To judge from comments on some of the St. John travel forums, a lot of people have more then flip flops, t-shirts, and magazines in their luggage.
Many also have food. Which results in folks trading tips about what to bring, and how.
Tinkerbelldee says granola bars, coffee, Splenda, and Crystal Light are among her must-packs. Besides several cans of Pringles, "In our small backpack cooler, I have chicken, hamburger, bacon, and cheese. ( I am picky about certain things, meat being one of them)."
It's not the high cost of groceries on St. John that prompts people to bring their own food. Convenience is a big factor, as well as being sure you've got what you like. "Because I'm a little bit of a foodie and just want to have certain things. And this foodie likes to have her Twizzlers and Gummisavers poolside!," said Mari6625.
Bluewater43 has this strategy: "Vacuum pack & freeze anything ... at least a week ahead. Morning of the trip, throw everything in the cooler, packing lunchmeat & cheese in-between the frozen meat. Don't use ice packs at all (can't in carry-on) and everything is still frozen 8 hours later when we arrive." In that cooler - steaks, pork tenderloin, chicken breasts, burgers and Italian sausages.
The whole concept was news to Cfbbnell." I didn't know you could bring meat as a carry on! We are serious about our meat - 3 freezers in the garage. We buy whole cows, hogs and lambs. Being able to pack it into a cooler for the trip is awesome."