Shipping by way of Cargo ship

We get stuff for the hotel every week from VI Cargo. Rarely to never have problems. Also used them for some personal stuff. Everything was fine. Have never used Crowley, so I can't comment on them.

I've used V.I. Cargo for small stuff. Their process works pretty well although their pricing seems inconsistent on really small items.

If you're talking about big stuff (e.g., cars, boats, etc.) there are a few options but the only one I've used is Managed Freight and they did an excellent job getting my boat and trailer here last year so I'll be using them for any big items in the future as well.

We were not happy with Crowley, but we sent a container, not an LTL shipment. And actually, Crowley wasn't bad, but their agent in stx, ONeale, we thought was horrid. For LTL, we've used Tropical as well as VI Cargo and Deliver-it who uses Caribtrans.

We are working with Caribtran at this time to place our truck and trailer inside a container and ship to STT ~Great information and service so far but we will not be actually loading until April.

Thank you all for your information.
Umm Beachy not used to the lingo I guess what is LTL? I am planning on shipping some furniture, televisions, washer dryer that kind of stuff.

I believe it is a less than trailer load. I used to use VI Cargo all the time, however, I have been avoiding it lately as their pricing is inconsistent and they will not give a solid quote before you ship an item. Once, they did give us a quote (verbal) and we called 3 times to ensure the pricing was what they stated. When the item arrive they charged us four (yes - 4) times the amount we were quoted. I have heard nothing but good things about Deliver It but have not used them yet.

less than load--so not a full container, just a shipment...in with other stuff from others to fill a container. One of the best things about VI Cargo is that all the stuff is going to stx...Caribtrans "lost" one of the items we had shipped to them..and it was another week before they located it and sent it on..when the same thing has happened with VIC, they had sent the item on to stx and then tried to figure out who owned it...but it was here when we called looking for it...but we also find them pricey lately, plus they used to consolidate your shipment if you were sending several items, now they send each one on to stx, and you pay all the fees for each which gets really expensive. Caribtrans says they will hold if you ask.

Thank you very much Beachy and divinggirl
Sauceress

I used Flemming a three times and was more than happy. Twice, partial loads and once a vehicle.

terrific experience I had with the move from Michigan last year. The container came to our home August 29th. It was a 20 footer and we had Lee Fleming with Managed Freight take care of everything, and I mean everything. I called him before scheduling this at my home in Michigan and told him in order to get a container, I needed to make sure we had a storage unit. He drove to Sun Self Storage and had them hold the last 20 X 10 storage unit until I called.
Crowley was the carrier and it arrived on island September 12th. I drove to Crowley and paid them $6,284 that included ground and sea travel. What I paid Lee for his service was nominal at $746.

FYI, if you have the container over 1 week you will pay $20 a day.

If you want Lee to manage your move he is available all the time on his cell. His cell is 340-277-4504.

I recommend him highly.

I have to second Marlene's recommendation of Lee Fleming's service at Managed Freight. He really handled EVERYTHING. I was out of town when my boat arrived and he even took digital pictures of it and the trailer coming off the ship at the port and emailed them to me. When I got home my rig was sitting in my driveway and not waiting for me at the port to do customs clearance or something similar as I would have expected.

Thank you very much for all the information
Sauceress

crowley set a 20 foot container in front of our house in minneapolis gave us 3 days to fill it,they came back and got and it showed up here 3 weeks later we went to customs answered a few questions and then crowley put it in our driveway here in lavallee and gave us a week to unload it cost about 4 grand

Anyone hear anything about Brandon Transfer?

I bumped in to his wife yesterday, and she claims they are among the best.

We're getting ready to hire the movers.

Trying to get a reality check here.

Dealing with a moving company in Ct. We are probably shipping by container.

For anyone that shipped by container, was the charge container and weight, or just container?

Did the movers have to pack the boxes and container in order to get insurance?

We are working with Managed Freight, and today just received a second quote from Crowley, for our vehicle and a 20 ft container shipped from Port Everglades Florida.
You are charged only for the container shipping, not for weight. In a 20' container you are allowed approx 36K lbs, which is approx a 4 BDRM house. As far as local movers go their liability is done and over when the container doors close. Any additional insurance will need to come from your homeowners or renters insurance. There is insurance which is offered from Managed and Crowley ,but it is the same as I can see as what your Homeowners/Renters insurance will cover.
With a "live load" the container is brought to your house for a specific time period which is typically 4 hrs, the movers load and professionally pack the container so it doesn't shift and topple during the loading and sailing. Approx 8 days after sailing (from Florida) your container is in the port and ready for you to unload. We felt it was worth the money to hire a professional to protect the furniture and load the container.
With this being said, Managed Freight is incredible to work with but a bit more expensive than Crowley. However, Managed Freight takes care of everything you need....clearing your household contents thru customs and also getting a vehicle "road ready" and registered. All you need to do is show up and pay!
In addition, if you are shipping a vehicle and household contents, it is possible for you to load the vehicle onto a large container (40') with the household contents. You just need to compare the rate for the 40' container vs. the shipping cost for the vehicle to determine which is a better rate.
Everything can be a bit confusing ,but if you search this forum for previous posts and do your own research it wont be quite so bad!