Review of Galapagos Aggressor III Scuba Diving Liveaboard

I recently had the pleasure to go on the Galapagos Aggressor III liveaboard – here is a complete review of our experience.
 

Background and context

This is our 5th liveaboard. We did 3 times the MV Giamani in Thailand ( 2 times the Southern route and 1 time the northern circuit ) and the MV Seahorse in Raja Ampat. We have met people who have done a lot more than us. Therefore, your expectations can vary.

The above two boats we have done were specialized in scuba diving and we always chose a boat that is 16 pax or less. I believe that when there are more people under water at the same time – the wildlife goes away. And also, it’s the right amount of crowd to enjoy everyone’s company and meet all the passengers.
 

Why did we book the Galapagos Aggressor III
 

There are 9 liveaboards for scuba diving in the Galapagos islands. And at the time, it was the better price vs number of passengers onboard value. Again, I am not looking for the cheapest out there. The schedule worked and they did include Darwin and Wolf in their itinerary. 

The diving liveaboards have alternate schedules, so they are not on the same spot at the same time. We only shared dive spot during one day – and the crews ensure each boat doesn’t dive at the same time. We went up, when they went down. This is cleverly done by the national park.

The boat
 

The Galapagos Aggressor III has 4 decks, lower deck where most of the cabins are, upper deck with the dry lounge, the restaurant and the dry deck. The first floor, which has 3 cabins, the captain cabin, a wet covered lounge and the jacuzzi at the front.  And finally, the sun-deck, which half is covered and has a bar and BBQ and the other half is for people who like to roast. Two dinggies complete the set up.

There are 11 crew members. 
 

The cabins
 

We had a twin cabin on the upper deck right behind the captains’. There is ample storage for your belongings and a comfortable sized bathroom. Plenty of handholds here and there if the boat swings.

Once you have settled down, you give back your empty or partially empty large luggage and they will store them away on the ship. This way you really feel comfortable without too much clutter around.

The amenities are the following:

• Conditioner, shampoo and soap. 

• Towels and hand towels (refreshed regularly)

• A few electrical plugs (110V)

• A small welcome kit, which includes a few cotton buds, cotton pads, sewing kit, a shower cap

• Goodies: aggressor sticker and a name tag

The room was refreshed every day, twice a day, when you are diving. You also get for each person a bite sized delicious chocolate.
There was a safe in the wardrobe to store valuables.

We had excellent sleep in the cabin beds – the beds were not too narrow and the mattress thick enough.

Common areas: dry lounge, sun deck and wet lounge

The first surprise we got was wifi and strong internet for the entire cruise. They have a starlink connection on board and it worked really well. The best signal was inside the dry area. The crew didn’t place any restriction on usage.

Inside the lounge you have free flow of drinks ( Sugar free sprite, coca cola, beer, water, Fanta, white and red wines, hot coffee and tea ). There was a lot of snacks as well, from nuts, crisps to cookies. I appreciated that those were famous brands and not obscure local snacks that don’t always taste the best. 

There is a large TV, plugs to recharge your electronics and comfortable couches.

Of course, half of the space is dedicated to the tables where you will get your meals.

The wet lounge is where you are going to spend most of your time between the dives, because it’s such a pain to put on the 7mm wetsuit!  It’s a U shape series of couches at the back of the boat above the dive deck. It’s full of thick pillows. It’s also where the dive briefings will be done (or inside as well depending on the weather outside).

We didn’t spend that much time on the Sun deck, because it was exceptionally hot during our week. We did however enjoy the covered area for diners with a view. 

On this part, there is a fridge stocked with all the same soft drinks than in the dry lounge. If you fancy something to drink in between dive - without removing that blooding 7mm wetsuit – it’s totally possible!

The jacuzzi at the front of the boat is an absolute luxury, especially on the two days diving in the west of the Galapagos. There the temperature was on average 16 degree Celsius and the hot tub was a relief to warm up at the end of the day. Many an evening, we would grab a beer from the sundeck’s fridge and end up in the hot tub.

This being said, the program of dives doesn’t really give you the opportunity to spend a lot of time in it, unless you skip a dive. If you truly want to maximize its use, I would suggest that you shower at the end of the dives on the dive decks. (more about the dive deck amenities later). This way you get a good soak and then change into dry clothes before diner. You often have 1h30 between the last dive and the diner time. It’s not that much, between a quick shower, taking care of your camera ( if you have one ), removing your gear and chit chatting. You can’t use the jacuzzi past 7pm. ( and it’s totally dark out there by that time ).

The dive Deck

The dive deck onboard the Galapagos Aggressor III is large enough, each diver as a station for the entire week. At your station, you have a small space under the seat to store small items like masks, booty etc… For valuable gear or more sensitive gear – a bench is located in the dryer area of the dive deck. It’s where people put their cameras. On this bench is everything you need to care for the cameras before and after the dives. 

A few Tupperware are available as well to store your sunglasses, phones and other gadgets that you had on you before getting ready.

On this dive deck you have a toilet, a coffee corner for hot beverages, water dispenser and three fresh water showers at the back: complete with conditioner, soap and shampoo. 

A few fresh water tanks are available to rinse gear. They are segregated based on the type of gear. 

A long rack is available with plenty of hangers for your wet suits and to hang any other items.

On the back of the dive deck, the dryer area, there is a little cupboard that keeps the towels warm. It’s such a massive relief to grab your dry and hot towels to warm up after each dive! Small details like this truly make a huge difference in the comfort level of the boat.

There is another cupboard where inside are a lot of various chargers and adapters. It’s where they encourage you to recharge all your electronic devices (instead of in your room) and they have 220V there.

The food

As mentioned before, plenty of snacks and drinks available or self-service throughout the boat. Breakfast was usually at 6:30 am, lunch at 11:30 or 12 and diner at 18:30. 

There is a butler in charge of your comfort. Ours was called Winter on our cruise. He brings your meals to your table and is there to help with anything you need. 

Between each dive, he would prepare snacks and hot drinks at the dive deck. Usually, morning snack was hot spiced chocolate and something sweet like a mini apple turnover and fruits. In the afternoon, there were cheese, cold cuts or savory empanadas and fruits.

One thing is for sure, we ate way too much on this cruise. The availability of good snacks and food was exceptional.

The breakfast had a self-service part for cereals, coffee and tea or fruits. But the main was a-la-carte.

Lunch was a soup and a buffet, whereas diner was a la carte and you had to order your main during lunch time. 

On the first night we had a barbecue on the sun deck, which was great, and because we were a small group, we even asked when we were in Wolf Island to have diner there again, and they could accommodate us. 

Scuba diving in the Galapagos on the Galapagos Aggressor III

We had two dive guides with us – each dive guides would have 8 guests with them ( if the boat was full ). Which means, you need to be fairly independent already and comfortable diving without the feeling of being cared for. He only asked for air on the first two dives, just to get an idea of the overall group consumption. But after that, he is only that, a guide. You are supposed to be independent diver. 

To the best of my knowledge, you need to be an advanced diver with 50 dives to be able to book on the Galapagos Aggressor III. 
There were strong currents, and even if we did dives mostly stationary – the moment we didn’t, we would be drifting fast and far. You must be comfortable with your buoyancy and drifting in the blue. 

If you see a whale shark, usually the guide will put you on a path to arrive close to him, and that will mean sometimes swimming against current hard and away from the reef for a few minutes. We always stay with visual contact of the reef. This means two things; you have to be good with air consumption and managing your depth. You are diving on Nitrox and you must keep an eye on your maximum depth!

The crew gave us each a surface marker and each buddy group would have a GPS locator as well. Since we were a small group, each of us had both. This is in case you get caught and drifted away in the blue. They will teach you how to activate the GPS locator for rescue in case of emergency.

I need to make a special mention of the dingy drivers, they were exceptional, even when some of us surfaced before the rest of the group – you could count on them being there. We never waited more than a couple of minutes before getting on board. That was truly remarkable considering the conditions. They were attentive.

Last but not least – water temperatures were between 16 degree Celsius and 20 degree Celsius. A 7mm wetsuit was enough, but was an absolute pain to put on ( and off ).

We rented all our gear ( except the dive computer ) – because we were on our round the world travel and couldn’t carry it with us. I would say that everything was in great working order and fairly comfortable. 

The dive guides are also filming moments during the week. At the end of your trip; they compile all the footage and pictures and propose for a small fee to sell them to you. It was excellent quality and great to have at the end of the trip as a souvenir. 

The land excursions and other side trips

We did a land excursion to Bartholome island for the famous viewpoint, but along the way, the crew also gave us a lot of information about the Galapagos islands. We learn about the various lava formations, and the creation of the islands themselves. This was the right amount of knowledge to share along the way. 

There is also snorkeling with penguins, and that was truly fantastic. Snorkeling was perfect because they don’t really go deep. Plus, on the same spot, we also got playful sealions and I could spot shrimps too.

The last day, the longest land excursion is to see the giant Galapagos tortoise followed by a trip to the only town for shopping and diner on your own. The crew provided again knowledge regarding the tortoise. We did all these without any pressure and taking our time. It was really relaxed and easy. They give you clear meeting time. The cruise director even recommended a restaurant and made the reservation for us in advance. 

This cruise has the right balance between enough diving and some of these excursions. This way you have seen really the highlights of the Galapagos above land and underwater.

If this review doesn’t convince you to book ( or save for ) your trip on the Galapagos Aggressor III, then I guess I have not expressed how truly amazing this experience was. I felt like the level of service and comfort on the boat was excellent. The overall value for money was good. It was for me, the trip of a lifetime.

If you are interested in the day to day; here are the related travel diary entries from the blog:

Our first day in the Galapagos islands
Galapagos: Bartholome viewpoint and snorkeling with penguins !
Galapagos: Mola Mola and swimming with iguanas
Galapagos: Whale sharks in Darwin
Galapagos: Darwin and Wolf scuba diving
Galapagos: Eagle rays and more hammerheads
Galapagos: Giant tortoise and seafood diner in town
From the Galapagos to Quito