The Ferry To Tasmania From Victoria

[luvsablue]

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone know whether you can take dogs on the ferry?

I was told it is dangerous and someone's dogs died because of the fumes from the ship engines.

(They have to stay in the car which is parked down near the engines)

I would be grateful for any information on this, because I was going to visit over there and wanted

to take the car and the dog.

luvsablue,

Victoria

[perfect partners]

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone know whether you can take dogs on the ferry?

I was told it is dangerous and someone's dogs died because of the fumes from the ship engines.

(They have to stay in the car which is parked down near the engines)

I would be grateful for any information on this, because I was going to visit over there and wanted

to take the car and the dog.

luvsablue,

Victoria

I think there are crates up on deck at the front of the ship that you can put dogs in but I was also told that they have to stay in the crates for the whole journey.

[wayrod]

Dogs normally have to go in the onboard kennelling facilities. They are not normally allowed to stay in cars/trailers although there have been cases of this ocurring in the past.

[Tassie]

Hey luvsablue. There was a case ages ago where some GSDs in a home made an poorly ventilated dog trailer died of heat stroke on a summer crossing.

However .... if it makes you feel any better, my various dogs have travelled across Bass Strait about 3 or 4 times a year for years - never any problems.

TT Line prefers that you put your dog in one of the ship's kennels - bank of metal wire-fronted cages that are on the main vehicle deck - which is a very high space, well ventilated - although lights on all night, and fairly noisy, probably. I don't think the dogs sleep all that well - mine usually sleep a lot the next day .

With a bit of paperwork, absolving TT Line of all responsibility, and with your vet OKing the set up in your car, it is possible to leave your dogs in your car - which is what I do now - mine are in open wire crates in the car, with water dishes attached to the sides. I leave the windows down a reasonable way - more in summer if it's hot, less in winter - and I'll often put a blanket on top to try to keep some of the light out. TT Line don't encourage you to do this, but they will let you if you insist, and as I said, sign your life away.

You cannot go down to the vehicle decks once the ship has sailed - but the security people do check the decks, and apparently the dogs.

I usually don't feed my dogs their evening meal, although I give them a Bonio type biscuit as I'm leaving them.

You need to make clear when you're booking that you will be travelling with dogs, and you need to make sure the stevedores etc loading the ship park you in an appropriate place - just tell everyone you see that you have dogs in the car.

You do need to book pretty well ahead, because they're now taking more and more freight, and what would normally be car spaces on the ventilated decks are now taken up by trucks.

The other thing you need to know is that dogs travelling into Tasmania are required to be dosed with a wormer that deals with hydatid tapeworm. The requirements are set out on the DPI website. My guys are on monthly Sentinel Spectrum (so they're always heartworm protected) and this does hydatid tapeworms as well - so I just juggle the dates of their worming so that they are dosed a couple of days before returning to Tasmania.

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions - as I say - my dogs are frequent travellers - Rory had his first ferry trip when he was 12 weeks old .

[Bisart Dobes]

Havent' been over there for a while but I book one kennel because then you park your car on that level which is ventilated and have the dog tag in your car. Have never travelled my dogs in the kennels they have always been in the car or trailer and we have never had an issue apart from sea sickness once. I book one kennel to ensure we are on the ventilated level and that level is the first to get off the boat as well .

Have a great trip and good luck.

[Snowysal]

I'm interested in how long the crossing takes? What time does the ship load and then leave and how long before you get back to your car/dogs the next day? and is that both ways? is it expensive to take a dog or more?

Edited July 1, 2010 by Snowysal

[Tassie]

Snowysal, the trip length varies from summer (shorter) to winter (longer). In summer the ships each do 2 crossings a day, so leave about 9 pm and get in about 6 am. In winter, it varies a bit, but usually leaves about 7 pm or 8 pmand gets in theoretically about 7 am (often a bit earlier).

The dogs are in their crates or whatever for about 10 -14 hours, depending on the crossing, how long the ship takes to load etc. In the morning, as soon as you're allowed down onto the vehicle decks, you get your dogs straight away, and I usually give mine the chance to stretch their legs. wee etc. on the vehicle deck while they're getting ready to unload. (Although have to say now, mine don't usually bother wanting to get out of the car - they know the routine, and prefer to wait till we're off the ship and they can have a good run, either on Port Melbourne beach or on the great open off lead area at East Devonport. )

I was a bit worried the first time or two, and a little worried when I travelled with Rory at 12 weeks of age - but absolutely no problems - and the little man held on all night, good boy .

One of the few downsides of the ferry is that there's a LOT of sitting around in queues in the car - waiting to check in, waiting to load, waiting to unload, and quite a long wait to go through quarantine at Devonport.

I think it's about $20 or maybe a bit more each way for a dog kennel space.

The big thing at the moment now, though, is book EARLY if you're taking a dog.

[huganewf]

I took a newfie on the spirit a couple of weeks ago (and came back with two) . When I booked I was told because I had a dog going in the kennel ($22) not to get to the terminal until about 6pm so that I could park the car near the back of the boat next to the kennels. Also if you arrive about then, you car will be on the bottom deck so you get off first.

The ferry leaves at 7.30pm on the night sailing and you can't get to your car until 6.30am. Hope this is of some help.

[greytdog]

My sister just came back from Tassie on the boat with her two rotties and her parrot. The rotties went into the kennels, and the parrot stayed in his cage in the car. All fine, no problems.

[luvsablue]

Thanks heaps for all the information. I feel more confident about taking her across, and it won't be until the summer.

luvsablue

[SwaY]

Mine traveled in my van

From Facebook

There FB page http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/spi...tasmania?ref=ts

Spirit of Tasmania

Hi Kerry, They are still allowed to travel in your vehicle, but we prefer that they travel in the provided kennels where they can be checked regularly. If they do travel in your vehicle you will need to sign a waiver. Thanks, Sarah.

May 11 at 9:52am · LikeUnlike · Flag