Lavalamp
Registered
If you're looking for a trip report with colorful pictures, videos, and detailed accounting of the dive sites, this report is not for you. If you are looking for a report on a general sense of the overall experience of the trip and of this particular boat, I hope you will find this helpful.
My wife and I have recently finished a 7-night diving trip in Belize aboard the Belize Aggressor IV (formerly Belize Sun Dancer) in December 2016. This was our first time in Belize. We chose this particular Aggressor sailing because of the 25% 'Dive The World' special discount. And no we're not liveaboard newbies. We've been on liveaboards before.
All in all, we had a positive experience and feel that it was ok value for money (with the discount).
The People:
We had 7 crew members taking care of 20 guests on board. On this trip, the guests came from USA (10), Mexico (4), UK (3), Canada (2), Spain (1).
The Boat:
Very spacious and comfortable. The salon/dining room was great. The tables have outlets so you can work on your computer or camera. There are also couches and flat screen TV so you can watch movies or showoff your dive pictures and videos.
During this trip, we experienced power outages pretty much every night. These outages usually lasted 5 minutes, definitely no more than 10. Not a big deal. We brought a dive light into the shower every night just in case. The generator on the boat was probably old and due to be replaced. If you plan to charge expensive equipment on this boat, you should probably bring a surge protector.
The staterooms on this boat are larger than those on the sister boat, Belize Aggressor III. So if you're choosing between BA III and BA IV, I'd say go with this one.
The Operations:
Diving services were generally well-organized, efficient, and professional. Alex Brett was an excellent dive guide. He was passionate and helpful. Eddy was good as well. These two were very friendly, knowledgeable, patient, and never patronizing.
Rental BCDs were either really brand spanking new (Aqualung) or really disgustingly old (unknown brand), depending on your luck. My wife and I were not so lucky - we got the old ones with nasty black fungal spots (yuck). They were so old they didn't even have dump valves at the back bottom. We had to hold them upside down just to drain the water out of the BCD.
The Food:
Delicious. Restaurant quality. The meals were usually American or Belizean (or a combination/hybrid of the two cuisines). One day, we may have mac & cheese, bbq chicken/ribs, spaghetti meatballs, green salad. Another day, we may have coconut curry, local fish dish, stir fry veggies, corn on the cob, local food, etc. All tasty. The dining area, dishes, and utensils were always clean. Chef Jerry was awesome.
The Service:
In most aspects, the quality of service and politeness of the crew met our expectations (barring just a few one-off minor incidences).
We were very impressed with Alex. He was always going above and beyond to proactively make sure that all of our needs were taken care of and that the guests enjoyed themselves. In addition to a fun dive guide, he was also a great host - definitely a great person to hang out and chat with on the boat.
Diving in Belize:
We dove Lighthouse & Turneffe Atolls on this trip. We found the diving to be a bit disappointing.
We had high hopes and expectation for Belize prior to this trip, but sadly I would have to rank it below other Caribbean / Central America destinations that we've been to: Cozumel, Bonaire, Cayman, Turks & Caicos (not to mention S.E Asia and the Pacific side). In terms of marine ecosystem, Belize just didn't offer as much. Too many dead patches of reef. Fish population and size were smaller and underwhelming.
The local dive guides explained to us that this was due largely to illegal fishing. Honduran poachers (as well as some bad local Belizeans) would go into these atolls at night to catch fish. Belize, being a poor country, just doesn't have the resources to patrol these waters 24/7. They don't have a well-staffed and well-equipped Coast Guard like the neighboring countries. I'm not sure if this is a fact or just opinion of the guides, so take it with a grain of salt.
And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't go to Belize. The Blue Hole is still world-famous and still a bucket list item. There is a right price for everything. And there is a reason why diving in Belize is generally cheaper than in those other aforementioned destinations.
Belize is a fine place to dive and you will have a good time, but only if you go with the right expectation.
SUMMARY:
Would we recommend Belize Aggressor IV to a friend? Maybe at 25% discount or more. Not at full price.
My wife and I have recently finished a 7-night diving trip in Belize aboard the Belize Aggressor IV (formerly Belize Sun Dancer) in December 2016. This was our first time in Belize. We chose this particular Aggressor sailing because of the 25% 'Dive The World' special discount. And no we're not liveaboard newbies. We've been on liveaboards before.
All in all, we had a positive experience and feel that it was ok value for money (with the discount).
The People:
We had 7 crew members taking care of 20 guests on board. On this trip, the guests came from USA (10), Mexico (4), UK (3), Canada (2), Spain (1).
The Boat:
Very spacious and comfortable. The salon/dining room was great. The tables have outlets so you can work on your computer or camera. There are also couches and flat screen TV so you can watch movies or showoff your dive pictures and videos.
During this trip, we experienced power outages pretty much every night. These outages usually lasted 5 minutes, definitely no more than 10. Not a big deal. We brought a dive light into the shower every night just in case. The generator on the boat was probably old and due to be replaced. If you plan to charge expensive equipment on this boat, you should probably bring a surge protector.
The staterooms on this boat are larger than those on the sister boat, Belize Aggressor III. So if you're choosing between BA III and BA IV, I'd say go with this one.
The Operations:
Diving services were generally well-organized, efficient, and professional. Alex Brett was an excellent dive guide. He was passionate and helpful. Eddy was good as well. These two were very friendly, knowledgeable, patient, and never patronizing.
Rental BCDs were either really brand spanking new (Aqualung) or really disgustingly old (unknown brand), depending on your luck. My wife and I were not so lucky - we got the old ones with nasty black fungal spots (yuck). They were so old they didn't even have dump valves at the back bottom. We had to hold them upside down just to drain the water out of the BCD.
The Food:
Delicious. Restaurant quality. The meals were usually American or Belizean (or a combination/hybrid of the two cuisines). One day, we may have mac & cheese, bbq chicken/ribs, spaghetti meatballs, green salad. Another day, we may have coconut curry, local fish dish, stir fry veggies, corn on the cob, local food, etc. All tasty. The dining area, dishes, and utensils were always clean. Chef Jerry was awesome.
The Service:
In most aspects, the quality of service and politeness of the crew met our expectations (barring just a few one-off minor incidences).
We were very impressed with Alex. He was always going above and beyond to proactively make sure that all of our needs were taken care of and that the guests enjoyed themselves. In addition to a fun dive guide, he was also a great host - definitely a great person to hang out and chat with on the boat.
Diving in Belize:
We dove Lighthouse & Turneffe Atolls on this trip. We found the diving to be a bit disappointing.
We had high hopes and expectation for Belize prior to this trip, but sadly I would have to rank it below other Caribbean / Central America destinations that we've been to: Cozumel, Bonaire, Cayman, Turks & Caicos (not to mention S.E Asia and the Pacific side). In terms of marine ecosystem, Belize just didn't offer as much. Too many dead patches of reef. Fish population and size were smaller and underwhelming.
The local dive guides explained to us that this was due largely to illegal fishing. Honduran poachers (as well as some bad local Belizeans) would go into these atolls at night to catch fish. Belize, being a poor country, just doesn't have the resources to patrol these waters 24/7. They don't have a well-staffed and well-equipped Coast Guard like the neighboring countries. I'm not sure if this is a fact or just opinion of the guides, so take it with a grain of salt.
And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying don't go to Belize. The Blue Hole is still world-famous and still a bucket list item. There is a right price for everything. And there is a reason why diving in Belize is generally cheaper than in those other aforementioned destinations.
Belize is a fine place to dive and you will have a good time, but only if you go with the right expectation.
SUMMARY:
Would we recommend Belize Aggressor IV to a friend? Maybe at 25% discount or more. Not at full price.
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Captain Eddy is a hoot! All of the crew were fantastic, so damn customer service-oriented. 
, plenty of octopus, eels, a number of turtles (including one with a tracking device), and a large ray that was good enough to feed in the sand directly under the hang bar for a good 6+ minutes. (Many times I didn't use the hang bar so I could practice holding my stop in my beloved 5mm, neutrally buoyant; but that time it was pretty cool to be uber-lazy and watch the ray.) Oh, and there is a sea horse they must feed valium because everyone gets to see him.
