New Cali Ocean

[Jacqueline William]

Hi from sunny Aberdeenshire.

We have just bought a new Ocean. First brand new vehicle we have ever bought so, ouch with the VAT! Aiming to own it for many years to come so it's fine.
We converted a couple of Transporters previously. Very basic so the Ocean is very luxurious. We haven't been away yet but planning is under way.
A quick question, we haven't bothered before but, is it worth being members of the Caravan and Motorhome club or others like that?

 

[Dave Lowe]

Yes

 

[Jacqueline William]

Yes

Thank you.

 

[Stu@rt]

Hi from sunny Aberdeenshire.

We have just bought a new Ocean. First brand new vehicle we have ever bought so, ouch with the VAT! Aiming to own it for many years to come so it's fine.
We converted a couple of Transporters previously. Very basic so the Ocean is very luxurious. We haven't been away yet but planning is under way.
A quick question, we haven't bothered before but, is it worth being members of the Caravan and Motorhome club or others like that?

Welcome
It might be worth taking a look at the club sites to see if you fancy the look of any of their offerings first. We don't belong to either of the big 2 clubs tbh.
Most of our stays are booked via pitchup or directly with the site concerned.
It does largely depend on the type of trips you have planned.
We are all different and use our Calis in different ways.
Any photo's of your van you care to share?
We are a nosey lot !
Enjoy

 

[Jacqueline William]

Welcome
It might be worth taking a look at the club sites to see if you fancy the look of any of their offerings first. We don't belong to either of the big 2 clubs tbh.
Most of our stays are booked via pitchup or directly with the site concerned.
It does largely depend on the type of trips you have planned.
We are all different and use our Calis in different ways.
Any photo's of your van you care to share?
We are a nosey lot !
Enjoy

Thank you. Photo attached the day it came home.

 

[Jacqueline William]

Oops! Sorry, the photo is huge. I'm not great at the technical stuff.
If you look closely, my grandson was up top and you can see his legs dangling. He went up nae bother but wasn't too keen on coming down.

 

[Hawthorn37]

We use a mix of club sites and private sites. Private sites tend to have more individuality, and a bigger cross section of campers. We’ve ended up joining both of the 2 main clubs as it was cheaper for us, given some sites we wanted to use. So far of the two, we prefer Caravan Club sites (but limited CCC site experience to be fair). If you like decent amenities, then club sites offer a dependable level.

Another advantage is convenience. To date, you can book sites with Caravan Club with no deposit, and if your life changes, you can amend or cancel up to 3 days before. However, we’ve heard they may introduce a deposit payment soon.

Also, if you plan travelling on a ferry etc., the discount for Caravan Club members is worth having.

 

[Stu@rt]

Oops! Sorry, the photo is huge. I'm not great at the technical stuff.

The bigger the better - Looks stunning!

 

[Jacqueline William]

We use a mix of club sites and private sites. Private sites tend to have more individuality, and a bigger cross section of campers. We’ve ended up joining both of the 2 main clubs as it was cheaper for us, given some sites we wanted to use. So far of the two, we prefer Caravan Club sites (but limited CCC site experience to be fair). If you like decent amenities, then club sites offer a dependable level.

Another advantage is convenience. To date, you can book sites with Caravan Club with no deposit, and if your life changes, you can amend or cancel up to 3 days before. However, we’ve heard they may introduce a deposit payment soon.

Also, if you plan travelling on a ferry etc., the discount for Caravan Club members is worth having.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Jacqueline William]

The bigger the better - Looks stunning!

Thank you. We think so too.

 

[Corradobrit]

Same colour spec as California Time (Indium Grey/red bellows) so you are in good company-

 

[dspuk]

Hi from sunny Aberdeenshire.

We have just bought a new Ocean. First brand new vehicle we have ever bought so, ouch with the VAT! Aiming to own it for many years to come so it's fine.
We converted a couple of Transporters previously. Very basic so the Ocean is very luxurious. We haven't been away yet but planning is under way.
A quick question, we haven't bothered before but, is it worth being members of the Caravan and Motorhome club or others like that?

We’ve joined both but got CMC free with our Cali - you might too. For 45 quid each it just gives more options of sites and supports the community. We have only stayed at one so far in Kent (Tanner Farm,CMC, 4/5) and will stay at another this weekend in Cambridge (the main CCC Site).

 

[Jacqueline William]

We’ve joined both but got CMC free with our Cali - you might too. For 45 quid each it just gives more options of sites and supports the community. We have only stayed at one so far in Kent (Tanner Farm,CMC, 4/5) and will stay at another this weekend in Cambridge (the main CCC Site).

How did you manage to get CMC free?

 

[dspuk]

How did you manage to get CMC free?

It was a VW thing. Just turned up in the post a few weeks after picking up out Cali.

 

[couplands]

How did you manage to get CMC free?

We got it free too, it was part of an offer last June 21 - 4 yrs warranty, 4 yrs roadside assistance, 4 yrs servicing and free CMC membership.

 

[Hawthorn37]

We got it free too, it was part of an offer last June 21 - 4 yrs warranty, 4 yrs roadside assistance, 4 yrs servicing and free CMC membership.

We got a free rug - hurrah !!

 

[couplands]

We got a free rug - hurrah !!

We haven't got our Cali yet, so not great...!

I'm hoping for a rug too, but VW have gone very quiet on that front...!

 

[Corradobrit]

We got a free rug - hurrah !!

I'm expecting the red carpet given the fiasco VW have put me through

 

[Hawthorn37]

I'm expecting the red carpet given the fiasco VW have put me through

Blue or brown, no red option

 

[Jacqueline William]

I got a small white box with the salesman's business card, a pen, a cloth for cleaning glasses and my spare keys. I also got a VW keyring on my other set of keys.

 

[BeeBee]

We’ve had our Ocean just over 3 years and only recently joined the CMC.
We like ‘smaller sites’ and the private ones, albeit can vary in facilities, have fulfilled most of our needs.
It’s true that CMC facilities are of a consistent standard but they do tend to be more a bit more ‘regimented’, but has its pluses and minuses… its pretty subjective.
Only stayed at 2 this year so far, Melrose and Bunree (Onich), both well run sites.
What I will point out that when booking as a member / logging in etc it’s sometimes a wee bit confusing ‘what’ the actual members discount is !!!

 

[Love my Wee Belter]

We have had our ‘Wee Belter’ for a year now and put 11,000 miles on her..all points on the compass traveling the U.K. and never stayed in a camp site as we joined Britstops which offers free stopovers across the British Isles and Ireland great for one night stays and as we have solar we can go off-grid however some places do have amenities. Just a suggestion

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

We have had our ‘Wee Belter’ for a year now and put 11,000 miles on her..all points on the compass traveling the U.K. and never stayed in a camp site as we joined Britstops which offers free stopovers across the British Isles and Ireland great for one night stays and as we have solar we can go off-grid however some places do have amenities. Just a suggestion

We’ve used Britstops (at pubs) a few times and they’ve always been good. The trouble is, our food and wine bill has always far exceeded campsite costs

 

[Jandy61]

Also if you like small basic sites, 5 or 6 pitches, check out CL sites (certificated Location) all over U.K. need to be a member of caravan and motor home club- officially...

 

[VincentVan]

Love the colour! Is that Indium grey? With the red bellows it looks great…