Pat, we just flew on JB in November and had no problem with carry-ons, even our son who had our OLD luggage. No one questioned him at any of the airports. Some of the crap we see people trying to cram in the overhead bins is a joke! Plus, we were on two different types of planes. A small one from SYR to JFK and then an Airbus JFK to SXM. The overhead bins are different sizes, but no problem.
Were you able to rent the villa we spoke about or going elsewhere?