Provisioning- best option self or Moorings?

Well T-5 months to go and looking to do posts every now and then to keep the DIF manageable. This month I think I want to focus on Provisioning.

Because we are going to be arriving late and I want to lessen the stress, I am thinking of getting moorings to provision for me and have everything packed, stowed and ready to go.

This will save us a tonne of stress, time which will be at a premium since I will be travelling with my three boys (13,12,10) Wife and Mom.

Question is should I get my Mom and Wife to help with the Meal selection and subsequent provisioning or should I just go for the split provisioning option available through moorings? Seems expensive ($30US/person/day) but then when looking at the prices on the moorings or Riteway sight, Maybe more reasonable than I thought! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

Has anyone tried the SPlit provisioning/ meal plan through Moorings? What are the thoughts on value, is the extra cost worth having everything planned, bought and stowed? With three teenage boys, are the portions going to be sufficient?

Keep in Mind this will be our second bareboat charter in the BVIs and first time with the kids. We will be chartering in Late June. We are on a Moorings 4000 and planning to sleep aboard the first night. Also we are planning to eat out at a couple of locations (Jumbies Friday BBQ, Wonky Dog, Pirates bite/Coopers.)

Use the Moorings ala carte provisioning. Decent selection and pricing comparable to Riteway or Bobby's. Food will be on the boat when you arrive. You can walk over to Riteway in the morning for additional items if needed. I have been chartering for 25 years there and this is by far the easiest. If you have any missing items you go to the market on the dock to resolve it.
George

You should definitely have the person(s) that plan on doing the cooking to make that decision. I'd also consider how picky your eaters are before trusting meal planning to Moorings. There's no way my kids would eat the majority of what I'm sure is provided.
If you're sleeping aboard your first night anyway - have those boys help you stow the food. What else is there to do on the dock at night? The ladies can check off the lists with a glass of wine.

Haven't used the split provisioning in about 5 years, but looking at the form, its as a remember it. I do think the value was there - there was a lot of food. We didn't go hungry. I think our main reason for not using it moving forward is we felt we could do it for less ourselves and have more choices. The one downside is that you don't get an ingredients list for the meals - now they aren't that complicated, but I do recall us wondering what a few items were for or what went with this meal or that meal. Pretty minor stuff..

The other thing we found is that we opted to eat out more then we originally thought or sometimes skipped a meal because we had apps or a snack or something else.. Provisioning yourself makes that easier since you can get a couple days up front and get more stuff as you need it.

Either can work for you though, you just need to figure out what will be better for your group.

I would definitely not use the split provisioning. Use the ala carte. Easy and quick. The hardest part is finding the ordering section on the Moorings website!
G

I'd do the ala carte provisioning. Come up with an idea of how many meals you want to eat on board, then a grocery list of ingredients necessary. Order those and have them delivered. Your boys might be just as happy with a PB&J for lunch instead of tuna salad. If you need some ideas for meal planning, PM me and I'll send you my spreadsheet from prior charters. :-)

Another vote for ala a carte. Appears to me that with the split my group would wind up with too little of what we really want and too much of what we don't.

I've had the Moorings provision my last two trips and it was great. Items were on the boat and put away when we boarded with some beers in the fridge for good measure.

I found the selection and prices more than adequate for our needs and if there's something unavailable that you just have to have someone can dart over to Riteway in the morning. It doesn't get any easier.

Edited to add: I'm putting the finishing touches on our trip which is ooking like late June, early July, so perhaps our paths will cross and you can either buy me a beer or slap me upside the head depending on your provisioning experience <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I am sure that latter will not be necessary! If you see two Moorings 4000 cats sailing/mooring/docking that look like they don't know what they are doing, that will be us! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

A couple related questions... If you're chartering with the Moorings, it 'seems' like having them do the provisioning would be easiest - their boat, their responsibility as part of getting your boat ready, no delivery variable for you to coordinate, everything is stowed for you, etc. So that's my default thinking, but not everyone does that - there must be a reason and I just wanted to get a sense for why.

1. On doing a la carte provisioning vs. ordering ahead/delivery from Riteway... Are prices & availability about the same between the two - i.e., can you get everything you need via Moorings, selection and quality as good, and cost about the same? Anything you can't get via Moorings that you'd still have to walk to Riteway for?

2. On ordering ahead via Riteway... If you can order everything online and have it delivered, I'm wondering why someone would place an online order ahead of time yet still visit the store when they get to town. Does Riteway not always do a reliably good job of picking good fresh fruits, meats, etc - or why is that?

Thanks in advance for the insight!

1 - I think they are comparable enough - we've sometimes had to go to the Moorings store at their base to grab a few extra things, but never had to go to Riteway.

2 - I think the main reason people go is to pick out the produce/fruit themselves. I've never found this to be a problem and with the moorings provisioning, we typically have got a box of stuff from Good moon farms.

4th year in a row with Moorings provisioning. Super convenient, competitive pricing, good quality except some produce that was no where near ripe for which we go to Riteway.

Way too much food the first year so we cut it back. Now we do easy on the cook for 6 days for 8 people. Breakfast and lunches are hard to go wrong. 6 days gets a free dinner and dessert for the same unit price. We had some big eaters and still didn't run out of food.

Pick what your group likes. Example, we do 3 days of bagels and 3 days bacon/eggs/toast.

You can also supplement with A La Cart,or pre-order from Riteway and they will have it delivered waiting for you too. I cost compared our 2nd trip and Moorings was cheaper on 90% of the items but I haven't bothered checking since.

At a minimum, pre-order bulk, heavy and staples like drinks and extra TP.

I too was leery about having Riteway pick out our produce on our last provisioning order. However, they did a fine job. The plus to having them do it: when you need 30 limes for the week, they delivery 30 limes. There have been times that the produce section at the Riteway in town is pretty picked over.

Have been chartering with Moorings for 13 years. Best way we found is to provision all the heavy stuff, gallon jugs of water, rum,beer,mixers,etc. We then go to Riteways for what we want, not the selections. During our time on the water there are plenty of places to restock.

How far ahead notice does Riteway require to deliver provisions?

A note about my experience with a box from Good Moon Farms: I was SO excited to get local produce, and had hoped for mostly fruits (those amazing little bananas, pineapples, mangos, citrus, genips...), herbs, and a few vegetables for sides (things that you could use in a salad or just eat raw). Unfortunately, you get what you get, and none of it is labeled. We got a TON of different greens, none of which we knew how to cook or eat (very bitter, not for salads), and having to cook collards on a boat isn't my idea of a good time. I do love them, but too much prep and stink for a hot galley, plus no idea we needed to get a ham hock provisioned. So...just be prepared (but I don't know how you're supposed to do that)

I wish they included labels and some easy recipes for what they give you.

JustBS, their website says at least 72 hours prior to delivery.

We always order ahead, at least for the common items. My wife prefers to pick the produce and meats herself so while I'm checking out she goes to the store.