Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Micronesia/Palau

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Aggressor Fleet: "Met ALL my Expectations!", Nov, 2023, by Cheryl Ulmer, SD, US ( 1 report with 1 Helpful vote). Report 12820 has 1 Helpful vote.
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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	For years, the top of my bucket list has been diving Palau. I was finally able to make it happen and Palau and the Aggressor Fleet did not disappoint. Since this was my first time I’ll try to provide more info for other first timers than repeat visitors usually provide. Yes, it is a long journey to get there. I became aware of an app called Time Shifter where you enter your flights from start to finish and it provides recommendations on when to sleep, have bright light, dim light, etc. to prevent jet lag. It worked!! No jet lag despite 15-hour time difference from home. My travel/dive partner and I did arrive several days early. We stayed at the Palau Central Hotel, a boutique hotel in the center of town. Beautiful place, reasonable prices, and exceptional service. We made arrangements through the hotel for snorkeling, kayaking, a couple of dives, and a land tour before getting on the Palau Aggressor II on Sunday afternoon. Paddling Palau is a definite recommendation. Pacific Divers did an okay job for a checkout dive. Only 4 divers on board so they used a smaller boat with no shade and no safety equipment such as oxygen in sight. Friendly and priced fairly. On Sunday Palau Central Hotel took us to the Hang Out Bar to wait for the Aggressor team to pick us up. We met all but 2 of our boatmates and knew we would have a great week. Other than some overcast skies and rain we had an exceptional week of diving. The friendly Aggressor crew handled all our luggage and ushered us onto the skiff. We were greeted with a welcome cocktail when boarding the Palau Aggressor II (PAII). The crew member, Daniel, had a briefing about the boat, safety equipment, charging protocols and general information. They then showed us to our cabins with adequate storage and briefed us on them. The cabins were very clean with a queen lower bunk and a twin upper bunk. The mattresses and pillows provided a good night’s sleep. The showers were hot and the AC worked. Anna kept our cabins tidy and beds made. Dinner was served at 6pm, the full crew was introduced, and instant friends were made with all. Each day consisted of breakfast at 6 AM. This included made to order eggs and a daily change of meats, and starches such as banana pancakes, waffles, French toast, etc. along with breads, fruits, oatmeal, yogurt, juices, coffee and teas. At 6:45 the first bell rang, indicating it was time to get ready for the 7 AM dive. At the second bell a thorough briefing usually by Daniel or Jim, with map diagrams, was given with clarity and often with a touch of humor. EVERY dive was an hour long and you were allowed to wander if you chose to. We back rolled into the water and were accompanied by 3 dive masters who kept watch, showed things of interest, were there to help, but never restricted or interfered with our dive plan. Our dive masters were Ronnie, Jay-R, Arnan, Daniel and Jim. Arnan, the in-house videographer was also on many dives with a camera and provided free photos and a $65 group video at the end of the week. After the dive the crew was ready to assist with handing cameras and gear up and the ladder was wide and easy to ascend. A warm, moist washcloth was handed to each of us to wipe the salt water off our face. Nice touch!!! We each had a small basket to keep our personal belongings and a provided water bottle in while our tank, BC and regulator lived on the skiff all week. Each diver disconnected their regulator valves from the tank before exiting the skiff. The crew filled the tanks via long air hoses after each dive and rinsed the exterior of the gear at the end of each day. The cradle and hydraulic lift brought the skiff to the big boat and made for a very easy step from one to the other. A smiling crew member greeted us with hot chocolate after this dive. Yes, marshmallows too. There are camera only rinse tanks and a huge camera table with compressed air and clean microfiber cloths along with charging. Between morning and afternoon dives the chef, Ramil, made us a special snack like banana bread with chocolate chips and walnuts, 5 Spice cookies, egg rolls, etc. We then had approximately an hour before our second morning dive. Every dive was called with the first and second bell and briefing. After the second morning dive we changed into something dry and ate a buffet style lunch in the dining room. The menu varied from day to day including an Italian day, an Indian day, American make your own hamburgers, Mexican, etc. Several entrees at each. I’m sure we all gained weight!! During the afternoon we had 2 more dives. The 4th dive of the day started with the sun up and always ended at dusk, don’t forget your flashlight. Dinner was served at the table with dessert. If scheduled, a night dive followed. After this dive most of us fell into bed to repeat this schedule again the next day. If there wasn’t a night dive there were games, fish ID books, adult refreshments, videos and lots of storytelling. The diving was varied and always interesting. We had some rainy weather for the first 4 days with a possible storm coming in. The crew and skiff driver, Vito, worked hard to get us to the best dive sites before any weather arrived by rearranging the dive itinerary. Kudos to the crew. They truly worked to provide a memorable experience. A World War II ground tour was available on Peleliu and Jellyfish Lake on another day. The golden jellyfish are slowly coming back after heat conditions wiped them out. It wasn’t like the pictures with millions of them, but fun for those of us who had never experienced it before. The diving provided sharks, a few rays, lots of turtles, millions of fish, big and small. Anemone with clownfish. Colored hard corals, soft corals, more types of clams than I knew existed. Nudibranchs, a few lobsters, and eels. Watch YouTube videos to get a good idea of what you will see. The visibility varied between 60 and 150 feet depending on the weather and dive locations. The entire experience fulfilled my bucket list dream, completely meeting my expectations. I went home with my Iron Diver metal and medallion for completing every available dive. Looking forward to another Aggressor Adventure.
Websites	Aggressor Fleet
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Roatan, Caymans, Belize, Red Sea, Costa Rico, Puerto Rico, Galapagos, Zanzibar
Closest Airport	ROR, Koror Palau	Getting There	US mainland, Hawaii, Guam, Palau (ROR)
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, rainy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-150 Ft/ 18-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
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	[None]

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in Micronesia/Palau

Aggressor Fleet: "Met ALL my Expectations!", Nov, 2023,

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
Micronesia/Palau