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Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Micronesia/Palau

Aggressor Fleet: "First Time In Palau - Awesome Reefs - Good Diving", May, 2019,

by Mark Tarczynski, CA, US ( 2 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 10938 has 2 Helpful votes.

Photos Submitted with this Report


Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions

Moored in back of Palau Royal Resort Pick up from Palau Royal Resort dock Very healthy corals
Large and spacious salon Upper deck lounge area Hydraulic lift for diving skiff Diving skiff - very comfortable and convenient Two spacious camera tables
Entering the hydraulic lift

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 4 stars
Comments Been on a bunch of Aggressor boats in my lifetime. Palau Rock Island Aggressor is the largest, most spacious, Aggressor I've ever had the pleasure of diving from. Our normal sized suite was roughly twice the size of a typical Aggressor.

The diving is from a skiff. But amazingly, the skiff is lifted from the water to the dive deck via a massive hydraulic lift system. All you need to do is step from the dive deck on to, or off of, the skiff.

EXTREMELY COMFORTABLE DIVE SHIP.

Rock Island Aggressor crew was spectacular. Chef Cameron was impressive in the kitchen. Menu items were sometimes a little on the spicy side (I like it), causing some guests to complain about acid reflux when diving after eating lunch. I say, “Deal with it!”. The Chef did a great job. Captain Ike and Ripan were two of my favorite dive masters. Very knowledgeable, helpful and concerned for their guests’ comfort and well being.

The diving was "okay". I say okay because, for being so close to the Coral Triangle, I expected a denser biomass. Sadly, I was mistaken. Nevertheless, the corals were 100% healthy. Zero bleaching and zero algae.

We briefly saw one Manta at German Channel. We also encountered multiple reef sharks that never got very close and many, many, many turtles. We also encountered one "baby" Whale Shark and one Marble Ray, several Napoleon Wrasse, tons of Titan Triggers (watch out for those guys - very aggressive) and we were fortunate enough to witness the Bump Head Parrot Fish spawning (that was cool!). Many schooling barracuda, jacks, and snapper were also encountered.

Aggressor also organizes a land tour to Jellyfish Lake. Millions of stinger-less jellyfish inhabit this lake. When going to Palau, this is a "must-see" phenomenon. Swimming in Jellyfish Lake was nothing short of outstanding! Bucket list item checked off!

Water temps were about 80-84 degrees Fahrenheit, visibility varied from 50 - 100'. As expected, there was a lot of current on a good number of our dives. Reef hooks were used on about three of the dives. Definitely not for beginners, although there was one “beginner” on our guest list and she seemed to do just fine.

Despite the disappointing biomass, diving in Palau ranks up there in my top 10 dive destinations around the world. Highly recommended.
Websites Aggressor Fleet   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving All over the Caribbean, Indonesia, Mexico, Galapagos, Cocos, Bahamas, Florida Keys ... Did my check-out dive in 1971 in an old rock quarry in Racine Wisconsin in the middle of March ... dry suits weren't invented yet. Oh yeah ... and I was using a J-valve.
Closest Airport ROR Getting There United LAX -> HNL -> GUM -> ROR
For a 3-hop flight, everything went shockingly well. All connections were short and on-time and no lost luggage.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, cloudy Seas calm
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 80-100 Ft/ 24-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Supposed to follow the DM on each dive. 2 DMs in the water and many times 3. However, we never felt it mandatory to follow the lead DM. If you split from the group, a DM would hang back and keep an eye on you
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks 1 or 2
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 5 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments Two camera tables and plenty of charging stations. Multiple large camera set-ups and large drones were comfortably accommodated on this trip.
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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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