We're staying at a villa on Jost Van Dyke for a week July 11th. Plan on ordering adult beverages and non-perishable items with Riteway. We plan on eating out each night and some other meals but want to have breakfast/lunch items on hand. Should I have concerns about ordering items like deli meat and having it shipped from Riteway to the ferry and then over to Jost? Will Rudy's have enough for a simple breakfast and sandwiches?

We bought breakfast items and other provisions at Rudy's in September. We had friends order a week's worth of provisions from Bobby's in May and it worked out fine. They got a call when their box went on the ferry and picked it up at the wharf.

Cheers, RickG

We enjoyed walking to Riteway to shop (especially since Caribbean Cellars delivered 95% of the fluids directly to the boat!) I will never have food sent to boat again as this was much more enjoyable! And really Caribbean Cellars prices are probably 35% lower on avg for beer, wine, rum!

We have always had great success with Riteway. The deli meats do hold up well. I suggest buying a brand like Oscar Meyer though and not Riteway's deli meat. We have also purchased their frozen turkey meat and made turkey tacos on the Boat. Highly recommend that. It made for a fun evening!

Thank you. I was concerned whether the deli meat would hold up as Reina put it. Will follow the suggestion for packaged meats. It's been about 8 years since we have been to BVI and looking forward to our trip - 7 nights at Escape Villa on White Bay and 4 nights at Myetts

yup, use the lunchmeat early, probably only a last a couple of days!

The other thing I would suggest is if you are a coffee lover make sure you ask the charter about the coffee pot they offer beforehand so you know what to buy and how to use it!

WOW Reina brings up a great point maybe the best point ever made on this forum!!!!
Chances are you will have a stove top percolator so get your grind right!

On the deli meats ...... the meats that come from the Deli and are sliced when you buy it, don't have the same levels of preservatives as those that are sliced and packaged individually (e.g., Oscar Meyer, Hormel, etc.).

In the Deli, once a package of bulk meat is opened and placed in the display case for slicing to order, it's not vacuum packed anymore so, its exposed to the air, supports bacterial and fungal growth and goes bad quicker.

So, yeah, if you're not going to eat it same day, get the prepackaged stuff in small quantities that stays vacuum packed until you serve it. It costs a bit more but stays fresh and good tasting longer.

In the small quantities that preservatives (usually nitrates/nitrites, bromates and sulfites) are in these packaged meats, they are not harmful. You can screen them though for those with the lowest quantities of these preservatives.

Bottom line, its a risk/benefit equation. A little salt compound preservatives in your system or stomach upset and diarrhea from spoiled meat.