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Dive Review of Red Aggressor III in
Red Sea/Southern Red Sea

Red Aggressor III: "Awesome staff and very good diving", May, 2021,

by Lisa Jabusch and Steve Nieters, TN, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 24 reports with 8 Helpful votes). Report 11533.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments We really enjoyed the crystal clear water and visibility. Hard corals were gorgeous and very healthy. There was a decent smattering of soft corals, that surprised me. We were on the Southern itinerary out of Port Ghalib, and had fantastic weather, with minimal winds for most of our week. We saw a handful of scalloped hammerheads, as well as dolphins, and one oceanic whitetip that was swarmed by pilot fish. A silky shark hung under the boat at one site, while another site had a school of barracuda hanging near the boat. We saw some new-to-us fish, and were quite impressed with the size of the giant morays (often out free swimming, even during the day). Blue-spotted stingrays are gorgeous! Night dives were really good. Reef fish were very numerous on most sites.

The dive staff were stupendous. Besides greeting us after every dive with warm dry towels and fresh juices, they were quickly available at all times to help don or doff wetsuits, put on fins, as you stood geared up at the back of the boat, wash out wetsuits between dives, handle camera gear carefully, and quickly and efficiently fill tanks between dives. I wore a 7 mm wetsuit, because I get cold easily, but because of the higher salinity in the Red Sea, I carried a lot of extra lead. Everyone else on the boat was diving in 3-5 mm wetsuits +/- hoods.

Accommodations were really good. Our room was probably one of the most spacious ones we've had on a dive boat, and it was freshened or cleaned twice a day. The AC worked well and we slept great. The only downside (but it was a big one) was the quality of food. Some of our group heard that the chef was a replacement, but no matter - the food was often overcooked and dry, and there was little flavor to most of it. It seemed the chef hadn't met a spice or herb he liked. At first we thought this was just the way Egyptian cooking was, but then we also went on the Aggressor Nile Queen and were blown out of the water with the fabulous tastes, quality and quantity of food available.

Our entire group was vaccinated against COVID, so it was great to not to have to wear masks or worry about distancing.

We really enjoyed the 6 day trip on the Aggressor Nile Queen that the majority of our group did, following our week in the Red Sea. The best sights were around Luxor at the start of the trip. It did take a 4+ hour bus ride to get from Port Ghalib over to Luxor. The staff on the Nile Queen were also very friendly and helpful, and as I said above, the chef was stupendous! our room and bathroom were fairly roomy, but the salon was fairly small, and the only air conditioned area (outside of our rooms) to relax or visit in. The entire second floor of the boat is open air, and in the early morning this was fine, but it quickly warmed up and became pretty uncomfortable. Evening temps were nice, but we were docked along shore, which meant that mosquitos were out. All in all, we'd definitely recommend combining the two trips when you're diving the Red Sea.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Fiji, French Polynesia, Cozumel, Belize, Hawaii, Cayman Islands, other Caribbean locations, Great Barrier Reef, Solomon Islands, PNG, Honduras
Closest Airport Hurghada Getting There short flight from Cairo, then 3 hour bus ride to Port Ghalib

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm
Water Temp 76-78°F / 24-26°C Wetsuit Thickness 7
Water Visibility 100-150 Ft/ 30-46 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 60 minutes
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Space was crowded around the camera tables, but there was plenty of space in the upper salon to work on your pictures. Everyone had a cubby to keep chargers or extra things. All chargers were unplugged at night.
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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.

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