Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat

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Aggressor Fleet: "Unbelievable corals, fish, mantas, pygmy cuttlefish and a dugong", Oct, 2024, by James Schoeneck, CA, US ( Reviewer 3 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 13166.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
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	The reef health and fish population are by far the best I have seen anywhere. There are endless fields of colorful coral: staghorn, elkhorn, lettuce leaf, mushroom and huge gorgonian fans. All are teaming with fish, sometimes so many that you can't see the coral! The diversity of fish is amazing, from beautiful butterflies to 10 species of clownfish to schools of grouper and sweetlips and Napolean wrasse. The stars of the show were the mantas, both oceanic and reef. The manta cleaning stations were in constant motion until it was time to surface. The encounters were so close that they filled GoPro screens and almost blotted out the sun. The most we saw on a single dive was 7 or 8, sometimes 3 at a time. For sharks, the wobbegongs were the out at several sites. Blacktips were the most common reef shark. One night dive, a few divers saw a walking shark 'out' while others only saw the tails tucked under a rock. Large, healthy turtles were encountered on several dives and were happy to hang with us, either on the reef or swimming. We spotted a few blue-spotted stingrays as well. Invertebrates were plentiful. Giant clams, mantas shrimp (the largest ~8 inches), crabs, nudibranchs, octopus, cuttlefish, and lobsters. On one night 'muck dive', the group found seahorses, pygmy cuttlefish and more. Finally, we were lucky to find a dugong on one dive. Wow, what a treat! Hery, the dive guide with the best eyes, spotted it above us on the reef, feeding on seagrass. Such a cool animal!! And then there were the currents: a few of the dives had little to no current, especially in Misool. In central Raja Ampat, the currents picked up, sometimes looking like a river on top of the water and very strong at depth. One dive had a 4-5 knot current for over 30 minutes, so we flew like superman along the wall. This is not a place for inexperienced divers. A quality SMB with a spool or reel is a must to alert the dingy drivers to your location. Bring one, or you'll be required to buy one on the boat. We encountered down-currents on ~4 dives, one particularly severe. We were targeting 70-75 feet, but were quickly blown down to 90-100 ft, where we hooked in, caught our breathe and figured out the best way out - inflating BCDs, kicking like crazy and getting to a spot out of the down-current. That dive pushed the limits of several divers. Our home for 10 nights was the Raja Ampat Aggressor. The boat is well-maintained, though certainly showing its age a bit. The rooms and salon are on the small side, yet comfortable (rooms 8x10 ft). The food was plentiful, and meals rated good to excellent. Besides the mantas, the crew were true stars. The captain, Hendrik, and the cruise director, Pep, were terrific leaders of the crew. Two of the three dive masters were excellent (Jan and Hery), with the third one needing a bit more experience and communication skills. The dingy drivers were always right there when we surfaced, and the engineering team promptly handled any mechanical issues. The stewardesses, Tri and Lulu, handled everyone with ease and offered massages each afternoon. Overall, it was a fantastic trip, with a great topside experience, incredible sea life encounters, accompanied by some challenging dive conditions.
Websites	Aggressor Fleet
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Palau, Indo, Galapagos, Great Barrier, California, Baja, Turks, Bahamas and all over the Caribbean
Closest Airport	SOQ	Getting There	Almost all flights require a stop in Jakarta. Garuda Air flight is a 4 hr redeye, leaving at midnight and arriving 6 a.m. (2 hour time difference).
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	82-86°F / 28-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	All diving was from Zodiacs and involved drift. A reel and good SMB is a must.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	1 or 2
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	dedicated camera table accessible from each diver position. Plenty of charging stations inside the salon. Care taken with cameras while boarding zodiacs and covered during transit to dive sites.

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Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in Indonesia/Raja Ampat

Aggressor Fleet: "Unbelievable corals, fish, mantas, pygmy cuttlefish and a dugong", Oct, 2024,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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 in
Indonesia/Raja Ampat