I figured you can't take a cooler with ice in it onboard so no need to pack a rolling cooler - just bring a regular carry-on suitcase so we could use it for souvies on the way home! Well, we DID have the little DCL cooler bag from our last trip so we packed that to bring to the beach. (BTW - those leak - so bring gallon size ziplocks and have your stateroom host fill them with ice for you in the mornings so once the ice melts it's contained.)Last month we flew down with an empty carry-on suitcase and prior to the cruise filled it with 1 & 1/2 case beer (in cans so they wouldn't break) and 1/2 case bottled water and 1/5 Captain Morgan (found it in plastic). This way we didn't worry about anything breaking!
We also have a collapsable rolling cooler (like the ones from Costco & Walmart etc.) but when it came time to pack that puppy had to stay home! Even folded down the bottom end was still like 9" thick and it weighed 5 Lbs!! When you're flying in today's world THAT is huge! If you're driving to the port then it's not a big deal. But if you're flying & trying to get everything into 1 bag per person under 50 Lbs it's really, really hard and something's gotta stay behind! Of course, our vacation was 10 days - if you're ONLY doing a 3 or 4 n cruise then you won't be bringing as much so you would have more flexibility. It depends on your whole trip length how much room / weight you can afford to bring. For me, the rolling cooler would've wasted precious space & weight. We got along fine with our little folding DCL cooler bag that mashes down into NOTHING to pack and probably only weighs 1/2 Lb. I worked out a deal with our stateroom host where I would just hang the big ziplock bag on the outside of our door handle in the mornings and when he came on duty at 8:00 am he would swing by & grab it & go fill it with ice & bring it back!
I hope it goes well enough as right now it is still easier on the budget than 4 airline tickets.
