Maldives: Aggressor v. P Hughes??

[BellesMom]

Hello all, looking for any input on either of these 2 boats. Both seem very comparable in price and comfort/service level. Appreciate any further thoughts....Looking to go in 2011 sometime - what are the best months to go - maybe no difference??
Many thanks in advance!
Nikki

 

[Damselfish]

The PH boat only runs part of the year, mid Nov- mid April which mostly corresponds with the dry season, which seems to be considered the best time. Aggressor and lots of other boats run all year though. I think some of them do different areas at different times of year.

 

[OnTheSpot]

The Maldives scuba diving runs all year round, but the recommended months for confirmed liveaboard departures are from November to May. If you wish to come outside of these months then it may be more difficult to find a departure date that suits you.

April, May and June are the hottest months of the year and, due to plankton blooming, see manta rays and whale sharks. These months are popular with divers seeking the large pelagics. December to March normally enjoys the best visibility.

The Maldive Islands have a wet season between May and August, which reduces visibility and may restrict the number of accessible dive sites due to poorer surface conditions. This is less of a concern for liveaboards that can vary their itineraries to cover only those sites enjoying the best dive conditions.

MV Ocean Dancer operates between November and April but Maldives Aggressor operates year round.

 

[A2K]

It is no longer called Peter Hughes. It's now called the Dancer Fleet and that is now ran by the President of the Aggressor Fleet, Wayne Hasson. So, you could reasonably conclude that price, service, experience are going to be about the same. I can't speak from experience because I've never been on either boats, but I used to work for the Aggressor Fleet and can tell you that they try to make it as close to a 5 star hotel and dining combined with excellent diving as they can get.

 

[EVFleet]

I haven't been on either the Aggressor or Dancer boat personally, but did quite a bit of research prior to the introduction and final design work on our new Maldives boat (Carpe Vita Explorer). FWIW, I came away with the impression that the Ocean Dancer had significantly better reviews.

Have a great trip whatever you decide!

- Clay

 

[TremayneJohnson]

I did the Oceandancer earlier this year (end March / start April) and it was a pretty amazing experience. Never seen so many mantas in one single dive. I kid you not - perhaps 30 individuals - all huge - all v. close. Saw a large whale shark (this happened to coincide with my birthday!) which was interesting but poor thing was getting pestered by all the snorkelers. Overall, the diving was top notch, lots rays, mantas, sharks (white tip reef), turtles, lots morays, tuna, and all the reef fish. Boat was nice - crew friendly. Food good - but more a 'sit down' restaurant type thing than a get up and help yourself. On the explorer boat (Bahamas) there wasn't any way a crew member was going to come over, unfold your napkin and then place it on your lap! (nor do we really need that - but there you go).

If you have any specific questions - fire away. (can only answer relative to Ocean Dancer)

TJ

 

[tracydr]

Where did you fly to to get there? Would it be difficult to combine with a week somewhere else, maybe Mozambique or Truk?
I'm trying to figure out a two week trip to please both my husband and I. I like rays and sharks, he wants to dive wrecks. (we'll get trimix and wreck certified ahead of time).
My two dream places are Mozambique and Maldives. He dreams of Truk.
We may just have to go on two or three trips, one for each year.
We also want to dive Australia sometime.

 

[TremayneJohnson]

Hi. I'm from UK so simply flew direct from London to Maldives (with Air Sri Lanka) which was very nice and easy. I don't think its the most obvious place to try and combine with diving somewhere else also. Doing Truk would be a really big hassle for you (with flights). Mozambique is much closer - so might be possible, but I still think you'd be talking about a fair amount of 'messing about' with flights. However - being as I'm not from the US - I'm not best placed to really advise on this!
It's hard to imagine you'd see many more rays than we did in the Maldives. Sharks weren't in any great number but the rays were with us on virtually every dive. Manta, Mobula Manta, Eagle Rays, Blotched or Marble Rays. Forgot to mention on previous post that we also saw a school of sailfish which was pretty cool. We saw them underwater and then later on from the surface.

 

[Damselfish]

Where did you fly to to get there? Would it be difficult to combine with a week somewhere else, maybe Mozambique or Truk?

No matter how much you want to think "I'm all that way it should be reasonable to work in this other place too" - it often won't work out the way you'd hope and will be more time/trouble/expense than it's worth. If you've got 2 weeks (especially if that includes travel time - have you looked yet at how long it takes to get there?) I'd just stick to the Maldives - great diving and plenty to keep you occupied. Perhaps combine some time at a resort with a liveaboard. We did a 10 night liveaboard with a night before and after at the airport hotel, and that was a 2 week+ trip right there.

While I don't use travel agents much, I will say something like this is where they can come in really handy. A good dive travel agent who specializes in the region may be able to more easily figure out the best way to do some combo of places, suggest a more doable combo - or perhaps tell you you're out of your mind which is useful info too.

 

[mantajohn]

I'm with the previous poster on this one.

Truk is half a world from the Maldives - don't even think about it.

You could in theory combine with Mozambique. That would probably require a Maldives - Dubai - JNB - Mozambique -> home routing. There would be so much flying/connecting + no diving days that it would not be a great trip.

I would spend the whole trip in the Maldives (lob + resort week?). If you would prefer a 2 centre, a few days travelling in Sri Lanka works very well on Air Sri Lanka as they have Maldives - London & Columbo - London direct flights plus Maldives/Columbo links.

Hope this helps

John