The busy summer season is once again leaving grey nomads deeply frustrated at the lack of capacity aboard Spirit of Tasmania ferries.
Caravanners and motorhomers are reporting being unable to make a booking aboard either of the Spirit vessels for months … and some are speculating that freight is being given priority.
However, the state’s Minister for Infrastructure, Rene Hidding, has stressed there will be no future provisions to restrict freight in order to free space for private vehicles … and he simply urged passengers to book well in advance.
“The Spirits are in high demand for their freight service and play an essential role in the Tasmania’s export sector.” he told Tasmania’s Advocate newspaper. “TT-Line advises there is strong seasonal demand for northbound passage in autumn, particularly for those travelling with so-called ‘high’ vehicles such as caravans and motorhomes.”
None of which is particularly comforting news for one Tasmanian resident, Leanne Reardon, who told the Advocate she could not book a spot for her caravan on either Spirit of Tasmania ships until May 28.
“If we wanted to go without the van we could go almost anytime,” she said.
The problem is not a new one. Last year, a number of grey nomads reported being ‘trapped’ on the Apple Isle as they had not booked a return booking well in advance or had wanted to change their travel plans.
However, Minister Ridding says that TT-Line allocates a fixed proportion of lane metres on its evening sailings for passengers and freight and there is no case to change those proportions. He praised TT-Line and the growth of passenger numbers over the past three years on the Spirit of Tasmania ships.
“The large increase in day sailings benefits passengers travelling with vehicles as the freight load on days is much lower,” he said. “We have seen a doubling of day sailings over that same period in order to help absorb the increase in passenger demand.”
The Tasmanian government says it is preparing for the replacement of the vessels in the early-to-mid 2020s , although Premier Will Hodgman has said Spirit of Tasmania I and II may be replaced sooner if the business case stacks up. The new vessels will have a greater capacity for passengers and their vehicles.
Never again will I use the ferry. Ridiculous delays getting on and the same again getting off at both ends. Next time I will fly and hire a car. Cheaper and easier on the nerves. The ferry is an expensive joke
The ‘delays’ are part of the experience, Bob. Suck it up and enjoy the anticipation at both ends of the journey. 🙂
We haven’t travelled on the Spirit as yet but experienced the P&O Ferries from Dover to Calais. The organisation skills of the crews on these ships are amazing. However, it still takes considerable time to load and unload these amazing vehicles. Hundreds of huge trucks and cars on every Ferry every day of the week. While bookings are essential, getting a berth is relatively easy. “Many ships make light work”.
Tasmanian Govt. do not care. I presented a submission to Rene Hidding in 2015 re costs etc. he did not bother to reply. Cost to me for tug and 22 foot van was, wait for it! $9600 return so I sold up and left Tassie. A one way ticket Devonport to Melbourne $3800. So don’t hold your breath waiting for things to change.
Don’t know how you got that price mate. We have a 23′ van, extended draw bar, gennie box on the back and a Landcruiser….total length 15.2 mts. Cost to cross $1200 with a porthole cabin, one way.
He pulls our caravan with our Isuzu NPR 275 Truck, therefore we are classified as Commercial which off course comes under a different rate unfortunately.
We travelled with out motor home in early 2016 and were advised to make the return booking when booking online. The ships are busy and that’s good for business and for Tasmanian tourism. The loading sequence is complicated but the crew work flat out to get the ship unloaded and loaded again as quickly and safely as possible, so we had no issues with that.
We did the Ferry thing with a sprinter van in December/January last year. great service both ways. If you don’t book a ticket in advance how is that the shipping companies issue? prepare or stop whinging.
Agree! Too many people (including grey nomads) want now! want now! Learn to pre-plan and book well in advance.
Beautiful Island, forget the ferry a total ripoff.Fly instead(cheaper).
Wow as new owners of a caravan I think we’ll stay away from tassi sounds like a nightmare to travel with van. We’ll go sometime when we finish on mainland maybe 15 years time. And we’ll fly drive.
Go to Tassie with your van, it is an amazing place. The free camping more than makes up for the price of the crossing. The trick is to go for an extended period of time (we did 19 months). It is easier to change a booking that you already have made then make a new one for some reason. We had no problem changing our booking back to the mainland by three months. Yes, there is a wait to get on but the crew do an amazing job. We have been across three times and are going back at the end of the year. We don’t eat on board, take our own stuff because it is too expensive.
Wish I was waiting in line for the Tassie ferry again! Don’t let the whingers plan your trip.
I based my Tassie adventure on some good, constructive advice: book both ways well in advance, – ferries and Melbourne van sites. Then forget the cost and enjoy the trip. I spent that waiting time poring over my maps and brochures.
Plan a longer stay and you can balance out the ferry costs with Tassie’s plentiful free camps and short driving distances. And the shoulder season return is cheaper.
In three years on the road I’ve heard a lot of negative ‘advice’ – ‘Tassie not worth the ferry cost’, ‘Kakadu Kaka-don’t’, ‘Uluru not worth the fuel cost’. And my all-time favourite dud advice ‘you can’t do that trip on your own, luv’ (oops, I already had).
So everything wasn’t always cheap, or perfect. But I did it, and loved it all!
Well said Shirl! Every experience gives us the opportunity to choose to be positive or negative…. I chose to be positive!!
Dream Dare Do!!
Safe Travels everyone 🙂
We followed the advise of others we knew had been to tassie and did not book a return trip until we were ready to come back BIG MISTAKE We got stranded there for weeks and the only available passage back was good friday ….not a great time to land in melb. in the dark. And that was back in 2011 so nothing really has changed . We now know how the poor convicts must have felt . So our advise is if you must go book your return trip.
Sounds like more planning is required. We are permanently on the road and booked well in advance and had no problems. Less than $1000 for ute, 21′ van and a Delux cabin.
It seems people expect to be able to book a few weeks in advance, but you need to plan further ahead.
We have been on the Spirit a few times and had no problems.
We quite agree. We have been over 7 times and always booked in advance for return journeys. Freight has to be number one for Tasmanians as they dont have the same access to goods that we mainlanders have. To all others please stop criticisng Spirit of Tasmania and giving other prospective travellers bad ideas of this company . The wait to board and leave the boats is unavoidable and the staff organising this do a fantastic job. Just to be able to enjoy this beautiful state and boost their economy is wonderful and a boost to their economy.
Gown on earth have you achieved that price? We have a car, 19’6 van and use inside cabin. Three sailings since 2011 costing $1600 – $1800.
We’ve been to Tassie a number of times both caravaning and fly drive, but in the future would only caravan found spirit trips to be great but you must book early You can even get some great deals if you do your homework found the staff on board and loading and unloading to be great. We tow a 22ft van behind a cruiser and had no troubles.
We also tow a 21 ft van and have had no problems with many Spirit crossings,yes it pays to book your return journey and change the booking for an earlier return trip if required. Staff great very helpful. A beautiful place to visit,cooler and not so crowded,some good free camp spots too.
Good for Grey Nomads, many never want to leave.
Yep, we have taken our 19’6″ van to Tas. on 3 occasions and always booked a return sailing and advised others to do the same as we have heard of so many travellers “stranded” over there because they hadn’t booked a return.
I also wrote to the powers that be a couple of years ago when the $10 million refurbishment on the “Spirits” was proposed, arguing that the boarding arrangements, particularly at the Port Melbourne end should be improved, rather than spend it on new carpets and fittings. Also suggested that they should look at the catering suppliers/contractors as the food and beverage prices are over the top. Asked many of the passengers what they thought about the $10 million refit and the over whelming response was, “WHY ??.
Also still waiting for a reply ??????. Cheers Sundy.
CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY A PENSIONER CONCESSION AMOUNTS TO ONLY 50 DOLLARS OFF WHEN CONCESSION BOOK SAYS 40% OFF
People seem to forget that the Spirit of Tasmania ships are Tasmanians’ road north. Sure you can book ahead, but that is not the point.
People in Melbourne would not be happy if they could not just drive out of their front gates and hit the road to other capital cities at a whim – Tasmanians cannot do that and the problem is not being addressed as it should be. Nobody seems to care.
Not Alan Porter from Penguin?
We have driven around for 17 days at huge expense. I think we will come over from WA with our caravan next time.
We’ve also done the crossing on the Spirit towing a 19’6″ van on 3 return holidays and absolutely loved the whole Tasmanian experience. Whilst the ferry crossings are certainly not cheap, I don’t believe they are exhorbitant particularly if one stays for a while. Considering the logistics of the loading process on and off the ferry, it runs quite smoothly although the Melbourne side is problematic because of the limited space within the pier and the nearby residential area. We have always booked a return journey so have been fortunate enough not to experience delays returning however feel strongly that the Spirit’s management should have a short or standby list for those that need to return because of unexpected emergency. Surely there must be vacancies created because of last minute cancellations and these places could be allocated to those on the standby list.
Given the heavy demand for the crossing due to increased tourism and freight carriers, I also believe that there is room for a second service provider which could perhaps leave from Westernport Bay where there is more land available for a terminal. Perhaps if Tasmanian tourism wants to capture and benefit from the increased popularity it should consider looking at the way the New Zealand ferry service between the north and south island is managed
Is there free or cheap parking with our caravan while we wait during day for night ferry?
I use the ferry once every second year. I find the on board facilities excellent and the layout relaxing. The time taken to board I think is fair given the complexity of parking such a large number of diverse vehicles.
Paul, are you still on this forum? I’m trying to contact you via FB but it might be blocking my requests there.