We decided to take this cruise on Fathom's Adonia mainly because it was heavily discounted, and it was on a "R" ship, a class of ship that we have cruised extensively on with several other cruise lines, namely Oceania, and Azamara.

Accommodations were very comfortable in our Scooter-accessible Balcony cabin. Very spacious, and with a new mattress making it very comfortable. Being an older ship, the A/C was a bit lacking, not getting the cabin sufficiently cool until late at night. Carpets were new throughout the ship and on the whole, the ship was very clean and comfortable.

This was a new concept for a cruise. It is based upon sailing to a single Port (Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic) and staying there for 3 days while the passengers were afforded the opportunity to donate their efforts to any of the local projects that had been made available to volunteers. being mobility challenged, my wife and I remained on board while in port, but my Nephew, who is a Doctor, joined several different groups during our stay in Port, and was able to provide a report on some of the projects. On one of them he helped plant tree seedlings for several hours, and on another he assisted in making chocolate candies that were to be sold by the local entrepreneurs. It was reported that the temperatures on shore were brutal. As for my Wife and I, we enjoyed leisurely days on the Lido deck, reading and enjoying the on-shore breezes. As far as our shipboard experience was concerned, we enjoyed excellent service from our crew. They were very well trained and very courteous in all respects. We found the meals to be quite good, and the atmosphere was very laid-back and casual. There were no dress requirements during the days or nights and all passengers and crew were very friendly and helpful. Very much the feeling of a private yachting party. Unlike most cruises, there was no professional entertainment in the form of stage shows. Individual performers were featured in some of the Lounges and we did have a 4 person band on Board that provided music several times a day. After a leisurely cruise back to Miami we disembarked only to find we were quite a distance from the terminal we left from, which made retrieval of our car and scooter trailer quite a difficult proposition. After tracking down a Fathom official and explaining our plight to him he arranged a transit for me and my scooter back to the parking area. This all prolonged our departure from the Port by over an hour but alls well that ends well. Read more