Just having spent a little time looking at cruise prices it became disconcertingly
obvious that van parks dont offer much in the way of value for money compared
with some other forms of holiday.
I have found a 50 day holiday cruising the South Pacific for $10,000 - thats $200
per day, accommodation, fabulous food, room service, most entertainment and so-on.
Visits to about 20 destinations and pampered attention 24 hours of the day.
So then I totalled the approximate costs for a say 50 - day sprint in the van.
$100,000 in depreciating real estate to drag about and depreciatng at about $25 per day
not to mention $1000 ins then rego on top of that
Fuel to visit 50 destinations - say 200 k per day is roughly $20 daily.
Food and coffee and a water allow $25 daily
Van park sharing toilets, showers doesnt matter still same price if you have
your own of any quality even distantly comparing with the luxury of a cruise ship
now averaging $45 - 60 for the dirt Overnight.
Now it is acknowledged that these figures are illustrative only, but to my mind
$135 is way too much considering the difference in quality of travel - particularly
around the South Pacific.
No wonder greys try to minimise costs by looking for cheap or no cost accommodation!
Thats my 2 bobs worth. Let the critics speak their piece!
Bulldozer said
02:32 AM May 3, 2022
If you add Grog to your cruise ship package, that would blow my budget.
hufnpuf said
07:38 AM May 3, 2022
Brodie Allen wrote:and pampered attention 24 hours of the day.
Come off it, do you really think some person in a 4-berth cabin in steerage is being waited on hand and foot?
So then I totalled the approximate costs for a say 50 - day sprint in the van.
$100,000 in depreciating real estate to drag about and depreciatng at about $25 per day
A $100,000 van doesn't depreciate to 0 in 10 years..... It isn't depreciating at $25/day. In the current market, people are sometimes getting more than they paid.
not to mention $1000 ins then rego on top of that
You are paying WAY too much in insurance. $1000 every 50 days is extortionate. Who is paying $6000/yr? Find a better insurer.
Fuel to visit 50 destinations - say 200 k per day is roughly $20 daily.
Why have you allowed for 50 destinations, when the cruise only does 20? If the cruise is 50 days and has 20 destinations, that's not one every day
even distantly comparing with the luxury of a cruise ship
Do you really think they give you palatial bathrooms on a cruise ship? Unless you are very, very wealthy, the cabins and facilities are tiny.
now averaging $45 - 60 for the dirt Overnight.
I haven't paid that much, not sure where those rates apply
Now it is acknowledged that these figures are illustrative only, but to my mind
$135 is way too much considering the difference in quality of travel - particularly
around the South Pacific.
You haven't taken into account that the cruise is a one-off and having a holiday van/home allows you to go again and again. Whatever the cost (and I don't think your figures stack up) isn't all gone at the end of one trip. Food is a fixed cost, you'll be paying for that whether at home or away, how much it costs you depends on how frugal you are, you don't need to pay $25/day, car expenses aren't restricted only to the period away, you can use that car to get about at home, it's not just a cost of a short holiday.
If people want to (and can, a lot of people don't have large sums of money lying about) pay $10000 for a cruise that's up to them. I don't know why they'd care about what other people choose to do or why they'd think it justifies their expenditure. Horses for courses.
-- Edited by hufnpuf on Tuesday 3rd of May 2022 07:40:10 AM
TheHeaths said
07:57 AM May 3, 2022
I must say this is the first time I have seen someone use cruise costs to complain about the price of caravan parks. An interesting approach Brodie.
Gundog said
08:09 AM May 3, 2022
You would have to pay me to get on a cruise ship even if the the trip was free.
When caravaning if you decide your daily activities.
If you find somewhere you realy like you stay a bit longer, on the boat heard you off at a port then all abord we gotta go.
The biggest issue to bloody many people, give me a small country town any day of the week, if I dont want to interact with people I have sustinance and entertainment at hand.
Brodie has had a bee in the bonnet about caravan park rates, and will denigrate their costs at any chance. Before you shoot off at the lip about Caravan Parks fees, consider the cost to run a park.
-- Edited by Gundog on Tuesday 3rd of May 2022 08:22:12 AM
hufnpuf said
08:33 AM May 3, 2022
Another cost to be taken into account, if you have pets, kennel fees. I can take my dogs and they are included in my caravan park fee. Cruise=kennel fees on top.
Mike Harding said
08:47 AM May 3, 2022
I note with the cruise costs you do not allocate a sum for covid related expenses?
To be fair, I hardly ever use caravan parks but I have lived in my caravan for 3.5 years and tracking *all* my spending over that time. I live well, I eat well, I drink too well, I buy the toys I want when I want; my average *total* spend over the past three years has been around $14,000 per year.
KevinJ said
09:25 AM May 3, 2022
View from the ship's window:
Day 1 - Ocean
Day 2 - Ocean
...
Day 20 - Ocean
View from the Caravan window:
Day 1 - ...
Day 2 - ...
...
Day 20 - ...
Bobdown said
09:47 AM May 3, 2022
Cruising.............do you want Gastro or Covid with that?
Wanda said
10:40 AM May 3, 2022
And what is the point of his post Ian
Aussie1 said
10:57 AM May 3, 2022
Bobdown wrote:
Cruising.............do you want Gastro or Covid with that?
X2 Ruby Princess comes to mind and that's only one of many "bug carrying ships" around the world of recent times. But if it "Floats your boat", go for it
mixo said
11:31 AM May 3, 2022
The whole family got covid in Adelaide at one of the "Big" parks in the new year....
You can get covid anywhere there are people around.
mixo
P.s There is no way I'm sitting on a boat with another hundred/thousand geriatrics for more than a day. I know people reckon it's glamorous but for me it just doesn't do it for me, unless I'm driving the boat!
-- Edited by mixo on Tuesday 3rd of May 2022 01:59:27 PM
Brodie Allen said
01:21 PM May 3, 2022
hufnpuf wrote:
Brodie Allen wrote:and pampered attention 24 hours of the day.
Come off it, do you really think some person in a 4-berth cabin in steerage is being waited on hand and foot?
No but you certainly wont get much attention outside the front office! Generally the stewards on the cruisers
can't do enough for you. And they are never rude and dismissive!!! like some parks attendants. and how would
you equate your precious tug and van with steerage? What's your point?
So then I totalled the approximate costs for a say 50 - day sprint in the van.
$100,000 in depreciating real estate to drag about and depreciatng at about $25 per day
A $100,000 van doesn't depreciate to 0 in 10 years..... It isn't depreciating at $25/day. In the current market, people are sometimes getting more than they paid. And I did not allow for tug insurance and maintenance - so allow another daily allowance of say $5.
Never said it did. Tug and van certainly depreciate at better than $25 daily in my experience.
Not to mention $1000 ins then rego on top of that
You are paying WAY too much in insurance. $1000 every 50 days is extortionate. Who is paying $6000/yr? Find a better insurer.
What made you think that the figure was only for 50 days?? $1000 PA! Times two for the tug also. Not included so it is a worse bottom line!
Fuel to visit 50 destinations - say 200 k per day is roughly $20 daily.
Why have you allowed for 50 destinations, when the cruise only does 20? If the cruise is 50 days and has 20 destinations, that's not one every day
Number of stops irrelevant - so lets say 20 to keep you happy.
even distantly comparing with the luxury of a cruise ship
Do you really think they give you palatial bathrooms on a cruise ship? Unless you are very, very wealthy, the cabins and facilities are tiny.
Certainly now averaging $45 - 60 for the dirt Overnight.
I haven't paid that much, not sure where those rates apply
Selecting a premium park to compare as far as possible with the sumptous conditions on the ship. I have seen vanparks bring your own house for $110 pn.
Now it is acknowledged that these figures are illustrative only, but to my mind
$135 plus tug insurance and maintenance for 50 days is way too much considering the difference in quality of travel - particularly
around the South Pacific.
$85 without the van parks aggravations for overnight.
You haven't taken into account that the cruise is a one-off and having a holiday van/home allows you to go again and again. Whatever the cost (and I don't think your figures stack up) isn't all gone at the end of one trip. Food is a fixed cost, you'll be paying for that whether at home or away no, food on shipincluded, how much it costs you depends on how frugal you are, you don't need to pay $25/day, car expenses aren't restricted only to the period away, you can use that car to get about at home, it's not just a cost of a short holiday. True - I have only costed it on the basis of 50 days. Please read the narrative.
If people want to (and can, a lot of people don't have large sums of money lying about) pay $10000 for a cruise that's up to them. I don't know why they'd care about what other people choose to do or why they'd think it justifies their expenditure. Horses for courses.
So a 50 day total is around $67750 - how does that compare with a lay back everything done for you great food wonderful sights bla bla for an
extra $2500? or additional 25% !!!
-- Edited by hufnpuf on Tuesday 3rd of May 2022 07:40:10 AM
dabbler said
01:33 PM May 3, 2022
I can't see the point of the comparison myself, they're two totally different experiences that either appeal or not. I've certainly enjoyed my fair share of overseas jaunts in the past but in the current circumstances I'd rather keep as much if my money in Australia and it's regional communities. Yes I've heard the figures for fresh fruit/veges that cruise ships take on board at local ports etc bandied around. When that food feeds visitors to Australia it might have more meaning but when it's feeding Australians anyway .....
Hitting the road said
02:16 PM May 3, 2022
The daily cost for what you get on a cruise is very good value imo too. $200.00 per day is about right that includes as much food as you can eat, as well as a comfy bed turned down every night and basic toiletries in the ensuite bathroom.
But, after a while the novelty wears off and can become boring as one looks for something to do every day in effectively the same four walls. I've been on a few cruises and will go on more once they open up here. I just limit the days away.
I do think some van parks are milking their clientele...not all but some. We ourselves begin to look a bit closer when the rate creeps much above the $40.00 per night mark.
Depends on the offering too,
f I get a grey water drain next to me, a fresh water connection and power, then that infrastructure has to generate a return for the Council or Park owner as well as having on going costs to maintain. Then there are the showers, toilets and laundry facilities...along with staff wages, rates and taxes.
And of course a Park isn't full all the time...the costs of keeping the Park open don't stop when the tourists don't come.
I felt so sorry for all these people when the over paid self centred bungling Beaurocrats started their chest beating in 2020 and demanded every one stay home...to hell with the small business owner and their families!
I believe these people are entitled to claw some of their losses back, so I will continue to support them. But, they do need to remember the story of the Golden Goose...
86GTS said
03:09 PM May 3, 2022
You forgot to include the cost of two pairs of ear plugs so that you don't have to listen to every other passengers boring life stories on the cruise.
You're a captive audience on the cruise, at least in a CP you can jump in your caravan to avoid it.
If you bush camp by yourself like us you only have to listen to the birds & occasional possum f*rt.
In recent years we've even avoided our friends that do regular cruises, they're full of s*#t.
Geeco said
04:53 PM May 3, 2022
I would be delighted if people started returning to the cruise ships then I would be able to find a site for my winter sojourn in North QLD.
hufnpuf said
08:00 PM May 3, 2022
Brodie Allen wrote:
So a 50 day total is around $67750 - how does that compare with a lay back everything done for you great food wonderful sights bla bla for an
extra $2500? or additional 25% !!!
What on earth are you talking about? You're not making any sense at all, and when you are not making any sense, it's better to watch your tone and not be rude to people. I'm not sure what you're so upset about, nobody cares if you think cruises are good value. Good for you. :)
Brodie Allen said
08:57 PM May 3, 2022
hufnpuf wrote:
Brodie Allen wrote:
So a 50 day total is around $67750 - how does that compare with a lay back everything done for you great food wonderful sights bla bla for an
extra $2500? or additional 25% !!!
What on earth are you talking about? You're not making any sense at all, and when you are not making any sense, it's better to watch your tone and not be rude to people. I'm not sure what you're so upset about, nobody cares if you think cruises are good value. Good for you. :)
Good on you for finding the typo. Original post is the matter. Gives one something to huff n puff about since
the rest of your post is missing the point in so many ways.
The whole point is that caravanning is a very expensive business and made LARGELY SO by inflated
park rates largely protected by Councils that keep free camps out of town at the behest of the
vanparks bleating. that's my opinion. Whats yours?
hufnpuf said
10:01 PM May 3, 2022
Brodie Allen wrote:The whole point is that caravanning is a very expensive business and made LARGELY SO by inflated
park rates largely protected by Councils that keep free camps out of town at the behest of the
vanparks bleating. that's my opinion. Whats yours?
If that's your opinion, why are you bleating on about cruise ships? My opinion is that you are irrational.
You forgot to include the cost of two pairs of ear plugs so that you don't have to listen to every other passengers boring life stories on the cruise. You're a captive audience on the cruise, at least in a CP you can jump in your caravan to avoid it. If you bush camp by yourself like us you only have to listen to the birds & occasional possum f*rt. In recent years we've even avoided our friends that do regular cruises, they're full of s*#
Lol...yep absolutely. Though we always kept to ourselves on cruises for the very reasons you mention. We made the mistake early in the piece of striking up conversation with fellow cruisers...big mistake...
We tend to be the same when camping, we prefer off grid camping for that reason. We largely keep to ourselves...conversation with adjacent campers is minimal. I might be seen as stand offish but I do get to relax without strangers turning up for a chat as they have nothing better to do. My better half and I like to chill, relax and do our own thing, and don't always need to join other groups to enjoy our time away...
littledick said
08:44 AM May 4, 2022
Brodie Allen wrote:
Just having spent a little time looking at cruise prices it became disconcertingly
obvious that van parks dont offer much in the way of value for money compared
with some other forms of holiday.
I have found a 50 day holiday cruising the South Pacific for $10,000 - thats $200
per day, accommodation, fabulous food, room service, most entertainment and so-on.
Visits to about 20 destinations and pampered attention 24 hours of the day.
So then I totalled the approximate costs for a say 50 - day sprint in the van.
$100,000 in depreciating real estate to drag about and depreciatng at about $25 per day
not to mention $1000 ins then rego on top of that
Fuel to visit 50 destinations - say 200 k per day is roughly $20 daily.
Food and coffee and a water allow $25 daily
Van park sharing toilets, showers doesnt matter still same price if you have
your own of any quality even distantly comparing with the luxury of a cruise ship
now averaging $45 - 60 for the dirt Overnight.
Now it is acknowledged that these figures are illustrative only, but to my mind
$135 is way too much considering the difference in quality of travel - particularly
around the South Pacific.
No wonder greys try to minimise costs by looking for cheap or no cost accommodation!
Thats my 2 bobs worth. Let the critics speak their piece!
I presume you still have a car so you would need to pay rego and insurance anyway. If you're on the road at least it's not sitting in the garage whilst cruising.
To each their own but you will never get me on a germ laden ship again. 2004 1/2 the ship came down with some nasty flu thing including crew members... and me!
You forgot to include the cost of two pairs of ear plugs so that you don't have to listen to every other passengers boring life stories on the cruise. You're a captive audience on the cruise, at least in a CP you can jump in your caravan to avoid it. If you bush camp by yourself like us you only have to listen to the birds & occasional possum f*rt. In recent years we've even avoided our friends that do regular cruises, they're full of s*#
Lol...yep absolutely. Though we always kept to ourselves on cruises for the very reasons you mention. We made the mistake early in the piece of striking up conversation with fellow cruisers...big mistake...
We tend to be the same when camping, we prefer off grid camping for that reason. We largely keep to ourselves...conversation with adjacent campers is minimal. I might be seen as stand offish but I do get to relax without strangers turning up for a chat as they have nothing better to do. My better half and I like to chill, relax and do our own thing, and don't always need to join other groups to enjoy our time away...
Sounds a lot like us.
A while back we were camped overnight at the very popular ''free camp'' at Wyandra half way B/w Cunamulla & Charleville.
We were having a pre-dinner drink with nibblies under our awning, relaxing after a long drive.
There must have been at least 50 men & women wandering around the camp with a drink in hand looking for a chat.
For the first time in over a decade of retired camping we went inside our caravan to avoid them.
The conversations were still in full swing when we went to bed. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
These days most of that type of conversation goes in one ear & out the other very quickly.
We're even sick of our own stories!!!!!!!!!!
Phlipper said
09:53 AM May 4, 2022
Each to his own, Caravan Parks, Free Camps and Sea Cruises have their good and not so good points. I have heard many good stories from friends/family about cruising, and just as many bad points. Yes, most Cruises are good value for money...and moreso atm. Why be concerned about whats better value for money, take a chance, just enjoy what you can afford....life is short.
Personally I have no desire to go on a large Cruise Liner, preferring my peace and quiet/privacy a little more than what a large ship offers, but maybe I'm anti-social ? But, yes, nice to be waited on and not have to do a thing like setting up Camp cooking etc sit back and relax. There is always the worry of rough weather and consequentially outdoor activities or inside shows, tours etc being cancelled as a result { same may apply to Caravanning } Having said that we have found most Caravan Parks of good value, secure and relaxing, but not always. You can get the odd noisy neighbours, but it's generally under some kind of control, and quiet late in the evening.
On the other hand, my experiences with Free Camping it has been " mostly " good too, but ..... however, many times we have been concerned about adjoing Campers rolling up with noisy Generators, tearing around with dirt bikes, barking Dogs, alarmingly large campfires, habitat destruction, loud music and discarded rubbish/toilet paper everywhere.....even toting guns !!! We have had to leave free sites a few times over the years due to worrying anti-social behaviour ....and nobody to control it.
Personally, I carry many thousands of dollars of photographic equipment...security is of concern
JUST DO IT
-- Edited by Phlipper on Wednesday 4th of May 2022 09:54:53 AM
Gundog said
11:17 AM May 4, 2022
My question to Brodie Allen is " have you ever owned or managed a business ? "
From you statements it appears you want councils to provide free camps within the town for you, at the expense of caravan parks and local rate payers.
deverall11 said
12:49 PM May 4, 2022
In my humble observations, electricity cost is what is driving up prices. Caravaners turning up in a caravan park, turning on the A/C
and promptly going sightseeing. It doesn't take much to cool down a caravan.
One day we will see caravan parks adopt electricity meters of each powered site. Pay As You Go system, operated by coins or C/C.
This way if you want to run your A/C all day you pay, I don't subsidise it. Fair on every one and might keep the costs down.
Phlipper said
04:15 PM May 4, 2022
deverall11 wrote:
In my humble observations, electricity cost is what is driving up prices. Caravaners turning up in a caravan park, turning on the A/C and promptly going sightseeing. It doesn't take much to cool down a caravan. One day we will see caravan parks adopt electricity meters of each powered site. Pay As You Go system, operated by coins or C/C. This way if you want to run your A/C all day you pay, I don't subsidise it. Fair on every one and might keep the costs down.
I really dont think its the price of electricity making caravan park fees rise, the amount of energy used daily even with air con/heating is tiny in monetary terms. This probably accounts for why the cost of powered and non powered sites are not vastly different to each other....usually about $5. The main costs of running a caravan park would be pay rate rises for cleaning/maintenance staff, constant repairs and upgrades. Costs of general insurance and public liability insurance I'm sure would be huge. Many, if not most caravan park owners dont seem to last too many years before chucking it in, not many making it rich, and the hours are long.
Corndoggy said
05:17 PM May 4, 2022
The caravan park we have been at for over 30 years has been through a number of owners in that time. Have not heard one of them complain about the money they have made from them, both yearly income and the sale value when they got out. Quite a few have then gone and purchased another park somewhere else, a few have wished they never sold it and some had even looked at buying it back. Most have done some upgrade in the park and made it back when they sold. Cleaners have always been employed by all owners. Can't be all that bad going by all that, at least at that park.
Phlipper said
06:10 PM May 4, 2022
Corndoggy wrote:
The caravan park we have been at for over 30 years has been through a number of owners in that time. Have not heard one of them complain about the money they have made from them, both yearly income and the sale value when they got out. Quite a few have then gone and purchased another park somewhere else, a few have wished they never sold it and some had even looked at buying it back. Most have done some upgrade in the park and made it back when they sold. Cleaners have always been employed by all owners. Can't be all that bad going by all that, at least at that park.
Guess it depends on the individual Park, some of the smaller ones seem to struggle, but the bigger, family friendly ones seem to be raking it in.
86GTS said
07:25 PM May 4, 2022
Phlipper wrote:
Corndoggy wrote:
The caravan park we have been at for over 30 years has been through a number of owners in that time. Have not heard one of them complain about the money they have made from them, both yearly income and the sale value when they got out. Quite a few have then gone and purchased another park somewhere else, a few have wished they never sold it and some had even looked at buying it back. Most have done some upgrade in the park and made it back when they sold. Cleaners have always been employed by all owners. Can't be all that bad going by all that, at least at that park.
Guess it depends on the individual Park, some of the smaller ones seem to struggle, but the bigger, family friendly ones seem to be raking it in.
I thought that a lot of the more lucrative CP's were owned by chains these days & run by on-site managers.
Just having spent a little time looking at cruise prices it became disconcertingly
obvious that van parks dont offer much in the way of value for money compared
with some other forms of holiday.
I have found a 50 day holiday cruising the South Pacific for $10,000 - thats $200
per day, accommodation, fabulous food, room service, most entertainment and so-on.
Visits to about 20 destinations and pampered attention 24 hours of the day.
So then I totalled the approximate costs for a say 50 - day sprint in the van.
$100,000 in depreciating real estate to drag about and depreciatng at about $25 per day
not to mention $1000 ins then rego on top of that
Fuel to visit 50 destinations - say 200 k per day is roughly $20 daily.
Food and coffee and a water allow $25 daily
Van park sharing toilets, showers doesnt matter still same price if you have
your own of any quality even distantly comparing with the luxury of a cruise ship
now averaging $45 - 60 for the dirt Overnight.
Now it is acknowledged that these figures are illustrative only, but to my mind
$135 is way too much considering the difference in quality of travel - particularly
around the South Pacific.
No wonder greys try to minimise costs by looking for cheap or no cost accommodation!
Thats my 2 bobs worth. Let the critics speak their piece!
If you add Grog to your cruise ship package, that would blow my budget.
-- Edited by hufnpuf on Tuesday 3rd of May 2022 07:40:10 AM
You would have to pay me to get on a cruise ship even if the the trip was free.
When caravaning if you decide your daily activities.
If you find somewhere you realy like you stay a bit longer, on the boat heard you off at a port then all abord we gotta go.
The biggest issue to bloody many people, give me a small country town any day of the week, if I dont want to interact with people I have sustinance and entertainment at hand.
Brodie has had a bee in the bonnet about caravan park rates, and will denigrate their costs at any chance. Before you shoot off at the lip about Caravan Parks fees, consider the cost to run a park.
-- Edited by Gundog on Tuesday 3rd of May 2022 08:22:12 AM
Another cost to be taken into account, if you have pets, kennel fees. I can take my dogs and they are included in my caravan park fee. Cruise=kennel fees on top.
I note with the cruise costs you do not allocate a sum for covid related expenses?
To be fair, I hardly ever use caravan parks but I have lived in my caravan for 3.5 years and tracking *all* my spending over that time. I live well, I eat well, I drink too well, I buy the toys I want when I want; my average *total* spend over the past three years has been around $14,000 per year.
View from the ship's window:
Day 1 - Ocean
Day 2 - Ocean
...
Day 20 - Ocean
View from the Caravan window:
Day 1 - ...
Day 2 - ...
...
Day 20 - ...
Cruising.............do you want Gastro or Covid with that?
And what is the point of his post
Ian
X2 Ruby Princess comes to mind and that's only one of many "bug carrying ships" around the world of recent times.
But if it "Floats your boat", go for it 
The whole family got covid in Adelaide at one of the "Big" parks in the new year....
You can get covid anywhere there are people around.
mixo
P.s There is no way I'm sitting on a boat with another hundred/thousand geriatrics for more than a day. I know people reckon it's glamorous but for me it just doesn't do it for me, unless I'm driving the boat!
-- Edited by mixo on Tuesday 3rd of May 2022 01:59:27 PM
But, after a while the novelty wears off and can become boring as one looks for something to do every day in effectively the same four walls. I've been on a few cruises and will go on more once they open up here. I just limit the days away.
I do think some van parks are milking their clientele...not all but some. We ourselves begin to look a bit closer when the rate creeps much above the $40.00 per night mark.
Depends on the offering too,
f I get a grey water drain next to me, a fresh water connection and power, then that infrastructure has to generate a return for the Council or Park owner as well as having on going costs to maintain. Then there are the showers, toilets and laundry facilities...along with staff wages, rates and taxes.
And of course a Park isn't full all the time...the costs of keeping the Park open don't stop when the tourists don't come.
I felt so sorry for all these people when the over paid self centred bungling Beaurocrats started their chest beating in 2020 and demanded every one stay home...to hell with the small business owner and their families!
I believe these people are entitled to claw some of their losses back, so I will continue to support them. But, they do need to remember the story of the Golden Goose...
You're a captive audience on the cruise, at least in a CP you can jump in your caravan to avoid it.
If you bush camp by yourself like us you only have to listen to the birds & occasional possum f*rt.
In recent years we've even avoided our friends that do regular cruises, they're full of s*#t.
What on earth are you talking about? You're not making any sense at all, and when you are not making any sense, it's better to watch your tone and not be rude to people. I'm not sure what you're so upset about, nobody cares if you think cruises are good value. Good for you. :)
Good on you for finding the typo. Original post is the matter. Gives one something to huff n puff about since
the rest of your post is missing the point in so many ways.
The whole point is that caravanning is a very expensive business and made LARGELY SO by inflated
park rates largely protected by Councils that keep free camps out of town at the behest of the
vanparks bleating. that's my opinion. Whats yours?
If that's your opinion, why are you bleating on about cruise ships? My opinion is that you are irrational.
You're a captive audience on the cruise, at least in a CP you can jump in your caravan to avoid it.
If you bush camp by yourself like us you only have to listen to the birds & occasional possum f*rt.
In recent years we've even avoided our friends that do regular cruises, they're full of s*#
I presume you still have a car so you would need to pay rego and insurance anyway. If you're on the road at least it's not sitting in the garage whilst cruising.
To each their own but you will never get me on a germ laden ship again. 2004 1/2 the ship came down with some nasty flu thing including crew members... and me!
Dick.
Sounds a lot like us.
A while back we were camped overnight at the very popular ''free camp'' at Wyandra half way B/w Cunamulla & Charleville.
We were having a pre-dinner drink with nibblies under our awning, relaxing after a long drive.
There must have been at least 50 men & women wandering around the camp with a drink in hand looking for a chat.
For the first time in over a decade of retired camping we went inside our caravan to avoid them.
The conversations were still in full swing when we went to bed. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
These days most of that type of conversation goes in one ear & out the other very quickly.
We're even sick of our own stories!!!!!!!!!!
Each to his own, Caravan Parks, Free Camps and Sea Cruises have their good and not so good points. I have heard many good stories from friends/family about cruising, and just as many bad points. Yes, most Cruises are good value for money...and moreso atm. Why be concerned about whats better value for money, take a chance, just enjoy what you can afford....life is short.
Personally I have no desire to go on a large Cruise Liner, preferring my peace and quiet/privacy a little more than what a large ship offers, but maybe I'm anti-social ? But, yes, nice to be waited on and not have to do a thing like setting up Camp cooking etc sit back and relax. There is always the worry of rough weather and consequentially outdoor activities or inside shows, tours etc being cancelled as a result { same may apply to Caravanning } Having said that we have found most Caravan Parks of good value, secure and relaxing, but not always. You can get the odd noisy neighbours, but it's generally under some kind of control, and quiet late in the evening.
On the other hand, my experiences with Free Camping it has been " mostly " good too, but ..... however, many times we have been concerned about adjoing Campers rolling up with noisy Generators, tearing around with dirt bikes, barking Dogs, alarmingly large campfires, habitat destruction, loud music and discarded rubbish/toilet paper everywhere.....even toting guns !!! We have had to leave free sites a few times over the years due to worrying anti-social behaviour ....and nobody to control it.
Personally, I carry many thousands of dollars of photographic equipment...security is of concern
JUST DO IT
-- Edited by Phlipper on Wednesday 4th of May 2022 09:54:53 AM
My question to Brodie Allen is " have you ever owned or managed a business ? "
From you statements it appears you want councils to provide free camps within the town for you, at the expense of caravan parks and local rate payers.
and promptly going sightseeing. It doesn't take much to cool down a caravan.
One day we will see caravan parks adopt electricity meters of each powered site. Pay As You Go system, operated by coins or C/C.
This way if you want to run your A/C all day you pay, I don't subsidise it. Fair on every one and might keep the costs down.
I really dont think its the price of electricity making caravan park fees rise, the amount of energy used daily even with air con/heating is tiny in monetary terms. This probably accounts for why the cost of powered and non powered sites are not vastly different to each other....usually about $5. The main costs of running a caravan park would be pay rate rises for cleaning/maintenance staff, constant repairs and upgrades. Costs of general insurance and public liability insurance I'm sure would be huge. Many, if not most caravan park owners dont seem to last too many years before chucking it in, not many making it rich, and the hours are long.
Guess it depends on the individual Park, some of the smaller ones seem to struggle, but the bigger, family friendly ones seem to be raking it in.
I thought that a lot of the more lucrative CP's were owned by chains these days & run by on-site managers.