And Farrar is committing beyond just a business level. The first cabin booked is for himself and his family, including 2 daughters of 14 and 11 years.
“I know it’s only a small gesture in the bigger scheme of things but I see this as a great way to introduce my daughters to ‘Impact Travel’ by giving over our holiday time to doing something helpful to others. To show them its not always about visiting Disneyland or shopping at the latest mall. There are people out there who could only dream of doing those things and now they can meet some of these people and hopefully understand a little more about the wider world and just how lucky they are. I know they are already looking forward to the trip.”
“I’m inviting our clients and those of our network of agents to join me next year. But I’d also like to extend an invitation to all Australian agents and their customers. The more Australians we have onboard the better and I’m happy to pass on the commission to any agents booking into our group.”
The voyage departs from Miami 25 Sep 2016 for 7 nights visiting the Dominican Republic with fares starting from just US$1099pp including an onboard credit of US$50 per cabin.
More details can be found at www.cruiseholidays.com.au/fathom or call 1300 305 920
SOURCE Cruise Holidays