Shipping Groceries to St. John

[mfinn]

Hi.

We have a large group going to St. John in Jan. and I have read that some people ship groceries down. One couple in our group is taking the meat. My husband and I will be in St. Thomas for four days and then in St. John for three days before the rest of our group joins us, so we could ship the items before we left and picked them up in St. John, preferably. We are renting a car in St. John, or we would just buy some of the perishable groceries over on St. Thomas and transport them in the vehicle on the ferry. I am a bargain shopper and get groceries on sale using double or triple coupons, so most items I get are very cheap or free.

Because of the size of our group (14 adults, a child and an infant) and the varied financial status of them, we need to save as much money as possible on food. It would really help us a great deal to send some food ahead of time.

This question is for those who have done this before-How to you ship the packages, USPS, UPS???

Where do you ship them to if you can't ship to your villa? I would prefer to ship the boxes to St. John.

If anyone can help me with this, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!

[Xislandgirl]

You can ship via the USPS to either Connections or the Mail Center. The will charge you a small fee to accept the package.

That being said, it can take up to 2 weeks to arrive. I sent a package priority mail to my old boss over 10 business days ago and she still has not received it.

I understand wanting to save money, but there is only so much that you can ship without wasting money on postage. It is my understanding that if you send a package 1st class it can take well over a month and then you food is sitting around for a long time.

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[California Girl]

I was going to ship some stuff down and then I got to thinking about the cost of shipping stuff vs. just buying it on-island. I really don't think you save much money shipping food down. On the other hand, I am going to take a cooler with some meat & chicken, with a few dry goods packed on top. Just stuff that I eat that I'm not sure I'll find at Starfish. (Do you suppose Starfish Mkt. carries whole wheat tortillas and Kodiak Flapjack Mix?)

[flip-flop]

In my experience it is just too expensive and unreliable. Once our friends shipped stuff like their snorkel gear, snacks and sunscreen --- slowboat but like a month in advance. Didn't arrive until our next to last day. Kind of defeated the purpose.

[FlaGeorge]

Well – I see that you have two great options.
1) You can do what Jorge did and make everyone carry a cooler full of stuff.
2) Or – since you’ll be on STT for a few days – I’d just go to Cost-U-Less (Sam’s Club type of place) and buy in bulk for your group. For the smaller items, you can go to the Food Center (nice grocery store) just outside of Red Hook.

[sea-nile]

My husband wants to ship his kind of beer to STJ. I told him about the $400 thing and he couldn't believe it. I told him to just drink what he can buy on STJ or try some rum for once. It's practically free!

[liamsaunt]

Sea-nile, what kind of beer does your husband prefer? It must be yummy if he wants to ship it all the way to St. John!

Mfinn, if you want to bring food, I think you will realize your biggest savings by bringing down frozen meats. With a group your size meat can get really expensive! Plus, you may not find the cut or quality you are used to. If there are other things you know you need to cook to make your group happy, check as much as you can through as luggage. I always bring the olive oil I like and small tins with the spices I use.

As far as dry goods, you likely will be able to find everything you need at the local markets. Granted, you won't find the bargains you do at home, but I found that most things were very close to the non-sale prices I pay here (note however that I live in Boston and everything is expensive here!).

I am actually bringing food for the first time this trip. I normally would not, but my parents are joining us for part of the trip and they are fairly big meat eaters. It's not so much a cost thing as it is availability of what they like. Plus, it will be an excellent opportunity to break out my underutilized vaccum sealer!

[lpowmacback]

As FlaGeorge suggested, why not just buy as much as you can on St. Thomas since you will be there anyway (it will be a little cheaper than on St. John)- and buy the rest on St. John. Things are not that much more there - and the selection is not bad either-even for healthfood nuts like our family. By cooking the majority of meals on your own (as it sounds you will be doing), you will no doubt be saving a lot of money to begin with! Of course, you will not be saving like you do at home with your coupons, etc... but you are in PARADISE on VACATION - and while food is important (I think about it allllll dayyyy).... it's hardly the most important thing to think about - RELAX & ENJOY!

[MrsCARolph]

I had the wonderful idea of shipping my wedding dress down to STJ before we arived. Even for a light 5 lb package, UPS of FedEx wanted about $115! Needless to say, I'll bring it on the plane with me!

[mfinn]

Thanks for the advice. We would buy our groceries while we are in St. Thomas, but my husband and I are taking the ferry over to St. John since we are staying over there for three nights prior to our group arriving on St. John. We are renting our vehicle over there. My husband does not want to rent a vehicle in St. Thomas and transport it over on the ferry since he is worried if we break down or have any problems, there are no offices on St. John and we would have to pay for the vehicle to be transported back over to the rental agency. Since we are taking the ferry, we will have to carry our luggage, so I don't think we will be able to buy many groceries in bulk. We will probably just pack light and take groceries with us in our luggage.

Thanks again!

Mary