USVI-On-Line

when i was a newbie, i loved the island tour the first full day! it freaked me out due to the hills & switchbacks but I still loved it and it got me used to the driving conditions.

I strongly recc. getting together pre-trip for an "Expectations Talk".

Explain

1. that island time means relaxing and going with the flow. everyone gets to do what they want to do- no obigations.
2. your desire to be out and about early.
3. that you won't be offended when they want a day or two on their own(say "when", not "if"). Then hand them a FFFWD copy as a gift and/or a map of the island.
4. that this vacation is going to be awesome for everyone and if that means splitting up every once and a while, that's perfectly fine.

After the general vibe talk is over, discuss the cost of groceries and meals. will you be splitting bills down the middle or just paying for your family? if there are heavy drinkers and non-drinkers, a rift can form pretty quickly.

be proactive and make sure everyone's expectations are on the same page. it could save your friendship in the end.

Great suggestions everyone.

We are each doing/bringing 2 meals-frozen steaks, pork tenderloin, seafood, etc..., then I thought we could go out the rest of the nights (4 other), together or apart. Or bring in Candys or something.

They might also want to go to a nice dinner as a couple. We are sort of over that. And not a lot of $ for that.

And if someone wants to go out more, no biggie, we can bring it back frozen or eat steak for breakfast!

Villa gravity sets in for us at night. Definitely because of the alcohol.

(I guess that is what all CHs are???)

But I like what you say Lysa C-everyone gets to do what they want. And the "talk" is important because everyone's vacation personality is different than at home!

Luckily, no one is easily offended in the group, knock on wood....

And the house has two equal master bedrooms so the first hurdle of bedroom selection shouldn't be a problem!

mcpenguin5 wrote:Thank you! I can understand that one totally. Fortunately, the beaches exert a much greater pull on me than the villa can, no matter how cozy the villa. I spent the whole last year dreaming about this trip and all the wonderful beaches... We're going to visit as many as we can fit in!
Kris

I must admit, I share your feelings. I love my cocktail hour villa gravity time but during the day, we are all about the beach!

Come to think of it, cocktail hour could be about any hour of the day on STJ.

FF4WD book plus map, great idea.

My suggestions and maybe some of these were already mentioned:

I would plan "alone" family days for just your family.

A pre-trip get together (by phone if necessary) to lay out expectations on:

Travel day and arrivals - Are you all travelling together? Do they know what to expect in terms of taxis and ferry travel?

Splitting expenses (or not) - who does the grocery shopping? Joint or each family buys their own and consumes their own?

In our groups, especially last year, the majority likes to spend $$$ on food and booze.

The 3 couples split everything equally and it works for us. My mom and BF aren't drinkers so I break out their food supplies seperately so they aren't paying part of our booze bill. (they would not be cool with paying for $30 bottles of wine they didn't drink.)

I was up front with the other couples about my accounting methods before we left and they were in agreement.

Meal times - For the meals out, I like to loosely plan ideas so we all aren't standing around scratching our butts trying to decide where to eat. (helps in budgeting too.)

Kids and behavior around kids - Do both sets of parents have similar views on drinking around the kids?

We are non-censoring parents. I don't have a problem if my kid sees Daddy and Uncle P smoking cigars and drinking beer in the morning as it is a vacation trest and not a real life habit.

I do, however, have friends that would be totally horrified by that behavior. (we obviously do not vacation with them) Clear the air ahead of time.

Are any of the kids close to what you would consider to be an acceptable drinking age? One kid having a frosty drink when his/her friend is not allowed could cause some friction between the parties.

Give everyone an info sheet with all the contact numbers - villa, villa rep, villa address, car rental info, etc in case you get seperated.

Two trips ago, Hubs had no idea of the name of the villa, the rental agent, location, etc. and the car rental place was most annoyed. Having all that info at your fingertips is also handy in case of lost luggage.

sapphirecat wrote:Just wondering -- is Villa Gravity influenced by the presence of CH3CH2OH?

Cat

We are going to have a study on that topic on our next trip. Anyone who would like to volunteer their body for science is invited to show up at the Beach Bar gathering. There are no guarantees that you will not be randomly assigned to the control group.

JIM

OMG, GREAT suggestion about the contact numbers. That is definitely "must have" information. I would have never thought of that. (and I am a Girl Scout leader, shame on me).

I don't even know if we carry that around, come to think of it. we should.