Dive Review of Aggressor-> Cassiopeia in
Mexico (Western)/Socorro

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Aggressor-> Cassiopeia : "Exceptional wildlife. Substandard live aboard.", Dec, 2022, by David Ross, QC, CA ( 2 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 12325.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Comments Waited a bit to give Aggressor fleet management a chance to respond before submitting. It was my first trip with them. Mantas. Dolphins. Sharks : White tip. Silver tips, hammerhead, galapagos, and silky. Up close and personal. Yellow-fin tuna. Langouste the size of footballs. Water temp 76-81. Starting with the pointy end of the spear, the boat itself was slow and dilapidated, a veteran of the Red Sea. Rough. Ratty carpets, chemical smells. The trip out, we ran so slowly we lost the first afternoon dive window. Ok…willing to make some allowances for pandemic/ supply chain issues… Diving set-up: All diving was from small zodiac boats - old, seriously under-inflated for the 10 people on board ( 8 divers, a DM, and operator) ( I happen to love them, currently operate a Zodiac Pro Open 650 Entry into zodiacs from rear platform typically rather sporty due to surge - even without BCD/Tank/weights . Required constant sump-pump to stay topside. Re-entry into zodiacs was via ladder which was complicated by under-inflation causing the ladder to can’t in precisely the wrong direction when we stepped on. Size matters- people and gear were jammed into an itty-bitty transit space, so pricey and delicate gear did get banged around and stepped- on including camera viewfinders. That hurts. Safety: No safety briefing on emergency exits, protocol for fire, muster area. Several fire alarms, smoke detectors, and fire extinguisher were not in working order: not cool, considering precedents. No Nitrox logs/ dive times/ divers max depth logging,. Both compressors eventually failed. Contaminated air resulted in one dive, instructor, falling, ill, and requiring treatment. Before this one concerns were raised about the air, passengers were told they “ can dive with it if they wanted to “. Ahh…actually, no, thanks. Marine park and fuel surcharges must be paid in cash upfront: total cost 730 dollars. FUI: I was informed the Park fees had rocketed up recently. Governmental mordita. Towards the end of the trip, as all the passengers agreed that this trip had been rather disappointing from the operational perspective and frankly a bit of a disaster, and we jointly composed and signed a letter (shout out to Lori Ann who was instrumental in getting this together) documenting all of the failings and shortcomings. Eventually, we were all given a credit of $1000 towards our next Aggressor trip. Pretty decent response. They also pulled the boat’s accreditation- understandable. Enough with the negative. Now, the beauty and the wonder: On the diving side of things, this is truly a spectacular place many of the things that we encountered and experiences that we had were truly rare, and perhaps once in a lifetime. The behaviour of the marine life reflects the fact that this is a very isolated place, which is visited by generally civilized and respectful divers. Hasta be seen to be believed. Manta, dolphins, sharks, and a variety of wildlife is all there and can be observed in a pristine and undisturbed environment. Visibility could be iffy, depending on where you were with respect to tides, particularly around the volcanic islands. That having been said, I wouldn’t have missed this trip for the world despite all the grief we have on the boat. I would also like to say that the dive instructors were generally personable and professional. The real problem was they were given a boat that was an under- maintained piece of junk in my experience and then we’re given the mandate to make it all work without the necessary resources. A recipe for disaster for all concerned.
Websites	Aggressor-> Cassiopeia
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Caribbean: Çaymans, St Lucia, St Eustacius, Saba. Red Sea (N and S). Phillipines.Bali. Great Barrier Reef. Various nasty quarries;-)
Closest Airport	Cabo	Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	127-81°F / 53-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	20-50 Ft/ 6-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	Buddy diving. 100 for 60 max profiles.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish	N/A
Small Critters	N/A	Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Aggressor-> Cassiopeia in Mexico (Western)/Socorro

Aggressor-> Cassiopeia : "Exceptional wildlife. Substandard live aboard.", Dec, 2022,

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-> Cassiopeia in
Mexico (Western)/Socorro