Lobster shipping from trap to your table, no matter where you live direct from LobsterAnywhere.
With clear skies and great packaging, we ship fresh lobster to just about anywhere in the USA. We have even shipped fresh seafood to Hawaii and as far away as the North Pole! Seriously. (Sorry, at this time we are not shipping outside the United States).
Thanks to our special freshness-preserving handling and express shipping, you can enjoy fresh from the dock seafood delivered to home tomorrow night.
Christmas Shipping 2024: Our Recommendations
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This is our 25th year shipping perishable seafood and lobster from Maine, so we’ve seen it all—including wild winter storms that keep flights grounded! We are always proactive and realistic, and we never want to disappoint with false promises.
To make sure you get your order on time, we recommend the following:
- Due to shipping delays around the country, we strongly suggest ordering your Maine lobster shipped to you early and storing it in the freezer. We only freeze lobster meat and lobster tails using the Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) method, which preserves their freshness and flavor for when you’re ready to thaw and cook.
- A record number of packages will be shipped in 2021, so get your gifts out extra early, not the week before Christmas. Learn more about holiday shipping deadlines.
Next, we’d love to briefly walk you through our lobster-trap-to-table process to demonstrate the attention to detail and care we give each and every lobster sold at LobsterAnywhere.
1. Hauling Traps & Collecting Fresh Maine Lobsters
Lobsters are brought to Maine docks by independent lobstermen and women. There are more than 3 million lobster traps off the rocky coast of Maine.
Lobstermen are known for their love of the ocean’s natural balance and commitment to sustainable fishing. Over and undersized lobsters are returned to sea. Lobstermen who keep egg-bearing female lobsters will face a fine upward of $1,000.
2. Shipping Grade A Lobster
When you purchase a lobster at a store, you haven’t any idea where it came from, how long it had been on the delivery truck, or how long it’s been sitting in the tank. You’ve discovered the number-one rule of seafood—fresher is better.
With grocery store lobster, the long voyage from the bottom of the sea to your kitchen table is often way too long. Time and bacteria take their toll on quality and flavor.
That’s why we focus on caught-that-day live lobsters and individually quick frozen (IQf) meat and tails—it’s the unrivaled best way to get lobster that’s at its freshest and peak flavor.
For overnight lobster shipping to arrive alive and kicking, the lobsters must be lively, healthy, and hard-shell. When lobsters shed their old shells, there are new, softer shells underneath. A hard-shell lobster is a lobster that has not recently molted or shed its shell.
Hard-shell lobsters are hardier and can withstand the rigors of overnight shipping. You are also guaranteed more lobster meat from lobster claw to tail with a hard-shell live lobster.
Fresh-caught lobsters should also be “seasoned” in cold seawater holding tanks for a few days to adjust them to a cool shipping temperature. Lobsters are held for a short time in refrigerated tanks with constantly chilled and cycled fresh salt water. This makes them hardier and ready for shipping.
3. How We Pack Lobsters for Safe Travels
We prepare and pack your lobster order the day it ships to ensure maximum freshness and quality. Each lobster is picked fresh, checked for vigor, and weighed on digital scales.
Here at LobsterAnywhere, we’ve shipped thousands of lobsters to just about anywhere, from extremely cold climates like Fairbanks, Alaska (-30 degrees °F) to super hot places like Yuma, Arizona (120 degrees °F). They almost always arrive on time, alive and kicking. The two key components in storing and shipping lobster are moisture and cold temperature.
Thanks to our special freshness-preserving handling and overnight shipping, you can enjoy fresh-from-the-dock lobster tomorrow night.
Whether shipping lobsters to Boston, Massachusetts, or Flagstaff, Arizona, live lobsters should be packed right to ensure they are kept cold and moist in transit. Only extra thick, insulated coolers should be used with either seawater-soaked newspaper or rock seaweed. Coolers should be a minimum of 1 1/2 inch thick and a thirsty pad should be placed on the bottom to hold in any liquid. These containers provide temperature protection for your lobster until they reach their destination.
Quality lobsters shipped from Maine should also be surrounded with icy-cold gel packs that are comfortable and harmless for the lobster. Lobsters shipped with frozen ice or dry ice can be lethal.
Finally, live lobsters should be packed with extra care to avoid any shifting and to withstand rough handling that could potentially crack or crush the lobster’s shells. Coolers should be packed in corrugated boxes and then shipped overnight to ensure freshness.
4. Lobsters Shipped for Overnight Arrival
…and 24 hours later, your lobsters arrive—alive and kicking—at your doorstep.
Live lobster shipping requires three key ingredients:
- Quality Hard-Shell Live Lobsters
- Quality Perishable Packaging
- Experienced Lobster Shipping Company
Done right, lobsters should be delivered alive and in perfect condition, no matter how far they travel. LobsterAnywhere.com ships lobsters to just about Anywhere in the USA, from Nantucket, Massachusetts, to as far away as North Pole, Alaska.
Lobster Online Order Deadlines
Online orders need to be received by 3 pm EST the day your order ships. Live lobsters need to be ordered the day before they ship. You can order now and schedule a delivery day at checkout with our date picker.
Did you miss the cut-off time? Contact us here to see if we can rush out a same-day order.
Lobster Shipping to Just About Anywhere in the USA.
We’ve worked with dozens of shipping companies, and we’ve found the ones that handle our precious lobsters carefully and efficiently.
LobsterAnywhere.com ships strictly to the contiguous 48 U.S. states, plus some areas in Alaska and Hawaii, for an additional charge. Delivery to HI requires an export permit, which costs $35. No permit is required for frozen items.
Shipping Restrictions
LobsterAnywhere offers lobster delivery to just about every State in the USA. However, due to customs laws, we are unable to ship lobster to international destinations and U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
There are no Sunday or Monday deliveries. All packages must be delivered to a physical address—no PO Boxes, please. Be sure all addresses are correct and include the recipient’s daytime phone number.
Our experience tells us there are two reasons that potentially cause problems.
Reason #1: The shipping address is invalid or incomplete. The apartment number, Suite number, or other crucial information our shippers need is missing or incorrect.
Reason #2: The recipients are not home, or the business is closed. When you order lobsters as a gift, you should alert the recipient that a perishable package is on the way so they can plan accordingly. Packages do have signature release (packages can be left at the door), but it is always a good idea to err on the side of caution when dealing with perishables.
Lobster Shipping Costs
Your lobster delivery rate is determined by the total cost ordered. Most of our lobster dinner gift packages include free delivery. All perishable products (except live lobster) should be refrigerated or frozen immediately upon delivery.
Shipping Method | Estimated Delivery Time |
---|---|
2nd Day | 2 days. |
Next Day | Overnight by 7 pm |
Priority | Overnight by 10:30 am |
Saturday | By 1 Pm to most areas |
Total Order Amount | 2nd Day | Next Day | Priority | Saturday |
---|---|---|---|---|
Up to $24.99 | $29.00 | $33.00 | $39.00 | $49.00 |
$25.00 – $49.99 | $32.00 | $36.00 | $42.00 | $52.00 |
$50.00 – $74.99 | $35.00 | $39.00 | $45.00 | $54.00 |
$75.00 – $99.99 | $38.00 | $42.00 | $48.00 | $57.00 |
$100.00 – $124.99 | $41.00 | $45.00 | $51.00 | $59.00 |
$125.00 – $149.99 | $44.00 | $48.00 | $54.00 | $62.00 |
$150.00 – $174.99 | $47.00 | $51.00 | $57.00 | $64.00 |
$175.00 – $199.99 | $50.00 | $54.00 | $ 60.00 | $66.00 |
$200.00 – $224.99 | $53.00 | $57.00 | $ 63.00 | $69.00 |
$225.00 – $249.99 | $56.00 | $60.00 | $66.00 | $71.00 |
$250.00 – $274.99 | $59.00 | $63.00 | 69.00 | $74.00 |
$275.00 – $299.99 | $62.00 | $63.00 | $72.00 | $79.00 |
$300 and up | 14% of order | 14% of order | 16% of order | 16% of order + $19.00 |
Lobster Shipping FAQs
Answers to your most frequently asked questions about shipping fresh lobster and seafood from Lobster Anywhere. Be sure to check out our customer service page.
Unfortunately, at this time, we are unable to ship outside the USA due to customs laws.
LobsterAnywhere.com ships strictly to the contiguous 48 U.S. states, plus some areas in Alaska and Hawaii for an additional charge.
Lobster delivery to the state of Hawaii requires an import permit for live lobster. No permit is required for frozen lobster or lobster tails. It is the customer’s responsibility to obtain the import permit. For more information, go to the State of Hawaii’s website.
Please email or fax a copy of the permit to LobsterAnywhere.com. The copy will be attached to the shipment to prevent the package from being held in quarantine and spoiling.
Shipments to international destinations and U.S. territories (such as Puerto Rico and Guam) are unavailable. All packages must be delivered to a physical address—no PO Boxes, please. Be sure all addresses are correct and include the recipient’s daytime phone number.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. No delivery on Monday or Sunday.
Some rural areas do not offer Saturday delivery. Please check with FedEx 1.800.go.FedEx. Orders can also be held at the nearest FedEx station for hold at pick-up.
Your best plan is to set a dinnertime for your seafood order, or if you must, properly store your seafood the day before your event. Major holidays and weather conditions may change delivery availability.
Yes, you can. When you order online, you can specify a future ship date with our handy dandy shipping calendar, which you’ll see at checkout. You can also pick the exact day your order will arrive.
Shipping frozen items? It’s not a bad idea to receive your order a day or two before you plan on cooking them. Frozen items can always be put right back in the freezer and stored for several weeks.
We’re sorry, but we cannot deliver on national holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. However, you can order live lobster the day before most holidays and store it in your refrigerator until you’re ready to cook it.
Need your order like yesterday? Get in touch, and we will see if we can help!
We use Federal Express overnight and second-day air service. We ship all of our products in reusable, insulated Styrofoam containers surrounded by chilled gel packs that maintain the proper temperature (take them to the beach or a picnic!).
Your hand-graded lobsters are packed with seawater-soaked newspaper or fresh seaweed to keep them moist and frozen ice gels to keep them cold. Be sure to see our tips for storing live lobsters at home.
Check your email. The day your order ships, you will receive a shipment alert with a tracking number. You will be able to click on the link to see exactly where your order is. If this is a gift, you will be notified via email when your package is received.
We ship ALL packages ‘SHIPPER RELEASE’, which allows the FedEx delivery person to leave the package at its destination. If your order is more than $500.00 we will require a signature. That’s a lot of lobster to be left at the door.
Another option is to hold your lobsters at the local station for pick-up at your convenience. Please ALERT the recipient that a perishable is on the way. Note that the delivery driver will NOT leave a package if the area is deemed unsafe. Sometimes, FedEx will NOT leave a package at an Apartment or Condo complex.
You should plan to have someone sign for the package when it arrives. WE WAIVE THE SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT ON ALL PACKAGES so if no one is available to sign the courier will usually leave the box at the door. Although the lobsters should be okay if left alone for a few hours, we cannot be held responsible for unattended lobsters! Many of our customers have orders delivered to their workplace or send a gift certificate.
All live seafood orders are shipped overnight. Frozen lobster tails, chowder, and seafood are shipped overnight and two days with dry ice. Expect delivery by 5:00 p.m. or earlier. For rural areas, expect delivery by the end of the day or even later.
Saturday will arrive by 3:00 pm or earlier and is NOT available some rural areas. Please call 1-800-Go-FedEx to check availability.
Note that bad weather can delay and impact shipments. This includes snow, rain, thunderstorms, sleet, and even fog. It’s a good idea to check the delivery area for weather updates before selecting a ship date.
Generally, the best time of year to buy lobsters is before Memorial Day (before the summer tourists arrive) and after Labor Day (when the tourists leave). Read our blog about the Lobster Seasons
Most Internet companies are vendors or middlemen for other merchants. Because we are a wholesaler we are able to offer our products at affordable prices-plain and simple. Learn more about lobster market prices.
Will you ship to US Virgin Islands?
Sorry, wish we could. The Virgin Islands is considered an international delivery and would have to go through customs.
Can you ship to Guam?
Sorry at this time, we only ship lobsters with the contiguous United States.