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Dive Review of Aggressor in
Honduras/Roatan

Aggressor: "Coral in trouble", Feb, 2022,

by Jeanne Downey, PA, US (Top Contributor Top Contributor 54 reports with 17 Helpful votes). Report 11861 has 3 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments This was our first real dive trip in two years, so my husband and I were expecting to feel ecstatic about ocean diving again, but it was not to be. We've been to Coco View five times and picked the Aggressor this time because we always got chewed to death by mosquitoes and sand fleas. After an easy and uneventful flight from Pittsburgh thru Houston, with an early arrival, we were met by Aggressor personnel, paid $15 to the taxi driver and were taken about 20 minutes to Romeo's restaurant, where the boat is parked. We were allowed to board around 3:30, after either showing a rapid test obtained at home, or conducting a home-test in front of staff, which we had to do; we found out about the testing too late to get an appointment and had to borrow tests from a friend. Everyone passed; our temperatures were taken twice a day and onboard tests were done the day before we flew home.

We were in cabin #8 by the engine room. Bunk-style beds, with a larger one on the bottom; all our excess luggage went on the top bunk. There was a tall box next to the bed with some hangars in it; the top area was handy for toiletries, etc. There was some under-sink storage and one divided drawer under half the bed, which was hard to open and close. The bathroom was actually next to the engine room, so there was some sound dampening, and the boat was pretty quiet to start with. The shower was decent sized and provided plenty of hot water. Their shampoo was very sudsy--I used it as body wash as well. All I needed was my own conditioner.

Pre-breakfast started at 6:30am with a full breakfast following. The first dive was after breakfast. A sample menu is on their website. Let's just say we never went hungry, and they make really great desserts, too good in fact, as my arthritis flared up after getting home. The staff was excellent.

We always enjoyed Roatan diving in the past, but it has taken a turn for the worse. The soft corals still look OK, but it seemed like there were fewer fish and a large percentage of hard corals looked to be dead or dying. After returning home there was an online article saying it was due to stony coral tissue loss disease and locals catching the fish when the tourist industry collapsed during the pandemic. Very sad. Even Mary's Place looked terrible. Stony coral tissue loss disease started off the coast of Miami in 2014 and has been spreading throughout the Caribbean ever since.

But we did have some good dives. We enjoyed Valley of the Kings where I saw a grouper cleaning station. In fact, we saw many medium groupers during the week, which was a pleasant surprise. We also enjoyed the wreck Mr. Bud and were able to swim through it and find a seahorse.
Cara a Cara was a shark feed--frozen fish pieces are put in a bucket on the bottom to attract the sharks and after a while the guide is supposed to take the lid off for the feeding frenzy. Except the sharks have figured out how to get the lid off much earlier--very exciting, especially when you're right there and the sharks are pushing the bucket towards you!

We did a couple dives at Cayos Cochino seamount, and a couple of days worth of diving at Utila, including the Halliburton wreck, before heading back to Roatan. Over the course of the week we saw a toadfish, a couple of stargazers, and a few white mantis shrimps. Half Moon Bay Wall had the best visibility, but the strong current was pulling us out and down, so we mostly hung out in the bowl by the mooring. Black Rock was a fun dive where we saw two turtles, a spotted drum in a cleaning station, a green moray, and 3 juvenile spotted drums hanging together.

Quite a few people were awarded the coveted “Iron Diver” medal and certificate; I was not.

So looking back, we saw a few unusual fish, many fish cleaning stations, some cool invertebrates, lots of cleaning stations, healthy soft coral, fewer smaller fish, and lots of dead coral. Although we have always enjoyed the diving at Roatan, we probably won’t return for a while, as it was a bit depressing to see all the dead coral.
Websites Aggressor   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Bahamas, Caribbean, Cocos, Socorro, Tahiti, Malaysia, Indonesia, Micronesia, Galapagos, Cayman Islands, Philippines, etc.
Closest Airport Roatan Getting There Major airlines

Dive Conditions

Weather rainy Seas calm
Water Temp 82-82°F / 28-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 110 feet, 60 minutes.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

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

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Large dedicated rinse bin at back of boat.
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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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