USVI-On-Line

This is our first trip ( except a couple day excursions) to St John for a week's stay arriving May 12th. I remember reading a while ago about people bringing food with them in a carry on backpack cooler. How does this pass through at the airport,ok? Do you use dry or regular ice.. and what do you bring?? I have been researching grocery stores as well.I am curious what the prices are ( they seem sort of scary after reading the threads LOL)for staples.. Bread, O.J. etc. Any and all suggestions welcome. TY!

Lots of info on this page for you to look at.

http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... de=results
Type in backpack and look at various posts.

We are bringing some steaks, lobster, chops, hamburgers, etc in a cooler. We are checking that bag.
We are also bringing Peanut butter, oatmeal, pancake mix in pouch, tang, etc. No ice, just freeze it in cooler for week ahead.

Grocery prices: http://www.vimovingcenter.com/cost_of_living/

It may be expensive, but it will be worth it, I am sure. Hope you have a great trip.

First of all, have a great trip!

Second, we are some of the people who take coolers. Our practice is to fill a Polar Bear 12 or 24 pack cooler (depending on the length of stay and number of people to feed) first with a frozen sheet of Techni Ice then with frozen meats. We have carried it on with only the briefest of TSA inspections and checked it in luggage. We take about 12 hours to get from our freezer to the villa's freezer. The meat has always been frozen solid upon our arrival in STJ.

We buy everything else when we arrive. We have shopped Starfish and the market near the Westin. They seem to have the best selection.

JIM

Random items from Starfish market, last week:

2% milk, 1/2 gallon (organic) $6.69
starbucks ground coffee: $14.99/bag
josephines greens: $4.99/bag
case of island pure water: $8 (4 gallons)
grapes: $3.69/lb
bell peppers: $4.69/lb
lemons: 89 cents each
ciabatta bread: $6.49/loaf
pasta, ronzoni brand: $2.49/box

If I am staying in a villa I always bring a cooler of food, fully frozen and checked through. Not for availability, but for the ease of having what I want to cook readily on hand. With all of the food stores on island, you'll find what you are looking for eventually.

We are cooler people, and we always check our cooler.

Even if they'd let you bring regular ice in a backpack cooler, I wouldn't do it because it would undoubtedly leak.

If you want to carry on food you can't bring dry ice, and if you bring dry iced checked you have to let them know because it can be hazardous. There is a weight limit for dry ice.

Thanks for all the great info everyone! You guys are great!

I would also recommend freezing meat and use a food saver if you have one. Takes all the air out. Our food is rock solid after 10 plus hours in a soft sided cooler similar to polar bear.

Techni ice looks like a great product if you don't have a vacuum sealing machine.

We have packed it in our checked and done the carry on route too. No issues with TSA, as long as there is not liquid or gel packs.

Another polar bear cooler family. We have the 24 one for our trips. We use techni ice...so there is no "leaking"...and it we take ours on as a carryon! So far, the only think that got confiscated was peanut butter...apparently that is considered a liquid! ha ha. This past summer I got the great idea from this forum to bring Omaha steaks with us...yum! Everything was still frozen solid when we got to the villa. We now have the 12 can one....perfect for daytrips and stuff.

Iluvstjohn wrote: This past summer I got the great idea from this forum to bring Omaha steaks with us...yum!

We use Omaha Steaks as well. You can count on getting a great steak everytime, very consistent and travels very well when frozen.

We are also cooler people. Every since my first experience with the Polar Bear+techi ice I can't go back. However, I started carrying the coffee with me. We got searched every time when the coffee was checked in the cooler. I guess they were looking for drugs. They made a mess. No problems since though.

We bring the spices we like to use. We are planning a "No checked baggage" vacation with our family this time. We are staying at Frenchman's Cove and a laundry is in the villa. Was thinking of sending a US postal service "Priority Mail® Large Flat Rate Box 12" x 12" x 5-1/2" for a cost of about $15 from Mississippi.
With the cost of checked bags these days, you can buy food on St Thomas with the $$ you save by going without checked bag(s). We'll see how it goes.

gibber161 wrote:

Iluvstjohn wrote: This past summer I got the great idea from this forum to bring Omaha steaks with us...yum!

We use Omaha Steaks as well. You can count on getting a great steak everytime, very consistent and travels very well when frozen.

Looks like Iluvstjohn's leaving Boston for the island the same day as Gibber and I?? What a coincidence!

So if we want to put a little collapsable cooler in our checked luggage with other non perishable things, that would be ok also right? After looking at those prices, we want to take as much as possible on our trip end of June. BUT we cant put those frozen cooler block things in right? They would be considered a liquid or what? We cant do ice cause it will leak. Input?

Bre

Are you talking carry on or checked luggage?

You can check the frozen gel packs no problem, and if they are thawed on the way home it's fine as long as they are checked.

Carrying them on is hit or miss. I'm a meat scientist so taking meat on planes isn't an unusual event for me, and between coworkers and myself, sometimes we've been allowed to carry on the gel packs, sometimes not, and definitely not if they are thawed. How's that for an answer?

suzanna945 wrote:

gibber161 wrote:

Iluvstjohn wrote: This past summer I got the great idea from this forum to bring Omaha steaks with us...yum!

We use Omaha Steaks as well. You can count on getting a great steak everytime, very consistent and travels very well when frozen.

Looks like Iluvstjohn's leaving Boston for the island the same day as Gibber and I?? What a coincidence!

We will be two days behind all of you. Don't use up all the fun or rum before we get there. We'll see you at the beach bar.

JIM