Janie88
Contributor
My husband and I just returned from a week on the Bahamas Aggressor and wanted to share our very positive thoughts on the crew and boat.
Boat: Yes, this is one of the older (if not the oldest?) boat in the Aggressor fleet, but our trip reflected no issues whatsoever. It was clean, comfortable, and suited our needs perfectly. I did read a negative review from a few years ago when it was Carib Dancer and first began the itinerary in the Bahamas, but we did not encounter any problems. The diving deck is spacious, and the cabins are small but I believe standard for many of these boats, and we felt it was comfortable and spacious enough. We are not large or tall, and the double bottom bed was more than adequate for the two of us. The upper twin was a good spot for storing checked luggage and other items, plus there are two very deep drawers underneath the bottom bed, and a large area next to the drawers for stowing smaller bags/carry ons. In addition, there is a small closet for hanging some clothes. In our cabin, there was a small counter between the sink and bed where we kept our toiletries. What more do you need? It's a liveaboard, no need for anything fancier than shorts or sweatpants and hoodie between dives
A note on where to keep smaller items - I have found a wonderful use for a shoe caddy! Hang it on the door to your cabin or head, and you can stay organized while keeping all your smaller items in one neat place. I keep everything from sunscreen to sunglasses to teabags to first aid items and anything else you can think of in these cubbies. I picked up this tip from a cruising forum and it is perfect on a liveaboard
Food: We found Chef Rob's cooking to be excellent. I've heard and read many rave reviews of Jerry's cooking on the Belize IV (Sun Dancer II), and while we thought the food was good (we were on that boat in October), we both felt Rob's dishes to be even more superb, but of course food is very subjective! In any event, I don't think anyone would be disappointed in Rob's dishes.
Crew: Captain Dennis was very welcoming, accommodating and both friendly and interactive with the guests. He was knowledgeable and personable. Great guy! The crew likewise were outstanding - my favorites were Dave, engineer and divemaster, and Gabi, divemaster, videographer.
Diving: I ranked the diving from so-so on a few sites to very good on some others. Due to high winds from the east, we started the trip diving the west side of Eleuthra. We saw balloon puffer fish, trunk fish, lots of reef shark, turtles, cow fish, and so many more. I should say that b/c the water was fairly cold (at least to us spoiled divers who tend to dive mostly in 80f and warmer waters) at an average 74-75f, we did not do all the dives and in fact did not go on any night dives. I did hear from other guests that the night dives were very good.
All in all, it was a most excellent trip, so good in fact that we are returning in early October (for some warmer waters!).
P.S. Nothing to do with the diving, but a great aspect to this itinerary is clearing customs in Nassau and not the U.S. Loved that. So easy. They take a photo of your luggage when you check in, and when you go through customs they show you a photo of your luggage on the monitor and ask if it is yours. Yes, thank you! And that's it, you are done and when you get to Atlanta or wherever your U.S. connection is, no customs, no TSA line, it's easy breezy.
I wish we'd started doing liveaboards a long time ago, I am hooked! This next trip will be our fourth, with hopefully many more to come Happy diving everyone!
Janie
Boat: Yes, this is one of the older (if not the oldest?) boat in the Aggressor fleet, but our trip reflected no issues whatsoever. It was clean, comfortable, and suited our needs perfectly. I did read a negative review from a few years ago when it was Carib Dancer and first began the itinerary in the Bahamas, but we did not encounter any problems. The diving deck is spacious, and the cabins are small but I believe standard for many of these boats, and we felt it was comfortable and spacious enough. We are not large or tall, and the double bottom bed was more than adequate for the two of us. The upper twin was a good spot for storing checked luggage and other items, plus there are two very deep drawers underneath the bottom bed, and a large area next to the drawers for stowing smaller bags/carry ons. In addition, there is a small closet for hanging some clothes. In our cabin, there was a small counter between the sink and bed where we kept our toiletries. What more do you need? It's a liveaboard, no need for anything fancier than shorts or sweatpants and hoodie between dives
A note on where to keep smaller items - I have found a wonderful use for a shoe caddy! Hang it on the door to your cabin or head, and you can stay organized while keeping all your smaller items in one neat place. I keep everything from sunscreen to sunglasses to teabags to first aid items and anything else you can think of in these cubbies. I picked up this tip from a cruising forum and it is perfect on a liveaboard
Food: We found Chef Rob's cooking to be excellent. I've heard and read many rave reviews of Jerry's cooking on the Belize IV (Sun Dancer II), and while we thought the food was good (we were on that boat in October), we both felt Rob's dishes to be even more superb, but of course food is very subjective! In any event, I don't think anyone would be disappointed in Rob's dishes.
Crew: Captain Dennis was very welcoming, accommodating and both friendly and interactive with the guests. He was knowledgeable and personable. Great guy! The crew likewise were outstanding - my favorites were Dave, engineer and divemaster, and Gabi, divemaster, videographer.
Diving: I ranked the diving from so-so on a few sites to very good on some others. Due to high winds from the east, we started the trip diving the west side of Eleuthra. We saw balloon puffer fish, trunk fish, lots of reef shark, turtles, cow fish, and so many more. I should say that b/c the water was fairly cold (at least to us spoiled divers who tend to dive mostly in 80f and warmer waters) at an average 74-75f, we did not do all the dives and in fact did not go on any night dives. I did hear from other guests that the night dives were very good.
All in all, it was a most excellent trip, so good in fact that we are returning in early October (for some warmer waters!).
P.S. Nothing to do with the diving, but a great aspect to this itinerary is clearing customs in Nassau and not the U.S. Loved that. So easy. They take a photo of your luggage when you check in, and when you go through customs they show you a photo of your luggage on the monitor and ask if it is yours. Yes, thank you! And that's it, you are done and when you get to Atlanta or wherever your U.S. connection is, no customs, no TSA line, it's easy breezy.
I wish we'd started doing liveaboards a long time ago, I am hooked! This next trip will be our fourth, with hopefully many more to come
Happy diving everyone!Janie
