Carnival Corp has decided to send fathom’s Adonia back to UK’s P&O Cruises. They will not replace her with another ship. This effectively spells the end to the start-up line.
Carnival Corp instead announced that social impact excursions, the focal point of a fathom experience, can be offered on any other Carnival Corp ship sailing to those ports. Adonia’s last fathom sailing will be in summer of 2017.
The concept was always a bit of a stretch, but it did allow Carnival Corp to be the first line to sail from the US to Cuba. Those cruises were mostly all sold out and demanded quite the premium. Their Dominican Republic cruises were never up to par and frequently sailed with plenty of empty berths.
I did an analysis in 2015 about the launching of the brand. I thought it was a neat concept but it appears it was a more difficult to fill her up every week. Perhaps they can get a better yield from her in the off seasons by sailing her with P&O. Peak season in Cuba should have had ungainly yields since they were the only ones doing it.