Cooler vs. Cost-u-less

Terry · Post by **Terry** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 5:59 pm

What hassles has anyone recently run into with regard to taking a cooler of frozen food on board an aircraft? I read that someone had a problem with a large frozen container of eggbeaters.

Packing a softsided cooler in luggage and renting the vehicle on STT then stopping at a store on STT is starting to sound a bit more in savings. A hassle, but maybe worth it.

But let's face it...if we can all afford the air, villa, and expeditions...isn't it amazing that we try to save on food?

On another topic...what is the price of gas per gallon today on STJ?

Nanque · Post by **Nanque** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:54 pm

Gas is $4.93 regular and $5.00 for premium in Coral Bay.

heckstar · Post by **heckstar** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 9:20 pm

Can anyone tell me where cost-u-less is located? Thanks

South Shore Villa · Post by **South Shore Villa** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 11:21 pm

Cost-u-less is generally cheaper than Starfish and has just about everything you could want. Its prices are similar to Stateside - which is saying a lot. I usually bring a cooler AND hit Cost-u-less. But then again, I usually go for 2-3 weeks at a time and do a fair amount of entertaining. One draw back to Cost-u-less is that, similar to a warehouse club, many of the items are economy sized (i.e. larger than you may need). One last note, if you visit St John frequently you may want to consider getting a discount card at Cost-u-less and/or Starfish as this will save you even more.

Have a great visit!

South Shore Villa · Post by **South Shore Villa** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 11:30 pm

BTW, Cost-U-Less is located roughly in the center of St Thomas. There are basically two roads to Red Hook from the airport, one takes you along the cost and one over the top of the island. The later will take you by Cost-U-Less. It's located next to Home Depot. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://bb ... 4&t=k&om=1

heckstar · Post by **heckstar** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 9:20 am

Thank you SSV. Have a great day!
Heckstar

sizzler · Post by **sizzler** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:35 am

could you give the board some more information about the discount cards. I have never heard about it.

mrscaptainjay · Post by **mrscaptainjay** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:58 am

You can sign up for a free card at the service desk at Cost-u-less. When you check out, you give them your card. Once you spend $1000, then you get a $30 gift certificate mailed to you for your next visit. It's not a huge savings, but everything helps. I don't think there is any savings at the register for using a card vs not using a card. But the prices are better there than anywhere else on the island.

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 12:34 pm

MargyZ, thanks for the info - this was new to me.

I sent the Grocery Goddesses an email this morning ( http://www.grocerygoddesses.com/ ) and received a call back from Wendy, one of the owners (my phone number is in my email signature). She was full of information and answered all of my questions with a brisk fast talking response - lots of energy!

They offer ferry and barge drop off for the same fee as villa provisioning - $25 plus 18% of the grocery bill. They keep all of the refrigerated purchases in coolers in their vehicles and they shop same day for the deliveries. They usually hit two or three stores and will buy specific items at the best value - "a ten pound bag of frozen chicken would probably come from Cost-U-Less and a single chicken would probably come from a grocery store."

I sent a followup email regarding mail-ahead service and operating hours/holidays.

Given the higher prices on St. John and the time that grocery shopping takes away from the vacation, I think that this is a reasonable price to pay. The savings on cases of 24 bottles of water and soft drinks would probably make a significant difference. With a group of 8 we usually spend an initial $400 on groceries and $200 on beer/liquor on the day we arrive. Assuming the same budget for STT vs. STJ shopping, the shopping fee would be $133: $25 + $108 (18% of $600). Lets assume a conservative 10% reduced cost for STT vs. STJ shopping and the actual economic cost may be lower: $62.20 ($122.20 fee - $60 10% cost saving).

What's two hours of your time worth?

What's missing for the STJ visitors? That nice villa stocking service with cold beer in the refrigerator when you walk in the villa door.

Bobby's provides a similar service on Tortola, primarily for charters, but they own the market they provision from and do not charge a fee. Check out their shopping list, it might make for some inspiration for your own grocery shopping - http://www.bobbysmarketplace.com/

This looks like a good service. I would certainly consider it for a charter from St. Thomas, JVD trip originating on STT or a visit to STJ.

Cheers, RickG

Margy Z · Post by **Margy Z** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:37 pm

I think I worked with Julie - same kind of enthusiasm. We were very happy with their service. They took care of directly arranging for access to the villa, put everything away in cabinets and stacked extra beer, soda, water out of the way in the laundry room. We had ordered vodka, gin, and olives so they kind of put that together and iced the gin and vodka and refrigeated the olives - lol. Julie asked how many people were in the group and I think she did a good job about refrigerating a good amount of the beer, soda, water, to give us a good start. We once had a provisioner who refrigerated full stock of everything, overloading the fridge. We had to unload and then wait for the fridge to catch up.

I agree - it is so nice to have drinks iced and ready to go at the villa when you arrive. I wonder if the GGs could provide an inexpensive cooler with some of the beverages already iced and ready to go. They seem like they are willing to do a lot for their customers so it will be interesting to hear if they will accept packages, etc.

Bob & Anita · Post by **Bob & Anita** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:14 pm

heckstar wrote:Can anyone tell me where cost-u-less is located? Thanks

We have a MS Word document with a directions and maps for supermarket on STT including Cost-U-Less. Just email or PM us with your email address if anyone wants it.

South Shore Villa · Post by **South Shore Villa** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:50 pm

To the person asking where Cost-You-Less lis located:

Cost-U-Less is located roughly in the center of St Thomas. There are basically two roads to Red Hook from the airport, one takes you along the cost and one over the top of the island. The later will take you by Cost-U-Less. It's located next to Home Depot. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://bb ... 4&t=k&om=1

Regards,

Wolfhound · Post by **Wolfhound** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 5:01 pm

We were proud first time cooler users this past June. We used a Polar Bear cooler and will never go back. Next time I have to remember to pack the bacon though. There it was sitting in the fridge when we got home.

http://www.polarbearcoolers.com/

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