Where to store luggage before or after a Seattle cruise
Port Valet is free after a cruise if you fly out that day. Before boarding, pier storage, SEA's Smarte Carte desk and downtown apps each have a catch.
Port Valet moves your checked bags from the ship to your airline when your flight leaves the day you leave the ship, at no charge. Before you board, the early drop-off at Pier 66 is the one option with no listed fee, and it covers only three Norwegian ships. The others cost money: pier storage, $20 to $40 a bag at the airport desk, or an app spot downtown.
Pick the option that fits your day
| Your day | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Flying home the day you leave the ship | Port Valet | It’s free, and your bags are already checked |
| Flying home outside Port Valet’s window | Bags with you, or an app spot downtown | Port Valet needs a flight inside its window |
| Sailing Norwegian Bliss, Joy or Encore from Pier 66 | The early drop-off | Your checked bags leave your hands in the morning |
| Any other sailing, arriving hours early | Pier storage or an app spot | The Port lists no early drop-off at Pier 91 |
| Sailing from Pier 91 | Ask your cruise line, then pier storage | Public transit doesn’t reach Pier 91 |
Every option side by side
| Option | Works for | Cost | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early luggage drop-off | Before boarding, Norwegian Bliss, Joy and Encore at Pier 66 | The Port lists no fee | Drop from 8 a.m., back at the terminal by 2 p.m. |
| Smarte Carte at SEA | Either direction | $20 to $40 a bag by size | 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. |
| Bounce | Downtown spots | $5.95 a bag for a day plus a $2.25 service fee, on one Bounce booking screen | Hours vary by spot |
| Stasher | Downtown spots | From $2.49, Stasher’s own figure | Hours vary by spot |
| Radical Storage | Downtown spots | From $4.90, Radical Storage’s own figure | Hours vary by spot |
Before you board
The Port’s Pier 66 page lists the early luggage drop-off for Norwegian Bliss, Joy and Encore. A passenger who uses it walks off with only a carry-on.
The Cruise Alaska + channel filmed an ordinary Pier 66 drop-off on a Norwegian Joy sailing, not the early drop-off. Checked bags went to baggage handlers at the north end of the terminal, and check-in was at the south end. That passenger kept passports and medications in hand. Missing luggage tags can be printed at the white canopies, but My Perfect Alaska Cruise says to have tags on your luggage before the drop-off.
My Perfect Alaska Cruise entered the terminal at about 1 p.m. and was aboard 11 minutes later. The channel found the terminal pretty empty and credited an end-of-season sailing. The Cruise Alaska + passenger hit a very long boarding line that moved quickly.
The Port’s Pier 91 page lists no early drop-off. Ask your cruise line what it offers.
Storage at the pier
Both piers hold bags the same day in a Crew Center, with pickup by 3 p.m. The Port doesn’t say whether boarding passengers may use it, and it lists a late fee without an amount.
| Pier | Where the storage is | Terminal manager |
|---|---|---|
| Pier 66, Bell Street Cruise Terminal | Crew Center at the south end of the terminal building | 206-644-1355 |
| Pier 91, Smith Cove Cruise Terminal | Crew Center at the north end of the Ground Transportation Center | 206-245-2484 |
At the airport and downtown
Smarte Carte’s desk sits on the baggage claim level, between carousels 9 and 10. Our luggage storage page lists the desk’s hours and prices, and our bag storage guide has its two half-hour breaks and the price for each bag size. The airport’s listing says storage can run for days or weeks, so the desk suits bags that stay a while. It also stores golf clubs at $80, skis at $100, bicycles or surfboards at $125, other oversize items at $75 and a hard-cased musical instrument at $200, plus car keys at $25, other keys at $30 and documents at $20. Frozen and refrigerated items are stored too, and staff hand-search every stored item. Traveling military members and their families store free at the USO Center, which our USO guide covers.
Visit Seattle’s Port Valet page points to LuggageHero, Bounce and Stasher for anyone Port Valet doesn’t fit.
A Google reviewer wrote that a Bounce spot kept the bags out of sight of the lobby but not in a locked room.
Fly in a day early
My Perfect Alaska Cruise recommends flying in at least a day early because of potential flight delays. It also points to hotels near the airport, which it says tend to cost less than downtown, and says many run a free airport shuttle. The next day you ride to the pier with your bags, so nothing needs storing. Our courtesy shuttles page shows where hotel vans board, and our hotels page lists places near the airport.
After the cruise: Port Valet
The crew collects your bags the night before you dock, and the service checks them in with your airline. You need all of these.
| Requirement | What the Port lists |
|---|---|
| Flight | Same day you leave the ship |
| Airlines | Alaska, American, Delta, Horizon, JetBlue, Southwest and United |
| Cruise lines | Carnival, Celebrity, Cunard Line, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean |
Delta takes Port Valet bags on domestic flights only.
Visit Seattle’s Port Valet page adds Spirit Airlines, which the Port’s own list lacks, and names only five of the seven cruise lines. Confirm your ship and airline on the enrollment form. MSC, Virgin Voyages and Oceania appear in the Port’s pier listings but not in its Port Valet list.
- Enroll online before you sail, or with the form in your stateroom. Port Valet’s enrollment site stops online sign-ups at 4 p.m. on the first day of the cruise, and Carnival Luminosa and Carnival Spirit passengers sign up onboard only.
- On the last night, the crew delivers your boarding passes and luggage tags to the stateroom.
- Tag the bags and set them outside your cabin that evening.
- Disembark in the first group. The Port says customs rules put Port Valet passengers there.
Your suitcases leave the night before, so anything you need before the flight goes in a carry-on. The service doesn’t include a ride to the airport. Buy a transfer onboard or take a taxi waiting outside the terminal. Our Pier 91 guide gives that pier’s rides to SEA, and our cruise terminal overview compares both piers.
You can track your bags on the Port Valet website. The enrollment site says a ship can cancel the service at any time for operational changes or weather. Port Valet, run by Bags Inc., answers at 321-251-5435.
Sources
This site’s pages:
- Where to leave a bag at Seattle airport
- USO military travel at SEA
- Courtesy shuttles
- Hotels
- Link light rail from SEA into Seattle
- One day in Seattle before your flight home
- SEA to Pier 91
- Seattle airport to the cruise terminals
Official pages:
- Our pages on luggage storage, Pier 66 (Bell Street) cruise garage and Pier 91 (Smith Cove) cruise parking
- Port of Seattle, Smooth Sailing Guide between SEA Airport and the Seattle Cruise Terminals
- Visit Seattle, Port Valet
Company pages, each named as its own figures:
- Port Valet enrollment site
- Bounce, Pier 66 storage
- Stasher, Port of Seattle
- Radical Storage, Seattle Cruise Terminal
- Smarte Carte, Seattle-Tacoma
Traveler videos:
- Cruise Alaska +, NCL Check-In Process at Pier 66
- My Perfect Alaska Cruise, NCL Alaska boarding day at Pier 66