Dogbowl
Contributor
I would like to preface this trip report by acknowledging the excellent and very detailed reports on the Belize Aggressor IV (“BAIV”) that came before, such as this one by @drrich2 : Diving Belize via Sun Dancer 2 May 2nd - 9th.
And a recent trip report on the BAIII by @Trailboss123. He was there the week after us and I suspect diving conditions would have been pretty similar: Belize Aggressor III Trip Report – April 21-28.
There are many others if you do a search.
Rather than trying to emulate those (which I am sure at which I will fail), I’ve decided to write this trip report from a more personal perspective, that is, from the perspective of a newer diver’s first LOB experience.
My husband and I were on the BAIV the week of April 14 – 21, 2018. We each had about 40 dives before this trip, mainly in the Caribbean. FWIW, we got our AOW and Nitrox just a few months before in Cozumel. This particular week was a “Dive with the Owner’s Week”, which meant that Wayne Brown, Aggressor’s CEO, was also onboard.
Flight
We flew from Toronto to Belize City on a direct Westjet flight one day before boarding the BAIV (Friday, April 13th). The flight was uneventful. We later found out how lucky we were to have flown out a day early, as the very next day (Saturday, April 14th), snow and freezing rain hit Toronto and flights were either cancelled or delayed. And it was mid-April!
We ended up sitting beside a man who was headed to Ambergris Caye to get open water certified, so of course, we chatted him up. (Aside: On the return flight, we again sat beside another man who was a diver. He had coral and marine life tattooed on his arm, so it was pretty obvious he was a diver. We chatted him up too. Divers like to talk diving.)
Immigration and ground transportation
Upon arrival in Belize City, there was a lineup at immigration, but it didn’t take too long. There was only one luggage conveyor belt so I surmised it was a very small airport. Our luggage came out quickly and we wheeled it out the door towards “ground transportation” or “taxi”, I don’t remember which. We were not bothered by the porters who were hanging out at the exit.
Outside, there was a crowd of people waiting for transportation. I saw a young man at a kiosk so I asked him about getting a taxi. He charged us USD$25 and told us to board a van. It was a shared van, which surprised me a bit. I thought taxi meant private taxi. Anyways, I just went with it. Our van was “full” with 6 people on it. The van could’ve fit 9 people but the last row was used for our luggage.
About halfway to the hotel, we passed by another taxi that had a flat. Our taxi driver offered to drive that taxi’s 4 passengers to their destination (the water taxi). Nice gesture and comradery but seriously? Our van was full and the last row of seats in our van was taken up by all of our luggage. How on earth or are we gonna get 4 more passengers (plus their luggage) on an already full van? Never underestimate the Belizeans, I guess. Our driver just piled their luggage on top of all the other luggage and the 4 additional passengers ended up either on the floor of the van or on another passenger’s lap. Seriously. My husband laughed at how lucky the guys were who ended up with pretty young girls on their laps! But hey, we all got to our destinations in one piece! Those who are less likely to shrug off such things should probably consider the hotel shuttle instead, where quality control is a little tighter (as was told to me by the hotel).
Pre-boarding hotel
The BAIV and her sister ship, BAIII, dock at the Radisson Fort George Hotel and Marina. For convenience, we chose to stay overnight at this hotel. The hotel was older but it was clean and service was attentive, so it was fine for our purposes. We splurged (not that it cost a lot more) and got a Tower Room on the 4th floor, which looked out onto the dock and directly at the two Aggressor ships. It was a very nice view.
Based on fellow SB’er warnings, we did not venture out of the hotel, not even for meals. We ate at the Baymen’s Tavern inside the hotel 3 times. The food was fine and the prices reasonable. There are two other restaurants in the hotel, Stonegrill Restaurant and St. George’s Restaurant. We didn’t get a chance to try them.
On the day of boarding, we checked out at noon and gave our luggage to the porter. He transported them directly to the ship, which was very convenient. I suppose he does this every week for most of the Aggressor passengers. We had lunch and then lounged around until 3:00pm (boarding time).
And a recent trip report on the BAIII by @Trailboss123. He was there the week after us and I suspect diving conditions would have been pretty similar: Belize Aggressor III Trip Report – April 21-28.
There are many others if you do a search.
Rather than trying to emulate those (which I am sure at which I will fail), I’ve decided to write this trip report from a more personal perspective, that is, from the perspective of a newer diver’s first LOB experience.
My husband and I were on the BAIV the week of April 14 – 21, 2018. We each had about 40 dives before this trip, mainly in the Caribbean. FWIW, we got our AOW and Nitrox just a few months before in Cozumel. This particular week was a “Dive with the Owner’s Week”, which meant that Wayne Brown, Aggressor’s CEO, was also onboard.
Flight
We flew from Toronto to Belize City on a direct Westjet flight one day before boarding the BAIV (Friday, April 13th). The flight was uneventful. We later found out how lucky we were to have flown out a day early, as the very next day (Saturday, April 14th), snow and freezing rain hit Toronto and flights were either cancelled or delayed. And it was mid-April!
We ended up sitting beside a man who was headed to Ambergris Caye to get open water certified, so of course, we chatted him up. (Aside: On the return flight, we again sat beside another man who was a diver. He had coral and marine life tattooed on his arm, so it was pretty obvious he was a diver. We chatted him up too. Divers like to talk diving.)
Immigration and ground transportation
Upon arrival in Belize City, there was a lineup at immigration, but it didn’t take too long. There was only one luggage conveyor belt so I surmised it was a very small airport. Our luggage came out quickly and we wheeled it out the door towards “ground transportation” or “taxi”, I don’t remember which. We were not bothered by the porters who were hanging out at the exit.
Outside, there was a crowd of people waiting for transportation. I saw a young man at a kiosk so I asked him about getting a taxi. He charged us USD$25 and told us to board a van. It was a shared van, which surprised me a bit. I thought taxi meant private taxi. Anyways, I just went with it. Our van was “full” with 6 people on it. The van could’ve fit 9 people but the last row was used for our luggage.
About halfway to the hotel, we passed by another taxi that had a flat. Our taxi driver offered to drive that taxi’s 4 passengers to their destination (the water taxi). Nice gesture and comradery but seriously? Our van was full and the last row of seats in our van was taken up by all of our luggage. How on earth or are we gonna get 4 more passengers (plus their luggage) on an already full van? Never underestimate the Belizeans, I guess. Our driver just piled their luggage on top of all the other luggage and the 4 additional passengers ended up either on the floor of the van or on another passenger’s lap. Seriously. My husband laughed at how lucky the guys were who ended up with pretty young girls on their laps! But hey, we all got to our destinations in one piece! Those who are less likely to shrug off such things should probably consider the hotel shuttle instead, where quality control is a little tighter (as was told to me by the hotel).
Pre-boarding hotel
The BAIV and her sister ship, BAIII, dock at the Radisson Fort George Hotel and Marina. For convenience, we chose to stay overnight at this hotel. The hotel was older but it was clean and service was attentive, so it was fine for our purposes. We splurged (not that it cost a lot more) and got a Tower Room on the 4th floor, which looked out onto the dock and directly at the two Aggressor ships. It was a very nice view.
Based on fellow SB’er warnings, we did not venture out of the hotel, not even for meals. We ate at the Baymen’s Tavern inside the hotel 3 times. The food was fine and the prices reasonable. There are two other restaurants in the hotel, Stonegrill Restaurant and St. George’s Restaurant. We didn’t get a chance to try them.
On the day of boarding, we checked out at noon and gave our luggage to the porter. He transported them directly to the ship, which was very convenient. I suppose he does this every week for most of the Aggressor passengers. We had lunch and then lounged around until 3:00pm (boarding time).
