I have cruised over 20 times, mostly to the Caribbean, with one to Alaska, one to the Amazon River, and several to the Mediterranean. The cruise ship I took to the Amazon River was actually the Adonia; however, it was a Princess ship at the time, the former Royal Princess, one of about ten former Renaissance ships, which after 9/11, were bought up by American cruise lines Princess (3), Oceania (3), and Azamara (2) mostly. My husband and I have also sailed on the two Azamara ships, so I was very comfortable with what the Adonia would offer. It is currently leased by Fathom from P&O, a British cruise line. I love its size; however, the casino was removed and there were only two on-board shops, one for luxury items such as handbags & jewelry, the other was Eco-friendly products in line with Fathom's theme. There was very little sportswear or toiletries available. The shops carried the same merchandise every day, nothing new introduced at a later date, nor were there any "reduced sale items" at the end of the cruise. The Glass House was a new venue, a wine and champagne bar on deck 10 where the library is located where 4 internet desktop computers are available. The Ocean Grill was the specialty restaurant (additional charge) which served Cuban food from their special chef, and the Lido Cafe was the poolside grill offering Cuban sandwiches at lunch. (I did not eat at either). Twice on sea days, they offered a tasty poolside Bar-b-Que which had chicken, seafood, burgers, hot dogs, lasagna, vegetables, corn-on-the-cob and fruit salad. Dining room food was catered to the British as lamb in some form was available most evenings, fish and chips were offered, and cappucino was complimentary for breakfast and dinner (did not eat lunch there, so I cannot advise); also tea flavors offered were plentiful.

My husband was not interested in Cuba, so I traveled solo, originally booking in an ocean view and was given one forward on the lowest deck D which also houses the guest relations and shore excursions desks. Once on board, I inquired about availability of other cabins as I suspected the ship was not sold out and was offered a balcony and was given an aft balcony up two decks on C Cabins are pretty standard, with a desk, loveseat or chair, sufficient storage space, two night stands, small shower including mounted shower gel, toiletries of shampoo/conditioner/body lotion/shower cap/nail file, and a tea/coffee station near the mini-fridge which included two complimentary water bottles which I reused by refilling from the ship's tap. Walking tours usually provided a bottle also as you departed. All cabins in any category are the same price (which I do not find fair); there are only four categories - currently Dominican Republic prices are inside @ $499, ocean view @ $599, balcony @ $699, and suite @ $2499. My cabin steward was from India as were quite a lot of the crew from P&O. Fathom crew were mostly young people from English-speaking countries in addition to the U.S. (Canada, Australia, UK) who had done similar impact activities such as the Peace Corps and they had little or no cruise experience until April's first sailing to the Dominican Republic. Since most sailings early on do not appear to be sold out, Fathom offered those on the Cuban sailing an incredible rate to stay aboard for the Dominican Republic sailing for $199 per person, an incredible value for a cruise.

Complimentary excursions - Originally, it was required that all passengers partake in these and stay with the tour through the end. This is now relaxed and is not required. There were four large groups based on your assigned cabin on board called about 20 minutes apart for disembarkation each day for the tours. I felt this was unfair because every day of ground tours, you were assigned to the same group at the same disembarkation time (so you were always first, second, third or fourth, with no rotation). Then it was pot luck as to which bus and walking tour guide you received and where you ate lunch and in some cases, activities you attended. All guides were very well versed in English and easy to understand; they varied on the topics they discussed other than the sights we were seeing; i.e., political, economical, etc. As others have pointed out in their reviews, descriptions given in the daily newspaper were overhyped as to the P2P experiences we would receive. My Havana bus tour included a wonderful lunch at the top of a 39-story modern hotel building at the Le Torre Restaurant on the 33rd floor. This not only afforded us a panoramic view, but fantastic food with the following options: (1) Lobster, (2) Steak, (3) Fish/seafood; we could choose to have only one or smaller portions of two or three items. I almost felt guilty eating so well while looking out at the way the Cuban people lived. It was an experience to take the elevator up, as there was only one and it held about 10 people. Most of the Paladare owners (privately-owned restaurants) were not fluent in English, so our guides interpreted for us. There was limited opportunity for us to interact with the average Cuban citizen. There were several evening excursions offered at cost and most said they were way overpriced and could easily have been booked independently at a reasonable cost. I did not participate in any of them, but did not hear any negative feedback from those that did. The most expensive was $199 and took place outdoors. Something to remember is to carry local CUCs, their currency, for tipping paladare staff, tour/bus guides and restroom attendants (also bring TP when in Santiago's restrooms). The ship's literature advises you as to the amount. A fun option is to take a short coco taxi ride, an open air yellow mini-vehicle available for hire. Read more