usvi-on-line
Cooler Procedures and TSA
Cooler Procedures and TSA
Question for the "cooler" folks out there...
How do you secure the cooler? I'm guessing you can't tape it up because TSA has to inspect?
After my many travels to STJ, I'm giving the cooler idea some thought for our December trip... but not sure, especially with additional baggage charges. On-St-John posed an interesting question: where is the break even point whne you factor in the new baggage checking fees?
TYpically we just don't worry about it and just eat out but I am weighing whether or not to do the cooler thing this December.
I am interested in hearing your Cooler packing and checking tips!
How do you secure the cooler? I'm guessing you can't tape it up because TSA has to inspect?
After my many travels to STJ, I'm giving the cooler idea some thought for our December trip... but not sure, especially with additional baggage charges. On-St-John posed an interesting question: where is the break even point whne you factor in the new baggage checking fees?
TYpically we just don't worry about it and just eat out but I am weighing whether or not to do the cooler thing this December.
I am interested in hearing your Cooler packing and checking tips!
*Another fine scatterbrained production
It's not a break even thing for me. I bring things down that I will not find on the island. I love to cook and have more time on STJ to do justice to some things I can do carry on for my clothes and check my cooler.
I use a polar bear cooler.
http://www.polarbearcoolers.com/
I use a polar bear cooler.
http://www.polarbearcoolers.com/
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California Girl
You know someone has to ask, so it might as well be me. Which one do you use? Thanks.waterguy wrote:It's not a break even thing for me. I bring things down that I will not find on the island. I love to cook and have more time on STJ to do justice to some things I can do carry on for my clothes and check my cooler.
I use a polar bear cooler.
http://www.polarbearcoolers.com/
BTW, I'm impressed you have so many ramekins!
When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Kentucky, because everything there happens 20 years after it happens anywhere else. – Mark Twain
Pjayer – If by which one, you mean which size of Polarbear, we used a 48 can size in February and needed every bit of room although I did go overboard on the Techniice, which took up a fair amount of room. For reference, I took enough meat for five, two-adult dinners, breakfast meat for 8 adults for 7 days, various cheeses (in block form) and a Ziploc of spices.
Like Waterguy, there isn’t a breakeven for us.
Planning ahead to save myself time is a big part of taking a cooler. I hate grocery shopping and spending an hour doing it on vacation, even on the best of islands, is torture.
The baby sitters in the group don’t like to go out at night (and also don’t drive) so I plan all their evening meals (as well as our son’s) prior to the trip. Frozen meat and non-perishable stuff like spices and the base for pasta salads and sauces get packed in the cooler, along with a menu for the week and recipes for each dinner. Fruits, veggies, milk, etc. are purchased on island.
Doing big breakfasts is something we rarely have time for at home so we take different breakfast meats for each morning. Hubs is picky about his meat and a pack of Oscar Meyer bacon from the Starfish doesn’t cut it for him. He wants sausage, apple wood smoked bacon from the local deli, ham, etc. and lots of it while eating breakfast on the deck.
Considering we eat every lunch and dinner out, our cooler has an immeasurable effective on the STJ restaurant economy. We more than make up for it in bar visits!
Like Waterguy, there isn’t a breakeven for us.
Planning ahead to save myself time is a big part of taking a cooler. I hate grocery shopping and spending an hour doing it on vacation, even on the best of islands, is torture.
The baby sitters in the group don’t like to go out at night (and also don’t drive) so I plan all their evening meals (as well as our son’s) prior to the trip. Frozen meat and non-perishable stuff like spices and the base for pasta salads and sauces get packed in the cooler, along with a menu for the week and recipes for each dinner. Fruits, veggies, milk, etc. are purchased on island.
Doing big breakfasts is something we rarely have time for at home so we take different breakfast meats for each morning. Hubs is picky about his meat and a pack of Oscar Meyer bacon from the Starfish doesn’t cut it for him. He wants sausage, apple wood smoked bacon from the local deli, ham, etc. and lots of it while eating breakfast on the deck.
Considering we eat every lunch and dinner out, our cooler has an immeasurable effective on the STJ restaurant economy. We more than make up for it in bar visits!
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chicagoans
- Posts: 1586
- Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 2:51 pm
- Location: IL
Gromit: I use an all terrain cooler from keepyourcooler.com. I like that it has wheels to make it easier to carry through the airport. Then the wheels detach so that it's easier to carry on the beach etc. Worked great as a carryon bag; on the way home we filled it with jackets and shoes. It is soft sided, so I would not put bottles in it if I were going to check it. We just packed frozen, vacuum packed meat and seafood, no ice. Stayed frozen for the roughly 12-13 hours we traveled.
I have a wheeled soft-sided cooler that just zips shut. Never locked it...never had a problem. It keeps everything very frozen.
Tip: I fill it with those blue ice blocks the night before we leave. That way, come morning, it's already cold inside. I don't know if this does any good, but I do it anyway. The food serves as ice enough for the trip
Tip: I fill it with those blue ice blocks the night before we leave. That way, come morning, it's already cold inside. I don't know if this does any good, but I do it anyway. The food serves as ice enough for the trip
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Teresa_Rae
- Posts: 2053
- Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:44 pm
- Location: Downstate IL
When it is just my husband and me we take a soft-sided cooler that zips closed so there is no need for tape. When we have a group we take a hard-sided cooler and we ask for tape at check-in and tape it there. In the past we’ve used dry ice and they asked to see it once so that’s why I didn’t tape in advance.
This year I don’t have access to dry ice so we’ll probably just tape it at home.
This year I don’t have access to dry ice so we’ll probably just tape it at home.