Voluntourism Just Got Easier With Carnival’s New Social Impact Cruise
Fathom’s new Amber Cove port in the Dominican Republic (Photo: Fathom/Facebook)
Want to take a vacation with purpose? You’re in luck there’s a new way to do voluntourism coming in April. That’s when Carnival Corporation. will launch Fathom, a cruise line focused on “impact travel” with a roster of shore excursions that includes volunteering to teach English alongside snorkeling and museum visits. To start, the seven-day cruise will travel only to the Dominican Republic town of Puerto Plata.
Most Americans, including myself, think of the Dominican Republic as a gorgeous vacation destination. My first experience in the Dominican Republic was a trip years ago with an ex-boyfriend to an all-inclusive resort in the built up tourist heart of Punta Cana.
Undeveloped Puerto Plata (Photo: Taryn Adler)
But Puerto Plata, on the other side of the island, is different. The mountains are green and undeveloped. Its city center is authentic and charming, with much of the original colonial architecture. There are scattered resorts left over from its tourism boom 30 years ago, but the city has long since lost out to the glamorous southern coast.
Until now…
What makes Fathom possible, in part, is the opening of Amber Cove, Carnival’s newest 25-acre port in Puerto Plata, which Oct. 6. While many of its other cruise lines will pass through here, Fathom docks and remains in Amber Cove, using it as a base to explore and enrich the surrounding areas.
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Puerto Plata’s Parque Central is vibrant and alive. (Photo: Taryn Adler)
“This is the only cruise that stays in one place,” shares Tara Russell, the president of Fathom. “It’s unique in that we can dive deeper into the communities."
Recently, I took a brief trip with Fathom to get a taste of the experience.
First up, was Chocal, a chocolate factory up in the mountainous region of Altamira, where the biggest agricultural product is cacao. What makes it special is that it’s run by a cooperative of 30 women, many of whom don’t know how to read or write, yet they were able to start this successful business.
A peak into the chocolate making process at Chocal. (Photo: Taryn Adler)
Here Fathom passengers will be able to work alongside the women and help make chocolate, from the cacao farming process (i.e., preparing fertilizer, treating seeds, and planting trees) to the finished product (inspecting the beans and molding the chocolate).
During my visit, I walked through each of the steps and learned the story of these inspirational women over cups of their delicious hot chocolate.
Afterwards, I stopped at a school in the rural village of Cupey. Classrooms of students were thrilled to show off their English and hungry to practice with native speakers. I was assigned to Yeudi, a 13-year old boy who walks an hour every day to get here. Yeudi needs much more help with his English, and thanks to Fathom, he just may get it.
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Russell, the president of Fathom, helps a young student with his English studies. (Photo: Taryn Adler)
Excursions also include authentic dining experiences. For lunch, I had a family-style Dominican meal in a neighboring town. It was a fresh and insanely delicious feast of rice and beans, plantains, and avocado salad. Fried chicken and stewed goat were offered, too. The meal was enjoyed with — and prepared by — locals, something Russell has made an integral part of every excursion. "It’s powerful to eat together,” she explains.
Last on the itinerary was meeting the founder of Wine To Water, a charity that helps build and distribute clay water filters. On this excursion participants will actually be able to directly hand deliver new filters to communities in need.
Aside from the activities that I personally experienced, Fathom will offer a dozen or so other volunteer opportunities. Each is hand-selected by Russell and her team and aims to make an impact on the country’s education, environment, or economic development. Some are smaller organizations and others, like Wine To Water, are larger charities with a global impact. “The Dominican Republic is not the end game,” explains Russell. “It’s just the beginning. It’s the anchor for our global impact. We are building a model to use in locations all over the world.” Up next for the brand? Cuba! Fathom intends to begin cruises to the island by May of 2016.
By the end of my trip, I found myself wishing I had thought of this idea. It’s an easy way to get off the beaten path, engage with locals, and make an impact on the world. You can go solo and connect with likeminded fellow travelers or bring the whole family (kids 8 and up) to help introduce them to social responsibility. You don’t need to do any research — it’s all done for you. You don’t need to stay in remote accommodations — you have the comfort of the boat. You don’t even need to spend a lot: The cruise to the Dominican Republic, including lodging, all meals, and your choice of three social impact volunteer activities, starts at $764 per person.
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