Sicily: Odds of Lost Luggage in Rome?

Ummm. I just did a 6-week trip with a 20" carry-on. If you're doing an RS tour, you will be expected to schlep your own bags everywhere they need to go. You're also likely to have time to do laundry yourself or have it done for you somewhere along the way.

I'm not sure of the answer to your question concerning this particular connection, but one variable is how tight the connection is. Changing airlines probably increases he chance of a mishap. Bags delayed is way more likely than bags lost, I think. Bags delayed seems more common than it used to be, maybe because of tighter connections. We took a river cruise out of Budapest in 2014 and an ocean cruise out of Athens in 2011, and of course the times we are getting on a ship is the time when our bags are delayed. Both times they delivered them in the middle of the night. In Greece it was the second night because our flight had arrived in the evening, in Budapest I think it was the first night because we arrived in the morning. I always plan for at least two days before anything like a cruise where I would risk losing my bag.

Rethink how unrealistic a carryon only bag will be. I take a 20" rolling carryon and a daypack for 89 days. Lots of Woolite packets as well. I did check the bag on Vueling, but it was with me when I left the Delta flight, so no waiting at the carousel.

Peggy, I was in Sicily for 2 weeks in 2014, and it is a wonderful, beautiful, friendly, delicious and historically rich island. I'm confident you will love it. Like the others, I have several times traveled for several weeks in Europe with just a carry-on, plus a tote bag. Then I have in the carry-on a very lightweight, collapsible duffle, that I use if I accumulate much stuff in my travels, and I check that only on the way home. It is so much easier to travel with less baggage, and if your tour is the RS Sicily Tour, you will be expected to be handle your own baggage, perhaps for some blocks in a couple places, probably including Palermo, and up and down stairs if some hotels do not have elevators. One of the principal reasons I limit myself to carry-on is that I do not have to worry about the baggage transfer, or take the time to wait for my baggage to come out of the plane. I think there are other questions beyond the connection time between planes in Rome. Are your American and Veuling flights on the same ticket, or two different tickets? You may already be aware, but if not you should inquire if you will need to claim and then re-check your bags in Rome, especially if you are on two different tickets. Also, be sure you understand the baggage allowances on Veuling, as generally the discount airlines have much more limited and strict limits of weight and size. If you have the time at Rome Airport, you might find that you are best off using only carry-on to Rome, and then paying to check the bag with Veuling.

Why is a carryon not a realistic option? I am at a loss here. This is a website filled with folks who go traveling for months with just a carryon. You can do it too.

I don't think you have much choice here. Either take a large bag that is too big for carry-on and take the chance it is delayed or lost, or reduce the amount of clothing you are carrying and be able to do carry-on. From what I have read here on the forum there is a good chance that you would have to check your back on the inter-Europe leg of your journey but all should be well for that part. Your idea that you need a large suitcase for a two week trip is what is unrealistic. We both traveled for a month in carry-on and will travel for five weeks this winter carry on only.

Watch the "Packing Light" video by Rick Steves. Just got back from two weeks in Italy where we traveled to Venice, Florence, Rome & Monterosso all out of a 21" carry on, if you need information on how to do it just look up multiple threads under "Packing" on this forum. If you only take a carry-on your trip will be way more fun and you'll enjoy the freedom of easy transport without any luggage getting lost (which can be a real trip killer!).

Hi Peggy,
Three of us family members took the February 2016 Sicily tour which we absolutely loved, so much so that I'm taking my husband on it in April or May, 2017!
For comparison we flew Delta's SEA to AMS to FCO and had cargo bags only because of a 6-hour layover in Seattle from Lewiston, Idaho. Our Vueling flight was scheduled for 4 hours after our Rome arrival. Waiting with jet lag for that long was tiring but certainly manageable and of course we were thrilled that our bags arrived immediately. We checked in with Vueling right away so we could wander around the airport and find something to eat without having to haul our rolling bags around. (I knew that the rolling bags wouldn't quite meet Vueling's strict baggage size so planned that they should go in cargo when I originally purchased the tickets.)
For baggage we each had the Rick Steves rolling bag and for under the seat, the Appenzell bag; we also had Civita day bags packed empty in the rolling bag to use for touring.
Have a grand time!

I check my carryon size bag, so I'll address your question. I allow 2 1/2 to 3 hours between planes at airports to allow the bags to be transferred between planes. With that amount of time, I've not had a problem. Those members of the family and/or friends who have had to wait for their luggage have had tight connections. Years ago, we had to run to our plane, essentially, to get to a ski resort. Our skis didn't make the connection, but arrived at midnight, so no ski day was lost. As long as you can maneuver your bag and carry it up stairs for the tour, I wouldn't worry about having to check it or the size of it. It is a pain keeping the bag with you during the transfer period, go ahead, check it! Just keep a change of clothes with you incase it takes 24 hours to catch up with you...but again, unlikely if you have sufficient time between planes. Wray

Like Wray, I also usually check my carryon size bag IF I have plenty of time to make a connection. I have done that same Rome-Palermo connection a few times but on Alitalia. Never had an issue with lost or delayed luggage nor have I ever heard of "lost luggage being a common problem for the Sicily tour" and I have been on the RS Sicily tour twice (different itineraries). The tour is wonderful and you'll enjoy it but do remember you are expected to carry all your own "stuff" when deciding what size bag(s) to take.

A carry on only two week trip is easy. I have done up to a month with just a carry on and even as I get older and have to drag more and more medicines and medical devices with me, I still manage to fit it all in. Of course I plan on doing laundry at least once per week since I just don't have enough clothes to pack new clothes for every day of the trip.

The main issue is that what one airline considers a perfectly fine carry on may not work on another airline. Many now weigh carry ons, especially in Europe, and strictly enforce their limits. Same with size. A bulging carryon that looks like it is about to bust its zippers will draw attention.

I have never checked a bag within Europe so I can't comment on the possibilities of it getting lost.

The probability of lost or delayed luggage is not substantially greater in Rome than anywhere else. In 20+ years of travel nearly everywhere and checking about a third of the time have only had one bag delayed and that was in the US. A carry-on can be realistic option for two weeks and even more but travel style and perhaps size may dedicate something different.

Thanks to all for your helpful replies to my luggage conundrum. You've inspired me to live out of a carry-on for two weeks, and I appreciate your ideas and encouragement. Cheers from San Diego, and happy travels to you all.///

First thing to check, do you have a single ticket all the way to Palermo, so that American and Vueling take care of transferring your luggage, or you have separate tickets, so you have to reclaim your luggage in Rome and check it again with Vueling? The second hypothesis looks more likely, as Vueling is a low cost airline and usually such airlines issue tickets on their own without consideration to connections with other airlines. This is the first issue to consider - reclaiming and rechecking is somewhat inconvenient, especially in airport like Rome where luggage loading/unloading is not very fast.

The second issue is with Vueling itself. Both me and my brother have been in Vueling luggage horror stories. These seem to mostly involve Florence airport that has a short runway - when Vueling is flying to/from Florence in bad weather they do not load all or part of the luggage to keep the airplane light. Add to this a lot of bad stories about overbooking on Vueling and bad management of airplane delays, and the end line is: if everything is fine Vueling will be fine, but in unforeseen circumstance do not count on Vueling managing a sudden difficulty. - Personally in my last business trip I preferred to go by train - a much longer trip - than trust Vueling and risk losing a meeting time that had to be honored at any cost.

My two cents: if your second leg is booked on a normal airline with luggage connection, say Alitalia, your luggage has a good probability of making it to Palermo on the booked flight and good probability to make it within the following day if the worst comes to the worst. If you have to recheck and fly on Vueling, well, it is a cheap ticket. You can't complain if sometimes you get what you pay.