A week in northern Tassie

[PrezRegan]

Join me (and my partner) [my partner and I for the grammar naz_s out there] as we explore northern Tasmania for a week. Our itinerary will see us go from Devonport to Cradle Mountain, Strahan, and finally to Launceston. We’re staying in mostly Accor hotels and it should be an interesting and visually stunning adventure. Hopefully it’s not too cold!

This is a bit different from my usual travel and TRs but I promise we won’t be slumming it through some of the most beautiful parts of Tassie.

May thanks to the team for their tips here

 

[PrezRegan]

Our journey begins in the Virgin () lounge. The lounge has great views but the food options are somewhat limited. Despite having no status I was able to get both of us in using my Amex card which is a small win. It did feel strange turning left instead of right at Canberra airport.

We have a direct flight to Melbourne before we board the Spirit of Tasmania for an overnight steam to Devonport. We managed to snag the last Deluxe cabin so it won’t be 8hrs of reclining chairs for us (thank god). Annoyingly there’s no easy way to get to Geelong where the ship departs so rather than juggling buses and trains we might just get an uber there.

Our inbound plane has just landed (20 mins late) and I realised there’s no point rushing as I’m boarding group last with no status!

Edit: I forgot to mention we’re flying Y

 

[PrezRegan]

I’m not going to bother reviewing the flight because besides being late, it was pretty unmemorable. Like Jetstar, you have to pay for everything.

We ended up paying about $120 for an uber to Geelong - definitely a good idea and cut out a lot of the hassle of getting a bus then uber or train and uber as there’s no direct link from the airport to the terminal. Checkin was quick and thankfully we can all board early and don’t have to sit in a waiting area.

Our cabin is at the very fore of the ship in the front right (or starboard) corner. Not much of a view right now but the room is quite nice and spacious, has an ensuite and some free wine which is a win. Wine from the onboard bar is about $12 a glass - about what you’d pay on the plane!

We don’t depart for another hour but I’m feeling pretty peckish so will definitely check out the buffet and report back. It’s $32 for hot food and $9 for dessert. There’s also some cafe style options as well.

 

[PrezRegan]

A belated update on the food - so it’s essentially a buffet at $32 pp which includes hot options and salads and a drink. The portions were generous but it’s not a bottomless buffet and tbh the food itself was pretty bland.

Hot options included a lamb massaman curry, pork shoulder, fish goujons and chicken drumsticks. There was also a selection of desserts for $9 extra - I treated myself to a brownie which was quite rich and actually not bad whilst my partner had a mini pavlova that had been clearly made by a caterer.

Overall, would probably dine again vs buying a sandwich or pastry from the other cafe on board or try to byo food given there’s nothing near the port.

The sailing itself over was smooth and I got a decent nights sleep. Our entry is delayed slightly due to traffic so we’re now disembarking at 0730 vs 0630 which I’m fine with because we can’t pick up the rental car until 0900 from the airport.

 

[markis10]

I am surprised Gull have not thought to add a stop to the pier for their airport service

 

[PrezRegan]

Yeah annoyingly not - from memory it’s still a 15 min uber from their closest stop