I am certain that caravans are subsidised, but to what extent I dont know. If you go through the booking process, it asks whether your towed item is a caravan, or is it a trailer. If you tick "trailer", you get a higher charge than you get for "caravan".

Following is my post of yesterday , in the "Flexi or Spirit" thread:-


""Spirit" or "Flexi" are simply two different fare structures for your personal accommodation on board.
Spirit is a fair bit less expensive, and has some charges involved if you subsequently want to change or cancel your booking, however, remember that it can be changed online without a fee. To further clarify this, if you have a "spirit" booking and want to change the date, do it yourself online and it will cost you nothing; phone the staff, or go to their counter, and it will cost you $50 for the privelege of having them do it for you.

There are a couple of other "traps" that can cost you money:-

1. Within each of the "Spirit" and "Flexi" fare structures, they have different "Tier" levels that they refuse to divulge in full detail. (phone them and ask for details if you doubt me)
As bookings come in for a particular date, the fares go up.
For Example, we book a cabin with a porthole. If we make our booking early, we can get that for $169 per head. If there are a few bookings before us, we will have to pay the next level of $186 per head. If you are booking when they already have a lot of bookings , you pay $246 per head.
To check this yourself, go through the online booking system, note the cabin fee on chosen date, then use the feature that allows you to advance one day at a time, and note the variation in cabin fees. Try to get them to disclose this in full detail for you

2. Before you start a booking, measure exactly the length of your tow vehicle, the length of your van, and the combined length of the two when hitched. Remember that the tow coupling over hangs the tow ball, so the total length of your rig will be a little less than the sum of the two individual lengths.
Make certain that ,toward the end of the online booking process, the total length they show is actually the same as your measured combined length when hitched. One millimetre over a complete metre will cost you another $71. Our vehicle comes in a range of models and lengths, 2door and 4 door, and the SoT computer system does not ask for car length or model in our case. It just uses the length for the longest model, which takes us from 10.98 metres to about 11.5, and this would cost us $71 each way if we were not awake to it. We get around this by working out how much they have over estimated our length, and then deducting this from our declared caravan length to get their computer to show 10.98 metres. I have phoned them to check the legality of this, and they agree it is correct. Beyond reluctantly agreeing to this fact , I have found them loath to give information relating to shortcomings in their system that rip us off.


Perhaps Caravan and Motorhome Magazine could conduct an investigation into all things "SoT"?

HI; can someone tell me if you drive your own rig on the ferry and park it, or do the staff do it for you I have had a few different answers Regards Peter

DIY!
glanyard

Just make sure that you have everything you need whilst on the ferry out of the van and ready to take with you as you dont have a lot of time when you get on it. Also when we went, the door of the van was immediately next to a stauncheon (spelling) and would have been unable to be opened, lucky that we were ready.



Hank

This is a good thread.

Just thought I would place some info reference fares/discounts and travel availabilty dates for Pensioners.

The folowing is a cut and paste of the SoT web site:

Pensioner Eligibility
Pensioner fares are only applicable to holders of an Australian Pensioner Concession Card, as pictured and issued by Centrelink or Veterans Affairs.

The following conditions apply to be entitled to book a pensioner fare:

• The card expiry date must be valid at the time of travel and must be presented upon check-in. Failure to present a valid card will require the pensioner fare to be upgraded to an adult fare with any price difference required to be paid at time of upgrade

• If the Concession Card has a dependant adult named on the card, both persons named on the card are entitled to book a pensioner fare

• The pensioner who is travelling must travel with the card

• Pensioner fares are subject to availability and can only be booked if available. The following exceptions apply regardless of pensioner availability and if when booking online no pensioner fares appear available, please call our Customer Contact Centre on 1800 884 305 for further assistance.

– Recipients of a Totally and Permanently Incapacitated pension (TPI)
– Recipients of Extreme Disablement Adjustment pension (EDA)

Who is NOT entitled to book a pensioner fare?

• Healthcare Card holders are not entitled to the pensioner fare

• Senior Card holders are not entitled to the pensioner fare

• Students who are listed on their parent’s Pensioner Concession Card are not eligible for the pensioner fare as they do not have their own CRN number. Students must apply for their own low income card which is equivalent to a Healthcare Card

• Companion Card holders are not entitled to a pensioner fare as it is a service card only (such as use on public transport or entry into attractions)

• Exceptional Circumstances Card holders are not entitled to the pensioner fare

Are carers entitled to book a Pension fare?
A pensioner fare is only offered to a carer meeting the following criteria:

• The person they care for must be a recipient and holder of an Australian Pensioner Concession Card

• The carer must travel on the same booking with the pensioner they care for

• A carer is entitled to the pensioner fare providing they are not a professional carer

• A carer travelling with a TPI pensioner card holder is entitled to the discount

Cheers,

PeterM.

Hi All,
I posted this on another section but had no replys.

Hi all,
Could someone that has recently done the Tassie trip (daytime crossing preferably) we would like to know if you found parking nearby or onsite for the night prior to leaving Melbourne in the morning please???
We have read most of all the posting but just wondering if someone has an update please.

Cheers
OGF

Short answer OGF – no, we didn’t. We booked into the Ashley Gardens CP so there was no risk. On the scale of costs of what we were paying for the crossing, a caravan park fee was not a great amount more, and the park was pleasant, quiet at night and well located. Even if you found a parking area or street parking, you risk being moved on – negating the benefit of staying close by. I know some people have done this without incident.

G’day OGF,

Here is a link to a caravan park that is not far from the ferry that you could look into.

http://www.toptouristparks.com.au/parks … cabin-park

Cheers,

PeterM.