Luggage storage at Boston cruise port

[abo]

Hi, my wife and I are cruising out of Boston this September and it will be the first time we have visited Boston.  On return from the cruise we have a late night flight out of Boston so are looking to make the best of the day rather than kick our heels getting bored in the airport.  Can anyone advise if there is a facility to leave our cases at the cruise port or any other suggestions how we might make this work?  We will be on a Celebrity ship if that makes any difference to facilities available.

 

Many thanks.

[Nitemare]

There are a few hotels spitting distance from the port.  You can likely leave your bags there for a nice tip

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, Nitemare said:

There are a few hotels spitting distance from the port.  You can likely leave your bags there for a nice tip

This approach has worked for us at a number of ports (not yet Boston - but I can’t see why  it wouldn’t work there).

[princeton123211]

4 hours ago, Nitemare said:

There are a few hotels spitting distance from the port.  You can likely leave your bags there for a nice tip

I agree with this and we do this all the time in the same situation-- but I would save yourself some time and go to a hotel that is not in the port area and more in the area you'll be touring around in. This will save you the time of having to go back to South Boston which is sort of out of the way of the major tourist areas and not necessarily on the way to the airport. 

 

Some centrally located hotels that have been happy to do this for us in the past are the Fairmont Copley Plaza, Ritz Carlton, and Liberty Hotel-- all are in areas that you will want to walk around in if it's your first time in Boston. 

[abo]

Thank you - that's a really good tip to try the hotels.  We'll do that for sure.

[princeton123211]

8 hours ago, abo said:

Thank you - that's a really good tip to try the hotels.  We'll do that for sure.

Just keep in mind that the threshold for them to do it might be more than just a nice tip-- typically we will have lunch or drinks there as the reason we are asking them to check our bags just like any restaurant would check your coat. 

[SunandShade]

We are in a similar situation. I’ve discovered the Boston Water Taxi has a service especially for cruises. They pick you up at the port, store your luggage, drop you off to do your sightseeing, and take you to the airport.  Is this something worth considering? 

 

https://www.bostonwatertaxi.com/

[princeton123211]

12 hours ago, SunandShade said:

Is this something worth considering? 

I think the downside here is really how inefficient the water taxi can be. It's a lot slower to get to Rowes Wharf (where they dock downtown) and then over to the airport later. Once they drop you off at the airport near the Hyatt you have a schlep to get to the terminal, where a taxi/Uber would drop you right off. 

 

The luggage storage at Rowes Wharf very possibly will be at the Boston Harbor Hotel there so basically the same thing we have been talking about. 

 

Don't get me wrong-- the water taxi is scenic and fun and if that's your thing it could be a good time (frankly I would be "boated out" after a week on a cruise). But it isn't the most efficient way to spend a day touring Boston.

 

You'll save a lot of time using Uber/Lyft to a hotel for storage and then taking a car direct to the airport terminal later and it will cost less than the $100 for 2 people the water taxi people are charging. 

[SunandShade]

4 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

I think the downside here is really how inefficient the water taxi can be. It's a lot slower to get to Rowes Wharf (where they dock downtown) and then over to the airport later. Once they drop you off at the airport near the Hyatt you have a schlep to get to the terminal, where a taxi/Uber would drop you right off. 

 

The luggage storage at Rowes Wharf very possibly will be at the Boston Harbor Hotel there so basically the same thing we have been talking about. 

 

Don't get me wrong-- the water taxi is scenic and fun and if that's your thing it could be a good time (frankly I would be "boated out" after a week on a cruise). But it isn't the most efficient way to spend a day touring Boston.

 

You'll save a lot of time using Uber/Lyft to a hotel for storage and then taking a car direct to the airport terminal later and it will cost less than the $100 for 2 people the water taxi people are charging. 

Thanks for the insight. Very helpful.

[fngram]

You might want to checkout LuggageHero.

[abo]

Thanks to everyone who has given suggestions on this.  We're looking at the hotel options and thought it might be nice to have a room for the day to allow us to chill and change later in the day ready for the long flight home.  Does anyone know of hotels in Boston that do day use rooms?  Or does anyone know if the site Dayuse.com is reliable?  The seem to have several options on there but I'm a bit cautious relying on a random website that I haven't come across before.

[alexgtp]

On 8/15/2022 at 10:05 PM, SunandShade said:

We are in a similar situation. I’ve discovered the Boston Water Taxi has a service especially for cruises. They pick you up at the port, store your luggage, drop you off to do your sightseeing, and take you to the airport.  Is this something worth considering? 

 

https://www.bostonwatertaxi.com/

Big thanks for this. This is exactly what I was looking for. We have about 8 hours to kill in Boston, and would love to give my parents a nice tour of Boston! Minus carrying all of our luggage! This fits the bill!

[carmen3500]

On 8/12/2022 at 9:28 PM, princeton123211 said:

I agree with this and we do this all the time in the same situation-- but I would save yourself some time and go to a hotel that is not in the port area and more in the area you'll be touring around in. This will save you the time of having to go back to South Boston which is sort of out of the way of the major tourist areas and not necessarily on the way to the airport. 

 

Some centrally located hotels that have been happy to do this for us in the past are the Fairmont Copley Plaza, Ritz Carlton, and Liberty Hotel-- all are in areas that you will want to walk around in if it's your first time in Boston. 

i'm sorry to bother you with this, but we will be in the same situation next summer and for us, being Spanish, it sounds weird to leave our luggage in a hotel you are not staying in. How do you do that? Who do you ask for permission? How much do you usually tip? How do you ask for the service? Too many questions for newbies 😅. Thanks in advance!

[princeton123211]

3 hours ago, carmen3500 said:

How do you do that? Who do you ask for permission? How much do you usually tip? How do you ask for the service? Too many questions for newbies 😅. Thanks in advance!

Its fairly common in the US for a 4 star (business class) hotel and 5 star hotel to accept checked luggage at their bell stand. Typically this is a service for overnight guests but rarely if ever is that checked. You would speak directly will a bellman and in this situation I will typically tip $10-20. 

 

If you are concerned about it, the easiest way to do it is make a breakfast/brunch/lunch reservation at the hotel's restaurant. They are then obligated to accept your luggage. A good option for this in Boston would be to go to the Fairmont Copley Plaza and make a reservation at their Oak Long Bar + Kitchen restaurant. 

[lissie]

14 hours ago, carmen3500 said:

i'm sorry to bother you with this, but we will be in the same situation next summer and for us, being Spanish, it sounds weird to leave our luggage in a hotel you are not staying in. How do you do that? Who do you ask for permission? How much do you usually tip? How do you ask for the service? Too many questions for newbies 😅. Thanks in advance!

I agree its totally weird - but we were advised to do the same in Philadelphia  and it worked like a charm. Basically, as you enter the lobby of a 4 star or better hotel look for concierge or bell hop desk - its usually off to the side rather than straight ahead.  We just asked to leave the bags for a few hours and they agreed a time we'd return for them. There was no discussion where we were staying - and as we'd just come off a long-haul overnight flight it would be fair to say we didn't look like we could have afforded  stayed at the hotel LOL 

[Dobby36]

Just wanted to say yesterday I did the water taxi to rowes wharf with luggage storage, then later to the airport. Was perhaps inefficient as others have noted above, but we had 11 hours to kill after leaving Zuiderdam until our flight.  He staff were friendly, the boat was cute and perfectly fine for a short trip.  The guy even returned graciously after we (stupidly) forgot a backpack onboard and gave him a quick call. 
 

i would def suggest it for some scenic views of Boston harbor before a flight. Pickup is right at end of cruise dock, as you can see below and they send solid instructions for the 5 min walk in email.