Passengers pay more for midweek sailings

Big Gorilla · Guru

Passengers pay more for midweek sailings

jules47 · The Happy Helper

Hmm - do they really know what they are doing - do they do any market research at all? Find out what the travelling public want?

RosieW · Guru

jules47 wrote:
Hmm - do they really know what they are doing - do they do any market research at all? Find out what the travelling public want?

This IS the Tasmanian government - they know what everyone wants, and what is best for everyone without the dubious' benefit' of market research. How can this be? Because they are the government, and therefore, they know it all..... F'rinstance: Tasmania is not in a recession, unemployment in Tasmania is not as bad as everyone is making out, and that 'clean green' image is most definitely not going to be tarnished by a shiny new pulp mill in the state.

Old Crofter · Senior Member

Just ask McKim,

should be in the joke thread!

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Even more interesting... on the same page theres an article about research into new type of cheaper batteries powered by plants. Could be very helpful to Grey Nomads. Wonder what the vested interests in the status quo might do to stop that?

-- Edited by Gerty Dancer on Thursday 9th of January 2014 11:03:03 AM

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Mmmm, when I come back from Tassie in Feb it is on a Sunday but was thinking of changing to a midweek sail. Does that mean it would cost more than the admin fee to change the day??

mongrel · Guru

You could always sleep in your car mate.Alan..

PS If you need a loan mate might be able to help,,

RosieW · Guru

@Dougwe - have a sticky on the site, that'll do the sums for you, and you can work out which way to go. I think in part it depends on the time of year - may drop again after school holidays are over........

@Mongrel - how many more of us would travel on the stinking thing if we COULD sleep in our rigs?! Maybe someone should put that to Lara G and McKim - with the accompanying spin that they'll make a lot more money if they let people with campervans, motorhomes and caravans sleep 'below decks'............

Dougwe · Chief one feather

I just won't hang around to make sure you get there safe Mongrel. You and Adele will just have to come and visit base camp, spare room nearly a spare room again.

Edit.... biggrin It would be much easier to refer to Adele as Mrs M you know biggrin biggrin biggrin

-- Edited by Dougwe on Thursday 9th of January 2014 11:44:48 AM

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Thanks Rosie, I will check that out when over there as not sure yet if I will extend the stay.

mongrel · Guru

Adele said it would be over your dead body..Delilah told me to say this. Delilah is the name keeping mongrel under control is the game.. She said hope you got the message?

She left the room now I can laugh hahaha....Alan..

Cloak · Guru

looks like Phillip Island is as close to Tassie I will get.

Golddetectornomad · Senior Member

The older we get ,it seems the easier it is to see through BS when we see it..or is it because we have more time to read into 'Gormless Spin Doctors" comments as they duck for cover and pull statements out of their derriere's in their rear guard action process?....
Minister O'Byrne states....." the significant increase in bookings for the 2013-2014 Financial Year shows more and more visitors are travelling on the Spirit and visiting the State as a result of this approach".......unchallenged statements.....the Financial Year 2103-2014 is only half over so how can he say there is a significant increase in bookings for that 12 month period....or can one assume it is already fully booked?.. which I find hard to believe...the increase is as a result of their approach....is it really Minister as a result of the approach?.. and how does he back that doozy statement up?...I for one won't be going in that period as I intended, until there is a more equitable cost base...value for money... and I don't feel I'm a Grey Nomad orphan in my thinking....

Tasmania's economy and business's deserve so much better than spin doctors who are not facing reality, and get paid notwithstanding their under-achievemants....especially as its a no brainer that genuine increased tourism will bring much needed financial boosts to their economy...I'm no lover of Clive Palmer however I bet he could turn them all on the heads with their outdated mediocre thinking...he's good simply because he scares mediocre gormless people, by exposing and giving nowhere to hide..someone like him would be ideal for Tasmanian politics for a short period IMO......

Minister O'Byrne I'll provide a statistic for you gratis...'Statistics prove that "average intelligence" is being less stupid than half the people, and more stupid than the other half'....Hoo Roo..

the rocket · Guru

they unattract me with their price on the spirit of Tasmania. there loss, lots of other places just as lovely on the mainland.

blaze · Guru

I say it again
What a lot of tight arses
It may cost a few dollars to get there but it has the best free camping in aussie, most of it next to water, be it the sea or lakes. It makes me wonder at times if grey nommads are prepared to pay a reasonable fee for any thing. There seems to be a lot of complaining about price of all types of things on here
Are we all the happy little campers we make our selves out to be.
I wonder at times
Myself
I don't bypass towns cause they havnt got something for nothing
I don't drive past a servo to save a couple of dollars ( have quite happily paid $2.50l)
I don't expect something for free every where I go
I am currently working full time to support my traveling
Have I got lots of money (well yea, got about $600 between my accounts at the moment)
So lets lighten up a bit, be prepared to spend a few dollars and just be bloody thankful and happy that we can choose to travel around this great country with freedom and safety
my rant for the day
cheers
blaze

Big Gorilla · Guru

blaze wrote:
I say it again
What a lot of tight arses
It may cost a few dollars to get there but it has the best free camping in aussie, most of it next to water, be it the sea or lakes. It makes me wonder at times if grey nommads are prepared to pay a reasonable fee for any thing. There seems to be a lot of complaining about price of all types of things on here
Are we all the happy little campers we make our selves out to be.
I wonder at times
Myself
I don't bypass towns cause they havnt got something for nothing
I don't drive past a servo to save a couple of dollars ( have quite happily paid $2.50l)
I don't expect something for free every where I go
I am currently working full time to support my traveling
Have I got lots of money (well yea, got about $600 between my accounts at the moment)
So lets lighten up a bit, be prepared to spend a few dollars and just be bloody thankful and happy that we can choose to travel around this great country with freedom and safety
my rant for the day
cheers
blaze

I live in Tasmania also Blaze. Im an import, previously from Brisbane. I do have a bit more than $600.00 in the Bank, about $602.00 I think last time I looked !!! biggrin biggrin Let me put 3 points to you.

I think you may have opened a can of worms here !!

Firstly, from my participation in this GN Forum since I joined, I believe that a lot of the GNs on the road exist on a Pension. For a single GN, that is not a lot of money coming in each month. Some may have other sources of income, others may not. You cant blame them for being frugal.

Secondly, when I decided to go on the road (Im not full time) I had to consider two things, and Im sure others have considered this, do I want to stay in Caravan Parks or do I want to free camp. I decided on the latter. Now if one decides to free camp, you set up your MH or caravan for that purpose, solar, 12 volt lighting, TV, refrigerator etc. Also you have shower, toilet, hot water and all the 12 volt mod cons you want. You dont want to stay in Caravan Parks, you want the free life. Now if you decide to stay in CPs, you set up your rig accordingly. 240 volt supply, a few lights and power points, 240 volt appliances, you might have a toilet and shower, you might not. The people who choose to travel and live full time in CPs are more likely than the free campers to be able to afford it.

So everyone is different in their ideas on how they want to travel, and everyones financial standing is different. This has to be respected.

Thirdly and finally, this post was originally about the cost of travelling across the Tasman. My MH is 6 meters long. Vehicles up to 7 meters pay the same cost as a car. My sailing on March 18 to Melbourne, the vehicle component is $89.00. No one with a MH is going to complain at that cost. The complaints arise from those people pulling a caravan. Round trip charge of $2000.00 to $2500.00 is not uncommon for a large van. Im sure you will admit, that is a lot of money whether you can easily afford it or not. Those who can afford it will travel anyway, those that cant will give the Apple Isle a miss.

Im sure most of the GNs are not tight asses as you put it, but frugal. Those who are a little better off will and do spend money and support local business. You raise the point about bypassing towns that dont offer something for nothing. I dont want to go there. That is really another subject that has been discussed frequently on this Forum.

Regards,

Ken.

blaze · Guru

wasn't my intent to shoot the messanger but a lot of people I meet arealso doing on pensions as well I know a lot on here are also. I suppose I get my back up when this subject comes up and often about the cost of the spirit to Tassie or other cost to do with Tassie. A lot of people read forums and it caint be good with all this negativity about Tassie costs, which I might add I find a lot cheaper than other states. (only one I havnt been to, camberra)
cheers
blaze
ps

Cruising Cruze · Guru

If only 89 dollars for a car make the caravan 200 dollars
they would do heaps more that's for sure
Is that boat always booked out 100%
imagine all them people that want to go over and how much income on the island they missed out on

Cheers John

RosieW · Guru

When we brought the bus back in early December 2012, it cost us $1800 with pension discount. We did the seats, rather than a cabin. Cabin would have boosted us over $2000, closer to $2300 in a 4 share; while we had the $$ to buy the bus, and get home again, we have had to sit 14 months to recoup our 'oh bugger' funds to a reasonable limit, as well as make the bus liveable for CPs - we will one day be free-camping, but that kind of setup is beyond our finances at present.

Tassie has some spectacular scenery, but I am afraid, the attitudes of some leave a lot to be desired. The mess that is the Spirit is just one indication of this.

Cloak · Guru

We flew over, rented a car and stayed in Motels.

Either way Tassie is a must see.

native pepper · Senior Member

We travel during the off season and for 12m and 3 people it costs $1800 return with porthole cabin and that's with a pensioner discount. To us it's worth it at least once a year.

RosieW · Guru

native pepper wrote:
We travel during the off season and for 12m and 3 people it costs $1800 return with porthole cabin and that's with a pensioner discount. To us it's worth it at least once a year.

At that price, it would be. They tend to drop the prices rather dramatically in the off season, partly (I suspect) because there is only 1 sailing per day, rather than the high season 2.

the rocket · Guru

Big Gorilla wrote:
blaze wrote:
I say it again
What a lot of tight arses
It may cost a few dollars to get there but it has the best free camping in aussie, most of it next to water, be it the sea or lakes. It makes me wonder at times if grey nommads are prepared to pay a reasonable fee for any thing. There seems to be a lot of complaining about price of all types of things on here
Are we all the happy little campers we make our selves out to be.
I wonder at times
Myself
I don't bypass towns cause they havnt got something for nothing
I don't drive past a servo to save a couple of dollars ( have quite happily paid $2.50l)
I don't expect something for free every where I go
I am currently working full time to support my traveling
Have I got lots of money (well yea, got about $600 between my accounts at the moment)
So lets lighten up a bit, be prepared to spend a few dollars and just be bloody thankful and happy that we can choose to travel around this great country with freedom and safety
my rant for the day
cheers
blaze
I live in Tasmania also Blaze. Im an import, previously from Brisbane. I do have a bit more than $600.00 in the Bank, about $602.00 I think last time I looked !!! Let me put 3 points to you.
I think you may have opened a can of worms here !!
Firstly, from my participation in this GN Forum since I joined, I believe that a lot of the GNs on the road exist on a Pension. For a single GN, that is not a lot of money coming in each month. Some may have other sources of income, others may not. You cant blame them for being frugal.
Secondly, when I decided to go on the road (Im not full time) I had to consider two things, and Im sure others have considered this, do I want to stay in Caravan Parks or do I want to free camp. I decided on the latter. Now if one decides to free camp, you set up your MH or caravan for that purpose, solar, 12 volt lighting, TV, refrigerator etc. Also you have shower, toilet, hot water and all the 12 volt mod cons you want. You dont want to stay in Caravan Parks, you want the free life. Now if you decide to stay in CPs, you set up your rig accordingly. 240 volt supply, a few lights and power points, 240 volt appliances, you might have a toilet and shower, you might not. The people who choose to travel and live full time in CPs are more likely than the free campers to be able to afford it.
So everyone is different in their ideas on how they want to travel, and everyones financial standing is different. This has to be respected.
Thirdly and finally, this post was originally about the cost of travelling across the Tasman. My MH is 6 meters long. Vehicles up to 7 meters pay the same cost as a car. My sailing on March 18 to Melbourne, the vehicle component is $89.00. No one with a MH is going to complain at that cost. The complaints arise from those people pulling a caravan. Round trip charge of $2000.00 to $2500.00 is not uncommon for a large van. Im sure you will admit, that is a lot of money whether you can easily afford it or not. Those who can afford it will travel anyway, those that cant will give the Apple Isle a miss.
Im sure most of the GNs are not tight asses as you put it, but frugal. Those who are a little better off will and do spend money and support local business. You raise the point about bypassing towns that dont offer something for nothing. I dont want to go there. That is really another subject that has been discussed frequently on this Forum.
Regards,
Ken.

I'm hear you Big Gorilla and agree with you

Tomzys · Senior Member

I agree Blaze with all you have written,.

moblet · Senior Member

Big Gorilla wrote:
Tasmania doing more to attract visitors...

Here's my guess as to what's going on:

On any given sailing, a vehicle + passenger ferry can reach capacity for one load while still having spare capacity for the other. For example, I took the Spirit of Tas in October, and a month before departure that sailing was booked out for vehicles, but was still accepting bookings for passengers only. For passengers only the ship is competing with airlines, and since airlines are cheaper for tourists during the week than weekends the ship probably can't compete for passenger-only trips during the week, but can compete on the weekends.

So, if you have midweek sailings that always have spare passenger capacity, you can either let them use the recliners and sail with empty cabins, or fleece your passengers by closing the cheap seats and forcing them into the otherwise empty cabins.

Remember that the tourism industry's image of "visitors" is people on holiday from work who have saved up (or borrowed) to spend money faster than they earn it, and are more time constrained than money constrained. The tourism industry's objective is to separate said visitors from as much of their money as possible. If you're more money constrained than time constrained then you're able to choose your travel dates to get the cheaper fare.

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.