The Pulse: Fathom reaches out to travel agents.

Why it Rates: Carnival’s new social impact cruise brand offers a 15 percent commission to travel agencies and group planners who sign on now as Fathom Founders. It’s worth a closer look for travel professionals who have clients who want to do good works while taking a voyage. - Theresa Masek, TravelPulse cruise editor

Fathom, the pioneer in social impact travel, today announced its complete catalog of offerings for travel professionals and group travel planners for 2016. To celebrate the inaugural year of Fathom, which begins sailing on April 10, 2016, travel professionals are invited to become Fathom Founder agencies to immediately receive a generous 15 percent commission on all bookings made between now and Oct. 15, 2015. In addition, the company unveiled a number of group rates and offers for Dominican Republic itineraries that are booked now until Oct.  15, 2015. 

Pioneered by Fathom, impact travel offers mindful, purpose-driven activities and programs that enable travelers to make a real impact on the people in the communities they visit – starting with the Dominican Republic in April 2016 and with Cuban cultural exchange itineraries intended to begin May 2016.

Carnival Corporation is in active discussions and plans to work with the appropriate authorities in Cuba so that Cuban approval is granted. This is an exciting moment in travel history as Fathom for the first time combines the convenience of at-sea travel with authentic, long-term systematic impact activities at a scale not seen before.

During the 2016 season, travelers will take part in the first wave of an ongoing Fathom impact experience to help facilitate and sustain educational, environmental and economic development programs to meet the needs of communities along the northern coast in the Dominican Republic. In Cuba, Fathom intends to operate travel itineraries for the purpose of providing cultural, artistic, faith-based and humanitarian exchanges between American and Cuban citizens. 

“The audience for this type of travel is big, growing and passionate, but opportunities to book impact travel experiences are limited, as well as hard to identify, piece together and schedule,” said David Drier, vice president, sales for Fathom. “Fathom makes the experience easy, safe, convenient – and most importantly, rewarding and meaningful for both the travelers and the communities they visit. “Research indicates that nearly 40 percent of the individuals who will book a social impact trip on Fathom might otherwise never have chosen to cruise. We believe Fathom may open up an entirely new potential revenue stream for travel professionals.”  

Attractive Offers & Incentives Available for a Limited Time

To help travel professionals and group travel planners capitalize on this new and growing market of social impact travelers, Fathom has opened for booking its lineup of 2016 social impact travel itineraries. Highlights of Fathom offerings for travel professionals and group travel planners include:

• Between now and Oct. 15, 2015, take advantage of a simple 15 percent commission of base fare on all bookings during this time period.

•   To qualify for the 15 percent commission, join the growing number of Fathom Founder’s Circle honorary member agencies by visiting www.Fathom.org and clicking FOUNDER.

•   Additional details regarding the benefits of membership in the Fathom Founder’s Circle will be available in fall 2015; to qualify, at least one booking must be under deposit by Oct. 15, 2015.

• Book travelers on a 14-night Dominican Republic and Cuba combination back-to-back departures and receive a 10 percent discount off the cruise fare for each departure.

Act soon to secure group allocations with Fathom and to take advantage of special group booking incentives, including a number of opportunities to enhance the value of the bookings as well as personalize the group offer. Group pricing and policies are available for both the Dominican Republic and Cuba departures and include:

•A $25 bonus commission per traveler for the first and second traveler in the cabin for groups blocked by Oct. 15.

• A “1 for 15” tour escort offer, crediting groups with an average cruise fare (excluding NCF and TF&PE) for every 15 double or single occupancy paid travelers booked within a group (credit applied against the 16thtraveler).  Maximum of eight tour escort credits per group.

• A $50 USD per-traveler shipboard credit for first and second traveler in an interior or ocean view stateroom; or a $100 USD per-traveler shipboard credit for first and second travelers in a balcony stateroom or a suite.

For the Dominican Republic only, an enhanced tour escort credit promotion is available for Dominican Republic itineraries, providing a “1 for 9” tour escort ratio for groups blocked by Oct. 15 (credit applied toward the tenth traveler).

Simplified Pricing Structure Streamlines Fathom Booking Process

Similar to its goal of making impact travel experiences easy for travelers, Fathom ensured a simplified fare structure to make it easier for travel professionals to market and sell the Fathom experience. The simplified pricing structure is based on travel professional, group travel planner and consumer feedback, indicating traditional cruise line fare structures are too complicated and make it difficult to book travel.

Fathom has consolidated the number of core fare options into four straightforward categories based on the type of stateroom, including: interior; exterior ocean-view; balcony; and suite. The company also has streamlined pricing for single, double and triple occupancy, offering competitive pricing formulas to entice travelers to experience Fathom during its inaugural 2016 season. Pricing details include:

• Triple and Quad Pricing: 50 percent discount off per-person double occupancy price (all categories).

• Single Supplement: 150 percent of per-traveler double occupancy price for interior, exterior ocean-view and balcony staterooms; 200 percent per traveler double occupancy price for suites.

In addition, Fathom is bringing back an industry favorite to provide additional options for travelers interested in participating in social impact travel experiences. Fathom’s Single Traveler Share Program makes the Fathom experience available to an entire group of individual travelers who may be traveling alone and looking to share the cost of a double-occupancy stateroom. As part of its Single Traveler Share program, Fathom guarantees single travelers it will match individuals with other single travelers of the same gender who are interested in the same type of staterooms (interior and ocean view only). If Fathom cannot find a suitable roommate, it will not charge the traveler the single supplement fare even if the passenger travels alone in the stateroom (the single traveler is guaranteed the per-traveler double occupancy fare of 100 percent of fare vs. 150 percent).

“Working with travel professionals for most of my career, I have seen firsthand the tremendous impact agents and planners have on the overall success of any travel business,” said Drier. “It is exciting to be part of a new company on the ground floor of an entirely new category of travel because it gives us incredible flexibility to create from scratch the very best pricing and fare structure – combined with a rich commission and incentive program – to help our travel professional partners market and sell our unique travel experience. I look forward to growing our businesses together.”

Pioneering Social Impact Travel with Caribbean Itineraries

Launched earlier this year by Carnival Corporation as its 10th global brand, Fathom is a purpose-driven company enabling travelers to immerse, learn, serve and flourish while making enduring, sustainable contributions. Fathom is developing lasting collaboration with local organizations to enable systematic, long-term educational, environmental and economic development benefits in its partner countries. Beginning in April 2016, Fathom will make its maiden voyages to the Dominican Republic and intends to begin sailing to Cuba in May 2016. 

After the inaugural April month of voyages to the Dominican Republic, Fathom intends to offer both Dominican and Cuban itineraries on a systematic and regular basis. Travelers will have the opportunity to choose from two destinations and a range of activities – from social impact in the Dominican Republic and educational and cultural exchanges in both countries designed to have a positive, transformative effect on the lives of the travelers. Fathom expects to attract 37,000 annual travelers who collectively could spend a total of more than 100,000 days a year either volunteering or immersing in educational and cultural exchanges in local communities. 

Fathom will depart on weekly seven-day voyages from Port Miami aboard the MV Adonia, a 710-passenger vessel redeployed from Carnival Corporation’s P&O Cruises (UK) brand and ideal for delivering an intimate onboard experience. Departure dates for seven-day voyages departing on Sundays roundtrip from Miami during 2016 include:

• Dominican Republic:

Apr. 10, Apr. 17, Apr. 24, May 8, May 22, June 5, June 19, July 3, July 17, July 31, Aug. 14, Aug. 28,Sept. 11, Sept. 25

• Cuba:

May 1, May 15, May 29, June 12, June 26, July 10, July 24, Aug. 7, Aug. 21, Sept. 4, Sept. 18, Oct. 2

“Fathom looks forward to serving our travel professional partners and welcoming their clients as they embark on a transformative journey of love in action, self-discovery and community building alongside fellow travelers and local citizens in the Dominican Republic and Cuba,” said Tara Russell, president of Fathom and global impact lead for Carnival Corporation. “Working with our on-the-ground Dominican and Cuban partners, we intend to create experiences where travelers will flourish in the communities they visit and locals will meet new friends and make lasting connections. Our goal is that travelers lives be meaningfully enriched through the opportunities to immerse, learn, serve and flourish while at the same time developing life-long friendships and relationships with fellow travelers and with new local friendships in the destinations visited.”

Prices for the seven-day trips to the Dominican Republic start at $974 per person, excluding taxes, fees and port expenses and including all meals on the ship, onboard social impact immersion experiences, three on-shore social impact activities and related supplies. Prices will vary by season.

Prices for seven-day itineraries to Cuba start at $1,800 per person, excluding taxes, fees and port expenses and including all meals on the ship, onboard social impact immersion experiences and certain on-the-ground cultural immersion activities. Prices will vary by season.