Red Sea Aggressor Trip

[mcohen1021]

Thanks, I *think* we'd have to purchase in Istanbul airport to avoid trying to get alcohol past security in istanbul.

 

[mcohen1021]

Call me a margarita snob, I suppose. I hate restaurant margaritas. I know how to make em right and when I travel on vacay, I have to teach the bartender. True story, I taught a bar tender @ Sandals Negril how to make my marg and soon after that every guest was asking him to make one from my recipe.

 

[Christian]

Now you have to share your recipe ...

 

[mcohen1021]

My review June 9-16, 2018 Red Sea Aggressor I trip.

I have been diving 29 years, this being my 1st live aboard (outside the MV Fling in Texas).

I must say, that the entire experience was simply amazing. Everything from the trip planning (air, hotel, food, diving and xfers) to the boat itself was superb. I cannot possibly express how pleased I was with it overall.

The Good:

1. Flights to / from Egypt: Lisa @ Aggressor did a GREAT job in getting us the best fare in addition to planning out the timing to avoid / reduce jetlag.

2. Transfers: All transfers went off effortlessly, we were met and transferred easily to and from airport to hotel, and hotel to airport.

3. The boat: the boat was awesome. The room was nice and clean. Bed comfortable. The boat's dive facilities were great – hot water showers, the hot tub, the salon, the main deck and sundeck...

4. The crew: was probably the 2nd best part of the trip - ONLY because the diving was #1. Help with donning/doffing/stowing gear. A fresh drink right after the dive. Hot towels after your hot water shower. Hegazi, Katya, Mahmood, Ali, Emad, Amir, Said, and the rest I have failed to mention all made the experience unforgettable. They treat you like family (without all the squabbling haha).

5. The food: outstanding. I am a picky eater and I avoid all-inclusive resorts because the food stinks. I was worried that I would go hungry on the boat and I was very impressed with the meals. Seafood, steaks, chicken, salads and the best soups ever... And the desserts, wow – they were amazing…

6. The diving - the very reason you're there.... If all of the above was not enough, the diving was practically the icing on the cake... List of wildlife: 3 oceanic white tips, 4 hammerheads, 2 giant silkies, 1 white tip reef, 1 gray, 1 manta. We saw a free swimming remora, nudis, various turtles, bird wrasse, napoleon wrasse, 2 of the largest eels I've ever seen - as thick as my thigh, sting rays, and some of the best soft corals... Wonderful colors.

How things could be improved:

1. Siva Port Ghalib resort... Hotel was nice, room was clean, beds comfortable. The food... Let's just say I would have rather stayed at a non all-inclusive and paid for my meals. The food at Siva Port Ghalib was not edible. Also, the transfer from the hotel to the boat... They transferred us to the curbside claiming golfcarts could not travel past that point. Meanwhile, all kinds of other golf carts traveled in and out of the area where the boats were parked without being stopped. If I was to change anything, I would have stayed @ the Hurghada Marriott both times - MUCH better hotel and usable beach. Couples massage at Marriott was awesome. That or maybe stay @ the Marina Lodge - where its not all inclusive.

2. Dive briefings... I am pretty easy going, but one of my major pet peeves is people not respecting the environment. That being said, there were 2 couples on the boat that thought it was OK to hold onto the reef (and kick it) to steady themselves to take photos. I repeatedly asked the guides know and asked them to please address it before I did. I believe they tried by addressing it privately with those individuals, but it did not seem to help. I saw one lady use the camera itself to position herself for a picture and I saw pieces of the reef break off. I finally went to her and motioned her to stop. Another diver literally screamed at her topside after that dive. I would REALLY like for the entire group to be reminded during the briefing not to touch the reef. And maybe the policy should be that divers not following the no touch rules should be not allowed to dive the rest of that day.

Trust me, I am already shopping for my next Aggressor destination, this time I'll do Caribbean where it's close. But if Red Sea was close to Texas, I’d do it all over again with the same exact crew.

 

[scubadada]

+1 for the crew, Mahmoud, Emad, Hegaze, and Said, were all with me for 2 weeks in 2016

I stayed at Marina Lodge and went out for a day of diving with Emperor Divers. Food was fine. Aggressor came over across the marina and picked me up in a tender

 

[Lorenzoid]

What did you end up doing with your layover in Istanbul?

 

[mcohen1021]

What did you end up doing with your layover in Istanbul?

read, drank beer, shopped and people watched!

 

[KathyV]

My review June 9-16, 2018 Red Sea Aggressor I trip.

I have been diving 29 years, this being my 1st live aboard (outside the MV Fling in Texas).

I must say, that the entire experience was simply amazing. Everything from the trip planning (air, hotel, food, diving and xfers) to the boat itself was superb. I cannot possibly express how pleased I was with it overall.

The Good:

1. Flights to / from Egypt: Lisa @ Aggressor did a GREAT job in getting us the best fare in addition to planning out the timing to avoid / reduce jetlag.

2. Transfers: All transfers went off effortlessly, we were met and transferred easily to and from airport to hotel, and hotel to airport.

3. The boat: the boat was awesome. The room was nice and clean. Bed comfortable. The boat's dive facilities were great – hot water showers, the hot tub, the salon, the main deck and sundeck...

4. The crew: was probably the 2nd best part of the trip - ONLY because the diving was #1. Help with donning/doffing/stowing gear. A fresh drink right after the dive. Hot towels after your hot water shower. Hegazi, Katya, Mahmood, Ali, Emad, Amir, Said, and the rest I have failed to mention all made the experience unforgettable. They treat you like family (without all the squabbling haha).

5. The food: outstanding. I am a picky eater and I avoid all-inclusive resorts because the food stinks. I was worried that I would go hungry on the boat and I was very impressed with the meals. Seafood, steaks, chicken, salads and the best soups ever... And the desserts, wow – they were amazing…

6. The diving - the very reason you're there.... If all of the above was not enough, the diving was practically the icing on the cake... List of wildlife: 3 oceanic white tips, 4 hammerheads, 2 giant silkies, 1 white tip reef, 1 gray, 1 manta. We saw a free swimming remora, nudis, various turtles, bird wrasse, napoleon wrasse, 2 of the largest eels I've ever seen - as thick as my thigh, sting rays, and some of the best soft corals... Wonderful colors.

How things could be improved:

1. Siva Port Ghalib resort... Hotel was nice, room was clean, beds comfortable. The food... Let's just say I would have rather stayed at a non all-inclusive and paid for my meals. The food at Siva Port Ghalib was not edible. Also, the transfer from the hotel to the boat... They transferred us to the curbside claiming golfcarts could not travel past that point. Meanwhile, all kinds of other golf carts traveled in and out of the area where the boats were parked without being stopped. If I was to change anything, I would have stayed @ the Hurghada Marriott both times - MUCH better hotel and usable beach. Couples massage at Marriott was awesome. That or maybe stay @ the Marina Lodge - where its not all inclusive.

2. Dive briefings... I am pretty easy going, but one of my major pet peeves is people not respecting the environment. That being said, there were 2 couples on the boat that thought it was OK to hold onto the reef (and kick it) to steady themselves to take photos. I repeatedly asked the guides know and asked them to please address it before I did. I believe they tried by addressing it privately with those individuals, but it did not seem to help. I saw one lady use the camera itself to position herself for a picture and I saw pieces of the reef break off. I finally went to her and motioned her to stop. Another diver literally screamed at her topside after that dive. I would REALLY like for the entire group to be reminded during the briefing not to touch the reef. And maybe the policy should be that divers not following the no touch rules should be not allowed to dive the rest of that day.

Trust me, I am already shopping for my next Aggressor destination, this time I'll do Caribbean where it's close. But if Red Sea was close to Texas, I’d do it all over again with the same exact crew.

So glad that you had a wonderful trip, the Red Sea is fantastic!

And did you get to see any of the sights of Egypt on land?

 

[mcohen1021]

So glad that you had a wonderful trip, the Red Sea is fantastic!

And did you get to see any of the sights of Egypt on land?

Thanks! Admittedly, I did no touring topside. I played on the sand in Port Ghalib and Hurghada instead. A few others from our boat did the 1 day Luxor side trip and I had no interest in waking up at 2 AM to do it. Either way, I still did not have interest in seeing it for whatever reason. I would have liked to go to Israel, but I also did not want to add 3K to the trip cost.

Cozumel in October, can't wait to hit my home away from home.

 

[KathyV]

Thanks! Admittedly, I did no touring topside. I played on the sand in Port Ghalib and Hurghada instead. A few others from our boat did the 1 day Luxor side trip and I had no interest in waking up at 2 AM to do it. Either way, I still did not have interest in seeing it for whatever reason. I would have liked to go to Israel, but I also did not want to add 3K to the trip cost.

Cozumel in October, can't wait to hit my home away from home.

Hey, it's your vacation and you should spend it doing what you want to do, and it sounds like you had a great trip!