Check our bags or not check bags
 

My daughter and I are traveling to Rome vis Miami with 2 small suitcases with wheels easy to handle. Should I check them or bring them on board. We have a connection in Zurich for 5 hours, so I thought it might be best to have them with us. Please advise.

As long as they don't exceed your airlines size and weight restrictions you can carry them on board. Check on your airline's website for size restrictions.

I'd only check luggage if absolutely necessary. You NEVER know what will happen to luggage, or where it will end up. Plus, it's nice to have all of your things just in case you need something or if there's a change in your flights.

Have a great trip!
Carol

Plus if you bring it with you then you don't have to wait for it. I spent almost an HOUR last night waiting for the bag Virgin Atlantic made me check at Heathrow because it was over the weight limit. What a waste of time!

Check with you airlines for both size and weight restrictions. Some (British Air for example) are very strict these days. And remember that means you have to haul them around with you on the 5 hours at the Zurich airport, into the restaurant, to the restroom, etc. etc.

For me, I prefer to have it checked thru (and I carry-on a tote with all the necessities plus 1 day clothes).

I never check my luggage. I have peace of mind knowing my luggage won't get lost. The only downside is lifting it up over my head to put in the overhead bins. Usually there is a kind soul who helps me.

The only downside to carry-on is the last minute random bag inspection as you are boarding. Maybe I looked suspicious, but it was a little inconvenient having my dirty laundry searched by hand, just as I was boarding. A small price to pay for air security.

I will still always choose to carry-on.

I was a carry-on junkie for years, until the trip BA made me check my 22" rolling bag for being over the 13 lb. limit.

One of the best things that ever happened to me. What a sense of freedom. What a luxury not to have to drag your stuff around airports with you. So far my suitcase has turned up every single place it was supposed to.

As to the kindness of strangers, Madison, I don't believe you should travel with more than you can manage yourself.

That said, if you can truly pack within the legitimate restrictions of carry-on, that's great. But I get so tired of all the people who think rules don't apply to them, hogging overhead space, underseat space, etc. with more than their fair share of baggage.

Ditto what suze said. Well put!

Suze - I always pack within the limits of carryon. I weigh by bag before I leave for the airport.

I have never asked anyone to help me put my luggage in the overhead bin but when they see that it is a little difficult they offer. Some years ago I broke my shoulder and arm in several places and to this day have to be careful, but it's not going to stop me from living.

You said you might want to have have your bags with you because you have a 5-hour layover. I often fly with just a carryon, and actually, I've found that the longer the layover, the more annoying it is to have a bag to lug around. If I'm just going from one gate to another, no big deal, but if I'm going to be hanging out in airport shops, restaurants, etc., it can be an encumbrance. The few things I like to have during a layover, like a toothrush and toothpaste, I can carry with me separately from my main luggage.

I'm with suze! Maybe we are just lucky..never anything lost or any hold up at baggage claim..except in Orlando when coming home!..and that is in almost 45 years of marriage and traveling!

Madison- Truly I do not mean to be unkind. If you have an injury, all the more reason to check your suitcase thru, instead of insisting on carrying it yourself - thru security check points, on and off flights, around airports, etc.

How in the world does it <stop you from living> to check your luggage when you fly?

Hi,
I have traveled a lot and always check my luggage, even though it is a relatively small bag. I do not like keeping track of it in the airports and pulling it all around. I find it more restful to be suit case free. My luggage has not been lost yet. I do have my personels in my carry on just in case. Have a great trip.

Another vote here for carry-on. I'll be damned if I am going to put the fate of my trip into the hands of some disgruntled baggage flunkie.

Suze - I have had luggage lost twice so I am a little apprehensive about checking my baggage. In the long run I find it easier to carry on the plane. It doesn't hurt to roll it around the airport or go through security, just when I am lifting it over my head, which is difficult for a lot of people.

Agree with suze in general. Had the same thing happen with my carry-on. Size fit but it was a little overweight and had to be checked. Very liberating! I no longer had to fiddle with the bag when going to the restroom or manuver my bag carefully around stores.
I had some luggage lost early in my travels as a teen which was why I had done exclusively carry-on initially. But none since the forced check-in. So I guess I've been lucky. Of course, I always carry essentials and a change of clothes in a small carry-on rucksack just in case.

But have to add a caveat: if you are traveling home through Miami, you may want to do carry-on only. Miami can be a zoo with very long, slow lines. You will have to claim your luggage and clear customs and immigrations there if it is your initial US port of entry.
I avoid connecting through Miami if I can. It took 2.5 hrs last time with only carry-on and I barely made it to my onward flight.

My usual carry-on is 16"x17"x9". I can't even begin to tell you how much time I have saved by being able to blow through customs without waiting for baggage. That said, I'm a minimalist of the first order. There are a lot of people who can't get by with that small of a piece of luggage because their trips are of longer duration, etc. As for the five hours in Zurich, that would be a reason to CHECK the bags for me, rather than having to deal with them.

Carry it on, if at all possible. I checked my bag on the way back last week, as I was carrying a tote full of stuff I'd bought along the way. Sure enough, picked up the bag at the end of 3 flights, and my TSA-approved lock had been cut off, as well as the zipper tabs. Obviously not the work of a TSA professional. Nothing was stolen, as I had anything valuable with me. Now I'm fighting with NWA over the loss of the bag, which is now useless.

Yet another vote for checking luggage. I HATE lugging a clunky bag around in airports. I actually like airports and the people watching that goes along with them.I feel pity for those folks dragging a wheled suitcase about.

I never pack anything valuable in my checked luggage, and only carry a small day-pack thing to hold reading material, camera, a change of underwear, and enough toiletries to last a day, etc. The few times my bag has been misplaced, I just buy anything I need until the airline delivers the missing bag to the hotes -- as the always do.

As for having to wait at a carosel -- what's the huury? I'm on vacation, and try very hard to leave all that anxiety and rush behind.