Bringing Food To St. Thomas

When I travel to Aruba I usually bring a few food staples from home in a soft sided cooler. I freeze some lobster meat and bring a few staples. Can I do this when traveling to St. Thomas? Anyone ever have any issues traveling to St. Thomas with food?

Can't answer your question but when and where are you going? We will be at The Elysian November 4-14.

I have done it without problems

I am leaving for Westin St. John next week. I was wondering about taking a hard ice chest with wheels as one of my checked items. We are traveling from CA on a red eye with a 3 hour stop in Miami. We want to make sure our frozen meat stays that way. We will be wrapping it in newspaper as well. I sort of remember someone writing about doing that and closing it with duct tape. TSA could look in if needed.

Hi-

I have taken a rolling soft-side cooler as a carry-on to both the Bahamas and St. Thomas. Couldn't do this in Mexico, they confiscate food!

I use dry ice. (check with your airline, most will allow it if you declare it. Plus it is usually gone from the night before by the time I get on the plane.) Food stays really frozen. I found a perfect sized rolling cooler to use as a carry on and the benefit of not checking it is less chance it gets lost. I have read horror stories of getting your lost checked bag back several days or a week later with spoiled food. YUCK, would rather sacrifice one of my carry-ons and check my clothes.

wow and you go through the security with a cooler with food in it? I am flying Jetblue to St Thomas. Have you ever used Jet Blue? How do you info the airline before hand or when you get to security?

I'm leaving on Saturday--Cannot wait!!

Make a meatloaf, freeze it solid ahead of time, and place it in the center of the cooler. Works like blue ice.

Fern

beachlynn said:

I am leaving for Westin St. John next week. I was wondering about taking a hard ice chest with wheels as one of my checked items. We are traveling from CA on a red eye with a 3 hour stop in Miami. We want to make sure our frozen meat stays that way. We will be wrapping it in newspaper as well. I sort of remember someone writing about doing that and closing it with duct tape. TSA could look in if needed.

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jojo777 said:

wow and you go through the security with a cooler with food in it? I am flying Jetblue to St Thomas. Have you ever used Jet Blue? How do you info the airline before hand or when you get to security?

I'm leaving on Saturday--Cannot wait!!

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Yes, I take everything right through security. After it goes through the x-ray it inevitably gets flagged, they open the cooler and see it is food. I tell them I am headed to an island. Never been a problem. Once I think they dug down to see my hamburger tubes, guess they thought it looked like something dangerous. Usually I make the TSA person hungry!

No I haven't flown JetBlue. Go to their website type in dry ice in the search feature or check their carry-on restrictions. Food as long as "in a thawed state" is not liquid is ok. Only issues might be cream cheese or margarine type. Since toothpaste is restricted and those would be similar. For those things I would put in checked bags inside a small cooler. I put all the frozen food inside one of those huge ziplock bags inside the cooler just to prevent any condensation issues. Don't want to drip on your fellow passangers.:rofl:

Have fun!!

thank you!!

I've seen people check-in large hard side coolers with food to St. Thomas flights.