What is your name? Anthony Berry

What is your job on the ship? I work as an Electronics Technician for Alvin. Currently, I am training to be a pilot.

How long have you worked on Atlantis? I have been an official employee with the Alvin group since March 2002. So that means I have worked for about seven months. I worked the summer before as a student and sailed aboard Atlantis from June to August of 2001.

What is the most unusual thing you have seen on a cruise? I don’t think I’ve seen anything that I would call unusual. I’ve seen dolphins and whales that are really cool but not unusual. This last July, I saw a whale off the stern of the ship and it was pretty close. It was the first time I’ve seen a whale up close, so that was fun.

What is the scariest thing that has ever happened to you? While we were at port in the Azores I went for a ride in a rental car with Tony Tarantino and a Russian scientist named Eugene who was aboard on the last cruise. Tony Tarantino was originally driving the car, but Eugene asked if he could drive because he had never driven a car before in his life and he wanted to try it out. Tony, being the nice guy that he is, decided we should give it a shot and began teaching Eugene how to drive. Now, Eugene was the worst driver I had ever seen, and while I was sitting in the back seat of the car I saw my life flash before my eyes. He was swerving in and out of the wrong lane and I thought for sure we would either hit an oncoming car or fly off the road into the harbor. Luckily, neither of these things happened, and we ended up with only a flat tire after driving into the curb.

If you didn’t have this job, what would be your next job of choice? If I didn’t have this job, I think I would try to get a job as an ROV tech/pilot. From what I hear, there are jobs out there in that field, and the pay is good. I enjoy going to sea and getting a chance to visit different parts of the world, so I think that would be a good fit for me.

Where’s the coolest place you have ever been? Why? I don’t know if it’s the coolest place I’ve been but I definitely had the most fun while I was at the Azores. When the ship arrived at the Azores, we had just finished the first cruise since the Alvin overhaul and the Alvin group had been working very hard getting the sub into working order. So when we reached port it was a huge relief for everybody to have a few days off and relax. It was fun exploring the island and doing some sight-seeing.