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A luggage storage idea for those with late flights.


gwsster
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This was a great idea my dear friend came up with mid cruise. We were 2 couples traveling on the same ship. We had 6 bags between us and didn't have a flight out from Vancouver until just after 6:00 pm. We wanted to do something post cruise in Vancouver but didn't want to drag our luggage around. There is a luggage storage facility at Canada Place but the bag storage fee is between $10.00 to $15.00 per bag. The drawback was we would have had to make our way back to the port to collect the bags.

RENT a CAR! My friend said, We could put all 6 bags in he car and take an excursion. We were able to go to a museum and then to lunch. We were then able drive ourselves to the airport and drop the car off there. The $60.00 to $90.00 baggage storage fee + the cost of a taxi saved us some $$ and gave us some flexibility. The savings was more since there was 4 of us but solved a lot of problems.

I would book early, It was fortunate we booked 3 days ahead as the Port Hotel was out of cars for those wanting one at the last minute.

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If you go to the North American Homeports boards the most common answer by far to the asked-almost-daily question of "What do I do between disembarkation and a late flight?" is Rent A Car.

 

Hardly the transcendent revelation it is being made out as here.

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The idea wasn't meant to be a transcendent revelation, not everyone reads ALL of the forums. I've seen the question asked and decided to share an idea for those who may not read all of the forums. What happened to if you didn't have anything nice to say... ?

 

Hardly the transcendent revelation it is being made out as here.

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Glad it worked for you.

 

For any thinking of doing this verify that your auto insurance will cover you in Canada.

Or, get the rental car agencies insurance.

 

Or, pay with a credit card offering car insurance as a perk once you decline the rental agencies coverage.

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If all your bags fit in the trunk (or "boot"), and are out of sight, you're OK. BUT, if the bags are visible, you are naively assume they are safe. If they must be visible, at least take a cable lock and lock your bags to something in the car or all together. Don't just throw a blanket over them - it's just an invitation for a thief that you have something hidden. At least then you may only have to deal with insurance to cover the break-in, instead of the break-in and the loss of your bags...

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We had 6 bags between us and didn't have a flight out from Vancouver until just after 6:00 pm. We wanted to do something post cruise in Vancouver but didn't want to drag our luggage around. There is a luggage storage facility at Canada Place but the bag storage fee is between $10.00 to $15.00 per bag. The drawback was we would have had to make our way back to the port to collect the bags.

Corrections - the fee is $7 or $8 at the official storage location (CDS) - and that's CAD (they also take USD cash at par but that's a mug's game!) Alternatively, you could have had all 6 bags sent to YVR for your collection there for $40 (first 4 bags) + $20 ($10 per extra bag) - again in CAD. This means no return to the pier, no bags to schlep, making SkyTrain an even more convenient option (at a whopping $4.10pp or less). Total cost CAD$76.40 (a few bucks less if any Seniors or kids who get discounted SkyTrain fares).

 

 

While a rental car can be useful, unless the museum you visited was very far from downtown - e.g. MoA or others out on UBC campus that require a lengthy trip on transit - they're generally more of a hindrance than help in Vancouver being pricey to park downtown. Also, unless your car is large enough to keep all the bags in the trunk out of sight, you are at serious risk of a break-in - downtown Vancouver is the most-targeted area in the province for casual property theft from vehicles, but tourist attractions outside the core with their own car parks are also targets (warning signs abound).

 

I'm glad it worked out for you, but perhaps with the above info it no longer seems like as much, if any, actual saving was achieved between rental, gas, and parking costs - and future visitors considering the same plan now have all the facts at their disposal to weigh whether it's best for them.

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If you go to the North American Homeports boards the most common answer by far to the asked-almost-daily question of "What do I do between disembarkation and a late flight?" is Rent A Car.

 

Hardly the transcendent revelation it is being made out as here.

Well it was a transcendent revelation to me. I've been a member here for years and posted over 1000 messages but never checked the North American homeports boards much. I found this info useful and something to file away for future reference. So thank you GWSSTER, I appreciate you taking the time to post it here.

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