Cayman Aggressor - best time of year?

[Illini_Fan]

I'm looking into my 2018 dive trips and I'm leaning towards the Cayman Islands since I've never been there. I'm looking at both Little Cayman and potentially Cayman Brac from a land-based trip, but the single supplement is pretty nasty at both of the Beach Resort properties. So then I turned my eye to the Aggressor as an option - especially since they have 25% off for a week in January 2018.

I really want to have the best chance to get over to Little Cayman and I understand that can't be guaranteed on the Aggressor due to weather. However is there a time of year that will increase my chances. From a personal standpoint, the best options are January or mid-April through mid-May.

I looked at the logs on the Aggressor site and it seems that the boat has been in dry dock for 2 of the last four Januarys and it seemed like it only made the crossing to LC/CB maybe 25% of the time. In reading the April logs for the past few years it looked closer to 80% or so.

Any thoughts on which month would be best to keep my chances as high as possible. Also, if April is the best option, that eliminates the 25% "Dive the World" savings and the Aggressor is than a decent bit more expensive their either Beach resort even with the single supplement. Although I haven't done the "per dive" calculation.

thanks for the input

Tom

 

[Haleyeah]

We did the Cayman Aggressor this past December. I did the same thing as you. I looked at the logs over the last four years and came up with percent chance of crossing to LC and CB. Ours was right at 50/50. Unfortunately, we didn't make the crossing, but the diving around Grand Cayman is still very very nice. I think the best thing you can do is just play the odds you find from the past logs....As for spending the extra to improve your chance to cross, the live aboard has the benefit of diving all three islands (assuming you cross). The boat and crew is very good too. Top notch food as well...I see you are running the risk of paying more and not making the crossing, but personally, I'd rather take the risk and have the opportunity to see the best of all three islands. If I'm reading your post correctly, the worst case scenario is you chose April and don't cross? You still get to do the North Wall of GC, Doc Paulson, Kittiwake and some other great sites. I really don't think you'll be disappointed...I dunno. That's just me. I hope this helps a little.

 

[Damselfish]

Note that while deals are great, and the timing of them is not always weather related, sometimes it is.

Most places in the Caribbean do have have a winter of sorts, where you tend to see more wind and rain. What you read in the blogs is what I would expect - choosing between January and April/May, your odds will be better in the spring. On average I'd expect calmest weather in the summer and months around it, windier in the winter, and a crapshoot in the shoulder seasons. Hurricane season is pretty good for diving, unless there's a hurricane.

Note that weather that prevents the Aggressor from making the crossing can also prevent Little Cayman boats from diving the north side of the island, which is the "famous" part. The resorts are on the south side and getting around the tip of the island can get exciting. And conditions may not be so good if you can make it. It does mean you get to dive the south side more which doesn't get dove so much, which is not such a bad thing, but maybe not what you're going for. Probably you won't get blown out for an entire week, but going land-based is not a 100% solution.

Even if the Aggressor can't make the crossing you will still get good diving on Grand Cayman, and probably much more of it then you would manage to do from land. We were able to make the crossing in October (the first time they made it in 3 weeks), but I also very much enjoyed diving Grand from a liveaboard. And if you do make the crossing, we found that the Aggressor spent more time on some sites the resorts don't hit as much due to distance or conditions - sites which I think are even better.

Lots of groups book at LCBR and CBBR. Some creative googling might turn up a dive shop trip with extra space you could join and get a roommate that way, avoiding the single supplement.

 

[Haleyeah]

If it was peak dive season, they wouldn't be offering the 25% off

 

[drrich2]

Early this year and last year Aggressor had big fleet wide saving offers. When I did the Cayman Aggressor IV in 2016 I think I got 31% off and did their cheapest room category. I can't guarantee it'll happen again, but if you can wait till around February to March 2018 to book, might pay off.

 

[DeputyDan]

Way back in the day - when the Nekton boats were available - I did the one in the Cayman's in mid- May.
It was about as close to perfect (weather-wise) as one could hope for,

 

[KathyV]

Our trip on the Cayman Aggressor was in late October which is historically the rainiest time of year but we had absolutely perfect weather - warm, sunny, and calm. We were able to dive around all 3 islands and we spent most of the time off Little Cayman - the conditions and visibility were wonderful. But the very next week the weather turned bad and they were not able to make the crossing.

Of course there's never any guarantee about the weather no matter if you are doing a land-based or a liveaboard trip. I think that doing the research and making your best decision (and crossing your fingers for luck!) are your best options.

I am sure that most liveaboard Captains will always try to give guests the best dive experience available.

Have you taken other Aggressor trips? The Dive the World Club discounts are only offered to repeat customers.

As mentioned by @drrich2, for the last couple of years the Aggressor has been offering a substantial "anniversary" sale. You can only take advantage of it during a couple of weeks early in the year but you can travel through the end of the year. The link below is for the sale they offered earlier this year to give you the idea. It's a great bargain but there's no guarantee that they will offer it again next year, but they might. If so, you could book a trip for April or May at a great price and with a better chance of good weather - warmer water too.

If you want to do a lot of diving in the Caymans then the Aggressor is probably your best option.

Liveaboards also charge a hefty single supplement, but my understanding is that you will pay the "per person double occupancy" rate if you are willing to share a room with a same gender diver. I have also heard that if they are unable to sell the other berth then you will have the whole room at the reduced price. So as with weather, luck can be a big factor in the quality of your vacation!

Aggressor Fleet is Offering 33% Off Again!

 

[Illini_Fan]

KathyV -- yes I've done Aggressor before so the discount is available to me. And I've done the "room share" which is why I don't experience any supplement.

The 33% sales would be great - might be more of a gamble than I'm willing to do, plus that close to my targeted departure might eliminate my ability to use AA miles for the flight and thus I would trade one cost for another.

All things to consider

Thanks for the feedback all.

 

[KathyV]

I just got an email about some new 2018 Aggressor Dive the World 25% off dates:

Aggressor Fleet - Official Website

 

[Brodydog]

FWIW I took the trip in April a few years ago and we were not able to make the crossing. I was very disappointed. Grand Cayman was just okay diving for me, definitely not what I was expecting for liveaboard prices. It was my least favorite liveaboard trip I've taken. I would say go when you have the best chance of making the crossing. Good luck with the crossing.