You bring up a great point on carryon. For those looking at european carriers. They are more restrictive with carryon both by policy and at times smaller aircraft. When I am in US airports I am shocked by the size of almost everyone’s carryon rollers. They HAVE to exceed at least the weight limits and are huge. Wouldnt even fit under the seat ( yes they all should fit under there, you might not have leg room but they should fit there) . Most eeuropean carriers limit to 8kg ( 17 lbs ). Vienna security weighs carryon. Others do too. Low cost carriers are even more restrictive in size and weight. US carriers are an exception on what they allow as carryon. IMO many are now longer carryon size bit small suitcase size taking up half an overhead compartment, sideways. Roll-ons should fit wheels first, handle out
I wish instead of giving size requirements they'd give the actual measurements of the overhead compartments, though I know that's difficult because they're not rectangular and most carry-on bags are. I carry a large, soft backpack that's technically over-size according to the rules, but because of its shape and ability to squish, it fits
perfectly in a standard overhead compartment, exactly according to the way you're supposed to load bags in, whereas I've seen lots of rolling bags that meet the requirements set out in the rules but only fit in the bin sideways because they're rigid and have wheels that poke out, and end up taking up tons of extra space. I've never once been asked to gate-check it, though I always know it's a possibility and am prepared for the eventuality. I am a
little nervous about taking it to Europe, since the compartments may be a different size, so I may have to get something else to be safe since I don't want to check any luggage (the one time my luggage got lost, it was in Europe and it was a nightmare).
Not just Caribbean...
It's not a bad idea to look up your flight info on seatguru and get a good idea of the size of the plane. I did that with our return flight from Vancouver on Air Canada...a major airline even. I thought it would be fine. We travel with just carry ons, I'd double checked our bags' dimensions with Air Canada's restrictions, and they all were within the sizes. So we get on this plane, I took one look at the overhead compartment, and went uh....sooooo how do I get this small rolling suitcase in that tiny box? The thing was so small, I struggled to get our personal item backpacks in there. The flight attendant, bless her, had to play Tetris with our suitcases to get them under the seats. I'm sure quite a few people ended up having to gate check their otherwise carryon bags on those planes, and hopefully, it'll get to the appropriate destination, because I can't imagine the cargo area is spacious. Then there were the WestJet plane seats. The overhead compartments were normal size, but the seats all have a box (floatation device, etc instead of the seat cushion being the flotation) underneath them that hangs quite low so you can't shove a bag under the seat like most commercial planes. It sticks out, and you get yelled at by the flight attendant to shove and make your bag fit, but it won't fit because that box is in the way.
I thought I was being smart flying with only carryons and doing my homework so that all of my bags were within the airlines' rules, but I learned real life doesn't always match what their websites say.
That's crazy! I have a large backpack I normally use for carry-on that fits perfectly in a full-size overhead bin, but it doesn't fit in the bins on the smaller planes that fly in and out of Montana. No normal carry-on does; those planes and their bins are tiny. But because they operate within the standards set by the national carriers, you can still take those items as carry-ons--you have to gate-check them, but it's a separate gate-check system with no charge, and you pick your bag back up at your arrival gate rather than at baggage claim. I've gotten so used to it that I always assume I won't have any access at all to my larger carry-on while I'm in the air...but that I'll still be able to take it without getting charged.
A carry-on is your best bet. I think I avoid almost all risks of losing my luggage by travelling only with my carry-on (yes, even for a whole week! There are a lot of tips on how to pack on Pinterest). All my essentials are in there (glasses, contact lenses, meds). Everything else, I can buy!
Oh, I know the benefits of going carry-on, and I have gone carry-on only for years. I'm probably going to go carry-on only when I fly to Europe this fall, though I'm going to have to check requirements and decide whether my regular carry-on will work.
I started checking a bag on some trips in the last couple of years because I get a free checked bag when I fly United and because there are conveniences to be had when allowing oneself to bring more than will fit in carry-on. On the cruise this January, for instance, I checked a bag with most of my clothing because I was bringing two costumes, including a very bulky pair of boots. The other reason is the gate-check system for full-size carry-on (described above in reply to Ravenne) that I have to deal with every time I fly from my home state to wherever I'm connecting through. When I have a tight connection, bringing a full-size carry-on could put me at risk of missing my connecting flight if they're slow about unloading things and getting them to the arrival gate to be picked up. I had a tight connection in Denver in January (on the original itinerary, at least), so I'd decided the risk of lost luggage was a lesser evil than the risk of getting delayed on my connection.