carry on suitcase vs checkin suitcase what do you take?

[cary1306]

i hate paying for checking your suitcase in airlines when i don't fly southwest(there free),but taking a carry on plane doesn.t seem to take all my clothes. what do you do?:confused:

[Phxazzcruisers]

Fortunately we have elite status on US Airlines so we do not have to pay for checked bags. That being said, we will be on American to Quito this summer and will have to pay for checked bags. It is just considered part of the cost of the trip..... unfortunate but a cost nonetheless

[Ma Bell]

Check a suitcase.

[BlushPell]

I pack items that can be used multiple times. Warmer weather trips are a lot easier to pack light for. I have gone on a two week vacation before with a carry on bag. Black skirts or pants work well and multiple tops to go with it.

 

I finally lost the over packing bug one year when I was traveling to Florida and there was a cold snap predicted. I packed pants and longer sleeved shirts and just threw in two shorts and two tank tops for the heck of it. Well guess what it was hot! I ended up using the two pairs of shorts all week. Realized how little you actually need to travel.

 

Other than that the only other alternative is to fly first class. On American Airlines we didn't pay baggage fees but then again for the price of the plane ticket I wouldn't expect it is a savings over paying for a checked bag.

 

The other way I have found also is if you are leaving from a colder climate(which I will be in May for my cruise) you can wear a few layers i.e. tank top with over shirt etc. This is a way of bringing a few extra things without packing them.

 

If the clothing is important to you then you just need to figure the baggage fee in to the cost of your vacation.

[SeaBlu]

Well we have learned to pack less, we take 3 suitcases instead of 4. But we will NOT give up formal nights! So we, like others, have decided that the cost of taking luggage is just part of the cost of the cruise.

 

We almost always take Southwest, we boycott the other airlines, they could do what Southwest does if they wanted.

[Lois R]

I pay it. In my opinion, its not a big deal. I take one carry on and

one checked bag. They charge for the bag and I am not going to

put 7 nights worth of clothing and all that goes with it into a carry on bag.

I realize many people (not just on this site) hate the charge. I don't

look at it as hate......it is part of my flight getting to where I need to

be for my next cruise.

The End:)

[wg6530]

Two cruisers with formal wear = 2 carry ons for essentials, 1 checked bag for everything else.

 

Two cruisers without formal wear (NCL) = 2 carry on, 2 personal items

[cb at sea]

We ALWAYS check bags! No way can I travel with a carry-on only!

[elvnga]

Buy clothing sold for travel and especially for camping. I have some nice pants and shirts from Columbia and Ex-Officio and others that are easy to wash out in the sink and hang dry. Formal nights are a problem, but you can get that down to one checked bag for a a couple. Or go casual and skip formal nights instead. I have done 12 - 14 day trips in France and China with carry on bags and a personal item (CPAP) in the off season (warm clothes, raingear, and a sportcoat) so I am seriously considering forgoing future formal nights.

[texkan]

Always check bags but will be flying SW this trip.

[bububr]

Spending $25 or $50 on a checked bag or two is nothing conpared to everything else. However being said we always fly SWA so we never have to pay. It would be impossible to bring our formal wear and everything else in a carry on , and we've seen those that have tried and ended up checking their bags anyway because they could not fit into the overheads....

 

We check one bag for the 2 of us with clothing, one small bag with toiletries and we carry on 1 bag each with a book, puzzles, dvd player, walkman..whatever for the trip.

 

The only time we actually carried on was for the 2 night Bahamas cruise on Century... Just enough for a swimsuit, clean underwear, and a couple of shirts...pair of shorts...wore khakis on the flight to wear to dinner the two nights...

 

Dave:eek:

[Denny01]

Realize we get bent over airlines charging us for what use to be 'free' and you hate giving the airline the extra for a bag, but why go through the hassle of trying to get everything into a carry-on, cutting down, packing, repacking, subtracting and so on. We travel with one check-in between us and a carry-on each for a 7-10 day cruise. We just did a 24N B2B with a check-in each and one roll-on.

 

Relax and just enjoy. Agree that we end up overpacking, but my wife likes to have some flexibility instead of "only this option" for some night because we went minimal....we aren't minimalists.

 

By the way, even though I travel a lot (get free check-ins), I wish the airlines would charge us for carry-ons instead of check-ins - it would cut down on us trying to lug the kitchen sink through security, baggies for liquids, getting further extended checks, and then you get to the airplane and we all try to store it especially those with all the little shopping bags - I know, its handier but I just wish......

 

Back to the thread:

I'd recommend you just relax, pack what you want to enjoy.

 

Denny

[Ma Bell]

Does anyone take into consideration what the price of the airline ticket is? It's the total price that counts, not whether they charge for bags or not.

 

If I were going hiking or on a land trip somewhere that I don't need nice clothing, I'd do the carry on and try to cut down on luggage. For a nice cruise on Celebrity, I'm bringing my good clothing and looking like I belong on a cruise, not going camping. It's part of the deal.

[jaybird from SC]

i hate paying for checking your suitcase in airlines when i don't fly southwest(there free),but taking a carry on plane doesn.t seem to take all my clothes. what do you do?:confused:

For us it's one suitcase checked and one carryon for each of us. We pack for seven days and that includes our formal wear. Carry a lot of mix and match pieces but now that we're Elite Status, the free laundry/dry cleaning helps out tremendously.

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

Does anyone take into consideration what the price of the airline ticket is?

 

Yes...plane tickets are typically far less than the cost to drive the same route...that's is ridiculous when you think about it. From New York to Miami in 18 hours or 3. You choose. Don't be cheap.

 

Fly First Class and you don't have to worry about it. We just bought tickets and First Class was only $500 more each.

[ccruisequeen]

try the storage bags that go flat when the air is squeezed out- pack jersey & perma-press items. They save a lot of room. One jersey dress can be accented with scarves, jewelry, etc for different formal nights.

[mek]

On our 7 night cruise in December, we checked in one bag and took 2 carry-ons with us. Two weeks ago for our 9 night cruise I checked in 2 bags and had one carry-on. For our 7 night cruise in October, I'll be back to one checked bag.

[cruisnuts]

We are going Jet Blue and they allow 1 checked bag per person no charge, however, you have to be really careful about not exceeding the 50lb limit. In the scheme of things I wouldn't worry about a checked bag fee of $25....just add it to the cost of the cruise and don't worry about it. I would check bags just for my own comfort, I hate the "carry-on baggage game" trying to find a spot on the plane when boarding....:eek:

[elvnga]

Checking bags is not just a problem because of the cost. Bags are lost or delayed. I like having my stuff in my hands when traveling so a lost bag won't ruin a trip.

[greg_atlanta]

It's worth it for me to pay the bag fees since I can carry two bottles and wine and take plenty of suntan lotion (and not have to purchase as much on board).

 

But the recent increase to $25 is making me reconsider..... we'll see.

 

At least my May flight is on Airtran, they're still $15 for each bag each way.