Trip Report Trip Report: Cayman Aggressor IV, April 28-May 5, 2018

[Ironborn]

Below are links to the recent Captain's logs for the Cayman Aggressor. It sounds like your trip log began on April 28, because they only spent a short time on Little Cayman and quickly came back to GC to mostly dive the west side.

But the very next week, the trip logged beginning on May 5, they spent most of the time on Little and Brac and they dived the Russian Frigate.

It was the same Captain on board during both weeks so the winds must have been uncooperative during your trip, that is what I meant by bad weather. It can be sunny and beautiful outside, but if the winds aren't with you, you may not have the best possible LOB trip. The fact that you did so many Aggressor dives on the West side of GC suggests that the weather just wasn't cooperating, and that's a shame.

April 28:
Aggressor Fleet® | Official Site | Liveaboard Scuba Dive Yacht Trips

May 5:
Aggressor Fleet® | Official Site | Liveaboard Scuba Dive Yacht Trips

No, actually it was not the same captain. The top link that you posted is the link to the list of all logs for the CAIV, not the logs for my April 28 trip. The bottom link that you posted is the link to my April 28 trip, not to the May 5 trip. Here is the link to the log of the May 5 trip.

Our captain was Manny, and he left for his own well-deserved vacation after we completed our April 28 trip. The log of the May 5 trip, which began after Manny went on vacation, identifies the captain as Alan.

If I understand Captain Manny correctly (and keep in mind that English is not his native language), it sounded like he saw no point in going to Cayman Brac at all, even if and when the weather cooperated. His thinking seemed to be that, if we could not dive the north wall of Little Cayman, which was preferable only because it was shallow, we might as well go back to the deeper Grand Cayman. I asked about going to Cayman Brac instead, or perhaps the south side of Little Cayman, and he said that there was no point in going to either of those places because they were both deep like Grand Cayman too, so we might as well go back to Grand Cayman, which would be "the same type of diving" (his exact words). He did not say anything about weather preventing us from accessing Cayman Brac or the south side of Little Cayman. In other words, he seemed to be thinking solely in terms of depth and not in terms of other factors, like the more pristine reefs or abundant marine life of the two sister islands, compared to Grand Cayman.

I think that most people here might dispute his assertion that Cayman Brac or the south side of Little Cayman have "the same type of diving" as Grand Cayman solely because they are deeper. I think that prospective CAIV guests might also want to know that at least this one captain evidently thinks that Cayman Brac is not worth visiting at all, even under favorable weather conditions (if I understood him correctly).

 

[KathyV]

No, actually it was not the same captain. The top link that you posted is the link to the list of all logs for the CAIV, not the logs for my April 28 trip. The bottom link that you posted is the link to my April 28 trip, not to the May 5 trip. Here is the link to the log of the May 5 trip.

Our captain was Manny, and he left for his own well-deserved vacation after we completed our April 28 trip. The log of the May 5 trip, which began after Manny went on vacation, identifies the captain as Alan.

If I understand Captain Manny correctly (and keep in mind that English is not his native language), it sounded like he saw no point in going to Cayman Brac at all, even if and when the weather cooperated. His thinking seemed to be that, if we could not dive the north wall of Little Cayman, which was preferable only because it was shallow, we might as well go back to the deeper Grand Cayman. I asked about going to Cayman Brac instead, or perhaps the south side of Little Cayman, and he said that there was no point in going to either of those places because they were both deep like Grand Cayman too, so we might as well go back to Grand Cayman, which would be "the same type of diving" (his exact words). He did not say anything about weather preventing us from accessing Cayman Brac or the south side of Little Cayman. In other words, he seemed to be thinking solely in terms of depth and not in terms of other factors, like the more pristine reefs or abundant marine life of the two sister islands, compared to Grand Cayman.

I think that most people here might dispute his assertion that Cayman Brac or the south side of Little Cayman have "the same type of diving" as Grand Cayman solely because they are deeper. I think that prospective CAIV guests might also want to know that at least this one captain evidently thinks that Cayman Brac is not worth visiting at all, even under favorable weather conditions (if I understood him correctly).

Sorry, I posted the wrong link, here is the link to the week before your trip, but the situation is the same. The Captain was Manny and they spent most of the time in the Sister Islands and they dived Brac including the Russian Frigate:
Aggressor Fleet® | Official Site | Liveaboard Scuba Dive Yacht Trips

The Little Cayman reefs start shallower than some of the other Cayman reefs, but Brac and GC reefs aren't so deep that it is an issue. And even if depth was a concern, why spend most of the time on the West Side of GC, if weather wasn't a problem? That just doesn't compute.

You might want to contact either/both of the Wayne's at Aggressor and tell them about your second disappointing trip and this nonsense about "too deep so you may as well dive GC" - they should at least give you a discount for another trip to a different location.
Aggressor Fleet® | Official Site | Liveaboard Scuba Dive Yacht Trips

 

[Ironborn]

Okay, well here is the link to the week before your trip and the Captain was Manny and they spent most of the time in the Sister Islands and they dived Brac including the Russian Frigate:
Aggressor Fleet® | Official Site | Liveaboard Scuba Dive Yacht Trips

The Little Cayman reefs start shallower than some of the other Cayman reefs, but Brac and GC reefs aren't so deep that it is a big issue. And even if depth was a concern, why spend most of the time on the West Side of GC, if weather wasn't a problem? That just doesn't compute.

You might want to contact either/both of the Wayne's at Aggressor and tell them about your second disappointing trip and this nonsense about "too deep so you may as well dive GC" - they should at least give you a discount for another trip to a different location.

Yes, it did not compute for me either, and I sensed that the captain might have had some other reasons that he did not share, but who knows.

I would not say that this was a disappointing trip. I would say that it was a good/decent trip that probably could have been significantly better. At least in terms of the crew's performance, it was clearly an improvement over my BAIII trip, e.g. at least they did not run the boat aground or break the generator this time, and the guides and tank fills were better. I don't know if "could have been better" is enough justification to ask for a voucher, and I accepted the risk when I decided on the CAIV over the terrestrial options that we might not get to the best places.

When I asked for the voucher for the problems on the BAIII trip, I had very clear-cut grounds for complaining, since they admitted that they had dropped the ball. I am not sure that some of the more questionable logic and explanations that the captain of the CAIV provided for not visiting or not staying longer at the best spots would make a strong case for a voucher.

I think that the better course of action is to try other, non-Aggressor liveaboard operators that might yield better results or be a better fit for my preferences, or maybe just for the sake of variety. Asking for a voucher from Aggressor Fleet merely encourages me to spend more time and money on them, which might not be the wisest course of action if my results with them thus far may have been sub-par. The next liveaboards on my "to do" list are (tentatively) Turks & Caicos and Thailand, where I had already determined that non-Aggressor liveaboards would be a better fit for me anyway, regardless of my previous experiences on the BAIII and CAIV.

 

[tkaelin]

Let it end

 

[scubafanatic]

While I like your detailed trip reporting, I'll admit you have far more patience to record every last molecule of events/details than I do. I would venture you are a 'controller' and may not be ideally suited for the vagaries of scuba travel. You may want to consider relaxing a bit and rolling with the punches, and more readily accept the ebb and flow of events and try to focus on the positives, not an endless quest for 'vouchers' when things don't exactly follow your grand plans.

 

[EastEndDiver]

When it comes to diving "Adapt and Overcome"........I know it is a U.S Marine saying but in this case it applies to diving especially on Livaboards.

 

[Joneill]

No, you can certainly get blown out in the Caymans, and you can get days with beautiful vis in the Florida Keys! Conditions vary, but there are usually some options with decent if not stellar diving. Like diving the south side of Little Cayman, or the west side of Grand Cayman.

I am glad that we gave the Caymans a second chance after a long absence. We will be giving it our 9th chance later this year - and I hope that we have good conditions!

It’s hard to get completely blown out in Grand Cayman as you can dive West Bay, NorthWest, North, East End and South (some nice sites South too). Unless it’s a big tropical system, you normally have options.

 

[Joneill]

Actually, I had two opportunities to explore topside a bit. I had a few hours between my arrival and the CAIV's boarding time. I also had most of the afternoon and the night to explore Georgetown after we returned to port on Friday afternoon. As far as I could tell, Georgetown has Cuban cigars, expensive jewelry stores, and shops for touristy trinkets, and it turns into a ghost town at night.

The cigar stores were quite good; they had surprisingly reasonable prices (by Cayman Islands standards) for Cuban cigars, and they had wide selections, proper cigar storage, and some actual Cuban employees. Beyond the cigar stores, I saw nothing else that interested me, and now that we can have Cuban cigars legally in the U.S., the cigars alone are not enough of an attraction for me.

I don't think that I was quick to dismiss the place; I would instead argue that I simply did not see anything that persuaded me that it would be worth investing more of my limited vacation time and money to explore it further and give it a second chance.

My assessment that there is little or nothing of interest to me topside in the Cayman Islands is also based on sources other than my own admittedly limited observations, including input from friends who have been there and who told me that I would probably not like it, based on their personal knowledge of me and my own tastes. I am also going on what I have read in travel guides and other resources, including your posts and those of other Cayman regulars. The little bit that I did see validated what I had expected, based on that pre-trip input and research.

Don’t judge Cayman by Georgetown as it is primarily geared as a cruise ship tourist “trap”. We don’t really ever go their except to shop (rarely) or eat (a few good restaurant/bars there).

I am curious as to what is it that you do find of interest topside in other destinations that you feel is missing in Grand Cayman?

 

[mi000ke]

Regarding topside night life, if you are into listening to music, there are live bands at probably 15 venues along 7 Mile Beach every night, and a few of the night are "jam nights" where anyone is invited to sit in with the house band or perform on their own. I often go out by myself either to listen or to sit in with the band and always find it easy to get into conversation with others. If you want something local, look for a soca band or a steel pan band. If you like cigars (as I do) you can go to one of the cigar bars and have no problem meeting visitors and locals for good conversation. Sometimes we just go down to the beach to watch the sun set and have a few drinks, and always end up meeting folks on the beach. You can go for a sunset cruise and meet a lot of folks. You can often find special events - Grand Cayman always seems to have a carnival, rave, food fair, or some other madness going on at night. Blackbeards often has evening wine tastings at their stores. A tour of the Cayman Spirits company is like a big party, and you will know everyone on your tour within a few minutes (and after the formal tasting you get 10 minutes to drink as much as you want of whatever you want.) And there are lots of bars and restaurants to go just for a drink and again a chance to hang out with folks. You can go see a movie or a play. You can do the Flavour Tour Wednesday nights, where you meet up with a group at Camana Bay and visit four restaurants for four courses plus drinks. Friday night at about 8pm you can go to the Ritz bar and watch the fireworks. Go to an authentic local food shack (like Heritage Kitchen or Vivene's kitchen) for dinner and you will have some great local food and again, probably meet folks. Go to the Kaibo Barefoot Beach BBQ, have some rum punch, and do the limbo and you might become a local hero for the evening. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but it is possible to be entertained at night.

 

[KathyV]

Regarding topside night life, if you are into listening to music, there are live bands at probably 15 venues along 7 Mile Beach every night, and a few of the night are "jam nights" where anyone is invited to sit in with the house band or perform on their own. I often go out by myself either to listen or to sit in with the band and always find it easy to get into conversation with others. If you want something local, look for a soca band or a steel pan band. If you like cigars (as I do) you can go to one of the cigar bars and have no problem meeting visitors and locals for good conversation. Sometimes we just go down to the beach to watch the sun set and have a few drinks, and always end up meeting folks on the beach. You can go for a sunset cruise and meet a lot of folks. You can often find special events - Grand Cayman always seems to have a carnival, rave, food fair, or some other madness going on at night. Blackbeards often has evening wine tastings at their stores. A tour of the Cayman Spirits company is like a big party, and you will know everyone on your tour within a few minutes (and after the formal tasting you get 10 minutes to drink as much as you want of whatever you want.) And there are lots of bars and restaurants to go just for a drink and again a chance to hang out with folks. You can go see a movie or a play. You can do the Flavour Tour Wednesday nights, where you meet up with a group at Camana Bay and visit four restaurants for four courses plus drinks. Friday night at about 8pm you can go to the Ritz bar and watch the fireworks. Go to an authentic local food shack (like Heritage Kitchen or Vivene's kitchen) for dinner and you will have some great local food and again, probably meet folks. Go to the Kaibo Barefoot Beach BBQ, have some rum punch, and do the limbo and you might become a local hero for the evening. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but it is possible to be entertained at night.

Excellent list, we enjoy the live music and pizza at XQ's Piano Bar and Lounge. Plus there is the 5 pm Happy Hour and Frigate Bird Feeding at Tukka, as well as the Tarpon feeding at The Wharf, and you can catch The Barefoot Man's show on various nights at either Hemingway's, The Reef, or The Wharf.

Have you ever been to the Monday night Barbeque at the Cracked Conch? We haven't tried it yet.