After what has been an extraordinary series of delays, the two new significantly larger Spirit of Tasmania vessels will finally go into service at the end of next month.
Grey nomads who may have been frustrated by the difficulty in booking crossings at certain times, and intimidated by the high cost of taking a van across the Bass Strait, will no doubt be hopeful that things are about to improve on both fronts.
But the jury is still very much out.
TT-Line says it will continue to offer a range of fare types with different levels of flexibility.
“We do not plan to increase passenger, passenger vehicle or caravan fares on the new ships outside of our normal yearly pricing review,” it said.
It’s been over a year since Finnish ship builder, Rauma Marine Construction, delivered the second new vessel, Spirit of Tasmania V, to TT-Line PIC: Rauma Marine Constructions
“Prices vary by route and sailing because fares are set based on forecast demand, so each sailing may be priced differently depending on how busy we expect it to be … we have refined our demand-based pricing approach to give us more flexibility to respond to changing market conditions.”
The company has also caught many people off guard by announcing that day sailings will be axed when Spirit of Tasmania IV and Spirit of Tasmania V go into service. “When the new ships start operating, our schedule will only include night sailings,” it said.
However, TT-Line did say its timetable could change based on demand.
“The new ships have much more space, especially for caravans, motorhomes and other large vehicles,” it said. “If demand is higher than this extra capacity, we will look at adding day sailings in the future.”
Grey nomad Steven Burton hasn’t taken a crossing to Tassie for a while, and suspects the new ferries won’t make him any more likely to do so in the near future.
“If they are ceasing day trips it’s hard to believe getting a booking in any direction will get any better,” he said. “They are effectively cutting the service in half.”
Steven said he doubted the fact that the ships would be bigger and able to carry more vehicles at a time would be enough to make up the difference.
“We are currently in Carnarvon at the One Mile Jetty spending some time caretaking with other travellers, one of whom is planning a trip over to Tassie in the new year, and he is budgeting for several thousand dollars,” said Steven. “He has a Ford Ranger and a 21’ van … our van is 28’ including draw bar, and those sorts of dollars can make a bloody big hole in the budget.”
The new larger Spirit of Tasmania ships will increase the lane metres for passenger cars and freight by 60%, and the cabin capacity by approximately 35%.
Are you a Grey Nomad member yet? Click here to find out about the discounts, competitions and other benefits on offer.
