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First, I totally agree that the Aggressor corporate entity should be held at fault here, however.... As many have said previously - the Aggressor Fleet is run as a franchise model. The corporate entity owns no boats, is not responsible for itineraries, etc. All they do is market the boats under...

Sure... we go to Wakatobi for great diving and good food - I wouldn't call in luxurious, but it is comfortable. They built the airstrip - there are no other flights in there - everything else is going to be farther away.

@dumpsterpurrs Wakatobi runs their own charter flights multiple times a week from Bali. You can bascally carry as much luggage as you want (no overage frees). Been to Wakatobi a number of times, fly to Bali, then take their charter flight from Bali - land, and then short boat ride and you...

The number of male paper nautilus seems to be increasing because people know what to look for now. The females (although larger), are a bit harder to get pictures of (in part, because they are always seem to be trying to scoot away). You are correct - they are much more present that we...

@jjmochi Very aware that Dumagete doesn't have a direct flight from SIngapore. Actually, most of the best diving in the region is at least two flights away from Singapore (lived there for many years, was there 2 months ago, will be there again in a month). Tulamben is okay, Dumaguete is...

@jjmochi Glad you liked Crystal Blue. My son and I were there in Jan (his first time, my 5th time). Having tried a number of resorts in the area, Crystal Blue is easily my favorite. Our main reason for going was the wide variety of nudis and the blackwater diving. We did a couple of nights of...

Is there anyone in Bunaken, Gangga, or Lembeh at the moment? Mount Ruang errupted a few days ago, flights are currently shut down in and out of Manado (extending to Malaysian Borneo as well). Supposed to be in the region in about 3 weeks for diving. Looking for updates on conditions, etc.

Well... I kind of did (way up near the beginning of this thread). You then added that the Cook Islands might be a good addiiton, to which I agreed.

Umm... "reef hooks, SMBs. choppiness at surface..." You clearly need to get out more. There are numerous dive sites throughout the Pacific that provide calm conditions for novice divers - most of the better diving in the Philippines would meet this criteria... as are a number of locations in...

The only on-par diving in that region is Cocos off the coast of Costa Rica, the Galapagos, Ecuador, and Malpelo, off the coast of Colombia. Everything else is average at best. Dive all 3 multiple times... can be excellent - but you're missing out on so much if you're limited to just those...

We were at CBR in January (5th trip there). They have made a few small improvements, but basically the same as what you would have experienced previously. Still one of the best day to day dive ops in Anilao (and definitely the best black water op. in the area - which is why we keep going back)...

First - the liveaboards in the Solomons are almost all 10 day trips, usually with a requirement to get in the day before, and many choose to stay in Honiara for a couple of days afterwards - so definitely not going to the Solomons for "1 week..." The rest of your comment was somewhat...

This is not quite true... Tubbataha does get mantas - just not often. There have been tagging efforts carried out specifically there for tracking manta movement patterns (from there to Palawan, etc.). I've seen at least 2 there. Raja Ampat has more sharks, however they tend to almost all be...

@davehicks The clamps that hold the battery pack and the strobe head together would collect a lot more than just sand. I've had algae, bit of kelp, a worm, etc. get in there. The only way to really clean this easily was while it was in the rinse tank.

If you want to see blue ring octopus (as well as mimic octopus, and wonderpus), as well as more frogfish, more nudis, etc. Don't cross over to PG. stay and dive in Anilao. PG had good diving... Anilao is one of top three critter destinations in the world. Same travel details, just don't bother...

@jackieec I did the Arenui with my son last summer, North & South Komodo itinerary. It is a luxurious boat (actually, I would rate it higher than either of the Damai boats - and the crew is some of the best I've dived with in Indo). We happened to join a trip that was mostly booked by a dive...

Needing to rebuild Ike battery packs is the most annoying thing... World class service, world class pain-in-the-ass designs...

For soft corals Raja Ampat is significantly more prolific than Tubbataha (by quite a bit). Tubbataha is known for large schools of fish, healthy corals, and the occasional pelagic, not so much soft corals. Keep in mind that the best soft corals in northern Raja Ampat (at least with the best...

Might be the wrong time of year - as I mentioned, I was last there in the spring at they were frequently found. Coconut Octopus do not migrate, so that's not a possibility. Bangka has a few (there are some specific sites that have a high likelihood of finding a few). As an aside, Bangka is one...

@FreqFlier I respect your opinion, but I disagree with the statement. I'm fully aware that being situated on the West Coast gives me a bit of an advantage going west, however if it's a well connected route (like NYC -Tokyo) as a first leg, the difference is only ~3 hours. My point is mainly...