Spirit of Tasmania, – travelling with kids
Spirit of Tasmania, – travelling with kids
Back in October last year we took our four kids over to Tasmania, when we were planning it we were tossing up whether I would fly over separately with the four kids and my husband take the car and caravan over, or whether we would all go on the boat. We were a bit concerned whether all of us would fit comfortably in a cabin, as unfortunately with four kids we often run into trouble finding accommodation to fit us all and we didn’t know if it would be the same on the boat. We looked online and it seemed as though the inside 4 berth cabins had two cots so we booked and hoped for the best (actually I rang the helpline to confirm)
The day of our trip arrived and I still worried that we would be squished, and have a long sleepless night.

The kids loved driving into the boat, they thought it was so exciting that the back of the boat was opened up and you could drive right on.
The boat starts boarding about 5pm but by the time we got on it was about 6pm so we headed straight to our room to leave our bags then headed upstairs to have a look around and grab dinner.

We dined at the Captains table (a self serve Bain mare style) option that had great variety of food, that was ready without waiting, heaps of high chairs available and reasonable prices.
Whilst we were still eating the captain informed us that we were about to leave, so my husband and Miss J, and Master L, headed out whilst I sat inside with our two youngest, to watch the boat leave port

We then headed back to our room for the kids to go to bed and settled in for the night.
The room was actually a lot bigger than I expected, with room beside the cots for us to walk around. My daughter (2) is in a toddler bed at home, but loved her special camping bed.
The rooms have their own toilet and shower which is a must with four kids. The boat has a kid’s movie that plays at around 7pm, whilst we didn’t watch it on the way over (the big kids did on the trip home) I settled in expecting a rough night, however the gentle waves actually helped the kids sleep, probably better than they were sleeping at home at the time.
I woke up at 6 telling us we were almost in Port, quickly got the kids dressed and headed to the car. By far the easiest 12 hour trip we have done as the kids (and the adults) slept for most of it. If you are going to go over on the boat I recommend a cabin and a night sail.
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