Fathom Shares Onboard Entertainment Options and Flavorful Regionally Inspired Foods that Add to the Authentic Dominican Republic Travel Experience
MIAMI, June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fathom, the pioneer in social impact travel and Carnival Corporation's (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) 10th and newest brand, today shared details of regional cuisine crafted by Fathom's globally recognized Dominican chef Emil Vega, who leads the development of Fathom's specialty restaurant concept Ocean Grill. Fathom also unveiled more details about its variety of onboard recreational activities.
Award-winning veteran chef and renowned Dominican Republic culinary expert Chef Emil brings to Fathom a lifelong passion for food and vast hospitality industry dining experience. Emil has earned a global reputation as a celebrated food innovator who brings a modern aesthetic to traditional Dominican Republic cuisine, inspiring culinary creations that add a perfect touch to Fathom's onboard food offerings. From a delicious Grilled Seafood Salpicón to Crema de Frijoles Negros, guests can indulge in a wide range of Dominican and Cuban inspired food and culture, helping them further immerse and understand the cultures they will experience.
"I set out to create for travelers an extraordinary, authentic Caribbean culinary experience that allows them to savor a range of gastronomical possibilities featuring regionally inspired ingredients," said Chef Emil. "Fathom understands that an important aspect of immersing in any unique culture is to explore its cuisine, which we are happy to make available to travelers from the moment they step aboard Fathom's Adonia."
Sample Ocean Grill Dishes include:
Appetizers
- Grilled Seafood Salpicón – Grilled octopus, calamari and shrimp served cold with Caribbean mojito vinaigrette and crispy yaniqueque
- Cuban Ropa Vieja – Deep-fried plantain basket filled with Cuban-style shredded beef served with a spicy red pepper jam
- Mofongo and Aguají – Traditional mash of roasted pork belly, green plantain and garlic served with spicy mayonnaise
Entrées
- Pescado con Coco (Fish Criollo and Coconut) – Fillet of fresh red snapper in an authentic island coconut sauce, served with clams, shrimp and yucca fritters
- Vegetarian Pastelón – Layers of ripe plantain, queso fresco and sautéed spinach served with roasted vegetables and spinach sauce
- Bistec Encebollado – Seasoned beef filet with caramelized onions, yucca fritters, sweet plantain and chimichurri salsa
Desserts
- Dulce de Leche Cortada – Dominican sweet caramel milk curds with vanilla and salted caramel ice cream and yucca dumplings
- Guava n' Cheese – Guava paste with queso fresco and roasted gustoso pepper syrup
- Majarete Crème Brûlée – Classic Cuban sweetcorn custard served with corn caramel and cinnamon, caramelized popcorn and sweet potato biscuit
"We are eager for Fathom travelers to delight in the delicious regionally inspired menu Chef Emil has created and to immerse themselves in the flavors and ingredients indigenous to the Dominican Republic and Cuba," said Tara Russell, president of Fathom and global impact lead for Carnival Corporation. "Chef Emil is a talented and passionate culinary expert who truly is an artist when it comes to Caribbean cuisine. He is one of the top talents in the Caribbean, and we are grateful to have him as part of the Fathom family."
Robust Onboard Programming Engages and Inspires Travelers
In addition to the many culinary delights found onboard, guests can participate in many engaging onboard impact workshops, dance and cocktail classes, and various leisure activities and entertainment options while preparing for their unforgettable on-ground experience. They also may treat themselves to one-of-a-kind products – from artisan crafts to hand-crafted jewelry to sustainably produced attire to environmentally friendly beauty products – at Fathom's exclusive retail outlets featuring products with a purpose.
Fathom's core onboard programming includes fun, interactive and educational sessions with Impact Guides, the first people Fathom travelers meet when they board the MV Adonia. Impact Guides introduce travelers to the Fathom experience and share additional information and guidance to equip them for the week. Travelers can celebrate at a Superpower Party that helps them discover their own individual superpower and unleash their inner greatness. During an onboard Spanish class, they can learn popular Spanish expressions, practice Spanish language pronunciation and learn basic conversational phrases, which will be invaluable for approaching their time onshore.
Curiosity Advantage and Design Your Life – two workshops created by Curiosity Atlas, a design firm focused on driving curiosity and innovation – prepare guests for their on-ground experiences through an exploration of curiosity. Curiosity Advantage increases cognitive flexibility to help travelers take on challenges with a newfound sense of wonder. The workshop provides travelers with a 'Curiosity Quest' to utilize during their on-ground experiences. Design Your Life session applies the principles of design thinking to a travelers lives and to help them discover the areas where they are truly committed to making an impact.
Fathom and Ashoka – a network of social entrepreneurs dedicated to accelerating lasting social change – collaborated to develop three different workshops enabling travelers to practice changemaking and discover their own potential to create positive change in their communities. Based on these three workshops, guests walk away having committed to at least one changemaking act and having reflected deeply on their surroundings while developing their own personal changemaker story through Ashoka's proven storytelling methodology.
Other onboard programs include morning mediations to start each day with a clear mind, a Fathom kick-off event with live music and an introduction to the Fathom ethos, and the popular Lifehack Bootcamp that provides the tools for getting more done in less time and using that extra time to make the impact on the world. Additional core onboard programming includes:
- Dominican Republic Orientation
Fathom helps travelers become acculturated to life in the Dominican Republic so they may experience their time on-ground with a sense of "comfortable discomfort" within this new environment. - Story of You
In this workshop, travelers identify a moment of transformation in their lives and work through the components that make a great story. They learn how powerful their life story is and practice the tools to help them tell their story in a clear and meaningful way. - Story of Impact
This activity helps travelers create and express their story as a specific "before and after" transformation based on their week on-ground in their destination. Interactive exercises practice story creation methodologies so travelers disembark their journeys with a sense of confidence in sharing their stories. - Story Circle / Story of You 2.0
Travelers are introduced to ways to make their stories more powerful. They share stories in front of small groups who give facilitated feedback, and they also receive tips on how to speak powerfully in front of others. - Guided Relaxation
Guided Relaxation, also referred to as Yoga Nidra, provides travelers time to rest, relax and clear their minds following the day's stimulation. - Fathom You and Beyond
This final session with each Fathom cohort provides moments of reflection, ways to engage in next steps and resources for further impact.
In addition to the core onboard programming, travelers also may participate in leisure activities, such as a photography class, book club, karaoke, giant outdoor game night, classic board game night, mojito and flan movie night, domino throw down, and a wine and paint class to name a few.
Once Fathom travelers arrive in the Dominican Republic, they have a wide variety of options for how to spend their three days on the island. They can choose from a variety of activities, including participating in social impact projects, enjoying the many beautiful Dominican beaches or participating in select recreational activities and tours available to the entire family of Carnival Corporation brands operating in the Caribbean region. Social impact activities include projects focused on economic, educational and environmental development, appealing to a wide range of individual passions and skills. During these activities, travelers work directly alongside community members and Fathom's partner organizations carrying out tasks that will have an immediate and lasting impact, tailored specifically to what the community needs most.
Prices for the seven-day trips to the Dominican Republic in its inaugural year start at $499 per person, excluding taxes, fees and port expenses and including all meals on the ship, onboard social impact immersion experiences, three onshore social impact activities and related supplies. Prices vary by season. To secure a spot on future sailings, a fully refundable $300 per person deposit is required for all cabin categories and occupancy levels. Final payment is due 90 days prior to departure.
About Fathom Travel to the Dominican Republic
Fathom is a different kind of cruise that combines one's love of travel with the desire to make a difference in the world. Fathom is defining a new category of travel, Social Impact Travel. Part of the Carnival Corporation (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) family, Fathom offers consumers authentic, meaningful travel experiences to enrich the life of the traveler and work alongside locals as they tackle community needs in the Dominican Republic. Fathom is unique in that it leverages Carnival Corporation's expertise and scale for a one-of-a-kind business model to create long-term collaboration with its partner countries, allowing for sustained social impact and lasting development. Fathom will serve the sizable and growing market of potential social impact travel consumers – approximately one million North Americans – in addition to global travelers already pursuing service-oriented travel experiences worldwide.
Sailing aboard the MV Adonia, a 704-passenger vessel redeployed from Carnival Corporation's P&O Cruises (UK), Fathom will engage, mobilize, educate and equip travelers on every Dominican Republic trip allowing for rich personal enrichment and thousands of impact activity days per visit– and tens of thousands of travelers a year to communities of promise, providing unprecedented scale for impact.
About Fathom Travel to Cuba
Recently earning U.S. and Cuban government approvals, Fathom will be the first cruise company to sail from the U.S. to Cuba in more than 50 years. Fathom's round-trip culturally immersive cruise itinerary will initially feature experiences in the Cuban port cities of Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba, providing travelers the opportunity to enjoy a rich and vibrant culture that until now most U.S. travelers have only seen in photographs. Designed for rich immersion and ease of travel, the Fathom Cuban itinerary offers passengers a comfortable cabin including all the amenities of a modern hotel, plus the luxury of having to unpack only once. Every night, Fathom travelers return to the comforts of the MV Adonia, where they can relax knowing that all the details of getting from location to location in Cuba are handled.
For more information about Fathom or to book a voyage, contact your Travel Professional, call Fathom toll-free at 1-855-932-8466 or visit www.Fathom.org.
SOURCE Fathom
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