Honduras- Roatan

[Doc]

I'm not familiar with yachts or livaboards. What does that mean?

A liveaboard is a yacht with tank racks and possibly a compressor.

A yacht is a liveaboard that doesn't smell as bad.

Yachts are owned by rich people who are thinking of a bigger yacht. Liveaboards are owned by millionaires who will likely be looking to sell.

Yacht crews look like good looking college kids in white shirts all tucked in, Sperry topsiders, Ray Bans, watches with stainless steel bands. White teeth and nice hair. They know the wine list and what to do in port.

Liveaboard crews look like overworked yacht crews except wearing what were at one time matching polo shirts, barefoot, $23 sunglasses, Casio watches, and have masters degrees in Divemastery, more likely Doctorates in Instructor. They are moist and will feed you and make your bed, they can save your life underwater or at the bar on land.

I wonder if there is a general Aggressor policy regarding the minimum number of passengers required for a go or if it is yacht dependent. I did the southern route on the Red Sea Aggressor a year ago with only 4 passengers/3 divers. We had only 7 divers for the northern route the next week. It was fantastic for the divers, not so much for the RSA

Good question, but apples to oranges.

The fixed cost of operating these two vessels are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Fuel cost and labor costs out of Egypt are mere pocket change. Not the same as Honduras. The fuel costs are comparatively astronomical in Roatan, they have no oil wells. On the Red Sea boat you might have one European DM, the rest of the crew is local, poorly paid by comparison. In the Bay Islands, there will be a number of North American staffers, and by comparison, the Honduran crew will be well compensated.

The Red Sea has a couple of additional draws... It absolves guest divers from the prospect of having to confront the specter of certain terrorism or Egyptian food. The big plus is the wider access to any number of truly different dive sites- it is, after all, wrecks, wrecks, and more wrecks, divergent diving both North and South. True reasons that require a liveaboard.

I'll bet the decision: going-or-not .... it's not a Corporate decision, but given to individual boat owners. Yes, they are a franchise from my understanding. I don't recall which "flag" they operated under, but I know of trips that have been cancelled due to lack of divers. A great reason to buy insurance as you could get stuck with the airfare. A number of people have been offered everything except cash refunds for charters already paid for, something else to consider.

Buy trip insurance.

 

[CajunDiva]

Not to worry...if it doesn't work out, we're waiting to take great care of you at Media Luna and even give you the opportunity to dive Morat Wall and visit Pigeon Cay. There's always a plan B...

 

[Damselfish]

I'll bet the decision: going-or-not .... it's not a Corporate decision, but given to individual boat owners. Yes, they are a franchise from my understanding. I don't recall which "flag" they operated under, but I know of trips that have been cancelled due to lack of divers. A great reason to buy insurance as you could get stuck with the airfare. A number of people have been offered everything except cash refunds for charters already paid for, something else to consider.

when you say which flag, you mean Aggressor vs other companies? Or different Aggressors?

IIRC the Cuan Law did that in the past, cancelling if they didn't have a minimum number. (This discouraged us from booking a trip with them.) I wonder if being part of the "All Star liveaboards" group (with Aquacat, Blackbeards, etc.) will change that. The trouble of course with cancelling for low numbers, is that people may not want to book a boat that doesn't have enough people yet...maybe resulting in lower overall numbers and the boat not running some weeks that it might have if the policy didn't chase people away. There's a chicken and egg problem. Does a boat do better going no matter how many people book, with the idea that this will encourage more people to book overall and make up for the occasional light boat? Or do they do better by enforcing fuller boats and possibly losing business from people that will stay away from that?

I wonder if there is a general Aggressor policy regarding the minimum number of passengers required for a go or if it is yacht dependent. I did the southern route on the Red Sea Aggressor a year ago with only 4 passengers/3 divers. We had only 7 divers for the northern route the next week. It was fantastic for the divers, not so much for the RSA

That's a good question. While you sometimes hear about other issues with Aggressor boats (and complaints about resolution) - especially a few that had start up problems - I don't think I've heard of them cancelling trips because of low passenger count. Maybe I just haven't heard of it, or maybe their policy is not to, or maybe their sales and marketing pretty much does a good enough job of filling the boats that it's not an issue. It would be good to know what the official line is.

There's nothing here on the deposits/payments page - Aggressor Fleet - Official Website

This is an interesting page on licensing I hadn't read before - Aggressor Fleet - Official Website (It would be interesting to see the SOP.) The About page just mentions boats undergo inspections, but for what I assume is in the SOP. Maybe there's something about passenger counts too.

 

[scubadada]

Good for you! I'm sure you will have a great time and others will jump in soon. The price of $1,995 is good for a week-long live-aboard adventure. Yes, it's more than the land-based resorts, but there's also more value. You'll be diving some pristine dive sites and seeing some amazing Caribbean scenery

We're booked on the September 23-30th trip...can't wait! The captain is from the Bay Islands, so I'm sure he knows his way around. I have no doubt it will be a phenomenal experience! The voyages begin on June 3rd, so hopefully we'll start seeing some trip reports shortly thereafter.

My wife is a less avid diver than I am. She has no interest in doing a liveaboard, I do those by myself. Fortunately, she enjoys doing a land based diving vacation and I benefit from her company and having my favorite buddy.

We will be spending a week at Turquoise Bay this summer for less than half the price for one fare on the Aggressor. However, I am very envious of the great itinerary for the Roatan Aggressor. Like others, I await some trip reports. It's on my list for future consideration

 

[scubadada]

...That's a good question. While you sometimes hear about other issues with Aggressor boats (and complaints about resolution) - especially a few that had start up problems - I don't think I've heard of them cancelling trips because of low passenger count. Maybe I just haven't heard of it, or maybe their policy is not to, or maybe their sales and marketing pretty much does a good enough job of filling the boats that it's not an issue. It would be good to know what the official line is...

I don't know, my 2 week experience in Egypt I mentioned, may not be typical. Tourism, including dive tourism, is way down in Egypt. There are considerably fewer liveaboards on the Red Sea than there was at the peak, before 2011, 2013, and other subsequent events. The competition for divers is fierce and the prices are very low. If a boat was known for cancelling trips due to an insufficient number of passengers, it just might be the last straw in their commercial viability. That may, or may not, have played a roll in the Red Sea Aggressor going out with 4 and 7 passengers for my trips. I believe this same dynamic was at play during a 2 week trip my wife and I took in in February of 2016 to Cairo and on the Nile from Luxor to Aswan. Our very nice Uniworld boat sailed with just 10 passengers out of a capacity of 82!

 

[CajunDiva]

My wife is a less avid diver than I am. She has no interest in doing a liveaboard, I do those by myself. Fortunately, she enjoys doing a land based diving vacation and I benefit from her company and having my favorite buddy.

We will be spending a week at Turquoise Bay this summer for less than half the price for one fare on the Aggressor. However, I am very envious of the great itinerary for the Roatan Aggressor. Like others, I await some trip reports. It's on my list for future consideration

While I'm sure you will enjoy your visit to Turquoise Bay, I hope some day you and your wife will consider joining us at Media Luna Resort & Spa.

 

[All Star Liveaboards]

when you say which flag, you mean Aggressor vs other companies? Or different Aggressors?

IIRC the Cuan Law did that in the past, cancelling if they didn't have a minimum number. (This discouraged us from booking a trip with them.) I wonder if being part of the "All Star liveaboards" group (with Aquacat, Blackbeards, etc.) will change that. The trouble of course with cancelling for low numbers, is that people may not want to book a boat that doesn't have enough people yet...maybe resulting in lower overall numbers and the boat not running some weeks that it might have if the policy didn't chase people away. There's a chicken and egg problem. Does a boat do better going no matter how many people book, with the idea that this will encourage more people to book overall and make up for the occasional light boat? Or do they do better by enforcing fuller boats and possibly losing business from people that will stay away from that?


That's a good question. While you sometimes hear about other issues with Aggressor boats (and complaints about resolution) - especially a few that had start up problems - I don't think I've heard of them cancelling trips because of low passenger count. Maybe I just haven't heard of it, or maybe their policy is not to, or maybe their sales and marketing pretty much does a good enough job of filling the boats that it's not an issue. It would be good to know what the official line is.

There's nothing here on the deposits/payments page - Aggressor Fleet - Official Website

This is an interesting page on licensing I hadn't read before - Aggressor Fleet - Official Website (It would be interesting to see the SOP.) The About page just mentions boats undergo inspections, but for what I assume is in the SOP. Maybe there's something about passenger counts too.

Damselfish,

If we, All Star Liveaboards, confirm a guest with deposit on a charter we are guaranteeing that the trip will depart. Cuan Law and all of the other members of our fleet are including in this policy.