To carry on or not to carry on? That is the question .....

OK, i am booked for 11 nights this coming reach beginning in early January, and considering I'll be moving around a bit with the possibility of a total of three hotels, I am wondering whether or not to pack luggage or squeeze everything into a carry-on, which is going to be close close close.

Keeping in mind that I generally wear a bathing suit, t-shirt or button-down shirt and slip-ons about 90 percent of the time (like most American males in Negril), here are the things besides clothes I MUST have:

Snorkel set

Lap top

BIG towel (unless I go AI, which I am not)

Two pairs of shoes (tennis shoes and slip-ons, they're hard to pack)

fanny pack (I am such a tourist)

Two or three books

Sundries

Camera

CD head set

..... I hate waiting for ANYTHING, including luggage, so going carry-on-only is a big bonus .... last time, I did 16 nights with a BIG suitcase plus a carry-on, and I needed it all!

If you can only take 1 small carry on considering you needed a BIG suitcase last time I am not sure you will fit everything in.I would take the suitcase and just deal with the wait make yourself a cocktail and just sit back relax and wait

Remember you are only allowed a "suitcase" - that being a SMALL suitcase and a "personal item", that being perhaps a laptop case when you carry luggage on any airplane. In packing remember to be considerate of the other passengers when it comes to overhead space and that the "personal item", i.e, the laptop case, goes under the seat in front of you.

That said, I used to do 3 weeks in 2 carry-on bags but there was no laptop involved back then.

What About your liquid stuff....ie: Sun screen, lotion, shampoo, toothpaste, contact solution if necessary etc

I only carry on. I have a wheeled carry on size suitcase and I carry a laptop backpack which holds my laptop, camera, phones, books, sundries, etc. The carry on suitcase goes overhead and the backpack goes under the seat in front of me.

I have my liquids in 3oz containers and pack them in a ziploc. Everything is available in that size - bug spray, sunblock, shampoo, conditioner, lotions, toothpaste, etc. Not a problem. And if i need more of anything i can obviously buy it there.

If I run out of clean clothes i either get them washed by hotel staff or do it myself by hand.

Last trips have been 2+ weeks and I still brought home stuff i didn't use or wear.

Not waiting for luggage is AWESOME.

wow that is crazy cool

My Thanksgiving trip will be the first time I do carry on only - thankfully it's just 2 travel days plus 3 beach days, otherwise I would NEVER be able to do it.

Good luck with getting all of that in a carry on and the only thing I can think of right now is wear the sneakers and pack the slip-ons.

Hey Gerry....I like to travel light myself, so any warmer clothes I may need, I wear on the plane...jeans, walking shoes, socks, hoodie etc. Carry your laptop as your personal item.
In your carry on suitcase, towel, snorkel, mask, ( I would pass on bringing the fins, they take up too much room and aren't really a necessity imo) bathing suits and some shirts. Put your camera inside your fanny pack, make use of every inch. Roll your clothes. Anything else you can get there. Have a great time.

gotta have the fins ....

I agree! Carry-on is really the best way to go. No waiting time for luggage is great but most importantly... your luggage arrives with you! Guaranteed!
Standing there in a hot stuffy terminal watching bags on a conveyor belt for an hour... then realizing your luggage is officially MISSING...Didn't make it onto the second plane during the layover."Give us your number and we'll contact you when we locate it"
Worst feeling in the world!
Went through that..
Twice

lost luggage has only happened to me once, in Hawaii, and the bags were hand-delivered to my house the next day. funny enough, MoBay has always been one of the fastest airports for luggage arrivals IME, luggage has always been there waiting by the time i get through customs; never had any issues there. I've had longer waits with more confusion, wrong carousel listed, waiting over an hour for the bags to get brought in, etc etc around the USA than i've ever had there.

but even in general I don't mind waiting for luggage; for a longer trip it's more important to me to have my own skin/hair products and toiletries so i'm not dependent upon what i can find there (which i gotta say i've found to be not good quality). Although, when traveling domestically, i'll do carryon 'only' - cause here i can buy whatever i need. And if i was going to JA for only a couple days i could do it then too cause 3 oz. would be nuff - but not for anything over a week.

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Originally Posted by gerryg123

OK, i am booked for 11 nights this coming reach beginning in early January, and considering I'll be moving around a bit with the possibility of a total of three hotels,[/I]

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First, try to see how much of this you can get in a carry on. However, packing might not be the challenge but repacking. Most of my trips involve multiple stays. I have yet to get things as nicely in the suitcase after leaving home, repacking at the last minute, and after having a few drinks. If you go light then you might spend the saved time repacking or leaving things that grew from water and dirt.

Good Luck!

nah, most of the time I leave my snorkel set behind as a tip or perhaps a gift to a fellow tourist, plus i use lose something along the way .... though i do tend to get a bit sticky-fingered with hotel towels, lol .... I think I am just going to bring a suitcase plus the carry-on, it's nice to have a lot of stuff -- plus this way, i can bring liquids, scissors, lighters, all the little essentials .... last time, i arrived late at night, and the check in was FAST FAST FAST ... i'm hoping it's the same deal this reach.

im in the middle of an 8 day trip and all i used was a likkle rolling suitcase and a big camera bag and big fanny pack. i slid the laptop into the back pocket of the suitcase. i guess im technically in violation of the carry on thing but ive never been called for it. i also just bungee corded the swim fins to the side of the suitcase and they fit right in the overhead.

Sparky, you could be onto something .... never considered a bungee chord .... Now I am still pondering this one ....

"i do tend to get a bit sticky-fingered with hotel towels, lol ...."

Ya ever wonder why hotels are consistantly short on face cloths & hand towels?....well, THAT'S why!

Fins don't take THAT much space. They're mostly flat, pack some socks or whatever in the foot part.

Get a Kindle!

I have found MBJ to be one of the fastest airports to get luggage. Almost never wait for it or not long after passing through customs.

"i slid the laptop into the back pocket of the suitcase. i guess im technically in violation of the carry on thing but ive never been called for it" - no you're not, as long as the laptop is IN the suitcase and you are not bungeeing an entire laptop case onto the suitcase then taking it apart and hogging overhead bin space.

Can ya tell...one of my pet peeves are the OH bin hogs.

I agree with PGW - and I've been to A LOT of airports. MoBay is one of the fastest, DFW absolutely the slowest.

ya Mobay is great for luggage ... the hassle is waiting for the carousel when you get back to LAX -- usually once I touch down, I am very eager to get home! Long trip ....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gerryg123

OK, i am booked for 11 nights this coming reach beginning in early January, and considering I'll be moving around a bit with the possibility of a total of three hotels, I am wondering whether or not to pack luggage or squeeze everything into a carry-on, which is going to be close close close.

Keeping in mind that I generally wear a bathing suit, t-shirt or button-down shirt and slip-ons about 90 percent of the time (like most American males in Negril), here are the things besides clothes I MUST have:

Snorkel set

Lap top

BIG towel (unless I go AI, which I am not)

Two pairs of shoes (tennis shoes and slip-ons, they're hard to pack)

fanny pack (I am such a tourist)

Two or three books

Sundries

Camera

CD head set

..... I hate waiting for ANYTHING, including luggage, so going carry-on-only is a big bonus .... last time, I did 16 nights with a BIG suitcase plus a carry-on, and I needed it all!

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Hmmm...this is certainly doable in a carry-on with a back-pack as your personal bag, so long as you don't have long flippers for snorkeling! My carry-on has two exterior pockets especially for soft shoes like topsiders and trainers. If I don't travel with Tam, I can get everything I need for a week or even ten days in the carryon and backpack. A big bonus for me is that the carryon has expansion zippers that increase interior space by over 20 percent, but turn the bag into checked luggage...not bad for the trip home!

Except for the snorkel/mask, this is essentially how I travel to Europe and JA, with no checked luggage. The only time I check luggage is on ski trips or when I have a formal affair to attend while on vacation. Hey, it happens! I take my mask and snorkel and bury it in the bottom of the backpack. I use the beach towel as a packing liner for the carryon. I wear my trainers and pack my sandals and surfshoes in the outside pockets of carryon. The lotions/gels and creams are all put into a clear ziploc, each bottle labled, and that goes in a front pocket of the backpack(Timberland) for easy security access. All my electronics, camera/charger, video/batteries, mp3/charger, speakers, cellphone/charger, headphones, cables, etc...fit in a gallon ziploc that fits in the second front pocket on the backpack. Inside the backpack are my netbook/charger, Dopp kit, first aid kit, books/reading material, notebook, pens, get-a-way gear consisting of one each of shorts/shirt/skivvies/socks/cap/swimtrunks(these are all rolled up together tight and secured with large rubber bands and then placed in a gallon ziploc). There is plenty of room left over in the backpack for other items, such as my pair of one litre plastic filtering water bottles. In the carryon goes my clothing gear.....experience has taught me that on a ten day trip I can get away with 3 or 4 cargo shorts, 3 swim trunks, 5 t's, 3 poly polos, 10 skivvies(put them together, roll them up and rubber band them together, the skivvies that is...), one pair pants(I prefer tan cotton khakis), two belts, and two Hawaii/party shirts. I wear the same clothes on travel days, since I am only in them long enough to get to and from JA! That's usually the last I see of the trainers as well! I don't recall wearing them in JA during the ten days this June...

The carryon packing is always evolving for me, esp. as electronics have become so miniaturized.

For us though, checking luggage isn't really too much of an issue. It is a nonstop flight and by the time we clear immigrations and head for the carousel and then customs(or is it vice-versa?) our checked luggage is on the carousel or only a very short wait....

YMMV, esp. if traveling with a member of the fairer sex......ten days in JA requires Tam to check AT LEAST one bag. Sheesh.

Another option is to buy the big towel and your tshirts in JA and just pack a couple of polos.....saves a ton of space!

Janet and I are taking an 11 day trip through the Yucatan in December and using carry on backpacks. We will be taking snorkel equipment including shortie fins. This is in preparation for a 2 week trip to Peru next year. I don't mind the wait at the airport....I'm just too cheap to pay the baggage fees!. The Peru trip will be 3 flights each way and at $25 each leg of the trip will add $300 total to the flight price. Hence the carry on.
A question about carry on: We usually use a shaving can safe (a can of Barbasol that the bottom screws off to put in money and valuables). If the bottom is screwed off will they let you take something like this through security and on the plane? Does anyone have first hand knowledge?

Regards,

Bob

True, the baggage fees alone give you the $ to buy all your toiletries, pay the the taxi AND maybe even a get a nice JA beach towel....

Huh, I wouldn't have pegged you as a fanny-pack type of guy..lol

Anyhoo...just pack it all and be done with it. I try to use Jetblue since they let you check your first bag for FREE. But either way I have to have all my stuff with me and I am willing to pay the fee it that is the case. It's just more convenient to have all the things from home right there and you can bring extra outfits in case something comes up..you know you can count on beachwear for the days but what about going out at night? That requires a whole different type of outfit (and shoes)....

I do almost the exact same thing as Oh Liz..... and I'm sorry-i personally would never bring a laptop unless i HAD to do business...There is so much more I d rather be doing then doing what I normally do at home..ie. Be on the computer....People really need to "un-plug" once in awhile.....I have my Jam phone that people can get ahold of me if need be-Would never use my American phone-insane roaming fees, long distance costs..

Regarding liquids-alot of things can be purchased in Jam...
Snorkel gear-I'd rent it...
Books-that can be difficult-I love to read- so try to take one large softcover...
Towels-I use the ones where ever am staying-if i need a Big one-I purchase from vendours and will leave with a friend (if I cant fit it in my suitcase and my friend wants it-)
Camera and my mini ipod sysytem-all goes in my backpack that goes under my airline seat..

I think you can do it Gerry.....

i forgot one thing: I like to bring a pool raft, too. Sometimes I buy them at the little store at Bar B Barn or RIU Negril, but I really like to bring my own -- especially the really cool Walmart ones with the little holes that you can roll it up without deflating .... But carry-on is still possible ....

My packing is similar to yours, but those snorkel fins were the only items holding me back from 100% carry-on. This winter I'm thinking of changing to a short fin design. Traveling back through MBJ with check-in is no fun.

bring the bag you can check. the disadvantage of a carry on is that you cannot bring home the coco mania or other rums.

hey david, don't buy new fins just cut the ones you are using to fit in your carry on. make a nice cut and no one will know the difference and you will save $$

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Originally Posted by rasta ronnie

bring the bag you can check. the disadvantage of a carry on is that you cannot bring home the coco mania or other rums.

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Only if you have to change planes. If you have a direct flight you can bring those particular liquids on with you (assuming you buy them at the duty free shop).

If you have to change planes and go through customs, then they make you check them before you board your next flight. But if you have a direct flight you're all set.

Again, the cost of checking a bag these days often will pay the difference in price so you can buy the rum at your liquor store at home :)