kswl

Sue, how much actual clothing do you take in the carryon? If I am understanding you correctly, you take enough to make do on the trip, even if your main bag is lost? That's a very interesting idea. Have you ever lost a bag on an international flight and had to live out of the carryon? How did it go?

nerosmama

I'm with GreenDragon and alanRow as to what takes up space. It's the medications, the gizmos and their chargers, and the books which take up space. Yes, I'm older than dirt (67 yrs old) but still travel, mostly to places more exotic than Europe. Yes, I've had a check-on bag go astray but it showed up in 24 hrs and this was in Myanmar so I have a lot of faith in airlines. Or I could just be lucky.

wally34949

ttt

suze

I believe the idea of a few clothing items in your carry-on (I don't mean to speak for Sue) is that most suitcases are 'misplaced' not actually lost by the airlines. So you normally would have them back within a day or two. I don't take a full outfits, but always have a fresh top, undies, socks, along with my normal carry-on items (plane ride stuff, prescription meds, prescription glasses, money, etc.)

Pausanias

Interesting thread. These days my carry-on contains cameras, books for on-plane reading, (usually including a guidebook, too), toiletries, electronics, spare glasses, etc. No room for clothes.

We don't mind doing laundry once or twice, but even if we could fit it all into a carry-on, I'd still need to check a bag to hold my Swiss Army knife, which has accompanied me on every trip for the last twenty years.

Have to knock on wood, but so far we've never lost luggage, nor even had a piece delayed. I do tend to fume a bit at the luggage carousel, but get over it immediately as soon as the bags appear.

Intrepid1

"porters" in Europe? Where???? or are you talking about bellboys in hotels?

caboom

I have a packing list that is now in a Word document. Over the past five years I have updated it when I return home from a trip, crossing off whatever was not necessary. The list is refined to where I can pack quickly. I bring a copy with me to ensure that I'm not leaving an important item behind when I leave the hotel. Sometimes I've checked my bag if my traveling companion must, but I prefer to take a carry-on and leave the scissors and swiss army knives at home. If you are polite and friendly, hotel staff are amazing at coming up with stuff to loan you on request.

rosetravels

I used to check, now I carry on. I've never had a lost bag but twice I've needed to switch flights when my scheduled flight was delayed at the airport (Delta!) Fortunately we all had carry-on bags that time and were able to hop on an earlier flight.

When I used to check my bags I always had stuff that I never used or wore.

Maire

Traveling domestically on different airlines, I've had my luggage lost (eventually, returned) 3 times, and I've had my dog lost, (returned the same day) once. Just one more reason I want to carry-on only for this trip.

wally34949

I try to do carry-on on the way over. On the return trip I usually check it because I often return with more items. On about five returns my checked luggage didn't show up at the baggage claim. Once they paged my name. The first thing I though was someone back home had died. The next day, the bags were sitting on my front porch.

I strongly suggest that when you return from a trip, take everything out of your suitcase and ask yourself, what did you cart all over Europe and not use. Don't pack it next time.

Carolina

I enjoy being able to get dressed up in the evenings, change clothes whenever I feel like it, and do laundry only occasionally. I don't want to spend my holiday in a laundry. I have never had difficulty getting a case on or off a train and wouldn't dream of putting anything heavy overhead. On all the trains I've been on, there is plenty of space for lower storage of larger items.
Each to his own.
Carolena

simpsonc510

lesli
You and I must travel on the same flights! There are always overhead bin "hogs" who occupy their own space plus the space of two other people. I always check my main suitcase/s and carry just a small computer bag and my purse onto the plane.

I've been known to use my Star Alliance Gold status to check 3-70lb bags for the return trip home! The girl at the check-in counter commented that I must have done all my Christmas shopping in Zurich (it was early Dec). I just smiled and said, "Yes, the shopping was great!"

Actually, it's DH, with whom I travel, and he always buys more than he can bring home by himself!!! That man cannot leave for even a weekend without packing two heavy suitcases!

Larryincolorado

Suze,
“most suitcases are 'misplaced' not actually lost by the airlines.” That is not very reassuring when it is your luggage that is lost. Go to www.unclaimedbaggage.com. I love the name, “Unclaimed baggage”. It tries to give the impression that the owners just didn’t bother to pick it up. I am sure the owners would love to claim it, but THE AIRLINE LOST IT. Anyway, apparently lost luggage is common enough to make liquidating it a profitable business.

Next time you pack, imagine someone going through you suitcase deciding which of you personal belongings are worth selling. Imagine some stranger in Alabama getting it for a lot less than it is worth to you.

suze

Larry, Yes I have read the frightening statistics about how much luggage is permanently lost. But I do not know anyone who this has ever happened to myself.

Larryincolorado

Yet.

I have also heard many stories (on a different travel website) of people who have had checked bag broken into (even with TSA locks) and items stolen.

A few years ago, I flew from Frankfurt to Paris on a plane that was headed for South America. After waiting in the baggage claim area for some time, I tried to ask the baggage attendants where my luggage was. They only seemed to understand Frog. Forturnately a German couple from the flight spoke French, and they convinced the attendants to go out and get our luggage off of the plane. Apparently, since the plane usually did not carry passengers from Frankfurt to Paris, they did not expect to have to retreive luggage. If my luggage had ended up in South America, I doubt I would ever have seen it again.

orzo808

carry on is best just roll the clothes makes for plenty of room

victoria_reynolds

This is a challenge because I really hate washing while traveling...I've had the experience of paying a fortune to have a hotel dry clean a few items (ouch!), using a Swiss laundromat (which took up too much of our precious time there and required lots and lots of coins), using the combination washer/dryer provided in a London apartment (these take forever), having an Austrian landlady do the wash for a small fee --but bring it back to me wet to dry/iron (also not a good use of time on a two week trip). Best experience was a family run Zermatt apartment hotel where one of the employees did the wash for our family of 4--underwear and all-- and brought it back beautifully folded for about 15 SF a half day later.

suze

Larry, well there's just another way I'm lucky, I ugess, there is nothing in my suitcase worth stealing.

Sue_xx_yy

kswl

I was having a little fun with the idea of what travelling light could really mean. I was recalling an old Mary Tyler Moore show - (note to any puzzled readers: that was a TV sit-com back in the seventies, about a single woman living in Minneapolis.) During the episode in mind, Mary's apartment was burgled, and ALL her clothing stolen out of her closets. When she returned to her burgled apartment and exclaimed, upon opening her closets, that "I haven't a thing to wear" the succeeding punch line was: "I must be the first woman in history to say that for which it's actually true!"

So thinking of that show I wondered if when we say we travel light, maybe in point of fact, we don't.

Anyway, Suze has it right - I pack on the assumption that 90 per cent of the time, a bag would be misplaced for only a day or two. I think it's all in how one perceives relative risk - if one sees the risk of bag loss or even temporary bag misplacement as being the greater evil, then yes, I can see how one would overlook such headaches as arise from relying solely on the carry-on bag(s). But to me, the risk of those headaches is enough to see me be a 'cheerful checker'.

In the unhappy event that my bag went AWOL longer, you'd find that I am a packing coward: I'm not about to live on what's in my daybag! So I guess I can't claim I truly travel light. But I have tried to arrange things so that any emergency shopping trip would be as easy as possible.

Jolie

I remember MTM! But I think it was Minneapolis. When she stops in the street to throw her hat up in the air, the pedestrians stare at her like she's crazy.

But in the spin-off, Rhoda is in NYC. When she throws her hat in the air (and drops it) none of the New Yorkers bother to look at her. I thought that was funny. Ok, off-topic, I know.