rangerc375
Registered
After much reading here on Scuba Board I was reluctant to even depart on this trip! A little back ground, I have only been diving 4 years and I already have over 1000 dives not counting training, so I dive a lot and have been around the world, Indo, Micronesia, Carib, Hawaii, Asia, etc. I travel on Live aboards at least 5-6 times a year. I am an avid photographer and shoot professionally. I am 41 years old and reside in the DC area.
Here is the bottom line for me and I will go in to details in a bit. This is, BY FAR, the worst live aboard experience I have ever encountered. My dive buddy's who travel the world with me agree! Diving...horrible, dive sites....garbage, the boat.....I'm surprised it floats!! Food....cafeteria at best and small small portions! Rooms....huh yeah right, horrible!! The crew...deserving of much better then this horrible boat and destination they were handed.
Okay lets start with the boat...this thing is a turd. Just out of dry dock??? A turd!! No hot water in the rooms, as your journey onto the paint chipped dive deck you will notice that they either decided not to paint the boat or someone sandblasted it shortly after they did because it is wrecked and looks horrible. The Camera table is small and looks worn and torn. The one plus is at least the showers on deck were hot, so if you do not mind showering in public then your okay! Even if you had hot water in your room, the showers are small and not very clean...slim covered to be accurate. Okay back to the boat. Upstairs you will find more of the same paint and old worn out covers for the padding on the benches, hard metal stools and a hot tub the size of my bath at home. Back down and into a salon that is tiny and equally worn out and unattractive. Down the steps to your rooms you will find a patchwork of carpet hastily assembled and looking ghetto at best. Again old, just not the level of comfort you deserve especially on a Dancer boat. Blackbeards operation is a better bargain then this. Then the room....ohhh the now famous room number 1.....this is by far the biggest slap in the face a person can imagine! Beds that have less then 15 inches of space between the ceiling and top bunk. They are as about as comfortable as Army cot....gotta get on my flight to be continued....
Okay sorry had to board the next flight home. Okay back to our room, or the meat locker as we called it. The room, again the condition of the carpet, the old worn mattresses that when you laid on them you felt the wood underneath, only 2 inches thick in some spots! Both top bunks had less then 15 inches of headroom so tiny that it was impossible for even the smallest diver on the boat to lay on her side. The air temperature in our room registered 59 degrees before we finally removed the duct tape the crew applied on the vents, removed the vent itself and then placed duct tape of the underside and re-installed, only then could we bring the temperature above 65 degrees. Freezing! The "in suite bathroom" huh...wait till you see the photos of this GEM!!!
Onto the food. When the bone on your short rib and I will say rib because you got only one, weighs more then the meat, fat a grizzle attached to it then you have trouble. Portions were tiny and I mean tiny. When we asked for more we were given peanut butter and Jelly, which by the way was the preference! The best part was all the food put aside for the crew. When we asked for more meatloaf because only a small piece was given we were told no only to watch two crew members split an entire meatloaf between the two after we were done along with three times the amount of potatoes. My previously submitted menu was ignored. The food was sub standard and I have been on alot of live aboards but this is the first time ever I was hungry. The crew continued throughout the week to eat meals three times the size they served the guest in direct view of the guest.
I only paid a grand for this trip and I was ripped off! I have been on several aggressor fleet boats, Cayman, Utila both twice, Belize, Raja, Turks, Palau 8 times, Cocos, etc. I have the new Thailand Boat booked I have had some great experiences on these boats. I have meet both Wayne Brown and Wayne H. I look forward to these trips as do the guys that travel with me. BUT THIS BOAT DOES NOT REFLECT THOSE TRIPS AND TRUCTH BE TOLD IF IT WERE THE FIRST IT WOULD BE THE LAST! NO EXCUSE FOR THIS NON AT ALL. This boat is a huge piece of S#@T!! And the destination itself sucks, DEAD REEFS WITH LITTLE OR NO LIFE, Nassua has better diving then teh Exumas. Maybe if you have only ever been in a Quarry this might be better but that woudl depend on what was in teh quarry you dove. This was not worth the plane trip down and I WOULD NOT GO BACK IF IT WERE FREE!!!
DO NOT GO ON THIS BOAT, DO NOT GO TO THIS DESTINATION. ITS A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY.
Please understand Aggressor and Dancer have some fabulous boats and some fantastic destinations. They give you the best value for your money hands down, but Wayne and Wayne rushed this un worthy vessel into operation and they lowered the standard of their company in doing so. I love these guys, I love this company and I would have said to anyone who asked 8 days ago that I will always travel on their boats. Guys do not waste your money on this boat and this destination. Your reputation is better then this and your care more about your company then to let this continue!!
Oh yeah the crew. To Captain Dennis, Greg, Ernie, Shae and Mario, I would sail with any of you again anywhere on any other vessel in the fleet. The crew is great but they have a turd of a boat and a turd of a destination to work with. Dennis was fabulous and his crew did all they could with what they have. These guys deserve better!! When we left we made sure we tipped them well but we were the only ones who tipped. Seems like not tipping is the only way people think they can show their frustration, its not fair to the crew who bust their butt, its just a way to say hey I do not feel like I got my moneys worth!!
I tried hard to share my experience and give all of you here a no BS report on what we experienced this past week. Weather was great, so they can not blame that, crew was capable and accommodating so they can not blame that...wanna do the diving world a favor? DONATE THAT HUNK OF JUNK YOU CALL TEH CARIB DANCER TO AN ARTIFICIAL REEF PROJECT AND SINK HER, THATS THE ONLY WAY SHE WILL EVER BRING ANY JOY TO DIVERS!!
Here is the bottom line for me and I will go in to details in a bit. This is, BY FAR, the worst live aboard experience I have ever encountered. My dive buddy's who travel the world with me agree! Diving...horrible, dive sites....garbage, the boat.....I'm surprised it floats!! Food....cafeteria at best and small small portions! Rooms....huh yeah right, horrible!! The crew...deserving of much better then this horrible boat and destination they were handed.
Okay lets start with the boat...this thing is a turd. Just out of dry dock??? A turd!! No hot water in the rooms, as your journey onto the paint chipped dive deck you will notice that they either decided not to paint the boat or someone sandblasted it shortly after they did because it is wrecked and looks horrible. The Camera table is small and looks worn and torn. The one plus is at least the showers on deck were hot, so if you do not mind showering in public then your okay! Even if you had hot water in your room, the showers are small and not very clean...slim covered to be accurate. Okay back to the boat. Upstairs you will find more of the same paint and old worn out covers for the padding on the benches, hard metal stools and a hot tub the size of my bath at home. Back down and into a salon that is tiny and equally worn out and unattractive. Down the steps to your rooms you will find a patchwork of carpet hastily assembled and looking ghetto at best. Again old, just not the level of comfort you deserve especially on a Dancer boat. Blackbeards operation is a better bargain then this. Then the room....ohhh the now famous room number 1.....this is by far the biggest slap in the face a person can imagine! Beds that have less then 15 inches of space between the ceiling and top bunk. They are as about as comfortable as Army cot....gotta get on my flight to be continued....
Okay sorry had to board the next flight home. Okay back to our room, or the meat locker as we called it. The room, again the condition of the carpet, the old worn mattresses that when you laid on them you felt the wood underneath, only 2 inches thick in some spots! Both top bunks had less then 15 inches of headroom so tiny that it was impossible for even the smallest diver on the boat to lay on her side. The air temperature in our room registered 59 degrees before we finally removed the duct tape the crew applied on the vents, removed the vent itself and then placed duct tape of the underside and re-installed, only then could we bring the temperature above 65 degrees. Freezing! The "in suite bathroom" huh...wait till you see the photos of this GEM!!!
Onto the food. When the bone on your short rib and I will say rib because you got only one, weighs more then the meat, fat a grizzle attached to it then you have trouble. Portions were tiny and I mean tiny. When we asked for more we were given peanut butter and Jelly, which by the way was the preference! The best part was all the food put aside for the crew. When we asked for more meatloaf because only a small piece was given we were told no only to watch two crew members split an entire meatloaf between the two after we were done along with three times the amount of potatoes. My previously submitted menu was ignored. The food was sub standard and I have been on alot of live aboards but this is the first time ever I was hungry. The crew continued throughout the week to eat meals three times the size they served the guest in direct view of the guest.
I only paid a grand for this trip and I was ripped off! I have been on several aggressor fleet boats, Cayman, Utila both twice, Belize, Raja, Turks, Palau 8 times, Cocos, etc. I have the new Thailand Boat booked I have had some great experiences on these boats. I have meet both Wayne Brown and Wayne H. I look forward to these trips as do the guys that travel with me. BUT THIS BOAT DOES NOT REFLECT THOSE TRIPS AND TRUCTH BE TOLD IF IT WERE THE FIRST IT WOULD BE THE LAST! NO EXCUSE FOR THIS NON AT ALL. This boat is a huge piece of S#@T!! And the destination itself sucks, DEAD REEFS WITH LITTLE OR NO LIFE, Nassua has better diving then teh Exumas. Maybe if you have only ever been in a Quarry this might be better but that woudl depend on what was in teh quarry you dove. This was not worth the plane trip down and I WOULD NOT GO BACK IF IT WERE FREE!!!
DO NOT GO ON THIS BOAT, DO NOT GO TO THIS DESTINATION. ITS A WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY.
Please understand Aggressor and Dancer have some fabulous boats and some fantastic destinations. They give you the best value for your money hands down, but Wayne and Wayne rushed this un worthy vessel into operation and they lowered the standard of their company in doing so. I love these guys, I love this company and I would have said to anyone who asked 8 days ago that I will always travel on their boats. Guys do not waste your money on this boat and this destination. Your reputation is better then this and your care more about your company then to let this continue!!
Oh yeah the crew. To Captain Dennis, Greg, Ernie, Shae and Mario, I would sail with any of you again anywhere on any other vessel in the fleet. The crew is great but they have a turd of a boat and a turd of a destination to work with. Dennis was fabulous and his crew did all they could with what they have. These guys deserve better!! When we left we made sure we tipped them well but we were the only ones who tipped. Seems like not tipping is the only way people think they can show their frustration, its not fair to the crew who bust their butt, its just a way to say hey I do not feel like I got my moneys worth!!
I tried hard to share my experience and give all of you here a no BS report on what we experienced this past week. Weather was great, so they can not blame that, crew was capable and accommodating so they can not blame that...wanna do the diving world a favor? DONATE THAT HUNK OF JUNK YOU CALL TEH CARIB DANCER TO AN ARTIFICIAL REEF PROJECT AND SINK HER, THATS THE ONLY WAY SHE WILL EVER BRING ANY JOY TO DIVERS!!
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They were great on the dive deck and helpful, they are painfully aware of the situation they are in and the conditions of the boat and the failure of the owner to provide them with what they need to do their jobs well. One last thing now that I think of it, we did have to mention that the engineer should wash the grease from his hands and clothes before serving us dinner!! In his defense though he had to work his butt off to keep that barge afloat!! Sorry for the multiple mis-spellings in my main post, guess I should proof read. I am gonna post some pics later tonight of the boat itself, you will not believe that this boat is only a few months out of dry dock!!
