COVID-ready Atlantis returning Monday

Atlantis Submarines is in the final preparation to resume tours the week of August 9 with 82 per cent of staff vaccinated and regular testing policy implemented by mutual agreement, for staff not yet fully vaccinated.

With all of Barbados’ major source markets reopened and cruise business already started for summer, Atlantis Submarines will again seek to attract multigenerational families which are our major target audience.

Dives will start on a limited schedule with three dives each day, three to four days per week and will grow the schedule back to full capacity based on increasing demand.

Tours will be operated at reduced capacity, sanitisation, and mandatory mask wearing will be enforced.

Night tours will be added as numbers grow and the Ocean Quest shuttle boat will again be available for small chartered private events at the dock,” Roseanne Myers, General Manager, Atlantis Submarines Barbados, said.

With a brief reopening in December 2020 but closure again in January 2021 after the COVID restrictions were reimposed, the operation temporarily suspended dives but staff returned to training mode, as a form of motivation, upskilling and reskilling.

As a participant in the Barbados Economic Sustainability and Transformation (BEST) program, government assistance allowed Atlantis Submarines to retain staff and continue maintenance of equipment during the hiatus.

“When COVID-19 forced Barbados’ borders and the Atlantis Submarines Barbados operation to remain closed, the silver lining throughout the period was that our staff took maximum advantage of all training and upskilling opportunities” Robert Hinds, Operations Manager, Atlantis Submarines Barbados, said.

He added: “We are proud of the team members who fully embraced and completed training offered through the National Transformation initiative (NTI). French and Spanish at levels 1 and 2, Supervisory Management, as well as courses in aquaponics, photovoltaic installation and electric vehicle maintenance, housekeeping techniques and Covid sensitisation, were among the wide offering completed by the team.”

Reservations for Atlantis Submarine dives can be made by telephone, online via the booking engine or on social media, all of which are monitored across the week and afterhours.

Private charters for local and resident groups and special charters for hotels can be prearranged as well as individual bookings will be facilitated. (PR)