If you pick T/C also look at the Explorer. They run basically the same route and might be a little cheaper. We saw Aggressor at the next mooring over 3-4 days out at French Cay and West Caicos. I was on Explorer May 1st a couple years ago - really decent weather except one day it was a little pitchy trying to re-board. On a drift dive so the boat was floating in the channel. We were easily able to do all 27 dives.
If you like Wall Diving - go to T/C. Several dives we hung out over it - one dive the next flat spot was 800' below according to the DM. And some go to 6000'. The upwelling brings up a lot of nutrients so the coral is super healthy. I'll go out on a limb and say that you'll see sharks on every dive at French Cay - and more Stingrays than you can count. At one mooring I counted 24 while hanging on my safety stop. I didn't see that many at Stingray City on Cayman. Basketball sized lionfish also and some groups see wild dolphins. Night dives are cool as you can follow the conch trails. One night the lights attracted some baitfish which attracted some jacks. Reef sharks hung out near the bow of the boat and picked them off when the divers weren't boarding.
It's also a slightly larger boat - most of the cabins are main deck with separate single beds - not over/under bunks - there's only bunks in the 3-4 below deck cabins. If I was sharing with a insta-buddy, I'd consider the upgrade. Also there's big windows in the cabins - except below deck. No personal flat screens like Aggressor - I guess they do that since their cabins all have portholes.
Explorer also has one more shaded deck than Aggressor - the fly bridge has cushioned benches and tables. Accessed from the sundeck. A group of about 8-10 of us lived up there all week. I even slept there one night. Good crew also although the Aggressor captain has about the best reputation in their company.
Interesting thing on Explorer is they vent the compressor air thru the middle of the dive deck - with a rack of hangers over it. If you dive a skin or t-shirt (like I do) they basically dry during lunch. Or by your 2nd dive.
Be sure you add it all up though - Explorer has an add-on fuel surcharge and charges extra for Nitrox - Aggressor bundles it in the price. I think they're still higher. Explorer also has 5-6 AL-100's for customer use - first come/first served so ask about it when you board - I overheard the DM offering and got the last one.
Mike wrote this about a year before I was on the boat. We missed the dolphins but I heard them once off West Caicos.
Saudio's Trip Reports
Check flights also - for us (from Phoenix) with a 1AM departure we were on Provo by just after noon. A crew member met us and had a shuttle take us to Salt Mills mall for lunch while they took our gear to the boat. Then they picked us up around 4PM for the meet/greet. We looked into Belize once (land-based) but I couldn't get there until late afternoon without paying a fortune. IDK when the Belize Aggressor sails...
