Info on Our Move to STX

THanks for the great post. You gave some new (to me) information.

Thanks Dave. I am coming down soon from Michigan and my husband is already there. Good post and good info. Were there other places you inquired about for a used container? I want to buy a used container as well and don't know where to call first.

Marlene

Marlene, in our case we used a company called A-1portable buildings. They specialize in portable classrooms, job site office trailers, etc. You might start with this type of company in your local phone book. If they don't handle containers, they can probably steer you in the right direction. Also have them recommend a good lock! Our guy threw in a chrome hockey puck type lock and said it would do the trick! And it did.

This is really good info, Dave. Thanks for posting it & glad everything (especially the dogs) arrived as scheduled.

Did you have any problems with the temperature at either location (for the dogs). We are booking at the end of July and are afraid to go through Miami because of the 85 degree temperature rule. The airline said they don't fly dogs at that temperature. The only flights we can find leave at 11:55 in the afternoon. What happens if the temps are too high (dog and money-wise). I was thinking San Juan would be better but I am really afraid of having my dog on a long layover and changing flights without me.

You will have a problem with in July with the Miami flight. It is usually 85 degrees + that time of day in July. Also, the temp in STX must be lower than 85 degrees when you arrive. The MIA flight gets in at 2.30pm so you will have a problem there too. They probably will refuse to check your dog through if the projected temps are 85+. However, they base this on the forecast--so you might get lucky and get an 83 degree day. But honestly, it really would be a gamble.

Where are you leaving from? Temps are hot all over the states in July. Your best bet is to get a late afternoon flight, arrive in SJU in the evening, and either stay overnight at a dog friendly hotel or take a late flight to STX.

I wouldn't worry so much about the dog not getting on the plane in case of a long layover (just ask the gate or flight attendant and they can call baggage to make he is loaded), but worry more about the poor creature being cooped up in his kennel for such a long time in the heat. Short layovers may be more worrisome regarding transferring the dog from one plane to the next.

CMBickish,
Did you ask the airline what happens (dog and money wise) if the temp is too high? Also, pretty safe bet, if it's 85 in Miami, it's 85+ in San Juan. Can you send the dog to a friend or relative now, before it gets any hotter? There have been many posts regarding this topic, with lots of good info. But.....the bottom line is whatever the airline says! If you research previous posts, you will find it also helps to shop airlines. Really good advise recently about doggie tranqs, they will make the dog thirsty (I know that from experience), and that, coupled with hot weather, doesn't sound like a good combo.
Are you leaving Island for good? If so, can you share your reason? If you already have, I apologize for not being up to date. Thanks.

Have you called Miami...heard today they are already under the embargo....I dont think you will be able to go through there on anything other then continental.

I have been lurking/minimally posting since July and have read the information. It has been great--thank you! I am moving to the islands, not from the islands. We are coming from Baltimore but are willing to drive to avoid a layover. We also found a flight from B-more at 8am and out of San Juan at 8pm. This seems like it would work with the temps but I am really worried about the layover, and what to do with our boy. The people that I have talked to have conflicting answers-but as advised I am taking names of all people I talk to.

Oh man, I hate to be so negative, but the names of all those people aren't going to do you any good at 8 pm. They are probably not on duty, maybe they don't even work there anymore. Take one more step. Get it in writing, and then hope the policy hasn't changed! As an aside, none of my business, but keep in mind these policies are for the protection of your dog. If they say it's not allowed, that is because they don't want the liability, and if they don't want the liability,.......why?

We are moving in August to STX. and hoping to bring our dog then, but she may have to stay with friends for a month or so if the heat restrictions don't permit her to come with us. Our plan is to fly in the late afternoon or early evening to San Juan and spend the night in a dog friendly hotel and then perhaps take the sea plane the next morning from Old San Juan. I hear the sea plane is great. Hope this is helpful.

My experience with getting our dogs down to STX is that one should read as many posts as possible, call as many airlines as possible and ask as many questions in as many different ways as possible.

This was the one issue of our trip that kept me stressing until "the girls" were cleared through check-in. The 85 degree rule is almost always enforced, but there is always a chance of some minor flexibility. One of our concerns was with weight restrictions. AA website says any pets over 100# including pet container must be shipped through their cargo service. In our case, this would have meant that the dogs would have still been on the same flight and handled by the same ground crew, it just would have cost $1,000 instead of $200! I still don't know the actual weight of our dogs, but it would not surprise me if they were 110-120# with containers. AA check-in did not weigh them, so I consider that a lucky break for us. Also, AA check-in staff seemed to be made up of real dog lovers(at least on the day that we traveled). Everyone made a big fuss over them! Of course, there is no way to know that until you get there.

At one point earlier in my search to find pet travel answers, I was convinced that we would have to take a very early (6:30am?) flight out of Miami to get to San Juan around (9:30am and still low temps) and then charter a small plane
to STX costing also around a$1,000. At that point, I thought, If it is costing this much,maybe we should just charter a plane right out of Miami? I thought that this was a great idea until I found out It would cost about $10,000! Not an option.

Bottom line is that our experience suggests that no one can provide 100% reliable info on getting large pets to the VI, so read, read, read and ask, ask, ask!

Good Luck!

Dave, you are so right - I have told many people that several of my dogs exceeded the weight limit....and it was like people went blind and decided not to notice what they were loading onto the cart! I was really nervous when I had to let them out of the crate to be scanned - none of them are on Weight Watchers - I figured I was SO busted....fortunately, we got to know the ticket crew since we had 6 dogs going through with various relatives, so they just sort of waved us through other than the formality of scanning the dog and the crate.

That's where we got jammed up on the return trip - the 85 degree rule wasn't even negotiable except with Continental, who no longer landed the big planes on STX....hence the charter.....and I looked the private route, too. I haven't even posted about that because I figure if you've got $24K to fly dogs from St. Croix to Arkansas, you probably have your own plane, too!

thank you dave i did get in touch with flemmings they are great, the prices are good.they gave us a price of under $5000.00 to bring the container to our home in atl with 2 hrs loading time, that price is including all paper work. i think that's a steal!!.well i have not decided yet which vehicle to bring yet as i do not want to part with my little jetta.

Dave
Your idea of buying the 20ft container seemed like a great idea. I have a couple of questions. Did you secure the container down when you put it on your property (in case of storms or hurricane)? What did you eventually do with it? And... what is a current tag.
Thanks,

Dave,

Your post has been so informative! Thanks so much for all the specifics. This information will come in handy for a lot of people, including me. Quick question: once everyone arrived safely on STX, did you have transportation arranged to your new home? There have been posts on here about taxis refusing to transport animals so I wondered how you got the dogs home.

Thanks again!

Dave,
Thought I emailed you in response to your info., but don't see my post. Would love to talk with you! Our situation is similiar.

410279 1430 or PM at campilates69@yahoo.com

cameron

Charlie, I did not secure the container down (they weigh about 5,000# empty) but that is a good point, I will have to look into it. As far as tags, when the container is manufactured, a large 6"x8"? metal tag is attached to out side of door.
This tag will have basic info about tare and dimensions etc. There is also a date stamped on it, I THINK about 4 or 5 years past the mfg. date. Once this date passes, the container needs to be re inspected before it can go on the water. I am told that re inspection is less of a big deal if you live in a port city because that is where the inspectors are. I assume that they look mainly to make sure that there no leaks or daylight coming in.

Hope that helps!

Texas girl, concerning getting our dogs from the airport to our house, on all of our trips down, we have rented from Olympic rental car. They are not at the airport, so they pick you up in a mini van and take you to their office. I called them and asked if they would drop ALL of us off at home and then take me to pick up the rental car that we used until our cars got down and they agreed. Don't know if this was because we are repeat business or if they do it for everybody or just a slow day for them, but they always seem willing to help! A nice tip for the driver also can't hurt!

Olympic did the same for me when I first arrived with 3 dogs. They are not the cheapest on island but they usually will go the extra mile.

Good to know. We will definitely keep them in mind when we make the move with our "kids".

dave,

sorry I didn't call, it's been a long couple of months for me. Please email your # again and I will be sure to call.

cameron

as far a securing a container......I put my 40 foot on blocks to keep air and rodents from living under it , my last 20 foot container the floor rotted out in a year as it was on the ground......I also used strapping for the container for high winds......placed 2 wind vents on top and a window and door in it ..........axle grease the hinges they will rust first and are almost impossible to replace .........good luck on your move and welcome to stx...........

we are moving down in august with our 3 dogs and my wife is going crazy about the airlines with them. either we will take a "first out" flight in orlando but hopefully we don't have a layover once we get to san juan. so we are keeping our fingers crossed that things will go smooth. cannot wait to get down there.