Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet/Thailand Aggressor in
Thailand/two weeks in the Andaman Sea

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Aggressor Fleet/Thailand Aggressor: "Couldn't Be Much Better", Apr, 2015, by Lee and Nancy Skinner, IL, US ( Reviewer 4 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 8735 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Nancy & I booked two successive weeks that toured north then south in the Andaman Sea. We booked this since the previous August we had spent a week on this Aggressor during its weeks operating from Pulau Weh. Don't bother looking up a future trip there since the Thailand Aggressor finished its last stint there this summer, we heard. But I mention this trip since the experience was so superb that we booked the two in the Andaman Sea. (I apologize for not having reviewed the 2014 trip.) The superlatives were many: the crew--including Tiu the captain--helped us before and after every dive, attending to every imaginable detail. Cook Phorn's food was tasty,varied and stylishly served. The wine, South African red for us and nearly everyone else, was very sophisticated and not rationed. The DVD's that photo-video expert Deaw produced were so impressive that every diver (or couple) bought it each week. Ginny gave welcome massages in addition to her other duties. Dinghy divers were careful, competent and entertaining. But Gabriel, cruise director, outshone every such person in that role in the many liveaboards we have experienced. The first week, when the guests were just Nancy and two neat Swiss divers, he shared much time with us as just a neat human being. Yes, hopefully for the Aggressor fleet, the boat normally hosts what we had the second week, eleven (or more) divers. But Gabriel, a well-traveled Brazilian, did so good a job that we suspect that he will be moving upward in the Aggressor organization. (Hint: dive the Thailand Aggressor soon to enjoy him.) The diving was very satisfying. I have a Gabriel-taken photo of me awestruck by a juvenile whale shark passing 20 feet away. And the second week, a manta dive gave me great footage for my own DVD editing at home. The sites and species were varied, with abundant numbers. And both weeks ended with a stunning dive at Anemone Reef, with--in addition to hundreds of anemones carpeting most of the reef--two sea horses. On one night dive we videoed a moray hunting--then capturing and eating a small fish. Cool if somewhat challenging video to edit. Other good finds: mantis shrimp up close, cuttlefish pair "flirting," scrawled file fish, really friendly bat fish, lobsters, lots of types of morays, Heller's barracuda (a new species to us), puffer fish actually puffing (again, something new) and dense, various schools of both large and small fish: great video/photo. On the day between the two weeks, we took a trip that the Aggressor fleet organized: a 7-hour tour north to see a wide variety of plant, religious, ethnic, and other cultural elements. If you spend two weeks on the boat (even if repeating the same itinerary) we highly recommend this tour. The boat was scheduled for a refit just a few weeks later, but it was in acceptable condition. The crew's attitude made it hard for us to notice any limitations of the boat itself, but the boat needed some work. Re the wetsuit question later, we live near Chicago, so we can easily get by with lycra or at most a shorty.
Websites	Aggressor Fleet
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	In late October Nancy & I reached over 2100 dives: nearly all the Caribbean, Micronesia, Coral Sea, and much of Asia, including two trips to Raja Ampat
Closest Airport	Phuket	Getting There	Various airlines connect to this major hub. Easy planning.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	82-86°F / 28-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	70-120 Ft/ 21-37 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	100' depth limits; 45 minutes minimum on night dive for the air guzzlers; computers required and no diving after drinking, of course; chance to use EPERBS
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Large camera tables and great crew handling of cameras. Crew was knowledgeable and very helpful if camera help was desired.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet/Thailand Aggressor in Thailand/two weeks in the Andaman Sea

Aggressor Fleet/Thailand Aggressor: "Couldn't Be Much Better", Apr, 2015,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet/Thailand Aggressor in
Thailand/two weeks in the Andaman Sea