Luggage Direct?

[fadeintoblue]

Apologies in advance if the answers are here no I’m just not able to locate. 
We’re on a September cruise out of Vancouver and flying out of YVR the day following disembarkation. Is it possible to use luggage direct to send our bags home from the ship so that we can spend the day relatively unencumbered by our checked luggage? Does HAL still pass out forms or should this be booked online ahead of time? 

[CruiserBruce]

Nope. Not offered in Vancouver. 

[sterling2]

It looks like Luggage Forward would work. We used them this year and were very pleased with the service.

[fadeintoblue]

Luggage Forward is a little pricey at 209 per bag. Fed Ex with a commercial account is less. Bummer to hear luggage direct isn’t  an option. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, sterling2 said:

It looks like Luggage Forward would work. We used them this year and were very pleased with the service.

 

Right. The names are confusing. Luggage Direct takes bags from outside your cabin to your airline and you collect them at the arrival airport. Luggage Forward is a shipping company that will ship bags from your home to the ship or from the ship (actually, the terminal) to your home.

[rafinmd]

Luggage Forward is more complicated and more expensive when crossing national boundaries and I would be a bit reluctant.  Canada Place has a baggage storage option that looks promising, Here's a link:

 

https://www.portvancouver.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/WCS-Bagdrop.pdf

 

You could leave their bags there and tour the city and then come back when you're ready to head to the airport.  At one time there was a program where they took your bags and gave you a HOHO bus ticket and pass on the skytrain and you could pick up your bags at the airport,  Not sure if that's still possible but they give their phone number.

 

Roy

[azalice]

We used Luggage Free internationally and it worked. You can just look it up yourself. Same for Luggage Forward.

[CruiserBruce]

7 hours ago, azalice said:

We used Luggage Free internationally and it worked. You can just look it up yourself. Same for Luggage Forward.

The OP was asking about Luggage Direct. A program that HAL uses only in Ft Lauderdale and Copenhagen. A similar, but unrelated (and free) program, Port Valet, is offered in Seattle.

[martincath]

On 5/21/2023 at 11:14 AM, fadeintoblue said:

Apologies in advance if the answers are here no I’m just not able to locate. 
We’re on a September cruise out of Vancouver and flying out of YVR the day following disembarkation. Is it possible to use luggage direct to send our bags home from the ship so that we can spend the day relatively unencumbered by our checked luggage? Does HAL still pass out forms or should this be booked online ahead of time? 

You've been correctly advised that Luggage Direct will not be available to you, but since you are overnighting in Vancouver you will have a hotel, no? Simplest thing is to head straight to that hotel and ask them to hold the bags - even though your room likely won't be ready until the afternoon, even modest hotels without dedicated bell staff will hold bags for guests on the day they check in or out.

 

Shipping your bags home across the border means more complicated customs declarations as some goods will not accompany you, and of course pretty hefty fees - even a small bag shipped is likely to cost more than cab fare to even an airport hotel to drop your bags then return downtown to sightsee, but I would personally pay the $5-10 per bag fee to store them downtown for the day if you are in an airport hotel - to save the time of travel more than anything else.

 

Multiple options for daily storage are available, Google 'luggage storage vancouver' and several companies will pop up that have deals with local stores and restos and hotels to hold bags, The simplest though is the bell desk of the Pan Pacific Hotel right above the pier - cheaper and less wait time than the official pier storage, unless you also book a tour with WestCoast (when they discount bag storage fees by IIRC 50%, turning them from the most expensive in the city to on par with other locations).