Bay Island Aggressor II, December 1997, Chuck & Janie Garrett, Warrenton, VA. Attention from the staff of five was outstanding (until the final day). Cabins are mere partitioned sleeping quarters; two heads for over twenty people created some problems. Dive deck, gear storage and wet suit hanging areas were immense! Just remove your first stage after diving and crew would fill it to 3000 psi. Tanks are held snugly in place by coated spring clips; just lean forward to disengage and backward to secure-no bungees. Two freshwater showers and a warm water hose after chilling night dives. . . . Meals were prompt, good and plentiful, as were in-between snacks during the open deck diving periods. . . . Bay Island Aggressor II operating out of Belize City due to unfavorable weather in the Bay Islands this time of the year. She was berthed at the same pier as the Belize Aggressor III and the Wave Dancer and we were seldom out of sight of one another for the entire week. Greeted in Belize City with rain, 30 knot plus winds and four foot seas for the first five days, causing most of the charted dive sites to be unsatisfactory. Nearly all of our dives were off the sheltered side of Turneffe Island, leading to "been there-seen that" diving before long. . . . Captain James' verbal and posted insistence of maintaining a 65-degree thermostat setting for all enclosed areas of the boat. Our direct complaints that we were freezing fell om deaf ears as did the not too subtle picture of his passengers wearing double and triple T shirts, as well as anything else that we may have had in our belongings. The crew was better outfitted for the sunless, windy 70 degree days! His intransigence was, and is, unfathomable. The only other negatives were the pressure on 15% tips and the rude, after getting the tips, "unwelcome on the boat" policy after 0800 Saturday morning. (Ph: 800-348-2628 (US) or 504-385-2628, Fax: 504-384-0817,

e-mail: 103261.1275@compuserve.com)

Belize Aggressor, August 1997, Rich Harrison, Brandon, MS. Great trip, good food. Divemasters lead if needed or we could use briefing and dive our own plan. Water: 82-84 degrees. Vis: 75-120 feet. Did not see any sharks, but a manta swam by and saw a foot-long seahorse on wall. Frank and Riki great hosts.

Belize Aggressor III, November 1997, W.R. Gooch, Springfield, MO. Outstanding dive trip! Capt. Frank and crew were excellent. (Replaced my blow-out 1st stage with a loaner). Warm pitchers of water down my neck after night dives, plus warm towels and hot chocolate! Anchored over reef wall 20' depth, helpful to point out critters. Vis: 60-100 ft. Water: 78-82 degrees. Dive restrictions: 110 ft and computer. Dive 4-5 times/day! Best trip yet! Outstanding care of medical emergency met by Aggressor.

Belize Aggressor, January 1998, Craig Nemethy, Lake Peekskill, NY. 2nd Aggressor trip. The boat was in good shape and comfortable for the 16 divers on board. The crew satisfies any request. Food was good and plentiful but nothing special. Diving was good and full of coral channels and some funnels. Reef fish were typical of Caribbean and not as abundant as expected. Lots of little critters for macro photography; seahorse. Vis: 80-120 ft. Wtr: 77-79 degrees. Night dives the best. Bring a full suit for protection against sea wasps. Depth limit of 110 ft except the Blue Hole that was 130 ft. and guided. Half sunny and half cloudy, 75-90 degrees; despite constant stiff breeze the seas were calm. The day trip to Half Moon Caye was good. Skip the trip to the zoo and don't miss the trip to Altun Ha. I rate this trip a B.

Belize Aggressor, June 1998, Ed & Sharon Nigh, Aruada, CO. Staff was superb. You never wanted for anything. Diving was great though the weather was bad. Lots of big fish. Coral was healthy. Vis: 60-80 ft. Water: 80-82 degrees. Dive restriction: no deeper then 130 ft. The captain and divemasters helpful. Bring seasick medicine.

Mondrian, Oceanic Expeditions, July 1998, Marilyn Koukol, FPO AP. Twin masted sailing ship. Only six divers and eight crew; we were spoiled! Cynthia s cooking was fabulous; Derrick had juice, shakes, and snacks (and hot towels) and the crew helped with the donning of gear! Large barrel sponges and gorgeous fish. Dive guide Charles was super at finding tiny reef creatures. A few sharks, barracuda, eagle ray. Vis: 70-90 ft. Water: 80-83 degrees. Dolphins played at the bow as we motored between the atolls. It was calm, sunny and beautiful for the entire week. Cabins were roomy with AC and private bathrooms. Since the boat was not built for diving, they plan some renovations. It was a fun and relaxing dive trip! We also enjoyed the Maya ruins at Caracol and Tikal. Stayed one night at The Great House in Belize city by the dock. A colonial home which was built in 1927. Was wonderfully decorated and reasonably priced. (Fax 011-501-2-33444; e-mail: greathouse@btl.net)

Rembrandt Van Rijn, July 1997, Gloria Davis, St. James, MO. Beautiful sailing ship, 184' long 105' tall, magnificent under sail that we did only once. Rooms small but adequate, in room bathrooms w/shower, the ac sometimes not cool enough for sleeping. Food and service very good, lots of after dive snacks and dry towels. Dive operation great. Divemaster's first week but he knew the reefs; tried to keep all of us within sight but you could tell him you were going on your own and could do it, though it made him nervous. Dived out of Zodiacs and Reagan put us on top of the wall every time. High seas the first day and it was wild but once we got the hang of it we loved it. Reefs and walls were healthy, giant tube sponges, hardly any current but all were drift dives except from the ship. Half Moon Caye and it was awesome. One Zodiac motor quit and they flew another one in so that we would still have the two Zodiacs to dive from. Nineteen divers split between two Zodiacs with 115 hp motors, no problem. 3-4 dives daily with night dives several times a week. Vis: 80-100 ft. Water: 80-84 degrees. Dive restrictions: no deeper than first dive on second and dive our computers. Blue Hole quite an experience. Worth doing once. (Ph: 800-453-7245 or 281-987-9600, Fax: 281-987-1140, e-mail: oceanwh@infohwy.com, Oceanwide Ph: 31-1184-10410, Fax: 31-1184-18584)

Rembrandt Van Rijn, December 1997, Steve & Cindy Blair, Okla. City, OK. Relaxing, enjoyable trip. Not for Gorilla Divers (only 19 dives) but no one complained. Ship and crew great. Wind conditions didn't allow us to sail. Food was the best I've ever had on a dive trip (and at 270 lbs, I've got a reputation for knowing good food) Visibility was poor at times due to weather, but reefs were lush and full of life. Diving from Zodiac (about 2/3 of dives) was easy, but bring a hat. Divemaster and crew were great. Cookies and juice after every dive. Only complaint: wine choices.

Wave Dancer, January 1998, C. Litchfield, Arlington, VA. Crew very people oriented, couldn't help us enough. Wall diving 50-100 + ft. No pelagics, E-6 processing on board. Previous week had been stormy with really rough seas that may have accounted for the relatively poor visibility and sparse fish. Vis: 40-60 ft. Water: 74-78 degrees. Dive restrictions: 130 ft., no diving after drinking. Got some wild rides on the hang bar at 15', better to hang free in the surge. Thursday night party & slide show. (Ph: 800-932-6237 (US/Can) or 305-699-9391, Fax: 305-699-9475, e-mail: dancer@winnet.net)

Wave Dancer, January 1998, Carole Stinchfield, New York, NY. Diving just okay, although it was better being underwater than on the boat due to bad weather. Best dive was last at an irregular dive site. Boat was lovely. We had a great stateroom, the nicest of any live-aboard. Unfortunately the crew and dive operation was less than acceptable. Crew only got in the water to take the obligatory video and slides. They were only present at dive time. The crew member manning the dive deck did not know how to swim. Briefings were poor, no check in/out procedure, no depth/time procedure. Vis: 80-100 ft. Water 76-78 degrees. Crew fully clothed on dive deck. The crew was basically absent for the week.

Wave Dancer, January 1998, Roger Chari, New York, NY. Boat fantastic: plenty of room to spread out gear, eat, lie in sun, comfortable rooms (well kept, but needed more towel changes), shampoo and hair dryer. Generators noisy, but Peter Hughes came at the end of trip to see to repair (said it wasn't bad compared with other boats). Boat is slow-10 knots-but rides the waves well; free Nitrox. . . . Crew top notch. Delicious, varied food; hot snacks morning and afternoon. Not gourmet, but excellent; always plenty of food served with a smile.. . . . Daily E-6 processing; Diving service excellent; left you alone to dive. Good briefings, crew attentive. . . . Diving has gone down since I was in Belize two years ago. No sharks, fewer eagle rays, small critters absent due to storms the prior week but eventually came out. Some reefs pretty, but much coral was damaged and sand was all over the reef. Some dives uneventful and boring. Didn't take a single photo and came up with 1000 psi. Vis: 20-100 ft. Water: 77-82 degrees. Dive restrictions; 130 max depth, back on boat with 500 psi. Does not compare with Pacific and Asia.

Wave Dancer, February 1998, Jim Coate, Juneau, AK. Best live-aboard of the four we've been on. Crew and amenities great. Dive crew always helpful. Colors, coral and fish good for the Caribbean but not as good as most stops in the South Pacific. Vis: 40-70 ft. Water: 78-79 degrees. Restrictions: deeper in a.m., shallow in p.m. Five dives per day with a new spot every morning and afternoon. Night dives were favorites.

Wave Dancer, February 1998. Donna and Todd Teach, Columbus, Ohio. Crew met us at airport, courteously handled our luggage. Quick van ride to the Radisson where we relaxed by the outdoor bar and pool until it was time to board the boat. . . . Cabins on main dive deck more desirable than those below (with the photo lab and crew quarters). Our cabin (#6) was the tightest on the main deck: one storage drawer and a small closet, so used the upper twin bunk for storage. Calm seas, but rough water would have had a challenge. Cabin spotlessly clean and fresh tropical flowers on the pillows. Beware of noise from the generator, which is loudest in stern cabins and runs 24-hours-a-day. Ear plugs would solve any sleeping woes. . . . After overnighting at the dock, we headed out Sunday morning to Turneffe and Lighthouse Cayes for effortless wall dives. 22 dives (four 4-dive days, a 5-dive day, and one dive on Friday) and secured our Advanced Open Water certifications. Our navigation dive was interrupted by 12 dolphins who stayed 15 minutes. . . . Walls pristine; lots of coral and large sponges. Fish life is diverse and prolific, but not what we experienced at Little Cayman. Dives relaxing and enjoyable but lacked diversity. Aquarium-3 dives-lots of small critters and tons of reef fish. Uno Coco (seahorses) and Que Brada wall at Half-Moon Cave. Nurse sharks galore, sail-fin blenny, toadfish on night dive, schools of creole wrasse. . . . One afternoon visited Half-Moon Cave with red-footed booby birds. Fabulous barbecue and terrific snorkeling off the fishing pier. Bring your snorkel, mask and fins ashore. . . . Blue Hole least pleasurable, but in and out of the water before the rest of the dive boats arrived. Warm chocolate chip cookies afterwards. . . . Diving flexible with few limitations. Several divers lacked skills to keep out of trouble. Two ran out of air (one on the Blue Hole Dive) and several got repetitively lost or had significant weighting problems (i.e., popping to the surface when they came above 20 feet). Crew handled them graciously, but I wonder if the crew doesn't got hesitant to take us to more advanced sites with these types of divers on board. Never got to Elbow or some heavier current sites. . . . Crew outstanding. We had minor gear problems they made repairs before the next dive. I had nasty blisters on my foot and DeDe gave me cure-all duct tape . . .Dinner of lobster, steak and baked Alaska made special with a big "Happy Anniversary Banner" and the crew signed a lovely anniversary card for us (complete with terrific pointers for a happy marriage. When we arrived back in our cabin there was a bottle of champagne waiting for us in an ice bucket romantically illuminated by two Cyalumne glow sticks-How romantic! . . . Only negative: being rushed off the boat on Friday and Saturday. We should have been able to enjoy relaxed diving Friday morning, but they were scheduled at 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. and then we headed back to Belize City at 2 p.m. . . . $45/person for a 45-minute bumpy ride to ruins; hot, bugs were bad, not much to see. Belize zoo an optional $45 trip. Dinner on shore Friday night at the Radisson and a party in town.

Wave Dancer, April 1998, David E. Reubush. Yorktown, PA. Clean, comfortable, spacious, food is good. The crew as a whole I would give an A- to this year; with the exception of the kitchen/cleaning crew the rest of the staff was different from last year to this). I called the Peter Hughes office in Florida the week before we left and was told the water temperature was 80-82 so we packed accordingly. it never got above 76. As a result I ended up wearing all that I took (a 4 mm shorty and a polartech shorty) and was still cold. Conditions last summer were generally calm, no current, water temperature was in the 78-80 range, viz was 80+ ft. This year the water stayed stirred up so the viz was not nearly as good as well as being colder. Stay above 130' and return with 500 psi, but nobody checked. One woman didn't adhere to the guidelines-she dove alone and went deep a lot, once to 192'. Reefs in good shape, although a couple of sites have been hit with the black band disease; lot of bleached out spots. In two trips saw 1 or 2 sharks and 1 or 2 eagle rays otherwise no big fish. Saw several turtles, a glimpe of a pod of dolphins. Otherwise fish life was abundant. Amazing number of ocean triggers and creole wrasses mating. Blue Hole is an awesome dive.

Wave Dancer, July 1998, Ronald Bailey, Roanoke, VA. High quality of food, service and accommodations. Crew was friendly and fun. Large sundeck, dining area and dive deck. Camera friendly. Due to some windy days, unable to dive outer reefs. Easy diving. Vis: 50-140 ft, water: 83-85 degrees. Suggestion: first checkout dive day site deserved no more than one dive, then move on to better spots. On board T-shirts are over priced.

Wave Dancer, September 1998, Joan G. Taylor, Monrovia, CA. Vis: 20-50ft, water: 85-87. Superb boat! Better than Aggressor III which we dove last year. Beginning to need retrofit. Overall amenities first class, steward (Randy) exceptional. Dive sites limited by weather, but Captain Chris (he could use a personality transplant) found decent sites with good visibility! Lighthouse Reef the best in Caribbean for wide range of divers. Female crew on dive deck asked help with my wife's weight integrated b/c and tank (10 lbs. weights.) Wife has bad back and removes bc in water. That is silly!