Chief executive Arnold Donald told delegates at the Clia UK and Ireland Conference in Southampton that the company would consider adding another ship if there was continued demand for the social impact brand.

The brand currently only operates P&O Cruises’ Adonia, but Donald said: “If the [current] ship is full, we may find another opportunity.”

However, he added that any additional capacity would be positioned in another location, away from the Dominican Republic, which Fathom currently serves.

“We can only accommodate so many people before it becomes a negative impact [on a destination], so we wouldn’t put another ship in the Dom Rep. But in other areas, yes – we have to play it out and see. We’re very optimistic about it,” he said.

Donald added that Fathom had already seen strong repeat demand since it started operating last month.

“Half the people booked on the first sailings have booked to come back again. I’m very proud of Fathom,” he said. “It’s a social impact brand, and it has a holistic approach – it’s not for everyone, but it’s a transformational experience for travellers.

“In the first few weeks we built concrete walls and floors for five families and provided 150 water filters.”

Donald admitted he would like to see Fathom on sale in the UK, and blamed back office problems for it not being on sale already. “I’d like to make it available to anyone that wants it,” he added.

He also spoke of his pride in the role that Carnival Corp – through Fathom – played in the US’s relationship with Cuba, as he revealed that Carnival was “referenced in the announcement to normalise relations with Cuba”. Earlier this month Fathom became the first US-based ship to sail to Cuba in more than 50 years.

Elsewhere, Donald said the UK market had performed particularly well. “We see things this year as being better in the UK. The UK market is robust. Every year there is always a capacity demand issue somewhere, but the UK is overall on a positive trajectory from a pricing standpoint.”

He also urged agents to “listen to their clients”.

“The key for all of us is creating more demand for cruise. Listen to the guests – if you give them what they want, they’ll buy it.

“There has only been one year in recent times that onboard spend hasn’t gone up, and that was 2009,” he added. “It happened because the team weren’t listening to guests and seeing what they wanted.”