Thread: Atlantis Submarine

On our last cruise we decided to do something different in Cozumel and signed up for the Atlantis submarine shore excursion. It is kinda' funny referring to several hours in the middle of the ocean as a shore excursion, but whatever.

Anyway, it is a very tightly run operation that goes all day with shuttle boats taking the people from the pier to the location where the sub is based. Obviously, this enables the owners to get far more use of the sub since the actual time underwater at the reefs is the important thing, not getting out to them. As each boat unloads, the next boat prepares for loading. It was a very efficient and well run system.

We began with a 15 minute boat ride out to the reefs. We first paralleled the coast then headed out into the open water. Then we stopped next to another boat. Surprise, it was the people who were currently in the sub. The surface boat serves two purposes- it marks the spot where the sub is to surface and it provides a rescue craft in case anything goes wrong. According to our guide, nothing ever has but it is still a precaution that they have in place.

As we were headed out, we got a lecture similar to the one given on a aircraft. The only real difference was that the oxygen masks were ones that fit totally over one's head. Neat. The boat guide kept reiterating that nothing has ever gone wrong but in tests, if power should fail, the ship is watertight and is good for several hours under water.

As we waited, the sub slowly surfaced. As you can see from the pictures, it is not very large. It is a fully submersible capable of going down more than 100 feet. Definitely not like the glass bottom boats or the semi-subs that you see at most places.

There are two ways out of the boat and as it unloaded the passengers from the previous tour, we started to get ready to get on. The waters were rolling so the crew helped us all to get on making sure we were not knocked off. The entry into the sub is very narrow and you go down a ladder to get into the sub. You are supposed to turn around at the top of the stairs and go down backwards which we all did.

The sub was fairly tight quarters but well lit and painted in whites and blues to make it more spacious. Not a place for people with claustrophobia, though (It stated in the tour description that if you have claustrophobia, this is not a shore excursion for you).

You are actually looking a bit down at the windows in the side. The seats are very low, made of a fairly hard plastic, and not the most comfortable seating in the world. At some points during the tour, I was actually out of my seat and resting my knees on the bulkhead to get a better - and more comfortable view.

It is a marvel what they have done with the sub, though. It has a very clean look, is very inviting, gave you a sense of security, and had amazingly large viewing ports.

Then we began to dive. We started off with a shallow dive. The water was a bit murky since there was a hurricane in the area two days before, but overall it was surprisingly clear. We moved between rock formations and saw numerous fish and lots of coral. It was far different from a glass bottom boat since in many cases we were looking directly at the fish or up at them.

Then we started going down and off the shelf. The scenery changed as we went down and the water turned more and more toward the grays and away from the blues and reds that we saw above. Most of the fish were similar but along the way we encountered massive schools of something that I cannot remember right now. Our greatest depth was slightly over 125 feet.

A few more pictures. You can see the size and shape of the viewing porthole in a few of these pictures.

Great information on the shorex Neal.
Do you remember about how much it costs?

I think it was $115 through the ship. Looking at the web site it is $99 with a $10 discount if you book on the internet.

Since we were going down there and had a good possibility of a hurricane disrupting our trip, we decided to do it through the ship.

I should add that the reef area where the sub goes is a protected environmental area. Apparently the sub has to get permission and register every time it goes into the reef areas.

Oh, I do have one complaint about the tour. Even though all the passengers on our particular tour were English speaking, they had to do the safety instructions first in Spanish THEN in English. Just a small irritation but it was interesting to see. As we were getting off, we could hear them speaking in German to the next group of tourist.