usvi-on-line
Cooler vs. Cost-u-less
Cooler vs. Cost-u-less
OK, everyone, I am reopening the eternal debate, because I need the opinions of more veteran travelers, and I know we have people all over the map on this issue.
For many reasons, we are renting our car on STT this time. And the airlines have cracked down on luggage, plus the flights are all crazy and convoluted, and I'm thinking our original plan of "take a cooler and not pay Starfish prices for groceries" is making less sense. We're $15 in the hole to check the cooler with the airlines before we ever put any meat in it.
The guy who rented us the car told us about Cost-u-less, and it sounds great. I did read some threads here about it, and I'm thinking it makes more sense to leave the cooler at home and get the groceries at Cost-u-less.
What are your thoughts? Is Cost-u-less cheaper than Starfish? How does it compare to groceries stateside? Let me know what you think if you shop there.
Tell me what you do. Cooler? Cost-u-less? Starfish? I have only been to STJ once and I know a cooler of groceries is cheaper than Starfish even with the $15 baggage charge (I paid $9 for one pound of chicken there), but I am just not sure about all of this craziness.
For many reasons, we are renting our car on STT this time. And the airlines have cracked down on luggage, plus the flights are all crazy and convoluted, and I'm thinking our original plan of "take a cooler and not pay Starfish prices for groceries" is making less sense. We're $15 in the hole to check the cooler with the airlines before we ever put any meat in it.
The guy who rented us the car told us about Cost-u-less, and it sounds great. I did read some threads here about it, and I'm thinking it makes more sense to leave the cooler at home and get the groceries at Cost-u-less.
What are your thoughts? Is Cost-u-less cheaper than Starfish? How does it compare to groceries stateside? Let me know what you think if you shop there.
Tell me what you do. Cooler? Cost-u-less? Starfish? I have only been to STJ once and I know a cooler of groceries is cheaper than Starfish even with the $15 baggage charge (I paid $9 for one pound of chicken there), but I am just not sure about all of this craziness.
We just did the cooler thing in June. We got our tickets last year, so we did not have to pay anything to check any of the bags. We did Fri - Fri so the airports were not crazy and baggage claim on STT was a breeze. No more than 15 mins. I got a $20 rolling soft cooler from Wal Mart and someone gave me one of those blue cooler ice packs. I would not hesitate to do this again. We took Chicken, burgers, dogs, cheese, lunch meat, meatballs, sausage and bacon. I sent a box ahead filled with dry stuff, powdered drink mix and condiments.
It was SO nice not to have to shop that first day so we saved valuable vacation time and $$.
It was SO nice not to have to shop that first day so we saved valuable vacation time and $$.
Hi
Not a comment on coolers (although we bite the bullet and take a cooler with food prepared at home to provide cooking-free time on the ‘ilons’, using blue ice). The guys that sell fish were there every time we went down the road toward Estate Concordia and Salt Pond Bay, on the left side of the road just past Island Blues (yay - reopened!!) and near Sweet Plantains in May.
Peace
Dugg and Chris
http://picasaweb.google.com/papadugg/
Note : Finally got the ‘96, ‘97, ‘98, ‘02 and ‘04 pics posted.
Not a comment on coolers (although we bite the bullet and take a cooler with food prepared at home to provide cooking-free time on the ‘ilons’, using blue ice). The guys that sell fish were there every time we went down the road toward Estate Concordia and Salt Pond Bay, on the left side of the road just past Island Blues (yay - reopened!!) and near Sweet Plantains in May.
Peace
Dugg and Chris
http://picasaweb.google.com/papadugg/
Note : Finally got the ‘96, ‘97, ‘98, ‘02 and ‘04 pics posted.
OK – here’s our take on it. We do both, we take a cooler with all our favorite meats, shrimp and cheese. Vacuum pack them and freeze the hell out of them. Like you, we rent our Jeep on STT – so we hit Cost-U-Less (it’s like a Sam’s Club or Costco) on the way to Red Hook and load up on bottle water and booze. On the return trip – the cooler doubles as a “Duty Free Booze Locker”.
FlaGeorge
"Swim Against The Current - Even a Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow"
"Swim Against The Current - Even a Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow"
We bring a cooler to save time, not money. But, $4 per pound dry cured bacon vs. $7.50 per pound Oscar Meyer is a pretty good argument - only you don't need to refrigerate dry cured bacon.
I just like having a few things to fall back on in the freezer while we are there.
If I were with a big group I would consider the Cost U Less route - but I'd still want to put the perishables in a cooler on the trip from STT to the STJ villa.
Cheers, RickG
I just like having a few things to fall back on in the freezer while we are there.
If I were with a big group I would consider the Cost U Less route - but I'd still want to put the perishables in a cooler on the trip from STT to the STJ villa.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
We did both...took a cooler with fillets, burgers and bacon from Omaha steaks dot com and also spent a few hundred bucks locally (we had 5 adults). It worked out well and was nice to have some reasonably priced top shelf meat (by my standards). We didn't pay any extra, the coller was one of our allowed, checked bags. We used a cheap-o soft sided cooler from Target...with frozen solid meats and they stuff was fine traveling 7AM to 6PM no problems.
Have fun!
Have fun!
STJ Villa Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie ... 2&t=h&z=14
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie ... 2&t=h&z=14
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Teresa_Rae
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- Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 5:44 pm
- Location: Downstate IL
Of course, now the bag would be extra because there is no longer any such thing as free checked bags. That's my problem. My original plan was always to throw a few tank tops, a sundress and a swimming suit in a carry on and check the cooler for free, but those days are over.
I don't know. It's vacation. Since we have easy access to cost-u-less with getting our car on STT, I think we might just go that route. Originally I thought I'd be bringing steaks and such from my parents' farm, but mom said last night that there won't be any new beef until next year and even they might have to go to Kroger.
Why can't cows grow faster?!?
I don't know. It's vacation. Since we have easy access to cost-u-less with getting our car on STT, I think we might just go that route. Originally I thought I'd be bringing steaks and such from my parents' farm, but mom said last night that there won't be any new beef until next year and even they might have to go to Kroger.
Why can't cows grow faster?!?
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mrscaptainjay
- Posts: 439
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:27 am
- Location: Saint Thomas, USVI
Hey Lulu, so what did you decide about this? It got me thinkin'..... I could start a side business of having people send me their Cost-u-less order with a deposit. Then I could do the shopping and meet them in Red Hook at the ferry with their order. Add a slight markup for delivery... plus Cost-u-less has a shopping card that tracks your purchases and they send you a gift certificate for every $1000 purchased. Hmmmmm..... now how to fit that into my work schedule until the business takes off....hmmmm possibilities....
Deb
Deb
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There is a HUGE need for a good STJ provisioning service
!!! If we had something like Bobby's on Tortola that would be very nice. A 10% fee would still be cheaper than Starfish Market.
Now, villa delivery on day of arrival would be even better!
Talk to John Brandi about the prepared meals business he sold in the states.
Cheers, RickG
!!! If we had something like Bobby's on Tortola that would be very nice. A 10% fee would still be cheaper than Starfish Market.
Now, villa delivery on day of arrival would be even better!
Talk to John Brandi about the prepared meals business he sold in the states.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
A provisioning service would work a whole lot better if they also would, for a price of course, accept shipments from the mainland and keep them cold until V-Day.
Pack your own, ship it Fedex, or use an online Meat/fish packer. (Someone mentioned Omaha Steaks - my experience with them was bad - tiny, tasteless, overpriced.) The guy on the island keeps it in a walk-in until your arrival date and delivers and stocks it in your refrigerator.
I would never take a cooler, I'd rather pay the local price...but a service like this might convince me to have some stuff shipped in and limes picked up for my arrival. Gotta watch out for that scurvy, you know!
Pack your own, ship it Fedex, or use an online Meat/fish packer. (Someone mentioned Omaha Steaks - my experience with them was bad - tiny, tasteless, overpriced.) The guy on the island keeps it in a walk-in until your arrival date and delivers and stocks it in your refrigerator.
I would never take a cooler, I'd rather pay the local price...but a service like this might convince me to have some stuff shipped in and limes picked up for my arrival. Gotta watch out for that scurvy, you know!
Mrs. Cap Jay - this is a very good idea! But, the Grocery Goddesses on STT may already be providing this service.
When I used the GGs on STT last year to provision Diva, they were talking about starting a "meet you at the Red Hook ferry" provisioning service. You would ax or e-mail your order a couple of weeks before your arrival, then call them when you landed and they would meet you at the car ferry with everything ready to load into your vehicle - cold items in inexpensive coolers. They also talked about having soft-sided cooler totes for the folks riding the passenger ferry so visitors would already have their basic provisions when they picked up their rental in Cruz Bay (but this was before the ferries started charging for each piece of baggage). I remember them talking about a deposit for the cooler and that it could be returned to them at the end of the trip (kind of cumbersome to do that, though). I like the way they charge - not by the hour, but a flat fee (I remember $25) plus a percentage of the cost of the groceries. This seemed to work out to less of a service charge than the hourly rate we paid for provisioning on both STJ and STX.
Not sure if they are up and running on this service as yet but it would be worth a contact. If they aren't, or even if they are, Mrs. Cap Jay, I think you've got an idea for a good service business. You should get a ton of business from this forum alone.
When I used the GGs on STT last year to provision Diva, they were talking about starting a "meet you at the Red Hook ferry" provisioning service. You would ax or e-mail your order a couple of weeks before your arrival, then call them when you landed and they would meet you at the car ferry with everything ready to load into your vehicle - cold items in inexpensive coolers. They also talked about having soft-sided cooler totes for the folks riding the passenger ferry so visitors would already have their basic provisions when they picked up their rental in Cruz Bay (but this was before the ferries started charging for each piece of baggage). I remember them talking about a deposit for the cooler and that it could be returned to them at the end of the trip (kind of cumbersome to do that, though). I like the way they charge - not by the hour, but a flat fee (I remember $25) plus a percentage of the cost of the groceries. This seemed to work out to less of a service charge than the hourly rate we paid for provisioning on both STJ and STX.
Not sure if they are up and running on this service as yet but it would be worth a contact. If they aren't, or even if they are, Mrs. Cap Jay, I think you've got an idea for a good service business. You should get a ton of business from this forum alone.