Another "Which Aggressor?" recommendation

[bee kay]

Hello all,

I had been on an Aggressor LOB once and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Currently, I have the good fortune to plan another trip later in the year. And was wondering which one I should pick.

Based on my travel window and budget, I am considering:

- Turks and Caicos
- Cayman
- Belize
- Roatan

I scoured the board and it seems that most of the diving are similar. All good dive sites and good vis. Nothing super technical. I am not a picky diver, I appreciate pelagics as well as macro stuff.

Grand Cayman is the easiest for me to get to, but the costs on the island seems more prohibitive as I do arrive earlier and stay a few days after the LOB.

If it helps, I am a solo traveller.

Any recommendations and thoughts are very much appreciated as you may bring up a consideration I have not thought of.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ScubaJCBS]

I know this is not helping with your current question, but have you seen that trip CHUM is doing in June of next year to the red sea they have a couple spots open still I think.

 

[Dogbowl]

Which is your closest airport? Airfare costs might be a factor to consider. For example, from YYZ, it's a lot cheaper/easier to fly to Cayman/Belize, than T&C/Roatan.

All of the Aggressors you have listed have good reputations here, and they're all corporate-owned, if that matters to you. I have only been on the Belize Aggressor IV, which people often recommend for newer divers. It's also a roomier boat than the BAIII. T&C has deeper walls. Cayman may do crossings to Cayman Brac and Little Cayman if weather permits, and it's a new ship. Roatan Aggressor is a good way to avoid sand fleas, and Captain Eddy used to be captain of the BAIV and was/is very popular.

There are less expensive lodging and food options on Cayman, such as Sunshine Suites and Comfort Suites.

 

[drrich2]

Hi:

You've got some nice options; I've been on 3 of them, but all have some caveats to consider. I'll lead with my trip reports, then some issues you may think about.

1.) Sun Dancer 2 (Belize) May 2015 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/li...ving-belize-via-sun-dancer-2-may-2nd-9th.html
Caveats: The III and IV boats are substantially different, and judging from other's experience, they may sometimes spend more time at Turneffe Atoll (where the diving isn't allegedly less desirable) than was the case when I went. Check out Trailboss123's Belize Aggressor III trip report, then Ironborn's B.A. Aggressor III trip report.

2.) Cayman Aggressor IV May 2016 - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/cayman-aggressor-iv-trip-may-2016.527640/
Caveats: The Cayman Aggressor V is now in use, IIRC, a more upscale boat. The C.A. doesn't always make the crossing over to Little Cayman (reputedly the best diving) and Cayman Brac (to dive the wreck). Consider what the odds of the crossing may be the time of year you plan to go, and whether a week 'just' diving around Grand Cayman (a fine dive destination in its own right) will suit you. Once surprisingly budget package deal that included car rental I've seen posted about before was at Turtle Nest Inn (IIRC); @KathyV may have more details about that. It's not on 7-mile beach, but it might work out for you.

3.) Turks & Caicos Aggressor II Report Apr. 2018 - Turks & Caicos Aggressor II 4/21-4/28 Trip Report
Caveats: I liked it, but dive profiles average deep, and it's considerably different diving in 'look and feel' vs. the 2 previous. I liked it, but I'd give the edge to the other 2 (in my experience; others may differ). Plenty of reef sharks. Provo has a rep. for being expensive; if topside costs for an extended stay are worrying you about Grand Cayman, you may find yourself either skipping that or skipping the Turks & Caicos for now.

I've liked all 3 boats and their crews.

4.) JasonReid50 wrote a highly complimentary review of the Roatan Aggressor. And here's one by CajunDiva. You might enjoy spending some post-dive days in the West End (or Bay?) area afterward? Haven't been.

Caveats: Read about the sand fleas for you topside time. My main concern about doing the R.A. is whether I'd prefer to 'experience' Roatan via CocoView Resort instead.

Hopefully digging into those reviews will narrow it down for you.

Richard.

 

[Carlos Diver]

Richard,

Thanks for your time and reviews. I am also trying to work out taking advantage of the aggressor sale. I am leaning more towards Cayman, but not making the crossing is always in the back of my head.

If you had to compare just your Grand Cayman diving to Belize, how would you rate it?

Does anyone have any idea how often they miss the crossing in November/December? I know the new boat is a tad bigger. However, not enough of a size increase to make the crossings automatic.

Thanks,

 

[Trailboss123]

Richard,

Thanks for your time and reviews. I am also trying to work out taking advantage of the aggressor sale. I am leaning more towards Cayman, but not making the crossing is always in the back of my head.

If you had to compare just your Grand Cayman diving to Belize, how would you rate it?

Does anyone have any idea how often they miss the crossing in November/December?

Thanks,

I would choose Grand Cayman every day of the week between those 2 options, in terms of diving. I have been to 3 of your 4 destination options (T&C being the one I haven't been to). In addition to diving, I'd much rather spend a couple of extra land days on Grand Cayman than Belize. Additional shore dives on Grand Cayman are also on offer after the liveaboard, if you are so inclined.

 

[Trailboss123]

Caveats: Read about the sand fleas for you topside time. My main concern about doing the R.A. is whether I'd prefer to 'experience' Roatan via CocoView Resort instead.

Hey Richard- I just got back from Coco View. Haven't decided if I am going to take the time to do a big travel report or not- I might need some nudging
The Sand Fleas/No See Ums are a very real thing. I didn't get any bites myself, but my wife certainly did. There are definitely some good topical applications that will do a great job of minimizing this issue. I will say that you can get as many or more dives in at Coco View vs the Aggressor. I did 29 dives. We arrived at the resort on a Saturday at 2pm and had to be out of the water by the following Friday at Noon to comply with our No Fly Time-- Lots of other things to compare and contrast-- I guess I will take one for the team and do a full report when I have some time next week. If you have any questions that you'd like answered or might help you in making a decision, let me know and I will be sure to address them. Greg

 

[Trailboss123]

Highlight of my Roatan trip was encountering this Goliath Grouper (a rare site in the Bay Islands). He was hanging around for 3 days in 20-25 feet of water on the west end of the Coco View Wall (part of the house reef). He was a monster!

 

[drrich2]

On our trip, only 5 of the dives were at Grand Cayman; I did 2 separate dives there years prior on a cruise ship stop. I liked G.C. fine, but if I were staying for a week to just dive G.C., I'd consider either Ocean Frontiers/Compass Point in the rustic east by reputation (aiming for 4 boat dives/day), or if family were with me, Sunshine Suites or Comfort Inn on 7 Mile Beach; a solo west coast trip would factor in ready access to shore diving. Last I looked at Cobalt Coast, looked pricy. Land-based options often have a significantly higher price if you're solo; live-aboards just put in in a room with a same sex room mate.

What you want to do topside matters. On a cruise stop at Belize, we did a boat tour up the New River, saw bats and crocodiles, and did a rain forest walk at Lamanai (including visiting 3 Mayan ruins, 2 of which I climbed atop - Mask Temple, Tall Temple and Jaguar Temple). That rocked. I've heard of cave tubing or some such; not familiar with that. Bottom line - Belize isn't an island, it's a continentally located country, and if you really want to dedicate some time to it, there are things to do.

On Grand Cayman, we enjoyed the Turtle Farm/Dolphin encounter combo. on a cruise stop; many people object to captive marine mammal exploitation and turtles may be raised for meat, IIRC, they're not display animals in specious public aquarium exhibits like you may see in the U.S., so it may not be your cup of tea. Grand Cayman does have some other things to do.

I don't have the discerning eye for dive sites seen in Ironborn's reports; I found Cayman's sea life more approachable than Belize's (Nassau grouper and maybe sea turtles), overall dive quality fairly comparable - might have to give Cayman the edge, but of my 2 trips, it'd be close. The Cayman trip, we hit the Doc Poulson, Kittiwake and the Keith Tibbetts wrecks, 2 of those on G.C.; on the Belize trip, no wrecks. If you like wrecks, that might clinch the decision for you. The only thing vaguely 'wreckish' on the Turks & Caicos trip was Thunderdome, and calling that a wreck would be a stretch.

Nothing about the topside Provo scene called to me. Some people enjoy topside Roatan; not sure what all they do.

The 'what if I'm stuck diving Grand Cayman all week' question comes up from time to time. Long story short, if I figured we probably wouldn't make the crossing, I'd try to book with Little Cayman Beach Resort and do land-based, or hit G.C. where I could shore dive or OF/CP booking 4 dives/day to run up my dive count. If ~ 65% chance of making it, I'd take those odds, and if I got 'stuck' diving G.C. that week, I think I'd probably get a lot on fine diving and have a good trip.

Richard.

 

[diversteve]

For big pelagics - sharks/rays etc. I'd drop the Roatan Aggressor from consideration - most of what you see on Roatan or Utila is smaller stuff. About the only sharks we saw on Roatan were at the feed which I believe they do. Off Utila we saw about 3-4 sharks total in a week of land based, Your timeframe is wrong for Whaleshark snorkeling which would be the draw in spring.

I can't speak to Belize diving - except factor in not staying in Belize City - even my friend who lives there full-time avoids it. So some extra expense flying to Ambergris or south for the jungle tours, Mayan ruins etc. There's also the ferry to Ambergris or Caye Caulker from Belize City,

Even with the new Cayman Aggressor I'd be concerned about the crossing in the winter - if they can't go you dive around GC - I've dove many of the same sites they do in a week of local diving. Not sure it was any cheaper...lol

I don't believe the new boat will do any better - it's not really "new" just refurbished from somewhere else. And I believe only marginally bigger that the CA IV,

I'd go with the T/C boat. We dove the Explorer but the Aggressor was twice at the next mooring over at the better sites. Lots of reef sharks, turtles, I counted about 2 dozen stingrays near a mooring once, It's good deep wall diving so the nutrients promote really healthy coral. We also heard but did not see dolphins off West Caicos once.

I don't believe they have weather issues but they do move over to the DR sometime in Jan. to whale watch so you'd have to book b4 then, The boat captain has a good reputation.

A cheper place to stay in Provo is Port's of Call - it's a former Comfort Suites. Not beachfront but near Grace Bay Beach. PofC is a small mall so you've got food/shops there. - it's also close to Salt Mills which is the other spot for nightlife. There's also a small casino in town - free pickup.

Equally as pricey as Cayman though for everything else.