Seeking recommendations on liveaboard: Cayman vs Belize

[Darnold9999]

Marginal preference for Belize over Caymans mostly because in December the Caymans boat often does not make it over to Bloody Bay wall. I would have said both were very similar in terms of things to see. Blue Hole is worth doing once, but not a particularly great dive.

 

[Carlos Diver]

I was on the BA IV last January and had a great trip. Disagree on the marine life. I thought it was very good for Caribbean diving. Sharks, nurse and reefs, groupers and eagle rays. Is it indo-pacific? Not at all. But again, for the Caribbean, I was very happy with the diving.

Overall the boat was well laid out and the crew was very fun. The captain had worked on the Kona Aggressor while I was on it and was very social. Almost half the boat had repeat BA costumers. It tells you that a lot people enjoy that trip and boat. I would and will do it again, eventually.

Side note for the Blue Hole. If you really want to dive it you are better off on the BA III than the IV. The IV is larger and has a greater draft, so it can only make the Blue Hole under the very best conditions.

 

[Damselfish]

Aggressor announced a southern itinerary in Belize, which looks like it skips the Blue Hole. My host at Lighthouse reef claimed the diving is not as good at Glover's as at Lighthouse reef, but I guess he would, wouldn't he .

One of our 3 BA IV trips (when it was still Sun Dancer) was a rare southern itinerary. The intent was to do some whale shark dives, but it wasn't really the right time so we gave up and did some other (mostly not great) diving in the area before just heading to Lighthouse (where guests all voted against doing the Blue Hole - probably everyone had been there done that.) We didn't do any dives at Glovers, they also said Lighthouse was better than Glovers. Might have been nice since we'd never done that and probably wouldn't get there otherwise. Mixing things up and doing a better planned southern itinerary could be interesting.

 

[Damselfish]

Side note for the Blue Hole. If you really want to dive it you are better off on the BA III than the IV. The IV is larger and has a greater draft, so it can only make the Blue Hole under the very best conditions.

I'd forgotten about that. Watching them take the BA IV through the channel with so little clearance was interesting. Captain on the bow operating by joystick.

 

[Aerobics111]

Thanks all for the advice! I'll probably go with the Cayman liveaboard. Hotels in Cayman during Christmas season is awfully expensive but liveaboard price is constantly.

 

[BoltSnap]

Thanks all for the advice! I'll probably go with the Cayman liveaboard. Hotels in Cayman during Christmas season is awfully expensive but liveaboard price is constantly.

Are you talking about going to the Caymans in late December?

The weather there during that time is ify with good probability for strong winds that last for few days making it very difficult to go diving. Myself and other friends and clients experienced this.

 

[scubadada]

Hi @Aerobics111

I have done both these routes on Aggressor boats and would generally recommend doing Belize over the Cayman Islands.

Trip Report - Cayman Aggressor V, November 24-December 1, 2018

I have been to Grand Cayman 10 times, Little Cayman twice, and Cayman Brac once. When I found myself with a bonus week available for diving, I jumped at the opportunity to spend the time on the new Cayman Aggressor V, especially with the 35% discount they offered for their 35th anniversary. I...

scubaboard.com

Trip Report - Belize on the Aggressor IV April 9-16, 2022

Belize on the Aggressor IV April 9-16, 2022 Reservations: I reserved my spot ton the Belize Aggressor IV directly with Aggressor. I made my reservations during last fall’s sale and got 25% off. I made my airline reservations directly with American Airlines, a flight from Philadelphia to Miami...

scubaboard.com

I dived the Cayman Islands off the Cayman Aggressor V (now the BVI Aggressor). The refurbished Cayman Aggressor IV looks nice. The two single beds in the deluxe rooms are good, my preference over bunks. The boat takes a maximum of 18 divers. My main reservations concerning this route are around the choice of dive sites. The Aggressor does not use any dive sites that are not available to land-based operations. Mooring is limited to sites able to accommodate the big boat. Our itinerary off Grand Cayman included just one of the best sites available off the island, Babylon. The other sites were all reasonably mediocre. The quality of this trip is dependent on being able to cross over to dive Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. We were able to make the crossing but had to leave a little early due to building seas. I can't imagine doing this route just around Grand Cayman. The windier months may be at increased risk, including December. The Aggressor tends to stay at the same mooring for a couple dives, limiting the diversity of sites compared to a land-based operation. I would generally recommend doing the Cayman Islands from land-based operations, to get the best dive sites and the most diversity.

I just recently returned from Belize. The BA IV is a very nice boat with a great crew. The rooms were probably the best I have experienced. The majority of dives are at Lighthouse Reef. There are only 2 land-based operations on Long Caye. The only other boat we ever saw was the BA III, off in the distance.

 

[Yazmeen]

A major heads up on the Cayman Aggressor IV - the V was moved to the British Virgin Islands, and the rehab on the IV was supposed to be completed by July 2nd (I was scheduled to be on the boat in Grand Cayman this month). Per the website for the IV, the boat is now listed as down until November 26th.