Luggage storage question when arriving in Vancouver from cruise

[MontiD]

We will be ending our cruise in Vancouver at 7am and planning to take the 545pm amtrack train to Seattle to spend the night before boarding our plane at SEATAC next morning. We will have most of the day available in Vancouver before catching the train, so wanted to do some sightseeing. Need to know what we could do with our luggage while waiting for the train to depart? Would we be able to check the luggage in at the train station while we go out to do some sightseeing? Any suggestions?

[pizzalady1]

We will be ending our cruise in Vancouver at 7am and planning to take the 545pm amtrack train to Seattle to spend the night before boarding our plane at SEATAC next morning. We will have most of the day available in Vancouver before catching the train, so wanted to do some sightseeing. Need to know what we could do with our luggage while waiting for the train to depart? Would we be able to check the luggage in at the train station while we go out to do some sightseeing? Any suggestions?

 

We did this in 2012 and will do it again this May. After checking our luggage, we took an aquabus to Granville Island and spent the day ther. It worked out very well.

 

There is a place at the Pacific Coast rail station to leave bags. The cost is $4 per bag. You will need to pick them up before getting in line for the Cascades train, then after you get your seats assigned, you can check your luggage with the porter before boarding. You should be back at the rail station by 4-4:40pm. If you get an option, you will want to sit on the water side.

Edited January 19, 2014 by pizzalady1

[scottbee]

We will be ending our cruise in Vancouver at 7am and planning to take the 545pm amtrack train to Seattle to spend the night before boarding our plane at SEATAC next morning. We will have most of the day available in Vancouver before catching the train, so wanted to do some sightseeing. Need to know what we could do with our luggage while waiting for the train to depart? Would we be able to check the luggage in at the train station while we go out to do some sightseeing? Any suggestions?

 

You can check them at the cruise pier (Canada Place) or at Pacific Central Station. Personally I would buy an all day transit ticket, ride the Expo or Millenium line skytrain to Main Street/Science World (across the street from Pacific Central, be careful by next summer only some trains stop there), drop your bags, and then use your transit ticket to explore the city.

[Cruise life]

You can check them at the cruise pier (Canada Place) or at Pacific Central Station. Personally I would buy an all day transit ticket, ride the Expo or Millenium line skytrain to Main Street/Science World (across the street from Pacific Central, be careful by next summer only some trains stop there), drop your bags, and then use your transit ticket to explore the city.

 

 

Is it common to see people hauling their baggage on public transit over to the station and is there someone there at the rail station all day checking bags prior to the pre-board check-in? What would a cab cost- I think I read somewhere it's only a couple miles? We are doing the same thing, but we have children so may be better for us to take a cab over...not sure about our smaller child hauling his suitcase on the bus or skytrain system. Is the day pass good for both the expo and the skytrain or are they separate? ty

 

 

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[ell52]

Is it common to see people hauling their baggage on public transit over to the station and is there someone there at the rail station all day checking bags prior to the pre-board check-in? What would a cab cost- I think I read somewhere it's only a couple miles? We are doing the same thing, but we have children so may be better for us to take a cab over...not sure about our smaller child hauling his suitcase on the bus or skytrain system. Is the day pass good for both the expo and the skytrain or are they separate? ty

With children, I'd just take a cab to train station and store your bags, then get an all-day transit pass. The station is just across from the transit line. And yes, the day pass is good for all public transit including skytrains, bus and seabus to/from north Shore (not the Aquabus). Cab cost would be around $10 -15?

Edited January 31, 2014 by ell52

[martincath]

... and is there someone there at the rail station all day checking bags prior to the pre-board check-in?

Just to tag this on to Ell52's answer above, you should check the operating hours for bag storage at Pacific Central. They are limited and based on train schedules. Right now they're showing very short hours - I could swear that last time I checked the hours were much longer, so this *may* be a winter seasonal lack-of-demand issue and the hours will increase again come cruise season...

 

Worst case you can always store at the pier - depending on where you actually plan to go it may be quicker doing this anyway (e.g. if you're hopping on a HOHO or visiting Stanley Park there'll be less backtracking).

[Cruise life]

Thank you, this is exactly the info we needed. If it's a nice day we'll likely store at the pier and walk through Stanley Park. If it's too cold or rainy we'll go to the Science Center and/or aquarium. I would love to do the HOHO for two hours for the tour aspect as well. We will grab a cab over to the station NLT 4. That should be enough time to get there and do our baggage and customs check before 5:45, shouldn't it?

 

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[martincath]

You are very welcome.

 

Amtrak demands (possibly requests, but it comes across rather strongly!) that you be there an hour early for cross-border services. 4pm will be more than sufficient.