We were on the Baja Aggressor March 4-12 2011 and can speak as someone who has been on numerous Aggressor and PH liveaboards, maybe 12 trips in the last 18 years for those brands. This boat is not in the same class as any previous Aggressor we have been on. We have also been on the Solamar V twice, once for each itinerary.
The promotional illustrations for the boat are totally Photoshopped. The boat still has the original name on the bow (ANNE LYNN), and is truly rusted out in many spots.
There were mechanical problems throughout the trip. One panga was in operation the entire trip, the other was down for repairs numerous times. With one panga down, dive operations are limited. I wasn't crazy about not having a water maker on board, especially when going 300nm from shore. In reality, there was enough bottled water and gray storage for showers. The davits that hold the pangas were not in operation, and we towed them everywhere. As the waters were relatively calm, this did not really present a problem. In rougher waters this would not be possible. I would not consider it good seamanship.
With only two divemasters, and two pangas, they were in the water on every dive. This limited us to three dives a day. We were expecting 4 on most days. Some of us got to do 4 one day, others not ever.
The dive platform is not configured well for the pangas. A few times we had to swim to the pangas and other times the crew has to toss the gear overboard and tow it back to the boat. The waters were relatively calm, but the level of the deck and the freeboard of the pangas are just not right. The water was not that rough. I would hate do do this in worse conditions.
We were concerned about the legal permit issues before the trip. This was not a problem and we moved through inspection at Socorro without incident.
The air conditioners on the boat were non-operational, some for all of the trip, all for at least part of the trip. This wasn't a big problem for me, but others on the trip were more uncomfortable. The hot tub was also not functioning, which I would have made good use of, given the water temp.
Several of our group had real issues with the Captain, mostly relating to the number of dives. On at least two occasions, we were told of impending rough seas which never materialized.
OTOH, the food was great, the rooms and lounge areas were comfy and the Mexican crew did everything they could to make our trip as good as possible. The diving is great and we saw everything we came for. Even a couple of humpback pass byes. Good stuff.
All in all I would say that there are corners being cut relative to Aggressor standards. If you go, I hope you have better.
