Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Cayman Islands

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Aggressor Fleet: "Great crew Terrible boat", Jan, 2019, by Jeffrey Falk, NY, US ( 2 reports). Report 10855.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	[None]My wife and I were on the CA 5 from 1/26-2/2 and we stayed in a balcony suite stateroom. The crew that week was great one of the best I’ve ever seen, the boat is terrible. Whenever the boat moves and the auto pilot is engaged (most of the time) a very loud, irregular banging is heard and especially disturbing when trying to sleep. It was especially bad in the 2 balcony suite staterooms although but also in most of the other cabins towards the bow (the more expensive). During the nighttime crossing it was impossible to sleep at least until the seas became too rough and the captain was forced to turn around and head back to Grand Cayman and he stopped the boat at the mooring. The two ‘luxury’ suites share a thin wall, no sound insulation with the main lounge. This allows for us to hear any lounge conversation as though we’re sitting next to them. The audio speakers for the videos are mounted directly to the same wall allow us to hear any audio properly better than if if were in the lounge, some of the lower cabins were also disturbed by video audios. The AC cannot be adjusted to whatever temperature you select, it always goes down to the lowest temperature possible ( I was wondering why the crew offered us blankets). During the crossing to Little Cayman, the rough seas caused the dining table, chairs we were siting in and of course the dinner to go sliding from side to side. The water cooler fell over and broke and serving carts were all over the place. All the live aboard dive boats I’ve ever been on always had tables secured and lips on the table. In our ‘suite’ the end table slid to the other side of the room and of course all the drawers were wide open. The supplied soaps and shampoos on the shower shelf fell on the floor, broken and leaking. We placed our toiletries in the wash basin to protected them. Four of the guests were vegans including my wife and myself and the chef did a wonderful job of preparing our meals. My only complaint and definitely not the fault of the chef was the lack of extras ie four veggie patties or four veggie burgers for 4 guests. One of the dinners only had one roll per person. On my return I contacted my dive travel professional (who I’ve been using for the past 30 years), listed all my complaints and asked for a partial refund (the difference in cost between our suite and one step below) The Aggressor response was to offer Two vouchers for a future Aggressor trip which I declined.
Websites	Aggressor Fleet
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Fiji Palau Phillipines Indonesia Thailand Honduras Costa Costa Rica Bahamas Canada Caribbean NY NJ N Carolina Florida
Closest Airport	Grand Cayman	Getting There	EASY direct flight from NYC & Cayman Airport upgraded, fast easy comfortable
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	72-74°F / 22-23°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-65 Ft/ 15-20 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]Excellent gear tables, sufficient outlets for recharging batteries, large did-tank, exceptionally helpful crew

Subscriber's Comments

By Ms Lynda Durfee in VA, US at Feb 22, 2019 18:33 EST

Sorry to hear of your bad experience. I had been looking forward to a trip on this boat, but won't now! I would have taken the vouchers for another Aggressor trip. All the yachts are individual owned (Aggressor is essentially a franchise and booking agent). I did two 2-week trips on the Red Sea Aggressor II in 2018 (see my reviews) and had a 5-star experience.

By Lisa D Vitale in TX, US at Feb 23, 2019 12:33 EST

Sorry to hear this, I am actually going on this boat next month. I have been on about 30 liveaboards (many Aggressor) and have learned you never know. All the aggressor boats are individually owned so no one is the same. I know the diving isn't that spectacular, but I was hoping the boat would be!

By Elizabeth Russell in PA, US at Feb 23, 2019 17:59 EST

We were on this boat 2/2-2/9 and had a great experience. We were in cabin 5 (starboard, midship) and it was very quiet and roomy. We could control our room temperature with a thermostat on the wall above the beds. We had calmer seas and were able to make the crossing to Little Cayman but had to get back by Tuesday because the wind was picking up again. The only thing I didn’t like about this boat was the four flights of stairs to get to the top deck to hang swimsuits.

By Elizabeth Russell in PA, US at Feb 23, 2019 17:59 EST

By Phil Johnston in Bayswater, AU at Feb 25, 2019 02:19 EST

Aggressor Fleet's refund policy is bad, no matter how bad the trip they will only give you discount vouchers for future trips, never a refund.

By Diane Nash in VA, US at Feb 28, 2019 14:11 EST

My husband and I where aboard CA5 at the end of Oct. We were excited to be on the new boat but we were a little disappointed. After getting use to a cabin with no drawers or cabinets, we really liked it. We did not like our "little cubbie"on the dive deck. If you needed something out of it you had to be careful not to be nailed by someone coming out of the salon loved the ease of get wetsuits up and down. In some areas it looked like they were in a hurry to get the boat out of dry dock. Some of the finishes were done very sloppy. This boat,from what I hear, is not USCG approved and we have heard that they are built in Cuba not the US. So corners were cut. With Aggressor it is all about the money and unfortunately in most places we dive we don't have a choice like it was when Dancer Fleet was around. Usually the crews are great and the food is good.

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Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in Cayman Islands

Aggressor Fleet: "Great crew Terrible boat", Jan, 2019,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Cayman Islands