Taking coolers on board? Have you done this?

[Sablerose]

I keep reading about how people take coolers, rolling/collapsible/soft-sided/hard-sided, and this totally intrigues me.

 

I was in Big Lots today and saw an Igloo soft-sided cooler that says it holds 30 cans (of course that's not with any ice) for around $15, and thought it might be a slick deal. I have also heard of rolling coolers that "look like" suitcases?

 

I guess I'm picturing packing some kind of cooler - either on wheels or not on wheels - and getting it on-board as a piece of checked luggage. I also have a really good relationship with The Beer Fairy, who might could slip a 12-pack of Tecates in the bottom of the cooler, followed by canned cokes/diet cokes and bottled waters...

 

Does anyone have any experience with this? Thank you for being so patient with me while I gather all this information.

 

BTW I talked to my husband yesterday and he thinks it's totally cool that you guys have been so kind and helpful. I think he's excited that I have something like this trip to "worry about" instead of worrying about him while he's away. Thank you.

[SouthernCaribbean]

I always take a collapsible cooler with me. I dont drink pop so mine is used for bottles of liqour. Your room steward will gladly keep it filled with ice.

[Sablerose]

When you say collapsible cooler, what do you mean? How big is it? DO you fold it up inside your suitcase, and then un-fold it when you get there, get it filled with ice, and keep your bevvies cold?

 

Thanks in advance!

[SouthernCaribbean]

When you say collapsible cooler, what do you mean? How big is it? DO you fold it up inside your suitcase, and then un-fold it when you get there, get it filled with ice, and keep your bevvies cold?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Yes, I pack it in a suitcase and unfold it and fill it with ice and bottles when I get to the room.

 

Here is a one about the size of the one I use..mine might be a little larger.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16035&item=7164976966&rd=1

[Thatmom]

Hi,

the one I use is one wheels and can be folded up kinda small. I stopped at the store and we filled it with pop and water. Then check it in at the pier. This time I will pack beer in the suitcase right before I check it in. They did check our cooler but water and pop were fine.....

Then we put it on the balcony and had ice put in it everyday. Worked great...

Carla

[pholter]

We do bring a collapsable cooler that fits nicely in our luggage so we will be able to drink the brand of drinks we like and not be ripped off with the bottled water charges... Carnival has had no problems with us bringing 12 packs of soda or water on board and not hidden :)

[kodiac]

We love bringing our cooler. You will not catch me without it. We place it in our luggage and then unfold it when it arrives in our room. It always has ice / drinks in it during the cruise.

[Ship Addict]

I started bringing a hard-sided cooler on when I sailed the Inspiration. We had it in the car because we had a "road trip" to get to the ship, so I just decided it would be handy to be able to keep milk in the cabin for the youngest (she was 2 at the time). It turned out to be handy for tons of stuff. It not only kept our drinks cold, it was also a great stepstool for the kids to be able to brush their teeth without our help. We use a small one, one that would probably only hold a 12-pack without ice.

[homeofthedogs]

I too take a collapsible cooler on cruises. I use it as my carry-on to get on the ship, then have the room stewart fill it with ice daily for my wine and bottled water during my trip. Works great, except mine leaks, so have to keep it in the shower or put a folded towel under it. Mine has wheels and is easy to pull around.

 

Happy cruising!

[homernmarge]

we just got off the glory 6/11and we took the hard sided cool that hold 18 cans and when we got at the terminal they just ask if it had ice , we didnt have ice in it , we had it packed full of soda and water , nex time we will just bring water in it and buy a soda card

[corina27]

we just got off the glory 6/11and we took the hard sided cool that hold 18 cans and when we got at the terminal they just ask if it had ice , we didnt have ice in it , we had it packed full of soda and water , nex time we will just bring water in it and buy a soda card

Would they not let you on with the soda?:confused:

[Scotch]

Do the rooms have a mini-frig?

[CruiseCentric]

Do the rooms have a mini-frig?

All cabins on Conquest class ships have a mini-frig. Suites on all ship have one as well. It just doesnt keep things as cold as a cooler will.

[Snowball]

I usually bring a collapsible cooler with me too. My hubby is an avid Diet Pepsi fan, and since the ships only carry coke products, we use the cooler for his sodas, and some bottled water and wine. And our room steward did a great job of keeping it filled with ice all week, and was generously tipped for his efforts at the end of our cruise.

[wannacruisemore]

Hi....We were on the Conquest 4-24 thru 5-1. We packed a soft sided roller ice chest. It held 50 cans, we packed with beer, soda, and water on top. (no ice). We put a luggage tag on it. It was the first piece of luggage delivered to our cabin!!! Stewart kept it stocked with ice. Tip him/her up front. I found it helped.

Happy Cruisin:)

[day-day]

We carried our soft-sided cooler on board with us. We had a 6-pack of plastic bottled cokes and other miscellaneous items like sunscreen, camera, etc. (No ice in the cooler at the time.) We had other drinks in out checked bags which we loaded into the cooler and asked for ice from the cabin steward once we made it into our cabin.

[IBEEMOM]

We also used a roll on fold up cooler. It can hold about 54 cans, but we did not take that many. As we always drive to the ports we check it as a piece of luggage. When leaving the ship it was used to hold dirty clothes. We had purchased several bottles of vanilla and packed those in the clothes for padding. It worked well for us.

[jbd2003]

We also used a roll on fold up cooler. It can hold about 54 cans, but we did not take that many. As we always drive to the ports we check it as a piece of luggage. When leaving the ship it was used to hold dirty clothes. We had purchased several bottles of vanilla and packed those in the clothes for padding. It worked well for us.

 

Where did you get the vanilla and is it the pure vanilla? I wanted to get some but wasn't sure where to get it.

 

We also have a roll on cooler which I think we will take some soda with us and water for shore excursions.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the great information! :D

[sdwilson]

We are planning to bring a rolling cooler filled with Dr Peppers and beer. I assume they will let us check it and the beer in it will be ok. I have read many posts that the beer wasn't allowed and many that it was fine. So, I guess we'll take our chances and take it. It would be so much cheaper and you get to have the brands that you like! I don't think the ships serves Dr Pepper.

[tankersbabe]

Hubby and I have a 30 can soft sided cooler on wheels that we got at Wal Mart...is awesome!

 

We just wheeled it right on with us, loaded with two twelve packs of Pepsi products, 12 bottles of water, and a variety of munchie snacks. NO PROBLEMS!

 

It goes right through the xray machine...it was EASY! And it helped with the Mtn Dew cravings.

 

Stef

[Flip2cruise]

Where did you get the vanilla and is it the pure vanilla? I wanted to get some but wasn't sure where to get it.

 

I hear you can get some great pure vanilla in Cozumel.

[mummy]

I hear you can get some great pure vanilla in Cozumel.

 

here's a link to a FDA warning about Mexican Vanilla containing coumarin (coumarin is the same thing as warfarin which is rat poison). A lot of vanilla sold in Mexico is either artificial vanilla or has coumarin or tonka bean extract which contains coumarin. Coumarin is used as a substitute for vanilla or artificial vanilla flavoring because it smells like vanilla. Coumarin was outlawed in the US for food use in the 1950s.

 

http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia2807.html

[IBEEMOM]

Hi JBD, We bought pure vanilla in Cozumel at the duty free shop, just before boarding our ship. The previous poster was correct about the coumin. This is what the blood thinner coumadin is derived from. Look on the lable and it should say that the product does not contain coumin.

[campdaan]

I packed my soft sided cooler in a spacebag to make it real flat

[jbd2003]

Thanks IBEEMOM! I guess I will have to wear my glasses at Coz so I can read the ingredients. lol I hate to wear my glasses but can't read without them :( Oh well that is the price one has to pay to see, it could be worse. I really want the vanilla but I will be cautious of the ingredients.

Thanks Mummy for the info also. :)