Which Caribbean Aggressor (or another live aboard)

[CRT2]

My wife and I plan on a dive vacation, minimum of 2 weeks and are currently considering Cayman Aggressor and Cayman Brac. Is there a better option for both? Did the Truk Aggressor in 1993 and was very pleased with the boat accommodations and the staff. I expect things have changed.

 

[rongoodman]

Turks and Caicos or Belize. The problem with the Caymans boat is that you might not be able to make the crossing over to Cayman Brac and Little Cayman due to weather.

 

[CRT2]

Turks and Caicos or Belize. The problem with the Caymans boat is that you might not be able to make the crossing over to Cayman Brac and Little Cayman due to weather.

Is this year round or related more to hurricane season, June to November?

 

[rongoodman]

I can’t say. The trip that I was on which missed the crossing had nothing to with a storm, just wind and waves. I don’t recall the month now. The point is that it happens, and if it does, you’re going to miss the best diving.

 

[d^2b]

We've done Caymans once, T&C many times (on both aggressor and explorer) and Belize several times. For Belize we switched to land based resorts on Lighthouse Cay, but that has a different set of tradeoffs (no AC in particular limits the season for us). The one time we were on the Cayman Aggessor we did make it Little Cayman, but we have still preferred to return to the other locations. The part of the trip around Grand Cayman was a bit too close to civilization for us; your mileage may vary. The Cayman Aggressor was out of service for a while, so that's probably a factor as well.

 

[CRT2]

Thank you rongoodman and d^2b. Some things to consider in our search.

 

[Starzz]

If you're looking at a 2-week dive vacation, you might think about Belize. There's two Aggressor, BZIII and BZIV. They dock next to each other. It's not unusual for divers to do back-to-back cruises. Their itineraries are different, and most are not even repeat sites.

 

[CRT2]

Thanks Starzz. Suspect the Blue Hole dive would be fascinating.

 

[drrich2]

My wife and I plan on a dive vacation, minimum of 2 weeks and are currently considering Cayman Aggressor and Cayman Brac.

When you say 'Aggressor and Cayman Brac,' do you mean a 7-day Cayman Aggressor IV liveaboard trip + a land-based Cayman Brac trip (e.g.: Cayman Brac Beach Resort)?

My trip reports on them are rather old, but I've done some of what you're looking at, if you want to see how that went.

Sun Dancer 2 (later renamed Belize Aggressor IV) (Belize) May 2015 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/li...ving-belize-via-sun-dancer-2-may-2nd-9th.html

Dive Trip to the Blue Hole & Visit to Half Moon Caye - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/belize/506647-some-blue-hole-impressions.html

Cayman Aggressor IV May 2016 - Trip Report - Cayman Aggressor IV Trip May 2016

Turks & Caicos Aggressor II Report Apr. 2018 - Trip Report - Turks & Caicos Aggressor II 4/21-4/28 Trip Report

Turks & Caicos Research Notes - Turks & Caicos Research Notes

Between retirement, less money, high inflation, parenting and wife going back to work, when I get wet lately it's because it's raining, so hopefully my commentary won't be too dated. Some thoughts on your thread:

1.) Some people prefer land-based when it hits similar sites, preferring liveaboards where they offer access to places the land op.s don't. For that reason, some are less enthused with the Caymans or Roatan as liveaboard destinations.

2.) With the Caymans, the liveaboard might not make the crossing, but if you're spending a week on Cayman Brac anyway... Still, Grand Cayman is an interesting place, and if I were going to 'stuck' diving it for a week, unless traveling solo it might be fun to do land-based and explore topside.

3.) I preferred the liveaboard diving out of Belize and the Caymans over Turks & Caicos (which is really just Caicos); T&C does benefit from live board diving due to long boat rides out, and I enjoyed the trip, but it averages deeper wall so there's not as much colorful scenery in the well sun-lit shallows. T&C has a rep. for being expensive topside; liveaboard is the way to do it, from my perspective.

4.) The Blue Hole dive out of Belize is okay, but short and I didn't find it that striking. Glad I did it for the bucket list. Wouldn't go out of my way to do it again, most likely.

5.) I wonder if a week on Little Cayman for what's at times alleged to be the 'best diving in the Caribbean,' coupled with a week in Grand Cayman for the combo. of good diving + some topside entertainments, might be good for you? One fly in that ointment - if you are a die hard 5-dive/day 'eat/sleep/dive - if I'm conscious I should be chewing or wet' dive tourist, land-based may not satisfy you. IIRC, Little Cayman Beach Resort is mostly a 3 dive/day place, plus some night dives offered.

6.) Another option is a week on a Belize liveaboard, followed by a land-based week. You might do a forum search on a place called Placencia if you would like to get in some land tours - I haven't been, but it's gotten discussed on ScubaBoard before.

Best wishes for your trip.

 

[tursiops]

Suspect the Blue Hole dive would be fascinating.

But it is not, unless you do it as a tech dive surrounded by like-minded people. Being surrounded by flailing, narced, inexperienced divers is frightening. It is just too deep. PADI even asked the Belize operators to stop taking people to the Blue Hole, to no avail.