luggage help needed-long wait for plane!

[Jennyfer]

Hi, our return flight was changed beyond our control. Our cruise arrives in Seattle at 7 A.M. and our flight isn't until near midnight. What do we do with our luggage for hours and hours? Has this ever happened to anyone? What are any options available? We are flying Northwest Air.

Thanks if you can advise!

[Happy ks]

Although your ship arrives in Seattle at 7am, you conceivably will not disembark until around 9am. But....that is still an awful lot of time on your hands!

 

I think, if it were me, I'd spring for a rental car for the day, you can keep all your luggage in the car and not have to worry about transportation back to the airport. Get yourself a good city map, more like a tourist one that points out places of interest.

 

Or, you could hire a private tour guide for the day. I'd not go with the ship sponsoored tours, as they will have you to the airport a lot earlier than you want to be there.

 

Seattle is a wonderful town to visit, if you could manage (maybe the airline will make free adjustments because they changed your time), perhaps spend the night and take an early morning flight instead of waiting all that time.

 

Another alternative would be to contact the port, to see if they have luggage storage. That sounds easy, but it might be more of a hassle than it is worth.

 

Still, another plan might be to see if you can rent a hotel room for the day. The rate probably wouldn't be any less than an overnight stay, but you could spread out, relax and freshen up before your flight. That might be a bit difficult, most hotels don't have check-in until 3pm, but it might be worth a shot!

 

Just a few things to think about.

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

I second the rental car option. You can store your luggage in the car and see the PiKe Place Marketplace in Seattle and other sites in the Seattle area such as Safeco Field.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Fred

[Kudos2Fly]

If you booked the air. Just call the airline and see if you can change to an earlier flt. If that can't be done then the rental car is a good ideal..

[LHT28]

What airline are you booked on & did you book it or the cruiseline?

Where are you flying to?

I would call airline and tell them it is not acceptable...

[SailAwayWendy]

We were in Seattle last year and used the concierge at the port to store our luggage. They were fantastic !! It's right at the cruise terminal, here is the link : http://www.portseattle.org/seaport/cruise/concierge.shtml I called with any specific questions I had. We stored our luggage there before embarkation and also after disembark. We were able to visit the city, eat, go to the space needle, etc. and not worry about our luggage. Also, they had a driver with a towncar waiting for us when we got back, to take us to the airport !! The lady that was working there was very, very nice and so helpful. HTH !!

[KreinKrunker]

Although we usually go out of Vancouver, you run into the same problems in Seattle. First, if flying to Michigan, your best bet is flying Northwest. Second, the best connections east are usually too early in the morning, or the red eye. We always spend the day in Vancouver, and book an early flight out the next morning. Call Northwest, and see if they will change your flight to the next morning. If you get a flight early enough, you don't have to compete with cruisers for a seat.

[mtd1]

We were in Seattle last year and used the concierge at the port to store our luggage. They were fantastic !! It's right at the cruise terminal, here is the link : http://www.portseattle.org/seaport/c...oncierge.shtml I called with any specific questions I had. We stored our luggage there before embarkation and also after disembark. We were able to visit the city, eat, go to the space needle, etc. and not worry about our luggage. Also, they had a driver with a towncar waiting for us when we got back, to take us to the airport !! The lady that was working there was very, very nice and so helpful. HTH !!

Is there a link for Vancouver like this one for Seattle? We have a similar problem--our flight doesn't leave till 11:15 at night.

[marco]

If you are flying east, many lines use the "red eye" over night flight. On the plus side, it gives you the opportunity to enjoy Seattle. I notice you are from CA. Depending what city, I'd think there would be plenty of flights earlier in the day. If you are doing cruise air, the line may or may not change you to an earlier flight now, but if you end up going to the airport in the AM and there are seats on a earlier flight, they WILL put you on it. If you don't want to take that chance, yes, the rental car is the best advice.

[momofkaze]

If you go to SEA-TAC too early before your flight they will not let you check in. You have to wait with your luggage in a waiting area until 2 hours before your flight. (at least this was our experience at this airport) I would find something to do in town before sitting at the airport all day.

[05mak05]

The same thing happened to us in Anchorage. It was our very first cruise, and we didn't know to book an excursion through the cruise line for the day. The Princess bus ride into Anchorage was one hour and we were dumped at the airport around 9 a.m. I mean dumped. Everyone's luggage was in one big huge pile as the bus pulled away from the airport. We weren't even at the right terminal to check our bags. We finally found 2 other couples to share the expense of a ride into town. Our flight left at 12:30 a.m. Never again. (Our TA told us that Princess would take care of our luggage, take us into town and arrange for tours ... no such thing.) Anyway, all of the prior suggetions are good ones. If an excursion if offered on your departure day, then, that might also be an interesting and stress free way to pass those long hours.