I'm for sure with you on the 'taking it with you in carry-on'. Probably 15 years ago, and for about two years, there actually was a non-stop flight on US Air from Baltimore to SXM. Don't you know that is the ONE time that we put frozen meat in our checked luggage, and the ONE time that our luggage has gone walkabout on us and didn't show up for a couple of days! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> We didn't have to replace any clothes---EXCEPT for the fact that, stupid us, we had thought "oh, we have a nonstop flight. We don't need to bring a change of clothes in carry-on". So we had to go buy some warm weather clothes on the island. These days it wouldn't be such a big deal, since we live in Florida now, versus coming from snow and ice, but we now always bring a change of clothes in carry-on.