A lot has been written and reported about the new restrictions on hand baggage. As far as Florida goes, there a few things to bear in mind.
First, keep in mind that you are going to be on the aircraft for about nine and half hours going out and seven and a half hours coming back, so you will want to be as comfortable as possible. This means finding as much room as possible in your seat area. Too much hand baggage can mean you have a large bag pushed under the seat in front of you, if you already have one small case in the overhead bin. This can seriously restrict your leg room and make getting comfortable quite difficult. Therefore, to keep hand baggage to a minimum is very sensible. You will not be struggling to put heavy cases in the overhead bins and you will have plenty of room stretch out your legs.
This of course means putting all your luggage in the hold. Well, not many people travel to Florida with only hand baggage to it makes sense to put all your bags in the hold, not just the big ones. I know that some Airlines are restricting you to only one case per person, but it would make sense to maybe buy the biggest and lightest case you case you can get, as long as it complies with the airlines size restrictions.
Second, you will not have to fight to carry these hand bags on the aircraft, struggling down the aisles and trying to avoid bumping into the seats. You will be able to leave the aircraft and wait in line at customs without having to pick up and put down bags as you wind your way down the long lines to get to the customs desks.
One tip I would give you is, once you have been re-united with your suitcases and passed through customs checks, do not put the cases back on the second carousel and go up the stairs to the exit. If you can manage to wheel your cases up in the lift/elevator without too much trouble and take them onto the monorail to the terminal, you will save yourself having to wait again to reclaim your bags at the terminal. I have waited as long as 45 minutes for my cases in the terminal on more than one occasion.
So let the plane take the strain and try and remain luggage free in the aircraft.
First, keep in mind that you are going to be on the aircraft for about nine and half hours going out and seven and a half hours coming back, so you will want to be as comfortable as possible. This means finding as much room as possible in your seat area. Too much hand baggage can mean you have a large bag pushed under the seat in front of you, if you already have one small case in the overhead bin. This can seriously restrict your leg room and make getting comfortable quite difficult. Therefore, to keep hand baggage to a minimum is very sensible. You will not be struggling to put heavy cases in the overhead bins and you will have plenty of room stretch out your legs.
This of course means putting all your luggage in the hold. Well, not many people travel to Florida with only hand baggage to it makes sense to put all your bags in the hold, not just the big ones. I know that some Airlines are restricting you to only one case per person, but it would make sense to maybe buy the biggest and lightest case you case you can get, as long as it complies with the airlines size restrictions.
Second, you will not have to fight to carry these hand bags on the aircraft, struggling down the aisles and trying to avoid bumping into the seats. You will be able to leave the aircraft and wait in line at customs without having to pick up and put down bags as you wind your way down the long lines to get to the customs desks.
One tip I would give you is, once you have been re-united with your suitcases and passed through customs checks, do not put the cases back on the second carousel and go up the stairs to the exit. If you can manage to wheel your cases up in the lift/elevator without too much trouble and take them onto the monorail to the terminal, you will save yourself having to wait again to reclaim your bags at the terminal. I have waited as long as 45 minutes for my cases in the terminal on more than one occasion.
So let the plane take the strain and try and remain luggage free in the aircraft.