It's been an exceptionally busy month for the Fathom cruise line. Its launch was delayed by the U.S. Coast Guard, and its groundbreaking Cuba program was threatened over a Cuba policy restricting Cuban-born passengers from traveling by boat to the island. But its blend of cruising and volunteering launched April 17 from Miami to the Dominican Republic, and then it made history when the Adonia became the first modern-era cruise ship to land in Havana from the U.S. Senior editor Robert Silk caught up with Fathom president Tara Russell as the Adonia sailed from Havana.
Q: How did you persuade the Cuban government to change its policies regarding Cuban-born passengers?
Tara Russell
A: We got U.S. approval in July. We didn't get Cuban approval until late March. Everything is changing right now between U.S.-Cuban relations. So there are really remarkable things happening. We were fortunate to work on this with the Cubans throughout this whole process.
Q: How worried were you that you'd have to cancel this trip?
A: We always believed we would be [departing Miami for Cuba] May 1, and we have always been confident that we would sail May 1. We believe there will be other firsts.
Q: You faced delays getting the Cuba permit, and a Coast Guard inspection revealed problems with the Adonia's fire doors that left you unable to sail your first scheduled cruise, on April 10. Did these issues impact the brand?
A: If you look at the first two-and-a-half weeks of Fathom's sailing existence, we've had a remarkable, transformative response. The week of April 10, we had remarkable response. We put [affected guests] up in Miami for two days. We had our travelers grateful and coming back.
We have demonstrated that regardless of the situations we face, we can and will deliver an extraordinary travel experience. Stuff happens. That's just life.
Q: How have passengers and the Dominican people responded to Fathom's impact-travel approach?
A: Passengers have said this has been the best week of their lives. ... Half the people from last week booked a trip to travel again with Fathom while they were on the trip.
When we arrived [in the Dominican Republic] people were celebrating. We had the most incredible reception on our first sailing but also on our second. The Dominican people are a colorful, strong people, but they also like building new friendships. The Dominicans feel like their family has just grown. My promise to them is we're going to help the world fall in love with the northern coast of the Dominican Republic.
Q: The Cuba cruises are closer to a typical cruise than the Dominican one. Are you satisfied with the onshore programs and are you looking to add more people-to-people elements?
A: We're extremely satisfied with the experience our travelers are having. We've brought them a moment in time, an opportunity to make history. Second, we will always be tweaking and developing new experiences on the ground to broaden the types of opportunities our travelers can have.
Q: Any specific programs in mind?
A: There are these old cars, incredible architecture, cigar factories, amazing entrepreneurs and farms exploding all over the place, so we will be developing those fabulous opportunities. But you have to remember we only got approval in late March.