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Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Indonesia/Alor

Aggressor Fleet: "Alor Aggressor", Oct, 2016,

by Randall S Preissig, TX, US (Top Contributor Top Contributor 37 reports with 15 Helpful votes). Report 9218.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 2 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments A dedicated crew of 18 helps make this trip go smoothly, but the wooden boat is slow (8 knots) which makes the trip from Maumere to Alor a significant drawback. On our 10 day charter, we only spent 3 1/2 days (14 of our 32 total dives) in Alor, which is where by far the best diving is. This is a significant drawback. I would recommend scheduling a longer trip or possibly a boat that originates in Alor rather than taking almost 3 days to get to and from it.
I love diving on Aggressor boats, and am grateful for what they've brought to the dive industry. But much of the diving on the way to and from Alor was mediocre at best and bombed out (literally) reefs at worst. I've seen a lot of damaged reefs in 40 years, but some of these dynamited areas stretched for miles, and there was nothing but rubble. The guides usually kept us away from these areas, but their impact on the eco system was obvious. The lack of fish was disturbing, both on and off the reefs. This was much better at Alor, but still notable.
We did see a lot of the stuff Indonesia is famous for, but the sightings were much less often than on any of my 6 prior Indonesian trips. Since I'm going to recommend that you see Komodo, Raja Amphat, Lembeh, etc. before considering Alor, I will only briefly comment on the crew. Rob, an experience, mature and excellent cruise master retired after our trip. He will be replaced by Michelle, who seemed very nice. Only one of the 3 guides was good at spotting critters (fantastic would be a better description--I personally watched him spot a pygmy sea horse from 20 feet away!) and one of the 3 seemed to have trouble with his vision (he wore very thick glasses both above and below the water, plus he made little effort to look. In fairness, finding stuff was difficult.
Food was very good, although for some reason no FRESH fish was served. Rooms were ok, AC was ok, engine noise was tolerable. We were lucky to have smooth seas.
If you are an Aggressor fan, keep diving with them, but put this trip way down on your list.
Websites Aggressor Fleet   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Red Sea, Raja Amphat, Lembeh, Komodo, Thailand, Sipadan, PNG, BVI, Bahamas, Tahiti, Palau, Australia, Hawaii, Myamar, Fiji, Cocos, Galapagos, Socorro, 3 Caymans, Bonaire, Cozumel, Belize, Etc.
Closest Airport Maumere Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm
Water Temp 76-86°F / 24-30°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Group diving was encouraged, but you were allowed freedom. 100 ft limit strongly recommended.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

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

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Fairly typical first rate camera care and facilities as is typical of Aggressor.
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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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