This is probably just general info and many of you are already aware, but.. .. .

Had an interesting conversation this weekend with a couple that had returned from St. Lucia. They flew out of Philadelphia on USAir, but the circumstances could apply to almost any airline and any traveler I suppose.

USAir apparently determined that the plane preparing to depart Philly for St Lucia would be "too heavy" with all of the baggage PLUS the fuel required. So they decided NOT to load any baggage from the folks making a connection.

This couple arrived in St Lucia with NO luggage. Sandals was wonderful and was constantly offering them things to take their mind off having no clothes. They were offered seating at Kimono's and such. The couple couldn't go to the nicer restaurants, however, because they didn't have the proper clothes, etc. On day 3 with no luggage they decided to go to the mall. $60 for a pair of slacks (that the gentleman had JUST purchased from the same store in the states for $30), $30 for a shirt, $45 for acceptable shoes, and $40 for a bathing suit. The list goes on.

On the evening of day 3 their luggage finally arrived via Air Jamaica and another carrier. (USAir only flies in once a week I guess). . They are still "negotiating" with USAir for some reimbursement.

So here's the tip. And this is something my wife and I planned to do anyways (and we're not world travelers really) so maybe it's common sense, but.. .. . maybe also bears mentioning.. .. .

PACK A CARRY-ON bag! Keep it definitely within the airline guidelines as far as size so there's no questioning whether it's ok as carry-on. Pack personal necessities (shaving, deoderant, toothpaste and toothbrush, make-up for the ladies, sunscreen etc), undergarments for a couple of days, swimsuit, shorts, something you could wear to dinner (long pants and collared shirt for the gentleman, sundress or . .. .. .??? for the ladies), and in general.. .. . whatever would be the bare essentials for the first couple of days.

Even if the clothing in this carry-on needed pressing badly when you unpacked it, at least you'd have it. You might even consider "cross-packing" (he packs some stuff for her in his bag, she packs some stuff for him in her bag) depending on how good you are at keeping the bag small enough to qualify as carry-on.

Well, the good news is that this couple had a great time in St Lucia despite the baggage problem. They didn't whine and moan and made the best of their time regardless. They also said that they liked Sandals so much, they never did any of the island tour stuff. Everything they wanted was right there at The Grande.

Now.. .. .. . they were on their honeymoon and no doubt didn't have as much NEED of clothing as other might want.. .. .. . but I thought this whole idea of baggage might be interesting or helpful to someone.

Thanks for the reminder of good sense.. .. .. .. .. ..I didn't follow that, and only 1 of our two pieces arrived when we went to SRB this spring. My hubby & I packed "separate bags" . .. .. .. .. .. .. . his bag arrived, mine did not. It did really bite that I had no swimsuit and I had traveled in a dress. BLAH. 9 hrs later, my bag came! ( yippee) and I will be SURE to pack a carry on that contains clothes next time. I didn't want to be bothered, carrying on all that stuff.. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..well, I sure wish I would have "bothered" to last time! Great advice! PACK A WELL EQUIPTED CARRY-ON!!!!

A number of years ago a group of 16 people, including my husband and me, went to Huatulco, Mexico. Huatulco is in the very southern part of Mexico almost to Guatemala. There were no clothing stores in that area at the time, only t-shirt shops and souvenir shops etc.

At O'Hare in Chicago, every last piece of luggage that was bound for Huatulco on our flight was loaded on to a flight going to Grand Camen and visa versa. This left two plane loads of people with no luggage for three days.

Because there were 16 of us and we all shared what we had in our carry-ons, we were much better off than a lot of others. The people with sunscreen shared with everyone. A couple of women had curling irons and blow dryer so, everyone got to use them etc. Because of the high humidity, nothing dries rapidly and so washing things out at night wasn't even an option. (This was discovered the hard way by some of our group that tried this.)

I learned a lot about packing from that trip and always pack for the unexpected.

I always explain the situation on that trip by saying.. .. .. .. ..Just imagine 95 degree weather and you take three showers and you put the same under wear back on your body each time.

The tip about mixing the clothes in suitcases is a great one and I have done this since our Huatulco trip. No longer do we have his and hers suitcases. Also, a change of underwear is a must in our carry-on luggage since this trip.

I have travelled for many years and have been of the fortunate many that never experienced any kind of baggage problems. Until this past April, when my boyfriend and I, along with my 2 kids went on a weekend cruise to the Bahamas.

Unfortunately for me, everyone's luggage made it except my bag, which also had my 8 year old son's water shoes in it, and some other items of his.

The worst part? Was that the airlines weren't the ones that messed up, it was the bus company that took us from our airport parking and shuttled us to the airport. The driver was older than Ghandi (I swear it!! LOL) and apparently he never saw my bag after unloading the rest of ours.

And of course, I never noticed we were even missing a piece of luggage because there were 2 kids to look after, and by the time I did notice it, it was when we were waiting and waiting and WAITING by the luggage turnstyle at the Miami Airport.

Needless to say, I was out to see without my altogethers!! LOL! I managed to scrape up 2 dresses on the ship while at sea, which cost me a pretty penny for a dress I will never wear again ( it was butt ugly) and I had to swim in my boyfriends extra swimtrunks and a bra all weekend.

Not the best vacation I've ever had, and I have learned a HARD lesson.

This year, we will be going to the Whitehouse in Jamaica, and I've already prepared myself to pack in my carryon, 3 sundresses, and some extra underwear, along with a bathing suit and a pair of sandals. We also decided to do split packing as well, so that in the event one of our bags does get lost? We will each have a few changes of clothes to get through the week with.

I will never go through that experience again.. .. ..learned a hard lesson.. ..definitely the HARD way!!