In case your family members have not got adjacent seats during automatic seat assignment then make a humble request to other travellers and try for seat exchange so that all of you can sit together.
Bus journey gets more comfortable in large groups because you spend your time in talking to your known ones. Hence if possible try to get people along with you during bus journey.
When your destination is about to arrive, just be ready with your bags and count all the items. Most of the people do this mistake and they often miss their belongings in the bus.