Has Anyone been on La Galigo Liveaboard since 'The' Review?

[kelemvor]

Hi there.

Me again Still looking for a LOB for Raja Ampat.

A boat I tried to book through liveaboard.com may not sail, and I was given a few alternative options, including La Galigo, whose dates work better for me.

Having seen a review (Review: La Galigo Liveaboard ) , I wonder what people's experiences have been since mid 2017.

Anything you could share would be much appreciated.

Thank you x

That sounds like a review written by an inexperienced diver who was probably perceived as "going off the rails" on a cruise. By his own admission he was sleeping somewhere he shouldn't have been apparently without the permission of anyone.... although he incorrectly thought he had permission at first I guess. Going on about how deadly it would be to dive 1.4pp02 on nitrox destroys any credibility he might have had.

I don't know anything bout that particular LOB, but that review does not sound extremely credible to me. It sounds to me like the guy had a run-in with someone on the boat after the "sleeping in the gally" incident and decided to take it out on the whole operation after the fact. Find more reviews. If there's a trend, then fine.. maybe something wrong with that operator. If not, at least it's not a part of the aggressor fleet so how bad can it be?

 

[Land Fish]

That sounds like a review written by an inexperienced diver who was probably perceived as "going off the rails" on a cruise. By his own admission he was sleeping somewhere he shouldn't have been apparently without the permission of anyone.... although he incorrectly thought he had permission at first I guess. Going on about how deadly it would be to dive 1.4pp02 on nitrox destroys any credibility he might have had.

I don't know anything bout that particular LOB, but that review does not sound extremely credible to me. It sounds to me like the guy had a run-in with someone on the boat after the "sleeping in the gally" incident and decided to take it out on the whole operation after the fact. Find more reviews. If there's a trend, then fine.. maybe something wrong with that operator. If not, at least it's not a part of the aggressor fleet so how bad can it be?

I recalled he said he had to sleep elsewhere because of the cabin was filled with diesel fumes (or something along that line).

Anyway, I'm more curious about "at least it's not a part of the aggressor fleet so how bad can it be" ... Sounds like story time. What happened with aggressor fleet?

 

[kelemvor]

I recalled he said he had to sleep elsewhere because of the cabin was filled with diesel fumes (or something along that line).

Anyway, I'm more curious about "at least it's not a part of the aggressor fleet so how bad can it be" ... Sounds like story time. What happened with aggressor fleet?

Search scubaboard, there's report after report of problems with aggressor. I think last year there was a woman traveling solo who caught one of the captains watching her undress through her cabin window. That was pretty unusual, usually it's boat trouble combined with no communication ruining someone's vacation. Obviously when someone has an awful experience they tend to be passionate about telling the world. I'm sure they have thousands of happy customers, so perhaps the incidents are isolated. I've seen enough posts about problems with them that I'd choose another company to dive with out of an abundance of caution.

He did say he slept elsewhere because of diesel fumes. Unfortunately the location he selected for sleeping was the mess hall. He apparently didn't get approval from the boat people in advance, so they were pissed when they tried to serve breakfast the next day and found someone sleeping in the mess hall where other passengers wanted to eat. Then some sort of argument ensued when they asked him to leave so they could use the room. I would guess it was purely a lack of effective communication - perhaps caused by a language barrier - that caused the incident. The boat could have done better for sure, but it sounded to me like the problems were greatly exacerbated by his behavior in response to the situation.

P.S. I don't have any vested interest in any dive operation. Just sharing my opinions, which are worth not much...I mean a MILLION DOLLARS!

 

[dulinor]

For what it’s worth I’ve done three Aggressor trips (Palau, Turks & Caicos and this past July Cayman) and would give all five stars and go back without hesitation.

That said, all were whole boat charters with roughly the same people so if they’re bad at handling people issues I wouldn’t have seen that. We’re trying to put together a Raja Ampat trip and have heard some negative feedback on the Aggressor boat there which is worrisome but overall experience with the company has been fantastic.

 

[Land Fish]

@dulinor I'm curious what you heard. As raja ampat aggressor was my first choice but they're fully booked for Christmas. Hence I'm looking and asking around. I went with a group a couple of years ago and I was hoping to get on the same boat for my solo trip this time. I wonder what the negative review was about

 

[Land Fish]

And not sure which Palau aggressor you went with.PA II was great and I have an amazing time, and even got an iron diver medal lol

 

[dulinor]

It was all third hand. PM me if you want me to put you in touch with the guy booking the trips who was concerned. Something about the boat itself.

Palau was easily the best. It was 2009 so don’t remember which boat it was but huge, new catamaran. I didn’t get the iron diver because I got an ear infection towards the end and skipped the last two night dives.

Ever since I bring swimmer’s ear mixed with vinegar and earned my iron diver this summer on Cayman V. Which was great but Palau still tops in my book.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Cajoma looks nice. Will def consider it when I'm ready to take on Komodo. For now, I'm trying to go back to Raja Ampat.

One of the Cajoma boats was supposed to sail Raja Ampat in December though I don't know that it was a published sailing. (I know someone that knows someone with that info.) My friend was going to go on that sailing but recently, he told me it is not going to sail and I was wondering if you were looking to go on that boat as well.

If not, at least it's not a part of the aggressor fleet so how bad can it be?

Anyway, I'm more curious about "at least it's not a part of the aggressor fleet so how bad can it be" ... Sounds like story time. What happened with aggressor fleet?

My understanding is that not all Aggressor boats are equal and the same. They are in a sense franchises and can really vary. I would not be so quick to throw such a wet blanket over the entire fleet. In any case, I was on the Raja Ampat Aggressor in October and it was an incredible experience. The crew was stellar and experienced on the diving front and very in tune with everyone's personal preferences when it came to food/eating, gear, cameras, etc. I'm no newbie to liveaboards (that is my preferred dive travel) so I have a very good frame of reference spanning from Blackbeard's style "camping at sea" to 4 divers to 1 DM concierge diving liveaboards. The various Caribbean Aggressor fleet tends to get very good reviews from many on this board as well. The Oman Aggressor had negative press recently (our own member had issues and it was then published in Undercurrent) and rightfully so.

@dulinor I'm curious what you heard. As raja ampat aggressor was my first choice but they're fully booked for Christmas. Hence I'm looking and asking around. I went with a group a couple of years ago and I was hoping to get on the same boat for my solo trip this time. I wonder what the negative review was about

Please see above.

 

[Shasta_man]

Some people's (mine included as a previous guest) concerns about Aggressor were essentially what happened when problems happened. How it was handled and what, if any, compensation happened. Probably the central issue comes down to they sell the boats as part of the Aggressor fleet implying some level of quality and security of ensuring a good trip. However, we've seen reports that when things go bad, the response can be....less than desired... and when pressed they are suddenly separate franchises with little control over individual boats or any compensation. Further the reports we see indicate the remedy is, if none is not possible, then the few hundred dollars off a future trip voucher sometimes limited by expiration date. Which is of limited value and really works out to get any value back you have to spend multiple grands and precious vacation time again to maybe even go on the same boat you had trouble on before. And sometimes you just stop hearing from them. These are the reports we see.

Yeah, boats have problems and you can't give money over every little thing but I've seen reports where I would have expected something and reports of it not being handled well at all.

To be clear, the crews typically work damn hard and there are some great trips to amazing places and I have been on such a trip, but it's also a lot of money/vacation time/effort so it's important to carefully consider the risks you are taking. I take liveaboards nearly exclusively so I want them to be a strong company I can count on.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Some people's (mine included as a previous guest) concerns about Aggressor were essentially what happened when problems happened. How it was handled and what, if any, compensation happened. Probably the central issue comes down to they sell the boats as part of the Aggressor fleet implying some level of quality and security of ensuring a good trip. However, we've seen reports that when things go bad, the response can be....less than desired... and when pressed they are suddenly separate franchises with little control over individual boats or any compensation. Further the reports we see indicate the remedy is, if none is not possible, then the few hundred dollars off a future trip voucher sometimes limited by expiration date. Which is of limited value and really works out to get any value back you have to spend multiple grands and precious vacation time again to maybe even go on the same boat you had trouble on before. And sometimes you just stop hearing from them. These are the reports we see.

Yeah, boats have problems and you can't give money over every little thing but I've seen reports where I would have expected something and reports of it not being handled well at all.

To be clear, the crews typically work damn hard and there are some great trips to amazing places and I have been on such a trip, but it's also a lot of money/vacation time/effort so it's important to carefully consider the risks you are taking. I take liveaboards nearly exclusively so I want them to be a strong company I can count on.

I think this is a fair assessment. I carry travel insurance (with a liveaboard rider) which can help with many issues that arise but there are definitely some circumstances that leave the onus of accountability and responsibility on the operator. As with any experience, we tend to hear more about the bad ones than the good. We should not forget that many people do indeed have positive experiences on every boat and there will always be someone that has a negative experience. I don't believe that it should be written off immediately, unless there is a glaring safety issue which would be a dealbreaker for me. Gather information and make an informed decision that works best and appropriately for yourself.