USVI-On-Line

If you did all of the planning and the arrangements, you should get first choice of room. The other couples should draw straws, rock/paper/scissors or just fight it out. Hopefully, in time they'll appreciate what you did for them.

We went to Mexico once with 2 other couples. Since it was my dad's timeshare, we got the master BR. We planned our activities once we got there so it all worked out OK and we had a ton of fun. Mas tequila por favor!

I might've missed it but where's the Cruzan Rum mention??

No actual mention of Cruzan Rum, the folks here know how much I love it though!

This is an interesting thread.

We did a beach house trip with my in-laws (not to St. John) that went so terribly, terribly wrong that I still get shutters thinking about it. It was a group that should have never been under the same roof. We thought it would be a great gift for them but in the end - not so much. Hubby jokes that it was a great trip – when they weren’t around.

I drank a disturbing amount of alcohol on that trip.

XIG what fare watcher do you use. Im looking for August fares also.. so far nothing great

I think this is more the norm then not! We have so many dear friends, that we love to spend time with at home, but would never consider vacationing with!
Years ago we invited friends who vacation in Rehoboth Beach Delaware, up to our cottage in Maine. It was horrible and our friendship was never the same again!
Even best friends can have different expectations of what vacation time is and rarely do they agree! I am so glad I have met some friends here online that know what to expect from St John and we all enjoy doing the same things! Rock on Six On The Beach!

I really find its who the others are that matters! We've made several group trips and have always had a great time. Mostly a mix of planners and go w/ the flow people and that really works well. You have too many anal people and that's just a recipe for pain.

A car per couple is KEY! That is one thing I would insist on no matter what from now on, though we did it without 2 cars on two trips and it really was fine. Just now that we all know more we prefer our own rides.

Also, lots of alcohol helps )

I love my husband to death and enjoy our shorter getaways together very much, but after a week of just each other we are a bit bored. I like for him to have a buddy to do things like Diving with and I like having a girl who likes to go poking around the shops and what not. We like to mix it up. Some of my best memories are on St. John with our friends. I actually remember waking up one morning on a trip with one of my girlfriends and her sister and thinking why do my stomach muscles hurt ... and then realizing it was literally from laughing too hard the night before. I am NOT exaggerating.

Other friends did have an experience which I feel terrible spilling but its just too funny to hold back. The husband of one of the couples that joined them on week 2 (we were part of the week 1 tour) went to Asolare and was upset when his springrolls came as they were neither rolls not springy. He was thinking dinner roll, not asian spring roll. Just shows you how different people's perspectives and experiences can be!

Flip-flop - the spring roll story is just too funny. I can totally see that happening in our extended group!

Years ago we went to the Outbanks with dear friends who wanted to eat dinner everyday at 4:30 pm. It nearly drove my husband over the edge.

We snowmobile with really good friends, but their idea of when to start the day is about 2:30 in the afternoon and ride and drink until 3 am. We like to start early and end by Happy hour so there isn't a lot of drinking and driving. We spent years of waiting on them and they never tried to go early with us. I am willing to wait on people if they are willing to do something our way once in awhile.
I think about taking them to STJ and if I was held back and didn't get to go to the beach, it would kill me.
I think group trips can be great if everyone bends a little bit.
I think our six on the beach trip will be great!
The villa looks great too so staying there in the pool or hot tub while waiting on others won't be a problem for me!

Wow! It never ceases to amaze me the amount of tips and wisdom I pickup from this Forum! Thanks for all the food for thought.
XIG- Hope you get back to STJ in August. I'd also like to know what fare tracker you are using.

I make it a rule to never travel with (or really be friends with for that matter) anyone that I can't just say "hey, this is annoying me big time, what can we do to make it work!"

Really when we pick a house it is usually more than enough room for us to spread out and if you have a car of your own then its no different than being in a really nice, small hotel

Maybe someone can come up with a spreadsheet based (since we have so many OCD/anal types here - myself included!) compatability index.

You know...

Are you an early or late riser?

How long is your ideal beach stay?

What do you like to do at the beach?

Eat breakfast/lunch/dinner in or out?

What would you consider to be an acceptable "plan B" activity if it was raining too hard to go with the original plan for the day?

Are you familiar with and competent to operate any of the following:

Blender?
Coffee grinder?
Coffee pot?
Toaster?
Stereo?
4 wheel drive jeep?
Shopping cart?
Camera?
Gas grill?

I'm sure that I've only scratched the surface...

Do you prefer morning beach & afternoon pool time?

Exactly how many of Miss Lucy's rum punches can you handle?

How do you prefer to handle the grocery split?

Imagine this scenerio, you see a goat in the middle of the road do you...

a) wait patiently until it moves
b) inch closer and closer to it trying to motivate it to move
c) try to run over it
d) GOAT IN THE ROAD ... why would there a goat in the road? There are goats on STJ!

If your answers to the goat question are compatible, then you probably don't have to take the rest of the compatibility quiz.

Something else that helps when you're traveling with a group(though it's not that common on St. John) are houses that are within walking distance to the beach. We've stayed at multiple properties on St. Martin and find the houses above Orient Beach serve us best. You can walk to the beach and have access to numerous bars, restaurants and shops.

We did a trip in January with my in-laws (also a gift to them) and it actually went fine. I was a bit tired of them by the end, but there was no irreparable damage done. I think they had a nice time - and so did we.

Flip-flop - your goat test is really the one and only needed when selecting travelling companions! I love it!

A goat attacked our table at Miss Lucy's a few years back. Our friends were less than amused. Actually, the husband was really mad. While they loved their two STJ vacations, the husband will never go to Miss Lucy's again.

The goat test depends if starfish has been resupplied lately