Luggage Direct in Vancouver to U.S.?

[Tucker50]

Does anyone know if Luggage Direct is available in Vancouver for return to U.S.?  I'm traveling Delta.  Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

If you look on the HAL website, they describe the program. Pretty sure it's not offered anywhere outside the US, for Customs reasons. 

[Seasick Sailor]

https://www.maketraveleasier.com/holland/locations

 

 

Edited March 1, 2020 by Seasick Sailor
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[martincath]

No 'luggage direct' service in Vancouver (or any other Canadian ports), thanks to US government running Preclearance in our airports. While it's legal to ship your bags as freight separately, so some private 'mail my bags home' services can operate, the cruise services which check your bags onto your flight for you would be illegal - anything that accompanies you on your flight must be brought to the bag drop by you personally. Luggage is photographed, the digital pic is linked to your boarding pass, so when you go through Customs if you have to make a verbal declaration or answer any follow-up questions you'll see a pic of your bag on a screen and agent will ask you to confirm it's yours (using the kiosks streamlines this process, most folks literally just hand over their declaration printout and walk on, but they do randomly sample some kiosk users for extra questions of course).

 

The only folks allowed to place your bag other than you are the licensed and background-checked SkyCaps, and even they can only do it in front of you. This impacts services like the packaged 'HOHO, SkyTrain ticket, bag delivery' that cruiselines offer - as your bags get delivered to the airport, but NOT onto your flight - they are stored at YVR for you to collect before you do anything else.

 

If you're looking to get rid of your bags while doing some touring around before a red-eye for example, then the cheap option is to store them with the Pan Pacific hotel bell desk (it's literally right above the pier, bell desk is on street level) for $5 each - go do whatever, return to the pier, then cab or SkyTrain to YVR. If you are touring around places that would make it inefficient to return to the pier to collect bags, then PorterGenie is the only game in town these days - they'll come meet you at the pier, take your bags away, then deliver them to anywhere you want later in the day at a specific time. Very pricey for the first bag, as the pickup & dropoff are fixed fees - but if you are a group with several bags those fixed costs can be cut significantly on a 'per bag' costing. Ballpark though would be $40 for the first bag delivered to YVR, then add $10 per bag as you're just paying the daily storage fee after that.

 

Even for one person, using PG and buying your own HOHO and SkyTrain tickets will be cheaper than cruiselines charge - total ~CAD$90-120 depending which HOHO ticket, whereas I've seen the package sold for as much as US$129pp!

[Tucker50]

Thanks Martincath.  This is very helpful!