Left Luggage at King Street Station Seattle

Can anyone confirm whether or not there is a left luggage facility at King Street Station, Seattle and if there is, what the opening hours are and the approximate cost? We will be disembarking the Solstice in August and will be getting the Amtrak train to Vancouver that evening. We'd like to leave our luggage at the station so we can enjoy a full day in Seattle. Thank you for any help you can give.

According to their webpage, they DO have a baggage storage facility.

I have not personally observed this and am far away from Seattle at the moment, but found this online. Hope it is accurate! Good luck! This site should have times. Forgot to look.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/Station_Page&code=SEA

yes, $4 per bag. The station hours are about 6am - 11pm

Don't forget that you have to return to collect your baggage from the 'parcel check' area about an hour before your train leaves if you plan to check it on-board the train. They won't transfer it to the train for you (although if you need help, the Red Cap staff will do the schlepping for you).

I always recommend carrying it on with you instead if you can manage it - the overhead storage is generous on the Talgo trainsets, and for heavier items you can't lift above your head there's a floor and ~waist high rack at the end of each carriage. Amtrak's size & weight allowances for carry-on are much more generous than planes - 2 good sized suitcases up to 50lbs per person, plus personal items.

Don't forget that you have to return to collect your baggage from the 'parcel check' area about an hour before your train leaves if you plan to check it on-board the train. They won't transfer it to the train for you (although if you need help, the Red Cap staff will do the schlepping for you).

 

I always recommend carrying it on with you instead if you can manage it - the overhead storage is generous on the Talgo trainsets, and for heavier items you can't lift above your head there's a floor and ~waist high rack at the end of each carriage. Amtrak's size & weight allowances for carry-on are much more generous than planes - 2 good sized suitcases up to 50lbs per person, plus personal items.

Is there a reason why you recommend carry on instead of checking bags? Have you had an issue with the checked bag service or is it just personal preference?

Our larger bags do not meet the size allowance to carry on. We are taking Amtrak Cascades from SEA to VAC.

OP- Just a FYI, "left luggage" is a term that's not commonly used in the US, in conversation and signage. I'd bet 90% of people asked wouldn't be familiar with the term, even at a US airport or train station. "Luggage storage", "luggage lockers", etc are more common terms. Also most airports and many public venues in the US have eliminated luggage storage post-9/11, both attended and unattended.

Hope this helps.

Is there a reason why you recommend carry on instead of checking bags? Have you had an issue with the checked bag service or is it just personal preference?

 

Our larger bags do not meet the size allowance to carry on. We are taking Amtrak Cascades from SEA to VAC.

Personal preference, but with some rational reasoning behind it:

in general every additional step in a process leads to more chance of something going wrong;

specifically on this route if you have checked bags you will be slightly delayed going through Canadian immigration & customs - you will have to find your bag on the platform before you can join the queue for CBP.

Since we've never used the checked luggage service I can't comment personally on how good, bad or indifferent it is compared to airline or cruise travel, but I suspect given the modest number of checked bags on this route that as long as you turn up at the appropriate time (45 mins or more before departure at SEA) the odds of any luggage problems are minimal.

One of the very few benefits to train travel being so unpopular these days is simultaneous departures in different directions almost never happen, so your bag is extremely unlikely to end up on the wrong train! Regardless of which Cascades departure you're on out of SEA the Empire Builder and Coast Starlight leave a couple of hours before or after you.

Personal preference, but with some rational reasoning behind it:

in general every additional step in a process leads to more chance of something going wrong;

specifically on this route if you have checked bags you will be slightly delayed going through Canadian immigration & customs - you will have to find your bag on the platform before you can join the queue for CBP.

 

Since we've never used the checked luggage service I can't comment personally on how good, bad or indifferent it is compared to airline or cruise travel, but I suspect given the modest number of checked bags on this route that as long as you turn up at the appropriate time (45 mins or more before departure at SEA) the odds of any luggage problems are minimal.

 

One of the very few benefits to train travel being so unpopular these days is simultaneous departures in different directions almost never happen, so your bag is extremely unlikely to end up on the wrong train! Regardless of which Cascades departure you're on out of SEA the Empire Builder and Coast Starlight leave a couple of hours before or after you.

Thanks for your opinion. We understand the risks when checking luggage and the additional time added when retrieving bags. We are going to stick with our original plan to check our larger luggage. We aren't concerned with being delayed at CBP since we are arriving in Vancouver on Tuesday and our ship sails on Friday.

Thank you for all your very helpful replies.

All of the above is correct, although I do want to point out is if you want to check your baggage, it must be checked before the cutoff of 45 minutes departure. And that means it is checked and in their hands 45 minutes before departure, not that you are in line to get it checked.

Amtrak isn't really all that big into enforcing luggage size restrictions. The general rule of thumb is if you can carry it all without going back for it, you can have it. However, I've checked bags on the Cascades because there is that much less to handle and had no problem. Also, they put all the bags off onto the platform before they release any passengers at Vancouver, although you still have to hunt through them.