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Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Costa Rica/Cano Island

Aggressor Fleet: "Cano Island Aggressor", Jun, 2018,

by Sandra Maruszak, NH, US (Reviewer Reviewer 4 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 10316 has 2 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 2 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 3 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Rudy, the shuttle van driver, was outstanding: he offered suggestions on what to get for food at the break and helped folks order food when there was a language barrier. He was entertaining, giving us a history of Costa Rica during the drive and went beyond what most drivers do.

The boat itself was standard (which is good). During the initial orientation staff skipped doing introductions of guests and "room orientation." Overall, the crew seems burnt out. Very little interaction with guests (with 2 exceptions who were great). So little interaction that 4 days into the trip, there were several staff members whose names were unknown (I asked other guests as I was horrified I didn’t know everyone on such a small boat—not sure it was better or worse that it wasn’t just me!)

Aggressor needs to review the "Know before you Go" and update it so people know what to expect. There are many discrepancies and this led to discontent. The published magazine and website note "3 exciting night dives" which we were told (once on board) do not happen due to regulations. This was disappointing to some people, as it was listed on the website and their published magazine and one woman said she specifically called and spoke with staff as night diving was important to her. No emergency locators were given out--this may only be done for Cocos, but was listed for both. The hiking sites for the land hike needs to be corrected—they list Sirena Station as an option, but never actually go there--this also created angst with one guest in particular (which spread to the group).

It is not clear how many dives they usually do—on a boat that advertises “Eat, Sleep, Dive” there was a initially a report we would not dive at all on Friday and would only do one dive on the hiking day and no night dives. That would have only been 13 dives for the week on a liveaboard. With threatened mutiny, the staff agreed to diving Friday and 2 dives on the hiking day.

I had asked for a 63 tank prior to the trip and was told they would have one for me, but when I got on board they noted they did not have these tanks available. Not critical, but frustrating.

We dove the same sites repeatedly. The surge was high and vis was generally quite low (one dive less than 15 feet), so perhaps this was because those sites offered the best diving in sub optimal conditions, but the crew could have explained this. Overall, I think if the crew communicated better, this would have made the trip better.

I prepped for cold water, but it was almost always 82 F. Very very brief thermoclines so in retrospect, would not plan on dressing so warmly. I was HOT in a 5/4 mil.
Websites Aggressor Fleet   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Belize, Bonaire, Cozumel, DR, Keys, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Roatan, Costa Rica.
Closest Airport San Jose Getting There Relatively easy from USA

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas surge, currents
Water Temp 72-84°F / 22-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 15-60 Ft/ 5-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Recommended safety guidelines but not enforced
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 1 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 5 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Table was large to accommodate cameras and sharks were friendly for photos. WHY do people put drinks on the camera table???
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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