Thoughts on Bahamas Aggressor?

[Janie88]

Hi, I am looking at some specials on Aggressor, and the Bahamas Aggressor (formerly Carib Dancer) would be a great deal. However, there was a very negative post here a few years ago about this itinerary and the Carib Dancer, and am curious if anyone has been on this particular boat/itinerary more recently and their experience? Thanks!

 

[Wookie]

When the Carib Dancer was first put into service, it was, shall we say, not ready for prime time. Those incredibly negative reviews reflect that, and reflect the company's handling of the situation. Since then (that review was written by a friend of mine, and that group was comprised of divers who (mostly) are also my customers), I've had other friends on that boat, and they report a far higher standard of service and condition of the boat.

 

[ronscuba]

How does the diving compare to other Caribbean liveaboard locations like Belize, Caymans, Turks & Caicos ?

 

[BDSC]

I'm not 100% sure where that boat goes but a few years back I took a trip on the Aqua Cat. Great boat, great crew, great food, not so great diving and it does the Bahamas. Many of the reefs in that area have been destroyed by a hard crusty-like algae. Some reefs virtually no fish at all. You may find some really great deals diving around the Bahamas but just how great is it if the diving doesn't measure up.

 

[PACKRMAN]

I was on the boat August 2015. Loved the crew. The boat was in great shape. The company handled a mechanical problem that came up splendidly. My only complaint was that the water was so warm it was actually green, so vis was affected.

 

[Janie88]

Thanks everyone. We decided to go with the Aggressor in Belize this August. Still a great deal with the 32% off special, and we haven't been to Belize yet.

 

[drrich2]

Funny. I planned to try Blackbeards, then (due to that big sale) switched to pursue the Bahamas Aggressor, then changed to The Cayman Aggressor because airfare was really high if I went very soon, openings were limited and in May they switch to a different itinerary, west Grand Bahama and Tiger Beach.

What do people think of the the new itinerary? $200 extra.

I'd like to hit Tiger Beach someday, and would love to see lemon sharks and tigers, but for a first Bahamas trip, I think I'd like a broader range of sites, such as the traditional routes hit by Blackbeards, Aquacat, Juliet, Lost Island Voyages and Cat Ppalu (considering there's more than one Blackbeards boat, even allowing the Juliet doesn't do Bahamas all year, that's a lot of live-aboard in one region!).

Richard.

 

[Linda99]

I did the Aggressor Carib Dancer (renamed Bahamas Aggressor) trip end of November 2015. The crew was fantastic, the food was good and plenty of it. Captain Dennis went out of his way to try to hit all of the guest special request dive sites so we got to go to Pig Island. Also did two shark dives which I loved! <3 They don't feed the sharks but they put out a triangle with a bait fish which brings in the Reef Sharks. Loved this trip and the crew. The crew is very friendly and you leave having made some new friends. I'd love to do Tiger Beach with this boat!! Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks! Linda

 

[drrich2]

The question for some will come down to which of the 2 itineraries to do. Seems like with the one you did, the traditional one, you'd hit a wider range of sites over a larger area (hard for me to judge, looking the maps). The new itinerary is all off the west coast of Grand Bahama. Aside from the extra $200 and such, given the costs are pretty close, what does a person 'give up' by going with the itinerary with Tiger Beach included? Looks like there's some significant geographical separation between the 2 areas.

I've never dove either, so I don't know how the diving would compare (aside from Tiger Beach, where I believe one would hope to see lemon and tiger sharks).

Richard.

 

[Linda99]

Hey Richard, Since I've only done the one Exumas/Eleuthra Aggressor trip I can't comment as to how that would compare to the Tiger Beach trip. Hopefully someone who has done both of these trips will comment. Like you mention, I'd be expecting to see Tigers and Lemons if I went on the Tiger Beach Trip. There was one guy on our trip who was on his 5th Carib Dancer trip and his main target when diving is to see sharks. He shared some nice pics of Tigers and Lemons from previous trips.