Fathom Adonia Cuba 5/29 mini review

We were on the 5/29 sailing on the Adonia to Cuba.

We were in balcony cabin A28

The ship itself is a nice size, a welcome break from all the mega liners I have sailed in the past.

It is an older vessel so it is important to adjust your expectations. Personally I thought it was poetic traveling in a ship with what looked like copper banisters and lounges and libraries with fireplaces, classic elegance of days gone by, to a destination that in many ways time forgot.

The ship is rough around the edges in some areas and I believe the refurbishment is an ongoing process.

My balcony cabin was quite spacious, no complaints there except for the old fashion wall mount hairdryer, for the premium price they really should provide a better unit.

On deck seven they have complementary washer and dryers which I thought was a nice touch- no soap machines though.

The wait staff all came over from P&O and were top of the line, very friendly and always looking to please.

We had an issue where we briefly lost power when leaving Miami. Two hours later the coast guard called us back for an inspection and that resulted in us not departing until 3am. This threw off our schedule putting our arrival in Havana off until Tuesday and eliminating our call in Cienfuegos -very disappointing but the situation was out of our control so there is no sense complaining about it.

Prior to the trip I had already self certified my husband and myself so that we could travel around independently if we wished. When I went to do our Fathom affidavit they were now allowing people to do both thr Fathom people to people and self certify on one affidavit which I thought was a great idea.

Day one in Havana would have been the walking tour but it now was flipped to be the bus tour. We did Fathoms included tour. Parts of it were fascinating we went to Jose Fuster's house which is absolutely magnificent. Other parts I found boring but I attribute that tou our guide. For instance at the art museum he told us to meet him back in an hour and he proceeded to the coffee shop with the bus driver and I had no idea what I was looking at or the significance of it. I would have rather spent that hour out on the streets talking to people.

Other groups had different experiences some got to see some dancers, it was not consistent. Lunch for example- one group had lobster in an air conditioned building, another ate at a Palador with menu choices, we ate at a Palador- I think, but the food was just delivered.

Day two in Havana was the highlight of my trip. My husband and I decided we would skip their walking tour and do our own. Within a few minutes of leaving the ship I met a delightful young teacher named Jeffrey. I was asking him some questions and he was walking along with us answering. No formal tour was negotiated, we were just chatting and he was explains things to me (honestly) about the special period and also about the prevailing religion in the area (I had asked why I kept seeing people dressed from head to toe in white)

He took us places the tour never would have like to the old telephone company where there is a medallion in the lobby showing a map of Cuba and a map of Florida and a bridge between the two they thought would have been built in the 1960's seeing that gave me chills. He even took us to his own apartment, so tiny, that he shares with his mom- a teacher makes just 20 CUCs a MONTH!

I could go on and on about this perfect day and if anyone wants his contact info feel free to email me. We took him to lunch and parted ways at 1:30 as it was the last week of classes and he teaches afternoon. We gave him the equivalent of two months salary which he didn't want to accept, honesty it was not near enough for the day he gave us.

We then had a sea day, there is not much to do other than Spanish class, cocktail class and dance class- they do need to work on that. We did enjoy the pool and the gorgeous library but a lot of people were saying they were bored.

The following day was Santiago de Cuba, again we headed out on our own. The guy we met took us to a lot of interesting places and even to his friends home to have lunch prepared for us. It was not the same deep experience as with Jeffrey though. Our friends on the ship that did the Fathom included tour raved about it so I think when I return I will do that as well.

We did eat in the specialty restaurant one night, my husband had goat which he thought was amazing, I am not as adventurous so I had steak which was very good. The food in general was excellent in my opinion.

Any questions ask away

Thank you so VERY much for your wonderful review!!!!

Thank you for your wonderful review. We are going in August and it is very helpful. The Adonia is actually an old Renaissance ship. We used to take them all the time, and love them.

Thank you for this review. We are considering this cruise later this year and appreciate the insights.