March 29, 2025 • 52 mins
Vacation Patrick is officially in the building! This week's packed episode captures the excitement of travel planning as Patrick prepares for an unprecedented adventure – four consecutive cruises, including two inaugural sailings. While Patrick gets ready for his Caribbean cruise marathon, we bring you the biggest travel news impacting your future vacations.
Sandals and Beaches Resorts are making waves with a massive announcement – a nearly $1 billion investment to expand their family-friendly Beaches brand throughout the Caribbean. This strategic expansion addresses a growing need in the travel industry for accommodations specifically designed for family travel, with new properties coming to Barbados, the Bahamas, and Jamaica.
Speaking of family travel, we highlight Puerto Vallarta as a perfect destination for families of all sizes, featuring all-inclusive resorts with rooms that actually accommodate larger families. With packages starting at just $1,099 per person including airfare, these vacation options provide exceptional value without hidden costs.
The travel world is buzzing with the emerging trend of "set-jetting" – visiting famous film and TV locations. The UK leads the way with Harry Potter experiences, Downton Abbey tours in the Cotswolds, and literary walks through Oxford exploring the haunts of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. These immersive experiences connect travelers with the stories they love while exploring beautiful destinations.
Cruise enthusiasts will appreciate our breakdown of sailing options from New Orleans, which just celebrated a record-breaking year welcoming 1.2 million cruise passengers. Whether you're looking for a quick five-day getaway or a full week exploring the Western Caribbean, we've got options starting as low as $479 that will have you escaping winter's chill.
Ready to transform these travel inspirations into your next adventure? Call us at 888-718-7717 or visit blueplanetvacations.com to connect with travel advisors who will help craft your perfect vacation experience.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
It is time to talk travel.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show
Coming up.
On today's show we will betalking about big and I mean
huge plans for Sandals Resort inJamaica.
Avalon Waterways, a rivercruising company in Europe,
announces a fleet-widerefurbishment of all of their
(00:20):
rooms.
Rocky Mountaineer is changingits name to.
We'll tell you during the showand vacations on cruising to and
around Mexico.
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.
(00:40):
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 (00:57):
Helping you plan your next vacation.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call us now 801-649-3700,801-649-3700, and check out the
podcast at InsideTravelTalk.
(01:18):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:36):
Vacation Patrick is in full mode.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast radio show.
Hello there, my name is PatrickWiscombe, alongside my good
friend, mark Faldmo, it is timeto talk travel, and the entire
purpose of this show is to helpyou.
(01:56):
We want you to become part ofthe show so you can plan and
book your next vacation, or wecan give you ideas of where you
want to vacation next and thisshow is presented by
blueplanetvacations.
com.
And if you have travel relatedquestions, we want you to be
part of the show.
Text your travel relatedquestions right now 801-649-3700
(02:20):
, 801-649-3700.
800-801-649-3700.
And a sincere thank you fortaking the time to stop and
listen, whether it's on theradio or you are podcasting us.
Just a little bit later, markVacation Patrick is officially
in the building and I'm excited,I'm jealous for you.
Mark Faldmo (02:41):
You have a big adventure coming up.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:43):
I don't know how many people go on four
consecutive cruises and I domean back to back, to back to
back and we only have two daysoff on cruise number four
between cruise three and cruisefour.
How common is that?
I?
Mark Faldmo (02:58):
don't think.
Four is that common?
Several people do back to backjust just two cruises.
I've done that several times,but never back to back to back
to back never for four cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:09):
I've never seen that before I am in Fort
Lauderdale doing the show fromthe hotel mark is back in salt
lake engineering the entirebroadcast coming up.
This week, Nicki and I will bejumping on celebrity's Ascent
going to the Caribbean.
And then I have to keep them inorder Holland America, also
going to different ports in theCaribbean, and then the third
(03:32):
one which I will see you downhere for MSC's World America.
And then cruise number four isthe brand new ship from
Norwegian Cruise Line Aqua.
Two of the four cruises,literally, are going on their
inaugural sailing.
I can't believe that this is areality, right?
Mark Faldmo (03:49):
now.
It's quite amazing that you'regoing to do that and get that
experience.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:54):
You will be down here in what two weeks, in
two weeks and your plans for MSCWorld America.
You're part of the media tourand there will be a lot of press
not only print and regularpress but there will be a lot of
YouTube press on MSC's WorldAmerica.
You're part of the media tourand there will be a lot of press
not only print and regularpress, but there will be a lot
of YouTube press on MSC's WorldAmerica.
Yeah, there will be.
That's going to be an amazingship.
We have some awesome cruisingdeals for listeners coming up in
(04:17):
the infamous Just Cruisingsegment.
But let's start the show bygetting to the travel news
headlines.
Anytime Delta makes news, itusually impacts Salt Lake in a
good way.
Delta has announced that theywill be adding more Hawaii
service from Salt Lake City.
This is great news for us.
Mark Faldmo (04:37):
Starting late fall next year, we'll add a seasonal
route from Salt Lake City toKona on the Big Island.
Oh, They'll have their dailynonstop service from Honolulu.
They'll have their seasonalservice Salt Lake to Maui.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:55):
Did you say that one is seasonal?
That one is seasonal.
Mark Faldmo (04:58):
It doesn't operate year round.
It operates during the wintermonths, and then they'll add
this Salt Lake to Kona route,which I'm excited for.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:08):
If you have listened to this show, even a
little bit in the last year anda half, you know that we, mark
and I, are big train people.
So I found this announcementkind of interesting that Rocky
Mountaineer the train company isgoing to rebrand their Denver
to Moab.
That they're going to rebrandthat particular line.
Mark Faldmo (05:30):
They are Yep.
So the new name, the actualtrain name, will be the Canyon
Spirit.
The itinerary will still be theRed Rocks to Rockies, but it
will be Canyon Spirit will bethe brand that operates that.
So they're going to keep theRocky Mountaineer in the
Canadian Rockies.
So that will remain the same.
And they're just renaming theirUS train to Canyon Spirit train
(05:54):
.
And also another exciting thingfor those of us here in Salt
Lake City they have extended theroute, so it will go between
Denver and Salt Lake City.
It'll be that original routewhich goes to Moab, but then
from Moab it'll go up to SaltLake City.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:11):
Oh, whoa, whoa , Hold on.
So it's not just Denver to Moab, it's now Denver to Moab, Moab
to Salt Lake City.
Mark Faldmo (06:18):
To Salt Lake City.
So those of us in Salt Lake,we'll be able to board that
train in Salt Lake City and endup in Denver.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:26):
I would be just fine with that.
I would, yeah, you went on it,august 2024 and you loved it.
I went on that.
Mark Faldmo (06:33):
I loved it.
Yep, and you know, actuallynext week it's exciting we have
August Font, who's the salesmanager for Rocky Mountaineer
and now the Canyon Spirit, rockyMountain Air and now the Canyon
Spirit.
Next week we have a wholeinterview that's going to be
talking about the whole company,the routes and his favorite
routes.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:50):
Always in the first segment of the show, we've
got the destination of the week.
You didn't know that this was.
One of my favorite things isfilming locations.
You can go visit all of theselocations where films popular
films have been shot.
You can jump on an airplane andgo visit all these locations
and that's our destination ofthe week.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (07:11):
This is a trend.
It's called set jetting jettingaround to different film sets
and I've actually had severalpeople asked to do this.
This particular segment isgoing to be about the UK, but
there's also a similar trend inHawaii and other places in
Europe.
Great Britain and Ireland haveseveral different places where
(07:35):
films are made and they'veactually kicked off a campaign.
So Visit Britain has a campaigncalled Showcase Britain,
highlighting all of thedifferent movie sets and places
you can go around Britain,probably the one that's most
requested by me.
I've arranged several People'sEurope tours around.
This are things around HarryPotter, of course, yeah, and
(07:57):
that you know, but the WarnerBrothers Harry Potter studio
right there in London is a wholetour that has the movie set of
Harry Potter that show.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:07):
JK Rowling.
It amazes me that she got allof that entire story out of her
head.
It's amazing that she even cameup with it, let alone put it
down on paper, and with suchvivid details.
It's unbelievable.
Mark Faldmo (08:21):
It is, yeah, quite amazing and probably and this is
one I have not done I've sentseveral people on that I, but I
want to do that it's theScottish Highlands and Jacobite
steam train.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:34):
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (08:34):
Okay, so that is the famous scenes from Harry
Potter, with the steam traingoing over Glenfinnan viaduct,
aka the Harry Potter Bridge.
Oh, that gigantic thing, yeah,yeah, and so that is a tour that
I absolutely want to do.
One thing it's a train.
(08:55):
I love trains and then you know, being in the Scottish
Highlands is pretty amazing.
You know I have several peoplethat just go to Edinburgh, stay
for a few days, do that train,which is a full day train.
Other popular things in the UKand Great Britain.
There's a lot of period dramasthat take place there.
(09:15):
Downton Abbey tours.
Nicky would love that one.
They had their full day tours.
They see the Cotswold's anddifferent places from Downton
Abbey, Bridgeton that you can doIn London.
There's a Sherlock Holmeswalking tour.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:29):
Those two movies were sneaky.
Mark Faldmo (09:30):
good Other things.
There's Titanic ExperienceMuseum in the area and there's
also a Secrets of the Titanicwalking tour that you can do.
Would that be underwater?
Patrick Wiscombe (09:43):
That would be underwater, yeah.
What other tours, assuming thatthere can do, would that be
underwater?
That would be underwater, yeah.
What other tours, assuming thatthere are more?
Mark Faldmo (09:48):
There are several more.
I'm only raising the top ofthis.
You know, probably the mostpopular ones are the ones I
would be interested in.
This next tour and I've donethis or a version of this and
it's in Oxford.
It's the CS Lewis and JRTolkien tour in Oxford, so it
goes around to all the placesthat they visited there in
(10:11):
Oxford.
In Christchurch College that'salso a Harry Potter scene,
that's the dining room scene inChristchurch College, but also
that whole room is filled withthe imagery from Alice in
Wonderland.
You go in there.
There's a whole stained glasswindow in there.
That's just for Alice inWonderland, and then all of the
(10:31):
imagery that's around there fromthose authors is very
interesting to see.
So that's definitely a tourthat you should do.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:40):
Is there an opportunity to go to Platform 9
and 3 Quarters?
Mark Faldmo (10:43):
Yeah, there's several tours in London that
actually do that.
There's a Harry Potter walkingtour that includes that.
There's also a Harry Pottertour by London Taxi, so their
black cabs go around and do thatOne that I want to do because I
absolutely love this movie.
There is a Paddington Bear tour.
(11:05):
Walk around, see some of thoseplaces.
A few weeks ago went and sawthe newest Paddington with
Heather and we absolutely lovedit.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:13):
There's just something magical about the
movies and then going and seeingthe places and recalling where
the actual movie took place.
It's just kind of fun to seethat when you can put the movie
in the location.
Just kind of fun.
If you are interested in doinga UK jet setting or a set
(11:34):
jetting, I got that backwardscall Mark in his office, just
get the conversation started,get the information.
You need no obligation.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(11:55):
888-718-7717.
When we come back, we've gotthe hot travel deal of the week
and we are going to where are we?
We're going to Mexico.
We've got some great cruisingdeals.
No, no, no.
Actually, these are the hoteldeals, aren't they?
They?
Mark Faldmo (12:05):
are hotel deals.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:06):
Okay, that is next when the Inside Travel Talk
podcast or radio show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
Show Voice (12:21):
We will be back in about two minutes.
If you have travel questions,they have the answers.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(12:43):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (12:54):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Anna.
Waterways, from castles andcapitals to vistas and villages
visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities To
set out on your own river cruisejourney.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (13:21):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(13:41):
Here's Patrick and Mark atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:50):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Welcome back inside of theInside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show.
Hello there.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend,
whether you're listening to uson Saturday morning at 11
o'clock Mountain or on Sunday at11 o'clock Mountain or on
Sunday at 11 o'clock MountainComing up in this segment of the
(14:12):
show, we will be talking aboutthe hot travel deal of the week,
and this week we are going toMexico.
We've got a good deal to getdown to Mexico.
We've got a good deal to getdown to Mexico.
But let's first get to thetravel news headlines of the
week.
And, just as we transition over, let me just extend an
(14:33):
invitation to all of ourlisteners.
We want to answer your travelrelated questions, so call or
text the studio right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
We want to answer your travelrelated questions.
Okay, let's get to the travelnews.
(14:53):
This was a big announcement byBeaches Resort.
This is in Jamaica, correct?
I've got the right beaches.
It's in the Caribbean.
Mark Faldmo (14:59):
Yeah, okay, sandals and Beaches Resorts are going
to invest nearly $1 billion toexpand the Beaches brand.
Show Voice (15:08):
Okay.
Mark Faldmo (15:09):
So there's the Sandals brand, which is the
adults-only all-inclusive, andthen there's Beaches Resorts,
which is the all-inclusivefamily brand, and so they are
going to really expand thatfamily brand in the Caribbean.
They've announced new resortsin Barbados, in Exuma, which is
(15:30):
the Bahamas Runaway Bay, inJamaica, and they are going to
convert one of their currentSandals resorts into a Beecher's
resort in Jamaica.
They're going to build newhotels, convert a few existing
hotels.
Family travel, which we'llactually see later on.
(15:51):
In this segment we have afamily travel vacation, but it's
something that has been alittle bit not thought through
in the travel world.
It's been harder when you havelarger families to travel, and
so these resorts are going to bedesigned for families.
They're going to haveaccommodations that will hold
more per room and really try andget family travel to the
(16:15):
Caribbean islands.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:17):
Have you ever stayed at a Sandals Resorts or
Beaches Resorts before?
Mark Faldmo (16:23):
I have never stayed at a Beaches beach resort, but
I've stayed in a sandals resorttwice.
I've stayed at the sandals inBahamas just this past January
for a meeting that I was at, andthen Heather and I Was that a
sandals resort when you werethere.
Yeah, that was a sandals resort.
Oh, I didn't know that.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:42):
Okay.
Mark Faldmo (16:43):
And then Heather and I stayed at the Sandals
Montego Bay in Jamaica a fewyears back.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:49):
Generally speaking, very nice resorts,
though Picture risk.
Avalon Waterways has announceda fleet-wide refresh of the
ships.
Now I know that your favoriterooms when you cruise on the
river is Avalon Waterways,because the bed actually faces
the window.
Were you surprised that theywere announcing a fleet-wide
(17:09):
refresh Every?
Mark Faldmo (17:10):
cruise line is always making sure they're up to
date with the styles andeverything like that.
So they're going to upgrade thedécor throughout all of the
public spaces oh you know, makeit more modern.
They are going to improve theinternet connectivity.
They're going to add a secondStarlink antenna to each ship so
(17:31):
that'll help the internetconnectivity.
They're going to redesign thesky deck.
That's something I'm interestedin, because on most river cruise
ships it's just a blank deck upthere and they put deck chairs.
You know they have to be ableto take all of that down to get
underneath some of the bridges.
So there's not a lot they cando, but I'll be interested to
see what they do with that skydeck area.
(17:53):
They're going to enhance theobservation lounge, upgrade the
fitness facilities and thenthey're also upgrading.
They're adding more to theirfleet of bicycles.
That's one thing that's niceabout a river cruise.
They have bicycle tours and soyou can get off and cycle
through the little villages youstop in.
So each ship is going to get 15new bikes plus four new e-bikes
(18:18):
per ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:19):
Have you ever experienced an electric bike
before?
I have not, no Dude.
They are some of the mostamazing experiences.
Did you know that I have an ebike before?
I have not no Dude.
They are some of the mostamazing experiences.
Did you know that I have ane-bike?
Mark Faldmo (18:28):
I do.
Yeah, I did see that when I wasat your house once.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:31):
Yeah, 5,600 miles on that bike.
The tires are literally wornout.
I'm not trying to talk about myfitness.
If they're adding e-bikes,that's kind of interesting.
Mark Faldmo (18:40):
So they are going through the full fleet wide
upgrade.
This is going to be over thenext year or two.
As they do that, we'll do acouple ships here at the end of
2025, a couple in 2026, to getthem all upgraded to these
standards that they want to beat.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:58):
You know what's interesting to me?
You mentioned how low thebridges are and the bridge of
the ship literally sinks intothe middle of the ship so they
can clear and get under thosebridges.
It's wild to see.
Mark Faldmo (19:12):
It is.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:13):
Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week,
which is a text that wereceived during the last break.
This is from who is this?
From?
Sharon?
She says that she wants to takeher family to Mexico, Puerto
Vallarta, and she is asking isthe fall an okay time to go and
is there a room that would holda family of five?
Mark Faldmo (19:35):
The answer is, I believe so, yes, yes and yes,
yes, fall is a good time to go.
I would go later in the year.
She particularly asked for lateOctober, which I think is a
great time to go.
It's not as humid there.
You're just starting to get alittle bit cooler temperatures.
(19:56):
It's always warm in PuertoVallarta, but a little bit lower
temperatures, a little bitcooler temperatures.
It's always warm in PuertoVallarta, but, you know, a
little bit lower temperatures, alittle bit lower humidity.
One thing she says a room thatwill hold a family of five, as
we talked about with theprevious story about beaches,
kind of expanding that familytravel, it's always been hard to
find rooms that will hold five.
There are several hotels willallow five in a room, but they
(20:19):
might just have one king bed ortwo twin beds, which doesn't
really.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:23):
No, that doesn't help.
Mark Faldmo (20:25):
You know it doesn't help for a family of five, and
so you know I've gone throughand I found three places that do
have good bedding for a familyof five, so you don't have to
get a roll away In the Wiscombefamily was called Patrick on the
floor yeah, so we want to getyou in a place where patrick is
not on the floor hey, listen,I'm a dad now, so I get the bed
(20:47):
on the floor, kids whenever Iwas always traveling with large
groups, since I made all thetravel arrangements, I always
claimed a bed for myself.
Everyone else fought over whatwas left in there or slept on
the floor.
So, that was one of theconditions of me booking the
trips with my friends.
So so I guess first of all,we'll go over the promotion,
(21:10):
which is save up to $200 toPuerto Vallarta Now this is
booked by April 15th to get thatsave up to $200.
And that is per package.
You love Puerto Vallarta, I do.
I love Puerto Vallarta.
When we're looking for a largerfamily, it's really important
to make sure you have a roomthat has the right bedding.
So these three resorts are onesthat I like, that I've stayed
(21:36):
at before.
These packages are a fivenights hotel, round trip airfare
from Salt Lake City.
For our listeners that areoutside of Salt Lake City, we
can get a price for you, andthis is departing October 22nd.
The Malia Porta Vallarta, whichis a four and a half star hotel
the price starts at $1,099 perperson oh wow.
(21:58):
And that room does have twoqueen beds and a bunk bed.
The Riu Vallarta, which is afour and a half star, starts at
$1,219 per person, and that istwo queen beds and one double
bed.
And then the Marival Emotionsthis is probably my favorite
hotel for families down there.
(22:19):
They do a great job withactivities for kids.
They're really a good familyhotel they're four and a half
stars starts at $1,349 perperson, and theirs is a two
bedroom with two king beds ineach bedroom plus a sofa sleeper
.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:37):
So that is a genuinely good option if you're
going to Mexico.
Mark Faldmo (22:41):
Now there are several hotels that said they
would allow five.
They were three and four star.
They were less expensive, butyou know these are the ones I
would go with.
You want your family to have agood experience.
Also, again, have the properbedding.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:55):
Well, the thing that I like about this is
that it includes airfare, fivenights, hotel transfers to and
from the airport to the hoteland, of course, back.
That's a big deal and, ofcourse, finding the right bed,
like you said, yeah, and thenthey are all all inclusive.
Mark Faldmo (23:11):
So all of your meals and drinks, so really a
family of five could go spendthat price and not spend another
dime if they didn't want to.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:21):
When you don't look forward to going back to
the hotel cause it's a not goodmakes all the difference, and
when everyone's happy, it justmakes for a better vacation.
Even though it may cost alittle more, everyone comes back
happy.
It's the quality of thevacation.
Go, go to Mexico, go to PuertoVallarta Sharon you probably are
(23:45):
going to have additionalquestions and, of course, anyone
else who's listening to theshow right now.
Get out, see the world whileyou can, especially while you've
got your family home.
That time goes by so quickly.
Call Mark in his office, justget the conversation started.
No obligation, of course.
888-718-7717.
(24:08):
888-718-7717.
And you can also see this onblueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back, it is timefor the infamous just cruising
segment.
We will be talking about theport of New Orleans having a
record-breaking year and, ofcourse, we've got two cruises
(24:32):
with awesome pricing.
That is next with the insidetravel talk podcast.
The radio show continuesAlongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We'll be back in just a coupleof minutes.
Show Voice (24:47):
They've literally traveled millions of miles to
answer your travel-relatedquestions.
Yeah, they really have.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show Presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors,Patrick and Mark, will be back
(25:08):
after these messages.
Ad Voice (25:11):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:30):
Okay, we're back.
Welcome back to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show Coming up.
In the next 28 minutes we willbe talking about five and seven
day cruises to Mexico on NCL andCarnival Sitka, Alaska they are
voting on a cap on cruise shippassengers allowed in their city
Reggae music designed toinspire Caribbean cruising.
(25:52):
That is on my playlistliterally this next week.
Mark it is and how to book anairport security reservation.
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.
(26:13):
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:26):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Hit us up right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(26:46):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:08):
All aboard for the infamous just cruising
segment on the infamous insidetravel talk podcast, a radio
show, this award-nominatedprogram at least it is inside of
my head.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend
each and every Saturday andSunday morning at 11 o'clock
Mountain Time, live here in SaltLake City.
(27:30):
And if you are podcasting theshow at a future date, you can
just stream the podcast if youdon't want to subscribe.
If you're not a future date,you can just stream the podcast
If you don't want to subscribe.
If you're not a podcaster, justgo to insidetraveltalk.
com and you just press play.
But if you are a podcaster,please take the time to
subscribe to the show Coming upin this segment.
(27:50):
Of course, we've got the cruisenews headlines.
This segment is only aboutcruise news.
We've got the cruise deal ofthe week.
We've got five and seven daycruises going to Mexico.
We'll detail that.
But, mark, let's start with thecruise news headlines.
Where do you want to start?
Should we go Alaska or shouldwe go Florida?
Let's go Florida, all right.
A Florida county this is notsomething you hear every single
(28:13):
week on the show is offering $3million to sink a cruise ship
closer to a tourist hotspot.
What's this all about?
Mark Faldmo (28:22):
It's an old ocean liner, the SS United States,
which is a very historic ship,and so they are going to sink it
off the coast of Florida in thePanhandle area near Destin,
florida, to be an artificialreef.
That area of Florida has lotsof dive tourists so this county
is offering them $3 million tomove the ship closer to their
(28:45):
county so they can get a pieceof that dive revenue that comes
in there.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:52):
Wow.
Mark Faldmo (28:52):
And right now the ship is in Alabama.
They're stripping it of all themetals that can't be sunk.
It probably has some asbestosin it too, so they're getting
rid of all of that.
Let's get rid of the poisonBefore it's sunk to become a
reef.
The SS United States is ahistoric ocean liner.
Even to this day it still isthe fastest passenger ship out
(29:16):
there, made the run from NewYork to London in record time,
hasn't been beat yet, and it wasin service to the late 1960s.
But the US military kept it onuntil the late 80s because it
was so fast in case they neededto move troops, and it was
retired.
It's had several owners.
(29:37):
Interestingly enough, one ofthose owners was Norwegian
Cruise Line, Norwegian CruiseLine.
When a US I think it was calledUS Cruises went out of business
, Norwegian Cruise Line boughtone of their ships, partially
built, which is now the Pride ofAmerica.
When Norwegian purchased thatship, which is now the Pride of
(29:57):
America, they also went andpurchased the SS United States
because it was a hull thatanother cruise line could have
purchased to compete with them.
So they bought any cruise shipthat was built in the US still
operating, so that no one couldcompete with them.
They never brought it intoservice.
Now it's going to be sunk inFlorida to become a reef for
(30:20):
divers.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:22):
It's going to be interesting to follow this
and I realize it's beingstripped.
I'll just call it parts andpoison.
It's going to be interesting tosee if, in just a few years
five, somewhere between five andten years if we start seeing
strange fish yes, we didn't getall the poison, but we start
seeing fish with human teeth,just something like that,
something crazy.
Yeah, Sitka, Alaska residentsare voting, or will be voting,
(30:48):
on a cap on the number of cruiseship passengers.
When is the vote set and whatare the details?
What are the numbers?
Mark Faldmo (30:55):
So, the city council just had a meeting this
week and they've set the votefor May 30th.
So the referendum that's goingout is to cap cruise ship
traffic to 4,500 cruisepassengers per day and 300,000
per year, and also limit cruisetraffic to only six days a week,
(31:16):
so giving them a day freewithout cruise ship passengers.
Now this is a local advocacygroup that is trying to do this.
This is actually their fourthattempt to do this.
It's never passed the citywidereferendum before.
Although, looking at that 4,500cruisers a day, most of the
cruise ships that visit thereare about 2,500.
(31:38):
And I've only ever seen onecruise ship in Sitka before, so
I don't know how this willactually affect it, although
that yearly cap of 300,000 couldaffecters.
(31:58):
Last year they had 585,000cruisers oh wow.
And so they're just getting onecruise ship a day, where before
they were getting two to threecruise ships a week.
They're just getting morecruise ships there.
So, even that daily cap, thereare not many days when they go
over that anyway.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:18):
Okay, I've got my reggae remix.
It's being released to inspireCaribbean cruising.
Okay, I'll just turn it off.
Mark Faldmo (32:35):
What's all this about MSC Cruises?
This is just in time for thelaunch of the World of America,
which you'll be on in about twoweeks time.
I'll be on in about two weeks.
They have released a playliston Spotify.
They've taken songs from TaylorSwift, Harry Styles, the
Beatles, Madonna and reggae-izedthem, so they've remixed them
(33:00):
and covered them to reggae.
So we will hear this probably onthe ship, then On the ship.
Yeah, if you want to hear someof these songs, just go to
Spotify and type in MSC HolidayPlaylist and it should come up
for you.
Research has shown that musiccan influence people's travel
(33:23):
choices.
Here Comes the Sun is the onethey did by the Beatles.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:28):
Here comes the sun.
Here comes the sun.
Baby Watermelon sugar.
Just like that.
I killed the travel industry.
They will not want to go on theship with me.
Mark Faldmo (33:44):
Go to Spotify and find the playlist.
I've listened to it.
It's pretty good.
Does make you want to travel,which is the whole purpose of
that playlist.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:53):
Let's get to the cruise deal of the week.
Always in the infamous JustCruising segment, we're taking
off from New Orleans, so themain port here is getting from
Salt Lake City only because wedo the show from here to New
Orleans.
What are the details on thecruise deal of the week?
Mark Faldmo (34:08):
First we'll start off with the port of New Orleans
had a record-breaking 2024.
They had 1.2 million cruiseguests come through there, and
that was both ocean and river,because New Orleans is a
starting point for ocean cruisesas well as Mississippi River
cruises.
Carnival Cruise Lines has aship based there year round and
(34:31):
then in the wintertime theybring in a second ship to do
cruises from New Orleans.
They've actually arecelebrating their 30th year of
sailing Caribbean cruises fromNew Orleans, and then Norwegian
Cruise Line has a ship sailingCaribbean cruises from New
Orleans, and then NorwegianCruise Line has a ship that
sails out of New Orleansseasonally, so during the cold
winter starts in, I think, lateNovember and cruises through
(34:53):
March.
So for today we're just goingto talk about the ocean going
cruises.
You can do four to eight daysailings from New Orleans.
I had buffalo alligator there,so you get some exotic foods too
, wow.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:11):
Buffaloed alligator.
Mark Faldmo (35:14):
Yep Yikes, it tasted like chewy chicken.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:17):
Of course it did.
Yeah, all right, let's get tothe cruise deal of the week.
Let's start with the five-daycruise on Carnivore, carnivore,
carnival Valor.
Mark Faldmo (35:32):
Yeah, so these are all cruises in January.
So this five-day cruise it's onthe Carnival Valor, not even
Valor, no no, okay, I'm sorry,carnival valor valor, yeah, and
an inside cabin starts at 479per person and a balcony cabin
(35:53):
starts at 714 per person.
Jeez, this cruise, it has twoports.
It goes to Cozumel and spends afull day in Cozumel, and then
it spends a full day inProgresso.
Progresso is the port nearMerida Mexico and it's the
closest port to go visit ChechenItza.
So that's what a lot of cruiseguests do there, because it's a
(36:18):
shorter drive from Progresso ascompared to when you do it from
Cancun it's a four-hour drive onthat.
So, and then you know.
Also, one thing I didn't say isNew Orleans is quite a ways
upriver from the Gulf, and soyou do get a little bit
Mississippi River cruise.
You get a couple hours ofcruising on the Mississippi.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:39):
See, I've always thought that New Orleans
was right on the Gulf.
I didn't know that it was thatfar in it's inland a little bit.
What's the seven-day cruisefrom NCO the?
Mark Faldmo (36:49):
seven-day cruise is on the Norwegian Escape.
Its ports are Cozumel, harvestCay, which is their private
island in Belize, Roatan, whichwe've talked about the last
couple of weeks, I think a fewtimes.
It's been on a lot of thecruise itineraries we've talked
about.
And then Costa Maya.
It's a Western Caribbean cruisebut goes a little bit further
(37:10):
south than a lot of the typicalcruises.
So that cruise starts at $729for an inside cabin and $989 for
a balcony cabin.
What are the dates on that one?
That one was January 11th of2026.
Now is a good time to startplanning next winter's escape
(37:30):
from the cold.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:32):
Call Mark to get down to New Orleans.
Get down, go to Mexico.
Book those vacations directlywith Mark.
Just get the conversationstarted.
You'll obviously have somequestions, no obligation, just
get the conversation started.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(37:54):
And Mark will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
Real headlines.
Everyone will remember this.
London's Heathrow Airport had amassive fire.
We're going to talk abouttravel insurance and I think the
airport has opened.
Is that correct, mark?
It has opened.
(38:15):
Yes, we'll also talk about howto book an airport security
reservation Kind of tricky, kindof time consuming as well.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe, heis Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (38:34):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (38:58):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
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For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
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(39:19):
blueplanetvacations.
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Call or text the show now 801-649-3700,
801-649-3700.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:50):
And now here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark
Faldmo welcome back to theinside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show.
Thank you so much for allowingme and Mark what's the correct
(40:10):
grammar, mark and I, me and Markto be part of your weekend.
Can you tell I'm a littleexcited to go on vacation right
now.
It feels like let's just getthrough the segment and then I'm
in full vacation mode.
Yeah, coming up in this segmentof the show.
(40:31):
In fact, let's just start withthis.
We've got the travel newsheadlines.
We'll also be talking about howto book an airport security
reservation.
Let's start with what happenedin London.
This was a big deal.
What was this Monday, Tuesday,late last week?
Something this happened lastFriday London's Heathrow Airport
.
There was a massive fire.
(40:54):
Now, it wasn't in the airport,but it was off-site at the power
plant, if memory serves.
Mark Faldmo (40:59):
Yes, it was the power plant that serves Heathrow
.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:03):
Uh, it shut the whole airport down and it
was a big mess and I don't knowhow many flights were canceled.
It's got to be in the what atleast a thousand flights.
It's probably more than thatprobably close to that.
Mark Faldmo (41:15):
I know British Airways said they had about 700
flights canceled.
Just British Airways Wow.
So all the other airlines thatfly in there is probably close
to 1,000 or just over 1,000total flights that were affected
.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:31):
So this is not intended to be a sales pitch at
all.
We're just going to talk abouttravel insurance and, before
your eyes glaze over, this isthe perfect situation.
You never know what's going tohappen.
And before your eyes glaze over, this is the perfect situation.
You never know what's going tohappen.
But let's talk about how travelinsurance would have or is
probably helping someone who hada London flight First of all,
(41:54):
no one purchases insurance ofany kind wanting to use it.
Mark Faldmo (42:04):
Insurance is for those emergencies, those
unexpected things that happen,and especially in travel
insurance or travel protection.
On this, it took Heathrow twoto three days to get back up to
full flights.
When this happens, airplanesare out of position, not able to
do flights at the same time, sothere are several, probably
thousand, people that had forcedovernights.
Now, a situation like this thiswas not anything in the
(42:27):
airline's control and so theairline is not responsible to
pay for hotels, missedconnections, anything like that.
And that's where travelinsurance comes into place.
If you had to spend anadditional night or two, travel
insurance will pay for yourhotels.
Travel insurance will give youfood allowance if you need
(42:48):
luggage, because your luggagedidn't make it.
So if you need to buy someclothes, toiletries, different
things like that, travelinsurance will cover for that.
Insurance is worth it.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:00):
Let's move on.
Let's talk about how to book anairport security reservation.
Now, is this clear?
Or is this just airportsecurity?
Are we talking about TSA pre?
What are we talking about here?
Mark Faldmo (43:13):
Well, this is a program by clear.
This was sent in by one of ourlisteners, mark, not you.
He said this was a good talk.
Yeah, not me A good topic totalk about, which it is.
This is called Clear Reserve.
This is a free program.
It's operated by Clear, but ithas nothing to do with Clear or
(43:33):
PreCheck or Global Entry,anything like that.
There are 20 airports where youcan go on and through this
program by clear, you canreserve the time that you go
through security.
Oh, okay, the first place thisstarted is an airport that
definitely needs something likethat, which is Orlando Airport.
You can get there and thesecurity line can be an hour and
(43:57):
a half.
I've seen it as long as twohours at some point.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:01):
You're talking about MCO Orlando and you're
talking about the terminal.
Coming out of the hotel to getinto the airport literally in
the lobby.
Yes, oh, wow.
Mark Faldmo (44:12):
So I lucked out, then Even the TSA pre-check
lines can be pretty long at thatairport.
Now this program if you havePreCheck, it doesn't work with
PreCheck.
If you use this then you haveto take your electronics out and
you have to go through normalsecurity screening.
But it's available at 20airports worldwide.
(44:33):
In the US it's available atDenver Airport, Los Angeles
Airport, Minneapolis JFK in NewYork and Newark Liberty in
Newark, new Jersey, Orlando,phoenix Sky Harbor and
Seattle-Tacoma Airport.
In Europe this program isavailable in Amsterdam, berlin,
Frankfurt, Hanover, London andRome and then in Canada, Calgary
(44:58):
, Edmonton, Halifax, and then inCanada, Calgary, Edmonton,
Halifax, Montreal, Toronto andVancouver.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:04):
If I've got this right, clear reserve is to
how to book an airport securityreservation, and that's free.
Mark Faldmo (45:11):
Okay, it's free, yep, yep.
So now it doesn't operate alltimes during the day, just at
the peak times at those airports.
So you can go in and say I wantto go through security at 5:30.
You can reserve it and then youcan go through.
It's basically kind of a jumpyto the front of the line service
that they have.
It is limited so that they canguarantee your time through.
(45:33):
So if a time slot sold out, atime slot will get sold out.
But it is a great way to kindof help plan your trip so you
don't spend an hour waiting inthe security line.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:44):
Let's go over the various security options.
There's TSA Pre and the processto get TSA Pre.
How much was it?
Was it $70 for like five years?
Mark Faldmo (45:57):
something like that .
Yeah, I think it's $75 for fiveyears and you go to tsagov?
Patrick Wiscombe (46:04):
I can't remember.
Mark Faldmo (46:05):
Yeah, I think it's tsa.
gov is where you go to, yeah tsa.
gov, and then you can click onthe pre-check and sign up for
pre-check.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:13):
Yeah, okay, tsa.
gov apply renew.
Okay, I'm looking at thewebsite right now.
Now, just for conversation.
Let's transition over tocustoms, which is global entry,
which includes TSA pre, which iswhat we were just talking about
.
But global entry is for what?
And who's the ideal candidatefor that one?
Mark Faldmo (46:33):
That will get you through US customs, coming back
to the US.
So if you take a lot ofinternational trips, global
entry is what you'll want to get, because it comes with both TSA
pre-check and the global entryto get you through customs and
immigration.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:50):
So international.
If you're doing a lot ofinternational, that is ideal,
but if you're just want to skipthe line, get through there
quickly.
You're talking about TSA pre,so what is clear then, quickly?
You're talking about TSA pre,so what is clear then?
Which is what we were just kindof talking about?
But it's to reserve your placein line going to the airport.
What's clear generally speaking?
Mark Faldmo (47:10):
Clear is a paid program.
It's similar to TSA.
They use biometrics to get youthrough.
I've started seeing clear hastwo lines Clear with TSA
PreCheck and regular Clear andthose basically, if you have
Clear it'll jump you aheaddepending on the airport, but
(47:30):
kind of ahead of the TSAPreCheck people.
So Clear is a private companythat's cleared to do security
screening and there are Clearlines at sporting events.
You know a lot of the NBA, NFL,major league arenas have clear
lines so you basically can justwalk through without going
through the regular securityprotocols.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:52):
We should have done this in the infamous just
cruising segment, but we wantedto talk about cruise ship
mistakes.
To avoid We've got a fewminutes here, let's go through
this list.
Mark Faldmo (48:05):
Yeah.
So there are a couple of itemson this list.
One is booking your cruise toolate.
Oh yeah, it used to be that youcould book and get last minute
cruise deals.
Those are less and lessavailable.
Most cruise lines put theirbest fares out when that ship
goes for sale two years inadvance, yeah, and then the
(48:26):
prices slightly go up.
They do have some ways to fillcabins if they need to, but very
rarely do they go below thatfirst initial offering price.
So don't wait too long.
If you want to go on a cruise,it's probably best that you just
book it right when you decideyou want to go on a cruise.
It's probably best that youjust book it right when you
decide you want to go on thecruise, because chances are the
price is only going to go up.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:48):
Just for conversation purposes only.
What happens if you've booked aship and all of a sudden,
because they need to fill shipspace, you know, for whatever
reason, a particular date isn'tselling, and that does happen.
What if you paid?
I'll just say $1,.
A particular date isn't selling, and that does happen.
What if you paid?
I'll just say a thousanddollars, just to keep it simple.
(49:08):
And all of a sudden theyadvertise your same room, same
category, everything is the same, for 900.
How does a cruise ship remedythat situation?
Mark Faldmo (49:15):
So if you're outside of penalty now, the
cruise lines don't like to dothis, but if you're outside of
penalty, you can always cancelit and rebook the cabin.
But what they'll do in manycases if it does go down?
A lot of them do have the lowprice guarantee where, if that
price goes down in your specificcategory, they will give you an
(49:35):
onboard credit.
So they'll make it up to you bygiving you money to spend
onboard.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:40):
Who, in your opinion, which cruise line has
the best loyalty program?
Mark Faldmo (49:45):
I think it's a tie.
I would go with PrincessCruises I think has the best
loyalty program, or Norwegian.
Both of those offer yousignificant things on board,
like you know free specialtydining, free internet minutes.
So I think they, those two,have the best.
I would lean towards Princessmyself, but I do like the free
(50:06):
specialty meals that come onNorwegian.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:09):
That's going to do it.
Vacation Patrick is officiallyin motion as soon as I get off
the air.
Mark Faldmo (50:17):
Yeah, have a good cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:19):
Have a good cruises as I should say, back to
back to back to back.
Baby, you can listen to theshow again tomorrow morning 11
am right here on this radiostation and, of course, you can
stream, download and subscribeto the podcast at
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
If you don't want to subscribe,you can just literally stream
(50:40):
the show on InsideTravelTalk.
com.
If you don't want to subscribe,you can just literally stream
the show on InsideTravelTalk.
com.
Just go to the latest show,just press play and you'll get
to hear the sultry voices ofPatrick and Mark.
If you want to book any of thevacations that we've talked
about here for the past hour,call Mark in his office.
No obligation.
Get the conversation started888-718-7717.
(51:04):
888-718-7717.
It is now your turn to get outand explore the world while you
can, because you never know whatcurveballs life is going to
throw at you.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
Thank you so much for listening, really thank you.
(51:25):
We don't have a show withoutyou.
We'll talk to you again nextweek that's it.
Show Voice (51:32):
that's the end of the show you've been listening
to the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show with
Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(51:52):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (52:01):
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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 is time to talk travel.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show
Coming up.
On today's show we will betalking about big and I mean
huge plans for Sandals Resort inJamaica.
Avalon Waterways, a rivercruising company in Europe,
announces a fleet-widerefurbishment of all of their
(00:20):
rooms.
Rocky Mountaineer is changingits name to.
We'll tell you during the showand vacations on cruising to and
around Mexico.
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.
(00:40):
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 (00:57):
Helping you plan your next vacation.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call us now 801-649-3700,801-649-3700, and check out the
podcast at InsideTravelTalk.
(01:18):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:36):
Vacation Patrick is in full mode.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast radio show.
Hello there, my name is PatrickWiscombe, alongside my good
friend, mark Faldmo, it is timeto talk travel, and the entire
purpose of this show is to helpyou.
(01:56):
We want you to become part ofthe show so you can plan and
book your next vacation, or wecan give you ideas of where you
want to vacation next and thisshow is presented by
blueplanetvacations.
com.
And if you have travel relatedquestions, we want you to be
part of the show.
Text your travel relatedquestions right now 801-649-3700
(02:20):
, 801-649-3700.
800-801-649-3700.
And a sincere thank you fortaking the time to stop and
listen, whether it's on theradio or you are podcasting us.
Just a little bit later, markVacation Patrick is officially
in the building and I'm excited,I'm jealous for you.
Mark Faldmo (02:41):
You have a big adventure coming up.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:43):
I don't know how many people go on four
consecutive cruises and I domean back to back, to back to
back and we only have two daysoff on cruise number four
between cruise three and cruisefour.
How common is that?
I?
Mark Faldmo (02:58):
don't think.
Four is that common?
Several people do back to backjust just two cruises.
I've done that several times,but never back to back to back
to back never for four cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:09):
I've never seen that before I am in Fort
Lauderdale doing the show fromthe hotel mark is back in salt
lake engineering the entirebroadcast coming up.
This week, Nicki and I will bejumping on celebrity's Ascent
going to the Caribbean.
And then I have to keep them inorder Holland America, also
going to different ports in theCaribbean, and then the third
(03:32):
one which I will see you downhere for MSC's World America.
And then cruise number four isthe brand new ship from
Norwegian Cruise Line Aqua.
Two of the four cruises,literally, are going on their
inaugural sailing.
I can't believe that this is areality, right?
Mark Faldmo (03:49):
now.
It's quite amazing that you'regoing to do that and get that
experience.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:54):
You will be down here in what two weeks, in
two weeks and your plans for MSCWorld America.
You're part of the media tourand there will be a lot of press
not only print and regularpress but there will be a lot of
YouTube press on MSC's WorldAmerica.
You're part of the media tourand there will be a lot of press
not only print and regularpress, but there will be a lot
of YouTube press on MSC's WorldAmerica.
Yeah, there will be.
That's going to be an amazingship.
We have some awesome cruisingdeals for listeners coming up in
(04:17):
the infamous Just Cruisingsegment.
But let's start the show bygetting to the travel news
headlines.
Anytime Delta makes news, itusually impacts Salt Lake in a
good way.
Delta has announced that theywill be adding more Hawaii
service from Salt Lake City.
This is great news for us.
Mark Faldmo (04:37):
Starting late fall next year, we'll add a seasonal
route from Salt Lake City toKona on the Big Island.
Oh, They'll have their dailynonstop service from Honolulu.
They'll have their seasonalservice Salt Lake to Maui.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:55):
Did you say that one is seasonal?
That one is seasonal.
Mark Faldmo (04:58):
It doesn't operate year round.
It operates during the wintermonths, and then they'll add
this Salt Lake to Kona route,which I'm excited for.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:08):
If you have listened to this show, even a
little bit in the last year anda half, you know that we, mark
and I, are big train people.
So I found this announcementkind of interesting that Rocky
Mountaineer the train company isgoing to rebrand their Denver
to Moab.
That they're going to rebrandthat particular line.
Mark Faldmo (05:30):
They are Yep.
So the new name, the actualtrain name, will be the Canyon
Spirit.
The itinerary will still be theRed Rocks to Rockies, but it
will be Canyon Spirit will bethe brand that operates that.
So they're going to keep theRocky Mountaineer in the
Canadian Rockies.
So that will remain the same.
And they're just renaming theirUS train to Canyon Spirit train
(05:54):
.
And also another exciting thingfor those of us here in Salt
Lake City they have extended theroute, so it will go between
Denver and Salt Lake City.
It'll be that original routewhich goes to Moab, but then
from Moab it'll go up to SaltLake City.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:11):
Oh, whoa, whoa , Hold on.
So it's not just Denver to Moab, it's now Denver to Moab, Moab
to Salt Lake City.
Mark Faldmo (06:18):
To Salt Lake City.
So those of us in Salt Lake,we'll be able to board that
train in Salt Lake City and endup in Denver.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:26):
I would be just fine with that.
I would, yeah, you went on it,august 2024 and you loved it.
I went on that.
Mark Faldmo (06:33):
I loved it.
Yep, and you know, actuallynext week it's exciting we have
August Font, who's the salesmanager for Rocky Mountaineer
and now the Canyon Spirit, rockyMountain Air and now the Canyon
Spirit.
Next week we have a wholeinterview that's going to be
talking about the whole company,the routes and his favorite
routes.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:50):
Always in the first segment of the show, we've
got the destination of the week.
You didn't know that this was.
One of my favorite things isfilming locations.
You can go visit all of theselocations where films popular
films have been shot.
You can jump on an airplane andgo visit all these locations
and that's our destination ofthe week.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (07:11):
This is a trend.
It's called set jetting jettingaround to different film sets
and I've actually had severalpeople asked to do this.
This particular segment isgoing to be about the UK, but
there's also a similar trend inHawaii and other places in
Europe.
Great Britain and Ireland haveseveral different places where
(07:35):
films are made and they'veactually kicked off a campaign.
So Visit Britain has a campaigncalled Showcase Britain,
highlighting all of thedifferent movie sets and places
you can go around Britain,probably the one that's most
requested by me.
I've arranged several People'sEurope tours around.
This are things around HarryPotter, of course, yeah, and
(07:57):
that you know, but the WarnerBrothers Harry Potter studio
right there in London is a wholetour that has the movie set of
Harry Potter that show.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:07):
JK Rowling.
It amazes me that she got allof that entire story out of her
head.
It's amazing that she even cameup with it, let alone put it
down on paper, and with suchvivid details.
It's unbelievable.
Mark Faldmo (08:21):
It is, yeah, quite amazing and probably and this is
one I have not done I've sentseveral people on that I, but I
want to do that it's theScottish Highlands and Jacobite
steam train.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:34):
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (08:34):
Okay, so that is the famous scenes from Harry
Potter, with the steam traingoing over Glenfinnan viaduct,
aka the Harry Potter Bridge.
Oh, that gigantic thing, yeah,yeah, and so that is a tour that
I absolutely want to do.
One thing it's a train.
(08:55):
I love trains and then you know, being in the Scottish
Highlands is pretty amazing.
You know I have several peoplethat just go to Edinburgh, stay
for a few days, do that train,which is a full day train.
Other popular things in the UKand Great Britain.
There's a lot of period dramasthat take place there.
(09:15):
Downton Abbey tours.
Nicky would love that one.
They had their full day tours.
They see the Cotswold's anddifferent places from Downton
Abbey, Bridgeton that you can doIn London.
There's a Sherlock Holmeswalking tour.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:29):
Those two movies were sneaky.
Mark Faldmo (09:30):
good Other things.
There's Titanic ExperienceMuseum in the area and there's
also a Secrets of the Titanicwalking tour that you can do.
Would that be underwater?
Patrick Wiscombe (09:43):
That would be underwater, yeah.
What other tours, assuming thatthere can do, would that be
underwater?
That would be underwater, yeah.
What other tours, assuming thatthere are more?
Mark Faldmo (09:48):
There are several more.
I'm only raising the top ofthis.
You know, probably the mostpopular ones are the ones I
would be interested in.
This next tour and I've donethis or a version of this and
it's in Oxford.
It's the CS Lewis and JRTolkien tour in Oxford, so it
goes around to all the placesthat they visited there in
(10:11):
Oxford.
In Christchurch College that'salso a Harry Potter scene,
that's the dining room scene inChristchurch College, but also
that whole room is filled withthe imagery from Alice in
Wonderland.
You go in there.
There's a whole stained glasswindow in there.
That's just for Alice inWonderland, and then all of the
(10:31):
imagery that's around there fromthose authors is very
interesting to see.
So that's definitely a tourthat you should do.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:40):
Is there an opportunity to go to Platform 9
and 3 Quarters?
Mark Faldmo (10:43):
Yeah, there's several tours in London that
actually do that.
There's a Harry Potter walkingtour that includes that.
There's also a Harry Pottertour by London Taxi, so their
black cabs go around and do thatOne that I want to do because I
absolutely love this movie.
There is a Paddington Bear tour.
(11:05):
Walk around, see some of thoseplaces.
A few weeks ago went and sawthe newest Paddington with
Heather and we absolutely lovedit.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:13):
There's just something magical about the
movies and then going and seeingthe places and recalling where
the actual movie took place.
It's just kind of fun to seethat when you can put the movie
in the location.
Just kind of fun.
If you are interested in doinga UK jet setting or a set
(11:34):
jetting, I got that backwardscall Mark in his office, just
get the conversation started,get the information.
You need no obligation.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(11:55):
888-718-7717.
When we come back, we've gotthe hot travel deal of the week
and we are going to where are we?
We're going to Mexico.
We've got some great cruisingdeals.
No, no, no.
Actually, these are the hoteldeals, aren't they?
They?
Mark Faldmo (12:05):
are hotel deals.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:06):
Okay, that is next when the Inside Travel Talk
podcast or radio show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
Show Voice (12:21):
We will be back in about two minutes.
If you have travel questions,they have the answers.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(12:43):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (12:54):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Anna.
Waterways, from castles andcapitals to vistas and villages
visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities To
set out on your own river cruisejourney.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
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Show Voice (13:21):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(13:41):
Here's Patrick and Mark atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:50):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Welcome back inside of theInside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show.
Hello there.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend,
whether you're listening to uson Saturday morning at 11
o'clock Mountain or on Sunday at11 o'clock Mountain or on
Sunday at 11 o'clock MountainComing up in this segment of the
(14:12):
show, we will be talking aboutthe hot travel deal of the week,
and this week we are going toMexico.
We've got a good deal to getdown to Mexico.
We've got a good deal to getdown to Mexico.
But let's first get to thetravel news headlines of the
week.
And, just as we transition over, let me just extend an
(14:33):
invitation to all of ourlisteners.
We want to answer your travelrelated questions, so call or
text the studio right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
We want to answer your travelrelated questions.
Okay, let's get to the travelnews.
(14:53):
This was a big announcement byBeaches Resort.
This is in Jamaica, correct?
I've got the right beaches.
It's in the Caribbean.
Mark Faldmo (14:59):
Yeah, okay, sandals and Beaches Resorts are going
to invest nearly $1 billion toexpand the Beaches brand.
Show Voice (15:08):
Okay.
Mark Faldmo (15:09):
So there's the Sandals brand, which is the
adults-only all-inclusive, andthen there's Beaches Resorts,
which is the all-inclusivefamily brand, and so they are
going to really expand thatfamily brand in the Caribbean.
They've announced new resortsin Barbados, in Exuma, which is
(15:30):
the Bahamas Runaway Bay, inJamaica, and they are going to
convert one of their currentSandals resorts into a Beecher's
resort in Jamaica.
They're going to build newhotels, convert a few existing
hotels.
Family travel, which we'llactually see later on.
(15:51):
In this segment we have afamily travel vacation, but it's
something that has been alittle bit not thought through
in the travel world.
It's been harder when you havelarger families to travel, and
so these resorts are going to bedesigned for families.
They're going to haveaccommodations that will hold
more per room and really try andget family travel to the
(16:15):
Caribbean islands.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:17):
Have you ever stayed at a Sandals Resorts or
Beaches Resorts before?
Mark Faldmo (16:23):
I have never stayed at a Beaches beach resort, but
I've stayed in a sandals resorttwice.
I've stayed at the sandals inBahamas just this past January
for a meeting that I was at, andthen Heather and I Was that a
sandals resort when you werethere.
Yeah, that was a sandals resort.
Oh, I didn't know that.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:42):
Okay.
Mark Faldmo (16:43):
And then Heather and I stayed at the Sandals
Montego Bay in Jamaica a fewyears back.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:49):
Generally speaking, very nice resorts,
though Picture risk.
Avalon Waterways has announceda fleet-wide refresh of the
ships.
Now I know that your favoriterooms when you cruise on the
river is Avalon Waterways,because the bed actually faces
the window.
Were you surprised that theywere announcing a fleet-wide
(17:09):
refresh Every?
Mark Faldmo (17:10):
cruise line is always making sure they're up to
date with the styles andeverything like that.
So they're going to upgrade thedécor throughout all of the
public spaces oh you know, makeit more modern.
They are going to improve theinternet connectivity.
They're going to add a secondStarlink antenna to each ship so
(17:31):
that'll help the internetconnectivity.
They're going to redesign thesky deck.
That's something I'm interestedin, because on most river cruise
ships it's just a blank deck upthere and they put deck chairs.
You know they have to be ableto take all of that down to get
underneath some of the bridges.
So there's not a lot they cando, but I'll be interested to
see what they do with that skydeck area.
(17:53):
They're going to enhance theobservation lounge, upgrade the
fitness facilities and thenthey're also upgrading.
They're adding more to theirfleet of bicycles.
That's one thing that's niceabout a river cruise.
They have bicycle tours and soyou can get off and cycle
through the little villages youstop in.
So each ship is going to get 15new bikes plus four new e-bikes
(18:18):
per ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:19):
Have you ever experienced an electric bike
before?
I have not, no Dude.
They are some of the mostamazing experiences.
Did you know that I have an ebike before?
I have not no Dude.
They are some of the mostamazing experiences.
Did you know that I have ane-bike?
Mark Faldmo (18:28):
I do.
Yeah, I did see that when I wasat your house once.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:31):
Yeah, 5,600 miles on that bike.
The tires are literally wornout.
I'm not trying to talk about myfitness.
If they're adding e-bikes,that's kind of interesting.
Mark Faldmo (18:40):
So they are going through the full fleet wide
upgrade.
This is going to be over thenext year or two.
As they do that, we'll do acouple ships here at the end of
2025, a couple in 2026, to getthem all upgraded to these
standards that they want to beat.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:58):
You know what's interesting to me?
You mentioned how low thebridges are and the bridge of
the ship literally sinks intothe middle of the ship so they
can clear and get under thosebridges.
It's wild to see.
Mark Faldmo (19:12):
It is.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:13):
Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week,
which is a text that wereceived during the last break.
This is from who is this?
From?
Sharon?
She says that she wants to takeher family to Mexico, Puerto
Vallarta, and she is asking isthe fall an okay time to go and
is there a room that would holda family of five?
Mark Faldmo (19:35):
The answer is, I believe so, yes, yes and yes,
yes, fall is a good time to go.
I would go later in the year.
She particularly asked for lateOctober, which I think is a
great time to go.
It's not as humid there.
You're just starting to get alittle bit cooler temperatures.
(19:56):
It's always warm in PuertoVallarta, but a little bit lower
temperatures, a little bitcooler temperatures.
It's always warm in PuertoVallarta, but, you know, a
little bit lower temperatures, alittle bit lower humidity.
One thing she says a room thatwill hold a family of five, as
we talked about with theprevious story about beaches,
kind of expanding that familytravel, it's always been hard to
find rooms that will hold five.
There are several hotels willallow five in a room, but they
(20:19):
might just have one king bed ortwo twin beds, which doesn't
really.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:23):
No, that doesn't help.
Mark Faldmo (20:25):
You know it doesn't help for a family of five, and
so you know I've gone throughand I found three places that do
have good bedding for a familyof five, so you don't have to
get a roll away In the Wiscombefamily was called Patrick on the
floor yeah, so we want to getyou in a place where patrick is
not on the floor hey, listen,I'm a dad now, so I get the bed
(20:47):
on the floor, kids whenever Iwas always traveling with large
groups, since I made all thetravel arrangements, I always
claimed a bed for myself.
Everyone else fought over whatwas left in there or slept on
the floor.
So, that was one of theconditions of me booking the
trips with my friends.
So so I guess first of all,we'll go over the promotion,
(21:10):
which is save up to $200 toPuerto Vallarta Now this is
booked by April 15th to get thatsave up to $200.
And that is per package.
You love Puerto Vallarta, I do.
I love Puerto Vallarta.
When we're looking for a largerfamily, it's really important
to make sure you have a roomthat has the right bedding.
So these three resorts are onesthat I like, that I've stayed
(21:36):
at before.
These packages are a fivenights hotel, round trip airfare
from Salt Lake City.
For our listeners that areoutside of Salt Lake City, we
can get a price for you, andthis is departing October 22nd.
The Malia Porta Vallarta, whichis a four and a half star hotel
the price starts at $1,099 perperson oh wow.
(21:58):
And that room does have twoqueen beds and a bunk bed.
The Riu Vallarta, which is afour and a half star, starts at
$1,219 per person, and that istwo queen beds and one double
bed.
And then the Marival Emotionsthis is probably my favorite
hotel for families down there.
(22:19):
They do a great job withactivities for kids.
They're really a good familyhotel they're four and a half
stars starts at $1,349 perperson, and theirs is a two
bedroom with two king beds ineach bedroom plus a sofa sleeper
.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:37):
So that is a genuinely good option if you're
going to Mexico.
Mark Faldmo (22:41):
Now there are several hotels that said they
would allow five.
They were three and four star.
They were less expensive, butyou know these are the ones I
would go with.
You want your family to have agood experience.
Also, again, have the properbedding.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:55):
Well, the thing that I like about this is
that it includes airfare, fivenights, hotel transfers to and
from the airport to the hoteland, of course, back.
That's a big deal and, ofcourse, finding the right bed,
like you said, yeah, and thenthey are all all inclusive.
Mark Faldmo (23:11):
So all of your meals and drinks, so really a
family of five could go spendthat price and not spend another
dime if they didn't want to.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:21):
When you don't look forward to going back to
the hotel cause it's a not goodmakes all the difference, and
when everyone's happy, it justmakes for a better vacation.
Even though it may cost alittle more, everyone comes back
happy.
It's the quality of thevacation.
Go, go to Mexico, go to PuertoVallarta Sharon you probably are
(23:45):
going to have additionalquestions and, of course, anyone
else who's listening to theshow right now.
Get out, see the world whileyou can, especially while you've
got your family home.
That time goes by so quickly.
Call Mark in his office, justget the conversation started.
No obligation, of course.
888-718-7717.
(24:08):
888-718-7717.
And you can also see this onblueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back, it is timefor the infamous just cruising
segment.
We will be talking about theport of New Orleans having a
record-breaking year and, ofcourse, we've got two cruises
(24:32):
with awesome pricing.
That is next with the insidetravel talk podcast.
The radio show continuesAlongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We'll be back in just a coupleof minutes.
Show Voice (24:47):
They've literally traveled millions of miles to
answer your travel-relatedquestions.
Yeah, they really have.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show Presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors,Patrick and Mark, will be back
(25:08):
after these messages.
Ad Voice (25:11):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:30):
Okay, we're back.
Welcome back to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show Coming up.
In the next 28 minutes we willbe talking about five and seven
day cruises to Mexico on NCL andCarnival Sitka, Alaska they are
voting on a cap on cruise shippassengers allowed in their city
Reggae music designed toinspire Caribbean cruising.
(25:52):
That is on my playlistliterally this next week.
Mark it is and how to book anairport security reservation.
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.
(26:13):
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:26):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Hit us up right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(26:46):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:08):
All aboard for the infamous just cruising
segment on the infamous insidetravel talk podcast, a radio
show, this award-nominatedprogram at least it is inside of
my head.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend
each and every Saturday andSunday morning at 11 o'clock
Mountain Time, live here in SaltLake City.
(27:30):
And if you are podcasting theshow at a future date, you can
just stream the podcast if youdon't want to subscribe.
If you're not a future date,you can just stream the podcast
If you don't want to subscribe.
If you're not a podcaster, justgo to insidetraveltalk.
com and you just press play.
But if you are a podcaster,please take the time to
subscribe to the show Coming upin this segment.
(27:50):
Of course, we've got the cruisenews headlines.
This segment is only aboutcruise news.
We've got the cruise deal ofthe week.
We've got five and seven daycruises going to Mexico.
We'll detail that.
But, mark, let's start with thecruise news headlines.
Where do you want to start?
Should we go Alaska or shouldwe go Florida?
Let's go Florida, all right.
A Florida county this is notsomething you hear every single
(28:13):
week on the show is offering $3million to sink a cruise ship
closer to a tourist hotspot.
What's this all about?
Mark Faldmo (28:22):
It's an old ocean liner, the SS United States,
which is a very historic ship,and so they are going to sink it
off the coast of Florida in thePanhandle area near Destin,
florida, to be an artificialreef.
That area of Florida has lotsof dive tourists so this county
is offering them $3 million tomove the ship closer to their
(28:45):
county so they can get a pieceof that dive revenue that comes
in there.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:52):
Wow.
Mark Faldmo (28:52):
And right now the ship is in Alabama.
They're stripping it of all themetals that can't be sunk.
It probably has some asbestosin it too, so they're getting
rid of all of that.
Let's get rid of the poisonBefore it's sunk to become a
reef.
The SS United States is ahistoric ocean liner.
Even to this day it still isthe fastest passenger ship out
(29:16):
there, made the run from NewYork to London in record time,
hasn't been beat yet, and it wasin service to the late 1960s.
But the US military kept it onuntil the late 80s because it
was so fast in case they neededto move troops, and it was
retired.
It's had several owners.
(29:37):
Interestingly enough, one ofthose owners was Norwegian
Cruise Line, Norwegian CruiseLine.
When a US I think it was calledUS Cruises went out of business
, Norwegian Cruise Line boughtone of their ships, partially
built, which is now the Pride ofAmerica.
When Norwegian purchased thatship, which is now the Pride of
(29:57):
America, they also went andpurchased the SS United States
because it was a hull thatanother cruise line could have
purchased to compete with them.
So they bought any cruise shipthat was built in the US still
operating, so that no one couldcompete with them.
They never brought it intoservice.
Now it's going to be sunk inFlorida to become a reef for
(30:20):
divers.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:22):
It's going to be interesting to follow this
and I realize it's beingstripped.
I'll just call it parts andpoison.
It's going to be interesting tosee if, in just a few years
five, somewhere between five andten years if we start seeing
strange fish yes, we didn't getall the poison, but we start
seeing fish with human teeth,just something like that,
something crazy.
Yeah, Sitka, Alaska residentsare voting, or will be voting,
(30:48):
on a cap on the number of cruiseship passengers.
When is the vote set and whatare the details?
What are the numbers?
Mark Faldmo (30:55):
So, the city council just had a meeting this
week and they've set the votefor May 30th.
So the referendum that's goingout is to cap cruise ship
traffic to 4,500 cruisepassengers per day and 300,000
per year, and also limit cruisetraffic to only six days a week,
(31:16):
so giving them a day freewithout cruise ship passengers.
Now this is a local advocacygroup that is trying to do this.
This is actually their fourthattempt to do this.
It's never passed the citywidereferendum before.
Although, looking at that 4,500cruisers a day, most of the
cruise ships that visit thereare about 2,500.
(31:38):
And I've only ever seen onecruise ship in Sitka before, so
I don't know how this willactually affect it, although
that yearly cap of 300,000 couldaffecters.
(31:58):
Last year they had 585,000cruisers oh wow.
And so they're just getting onecruise ship a day, where before
they were getting two to threecruise ships a week.
They're just getting morecruise ships there.
So, even that daily cap, thereare not many days when they go
over that anyway.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:18):
Okay, I've got my reggae remix.
It's being released to inspireCaribbean cruising.
Okay, I'll just turn it off.
Mark Faldmo (32:35):
What's all this about MSC Cruises?
This is just in time for thelaunch of the World of America,
which you'll be on in about twoweeks time.
I'll be on in about two weeks.
They have released a playliston Spotify.
They've taken songs from TaylorSwift, Harry Styles, the
Beatles, Madonna and reggae-izedthem, so they've remixed them
(33:00):
and covered them to reggae.
So we will hear this probably onthe ship, then On the ship.
Yeah, if you want to hear someof these songs, just go to
Spotify and type in MSC HolidayPlaylist and it should come up
for you.
Research has shown that musiccan influence people's travel
(33:23):
choices.
Here Comes the Sun is the onethey did by the Beatles.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:28):
Here comes the sun.
Here comes the sun.
Baby Watermelon sugar.
Just like that.
I killed the travel industry.
They will not want to go on theship with me.
Mark Faldmo (33:44):
Go to Spotify and find the playlist.
I've listened to it.
It's pretty good.
Does make you want to travel,which is the whole purpose of
that playlist.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:53):
Let's get to the cruise deal of the week.
Always in the infamous JustCruising segment, we're taking
off from New Orleans, so themain port here is getting from
Salt Lake City only because wedo the show from here to New
Orleans.
What are the details on thecruise deal of the week?
Mark Faldmo (34:08):
First we'll start off with the port of New Orleans
had a record-breaking 2024.
They had 1.2 million cruiseguests come through there, and
that was both ocean and river,because New Orleans is a
starting point for ocean cruisesas well as Mississippi River
cruises.
Carnival Cruise Lines has aship based there year round and
(34:31):
then in the wintertime theybring in a second ship to do
cruises from New Orleans.
They've actually arecelebrating their 30th year of
sailing Caribbean cruises fromNew Orleans, and then Norwegian
Cruise Line has a ship sailingCaribbean cruises from New
Orleans, and then NorwegianCruise Line has a ship that
sails out of New Orleansseasonally, so during the cold
winter starts in, I think, lateNovember and cruises through
(34:53):
March.
So for today we're just goingto talk about the ocean going
cruises.
You can do four to eight daysailings from New Orleans.
I had buffalo alligator there,so you get some exotic foods too
, wow.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:11):
Buffaloed alligator.
Mark Faldmo (35:14):
Yep Yikes, it tasted like chewy chicken.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:17):
Of course it did.
Yeah, all right, let's get tothe cruise deal of the week.
Let's start with the five-daycruise on Carnivore, carnivore,
carnival Valor.
Mark Faldmo (35:32):
Yeah, so these are all cruises in January.
So this five-day cruise it's onthe Carnival Valor, not even
Valor, no no, okay, I'm sorry,carnival valor valor, yeah, and
an inside cabin starts at 479per person and a balcony cabin
(35:53):
starts at 714 per person.
Jeez, this cruise, it has twoports.
It goes to Cozumel and spends afull day in Cozumel, and then
it spends a full day inProgresso.
Progresso is the port nearMerida Mexico and it's the
closest port to go visit ChechenItza.
So that's what a lot of cruiseguests do there, because it's a
(36:18):
shorter drive from Progresso ascompared to when you do it from
Cancun it's a four-hour drive onthat.
So, and then you know.
Also, one thing I didn't say isNew Orleans is quite a ways
upriver from the Gulf, and soyou do get a little bit
Mississippi River cruise.
You get a couple hours ofcruising on the Mississippi.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:39):
See, I've always thought that New Orleans
was right on the Gulf.
I didn't know that it was thatfar in it's inland a little bit.
What's the seven-day cruisefrom NCO the?
Mark Faldmo (36:49):
seven-day cruise is on the Norwegian Escape.
Its ports are Cozumel, harvestCay, which is their private
island in Belize, Roatan, whichwe've talked about the last
couple of weeks, I think a fewtimes.
It's been on a lot of thecruise itineraries we've talked
about.
And then Costa Maya.
It's a Western Caribbean cruisebut goes a little bit further
(37:10):
south than a lot of the typicalcruises.
So that cruise starts at $729for an inside cabin and $989 for
a balcony cabin.
What are the dates on that one?
That one was January 11th of2026.
Now is a good time to startplanning next winter's escape
(37:30):
from the cold.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:32):
Call Mark to get down to New Orleans.
Get down, go to Mexico.
Book those vacations directlywith Mark.
Just get the conversationstarted.
You'll obviously have somequestions, no obligation, just
get the conversation started.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(37:54):
And Mark will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
Real headlines.
Everyone will remember this.
London's Heathrow Airport had amassive fire.
We're going to talk abouttravel insurance and I think the
airport has opened.
Is that correct, mark?
It has opened.
(38:15):
Yes, we'll also talk about howto book an airport security
reservation Kind of tricky, kindof time consuming as well.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe, heis Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (38:34):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (38:58):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
authentic tall ship sailingexperiences featuring creative
itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
Central America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(39:19):
blueplanetvacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Show Voice (39:29):
Call or text the show now 801-649-3700,
801-649-3700.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:50):
And now here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark
Faldmo welcome back to theinside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show.
Thank you so much for allowingme and Mark what's the correct
(40:10):
grammar, mark and I, me and Markto be part of your weekend.
Can you tell I'm a littleexcited to go on vacation right
now.
It feels like let's just getthrough the segment and then I'm
in full vacation mode.
Yeah, coming up in this segmentof the show.
(40:31):
In fact, let's just start withthis.
We've got the travel newsheadlines.
We'll also be talking about howto book an airport security
reservation.
Let's start with what happenedin London.
This was a big deal.
What was this Monday, Tuesday,late last week?
Something this happened lastFriday London's Heathrow Airport
.
There was a massive fire.
(40:54):
Now, it wasn't in the airport,but it was off-site at the power
plant, if memory serves.
Mark Faldmo (40:59):
Yes, it was the power plant that serves Heathrow
.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:03):
Uh, it shut the whole airport down and it
was a big mess and I don't knowhow many flights were canceled.
It's got to be in the what atleast a thousand flights.
It's probably more than thatprobably close to that.
Mark Faldmo (41:15):
I know British Airways said they had about 700
flights canceled.
Just British Airways Wow.
So all the other airlines thatfly in there is probably close
to 1,000 or just over 1,000total flights that were affected
.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:31):
So this is not intended to be a sales pitch at
all.
We're just going to talk abouttravel insurance and, before
your eyes glaze over, this isthe perfect situation.
You never know what's going tohappen.
And before your eyes glaze over, this is the perfect situation.
You never know what's going tohappen.
But let's talk about how travelinsurance would have or is
probably helping someone who hada London flight First of all,
(41:54):
no one purchases insurance ofany kind wanting to use it.
Mark Faldmo (42:04):
Insurance is for those emergencies, those
unexpected things that happen,and especially in travel
insurance or travel protection.
On this, it took Heathrow twoto three days to get back up to
full flights.
When this happens, airplanesare out of position, not able to
do flights at the same time, sothere are several, probably
thousand, people that had forcedovernights.
Now, a situation like this thiswas not anything in the
(42:27):
airline's control and so theairline is not responsible to
pay for hotels, missedconnections, anything like that.
And that's where travelinsurance comes into place.
If you had to spend anadditional night or two, travel
insurance will pay for yourhotels.
Travel insurance will give youfood allowance if you need
(42:48):
luggage, because your luggagedidn't make it.
So if you need to buy someclothes, toiletries, different
things like that, travelinsurance will cover for that.
Insurance is worth it.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:00):
Let's move on.
Let's talk about how to book anairport security reservation.
Now, is this clear?
Or is this just airportsecurity?
Are we talking about TSA pre?
What are we talking about here?
Mark Faldmo (43:13):
Well, this is a program by clear.
This was sent in by one of ourlisteners, mark, not you.
He said this was a good talk.
Yeah, not me A good topic totalk about, which it is.
This is called Clear Reserve.
This is a free program.
It's operated by Clear, but ithas nothing to do with Clear or
(43:33):
PreCheck or Global Entry,anything like that.
There are 20 airports where youcan go on and through this
program by clear, you canreserve the time that you go
through security.
Oh, okay, the first place thisstarted is an airport that
definitely needs something likethat, which is Orlando Airport.
You can get there and thesecurity line can be an hour and
(43:57):
a half.
I've seen it as long as twohours at some point.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:01):
You're talking about MCO Orlando and you're
talking about the terminal.
Coming out of the hotel to getinto the airport literally in
the lobby.
Yes, oh, wow.
Mark Faldmo (44:12):
So I lucked out, then Even the TSA pre-check
lines can be pretty long at thatairport.
Now this program if you havePreCheck, it doesn't work with
PreCheck.
If you use this then you haveto take your electronics out and
you have to go through normalsecurity screening.
But it's available at 20airports worldwide.
(44:33):
In the US it's available atDenver Airport, Los Angeles
Airport, Minneapolis JFK in NewYork and Newark Liberty in
Newark, new Jersey, Orlando,phoenix Sky Harbor and
Seattle-Tacoma Airport.
In Europe this program isavailable in Amsterdam, berlin,
Frankfurt, Hanover, London andRome and then in Canada, Calgary
(44:58):
, Edmonton, Halifax, and then inCanada, Calgary, Edmonton,
Halifax, Montreal, Toronto andVancouver.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:04):
If I've got this right, clear reserve is to
how to book an airport securityreservation, and that's free.
Mark Faldmo (45:11):
Okay, it's free, yep, yep.
So now it doesn't operate alltimes during the day, just at
the peak times at those airports.
So you can go in and say I wantto go through security at 5:30.
You can reserve it and then youcan go through.
It's basically kind of a jumpyto the front of the line service
that they have.
It is limited so that they canguarantee your time through.
(45:33):
So if a time slot sold out, atime slot will get sold out.
But it is a great way to kindof help plan your trip so you
don't spend an hour waiting inthe security line.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:44):
Let's go over the various security options.
There's TSA Pre and the processto get TSA Pre.
How much was it?
Was it $70 for like five years?
Mark Faldmo (45:57):
something like that .
Yeah, I think it's $75 for fiveyears and you go to tsagov?
Patrick Wiscombe (46:04):
I can't remember.
Mark Faldmo (46:05):
Yeah, I think it's tsa.
gov is where you go to, yeah tsa.
gov, and then you can click onthe pre-check and sign up for
pre-check.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:13):
Yeah, okay, tsa.
gov apply renew.
Okay, I'm looking at thewebsite right now.
Now, just for conversation.
Let's transition over tocustoms, which is global entry,
which includes TSA pre, which iswhat we were just talking about
.
But global entry is for what?
And who's the ideal candidatefor that one?
Mark Faldmo (46:33):
That will get you through US customs, coming back
to the US.
So if you take a lot ofinternational trips, global
entry is what you'll want to get, because it comes with both TSA
pre-check and the global entryto get you through customs and
immigration.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:50):
So international.
If you're doing a lot ofinternational, that is ideal,
but if you're just want to skipthe line, get through there
quickly.
You're talking about TSA pre,so what is clear then, quickly?
You're talking about TSA pre,so what is clear then?
Which is what we were just kindof talking about?
But it's to reserve your placein line going to the airport.
What's clear generally speaking?
Mark Faldmo (47:10):
Clear is a paid program.
It's similar to TSA.
They use biometrics to get youthrough.
I've started seeing clear hastwo lines Clear with TSA
PreCheck and regular Clear andthose basically, if you have
Clear it'll jump you aheaddepending on the airport, but
(47:30):
kind of ahead of the TSAPreCheck people.
So Clear is a private companythat's cleared to do security
screening and there are Clearlines at sporting events.
You know a lot of the NBA, NFL,major league arenas have clear
lines so you basically can justwalk through without going
through the regular securityprotocols.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:52):
We should have done this in the infamous just
cruising segment, but we wantedto talk about cruise ship
mistakes.
To avoid We've got a fewminutes here, let's go through
this list.
Mark Faldmo (48:05):
Yeah.
So there are a couple of itemson this list.
One is booking your cruise toolate.
Oh yeah, it used to be that youcould book and get last minute
cruise deals.
Those are less and lessavailable.
Most cruise lines put theirbest fares out when that ship
goes for sale two years inadvance, yeah, and then the
(48:26):
prices slightly go up.
They do have some ways to fillcabins if they need to, but very
rarely do they go below thatfirst initial offering price.
So don't wait too long.
If you want to go on a cruise,it's probably best that you just
book it right when you decideyou want to go on a cruise.
It's probably best that youjust book it right when you
decide you want to go on thecruise, because chances are the
price is only going to go up.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:48):
Just for conversation purposes only.
What happens if you've booked aship and all of a sudden,
because they need to fill shipspace, you know, for whatever
reason, a particular date isn'tselling, and that does happen.
What if you paid?
I'll just say $1,.
A particular date isn't selling, and that does happen.
What if you paid?
I'll just say a thousanddollars, just to keep it simple.
(49:08):
And all of a sudden theyadvertise your same room, same
category, everything is the same, for 900.
How does a cruise ship remedythat situation?
Mark Faldmo (49:15):
So if you're outside of penalty now, the
cruise lines don't like to dothis, but if you're outside of
penalty, you can always cancelit and rebook the cabin.
But what they'll do in manycases if it does go down?
A lot of them do have the lowprice guarantee where, if that
price goes down in your specificcategory, they will give you an
(49:35):
onboard credit.
So they'll make it up to you bygiving you money to spend
onboard.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:40):
Who, in your opinion, which cruise line has
the best loyalty program?
Mark Faldmo (49:45):
I think it's a tie.
I would go with PrincessCruises I think has the best
loyalty program, or Norwegian.
Both of those offer yousignificant things on board,
like you know free specialtydining, free internet minutes.
So I think they, those two,have the best.
I would lean towards Princessmyself, but I do like the free
(50:06):
specialty meals that come onNorwegian.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:09):
That's going to do it.
Vacation Patrick is officiallyin motion as soon as I get off
the air.
Mark Faldmo (50:17):
Yeah, have a good cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:19):
Have a good cruises as I should say, back to
back to back to back.
Baby, you can listen to theshow again tomorrow morning 11
am right here on this radiostation and, of course, you can
stream, download and subscribeto the podcast at
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
If you don't want to subscribe,you can just literally stream
(50:40):
the show on InsideTravelTalk.
com.
If you don't want to subscribe,you can just literally stream
the show on InsideTravelTalk.
com.
Just go to the latest show,just press play and you'll get
to hear the sultry voices ofPatrick and Mark.
If you want to book any of thevacations that we've talked
about here for the past hour,call Mark in his office.
No obligation.
Get the conversation started888-718-7717.
(51:04):
888-718-7717.
It is now your turn to get outand explore the world while you
can, because you never know whatcurveballs life is going to
throw at you.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
Thank you so much for listening, really thank you.
(51:25):
We don't have a show withoutyou.
We'll talk to you again nextweek that's it.
Show Voice (51:32):
that's the end of the show you've been listening
to the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show with
Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(51:52):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (52:01):
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
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