Can I bring baggage on the Oakland Ferry to San Francisco?

April 2, 2014 4:16 PM

Taking the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Jack London Sq., but want to take the ferry to Pier 41 where I have a hotel waiting. But I've got luggage. Can I bring it on the ferry? No information on official site. Please help. Thanks so much!

The Coast Starlight allows checked baggage, but the Amtrak shuttle from Emeryville and Oakland to SF don't take checked bags. So I need a non-BART way to get my luggage to the hotel from the train. The ferry seems the favorable option, but the baggage is crucial.

posted by itsjustcarlo to Travel & Transportation around Oakland, CA (11 answers total)

Yes. You can even take a bike. :)
posted by oneirodynia at 4:30 PM on April 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Yep, absolutely no issue. There's tons of room.
posted by brainmouse at 4:33 PM on April 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Awesome! You just made my trip so much easier!
posted by itsjustcarlo at 4:36 PM on April 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Depending on how much luggage you have, the AC transit F bus stops not that far (.3 miles, according to Google maps) from the Emeryville station. That'll lengthen the San Francisco end of the trip.
posted by hoyland at 4:37 PM on April 2, 2014

I just remembered, though -- it's probably about a half-mile walk from the Amtrak end of Jack London Square (at Alice St) to the Ferry end of Jack London Square (at the bottom of Clay St) -- I'm not sure how much luggage you have and how easily you can move it, but be aware that it's not like right there when you get off the train.
posted by brainmouse at 4:48 PM on April 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Just so you know, the JLS train station and the ferry dock are about a half mile apart. It's a pleasant walk if it's daylight (sort of deserted feeling around the train station at night).
posted by oneirodynia at 4:49 PM on April 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oops! Well, anyway there are frequently cabs at the train station. :)
posted by oneirodynia at 4:50 PM on April 2, 2014

I was just on the Amtrak Emeryville-SF bus. They may not officially check luggage, but there is definitely space to stash luggage in the outside cargo compartments.
posted by Numenius at 5:56 PM on April 2, 2014 [2 favorites]

We may be over thinking this issue. You may not be able to check your bags all the way to San Francisco (no staff to transfer your luggage from the train to the trans-bay bus from Emeryville or Oakland). You need to do it yourself. The bus has a lot of cargo space. And who's going to board a bus from San Francisco without luggage if they are traveling to Seattle, LA or wherever? On preview, what Numenius says.

and call amtrak
posted by namret at 6:06 PM on April 2, 2014

Yeah, you can walk your luggage from the train onto the Amtrak shuttle. I don't know how much luggage you have, but Amtrak buses do have room for luggage.

Or you could of course get off the train at Richmond, take BART to the city, and either get a different hotel near the BART stop or take a cab out to your hotel. (You said a "non BART way," so this might be off the table.)

The F does pick up near the Emeryville train station, but (unless something recently changed?) it is very unobvious where to go, and you need exact change, so I wouldn't attempt it. The other options are easier. It's a longer walk than the Richmond Amtrak-BART connection and maybe even the Amtrak-ferry connection, and it's the least signed of the three.

I'd probably rank them in this order, prioritizing those with the least walking and possibility to get lost:
- Emeryville Amtrak shuttle plus cab to hotel
- BART connection in Richmond plus cab to hotel
- Ferry
- F bus plus cab to hotel
posted by salvia at 6:38 PM on April 2, 2014 [1 favorite]

Or you could of course get off the train at Richmond, take BART to the city, and either get a different hotel near the BART stop or take a cab out to your hotel. (You said a "non BART way," so this might be off the table.)

The Coast Starlight doesn't stop in Richmond.
posted by hoyland at 6:41 PM on April 2, 2014