Taking sodas?

[sha308]

I am planning on taking my own sodas this time did the soda card last time didn't think I got a bargin,but have a question about packing them if they are cans do you add extra padding to keep them from exploding?Which is easiest to pack plastic bottles or cans?Please help don't want a coke mess in my luggage,also when we get to port will I have a problem bringing more onboard?

[wwakla]

Where are you going out of?

We went out of Long Beach. We traveled from Massachusetts and took with us collapsable coolers that are on wheels. Kept them collapsed and checked them as a piece of luggage on the plane. We then hit a grocery store in Long Beach and purchased three 12 packs for $10. Put them in the cooler and checked the cooler as a piece of luggage onto the Pride. Once on the ship we tipped our room steward and told him the cooler was there. It was iced twice a day.

We did have one can explode due to the porter dropping the bag. We helped her clean it up. She was very apologetic and we laughed. Why not we just saved ourselves $80 on soda cards :)

[Cotton]

I take a six-pk. of the plastic-bottled Cokes. They fit perfectly in a small insulated collapsible cooler bag that I have (WalMart $7)... and I put them in a second piece of luggage, along with a coupla bottles of well-bubble-wrapped wine. Haven't had any mishaps yet. (The way baggage handlers toss things around, I don't trust the cans not exploding.):rolleyes:

[sha308]

We will be going out of Galveston will have a colaspable cooler don't have to worry about airlines as we are driving to the port,will also check this as luggage was worried about the cans exploding,that's why I asked about padding etc.

[jfritz126]

I always pack my beer and soda cans in the 12-pack refrigerator packs and then just put them in the luggage with the clothes. I have never had any problems with anything exploding. I then pack my rolling cooler with my personal items. When I get to my room I unpack it, put the beer and soda in and tip my room steward to keep it iced all week. Works great!!!!

[sea-n-ski]

I pack my plastic bottles in a ziploc bag and stick them in the luggage. Have never had a problem!

[neverenufcruising]

Ditto on the ziploc bags in the luggage thing. Although we take the 12 oz plastic bottles rather than cans, the ziploc gives us a little extra security.

[serene56]

I just carried the cases on in the plastic bags the stores give me. Not a problem.

[sharonkrn]

We always pack ours in a garbage bag. Then into the suitcase, and bring a large collapsable cooler. that leaves you with an empty suitcase for those extras you always seem to bring home.

[NinaCO]

We will be going out of Galveston will have a colaspable cooler don't have to worry about airlines as we are driving to the port,will also check this as luggage was worried about the cans exploding,that's why I asked about padding etc.

Not sure if you intend to check your colaspable cooler as luggage, but you sure as heck don't want to. :D I've had the tops smashed off of Diet Coke cans in my luggage because there's a lot of weight piled on your luggage at the port. It would quish the cooler for sure. :eek: (No harm done by my smashed sodas -- the jagged edges didn't cut through the 2 sets of bags the cans were packed in.)

 

If you don't have a lot of soda, you can simply carry it on in your cooler. But, if you have more than Carnival deems reasonable (they never actually say what that number is, but my guess would be a 6-pack per person), then I'd put it in the checked luggage. I recommend using two-layers of ziplock freezer bags for soda, regardless of what type of container it's in. There was someone on the cruise newsgroup whose clothing was ruined because another passenger had packed sodas which had leaked into his luggage. So, it's not only your own cruise that's impacted if those sodas leak.