Take or leave the cooler?

Our flight out of SEA tonight is not looking good (delayed) and we are likely looking at a 48+ hour trip.

We've never taken a cooler before, but now have a Polar Bear 24 full of hard to find items to round out our provisions.
We could just leave the cooler in the freezer and no penalty besides the wasted time in preparation.

Or, take it and hope that stuff stays frozen, or close enough for us to trust it.

Opinions? TIA

What is the flight situation? Any alternate routes you can rebook before leaving?

Our flight SEA MIA is delayed, has not left Dallas. Mechanical. We are very unlikely make the MIA SJU leg tomorrow (even the later flight). American would pay our overnight. Looked into rebooking entirely via STT but not looking good.

Then there's getting out of SJU on Silver a day late...

I wouldn't worry about the cooler. Can AA get you anywhere else that has a flight to San Juan or STT?

Ask if the will endorse your tickets over to United. They have Seats leaving at 10:47 tonight to EWR connecting to SJU to link up with the original Silver flight. They could also move you to American to CLT connecting to either STT or SJU. Flights are oversold by 2 or 3 passengers but they are still selling tickets.

It’s 2 stops and leaves in 3 hours but you could also ask for a refund and Book United to DEN-EWR-STT. Gets you into STT just after 12 noon for only 581.00.

Too far to the airport for that, but appreciate the suggestions. Passing them on to my wife who is the travel savvy one.

The UAL flight through EWR is your best bet if they will book you on it.

Regarding PO;AR BEAR COOLER and longer trip time, I have done 28 hours with no concerns (outer packs slightly soft). However if you are going to be overnighting in a hotel along the way, call ahead and see if they have a walk in/ large freezer you can place cooler for your overnight stay.

We are now booked on Delta ATL STT. Expensive and not choice seats but options were few and we should get there. Incoming is in the air. Thanks for the helpful advice!

Still on the fence about the cooler... no ice packs in this... just some vacuum sealed steaks, chicken and some frozen vegetables. The cooler walls don't seem that thick.

If the steaks are frozen solid they should be fine. I might leave the chicken behind. Veggies will probably thaw. You can have a small amount of dry ice in the cooler. Just have to declare.

Let us know how your flights went and if you took the cooler.

I looked at rev Delta option last night. They had a few seats but not cheap! I hope American endorsed the tickets over to cover the cost!

George you are so smart with all the air/weather questions...you must work for an airline?

Not anymore! Now I am just a sailing bum!

Looking forward to BVI cruise #44 since 1981. Never packed food. Never starved. LOL

Nor are we bringing the cooler out of a sense of necessity.

First time, maybe last? We'll see later today. About to touch down in STT.

You should easily make the 2:30 ferry!

We made the 4:00 ferry, the cooler did fine, and we are getting settled aboard the M5000 "Crispy"!

Did American give you any trouble carrying the cooler? Did you check it? Or carry on? I am leaving next week for BVI with a cooler I want to check.

There is no issue checking the cooler as long as it does not exceed 62 inches total. Width+height+depth. If it exceeds that your credit card will take a hit!

We checked the cooler, no issues with it. Declared the meat on arrival in BVI (I valued at $120), no duty was charged.

Also…weight less than 50 pounds and luggage within allowed number of checked bags.