Turks & Caicos- Aggressor or Explorer?

[Eau_Girl]

I was on the T&C Aggressor in April 2007. I have never been on the Explorer so cannot comment on that boat. The Aggressor was fantastic. It is a very comfortable boat even if the cabins are not huge. The crew was fantastic -- friendly and helpful -- the entire week. I had heard rave reviews about this boat before going and was not disappointed.

It is true that all of the dive boats (day boats included) go to the same dive sites. We never saw divers from another boat on any of our dives as they seem to co-ordinate and moor on sites with no other boats.

I have also done a land-based dive holiday in T&C. The days are very long though given the distance to the dive sites (about 90 minutes each way). We were picked up about 7:30 and only got back to the hotel at about 15:30 -- that was only for 2 dives. I would go back to T&C for the beaches and relaxation but I would want to dive from a liveaboard.

 

[BTravlin]

How did you like the diving compared to other areas you've been to?

 

[Eau_Girl]

I like T&C diving. It is mainly wall diving so you can choose your depth along any given wall. There are coral heads on the top of the wall so you have things to find as you shallow out your dive. Also, there is usually fun stuff under the boat in the sand such as rays. We saw lots of eagle rays, turtles, morays and sharks throughout the week.

It's hard for me to compare dive locations as I tend to be happy in the moment when I'm diving. It's like asking for my favorite book or movie -- impossible to say. Also, I've only been diving for 3 years so whilst having been on 9 warm water dive holidays, I've just scratched the surface on visiting the great dive locations around the world.

However, I can say it seemed that that fish life was not quite a abundant in April 2007 as I had remembered in 2004. However, the diving was still good.

I returned from a week in the Red Sea last night. Again the fish life was different on the reefs there --- lots more big schools of little fish.

I would definitely put Turks & Caicos on your list of dive destinations!

 

[Nesher]

We did the T&C Explorer in October 2006 - my first liveaboard experience - it was great. I have a trip report on this board somewhere. Our neighbor dives a lot but we tend to have very different tastes. For example, he said he would NEVER go back to Cocos Island (he dove with the Aggressor boat and was floating out to sea for an hour). We went in May 07 (dove with Undersea Hunter) and are going back in Nov 07 and Jun 08. He chose the T&C Aggressor, so we chose the T&C Explorer and had a great time. I liked them because they were very safety conscious and being my first liveaboard, that was a big concern of mine.

Are you saying, your neighbor was drifting alone in the water for an hour, or the boat was drifting at sea for an hour? Please clarify.

Also, what was the indication that the Explorer was more safety minded than the Aggressor? Or was it the incident of your neighbor.

I'm planning on going to T & C next year and I really want to make sure I have a great time, and safety is always a primary consideration for me as well.

Thanks

 

[robint]

Are you saying, your neighbor was drifting alone in the water for an hour, or the boat was drifting at sea for an hour? Please clarify.

Also, what was the indication that the Explorer was more safety minded than the Aggressor? Or was it the incident of your neighbor.

I'm planning on going to T & C next year and I really want to make sure I have a great time, and safety is always a primary consideration for me as well.

Thanks

I think the incident with the diver floating in the ocean alone for an hour was to Cocos Island, Costa Rica NOT Turks & Caicos. Very very very different diving.

 

[Nesher]

Okay, I understand.

 

[caymaniac]

How did you like the diving compared to other areas you've been to?

My opinion is that T&C is one of the best in the Caribbean for pelegics, for more small and some big as well as more colorful reefs, Little Cayman wins with T&C on the heels.
Usaully a little better viz on LC as well.
From T&C

From LC

 

[Eau_Girl]

I'm planning on going to T & C next year and I really want to make sure I have a great time, and safety is always a primary consideration for me as well.

Safety is always a primary concern for me as well. I thought that the diving practices and procedures on the T&C Aggressor with very good. All of the guides we had were very professional and competent divers -- plus they were fun as well.

If you go on day boats there check out the diving practices and numbers of divers per boat, ratio of guides to divers --- in my experience it varied greatly (I dove with 3 different operators in 2004 due to mechanical problems with my first choice's boat).

 

[BTravlin]

I did the T&C Aggressor in June 06 and doing the T&C Explorer in November. I'll let you know how things go.

So how did the trip go? Hope all went well.

What are your thoughts on the two boats? Differences? Similarities?

 

[amascuba]

So how did the trip go? Hope all went well.

What are your thoughts on the two boats? Differences? Similarities?

Both crews are awesome and we all had a blast during the week.

You're not going to starve on either boat as the meals were scrumptious and plentiful.

The explorer boat has slightly bigger rooms, but honestly the only time I was in my room on either trip was when I was sleeping.

If you are into photography and/or video then you may like the Aggressor boat better because it has the better camera table. The photographers on our trip actually took their cameras to their room between dives to change lenses, strobes, memory cards, etc. The Explorer boat had a carpeted table towards the rear of the boat with towels and a dunk tank, but it didn't have an air gun to dry off the housings.

Cosmetically the Aggressor boat is prettier. It looked like the Explorer crew have been busy sanding and priming on areas of the boat.. probably getting ready for a fresh coat of paint. It's nothing horrible though.

The Explorer boat docks at the Marina on the southern end of Provo. It's a bumpy ride for part of the trip from the airport to the marina because it follows an dirt road for a mile or two. Also expect to pay $15/per person for taxi fair to and from the airport on the Explorer boat. They pay for the taxi fair on the last night when you go into town to eat and shop.

The Aggressor boat offered a CD of pictures of the week for free and a DVD for a charge. The explorer didn't offer anything like that. One of the crew members said that they don't do it any longer because pretty much everybody comes with some sort of camera on the trip.

Bottom line... I would dive off of either boat again without a second thought.