May 24, 2025 • 53 mins
Mark has just returned from Fiji with fascinating stories of crossing the International Date Line. In what he calls "the case of the missing Saturday," he describes flying from the US on Friday night, completely skipping Saturday, and arriving Sunday morning. Even more remarkable was his return journey when he departed Fiji at 9:40 pm Saturday and arrived home at 8:40 pm the same day – literally landing an hour before taking off!
For families considering Fiji, Mark highlights the exceptional value and unique experiences found at smaller island resorts. Unlike typical kids' clubs that rely on screens, Fijian resorts immerse children in local culture through hermit crab races, cultural ceremonies, and environmental conservation activities. He specifically recommends Likuri Island Resort, accessible via a 30-minute drive and scenic river cruise, with rooms starting at an astonishing $60-$120 per night.
We dive into travel news, including American Airlines' new technology to automatically hold connecting flights, plus their limited-time 5,000-mile one-way promotion. Norwegian Cruise Line announces significant upgrades to their Epic and Pride of America ships, while MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages prepare to enter the Alaska market in 2026. For European travelers, Avalon Waterways is offering free airfare or $1,500 savings on select 2025 river cruises.
The show wraps with practical travel tips, including expert advice for sleeping better on long-haul flights and creative options for cruise passengers with late flights from Miami. From exploring Everglades National Park to touring the historic Nike missile site, there are fascinating ways to extend your vacation before heading home.
Ready to experience these destinations yourself? Contact us at 888-718-7717 or visit blueplanetvacations.com to start planning your next adventure!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
It's finally the weekend.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show
Coming up.
On today's show, mark and Iwill be talking about Fiji.
He's back from Fiji.
American Airlines wants to holdyour connecting flight and they
have a 5,000 mile promotion.
Norwegian announces some shipupgrades and the case of the
(00:21):
missing.
Saturday, let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:50):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalkcom.
com.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:19):
The great Faldino is back from Fiji.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast, a radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark is back from Fiji.
He's going to give us all ofthe details about his travels to
and from the island, and he hasa mystery the case of the
(01:43):
missing Saturday.
We'll explain in just a fewminutes If you are brand new to
the show.
The entire purpose of this showis to help you plan and book
your next vacation, or just giveyou ideas of where you want to
vacation next, and we arepresented, proudly presented, by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, and thank you for takingthe time to stop and listen.
(02:04):
Coming up on today's show,we've got, of course, the travel
news headlines and we've gotthe destination of the week,
which is predictably, since hejust got back there, fiji.
Mark Faldmo (02:15):
Welcome home, it's good to see you, even though we
were broadcasting quiteliterally half a world away,
yeah, last week from Fiji, andour conversation actually fueled
a couple of caller questions.
So we're going to answer thosetoday about Fiji.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:30):
But before we do we always start with the
travel news headlines, and Ithought this headline was kind
of interesting.
Mark that American Airlineswants to hold your connecting
flight.
I like this idea.
Mark Faldmo (02:41):
I like this idea too.
All airlines kind of have thispolicy where if there's tight
connections, they will holdflights for people.
But what American Airlines hasdone is automated this process.
Previously it's been a gateagent at the gate you're
arriving on that says we havepassengers hold this.
But airlines really have notautomated this, and so American
(03:04):
has introduced this newtechnology They've tested it out
at their hub in Dallas thatwill identify passengers on
flights that are at risk ofmissing their connection flight
and it will automatically send amessage to the gate agents of
those flights and propose ashort hold to allow travelers on
this flight and that flight tomake the connection.
I like this idea.
(03:26):
Usually it's been done manually, and I've shown up the gates
before where they said we didn'tget the message.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:31):
Oh boy.
Mark Faldmo (03:35):
Even though other people said they were going to
notify the gate.
It makes that story of wedidn't get the message a little
bit harder to happen.
As long as they are looking attheir messages like they should
be, they should know that thereare flights with tight
connection, Hopefully this willcatch on.
Yes, there's been thistechnology out there.
I don't know why it's taken solong for airlines to adapt to
some of these things.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:56):
The White House is proposing an overhaul
of the US air traffic controlsystem.
It feels like for our entirelifetime they've been talking
about this, but I think itreally got traction a couple of
weeks ago, where pilots wereflying blind.
They literally have radiotransmissions of air traffic
control center saying hey, we'reflying dark here, Just stay at
(04:17):
the elevation that you are andcontinue flying the way you are.
That is absolutely terrifyingto me.
Mark Faldmo (04:24):
Yeah, yeah, it is.
Most airports still have radarsystems from the 1970s in
operation.
Which is just crazy to me.
One of the suggestions in thisproposal is to put in fiber for
the communication and a lot ofbusinesses, even homes, have
been running on fiber for 10years plus.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:41):
Yeah, and so you know, including this house.
Mark Faldmo (04:46):
I do hope it happens so that we get a more
modern system.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:47):
I really think it's going to get done this
time.
Truly, for the first time inour lives, I actually have a
little bit of faith that thiswill actually get done.
Yeah, American Airlines has a5,000 mile one-way promotion.
What are the details on this?
Mark Faldmo (05:02):
This is actually for redeeming Advantage Miles.
They call it a million seatsale.
If you book through May 28th soyou just have four days on this
left and travel between August1st and September 30th, you can
find one-way prices usingAdvantage Miles for as low as
5,000 miles each direction.
Okay, you get a round trip for10,000 miles each direction.
(05:22):
Okay, get a round trip for10,000 miles, where normally
those are between 25 and 50,000miles.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:30):
You have American Airlines miles, do you
not?
I do, yes, are you going totake advantage of this?
Mark Faldmo (05:35):
Yeah, I was going to say, yeah, I should look into
this.
I have about 250,000 Americanmiles right now.
I haven't used them in foreverbut if I can get 5,000 miles,
that's almost like not redeemingthem and getting a ticket.
That's such a low redemptionrate.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:51):
The case of the missing.
Saturday.
Let's dive in depth into Fiji.
Tell us how you got there andhow you came home the missing
Saturday.
Mark Faldmo (05:58):
just interesting because of the international
dateline and also where Fijilies in relation to the
international date line.
The actual international dateline does run through Fiji, so
we took off Friday night andlanded Sunday morning, so we
completely missed.
Ad Voice (06:17):
Saturday.
Mark Faldmo (06:18):
We never saw Saturday and then coming home
five minutes after you take off.
You're already in the next dayor in the previous day.
So we left at 9.40 pm onSaturday and we walked into our
house at 8.40 pm on Saturday.
With how that works, so wewalked into our house an hour
(06:39):
before we left Fiji.
So very interesting, with theinternational dateline and how
that works, you basically had a48-hour Saturday 48-hour.
Saturday Yep, yep.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:50):
Was that kind of weird?
How jet-lagged were you?
Mark Faldmo (06:53):
Yeah, not jet-lagged, and that kind of
actually goes into the caller'squestion that we're going to get
to in just a minute.
That's one thing that's niceabout Fiji.
You leave just before midnightfrom Los Angeles and then you
arrive at 7 am.
So as long as you can sleep onthat 10 hour flight, you arrive
perfect for the day, and thencoming home again.
(07:14):
Like I said, we left at 9.40 pmand actually arrived home at
8.40 pm on the same day, butyou're right about bedtime and
so you don't have the weird timezones and you do have the 10
hour flight to sleep on.
I've really not experienced jetlag.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:32):
Well, let's get to the destination of the
week.
We promised that we would talkabout Fiji, and this was a.
Was this a caller or a tech?
This is a caller, riley, thiswas a caller yes.
Okay, so Riley had somequestions about our conversation
last week during the May 17thshow that Riley wants to take
the family and he is askingwhere to stay on one of the
(07:53):
islands.
Mark Faldmo (07:54):
We had lots of kids on our flight.
As I said, with what time theflight leaves and arrives, it's
really good for kids becausethey do have to put up with the
long flight, but if they sleepthat whole flight the kids don't
get jet lagged either.
We've talked about the smallerislands in Fiji and he wants to
take his family to one of thosesmaller islands and ask is that
(08:14):
good for a family to do?
I would say yes, it is.
In Fiji there are kind of twoisland chains off of the main
island.
One is the Mamanuku Islands,which we've talked about before.
Those are the easier islands toget to.
The others are the YasawaIslands, which do take a little
bit more coordination to get tobecause they are further away.
(08:37):
How you'd get to those islandsis you land in Fiji, like I said
, about 7 am on Fiji Airways andthen you're transferred over to
the ferry terminal where a boatwill take you to the Mamanuku
Islands and depending on whichisland you're at, that transfer
is anywhere from 30 minutes totwo hours.
You can also take a privateboat if you want.
(08:59):
That'll take you right to theisland.
The regular running ferry doesstop at four or five islands
along the way.
So, depending on where you'reat, you may have to wait a
little bit longer to get to yourresort.
The first time I did that wasI'd say it's magical.
You're in this new tropicaldestination, you're on a boat
going to a hotel in an island,and for the kids, I think they
(09:23):
would be fascinated by that.
The boat ride alone.
I think would be fantastic.
I was kind of like a kid when Idid it because I was just so
fascinated with how everythingworked and the scenery and all
of that.
These resorts are generallysmaller and you go to these
islands and they generally haveanywhere from 20 to 30 units, so
they're very small.
(09:43):
I want to talk about one that Ilearned about this last week
when I was in Fiji.
It's called the Lakuri IslandResort.
This one is not in the Mamanukuor Yasawa Islands, it's just an
island off of the main coast.
But getting there, I think, iskind of what makes the trip.
So you drive on a transferabout 30 minutes or so from the
(10:07):
airport.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:08):
Okay, so you go from the airport on a road to
a river.
Mark Faldmo (10:11):
On a road to a river where you get on a boat
and you spend about 40 minutesgoing down river so kind of like
the jungle cruise at Disney andthen, once you reach the ocean,
you have about 15 to 20 minutesto get out to this island
called LaCourie Island Resort.
This resort has 15 units ohsmall, it is designed for
(10:36):
families.
A couple of their units onlyallow two people, but then they
have family units that hold fouror six.
And one thing that intrigued meis the kids club.
The kids clubs in Fiji aredifferent than any other hotels.
There's no electronics, theydon't sit them in front of a TV,
they actually immerse them inthe Fijian culture.
They have hermit crab raceswhere everyone goes and collects
(10:59):
a hermit crab and then theyhave a race.
They have kava ceremonies forthe children to teach them that
culture.
Now they don't use real kava,they do it with chocolate milk
for the children.
And then they do things likecoral planting and mangrove
planting and they kind of teachthe kids about the environment,
the importance of mangroves andcoral, and they actually go out
(11:21):
on the reefs with coral they'veplanted and then they have a
diver that goes and actuallyplants the out on the reefs with
coral they've planted, and thenthey have a diver that goes and
actually plants the coral inthe area.
Oh, how cool.
So, even as adults, I would loveto do all of those.
You know all of those things.
So it's like kids club.
I want to do this, yes, yeah.
So so there are lots of placeslike this in Fiji tailored
(11:43):
towards families, but as adults,you can go to these places or
other places that don't cater tofamilies and children and get
these experiences.
The one thing I liked aboutthis the Curry Island.
I've been looking at its ratesand it ranges from $60 to $120
per night.
Oh, that's very reasonable.
(12:03):
Oh, it's very reasonable.
So it's very reasonable.
Now, they do have a mandatorydining package that you have to
purchase.
You can either purchase itthere or pre-purchase it.
So adults are $125 per personper day and children are $65 per
person per day.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:19):
Well, you're going to spend that anyway,
going to a restaurant.
Mark Faldmo (12:22):
Yeah, it's very affordable.
The professional reviews giveit a three-star review, but
looking at it, it's a very niceresort.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:30):
It sure is.
I'm looking at it right now.
Mark Faldmo (12:32):
All of the user-generated reviews.
I think it's a 4.7 onTripAdvisor, so it gets very
good customer reviews.
These units have airconditioning.
I know I was talking to a fewother hotels and they say we
under promise and over deliver.
We're only a three star, butthat's because our rooms don't
(12:53):
have air conditioning, justbecause of where they were
located isolated and to get thegenerators everything to do the
air conditioning, they justcouldn't do it.
But as long as the breeze isblowing, just open up your
window and you don't need an airconditioner.
Now, I don't like the heat andhumidity, but I've not had that
(13:13):
problem as much in Fiji.
Oh really, I stayed in somebungalows on one of these
private islands that did nothave air conditioning and I was
fine.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:22):
You and I like things pretty cool, yes, and
especially air conditioning.
And I was fine, you and I likethings pretty cool.
Yes, and especially airconditioning.
Sometimes it's like okay, Idon't want to feel the humidity,
let me just dry out for asecond.
Yeah, what'd you say?
$120 a night?
And then the mandatory foodpackage Food package, okay.
Mark Faldmo (13:37):
All right.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:38):
What other activities, if any, can you do
there, LaCourie?
By the way, in case you'rewondering how to spell LaCourie,
it's L-I-K-U-R-I LaCourieIsland Resort.
Mark Faldmo (13:48):
Yeah, there are interesting things.
A lot of these private islandsactually have another island
attached to them, so at thisparticular place you can get an
island for the day.
It's $250.
They take you there by boat,leave you with a radio and you
just call them when you want tocome back.
They drop you off with beachumbrellas, a lunch and you can
(14:11):
just have the beach for the daythat you want.
They also have an optionalwhere they'll set up a tent and
you can sleep on the island.
Oh my goodness, If you want to,I would do that in a minute.
Yeah, there's lots ofinteresting things and fun
things to do in Fiji.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:30):
Oh, that sounds amazing.
You loved it there, right.
Mark Faldmo (14:34):
Well, you always love it when you go there?
Patrick Wiscombe (14:36):
Yes, I do.
If you are interested in goingto Fiji and I still am Lakori
Island Resort, that is a.
You know it's not the onlyoption, but it's a really good
starting place.
Call Mark in his office, justget the conversation started.
No obligation, of course.
888-718-7717.
(14:58):
888-718-7717.
And he will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
We're talking Cancun.
Got a very island tropical feelto this week's show.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
The radio show continuesalongside my very tan friend,
(15:22):
Mark Voldemort.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be right back.
Give us about 90 seconds.
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Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
(15:50):
We'll be right back.
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Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byblueplanetvacations.
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Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and
check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:00):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend,
whether you're listening to uslive on the radio on Saturday
and Sunday or you're justpodcasting this a little bit
later which, by the way, if youwant to listen to the show again
(17:21):
and who wouldn't you can go toInsideTravelTalk.
com and you can stream the showfrom the website.
You don't even have to be apodcast subscriber.
But if you are a podcaster andyou want to receive the show
automatically, we are on all ofthe major podcast platforms and
(17:43):
you can get all the links atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
That will take you to all ofthe podcast platforms Coming up
in this segment.
Always in segment number two isthe hot travel deal of the week.
This week we're going to Cancun, a very tropical theme so far.
Last segment we were in Fiji,this week we're going to Cancun.
(18:04):
But let's first get to thetravel news headlines.
Southwest Airlines has filedfor approval to possibly start
flying internationally.
That's a big development forSouthwest.
Mark Faldmo (18:17):
Yeah, that is, and you know the airline is making
lots of changes.
You know they've changed theirseating, changed their bag
policy, so it kind of makessense that they are looking into
these options.
Now Southwest has not announcedanything.
They simply made a filing tothe DOT because they have
streamlined the regulatoryprocess, making it easier for
airlines to apply for theseroutes and operate these routes.
(18:40):
So they've applied for this tocountries that are part of the
Open Skies Agreement with the US, which is an agreement where
any airline can fly anywhere,basically, and so this could
include Europe, Latin America,Asia and Africa.
It'll be interesting to see ifSouthwest does decide to start
operating international flightsother than what they currently
(19:03):
operate to Mexico.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:05):
It was two or three weeks ago that we were
talking about.
Four or five out of the top 10destinations worldwide included
theme parks.
Getting to that point.
Universal Epic Universe openedthis week.
May 22nd is when they opened.
I can't even imagine whatcomplete chaos that park was.
(19:26):
We've been talking about thisfor over a year, yeah, and it's
had a pretty big buildup.
Mark Faldmo (19:31):
It's a park that I hope to visit soon, but it's
pretty interesting because theEpic Universe is not near the
other Universal Parks.
It's not part of that maincampus.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:42):
Oh, I thought it was.
Mark Faldmo (19:44):
No, it's actually four miles away.
They do offer complimentarytransfers between the Universal
Hotels and Universal Parks toEpic Universe.
It's about a 15-minute transferover to that park.
They also do have a hotel thatis at Epic Universe as well.
It's open to a lot of fanfare.
(20:05):
It's the biggest of lot offanfare.
It's the biggest of Universal'sparks there in Florida and we
have a special deal for that.
This is book Epic UniverseOrlando package by June 26th and
you'll receive $100 off anythree plus day complete package,
which is the theme park, hoteland park tickets.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:27):
I thought that you'd have to open up the
wallet pretty wide.
Mark Faldmo (20:30):
Yeah, you probably still do, but they do.
They do want to get a littleperk for people coming and it
also gives a lot of promotion tothe park.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:38):
Universal Studios, Universal Parks I
really like.
In some ways I almost like thembetter than Disney parks.
Yeah, me too, just a little bitdifferent theme, of course I
like movies and going to theBacklot Tour.
I guess I'm speakingspecifically about Universal
Studios in Hollywood.
Mark Faldmo (20:54):
That was terrific, I love that I remember when I
was a kid doing the tram tour,when Jaws breaks out of that
water, the lady in front of menearly jumped off the bus and
ran the other way.
I remember that as aneight-year-old.
She was so terrified of that.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:11):
You look at how dumb that mechanical shark
looks now and you're just likereally, really.
Mark Faldmo (21:18):
That's all it was, yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:23):
All right, let's get to the hot travel deal
of the week.
We're a little bit short ontime because we went extra long
on Fiji, since you were thereall of last week.
We're talking Cancun, also, oneof your favorite places to go
it is, and there's some reallygood deals to Cancun right now.
Mark Faldmo (21:39):
First of all, to anywhere in Mexico.
We have a $250 off for packagesof five nights or longer, but
where this really comes in bookby May 29th, you can get
five-star Cancun for under$1,000.
Wow, this was a September 3rddeparture date.
You can stay at the CataloniaYucatan Beach Resort, which is a
(22:03):
five-star.
So this includes round-tripairfare from Salt Lake City,
five-nights hotel and transfersto and from the hotel and
airport.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:11):
For less than or about $1,000 a person.
Mark Faldmo (22:14):
Wow $919 per person .
Patrick Wiscombe (22:18):
And you get to stay at a five-star resort and
you love these places.
Mark Faldmo (22:21):
Yeah, and this.
And then one of my favorites isthe Hyatt Ziva, Riviera Maya.
Yes, this is only it's a fourand a half star.
It's still a five star in mymind, but professionally rated
it's a four and a half star for$9 99.
And then if you go to bothMargaritaville Island Reserve
and El Dorado Seaside Palms bothamazing five-star resorts $1219
(22:47):
per person for each of thoseand that's about a $500 to $600
per person difference than itwas a few weeks ago.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:55):
Wow, so they need to fill some rooms.
Mark Faldmo (22:58):
They are as we talked about.
They're softening in travelright now, so there's some
really good deals.
So for that fall timeframe,September 3rd for this, but
other fall dates are similar inprice.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:11):
Oh, take advantage of that.
That's a good deal.
I might even book that one,mark.
Yes, it's worth it.
You know the Hyatt Ziva.
That's interesting to mebecause you know that I'm a
Hyatt fan.
You're a Marriott guy.
Well, I'm also a Marriott guy,but that Hyatt Ziva Resort is
beautiful.
Yes, I don't know why Ipronounced it that way, but it
(23:33):
is very, very nice.
Take advantage of that deal.
September 3rd departure Is thatwhat you said?
September 3rd?
Okay, take advantage of it.
Call Mark in his office duringthe break.
Just get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(23:55):
And you will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com, correct?
That's correct.
It is up there now.
Oh, it is Okay.
When we come back, it is timefor the infamous Just Cruising
segment, where it's only aboutcruise news and it's only about
cruise promotions.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast or radio
(24:16):
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be back in about twominutes.
Show Voice (24:27):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show with PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo,
presented by BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(24:48):
com.
We'll be right back.
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Patrick Wiscombe (25:57):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast, a radio show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes we willbe talking about a river cruise
with free airfare to Europe.
Norwegian Cruise Line is makingsome ship upgrades to their
Epic and Pride of America ships.
Two new cruise lines areheading to Alaska.
By the way, Alaska ismetaphorically very hot right
(26:18):
now and because he's fresh fromFiji, mark will have some tips
for sleeping on planes.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
(26:40):
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:50):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(27:11):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:28):
Ah, the beautiful ship horn of
Norwegian's brand new ship,Norwegian Aqua.
That is a beautiful ship.
If you're kind of a cruise shipsnob, like I am, regardless of
how I say that Mark saying acruise ship snob, it makes me
look awful, but I love newcruise ships ships yeah, new
(27:52):
cruise ships are great, and alsorefurbished ships are great,
which we'll talk about in just aminute coming up in this
segment.
We will be talking aboutNorwegian cruise lines, upgrades
to the epic and pride ofAmerica, and we've got free
airfare to Europe.
And Alaska is in fuego,metaphorically speaking.
So if you want to go to Alaska,we've got two new options for
(28:12):
you and, of course, we've gotthe cruise news here at the
bottom of the hour.
So let's start with Norwegian.
Norwegian Cruise Line says thatthey are going to spend some
money to upgrade Norwegian'sEpic and Pride of America.
I've been on Pride of America,but I have not been on the Epic.
Mark Faldmo (28:27):
Let's start with the Epic.
The Epic is one of the firstbig ships that Norwegian built.
That was above 100,000 grosstons.
Now that is small by today'sship.
Yeah, it is, but it was kind ofthe first big ship that
Norwegian ventured into of thoselarger ships.
It was a little controversialship when it first launched
because of how the stateroomsare.
(28:48):
There was no separate bathroom.
You walked in the main door,there was a shower on one side
and a room with the toilet onthe other side and then a sink
and then the bed.
So it was not really separated,they just had a pull curtain.
They called them the Norwegianwave rooms because they're also
curved with how the beds sit inthere.
It's a pretty interestingconcept.
(29:09):
They were designed by aEuropean architect who I don't
think understood the Americanmarket very well.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:16):
Here, just pull a sheet across and do your
business.
Mark Faldmo (29:19):
I've sailed on Norwegian Epic six or seven
times and it's actually not asbad as I made it sound.
It works okay.
But they are renovating theship.
It's going to get a new kidspark.
It's going to get several newhot tubs.
They're adding a vibe beachclub which replaces another
beach club which is called thePosh Beach Club.
(29:40):
This is the first ship that Iever saw on the back of the ship
, up high.
It kind of has a littleterraced area and it's an adults
only area of the ship.
It has a big screen TV backthere.
I remember I had a group onboard.
It was during the Super Bowland we had a reception at the
same time as the Super Bowl.
So they put the Super Bowl upon that big screen just for my
(30:01):
group.
So there are lots of newerships that have similar areas,
but it's just a wonderful placeon back of the ship, adding more
lounge chairs.
They're going to add cabanasand actually add about 15 new
staterooms onto the ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:17):
The Vibe Beach Club is on Norwegian's Aqua,
also at the back of the ship.
Very, very, it was beautifulback there.
Mark Faldmo (30:24):
Yes, yeah, the one thing I've noticed with
Norwegian's upgrades.
Yeah, the one thing I'venoticed with Norwegian's
upgrades when they redo theseolder ships, they're very, very
nice and close to.
What a luxury cruise line woulddo upgrades.
Regent Seven Seas, which isprobably one of the best cruise
lines you can cruise on, is partof the Norwegian brand and
they've brought a lot of thosetouches from that smaller yacht
(30:46):
type cruising into the big ships.
So it's a great move, yep.
So I'm excited to see whatNorwegian Epic will look like
after this and then especiallythe Pride of America.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:58):
Yeah, pride of America does need some upgrades
.
Mark Faldmo (31:01):
They're moving where the kids club is to a
different area, adding 12 newcabins on this ship and then
redoing the interior and where acouple of the things are
located.
Pride of America is aninteresting ship because it
wasn't a Norwegian ship to beginwith.
It was started by a ship calledAmerican Cruises, which no
(31:22):
longer exists.
Don't get that confused withAmerican Cruise Line.
It was called American Cruisesand they went bankrupt and had
this hull built because of theJones Act.
Ships that need aninternational itinerary.
If you're sailing within Hawaii, you have to be built in the US
.
So Norwegian purchased this andthey got permission to take it
(31:43):
to Europe to get fitted, but itwas a gutted ship.
They towed it to Europe and gotit all fitted out in Europe,
but because of that it's neverreally fit within Norwegian
because it wasn't their ship.
It wasn't their ship yeah, I'vesailed on it twice.
I enjoyed it because I lovesailing on the Hawaiian islands,
but nowadays, with theserenovations, I think they're
(32:03):
going to make it a very goodship.
I still think that if you wantto see multiple islands, it is
the best way to see multipleislands in Hawaii on the Pride
of America.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:12):
Yeah, it's cheaper too to see it that way,
yes.
The islands differ greatly fromisland to island.
You wouldn't think it would,but it really does.
Mark Faldmo (32:20):
It's a great way to see Hawaii.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:22):
One of my favorite things was on Maui,
going up to the top of Haliakalaand being above the clouds.
That was such a uniqueperspective.
Mark Faldmo (32:30):
To be above the clouds on a volcano yeah, weird,
but absolutely beautiful beingup there on those volcanoes in
Hawaii, particularly Haliakala,is pretty amazing yeah princess
cruises has unveiled their 2027world cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:47):
Sign me up.
I don't even know where we'regoing.
Just sign me up.
Mark Faldmo (32:50):
You're going to some amazing places on this
cruise.
It is 129 days in 2027.
Visit 61 ports and 20 countriesacross three continents.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:04):
Oh, I'm all over this one.
Mark Faldmo (33:05):
So this begins in Fort Lauderdale, ends in Los
Angeles and here is theitinerary Leave Fort Lauderdale,
you do a Caribbean cruisethrough the Panama Canal up
Central America and Mexico toLos Angeles.
That's not where it ends,that's just an intermediate
point.
I assume you can probably alsojump back on this cruise in Los
(33:28):
Angeles.
If you didn't want to do thatPanama Canal portion, do the
Panama Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:32):
That's such a fascinating portion.
Mark Faldmo (33:34):
Yeah, I was like man, don't miss that part, yeah.
And then from there it sailsover to Hawaii, where you'll do
the four islands Hilo on the bigisland, Maui, Kauai, Honolulu
and then it sails down to Apiain Samoa, Suva, Fiji Suva's the
capital, but it's on the otherside of the island from where I
was at.
And then it goes over to someislands that are on the north
(33:57):
side of Australia, comes down toAustralia, does the east coast
of Australia down to Sydney,then goes over to New Zealand.
Show Voice (34:07):
Wow.
Mark Faldmo (34:07):
Cruises around New Zealand, then goes over to New
Zealand, cruises around NewZealand.
After New Zealand, it cruisesthe south part of Australia, the
east part of Australia, up intoBali, Vietnam, Hong Kong, japan
, and then you're back in theright time of the year, then
sails over to Anchorage, Alaska,and you do an Alaska cruise
down to Los Angeles.
(34:28):
That is awesome.
The full cruise is 129 days.
You can do Los Angeles to LosAngeles for 114 days and then
there are shorter segments ofthis you can buy, starting at 30
days.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:45):
So what I'm hearing you say is in 2027,
hopefully they'll have Starlink.
Yes, I'll have to do the radioshow and the podcast from aboard
for four months.
For four months?
Mark Faldmo (34:55):
Yeah, that would be amazing.
Hopefully someday I will havethe time to do one of these
longer cruises, oh, wow.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:04):
National Geographic Lindblad Expeditions
is going to enter the EuropeanRiver Cruise Market and there's
more and more entrances intothat market.
Mark Faldmo (35:13):
This one, I think, is particularly interesting
Lindblad Expeditions, which alsooperates in partnership with
National Geographic.
They're very expeditionoriented.
That's the way they're going torun these European river cruise
markets more like an expeditioncruises, and take deep dives
into destinations, do somethings that are very unique.
(35:38):
They also just announced theiritineraries, so they're going to
do Rhine River castles,cultures and culinary delights,
which is eight days.
Holland and Belgium.
And this is one that interestsme just for the name of it.
It's called Medieval Historyand Scenic Waterways.
I always love going to thosemedieval cities there's so many
(36:00):
of them around but I thinkNational Geographic will
probably do those better thananyone else.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:06):
They really go all in on these expeditions.
With European river cruising,here's the perfect segue, and
this is the cruise deal of theweek.
Always in this section of theshow, the infamous just Cruising
segment, we've got a rivercruise that includes free
airfare to Europe.
So if this is what you werewaiting for, what are the
(36:26):
details?
This is on.
Mark Faldmo (36:27):
Avalon Waterways.
Avalon Waterways is probably myfavorite river cruise line in
Europe.
I also like Ama Waterways a lot, but Avalon I like because of
their cabins.
We had TJ McEvoy on a few weeksago that explained how their
beds face out and when you'redoing your scenic cruising you
can just lay on your bed, havethe whole wall open up and just
(36:50):
view castles as you cruise past.
So I love Avalon Waterways forthat.
But right now they have freeairfare to Europe or you can
choose to save $1,500 per personon select 2025 river cruises.
Avalon has several differentoptions.
One that I really want to do iscalled Magnificent Europe.
(37:11):
It's a 15-day cruise, Amsterdamto Budapest, so it does both
the Rhine River and the DanubeRiver, and for that free airfare
promotion it is valid forselect dates July through
October.
Or the same thing you could dojust the Rhine River or just the
Danube River.
July through October is whenthey have those promotions, and
(37:33):
if you go to theblueplanetvacations.
com website there is a link tothis.
We're going to link you tothose cruises so you can explore
more about what those cruisesinclude in the ports.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:44):
Let's transition over to the Ocean
Cruise and the 2026 AlaskaCruises, and we have a couple of
new cruise lines that will besailing to Alaska next year.
Which cruises are they, andhave they already announced
promotions?
Mark Faldmo (38:00):
yet they have, and we're just starting the Alaska
cruise this year for 2025.
But I wanted to get these 2026cruises out there because these
two new cruise lines have somepretty good rates.
The first one is MSC Cruisesthat will be starting.
They have June dates in Alaska.
So these are seven day cruisesinside cabins starting at $8.39
(38:24):
per person, but where the dealis is in the balcony.
Msc balcony cabins start at$13.59 per person for June dates
.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:36):
That's incredible because that's
normally when everyone justcharges the most.
Mark Faldmo (38:41):
Yeah.
Uh you know, most other cruiselines in June for a balcony
cabin are 18 to $2,400 perperson, so this is a really good
deal and I'm sure those priceswill go up as people start
purchasing these cruises.
So if you want to go to Alaskanext year in 2026, they start in
mid-May and go throughmid-September Good prices on
(39:04):
almost every date right now onMSC Okay.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:07):
So MSC is cruise line number one.
Who is cruise line number twogoing to Alaska next year?
Mark Faldmo (39:13):
Cruise line number two is Virgin Voyages.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:16):
Oh, they're headed there now.
Mark Faldmo (39:17):
Number two is Virgin Voyages oh, they're
headed there now.
Yeah, this is an adult onlycruise line cruise experience,
so no children and they are alittle bit more of a premium
product, but they still havereally good pricing.
This is for mid-August sailingAn inside cabin starts at $1,092
and a balcony at $1,582 inAugust Does that include
(39:40):
everything, depending on thepromotion?
And a balcony at $1,582 inAugust?
Does that include everything,depending on the promotion?
I think right now MSC has adeal that includes drinks and
Wi-Fi Virgin just as a generalrule includes Wi-Fi in their
cabins.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:54):
So MSC and Virgin coming to Alaska starting
next year.
What a lot of people don't knowis that Mark actually helped my
son Nathan and his wife Kenzie.
They took off for Alaska today.
Yes, I've been getting phonecalls, obviously prior to
today's show, saying, hey, man,we are excited to go, we're
excited to go, we're excited togo.
When we were on our fourcruises back to back to back to
(40:15):
back, nicky and I, he goes, dad,I have to go, we have to go.
So that's why they're headed toAlaska right now it's a great
destination.
Mark Faldmo (40:24):
Earlier this week I was at a presentation from
Alaska Tourism and also theAlaska Rail, and we'll talk
about that sometime.
It was all about what to do ona land tour, not necessarily
cruises.
They didn't talk about cruises,but Alaska has a lot to offer.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:40):
Alaska is truly beautiful.
Really, if you want that to beyour first experience, that is a
guaranteed success.
If you can't find joy in Alaska, that's you, that's on you.
That is an amazing place.
Take advantage of the offersthat we've talked about during
(41:01):
the infamous Just Cruisingsegment.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And he'll also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
Man, this hour goes by so fast.
We've got Mark's travel tips.
We'll give you tricks forsleeping better on a plane and
(41:24):
we, of course, we will wrap itup with some additional travel
news headlines.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
The radio show continuesalongside my good friend Mark
Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be back in about twominutes.
Show Voice (41:44):
Helping you get out and see the world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Book your vacation now888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(42:06):
The show will continue afterthis.
Ad Voice (42:13):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
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Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718 presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call the show right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:11):
Thank you so much for allowing us to be part
of your weekend.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will step back intothe studio here in just a
second.
Coming up in this segment, weare going to give you tricks for
sleeping better on a plane.
Mark just spent coming backfrom Fiji.
(43:34):
My first question to him washow's the jet lag?
And he goes I'm actually doingpretty good.
And oh, you're back.
And then we are also going totalk about some things to do if
you're getting off a cruise inMiami.
That's coming up in thissegment and, of course, we
always want to answer yourtravel-related questions.
(43:56):
So if you have questions andyou're just listening going oh
man, I want to ask these guys aquestion just call or text us
right now 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
You are back from Fiji and oneof the questions that I had for
(44:16):
you immediately was even in textwas how's the jet lag?
And you said, hey, hey, I'mdoing okay.
Mark Faldmo (44:20):
We're gonna give listeners some tricks for
sleeping better on a plane soyou don't have that jet lag
sleeping on a plane is somethingthat's always been hard for me,
and actually on Fiji Airwaysthey had a sleep psychologist
that played a little video howto how to sleep, how to avoid
jet lag.
Right when I was just got offthe plane I also got an email
(44:42):
from the points guy aboutplanning ahead, prepare, how to
sleep on an airplane, and so youknow.
I thought that'd be interesting, since I just got off a 10 hour
flight and some of thesesuggestions from these sleep
professionals.
Now I still have a hard timesleeping on an airplane, but
there are some good tricks andtips here to help you at least
(45:03):
get a little bit more sleep onan airplane.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:06):
So just everyone relax now.
Yeah, let's bring in thepsychologist to give you some
tricks, mark.
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (45:14):
The first thing is bring your own pillow or blanket
.
Bring something you're familiarwith, which I think that's a
little bit harder to do on anairplane.
In fact, before this trip toFiji, heather said should we get
sleep pillows?
And so we went out and boughtsleep pillows, came home with
about five of them, tested themand found the ones that we liked
(45:36):
and took, and Heather used itboth ways on the flight, seemed
to enjoy that pillow.
I've never had good successwith those neck pillows.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:46):
I might be weird, but they just make my
neck hot, which actually keepsme awake, but somehow figure out
how to get your headcomfortable.
Mark Faldmo (45:54):
One of the suggestions here is choose your
seat wisely.
Whether it's a window seat oran aisle seat.
The location of the suggestionshere is choose your seat wisely
.
Whether it's a window seat oran aisle seat, the location of
the seat can matter.
I like to be in the middle ofthe plane, in between the
laboratories.
You know the people, or becausethe people going back and forth
to the restroom, or if you'rein near the back, where the food
(46:14):
preparation area is, it can getnoisy and not as dark in that
area.
So so choose your seat wisely.
Wear comfortable clothes.
I think that's prettyself-explanatory.
Don't wear tight belts, tightfitting clothes.
Wear loose, comfortable clothes.
One that I always thought wasfunny is use a sleep mask.
Yeah, I could buy that, but itdoes really block out that light
(46:37):
.
It does, and from the sleeppsychologist, one of the tips
was try and follow your usualbedtime routine as close to
possible when you're on theairplane.
Now, that's hard to do, but Ido see people get up with their
toothbrushes and do the wholebedtime thing before they go to
sleep.
The next thing I think is themost important Invest in a good
(46:59):
pair of noise cancelingheadphones, oh yeah, what other
tips did he have?
And then the next thing is makesure you have time to stretch
and move around, even if that'sin your seat.
There are things you can domoving your ankles.
Keep your blood flowing.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:14):
So this was a question that we received on the
call and the text line801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
We do want to answer yourtravel related questions.
This is a question from Wyatt.
He said he's getting off acruise in Miami and the best
price flights home are 6 pm orback on the next day.
(47:36):
What is there to do in Miamiafter a cruise?
And he's asking should I flyhome the next day for the better
price?
And the answer is there's a lotto do in Miami because we were
just there.
Let's give him some ideas.
Mark Faldmo (47:49):
That's kind of a common question.
A lot of people want to justget off the cruise ship, go to
the airport Right, but everybodydoes that.
Most flights leave between noonand three, but everybody does
that Most flights leave betweennoon and three.
So if you want a better priceflight home, it's usually a
later flight or the next day.
For me personally, I would sayspend the night and come home
the next day, oh, really Okay,but that also depends on your
(48:11):
time.
Sometimes you can't do that,but I don't mind taking a 6 pm
or later flight home.
So you have a few options.
Let's just start with if you'recoming home later that day, the
cruise line offers anEverglades tour or a tour of
Miami, and they will take careof your luggage for you.
So your luggage stays with you,you don't have to worry about
(48:33):
that, and they'll take you outon a jet boat ride to the
Everglades.
Or you can do a South BeachMiami tour and then they just
drop you back off at the airport.
And that is for flights thatleave after 3 pm.
If you have even longer soyou're a 6 pm or 7 pm flight I
would recommend renting a carfrom Miami airport.
(48:55):
The airport is just 10 minutesaway.
It's not far.
Go to the rental car centerMiami airport the airport is
just 10 minutes away.
It's not far.
Go to the rental car center,rent a car for the day and go
out to Shark Valley.
Oh yeah, you know, we did that,Patrick, and it's part of the
national park in the Everglades.
You can take the tram ridearound.
You can walk around the trail.
It's just a great place to getyour feet wet.
(49:15):
Not literally, but get your feetwet into the Everglades, then
if you do opt to spend the nightthere, I'd still recommend
getting the car, but going downto the main entrance of the
Everglades Park and driving downthat road.
Heather and I just did thatwhen we were there a few weeks
ago and loved it, and I foundsomething new, some history.
(49:36):
That is amazing.
There was a Nike missile siteright in the middle of the
Everglades, just about a mileoff of the main road, and so we
took a tour from one of the parkrangers that toured this site
and told us the history of theNike missile site.
Back during the Cuban missilecrisis, all of the missiles were
in the North US because theywere worried about things coming
(49:59):
over from Russia over the poles.
We had no Southern defense andwhen the Cuban Missile Crisis
happened, they quickly moved abattery of these two of them.
There was one somewhere else inFlorida, but there was this one
in the Everglades and it's awhole facility.
They had the whole hangars withthe missiles.
(50:20):
Oh wow, it was just veryinteresting to learn that
history.
So that's something you coulddo and I just stumbled upon it.
There was a little display inthe visitor center that asked us
about tours to the CubanMissile Crisis, Nike Missile
Site, and so we did that.
So you did so we did so there'slots of interesting things to
(50:41):
do.
That road on the Everglades,all the little stops walk out on
platforms around differentareas.
Just an amazing thing to do ifyou have a free day in.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:54):
South Florida.
Get out and see the world.
It is an absolutely spectacularplace.
Prioritize it in your life.
It'll be one of those thingsthat you'll look back and go.
You know what?
Remember when we did this.
It's going to be one of thosethings.
If you want to take advantageof any of the offers that we
have discussed during the lasthour, call Mark in his office.
(51:17):
Just get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
No obligation.
Seeing the world is anexcellent way to live.
You can listen to thisaward-nominated program tomorrow
(51:37):
morning at Sunday at 11 am.
Well, it's award-nominated, atleast in my head.
It's right here on this radiostation and you can stream,
download and subscribe to thepodcast at InsideTravelTalk.
com.
You can stream the show rightthere, but we're also on all the
major podcast platforms and allof the links are at
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
(51:59):
Well, our job is over.
It's your turn to get out andexplore the world while you can,
because you never know whatcurveballs life is going to
throw at you.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
Make travel a priority.
You'll thank us later.
Thank you so much for listening.
Have a terrific week.
(52:20):
We will talk to you again nextSaturday and Sunday.
Show Voice (52:26):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(52:46):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (52:57):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex
Insurance Services.
Their travel insurance planscan help protect you and your
vacation.
Travelex is known for theiraward-winning customer service
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Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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It's finally the weekend.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show
Coming up.
On today's show, mark and Iwill be talking about Fiji.
He's back from Fiji.
American Airlines wants to holdyour connecting flight and they
have a 5,000 mile promotion.
Norwegian announces some shipupgrades and the case of the
(00:21):
missing.
Saturday, let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:50):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalkcom.
com.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:19):
The great Faldino is back from Fiji.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast, a radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark is back from Fiji.
He's going to give us all ofthe details about his travels to
and from the island, and he hasa mystery the case of the
(01:43):
missing Saturday.
We'll explain in just a fewminutes If you are brand new to
the show.
The entire purpose of this showis to help you plan and book
your next vacation, or just giveyou ideas of where you want to
vacation next, and we arepresented, proudly presented, by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, and thank you for takingthe time to stop and listen.
(02:04):
Coming up on today's show,we've got, of course, the travel
news headlines and we've gotthe destination of the week,
which is predictably, since hejust got back there, fiji.
Mark Faldmo (02:15):
Welcome home, it's good to see you, even though we
were broadcasting quiteliterally half a world away,
yeah, last week from Fiji, andour conversation actually fueled
a couple of caller questions.
So we're going to answer thosetoday about Fiji.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:30):
But before we do we always start with the
travel news headlines, and Ithought this headline was kind
of interesting.
Mark that American Airlineswants to hold your connecting
flight.
I like this idea.
Mark Faldmo (02:41):
I like this idea too.
All airlines kind of have thispolicy where if there's tight
connections, they will holdflights for people.
But what American Airlines hasdone is automated this process.
Previously it's been a gateagent at the gate you're
arriving on that says we havepassengers hold this.
But airlines really have notautomated this, and so American
(03:04):
has introduced this newtechnology They've tested it out
at their hub in Dallas thatwill identify passengers on
flights that are at risk ofmissing their connection flight
and it will automatically send amessage to the gate agents of
those flights and propose ashort hold to allow travelers on
this flight and that flight tomake the connection.
I like this idea.
(03:26):
Usually it's been done manually, and I've shown up the gates
before where they said we didn'tget the message.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:31):
Oh boy.
Mark Faldmo (03:35):
Even though other people said they were going to
notify the gate.
It makes that story of wedidn't get the message a little
bit harder to happen.
As long as they are looking attheir messages like they should
be, they should know that thereare flights with tight
connection, Hopefully this willcatch on.
Yes, there's been thistechnology out there.
I don't know why it's taken solong for airlines to adapt to
some of these things.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:56):
The White House is proposing an overhaul
of the US air traffic controlsystem.
It feels like for our entirelifetime they've been talking
about this, but I think itreally got traction a couple of
weeks ago, where pilots wereflying blind.
They literally have radiotransmissions of air traffic
control center saying hey, we'reflying dark here, Just stay at
(04:17):
the elevation that you are andcontinue flying the way you are.
That is absolutely terrifyingto me.
Mark Faldmo (04:24):
Yeah, yeah, it is.
Most airports still have radarsystems from the 1970s in
operation.
Which is just crazy to me.
One of the suggestions in thisproposal is to put in fiber for
the communication and a lot ofbusinesses, even homes, have
been running on fiber for 10years plus.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:41):
Yeah, and so you know, including this house.
Mark Faldmo (04:46):
I do hope it happens so that we get a more
modern system.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:47):
I really think it's going to get done this
time.
Truly, for the first time inour lives, I actually have a
little bit of faith that thiswill actually get done.
Yeah, American Airlines has a5,000 mile one-way promotion.
What are the details on this?
Mark Faldmo (05:02):
This is actually for redeeming Advantage Miles.
They call it a million seatsale.
If you book through May 28th soyou just have four days on this
left and travel between August1st and September 30th, you can
find one-way prices usingAdvantage Miles for as low as
5,000 miles each direction.
Okay, you get a round trip for10,000 miles each direction.
(05:22):
Okay, get a round trip for10,000 miles, where normally
those are between 25 and 50,000miles.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:30):
You have American Airlines miles, do you
not?
I do, yes, are you going totake advantage of this?
Mark Faldmo (05:35):
Yeah, I was going to say, yeah, I should look into
this.
I have about 250,000 Americanmiles right now.
I haven't used them in foreverbut if I can get 5,000 miles,
that's almost like not redeemingthem and getting a ticket.
That's such a low redemptionrate.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:51):
The case of the missing.
Saturday.
Let's dive in depth into Fiji.
Tell us how you got there andhow you came home the missing
Saturday.
Mark Faldmo (05:58):
just interesting because of the international
dateline and also where Fijilies in relation to the
international date line.
The actual international dateline does run through Fiji, so
we took off Friday night andlanded Sunday morning, so we
completely missed.
Ad Voice (06:17):
Saturday.
Mark Faldmo (06:18):
We never saw Saturday and then coming home
five minutes after you take off.
You're already in the next dayor in the previous day.
So we left at 9.40 pm onSaturday and we walked into our
house at 8.40 pm on Saturday.
With how that works, so wewalked into our house an hour
(06:39):
before we left Fiji.
So very interesting, with theinternational dateline and how
that works, you basically had a48-hour Saturday 48-hour.
Saturday Yep, yep.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:50):
Was that kind of weird?
How jet-lagged were you?
Mark Faldmo (06:53):
Yeah, not jet-lagged, and that kind of
actually goes into the caller'squestion that we're going to get
to in just a minute.
That's one thing that's niceabout Fiji.
You leave just before midnightfrom Los Angeles and then you
arrive at 7 am.
So as long as you can sleep onthat 10 hour flight, you arrive
perfect for the day, and thencoming home again.
(07:14):
Like I said, we left at 9.40 pmand actually arrived home at
8.40 pm on the same day, butyou're right about bedtime and
so you don't have the weird timezones and you do have the 10
hour flight to sleep on.
I've really not experienced jetlag.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:32):
Well, let's get to the destination of the
week.
We promised that we would talkabout Fiji, and this was a.
Was this a caller or a tech?
This is a caller, riley, thiswas a caller yes.
Okay, so Riley had somequestions about our conversation
last week during the May 17thshow that Riley wants to take
the family and he is askingwhere to stay on one of the
(07:53):
islands.
Mark Faldmo (07:54):
We had lots of kids on our flight.
As I said, with what time theflight leaves and arrives, it's
really good for kids becausethey do have to put up with the
long flight, but if they sleepthat whole flight the kids don't
get jet lagged either.
We've talked about the smallerislands in Fiji and he wants to
take his family to one of thosesmaller islands and ask is that
(08:14):
good for a family to do?
I would say yes, it is.
In Fiji there are kind of twoisland chains off of the main
island.
One is the Mamanuku Islands,which we've talked about before.
Those are the easier islands toget to.
The others are the YasawaIslands, which do take a little
bit more coordination to get tobecause they are further away.
(08:37):
How you'd get to those islandsis you land in Fiji, like I said
, about 7 am on Fiji Airways andthen you're transferred over to
the ferry terminal where a boatwill take you to the Mamanuku
Islands and depending on whichisland you're at, that transfer
is anywhere from 30 minutes totwo hours.
You can also take a privateboat if you want.
(08:59):
That'll take you right to theisland.
The regular running ferry doesstop at four or five islands
along the way.
So, depending on where you'reat, you may have to wait a
little bit longer to get to yourresort.
The first time I did that wasI'd say it's magical.
You're in this new tropicaldestination, you're on a boat
going to a hotel in an island,and for the kids, I think they
(09:23):
would be fascinated by that.
The boat ride alone.
I think would be fantastic.
I was kind of like a kid when Idid it because I was just so
fascinated with how everythingworked and the scenery and all
of that.
These resorts are generallysmaller and you go to these
islands and they generally haveanywhere from 20 to 30 units, so
they're very small.
(09:43):
I want to talk about one that Ilearned about this last week
when I was in Fiji.
It's called the Lakuri IslandResort.
This one is not in the Mamanukuor Yasawa Islands, it's just an
island off of the main coast.
But getting there, I think, iskind of what makes the trip.
So you drive on a transferabout 30 minutes or so from the
(10:07):
airport.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:08):
Okay, so you go from the airport on a road to
a river.
Mark Faldmo (10:11):
On a road to a river where you get on a boat
and you spend about 40 minutesgoing down river so kind of like
the jungle cruise at Disney andthen, once you reach the ocean,
you have about 15 to 20 minutesto get out to this island
called LaCourie Island Resort.
This resort has 15 units ohsmall, it is designed for
(10:36):
families.
A couple of their units onlyallow two people, but then they
have family units that hold fouror six.
And one thing that intrigued meis the kids club.
The kids clubs in Fiji aredifferent than any other hotels.
There's no electronics, theydon't sit them in front of a TV,
they actually immerse them inthe Fijian culture.
They have hermit crab raceswhere everyone goes and collects
(10:59):
a hermit crab and then theyhave a race.
They have kava ceremonies forthe children to teach them that
culture.
Now they don't use real kava,they do it with chocolate milk
for the children.
And then they do things likecoral planting and mangrove
planting and they kind of teachthe kids about the environment,
the importance of mangroves andcoral, and they actually go out
(11:21):
on the reefs with coral they'veplanted and then they have a
diver that goes and actuallyplants the out on the reefs with
coral they've planted, and thenthey have a diver that goes and
actually plants the coral inthe area.
Oh, how cool.
So, even as adults, I would loveto do all of those.
You know all of those things.
So it's like kids club.
I want to do this, yes, yeah.
So so there are lots of placeslike this in Fiji tailored
(11:43):
towards families, but as adults,you can go to these places or
other places that don't cater tofamilies and children and get
these experiences.
The one thing I liked aboutthis the Curry Island.
I've been looking at its ratesand it ranges from $60 to $120
per night.
Oh, that's very reasonable.
(12:03):
Oh, it's very reasonable.
So it's very reasonable.
Now, they do have a mandatorydining package that you have to
purchase.
You can either purchase itthere or pre-purchase it.
So adults are $125 per personper day and children are $65 per
person per day.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:19):
Well, you're going to spend that anyway,
going to a restaurant.
Mark Faldmo (12:22):
Yeah, it's very affordable.
The professional reviews giveit a three-star review, but
looking at it, it's a very niceresort.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:30):
It sure is.
I'm looking at it right now.
Mark Faldmo (12:32):
All of the user-generated reviews.
I think it's a 4.7 onTripAdvisor, so it gets very
good customer reviews.
These units have airconditioning.
I know I was talking to a fewother hotels and they say we
under promise and over deliver.
We're only a three star, butthat's because our rooms don't
(12:53):
have air conditioning, justbecause of where they were
located isolated and to get thegenerators everything to do the
air conditioning, they justcouldn't do it.
But as long as the breeze isblowing, just open up your
window and you don't need an airconditioner.
Now, I don't like the heat andhumidity, but I've not had that
(13:13):
problem as much in Fiji.
Oh really, I stayed in somebungalows on one of these
private islands that did nothave air conditioning and I was
fine.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:22):
You and I like things pretty cool, yes, and
especially air conditioning.
And I was fine, you and I likethings pretty cool.
Yes, and especially airconditioning.
Sometimes it's like okay, Idon't want to feel the humidity,
let me just dry out for asecond.
Yeah, what'd you say?
$120 a night?
And then the mandatory foodpackage Food package, okay.
Mark Faldmo (13:37):
All right.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:38):
What other activities, if any, can you do
there, LaCourie?
By the way, in case you'rewondering how to spell LaCourie,
it's L-I-K-U-R-I LaCourieIsland Resort.
Mark Faldmo (13:48):
Yeah, there are interesting things.
A lot of these private islandsactually have another island
attached to them, so at thisparticular place you can get an
island for the day.
It's $250.
They take you there by boat,leave you with a radio and you
just call them when you want tocome back.
They drop you off with beachumbrellas, a lunch and you can
(14:11):
just have the beach for the daythat you want.
They also have an optionalwhere they'll set up a tent and
you can sleep on the island.
Oh my goodness, If you want to,I would do that in a minute.
Yeah, there's lots ofinteresting things and fun
things to do in Fiji.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:30):
Oh, that sounds amazing.
You loved it there, right.
Mark Faldmo (14:34):
Well, you always love it when you go there?
Patrick Wiscombe (14:36):
Yes, I do.
If you are interested in goingto Fiji and I still am Lakori
Island Resort, that is a.
You know it's not the onlyoption, but it's a really good
starting place.
Call Mark in his office, justget the conversation started.
No obligation, of course.
888-718-7717.
(14:58):
888-718-7717.
And he will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
We're talking Cancun.
Got a very island tropical feelto this week's show.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
The radio show continuesalongside my very tan friend,
(15:22):
Mark Voldemort.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be right back.
Give us about 90 seconds.
Show Voice (15:29):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
(15:50):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (16:04):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Anna.
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Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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Show Voice (16:35):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byblueplanetvacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and
check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:00):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend,
whether you're listening to uslive on the radio on Saturday
and Sunday or you're justpodcasting this a little bit
later which, by the way, if youwant to listen to the show again
(17:21):
and who wouldn't you can go toInsideTravelTalk.
com and you can stream the showfrom the website.
You don't even have to be apodcast subscriber.
But if you are a podcaster andyou want to receive the show
automatically, we are on all ofthe major podcast platforms and
(17:43):
you can get all the links atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
That will take you to all ofthe podcast platforms Coming up
in this segment.
Always in segment number two isthe hot travel deal of the week.
This week we're going to Cancun, a very tropical theme so far.
Last segment we were in Fiji,this week we're going to Cancun.
(18:04):
But let's first get to thetravel news headlines.
Southwest Airlines has filedfor approval to possibly start
flying internationally.
That's a big development forSouthwest.
Mark Faldmo (18:17):
Yeah, that is, and you know the airline is making
lots of changes.
You know they've changed theirseating, changed their bag
policy, so it kind of makessense that they are looking into
these options.
Now Southwest has not announcedanything.
They simply made a filing tothe DOT because they have
streamlined the regulatoryprocess, making it easier for
airlines to apply for theseroutes and operate these routes.
(18:40):
So they've applied for this tocountries that are part of the
Open Skies Agreement with the US, which is an agreement where
any airline can fly anywhere,basically, and so this could
include Europe, Latin America,Asia and Africa.
It'll be interesting to see ifSouthwest does decide to start
operating international flightsother than what they currently
(19:03):
operate to Mexico.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:05):
It was two or three weeks ago that we were
talking about.
Four or five out of the top 10destinations worldwide included
theme parks.
Getting to that point.
Universal Epic Universe openedthis week.
May 22nd is when they opened.
I can't even imagine whatcomplete chaos that park was.
(19:26):
We've been talking about thisfor over a year, yeah, and it's
had a pretty big buildup.
Mark Faldmo (19:31):
It's a park that I hope to visit soon, but it's
pretty interesting because theEpic Universe is not near the
other Universal Parks.
It's not part of that maincampus.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:42):
Oh, I thought it was.
Mark Faldmo (19:44):
No, it's actually four miles away.
They do offer complimentarytransfers between the Universal
Hotels and Universal Parks toEpic Universe.
It's about a 15-minute transferover to that park.
They also do have a hotel thatis at Epic Universe as well.
It's open to a lot of fanfare.
(20:05):
It's the biggest of lot offanfare.
It's the biggest of Universal'sparks there in Florida and we
have a special deal for that.
This is book Epic UniverseOrlando package by June 26th and
you'll receive $100 off anythree plus day complete package,
which is the theme park, hoteland park tickets.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:27):
I thought that you'd have to open up the
wallet pretty wide.
Mark Faldmo (20:30):
Yeah, you probably still do, but they do.
They do want to get a littleperk for people coming and it
also gives a lot of promotion tothe park.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:38):
Universal Studios, Universal Parks I
really like.
In some ways I almost like thembetter than Disney parks.
Yeah, me too, just a little bitdifferent theme, of course I
like movies and going to theBacklot Tour.
I guess I'm speakingspecifically about Universal
Studios in Hollywood.
Mark Faldmo (20:54):
That was terrific, I love that I remember when I
was a kid doing the tram tour,when Jaws breaks out of that
water, the lady in front of menearly jumped off the bus and
ran the other way.
I remember that as aneight-year-old.
She was so terrified of that.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:11):
You look at how dumb that mechanical shark
looks now and you're just likereally, really.
Mark Faldmo (21:18):
That's all it was, yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:23):
All right, let's get to the hot travel deal
of the week.
We're a little bit short ontime because we went extra long
on Fiji, since you were thereall of last week.
We're talking Cancun, also, oneof your favorite places to go
it is, and there's some reallygood deals to Cancun right now.
Mark Faldmo (21:39):
First of all, to anywhere in Mexico.
We have a $250 off for packagesof five nights or longer, but
where this really comes in bookby May 29th, you can get
five-star Cancun for under$1,000.
Wow, this was a September 3rddeparture date.
You can stay at the CataloniaYucatan Beach Resort, which is a
(22:03):
five-star.
So this includes round-tripairfare from Salt Lake City,
five-nights hotel and transfersto and from the hotel and
airport.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:11):
For less than or about $1,000 a person.
Mark Faldmo (22:14):
Wow $919 per person .
Patrick Wiscombe (22:18):
And you get to stay at a five-star resort and
you love these places.
Mark Faldmo (22:21):
Yeah, and this.
And then one of my favorites isthe Hyatt Ziva, Riviera Maya.
Yes, this is only it's a fourand a half star.
It's still a five star in mymind, but professionally rated
it's a four and a half star for$9 99.
And then if you go to bothMargaritaville Island Reserve
and El Dorado Seaside Palms bothamazing five-star resorts $1219
(22:47):
per person for each of thoseand that's about a $500 to $600
per person difference than itwas a few weeks ago.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:55):
Wow, so they need to fill some rooms.
Mark Faldmo (22:58):
They are as we talked about.
They're softening in travelright now, so there's some
really good deals.
So for that fall timeframe,September 3rd for this, but
other fall dates are similar inprice.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:11):
Oh, take advantage of that.
That's a good deal.
I might even book that one,mark.
Yes, it's worth it.
You know the Hyatt Ziva.
That's interesting to mebecause you know that I'm a
Hyatt fan.
You're a Marriott guy.
Well, I'm also a Marriott guy,but that Hyatt Ziva Resort is
beautiful.
Yes, I don't know why Ipronounced it that way, but it
(23:33):
is very, very nice.
Take advantage of that deal.
September 3rd departure Is thatwhat you said?
September 3rd?
Okay, take advantage of it.
Call Mark in his office duringthe break.
Just get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(23:55):
And you will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com, correct?
That's correct.
It is up there now.
Oh, it is Okay.
When we come back, it is timefor the infamous Just Cruising
segment, where it's only aboutcruise news and it's only about
cruise promotions.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast or radio
(24:16):
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be back in about twominutes.
Show Voice (24:27):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show with PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo,
presented by BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(24:48):
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (25:07):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
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For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
authentic tall ship sailingexperiences featuring creative
itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
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To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:57):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast, a radio show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes we willbe talking about a river cruise
with free airfare to Europe.
Norwegian Cruise Line is makingsome ship upgrades to their
Epic and Pride of America ships.
Two new cruise lines areheading to Alaska.
By the way, Alaska ismetaphorically very hot right
(26:18):
now and because he's fresh fromFiji, mark will have some tips
for sleeping on planes.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
(26:40):
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:50):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(27:11):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:28):
Ah, the beautiful ship horn of
Norwegian's brand new ship,Norwegian Aqua.
That is a beautiful ship.
If you're kind of a cruise shipsnob, like I am, regardless of
how I say that Mark saying acruise ship snob, it makes me
look awful, but I love newcruise ships ships yeah, new
(27:52):
cruise ships are great, and alsorefurbished ships are great,
which we'll talk about in just aminute coming up in this
segment.
We will be talking aboutNorwegian cruise lines, upgrades
to the epic and pride ofAmerica, and we've got free
airfare to Europe.
And Alaska is in fuego,metaphorically speaking.
So if you want to go to Alaska,we've got two new options for
(28:12):
you and, of course, we've gotthe cruise news here at the
bottom of the hour.
So let's start with Norwegian.
Norwegian Cruise Line says thatthey are going to spend some
money to upgrade Norwegian'sEpic and Pride of America.
I've been on Pride of America,but I have not been on the Epic.
Mark Faldmo (28:27):
Let's start with the Epic.
The Epic is one of the firstbig ships that Norwegian built.
That was above 100,000 grosstons.
Now that is small by today'sship.
Yeah, it is, but it was kind ofthe first big ship that
Norwegian ventured into of thoselarger ships.
It was a little controversialship when it first launched
because of how the stateroomsare.
(28:48):
There was no separate bathroom.
You walked in the main door,there was a shower on one side
and a room with the toilet onthe other side and then a sink
and then the bed.
So it was not really separated,they just had a pull curtain.
They called them the Norwegianwave rooms because they're also
curved with how the beds sit inthere.
It's a pretty interestingconcept.
(29:09):
They were designed by aEuropean architect who I don't
think understood the Americanmarket very well.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:16):
Here, just pull a sheet across and do your
business.
Mark Faldmo (29:19):
I've sailed on Norwegian Epic six or seven
times and it's actually not asbad as I made it sound.
It works okay.
But they are renovating theship.
It's going to get a new kidspark.
It's going to get several newhot tubs.
They're adding a vibe beachclub which replaces another
beach club which is called thePosh Beach Club.
(29:40):
This is the first ship that Iever saw on the back of the ship
, up high.
It kind of has a littleterraced area and it's an adults
only area of the ship.
It has a big screen TV backthere.
I remember I had a group onboard.
It was during the Super Bowland we had a reception at the
same time as the Super Bowl.
So they put the Super Bowl upon that big screen just for my
(30:01):
group.
So there are lots of newerships that have similar areas,
but it's just a wonderful placeon back of the ship, adding more
lounge chairs.
They're going to add cabanasand actually add about 15 new
staterooms onto the ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:17):
The Vibe Beach Club is on Norwegian's Aqua,
also at the back of the ship.
Very, very, it was beautifulback there.
Mark Faldmo (30:24):
Yes, yeah, the one thing I've noticed with
Norwegian's upgrades.
Yeah, the one thing I'venoticed with Norwegian's
upgrades when they redo theseolder ships, they're very, very
nice and close to.
What a luxury cruise line woulddo upgrades.
Regent Seven Seas, which isprobably one of the best cruise
lines you can cruise on, is partof the Norwegian brand and
they've brought a lot of thosetouches from that smaller yacht
(30:46):
type cruising into the big ships.
So it's a great move, yep.
So I'm excited to see whatNorwegian Epic will look like
after this and then especiallythe Pride of America.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:58):
Yeah, pride of America does need some upgrades
.
Mark Faldmo (31:01):
They're moving where the kids club is to a
different area, adding 12 newcabins on this ship and then
redoing the interior and where acouple of the things are
located.
Pride of America is aninteresting ship because it
wasn't a Norwegian ship to beginwith.
It was started by a ship calledAmerican Cruises, which no
(31:22):
longer exists.
Don't get that confused withAmerican Cruise Line.
It was called American Cruisesand they went bankrupt and had
this hull built because of theJones Act.
Ships that need aninternational itinerary.
If you're sailing within Hawaii, you have to be built in the US
.
So Norwegian purchased this andthey got permission to take it
(31:43):
to Europe to get fitted, but itwas a gutted ship.
They towed it to Europe and gotit all fitted out in Europe,
but because of that it's neverreally fit within Norwegian
because it wasn't their ship.
It wasn't their ship yeah, I'vesailed on it twice.
I enjoyed it because I lovesailing on the Hawaiian islands,
but nowadays, with theserenovations, I think they're
(32:03):
going to make it a very goodship.
I still think that if you wantto see multiple islands, it is
the best way to see multipleislands in Hawaii on the Pride
of America.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:12):
Yeah, it's cheaper too to see it that way,
yes.
The islands differ greatly fromisland to island.
You wouldn't think it would,but it really does.
Mark Faldmo (32:20):
It's a great way to see Hawaii.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:22):
One of my favorite things was on Maui,
going up to the top of Haliakalaand being above the clouds.
That was such a uniqueperspective.
Mark Faldmo (32:30):
To be above the clouds on a volcano yeah, weird,
but absolutely beautiful beingup there on those volcanoes in
Hawaii, particularly Haliakala,is pretty amazing yeah princess
cruises has unveiled their 2027world cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:47):
Sign me up.
I don't even know where we'regoing.
Just sign me up.
Mark Faldmo (32:50):
You're going to some amazing places on this
cruise.
It is 129 days in 2027.
Visit 61 ports and 20 countriesacross three continents.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:04):
Oh, I'm all over this one.
Mark Faldmo (33:05):
So this begins in Fort Lauderdale, ends in Los
Angeles and here is theitinerary Leave Fort Lauderdale,
you do a Caribbean cruisethrough the Panama Canal up
Central America and Mexico toLos Angeles.
That's not where it ends,that's just an intermediate
point.
I assume you can probably alsojump back on this cruise in Los
(33:28):
Angeles.
If you didn't want to do thatPanama Canal portion, do the
Panama Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:32):
That's such a fascinating portion.
Mark Faldmo (33:34):
Yeah, I was like man, don't miss that part, yeah.
And then from there it sailsover to Hawaii, where you'll do
the four islands Hilo on the bigisland, Maui, Kauai, Honolulu
and then it sails down to Apiain Samoa, Suva, Fiji Suva's the
capital, but it's on the otherside of the island from where I
was at.
And then it goes over to someislands that are on the north
(33:57):
side of Australia, comes down toAustralia, does the east coast
of Australia down to Sydney,then goes over to New Zealand.
Show Voice (34:07):
Wow.
Mark Faldmo (34:07):
Cruises around New Zealand, then goes over to New
Zealand, cruises around NewZealand.
After New Zealand, it cruisesthe south part of Australia, the
east part of Australia, up intoBali, Vietnam, Hong Kong, japan
, and then you're back in theright time of the year, then
sails over to Anchorage, Alaska,and you do an Alaska cruise
down to Los Angeles.
(34:28):
That is awesome.
The full cruise is 129 days.
You can do Los Angeles to LosAngeles for 114 days and then
there are shorter segments ofthis you can buy, starting at 30
days.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:45):
So what I'm hearing you say is in 2027,
hopefully they'll have Starlink.
Yes, I'll have to do the radioshow and the podcast from aboard
for four months.
For four months?
Mark Faldmo (34:55):
Yeah, that would be amazing.
Hopefully someday I will havethe time to do one of these
longer cruises, oh, wow.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:04):
National Geographic Lindblad Expeditions
is going to enter the EuropeanRiver Cruise Market and there's
more and more entrances intothat market.
Mark Faldmo (35:13):
This one, I think, is particularly interesting
Lindblad Expeditions, which alsooperates in partnership with
National Geographic.
They're very expeditionoriented.
That's the way they're going torun these European river cruise
markets more like an expeditioncruises, and take deep dives
into destinations, do somethings that are very unique.
(35:38):
They also just announced theiritineraries, so they're going to
do Rhine River castles,cultures and culinary delights,
which is eight days.
Holland and Belgium.
And this is one that interestsme just for the name of it.
It's called Medieval Historyand Scenic Waterways.
I always love going to thosemedieval cities there's so many
(36:00):
of them around but I thinkNational Geographic will
probably do those better thananyone else.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:06):
They really go all in on these expeditions.
With European river cruising,here's the perfect segue, and
this is the cruise deal of theweek.
Always in this section of theshow, the infamous just Cruising
segment, we've got a rivercruise that includes free
airfare to Europe.
So if this is what you werewaiting for, what are the
(36:26):
details?
This is on.
Mark Faldmo (36:27):
Avalon Waterways.
Avalon Waterways is probably myfavorite river cruise line in
Europe.
I also like Ama Waterways a lot, but Avalon I like because of
their cabins.
We had TJ McEvoy on a few weeksago that explained how their
beds face out and when you'redoing your scenic cruising you
can just lay on your bed, havethe whole wall open up and just
(36:50):
view castles as you cruise past.
So I love Avalon Waterways forthat.
But right now they have freeairfare to Europe or you can
choose to save $1,500 per personon select 2025 river cruises.
Avalon has several differentoptions.
One that I really want to do iscalled Magnificent Europe.
(37:11):
It's a 15-day cruise, Amsterdamto Budapest, so it does both
the Rhine River and the DanubeRiver, and for that free airfare
promotion it is valid forselect dates July through
October.
Or the same thing you could dojust the Rhine River or just the
Danube River.
July through October is whenthey have those promotions, and
(37:33):
if you go to theblueplanetvacations.
com website there is a link tothis.
We're going to link you tothose cruises so you can explore
more about what those cruisesinclude in the ports.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:44):
Let's transition over to the Ocean
Cruise and the 2026 AlaskaCruises, and we have a couple of
new cruise lines that will besailing to Alaska next year.
Which cruises are they, andhave they already announced
promotions?
Mark Faldmo (38:00):
yet they have, and we're just starting the Alaska
cruise this year for 2025.
But I wanted to get these 2026cruises out there because these
two new cruise lines have somepretty good rates.
The first one is MSC Cruisesthat will be starting.
They have June dates in Alaska.
So these are seven day cruisesinside cabins starting at $8.39
(38:24):
per person, but where the dealis is in the balcony.
Msc balcony cabins start at$13.59 per person for June dates
.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:36):
That's incredible because that's
normally when everyone justcharges the most.
Mark Faldmo (38:41):
Yeah.
Uh you know, most other cruiselines in June for a balcony
cabin are 18 to $2,400 perperson, so this is a really good
deal and I'm sure those priceswill go up as people start
purchasing these cruises.
So if you want to go to Alaskanext year in 2026, they start in
mid-May and go throughmid-September Good prices on
(39:04):
almost every date right now onMSC Okay.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:07):
So MSC is cruise line number one.
Who is cruise line number twogoing to Alaska next year?
Mark Faldmo (39:13):
Cruise line number two is Virgin Voyages.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:16):
Oh, they're headed there now.
Mark Faldmo (39:17):
Number two is Virgin Voyages oh, they're
headed there now.
Yeah, this is an adult onlycruise line cruise experience,
so no children and they are alittle bit more of a premium
product, but they still havereally good pricing.
This is for mid-August sailingAn inside cabin starts at $1,092
and a balcony at $1,582 inAugust Does that include
(39:40):
everything, depending on thepromotion?
And a balcony at $1,582 inAugust?
Does that include everything,depending on the promotion?
I think right now MSC has adeal that includes drinks and
Wi-Fi Virgin just as a generalrule includes Wi-Fi in their
cabins.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:54):
So MSC and Virgin coming to Alaska starting
next year.
What a lot of people don't knowis that Mark actually helped my
son Nathan and his wife Kenzie.
They took off for Alaska today.
Yes, I've been getting phonecalls, obviously prior to
today's show, saying, hey, man,we are excited to go, we're
excited to go, we're excited togo.
When we were on our fourcruises back to back to back to
(40:15):
back, nicky and I, he goes, dad,I have to go, we have to go.
So that's why they're headed toAlaska right now it's a great
destination.
Mark Faldmo (40:24):
Earlier this week I was at a presentation from
Alaska Tourism and also theAlaska Rail, and we'll talk
about that sometime.
It was all about what to do ona land tour, not necessarily
cruises.
They didn't talk about cruises,but Alaska has a lot to offer.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:40):
Alaska is truly beautiful.
Really, if you want that to beyour first experience, that is a
guaranteed success.
If you can't find joy in Alaska, that's you, that's on you.
That is an amazing place.
Take advantage of the offersthat we've talked about during
(41:01):
the infamous Just Cruisingsegment.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And he'll also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
Man, this hour goes by so fast.
We've got Mark's travel tips.
We'll give you tricks forsleeping better on a plane and
(41:24):
we, of course, we will wrap itup with some additional travel
news headlines.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
The radio show continuesalongside my good friend Mark
Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be back in about twominutes.
Show Voice (41:44):
Helping you get out and see the world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Book your vacation now888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(42:06):
The show will continue afterthis.
Ad Voice (42:13):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
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Show Voice (42:46):
Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718 presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call the show right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:11):
Thank you so much for allowing us to be part
of your weekend.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will step back intothe studio here in just a
second.
Coming up in this segment, weare going to give you tricks for
sleeping better on a plane.
Mark just spent coming backfrom Fiji.
(43:34):
My first question to him washow's the jet lag?
And he goes I'm actually doingpretty good.
And oh, you're back.
And then we are also going totalk about some things to do if
you're getting off a cruise inMiami.
That's coming up in thissegment and, of course, we
always want to answer yourtravel-related questions.
(43:56):
So if you have questions andyou're just listening going oh
man, I want to ask these guys aquestion just call or text us
right now 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
You are back from Fiji and oneof the questions that I had for
(44:16):
you immediately was even in textwas how's the jet lag?
And you said, hey, hey, I'mdoing okay.
Mark Faldmo (44:20):
We're gonna give listeners some tricks for
sleeping better on a plane soyou don't have that jet lag
sleeping on a plane is somethingthat's always been hard for me,
and actually on Fiji Airwaysthey had a sleep psychologist
that played a little video howto how to sleep, how to avoid
jet lag.
Right when I was just got offthe plane I also got an email
(44:42):
from the points guy aboutplanning ahead, prepare, how to
sleep on an airplane, and so youknow.
I thought that'd be interesting, since I just got off a 10 hour
flight and some of thesesuggestions from these sleep
professionals.
Now I still have a hard timesleeping on an airplane, but
there are some good tricks andtips here to help you at least
(45:03):
get a little bit more sleep onan airplane.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:06):
So just everyone relax now.
Yeah, let's bring in thepsychologist to give you some
tricks, mark.
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (45:14):
The first thing is bring your own pillow or blanket
.
Bring something you're familiarwith, which I think that's a
little bit harder to do on anairplane.
In fact, before this trip toFiji, heather said should we get
sleep pillows?
And so we went out and boughtsleep pillows, came home with
about five of them, tested themand found the ones that we liked
(45:36):
and took, and Heather used itboth ways on the flight, seemed
to enjoy that pillow.
I've never had good successwith those neck pillows.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:46):
I might be weird, but they just make my
neck hot, which actually keepsme awake, but somehow figure out
how to get your headcomfortable.
Mark Faldmo (45:54):
One of the suggestions here is choose your
seat wisely.
Whether it's a window seat oran aisle seat.
The location of the suggestionshere is choose your seat wisely
.
Whether it's a window seat oran aisle seat, the location of
the seat can matter.
I like to be in the middle ofthe plane, in between the
laboratories.
You know the people, or becausethe people going back and forth
to the restroom, or if you'rein near the back, where the food
(46:14):
preparation area is, it can getnoisy and not as dark in that
area.
So so choose your seat wisely.
Wear comfortable clothes.
I think that's prettyself-explanatory.
Don't wear tight belts, tightfitting clothes.
Wear loose, comfortable clothes.
One that I always thought wasfunny is use a sleep mask.
Yeah, I could buy that, but itdoes really block out that light
(46:37):
.
It does, and from the sleeppsychologist, one of the tips
was try and follow your usualbedtime routine as close to
possible when you're on theairplane.
Now, that's hard to do, but Ido see people get up with their
toothbrushes and do the wholebedtime thing before they go to
sleep.
The next thing I think is themost important Invest in a good
(46:59):
pair of noise cancelingheadphones, oh yeah, what other
tips did he have?
And then the next thing is makesure you have time to stretch
and move around, even if that'sin your seat.
There are things you can domoving your ankles.
Keep your blood flowing.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:14):
So this was a question that we received on the
call and the text line801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
We do want to answer yourtravel related questions.
This is a question from Wyatt.
He said he's getting off acruise in Miami and the best
price flights home are 6 pm orback on the next day.
(47:36):
What is there to do in Miamiafter a cruise?
And he's asking should I flyhome the next day for the better
price?
And the answer is there's a lotto do in Miami because we were
just there.
Let's give him some ideas.
Mark Faldmo (47:49):
That's kind of a common question.
A lot of people want to justget off the cruise ship, go to
the airport Right, but everybodydoes that.
Most flights leave between noonand three, but everybody does
that Most flights leave betweennoon and three.
So if you want a better priceflight home, it's usually a
later flight or the next day.
For me personally, I would sayspend the night and come home
the next day, oh, really Okay,but that also depends on your
(48:11):
time.
Sometimes you can't do that,but I don't mind taking a 6 pm
or later flight home.
So you have a few options.
Let's just start with if you'recoming home later that day, the
cruise line offers anEverglades tour or a tour of
Miami, and they will take careof your luggage for you.
So your luggage stays with you,you don't have to worry about
(48:33):
that, and they'll take you outon a jet boat ride to the
Everglades.
Or you can do a South BeachMiami tour and then they just
drop you back off at the airport.
And that is for flights thatleave after 3 pm.
If you have even longer soyou're a 6 pm or 7 pm flight I
would recommend renting a carfrom Miami airport.
(48:55):
The airport is just 10 minutesaway.
It's not far.
Go to the rental car centerMiami airport the airport is
just 10 minutes away.
It's not far.
Go to the rental car center,rent a car for the day and go
out to Shark Valley.
Oh yeah, you know, we did that,Patrick, and it's part of the
national park in the Everglades.
You can take the tram ridearound.
You can walk around the trail.
It's just a great place to getyour feet wet.
(49:15):
Not literally, but get your feetwet into the Everglades, then
if you do opt to spend the nightthere, I'd still recommend
getting the car, but going downto the main entrance of the
Everglades Park and driving downthat road.
Heather and I just did thatwhen we were there a few weeks
ago and loved it, and I foundsomething new, some history.
(49:36):
That is amazing.
There was a Nike missile siteright in the middle of the
Everglades, just about a mileoff of the main road, and so we
took a tour from one of the parkrangers that toured this site
and told us the history of theNike missile site.
Back during the Cuban missilecrisis, all of the missiles were
in the North US because theywere worried about things coming
(49:59):
over from Russia over the poles.
We had no Southern defense andwhen the Cuban Missile Crisis
happened, they quickly moved abattery of these two of them.
There was one somewhere else inFlorida, but there was this one
in the Everglades and it's awhole facility.
They had the whole hangars withthe missiles.
(50:20):
Oh wow, it was just veryinteresting to learn that
history.
So that's something you coulddo and I just stumbled upon it.
There was a little display inthe visitor center that asked us
about tours to the CubanMissile Crisis, Nike Missile
Site, and so we did that.
So you did so we did so there'slots of interesting things to
(50:41):
do.
That road on the Everglades,all the little stops walk out on
platforms around differentareas.
Just an amazing thing to do ifyou have a free day in.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:54):
South Florida.
Get out and see the world.
It is an absolutely spectacularplace.
Prioritize it in your life.
It'll be one of those thingsthat you'll look back and go.
You know what?
Remember when we did this.
It's going to be one of thosethings.
If you want to take advantageof any of the offers that we
have discussed during the lasthour, call Mark in his office.
(51:17):
Just get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
No obligation.
Seeing the world is anexcellent way to live.
You can listen to thisaward-nominated program tomorrow
(51:37):
morning at Sunday at 11 am.
Well, it's award-nominated, atleast in my head.
It's right here on this radiostation and you can stream,
download and subscribe to thepodcast at InsideTravelTalk.
com.
You can stream the show rightthere, but we're also on all the
major podcast platforms and allof the links are at
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
(51:59):
Well, our job is over.
It's your turn to get out andexplore the world while you can,
because you never know whatcurveballs life is going to
throw at you.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
Make travel a priority.
You'll thank us later.
Thank you so much for listening.
Have a terrific week.
(52:20):
We will talk to you again nextSaturday and Sunday.
Show Voice (52:26):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(52:46):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (52:57):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex
Insurance Services.
Their travel insurance planscan help protect you and your
vacation.
Travelex is known for theiraward-winning customer service
and high claims paid rate.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com for more information.
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