Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Cayman Islands

Aggressor Fleet, Sep, 2012,

by Ellen Smith, MN, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 24 reports with 12 Helpful votes). Report 6693.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation N/A Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments My dive buddy and I originally booked the Turks and Caicos Aggressor, but were contacted 3 weeks prior and asked to choose another destination within the Caribbean because we were the only passengers on the Turks boat. The staff at the Atlanta office helped us rebook our flights and get a new hotel reservation. We ended up not having to pay any penalties, which kept us happy. We arrived in Grand Cayman the day before and were glad to have a day to recover before heading to the boat. We reached the boat at 3pm on Saturday and were greeted by Captain Lauren and crew. We set up our gear right away before taking our suitcases down. In addition to Captain Lauren, the crew was Sarah, Garrett, Mark, Michael and Chef Alan. This is the "second" crew as the main Captain and cook were on their break week. Not a problem for us, we adored Captain Lauren and Chef Alan. Both were top notch! The rest of the crew varied.....Mark (instructor) was prone to snarky comments and seemed rather bored. He led two different dives, one of which was more like a race. Sarah was very helpful and nice, but aborted a night dive because of her ears and most of the divers got slightly lost as a result. (though we all found our way back, many did not enjoy the experience) Garrett is a young fellow who seemed to be doing every imaginable job on the boat---he led the shark dive, feeding them with lionfish. Michael was a "trial" crew member, we found him refreshingly excited to be on the boat. Captain Lauren led the best dive of the week and was a joy to dive with---she loves her job, that much is clear! Chef Alan did a wonderful job of keeping us well fed. The main problem here: we all gained weight!!
As for the diving, we all enjoyed Stingray City and Little Cayman is amazing. Don't skip any of the sites on Little, they are all great. The dawn divers were rewarded with an eagle ray. The soft corals are fabulous---the small critters abundant. The sheer beauty of the wall and the majesty of the huge barrel coral were breathtaking. One could play with the grouper and "call" the sharks by banging on the wall. (they must be expecting lionfish) I spent all my extra time at the end of my dives happily under the boat checking out the jawfish or redlipped blennies. Every dive was over an hour, with my longest being 90 minutes. The Tibbetts wreck on Cayman Brac was fabulous but I could have skipped the Kittiwake wreck on Grand Cayman. It has no life growing on it, but should be interesting in 20 years. The final dive at Devil's Grotto on Grand Cayman could have been skipped---the reef is in sad shape and compared to what we saw on Little Cayman. However, the boat did need to get back to the dock.
All in all, we were very lucky as there was residual hurricane weather in the area the week before we arrived and they were expecting a bit more from a different weather system the week we left. Our weather was beautiful and the water was warm enough that even with the long dives, I didn't need any exposure suit or hood. I would recommend this trip---but I would also considering staying on Little Cayman in the future (with a quick stop at Stingray City!).
Websites Aggressor Fleet   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Cozumel, Utila (Aggressor), Belize, Bonaire, & Hawaii.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm
Water Temp 85-86°F / 29-30°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 75-100 Ft/ 23-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Requested to surface with 500psi.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Great camera table set up, separate rinse tank, and crew helped with any problems.
Was this report helpful to you?
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 1006 dive reviews of Cayman Islands and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 

Want to assemble your own collection of Cayman Islands reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.11 seconds