Aggressor or Peter Hughes? Which is better?

I am contemplating a liveaboard trip - my first ever - for mid to late 2009. I have read extensively on the websites about the aggressor boats and the peter hughes boats. From personal experiences, can any of you put in your 2 cents about which operation you prefer overall? Good, bad, ugly, and terriffic experiences? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

FYI: I'm a new reader of these threads, just started regularly reading last month. I have noticed that Peter Hughes bases some of its boats in what seems like more remote locations (not quite as mainstream) as the aggressor - but nonetheless it seems to me from reading alot of these threads that most of you prefer the aggressor to the dancer fleet. If I'm right about this I'm just wondering why this is...Thanks all and happy and safe diving!

One major difference is the waiver that you're required to sign. Aggressor's is fairly standard in the dive industry. PH's is over the top IMHO. Read both and you'll see. I'm not a lawyer, but there are some older threads on SB that discuss this issue.

It may have something to do with the loss of live on the PH Wave Dancer incident a few years ago. PH claims they are not connected for what it's worth. For that reason alone, I will not do any PH trips. Anyone who is not willing to accept any responsibility for their actions is someone who I don't want to give my business to. The standard dive industry waiver is bad enough.

I've done a few Aggressor trips and they are great. Also look at the Explorer boats. They are excellent trips as well.

Peter Hughes sold all his boats last year although they are all still run under that company name. I think the Aggressor company bought them all and kept Peter on as a consultant. So technically, they are all Aggressor boats now.

I have not done either boat, but I might consider doing either one depending on which location. As mentioned before, they don't overlap locations, with the exception of Belize, Galapagos, Fiji, and N. Sulawesi.

robin

divengolf:

One major difference is the waiver that you're required to sign. Aggressor's is fairly standard in the dive industry. PH's is over the top IMHO.

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The waivers appear to be identical with the exception of the company names. Probably because both Peter Hughes and Aggressor are owned by Wayneworks Marine.

IMO all liveaboard waivers are over the top and ridiculous...but I do not want to turn this thread into a debate about them...

I have been on both boats....I have had excellant service on both....I have been on more Aggressor boats probably because they are in the diving location I wanted
to visit but if both boats were in the same area I would probably choose Aggressor over PH...FWIW...

The Nai'a in Fiji surpasses the others IMO....

parrotheaddiver:

... I would probably choose Aggressor over PH...FWIW...

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Curious why. I'm booked on the Belize Aggressor in late Feb and had a difficult time deciding which boat to book.

When I was making my decision, the only point anybody seemed to raise was the Wave Dancer tragedy. Seems like a silly distinction after I found out that both fleets are owned and run by Wayne One and Wayne Two.

All else being equal I have a slight preference for Aggressor due to food and atmosphere, but the 2 are really similar enough that I would choose based on destination, and also on the quality of the individual boat. (They have both over the years had boats in their fleets ranging from really nice to "should have been retired already." I think there's been more range in the quality of Aggressor boats, but then they've got more boats and all that matters anyway is the specific boat you're going on.)

Even if they've got nice boats in the same place, they can be pretty different. For instance, I've been on the Sun Dancer in Belize several times and toured the Belize Aggressor, and slightly prefer the Sun Dancer due to nicer cabins and inside areas, though I liked some other things better about the Belize Aggressor. I suppose that one is pretty much a wash. In Fiji, the Aggressor and the Island Dancer (badged Aggressor until recently) are very different boats in size and type - Aggressor is a larger cat with I believe more diving from the tender, and the Island Dancer is a smaller monohull with fewer passengers and more diving off the main boat. If more than one boat operates in the same area you might also look at the actual itinerary if they're significantly different.

There's minor differences in the way Peter Hughes and Aggressor operate day to day. Like Peter Hughes does a bit more of the fluffy bathrobe, neck rubs after the dive, stuff like that and the crew wears uniforms for dinner which is served sit down. Aggressor dinners I've seen are mostly buffet and the crew will be in the usual t-shirts, giving some people the impression that PH is more "formal" - though it's really not and wearing the fluffy bathrobe to dinner would be ok. From the boats I've been on I've tended to prefer the food and buffets on the Aggressors over PH.

Depending where you're thinking of going there's many other liveaboards in the same general class worth checking out. Simple availability is also a big issue, some of the boats will book up far ahead and that may make your decision for you.

darkstar:

Curious why. I'm booked on the Belize Aggressor in late Feb and had a difficult time deciding which boat to book.

When I was making my decision, the only point anybody seemed to raise was the Wave Dancer tragedy. Seems like a silly distinction after I found out that both fleets are owned and run by Wayne One and Wayne Two.

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Most of the reasons were covered by Damselfish...of course in the past the WaveDancer tragedy was a valid reason not to go on any PH boats...but that is past and now Aggressor runs the show....

BTW I have been on the WaveDancer....while it was a newer ship than the Belize Aggressor we had compressor problems all week and several other problems that I have never experienced on another liveaboard....but that was a long time ago and there is no point in rehashing it...

PH boats are probably fine I would not hesitate to book a trip one but if the Aggressor is in the same area I would still probably book with them....personal preference and reasons stated by Damselfish YMMV

Why did you end up choosing Belize Aggressor over PH??

I"ve done 15 liveaboards from all three operators. Where you want to dive is your first choice. Second what week (operators might have that week booked out with a dive shop). Then choose your operator.