Trip Report Cayman Aggressor 5: February 23 - March 2, 2019

[salth2owannabe]

As promised, my review of our first liveaboard and trip on the Aggressor V.
There have been a few other recent reviews, so I'll try not to repeat too much of the same information-

Arrival- No issues upon arrival, airport process went smooth. A representative from the boat met us with a sign and within a few minutes were shuttled to the dock and on the boat. Shuttle cost was $10.00/person and drive time was maybe 10 minutes.

First impressions- The boat was well set up, neat and organized on arrival. We opted early on for the deluxe cabin with the "balcony". The room is spacious, especially when compared to the other state rooms on the boat. Gear set up, boat tour, introductions, etc. all went smooth.

Accommodations- The room, #10 port side balcony suite, as mentioned, is pretty large. The bed was comfortable, air conditioning consistent. The balcony is very small, it was nice to have the view at times but we only used the balcony for drying towels, swimwear, etc. It was nice to have the sliding door open occasionally as we would often not run the air conditioning during the day. One note, and I think an important one, regarding this room. During the crossings to/from Little Cayman they use an autopilot. The autopilot makes a noise, and for lack of a better description, sounds like someone racking the slide on a shotgun in your ear (I'm from Idaho). This noise is loud in this room and ear plugs offer little relief. The other rooms said that it could be heard but wasn't an issue. We were not told about the autopilot and at 12:30 a.m. after looking at every possible source I went upstairs and found a sleepy staff member who told me it was a safety feature. It works very well as a safety feature as you don't have to worry about falling asleep in this room while it's in use. After knowing that the noise was a necessary evil and with some ear plugs, we got some sleep on the return crossing.

The Food - We thought the food was good, but it wouldn't be something that stood out when recalling the trip. The meat, no matter what type, was cooked beyond well done. The only exception was "surf and turf" night when I ordered my steak rare and it came in at a medium rare. The salads and soups were all pretty good and no lack of food for big eaters with dessert following most every meal. Beer and wine were always available when not diving or done diving for the day.

The Diving- As I mentioned it was our first liveaboard, and it was also our first time diving the Caymans. I'm not sure diving could get any easier than on a liveaboard. Diving in general was pretty good, but I would not call it great. When people ask what my favorite dive destination is I always answer with "They all have their own virtues" as they all tend to be a little different, good, or not so good, in their own way. I thought they gave us a good variety of sites, but occasionally stayed at one site maybe an extra dive too long. I had previously mentioned we were able to make the crossing so we got to see Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. I know I would have been very disappointed if we were not able to see a little of all three. I was a little disappointed by the lack of larger critters, seeing only a few nurse sharks and a couple of small spotted eagle rays on the week. My wife and I never saw a single eel of any type, although some of the other divers saw a few. The visibility was good, with the exception of one morning after some wind, but not as good as I expected after hearing about how good the vis consistently is in the Caymans. Water temps were a consistent 81 degrees and a 2mm shorty was comfortable and adequate for us.
I mentioned in questions to some previous reviews that my concerns with a liveabord was 20 divers on the deck and in the water and how it would affect our diving experience. The dive platform did get briefly crowded at times when putting on fins. We avoided this by just trying to be ready right after the dive briefing and getting our fins on first and in the water. We never followed the group, or a dive master, and always went the opposite direction on each dive. The dive staff had no issues with it and the Captain said at one point that he would be doing the same thing. Our dive times averaged between 50 - 60 minutes so no issues there. We opted to pay the $100/wk for nitrox and I don't know why you wouldn't doing a liveaboard. The 32% fills were consistent and didn't have any short fills. All the dive masters were professional and easy to to get along with.

The crossing - We made the crossing on Sunday evening. Three dives that day at Grand Cayman and then headed for Little Cayman. The crossing was very rough and a number of guests getting sick. My poor wife was soooo sick. We got to a mooring along Little Cayman at around 12:45 a.m. on Monday morning. As has been previously mentioned in other reviews, the boat is very top heavy and has a noticeable roll to it even in calm seas. We had great weather/water for the return trip back and the captain mentioned it was the smoothest he had seen since October. I'm pretty sure that even as ill as my wife was she would say that it was worth the effort to make the crossing.

The Departure - Wrapping things up was smooth and all dive gear got dried on the upper deck. Departure from the boat is scheduled for 08:00 a.m. on Saturday but they allowed those that chose to to keep luggage near/at the boat until noon. Everyone on our trip elected to go directly to The Grand Cayman Yacht Club. This place is a great location to hang out and didn't have any issues with us leaving luggage stacked there, even though our flight didn't depart until around 4:00 p.m. the food and beverages were very good there and reasonably priced. We took advantage of their free shuttle to the airport, although it created a little apprehension after it showed up a half hour plus later than we wanted to leave.

Airport - Arrival was very smooth and we were in and out. Departure was borderline terrible and it was a good thing we allowed two and half hours prior to departure. It was not necessarily airport issues but rather appeared to be a very disorganized American Airlines staff. Very poor signage as to where you need to be and which line to be in. The "Self service" stations for bag check, and check in, appeared to work for one out every fifth or sixth customer. We were one of the lucky ones, the others got re-routed through a separate "customer service" line. Even though at the end of this line was the baggage check counter, some of these folks were then sent back through the maze again to check bags. Many unhappy people for sure!

Summary - We had a good trip. I don't think we'd hesitate to book another liveaboard at some point in the future, but just not right away. We both decided we like to do land based things while doing a dive vacation. Four and five dives a day is a lot of dives for us. I think we are more the 3 dives/day divers and enjoy a good happy hour followed by dinner at 7ish along with the occasional night dive mid week.

Disclaimer - Opinions and dive destinations are different for everyone, your mileage may vary.

 

[KathyV]

Thank you for the very detailed and interesting report. I am glad that you got to make the crossing over to the Sister Islands, although I got very sick during that crossing myself.

Did you see many groupers? There have been conflicting reports about the Grouper populations in the sister islands in recent months. Thanks!

 

[salth2owannabe]

Did you see many groupers? Thanks!

We started to see more groupers as the week went on. We did all of the dives at Little Cayman along Bloody Bay wall. We started on the east end and the further we worked our way west along the wall the more groupers we were seeing. The last site we dove before the return crossing was Joy's Joy. I remember commenting after the dive how many groupers we saw.

 

[Doctorfish]

Interesting. I personally do not understand the rationale for going on a liveaboard somewhere you can easily reach by day boat.
It's not hard to manage 3-4 tanks per day while staying on dry land CB or GC and avoiding the sea sickness, tight quarters etc. I've probably dived every sight the Cayman Aggressor goes without ever having been aboard it.

If you can't get there by day boat, different story.

 

[drrich2]

I personally do not understand the rationale for going on a liveaboard somewhere you can easily reach by day boat.

When I did the CA IV, as opposed to, oh, say, heading to LCBR, my decision process went like this:

1.) Had only done 2 Caymans dives, on a cruise ship stop I think in 2008, off Grand Cayman. Never know whether I'll make it back, and since Little Cayman gets a bit stronger endorsement on the forum than Cayman Brac (though it varies) so I might never visit Brac alone, and I wanted to dive all 3 islands (at least a little) if possible, the Aggressor boat let me do that (GC 5, LC 18, CB 2 on the big wreck). Land-based I'd have dove one island that week.

2.) Didn't have to mess with any 'puddle jumper' flights - flew into/out of GC, that's it.

3.) More dives. Got 25 in a 7 day trip.

4.) Very easy logistics. Good food, good crew, good diving, no need for a rental car, nice yacht and fellow divers with shared interests.

5.) Set up gear once, no breaking down during week. Just unhook 1st stage, they fill, analyze nitrox & log, put 1st stage back on, go. No gear rinsing, easy peasy.

6.) Cramped quarters only matter when you're in them, and I seldom was.

7.) Some land-based options charge a hefty single supplement; the live-aboard didn't if I accepted a same sex room mate (which I did - I'm a 'cheap seats' kinda guy).

8.) Catch an Aggressor sale at > 30% off and the value proposition gets good!

Land-based trips have charms a live-aboard would be hard put to match, and I have good memories of land-based trips (e.g.: Curacao, St. Croix, Bonaire, Cozumel).

For me on a solo dive trip, getting the most dives the easiest in the most convenient setting with the least planning/travel/logistic hassles, a good live-aboard rocks. For those who like topside attractions, 'native' culture and architecture, driving around independently, shore diving, or mixed diver/non-diver groups, that's another story.

Summary - We had a good trip. I don't think we'd hesitate to book another liveaboard at some point in the future, but just not right away. We both decided we like to do land based things while doing a dive vacation. Four and five dives a day is a lot of dives for us. I think we are more the 3 dives/day divers and enjoy a good happy hour followed by dinner at 7ish along with the occasional night dive mid week.

Glad you had a good time! There's value in trying the options and finding your niche.

Richard.

 

[salth2owannabe]

I personally do not understand the rationale for going on a liveaboard somewhere you can easily reach by day boat.

Like Richard, the deciding factor was wanting the possibility to see a sampling of all three islands in one trip. I'm not sure we would do another liveaboard if that wasn't a factor or it was the only way feasible to get to the location.

 

[Doctorfish]

The best diving in the Caymans (without getting seasick) can arguably be found at Little Cayman Beach Resort or Compass Point East end Grand Cayman. I'm interested as to how many have been on the Cayman Aggressor multiple trips.

 

[drrich2]

I'm interested as to how many have been on the Cayman Aggressor multiple trips.

Good question and one I hadn't considered much. If I went back to the Caymans, factors for me:

1.) I'd love to shore dive, but prefer at least the option to do it solo, and Grand Cayman's bizarre 'not really legally mandated but somehow a thing' anti-solo diving culture would be very off-putting. But shore diving's not so much a thing at the east end (e.g.: where Compass Point is) from what I understand. Little Cayman isn't known for it, though a ScubaBoard member shove dove a little there and reported back favorably. Cayman Brac was shore diving and from what I heard doesn't 'police' the solo thing, but I got the impression their solo diving is often a bit more involved/'less easy' than mainstream west coast Bonaire's, and I don't have experience doing it there so it'd be strange to me.

2.) Grand Cayman has a rep. for being rather expensive when you start talking 4 dives/day. At LCBR or CBBR I understand you can get 3 dives/day, plus a night dive (or 2?) during the week. Not bad. But an Aggressor trip > 30% off on a sale for the cheapest room is still good bang for the buck on diving.

3.) From another thread I got the impression the CA V's size limits its mooring site options, so LCBR or CBBR boats might take me places it wouldn't. That's a plus.

4.) The CA doesn't always make the crossing; some weeks are 'just' Grand Cayman diving. Bad weather could prevent people staying on Little Cayman from diving the Bloody Bay Wall & Jackson Bight area awhile, but it seems to me if your main agenda is to dive that section, being on Little Cayman would give you the best odds.

I've read strong repeated praise of Ocean Frontiers/Compass Point, though it's out at the east section of G.C. away from some of the topside amenities people often pick G.C. to partake in. I'd have to price a trip at 4 dives/day going solo; if my wife & kid were along, I'd plan a stay near 7-Mile Beach.

Richard.

 

[salth2owannabe]

I'm interested as to how many have been on the Cayman Aggressor multiple trips.

We had people on the boat that were repeat Aggressor customers, some had been on numerous Aggressor boats as well as other liveaboards. I guess we all have our own favorite places and ways of diving. Most of the folks on our boat were older and I think they like the ease of being in one location and stepping off the back of the boat.

 

[Joneill]

Good question and one I hadn't considered much. If I went back to the Caymans, factors for me:

1.) I'd love to shore dive, but prefer at least the option to do it solo, and Grand Cayman's bizarre 'not really legally mandated but somehow a thing' anti-solo diving culture would be very off-putting. But shore diving's not so much a thing at the east end (e.g.: where Compass Point is) from what I understand. Little Cayman isn't known for it, though a ScubaBoard member shove dove a little there and reported back favorably. Cayman Brac was shore diving and from what I heard doesn't 'police' the solo thing, but I got the impression their solo diving is often a bit more involved/'less easy' than mainstream west coast Bonaire's, and I don't have experience doing it there so it'd be strange to me.

2.) Grand Cayman has a rep. for being rather expensive when you start talking 4 dives/day. At LCBR or CBBR I understand you can get 3 dives/day, plus a night dive (or 2?) during the week. Not bad. But an Aggressor trip > 30% off on a sale for the cheapest room is still good bang for the buck on diving.

3.) From another thread I got the impression the CA V's size limits its mooring site options, so LCBR or CBBR boats might take me places it wouldn't. That's a plus.

4.) The CA doesn't always make the crossing; some weeks are 'just' Grand Cayman diving. Bad weather could prevent people staying on Little Cayman from diving the Bloody Bay Wall & Jackson Bight area awhile, but it seems to me if your main agenda is to dive that section, being on Little Cayman would give you the best odds.

I've read strong repeated praise of Ocean Frontiers/Compass Point, though it's out at the east section of G.C. away from some of the topside amenities people often pick G.C. to partake in. I'd have to price a trip at 4 dives/day going solo; if my wife & kid were along, I'd plan a stay near 7-Mile Beach.

Richard.

If the Agressor can make the crossing and get to all 3 islands, I'd find it a good deal. However, if it got stuck on Grand Cayman only, I'd find it much less attractive and would prefer the flexibility of staying land-based.