Episode Transcript
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Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
It is the weekend, which means it's time
to talk travel.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast, a radio show
Coming up.
On today's show, we will betalking about eclipse cruises.
Summer is starting now.
Even though it's hot outside,now's the best time to plan your
winter vacation.
We're talking about theCaribbean.
We also have a $200 savings.
(00:21):
If you wanna head to Mexico andone of our favorite
destinations on this entireplanet Alaska, we're gonna.
If you want to head to Mexicoand one of our favorite
destinations on this entireplanet Alaska, we're going to
tell you how to see Alaska, butnot on a cruise ship.
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
(00:43):
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly, are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:53):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(01:17):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:28):
Welcome to the weekend.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
Hello, there, I'm PatrickWiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo,
and we are ready to talk travelwith all of you, our radio and
podcast listeners, and theentire purpose of this show if
(01:49):
you're brand new to it is tohelp you plan and book your next
vacation, or just give youideas of where you should at
least consider vacationing next,and we're going to give you the
best deals available today andwe are proudly presented by
BluePlanvacations.
com.
And just a sincere thank youfor taking the time to stop and
listen.
(02:10):
Coming up in this edition of theshow, we've got eclipse cruises
.
If you've always wanted to seean eclipse while you're in the
middle of the ocean.
We're going to tell you how thetemperatures are starting to
really heat up here in Salt LakeCity.
The temperatures are startingto really heat up here in Salt
Lake City, which is where we dothe show from, but now truly is
the best time to start planningyour winter vacation.
(02:31):
And we're also going to tellyou how to go see Alaska, but
not on a cruise ship.
And let me bring in the co-hostof this award-nominated radio
show.
Hello, mark Faldmo.
Mark Faldmo (02:42):
Hey.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:43):
Patrick, let's save people some money and
let's go traveling.
Let's start with the travelnews headlines.
First, I saw a story thatJetBlue is partnering with one
of our favorite rail services.
You and I have been on it a fewtimes Brightline in Florida.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (03:02):
They are partnering so that you can buy a rail
ticket in conjunction with yourairline ticket, so it'll all be
one transaction.
Brightline runs from Orlando toMiami.
It actually starts at theOrlando airport.
On its way to Miami, it hasstops in West Palm Beach, Boca
Raton, fort Lauderdale andAventura, and then they also run
(03:25):
a bus to the airports there.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:28):
If you've never gone to Florida in summer,
first of all, just get ready tobe hot.
But, while we're talking aboutBrightline service, if you know
nothing about them, theterminals there are beautiful,
they're well air conditioned andthey're clean.
They've got food in case you'rehungry.
It's just a genuinely greatexperience and I'm hoping that
(03:51):
they will truly expand here tothe west Star Clippers.
One of our favorite companies,the Tall Sailing Ships, is going
to debut three new sailingsfrom Antigua, which is
delightful in winter of 2026 and27.
Mark Faldmo (04:09):
They're adding an extra ship in the Caribbean
during this time frame, and it'sactually the ship's name, is
the Star Clipper and it's goingto start off in the fall doing
Central America, so sailingsfrom Costa Rica, and then it's
going to do a Panama Canalsailing, where it will do new
(04:30):
seven-night round trips fromAntigua as well as new 10-night
departures from Aruba.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:36):
I'm going to put you on the spot here with
regards to Star Clippers.
If you had to say two or threethings about what you like about
Star Clippers, how would youexplain that to listeners?
Mark Faldmo (04:48):
The first thing is the sailing experience.
There's nothing like being outon the open ocean, under power
of wind, with no engine sound,with no engine rumble.
It's an amazing way to travel.
It's quiet.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:02):
Except for the , I guess, the flapping of the
sails, potentially, potentially,that's consequential to wind
power, to wind.
Mark Faldmo (05:10):
Yeah, and the other thing I'll say about Star
Clippers is the food.
The food was amazing on board.
One of my favorite thing is Ijust went up on deck and I'm a
workaholic, so I worked at thebar.
So I just sat at the bar withmy laptop and worked, and it was
I like to do that.
I'll take pictures of myself oncruise ship balconies and I
(05:32):
think the Star Clippers was thefavorite place I've ever worked.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:36):
One of the things that you have not
mentioned that I remember youtelling me.
This would have been when westarted doing the radio show and
podcast, when you laid in thenet the very front of the ship.
Yeah, the front of the ship.
Mark Faldmo (05:47):
Yeah, what was that like?
That's nice.
You look down and see the watergoing beneath you.
It's pretty relaxing.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:53):
I wasn't expecting you to be face down.
I was expecting you to be onyour back looking up.
Mark Faldmo (05:57):
Well, I was that too, but you kind of have to go
face down to get out there.
So, oh, oh, that's right, yeah,yeah, so now, and then the
other thing which I did not do,they do let you go climb up to
the crow's nest, up on thetallest mast of the ship, which
I'd have liked to do.
That, but there was a long,long line to do that star
clippers is the name of thecompany.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:17):
I think it's funny how they named the clipper
.
Ship this star clipper, starclipper a little on the nose
there.
Mark Faldmo (06:23):
yeah, that was their first original ship.
It was always Star Clippers,and then, when they added other
ships, they just kept the namefor the company of Star Clippers
.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:32):
Always in the first segment of the show, right
at the top of the hour, we havethe destination of the week and
this week we're talking aboutAlaska.
But we're going to talk aboutAlaska a little bit different.
This is a text question, Ithink.
Yeah, this is a text questionfrom Kai and let me just invite
listeners.
If you're listening to us rightnow, whether live on the radio
(06:56):
or on the podcast, you can getin on this and will answer your
questions.
801-649-3700 for your travelrelated questions .
Kai is asking I want to go toAlaska, but not on a cruise.
Are there any options for me?
(07:16):
And the answer is yes.
Mark Faldmo (07:19):
Yeah, the answer is definitely yes on that.
So first of all, there are kindof two main areas of Alaska.
The main one that people go toon cruises is Southeast Alaska,
that's the panhandle.
There you can do fishing trips,things like that, you know, fly
into Skagway or to some smallfishing lodges or villages and
do that.
But I think something that'sfascinating is to go to the
(07:42):
interior of Alaska, and a greatway to see the interior of
Alaska is by railroad.
We love talking about therailroad on this show.
There's a company called AlaskaRailroad that has trips ranging
from one night up to 10 nights.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:00):
Sign me up for the 10 nights Mark when I go to
Alaska.
It just feels like seven daysis not enough.
That's just my personal opinion, and especially if we're going
on a train to see some of thescenery.
For the 10 night option, whatcan?
Mark Faldmo (08:13):
Kai do.
I guess first of all we shouldtalk about Alaska.
Railroad kind of has threedifferent lines that they do.
They have the Coastal Classic,glacier Discovery and Denali
Star.
The 10 night covers all threeof those lines.
So you start in Anchorage andyou take the Coastal Classic
(08:34):
train which takes you down toSeward where you'll take a
Resurrection Bay cruise, whichthere's glaciers, whales, sea
life, all sorts of things there,and then you'll spend the night
in Seward and then you'll headback to Anchorage for an
overnight and then the next dayyou'll go to Talkeetna, which is
(08:55):
on the way to Denali.
So this one you're taking theDenali Star Train.
You'll overnight in Talkeetna,you'll spend two nights in
Denali, take a tundra wildernesstour, take a Denali National
Park tour, head up to Fairbanks,where you're overnight in
Fairbanks, from Fairbanks headback to Anchorage.
(09:15):
It's kind of the grand tour ofAlaska by rail.
And then, if you wanted to doshorter, they have three and
four night tours.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:24):
I'm saying go on the 10, but really what's on
the three and four?
Because I think I'm kind of anedge case scenario.
The four days three nights tour.
Mark Faldmo (09:33):
They have one that goes to Denali and one that goes
down to Seward and to theGlacier.
So the Denali one leaves fromAnchorage and spends two nights
in Denali where you'll have timeto see the national park, do
everything there is to do aroundDenali, and then head back to
Anchorage so you can kind of doeverything on the Alaska
Railroad from the shorter things.
(09:54):
They have a one night rail tourIf you want to take the tour
from Anchorage down to Seward,do a glacier and wildlife cruise
, spend a night and then takethe railroad back to Alaska.
So that's just a one night tourif you wanted to do something
like that.
And you're getting a lot done inone day, then yeah, Like a lot
of trains they do have twodifferent types of service.
(10:16):
They have gold star service andadventure class service.
So kind of regular service andfirst class is what they have.
And they do have domed cars forthe sightseeing.
That's something you'll needfor Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:30):
I'm glad they have the domed cars.
Do you sleep on this train ordo you go into a hotel at night?
Mark Faldmo (10:36):
This train.
You will stay in hotels duringthe night, not on the train.
It's all kind of similar to howwe've talked about with Rocky
Mountain Air before.
This is all daylight train, soyou're sightseeing, you're not
missing anything, and then youspend the night in a hotel.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:50):
Okay, that all of a sudden got way more
interesting, because I don'twant to be missing anything on a
train, so I'm glad it's just adaytime tour.
Yeah, kai, if you areinterested and it sounds like
you are are call Mark in hisoffice as soon as we get off the
(11:11):
air or when you're ready tohave that conversation, no
obligation 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717 is how you get ahold of Mark, and you can also
also check out his website,blueplanetvacations.
com.
Mark, this sounds fantastic.
I do want to do Alaska by train.
(11:33):
Never done it before, I've onlydone it on a cruise ship, so
I'm actually glad you broughtthis up.
When we come back, we've got thehot travel deal of the week.
We are going to help you saveup to $200 to go to Mexico,
Puerto Vallarta specifically.
That is next.
Plus, we've got the travel newsheadlines that we need to get
to.
Jetblue is not merging withUnited.
(11:56):
Jetblue CEO made that veryclear this past week.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
Our radio show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be back in about twominutes.
Show Voice (12:15):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
(12:36):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (12:42):
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
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Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com you're listening to theinside travel talk podcast and
(13:16):
radio show presented by blueplanet vacations dot com
America's best travel advisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:37):
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
We want to help you plan andbook your next vacation, coming
up in this segment of the show,always in segment number two,
the hot travel deal of the week.
This week we're going to Mexicoand we're going to help you
(13:59):
save up to $200 per reservation.
But before we talk Mexico,let's get back to the travel
news headlines.
We talked about this last weekwhen JetBlue and United were
forming some kind of businesspartnership or an alliance.
I thought it was interestingthat JetBlue's CEO said the
airline JetBlue that is, is notinterested in merging with
(14:23):
United.
Eh we'll see how it goes.
Mark Faldmo (14:26):
You know just a quick recap.
They just have reciprocalbenefits for their frequent
flyer program.
So JetBlue can fly on JetBlueand earn United miles, you can
fly on United and earn JetBluemiles, which is the basics of
that.
You can buy tickets on bothairlines' websites.
So it kind of really helpsJetBlue especially reach out
(14:48):
there in the Northeast.
But one reason why they'recoming out so strong about this,
their alliance they had withAmerican Airlines was terminated
by a judge because there wererumors that JetBlue and American
were going to merge.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:01):
Oh, there we go.
Mark Faldmo (15:02):
So that's kind of what killed it.
All these steps were leading toa merger killed it.
All these steps were leading toa merger, and so JetBlue is
really just trying to play itand say we're not interested in
merging so that there's no legalhurdles, no additional legal
hurdles to go through.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:17):
I'm going to assume that this is the case and
it's in effect now.
I assume that if you go to,JetBlue that you can now start
booking United flights thedeparture city and then the
arrival city.
Is that how they're making thiswork?
Mark Faldmo (15:31):
Yes, it is.
They're mainly trying to getcities that United doesn't serve
but JetBlue does, to feed intothat.
But you can just buy a Unitedticket on JetBlue.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:41):
Let's talk Mexico here for a second.
Nayarit is launching aninternational flight from Los
Angeles starting this July.
Now, if you don't know whereNayarit is and I hope I'm saying
that right is near PuertoVallarta.
Mark Faldmo (15:54):
In Puerto Vallarta, the tourist destinations.
You're actually in twodifferent states.
In Mexico, you're in Jalisco,which is where Puerto Vallarta
is, and then, just a few milesnorth of the Puerto Vallarta
airport, you enter the state ofNayarit.
Nayarit has started a new it'snot daily flight, but it's on
Voleris Airlines, which is aMexican airline, from Los
(16:17):
Angeles to the now new NayaritInternational Airport Got it.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:22):
Okay, I didn't know that it was a new airport.
Mark Faldmo (16:24):
Now to visit Puerto Vallarta.
You probably wouldn'tnecessarily fly into this
airport because it's pretty farnorth in the state of Nayarit,
but if you are going todestinations like salulita, san
Blas, out actually on thePacific coast there, this would
be the airport that you couldfly into, and I'm sure they'll
get more and more internationalflights to that, because that
(16:47):
area that's about two hours awayfrom the Puerto Vallarta
airport and so this airportbrings those destinations a
little bit closer.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:55):
My perception is that Puerto Vallarta is
really, I don't knowrevitalizing I don't know if
that's the right word thatthey're putting some real
resources into their airport,meaning they're expanding it.
Is that a right way to look atthis?
Mark Faldmo (17:11):
Yes, they are.
Yeah, the Puerto Vallartaairport is building a second
terminal, so terminal two.
It is on track to open by theend of this year and it'll
increase the yearly number ofpassengers the airport's able to
hold by about 2 millionpassengers.
That's a considerable expansion,then it is, and I think it's
(17:32):
something that Puerto Vallartaneeds.
You know, Puerto Vallarta isone of my favorite destinations
to fly into, but right now,depending on when your plane
arrives, they just park out onthe tarmac and bus you in, and
then you have really longcustoms lines.
I think this will helpalleviate that, where there will
(17:53):
be hopefully enough gates tohandle all of the airplanes that
come in.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:58):
Well, that's the perfect way to segue into
the hot travel deal of the week,which is, of course, Puerto
Vallarta.
What do we have for listeners?
This?
Mark Faldmo (18:06):
week.
Puerto Vallarta.
That's probably my favoritedestination in all of Mexico.
It keeps kind of a lot of itsold world charm.
Go down to the Malecon, whichis the boardwalk that runs in
downtown Puerto Vallarta atsunset time with street vendors,
street performers Wonderfulexperiences in Puerto Vallarta.
Right now for fall travel, wedo have up to $200 off packages
(18:31):
and prices have really come downto Mexico.
Right now we have four-starproperties, four-star
all-inclusive propertiesstarting at $1,049 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:44):
Whoa Okay, and that's with that.
$200 savings as well.
Mark Faldmo (18:48):
That's with that $200 savings already included in
this particular date was aSeptember 4th departure date
from Salt Lake City to PuertoVallarta and whatever city
you're coming from, we can pricethis out.
That $200 still is good fromany city in the US.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:06):
What are some of your favorite things to do in
Puerto Vallarta?
Mark Faldmo (19:10):
In Puerto Vallarta I really enjoy two things.
One is the outdoor adventure,which kind of combines a whole
bunch of different activities.
So you take an inflatablespeedboat across the bay and
then you get on four-wheel drivevehicles and you go up the
mountain as far as the vehiclescan go, and then you switch to
(19:31):
donkeys and go up even furtherand then to get down it's a zip
line with a combination ofrappelling and water slides.
Oh wow.
And then when you complete that, you have homemade fresh
quesadillas made with freshlymade tortillas.
Oh, my goodness, really good.
So that's one of my favoritethings to do.
(19:53):
Another thing would be it'scalled Rhythms of the Night and
it's kind of a Mexican folkloricshow where you take a boat
across the bay.
There's no electricity here,except the stage is run by some
lights and electricity, but thedestination itself does not have
electricity.
So when you get there there'sjust thousands of lit candles
(20:14):
that light all of the paths.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:15):
Oh, wow.
Mark Faldmo (20:16):
So you go have dinner and then a show.
It's a wonderful option.
If you're in Puerto Vallarta inthe wintertime, whale watching
is something that's really funto do there.
You can actually see whalesfrom a lot of the hotels and
just sit at the hotels and watchwhales.
But to go out and actually dothe whale watching I've seen
some of the best whale watchingin Puerto Vallarta- I was
(20:38):
talking to Nathan and Kenzie, myson and daughter-in-law.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:42):
They were talking about whale watching and
they said it was by far one ofthe greatest experiences of
their life, because they couldnot believe the sheer size of
whales.
They talked about it forprobably 10 minutes straight.
I just listened to them.
If you've never gone whalewatching, they loved it and you
(21:03):
probably will too.
Mark Faldmo (21:04):
Probably one of my favorite things is when the
whale gets too close, they shutdown all of the engines and so
you're just floating out thereand the whales sometimes will
play with the boats and soyou're close to the whales and
you can really experience howlarge they are and how majestic
the whales are.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:21):
If there's anyone named Jonah on your tour,
just be careful.
Mark Faldmo (21:27):
Just be careful.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:27):
Yeah, this is save up to $200 per reservation.
Let's talk about some of thehotels that you would recommend
staying.
Mark Faldmo (21:36):
So the first one is kind of the lead in.
It's a four-star, all-inclusive, starts at $1,049 per person
and that's a really good oneright on the beach.
It is in Nyer 8.
For a four-star hotel that is avery good price.
The next one is right in kindof what would be called the
hotel zone of Puerto Vallartaand that's the Fiesta Americana
(21:56):
Puerto Vallarta.
It's a four and a half star andthis would be probably one of
my two picks there, and that onestarts at $1,199 per person.
One starts at $1,199 per person,my overall pick is five-star
all-inclusive Villa PremierBoutique Hotel, which starts at
$1,719 per person.
(22:18):
Now this one is a little bitmore expensive than the other
hotels, but it's a smallboutique hotel, very
individualized and personalizedservice.
All of the hotels face theocean and you know in Puerto
Vallarta you have some of thebest sunsets in the world there
and this hotel really highlightsthose sunsets.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:40):
You've stayed in Villa Premier, correct?
Mark Faldmo (22:42):
Yeah, I've stayed there probably five or six times
.
I hope to get back again therethis year.
Actually so well, it wasn'tthat long ago that you were
there.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:50):
Yeah, well, I love Puerto Vallarta.
Yeah, you do Take advantage ofthis offer.
Call Mark in his office, getthe conversation started.
If you want to go to PuertoVallarta, save up to $200 per
reservation, and that alsoincluded round trip airfare from
whatever city you are comingfrom.
Have I got that right?
That's correct, okay, call Markin his office during the break.
(23:14):
Just get the conversationstarted.
No obligation.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
And you can also go toblueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back after thebottom of the hour news break,
it is time for the infamous justcruising segment.
(23:38):
We'll be talking aboutMargaritaville at sea, Holland
America adding a third ship forNorthern Europe, and we've got
the cruise deal of the week andwe're going to the Caribbean.
Caribbean's always good.
Nikki and I literally spent amonth in the Caribbean in April.
Awesome place to vacation.
(23:58):
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show, continues Alongside MarkFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you, a genuine thank you,for listening to the show.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (24:14):
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
after these messages thissegment of inside travel talk is
(24:42):
sponsored by el dorado sparesorts.
Ad Voice (24:45):
escape to Cancun's Riviera maya with authentic
all-inclusive luxury at an ElDorado spa resort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
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Patrick Wiscombe (24:59):
Okay, we're back.
Welcome back to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes, markand I will be talking about the
best solo cruise lines to go on,solar eclipse cruises, which
would be fascinating in themiddle of the ocean, winter
cruising in the Caribbean, andwhat is the least expensive port
to cruise from.
(25:20):
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (25:46):
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.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:26):
All aboard for the infamous Just Cruising
segment right here on the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo is running backinto the studio.
He had to print something offComing up.
In this segment of the show wewill be talking about solo
cruises.
I've never been on a cruisejust all by myself.
(26:48):
We'll be talking about HollandAmerica adding a third ship to
Northern Europe, sailings in2027.
And we're going to give yousome options if you want to go
see a solar eclipse.
That's coming up here in thissegment of the show.
But let's first get to thecruise news headlines.
This part of the show is onlyabout the cruise news and cruise
(27:09):
deals for our listeners.
Mark, let's start withMargaritaville at sea.
Now, the Paradise went in forsome refurbishment.
It needed it, frankly.
But you're talking aboutMargaritaville at sea and I
think their Islander ship is areally good option if you want
to go on a cruise not only withfamily, but also if you want to
go by yourself.
Mark Faldmo (27:29):
Margaritaville at Sea was recently just voted the
best solo cruise single cruiseline.
They actually have a specialfor July cruises, so that's kind
of close in, but they have fourand five day cruises from Tampa
where a single person cancruise for just $540.
Wow.
Typically how cruise lines dothat is you still have to pay
(27:51):
the full price for the cabins,but you get a little bit of a
discount because you don't paytwo taxes.
So on most other cruise linesthe same price would be about a
thousand dollars.
They are offering just regularcabins for singles in July for
just the regular per person rate.
That's a pretty good deal.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:09):
Oh yeah, that's a great deal.
The Islander is their newestship.
They've also meaningMargaritaville at sea.
They've announced a new shipand I think that comes out in
what 26 or 27?
Correct.
Mark Faldmo (28:19):
Okay, so this is In 27, I believe.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:21):
Okay, so this is for the Islander, which is
their current flagship productfor 540.
Wow.
Mark Faldmo (28:26):
It's their newest ship it is an older ship but
it's new to their fleet Thencompletely renovated with that
Margaritaville kind of themethrough it.
And I think that Margaritavilletheme which I personally love I
love their hotels enjoyed thecruise line when we did that
Anything.
Margaritaville just kind ofthat laid back, relaxed
atmosphere but still a littlebit of luxury mixed in with that
(28:49):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:49):
When Nikki and I were in Grand Turks they had
a Margaritaville pool and kindof a beach side place to relax.
We spent I don't know three orfour hours there and it was
terrific.
If you haven't experiencedMargaritaville kind of fun.
Mark Faldmo (29:03):
Yes, it is, I really enjoy it.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:06):
Holland America will be adding a third
ship for its Northern Europesailing starting in about two
years, 2027.
Mark Faldmo (29:14):
Just a few months ago we did a story about Holland
America adding a second ship toNorthern Europe during this
time frame.
There's such a high demandalready.
People are already booking out2027 cruise vacations.
They have added a third ship.
So the ship they added was theZuiderdam, which will home port
in Amsterdam, and then they alsohave the new Stendam, which is
(29:39):
in Rotterdam, which was theother ship that they added.
Northern Europe has becomeextremely popular.
That is Norwegian fjords,that's Iceland, Greenland,
that's Baltic cruises.
It's probably one of myfavorite places to cruise.
Anything that includes theNorwegian fjords is probably my
favorite, since that's where myfamily history and heritage is
(30:01):
from.
I particularly like Norway, butto also go to Finland, Estonia,
Sweden All of those places arejust wonderful to visit.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:10):
I think it would be absolutely fascinating
to do a solar eclipse cruise inthe middle of the ocean.
There's just something abouthow dark it gets depending on
where you are in relation to theeclipse and the shadow that it
casts.
It's something that is so eerie.
It's kind of a specialexperience, and so to be in the
(30:31):
middle of the ocean toexperience an eclipse would be
fun.
Cruise lines are offering asolution so you can go see the
eclipse somewhere in the middleof the ocean in 2026.
Who is offering it the last?
Mark Faldmo (30:42):
full eclipse April 8th 2024, kind of caught the
cruise lines off guard.
Show Voice (30:46):
Oh really they put those out and they filled up so
fast.
Mark Faldmo (30:50):
They've had some in their lineup for 2026, but
they're adding more.
For instance, Seabourn CruiseLine and Virgin Voyages has
added a ship that will go thepath of that solar eclipse.
Is going Greenland, Iceland,Spain and Russia oh wow, they're
all going to be in the path ofthat eclipse.
So those two cruise lines haveadded extra ships and Princess
(31:14):
Cruises added a third ship toits lineup to see the 2026
eclipse.
Do we know the date on that yet?
Yeah, so that date is August12th of 2026.
That's at about 14 months fromnow 2026.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:28):
What's that?
About 14 months from now.
So cruise lines are taking apage out of the airlines saying,
hey, let's go on an eclipseflight.
So they're following the pathof the eclipse.
I'm surprised that cruise linesdidn't pick up on that in 2024.
That kind of surprises me, yeah.
Mark Faldmo (31:44):
I think their 2026 ones filled up so fast that
they're just kind of leftscrambling trying to get more
voyages.
And in fact last week HollandAmerica launched two departures
for an eclipse in 2027.
So they are getting a littlebit more proactive about that.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:01):
Let's get to the cruise deal of the week,
which is always in the infamousjust cruising segment portion of
the show, and we want to answeryour travel-related questions.
So if you have questions, callor text us while we're in the
studio right now.
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(32:22):
James is texting us.
He wants to take his family ona Caribbean cruise in January,
so this would be 2026.
Is Galveston a good port todepart from?
And the answer is yes.
There's not that many cruiselines going out of there yet,
but Galveston is a growing portas of right now.
(32:43):
Who is cruising out ofGalveston?
Which companies?
Mark Faldmo (32:45):
Right now Princess, msc, norwegian Carnival and
Disney.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:49):
Oh, what's that many?
Mark Faldmo (32:51):
All offer sailings from Galveston in the winter of
2026.
Galveston, because of thecompetition that's recently come
in MSC, is a new entrance intothat Disney as well.
They've sailed out of therebefore, but for this year it's
new and so there's pricepressures on cruises and they
are a lot lower compared toother ports.
(33:12):
So one of his questions was isGalveston a good port to depart
from?
I would say any port, anytimeyou're getting on a cruise ship,
that's a good port to departfrom.
I would say any port.
Anytime you're getting on acruise ship, that's a good port
to depart from.
Oh yeah, but Galveston, justbecause of the price, it's a
really affordable place tocruise from.
Now.
One drawback is the port isabout an hour from the airport,
(33:34):
unlike Miami where you could getoff an airplane and be to the
cruise ship in 10 minutes, andthat's not the case in Galveston
.
But there are some pretty gooditineraries that depart out of
Galveston.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:45):
Is MSC.
Do we know if they're buildinga brand new terminal in
Galveston like their newterminal in Miami?
Mark Faldmo (33:51):
Yes, they announced that they are building a new
terminal there, which will beexciting for the whole area, a
new place for cruises to departout of.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:00):
Oh wait, so they're not only going to bring
their own ships in, are theygoing to rent this out to some
of these other cruise lines?
Yeah, other cruise lines willprobably use the terminal.
That's amazing because theirbrand new terminal in Miami,
first of all, it's beautiful andcan they move some people
through there.
I was surprised howtechnologically advanced the
Miami port was.
Mark Faldmo (34:21):
Yeah, it is when MSC only has one ship there.
They will probably let othercruise lines use that, because
to use it for one day a week is.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:30):
That's not cost effective, doesn't make a
lot of sense.
No.
So with Galveston they're goingto let other cruise lines go
use their terminal.
But in Miami, does MSC allowother cruise ships to use their
terminal?
I don't think so.
Mark Faldmo (34:46):
No, because in Miami the main cruise lines all
have their own big advancedterminals like that.
So Royal Caribbean has a brandnew one, Norwegian has a brand
new one.
All have opened in the last twoto three years.
Those main cruise lines havetheir own terminal.
There is some more genericcruise terminals.
That's just kind of whereeverybody else departs from.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:06):
I know we're talking about Galveston right
now, but let me go over to Miami.
I thought it was amazing howMSC World America faces toward
the city, meaning the front ofthe ship faces towards downtown
Miami and Icon of the Seas facesout toward the ocean, so
they're pointing east, basically.
But I thought it was kind offunny how both ships Icon of the
(35:28):
Seas and MSC World America howthey face each other and they're
right next to each other in theport of Miami.
Seeing those two ships togetheris pretty breathtaking.
Mark Faldmo (35:39):
It is Two elegant, big ships.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:42):
You cannot comprehend how large Icon of the
Seas is.
Well, both of them, really.
Let's get back to the cruisedeal of the week out of
Galveston.
What do we have for listeners?
This week We've got two choices.
Mark Faldmo (35:54):
So James wanted to go in January and these kind of
really illustrate how low thecruise prices are cruising out
of Galveston.
So MSC on January 4th actuallyJanuary 11th is a little bit
less in cost.
So January 11th, inside cabin$466 per person for a seven day
(36:17):
cruise.
Balcony cabin starts at $686for a seven-day cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:25):
Okay, so I'm going to assume that that's
Western Caribbean.
Mark Faldmo (36:28):
Western yep that goes to Costa Maya, roatan and.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:32):
Cozumel, especially in January.
Now I know that it's hotoutside right now, so you kind
of have to look forward to whenit's absolutely frigid here 30
degrees or less and all of asudden you're in the Caribbean
going.
Wow, I like being out here, notbeing cold.
On the MSC cruise, the pricesthat you just gave.
(36:54):
Which ship is that on?
That's on the MSC Seascape,okay, seascape and Princess.
How much is that and what portsare revisiting and on what ship
?
Mark Faldmo (37:08):
Princess.
This is January 25th of 2026.
On the Regal Princess.
The ports again from Galvestonare Cozumel, Belize City and
Mahual, which is Costa Maya, andI chose this one because the
rates are even lower than msc.
Oh really.
So January 25th departure, aninside cabin starts at 519, so
(37:28):
that's a little bit higher thanwhat msc was, right, but a
balcony cabin starts at 609dollars.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:37):
It's so cheap for a seven day cruise.
Mark Faldmo (37:40):
Seven day cruise Typically.
Once you add in your airfare tothat, you're probably at what
just the cruise only is out ofMiami, and so this from
Galveston just kind ofillustrates how good this port
is.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:53):
I see Galveston really starting to
catch on and it just feels likea couple weeks ago when you were
in Mexico and you were on RoyalCaribbean's was it?
Ovation of the Seas, ovation ofthe Seas.
Yeah, I'm starting to see aconsistent push west with all of
the cruise lines.
Is that fair to say?
I mean it's slow, but it'sstarting to happen.
Mark Faldmo (38:15):
It is, yeah, with Galveston coming on, which
really isn't west, but it'sfurther west than most.
And then all these ships comingto Southern California.
I mean Royal Caribbean alsorecently announced, along with
their two ships in Los Angeles,they're going to have a ship in
San Diego, I think, starting in2027.
(38:35):
So there's a big push west.
Who's in 20.
?
Patrick Wiscombe (38:39):
Oh, royal Caribbean.
Okay, so they're going to bringanother one?
Yes, to San Diego.
I love this.
Generally speaking, you alwayshave to go to Miami or someplace
, Florida.
I'm going to like this idea ofnot having to travel that far.
Although I love flying onplanes, it would be nice to just
go a little bit closer, alittle bit shorter flight.
Yes, let me give out the calland the text line.
(39:03):
If you have travel-relatedquestions, like James did,
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
So we can answer yourtravel-related questions.
We want you to be part of theshow.
Take advantage of that offer.
Out of Galveston, call Mark inhis office.
(39:23):
Just get the conversationstarted.
There's absolutely noobligation and you can get the
information you need.
And when you're ready to book,if you decide to book, call Mark
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
When we come back, we've gotMark's travel tips.
We'll wrap up the show andwe've got a little bit more
(39:45):
cruise news that we couldn't getto in this segment.
Msc is expanding their SouthernCaribbean offerings with
year-round sailings and we'realso going to be talking about
Salt Lake Airport.
Why?
Not because we live here, butbecause it's getting praise from
travelers around the country,and we're not even talking about
local travelers.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
(40:07):
The radio show continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe, heis Mark Faldmo.
Give us about two minutes andthe show continues.
Thank you for listening.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (40:19):
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 (40:40):
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
(41:01):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (41:09):
They'll help you plan and book your next vacation
.
Yeah, really, you're listeningto the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show presentedby blueplanetvacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:30):
and now here's Patrick Wiscombe and mark
Faldmo thank you so much forallowing us to be part of your
weekend.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo is the co-host ofthis radio show and podcast and,
(41:55):
if you are just joining usright now, the entire purpose of
this radio show and podcast isto help you plan and book your
next vacation.
And if you have no idea whereto go, then we're going to give
you some ideas of where toconsider next.
And we are presented byblueplanetvacations.
com.
You can call their officeanytime 888-718-7717,
(42:19):
888-718-7717.
And you can also find them onblueplanetvacations.
com Coming up in this segment ofthe show, the final segment of
the show, we will be talkingabout the Salt Lake
International Airport, notbecause we live here, but
because Salt Lake Airport isgetting some real love from
(42:40):
travelers who pass through andgo into Salt Lake City
International.
We'll get to that, but before wedo we need to continue the
cruise news.
A couple things we didn't getto in the last segment.
Msc Cruises is expanding theirSouthern Caribbean offerings
with year-round sailings.
What ship is that on and whatare they offering with?
Mark Faldmo (43:01):
year-round sailings .
What ship is that on and whatare they offering?
Msc has had a ship in theSouthern Caribbean, mainly for
the European clientele in thewintertime, so they are
expanding this to year-roundsailings and they'll have two
ships in the wintertime.
This is the MSC Opera that willbe year-round doing Southern
Caribbean cruises.
The home port for that is LaRomana in Dominican Republic.
(43:22):
Oh really they're going toDominican Republic, so you start
a lot further south there inthe.
Caribbean and they're offeringseven and 14-day cruises.
So it alternates kind of twodifferent itineraries and so you
can do one seven-night or youcan do a combination of the two
different seven day itineraries.
That highlights MSC'scommitment to the North America
(43:46):
market.
All of these new ships from NewYork, Miami, Galveston and
moving a ship to Alaska nextyear, they're really making
inroads to the North Americanmarket.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:57):
Royal Caribbean is unveiling their new
southern Caribbean sailings.
So, like msc, they're goingafter the southern Caribbean
market, but they're going to doit a little different.
Where are they home?
Porting the ship or ships?
Mark Faldmo (44:10):
last week, I believe it was, we talked about
panama and vacation in panama.
Royal Caribbean southernCaribbean cruises are going to
start from Clone panama, whichis the other side of panama from
panologne Panama which is theother side of Panama, from
Panama City so is that on theeast side of the canal?
Patrick Wiscombe (44:27):
I think it is.
Mark Faldmo (44:28):
It is, yeah, it's on the technically the north
side of the canal but it's inthe Caribbean side.
Okay, so you won't actually gothrough the Panama Canal on this
, Cologne is the city.
That's basically where theAtlantic locks are at the Panama
Canal.
From Cologne we'll go toCartagena, Colombia, Kinderdijk
(44:48):
in Aruba and Williamstead inCuracao, have a few days at sea
on either end and then end backin Cologne.
Panama.
That's a unique starting point.
It is, and you know, like theMSC one we talked about,
Dominican Republic.
Panama would be a great placefor a pre-cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:05):
Oh, absolutely yeah, salt Lake International
Airport is getting praise fromtravelers, not just locals like
you and me.
You and I are airport fansanyway.
Salt Lake International hasalways been under construction
in our lifetime and it's stillunder construction right now.
But I will say, after travelingthe world, after seeing
(45:25):
different airports, I got tohand it to Salt Lake.
It is a beautiful airport andI'm starting to see how aged and
how old some of these otherairports and other cities truly
are.
Mark Faldmo (45:37):
We just had our ASTA American Society of Travel
Advisors Conference in Salt LakeCity and everyone's saying how
wonderful the airport was.
I heard that from so manypeople out of state.
It's interesting because whenthe airport first opened, locals
didn't about 30% of that walkthat you have to go to the B
gates, to the second terminal.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:07):
To be fair, it was a walk.
Mark Faldmo (46:10):
It was so.
Nowadays people are reallyliking that airport, so I think
it's very interesting.
The old airport was built tohandle about 10 million
passengers.
The new airport is currently tohandle about 10 million
passengers.
The new airport is currentlyhandling 24 million passengers
annually.
When it's fully completed, itwill handle 34 million
(46:30):
passengers Whoa.
One thing that the new airporthas brought to us here in Salt
Lake City is six new airlineshave started to fly here Spirit,
air Canada, avalo, sun Country,Hawaiian and WestJet.
All have started operating outof Salt Lake City.
So you know, rather than justthe main airlines Delta,
American, united Southwest wenow have a lot more options
(46:53):
flying out of Salt Lake City.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:56):
Have they given a timeline for when Phase
3 that they're in right now,phase three and four?
When is that going to becomplete?
Mark Faldmo (47:02):
Yeah, so they're currently in phase three and
four.
Phase three should finish upthis fall.
Phase four will be completesometime in 2026.
So when the airport iscompleted, it will have 96 gates
.
Oh wow, so this fall 10 newgates will open and then the
(47:23):
remaining 11 gates will opensometime in 2026, which will
complete the construction of theairport.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:29):
What about airline?
Mark Faldmo (47:30):
lounges.
This is something that'sinteresting because, you know,
Salt Lake has always been prettyheavily Delta and we've talked
about some of these loungesbefore, but the new airport will
have two Delta Sky Clubs.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:43):
Oh, so they're going to add a second one.
Mark Faldmo (47:45):
They'll have one in the B gates as well as a Delta
One lounge which I think I heardis going to be in the B gates.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:53):
Have you ever been in a Delta One lounge?
I have not.
Mark Faldmo (47:57):
I have not been in a Delta One lounge so Well.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:00):
Sky Clubs are pretty good as is, so I'm
curious to see what a Delta Onelounge looks like.
Mark Faldmo (48:05):
Yeah, I know.
At the Los Angeles airport theother day, Delta One had its own
check-in area and its ownsecurity screening.
Ad Voice (48:12):
And.
Mark Faldmo (48:12):
I think that's the same at JFK airport.
So you go from the securityscreening right into the Delta
One lounge.
Oh, I know what you're talkingabout.
Pretty interesting you pay forDelta One?
You do, yeah, it's prettyspectacular.
And then other lounges.
We're getting a Centurionlounge, so American Express
lounge, which is for those withspecific American Express credit
(48:35):
card, and then also a UnitedClub will be coming to the Salt
Lake airport.
So the airport has really grownup.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:43):
This last trip out there for me and Nikki.
I was just remembering when wewere pretty small I had to pick
up my uncle with my aunt at SaltLake International, but it was
much smaller and there was nofreeway into the airport.
I remember that whole conceptof driving into an airport on a
freeway or, you know, anexpressway or something like
that blew my mind.
(49:04):
Do you remember taking the backroads to the airport?
Mark Faldmo (49:08):
Like it was.
It was hard to get there.
Yeah, yeah, I actually did thatuntil the early two thousands
when they closed those roadsafter nine 11.
So I used to always take thatback way in.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:19):
It's kind of fun to see our airport grow up.
I would dare say it rivals, notin terms of quantity I mean, 96
gates is quite a bit butcompared to other larger
airports.
I think Salt Lake Internationaltruly is a spectacularly
beautiful airport compared toother airports.
Mark Faldmo (49:36):
now, yeah, it is, and you know, one of the things
they really built into this isbetween every two gates, so
really every four gates.
When you look at it, there's aset of restrooms.
Oh yeah, there's always arestroom close and there's no
long lines like you get at otherairports.
Now you go to Atlanta, forinstance.
Atlanta has a terminal just asbig.
(49:57):
So one of those terminals let'ssay the A concourse yeah,
Atlanta is as big as Salt Lake'sA concourse, but there's twice
as many restrooms in Salt LakeAirport as there are in that
Atlanta concourse.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:13):
Well, that's going to do it, we are done.
If you want to take advantageof the cruise deals the
destination of the week, the hottravel deal of the week, if you
want to go to Mexico, save upto $200 per reservation and the
numerous cruise deals out ofGalveston, call Mark in his
office as soon as we get off theair.
Just get the conversationrolling, no obligation.
(50:35):
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717,888-718-7717, and he will post
all of these deals on thewebsite blueplanetvacations.
com.
That's it, we're done.
You can listen to the show againtomorrow morning, Sunday, at
11am, right here on this radiostation and around the country.
(50:57):
Plus, you can stream, downloadand subscribe to the podcast at
insideTravelTalk.
com, because we are on all ofthe major podcast platforms and
if you just don't want tosubscribe, we understand, we can
accommodate you there.
You can just press the playbutton on InsideTravelTalk.
com.
It is your turn to get out andexplore the world while you can,
(51:19):
because you never know whatcurveball's life is going to
throw at you.
Live your life deliberately andlive your life intentionally.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will talk to you again nextSaturday and Sunday.
Have a great week.
Show Voice (51:35):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(51:55):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (52:02):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex
Insurance Services, their travelinsurance plan.
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
It is the weekend, which means it's time
to talk travel.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast, a radio show
Coming up.
On today's show, we will betalking about eclipse cruises.
Summer is starting now.
Even though it's hot outside,now's the best time to plan your
winter vacation.
We're talking about theCaribbean.
We also have a $200 savings.
(00:21):
If you wanna head to Mexico andone of our favorite
destinations on this entireplanet Alaska, we're gonna.
If you want to head to Mexicoand one of our favorite
destinations on this entireplanet Alaska, we're going to
tell you how to see Alaska, butnot on a cruise ship.
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
(00:43):
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly, are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:53):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(01:17):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:28):
Welcome to the weekend.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
Hello, there, I'm PatrickWiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo,
and we are ready to talk travelwith all of you, our radio and
podcast listeners, and theentire purpose of this show if
(01:49):
you're brand new to it is tohelp you plan and book your next
vacation, or just give youideas of where you should at
least consider vacationing next,and we're going to give you the
best deals available today andwe are proudly presented by
BluePlanvacations.
com.
And just a sincere thank youfor taking the time to stop and
listen.
(02:10):
Coming up in this edition of theshow, we've got eclipse cruises
.
If you've always wanted to seean eclipse while you're in the
middle of the ocean.
We're going to tell you how thetemperatures are starting to
really heat up here in Salt LakeCity.
The temperatures are startingto really heat up here in Salt
Lake City, which is where we dothe show from, but now truly is
the best time to start planningyour winter vacation.
(02:31):
And we're also going to tellyou how to go see Alaska, but
not on a cruise ship.
And let me bring in the co-hostof this award-nominated radio
show.
Hello, mark Faldmo.
Mark Faldmo (02:42):
Hey.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:43):
Patrick, let's save people some money and
let's go traveling.
Let's start with the travelnews headlines.
First, I saw a story thatJetBlue is partnering with one
of our favorite rail services.
You and I have been on it a fewtimes Brightline in Florida.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (03:02):
They are partnering so that you can buy a rail
ticket in conjunction with yourairline ticket, so it'll all be
one transaction.
Brightline runs from Orlando toMiami.
It actually starts at theOrlando airport.
On its way to Miami, it hasstops in West Palm Beach, Boca
Raton, fort Lauderdale andAventura, and then they also run
(03:25):
a bus to the airports there.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:28):
If you've never gone to Florida in summer,
first of all, just get ready tobe hot.
But, while we're talking aboutBrightline service, if you know
nothing about them, theterminals there are beautiful,
they're well air conditioned andthey're clean.
They've got food in case you'rehungry.
It's just a genuinely greatexperience and I'm hoping that
(03:51):
they will truly expand here tothe west Star Clippers.
One of our favorite companies,the Tall Sailing Ships, is going
to debut three new sailingsfrom Antigua, which is
delightful in winter of 2026 and27.
Mark Faldmo (04:09):
They're adding an extra ship in the Caribbean
during this time frame, and it'sactually the ship's name, is
the Star Clipper and it's goingto start off in the fall doing
Central America, so sailingsfrom Costa Rica, and then it's
going to do a Panama Canalsailing, where it will do new
(04:30):
seven-night round trips fromAntigua as well as new 10-night
departures from Aruba.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:36):
I'm going to put you on the spot here with
regards to Star Clippers.
If you had to say two or threethings about what you like about
Star Clippers, how would youexplain that to listeners?
Mark Faldmo (04:48):
The first thing is the sailing experience.
There's nothing like being outon the open ocean, under power
of wind, with no engine sound,with no engine rumble.
It's an amazing way to travel.
It's quiet.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:02):
Except for the , I guess, the flapping of the
sails, potentially, potentially,that's consequential to wind
power, to wind.
Mark Faldmo (05:10):
Yeah, and the other thing I'll say about Star
Clippers is the food.
The food was amazing on board.
One of my favorite thing is Ijust went up on deck and I'm a
workaholic, so I worked at thebar.
So I just sat at the bar withmy laptop and worked, and it was
I like to do that.
I'll take pictures of myself oncruise ship balconies and I
(05:32):
think the Star Clippers was thefavorite place I've ever worked.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:36):
One of the things that you have not
mentioned that I remember youtelling me.
This would have been when westarted doing the radio show and
podcast, when you laid in thenet the very front of the ship.
Yeah, the front of the ship.
Mark Faldmo (05:47):
Yeah, what was that like?
That's nice.
You look down and see the watergoing beneath you.
It's pretty relaxing.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:53):
I wasn't expecting you to be face down.
I was expecting you to be onyour back looking up.
Mark Faldmo (05:57):
Well, I was that too, but you kind of have to go
face down to get out there.
So, oh, oh, that's right, yeah,yeah, so now, and then the
other thing which I did not do,they do let you go climb up to
the crow's nest, up on thetallest mast of the ship, which
I'd have liked to do.
That, but there was a long,long line to do that star
clippers is the name of thecompany.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:17):
I think it's funny how they named the clipper
.
Ship this star clipper, starclipper a little on the nose
there.
Mark Faldmo (06:23):
yeah, that was their first original ship.
It was always Star Clippers,and then, when they added other
ships, they just kept the namefor the company of Star Clippers
.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:32):
Always in the first segment of the show, right
at the top of the hour, we havethe destination of the week and
this week we're talking aboutAlaska.
But we're going to talk aboutAlaska a little bit different.
This is a text question, Ithink.
Yeah, this is a text questionfrom Kai and let me just invite
listeners.
If you're listening to us rightnow, whether live on the radio
(06:56):
or on the podcast, you can getin on this and will answer your
questions.
801-649-3700 for your travelrelated questions .
Kai is asking I want to go toAlaska, but not on a cruise.
Are there any options for me?
(07:16):
And the answer is yes.
Mark Faldmo (07:19):
Yeah, the answer is definitely yes on that.
So first of all, there are kindof two main areas of Alaska.
The main one that people go toon cruises is Southeast Alaska,
that's the panhandle.
There you can do fishing trips,things like that, you know, fly
into Skagway or to some smallfishing lodges or villages and
do that.
But I think something that'sfascinating is to go to the
(07:42):
interior of Alaska, and a greatway to see the interior of
Alaska is by railroad.
We love talking about therailroad on this show.
There's a company called AlaskaRailroad that has trips ranging
from one night up to 10 nights.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:00):
Sign me up for the 10 nights Mark when I go to
Alaska.
It just feels like seven daysis not enough.
That's just my personal opinion, and especially if we're going
on a train to see some of thescenery.
For the 10 night option, whatcan?
Mark Faldmo (08:13):
Kai do.
I guess first of all we shouldtalk about Alaska.
Railroad kind of has threedifferent lines that they do.
They have the Coastal Classic,glacier Discovery and Denali
Star.
The 10 night covers all threeof those lines.
So you start in Anchorage andyou take the Coastal Classic
(08:34):
train which takes you down toSeward where you'll take a
Resurrection Bay cruise, whichthere's glaciers, whales, sea
life, all sorts of things there,and then you'll spend the night
in Seward and then you'll headback to Anchorage for an
overnight and then the next dayyou'll go to Talkeetna, which is
(08:55):
on the way to Denali.
So this one you're taking theDenali Star Train.
You'll overnight in Talkeetna,you'll spend two nights in
Denali, take a tundra wildernesstour, take a Denali National
Park tour, head up to Fairbanks,where you're overnight in
Fairbanks, from Fairbanks headback to Anchorage.
(09:15):
It's kind of the grand tour ofAlaska by rail.
And then, if you wanted to doshorter, they have three and
four night tours.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:24):
I'm saying go on the 10, but really what's on
the three and four?
Because I think I'm kind of anedge case scenario.
The four days three nights tour.
Mark Faldmo (09:33):
They have one that goes to Denali and one that goes
down to Seward and to theGlacier.
So the Denali one leaves fromAnchorage and spends two nights
in Denali where you'll have timeto see the national park, do
everything there is to do aroundDenali, and then head back to
Anchorage so you can kind of doeverything on the Alaska
Railroad from the shorter things.
(09:54):
They have a one night rail tourIf you want to take the tour
from Anchorage down to Seward,do a glacier and wildlife cruise
, spend a night and then takethe railroad back to Alaska.
So that's just a one night tourif you wanted to do something
like that.
And you're getting a lot done inone day, then yeah, Like a lot
of trains they do have twodifferent types of service.
(10:16):
They have gold star service andadventure class service.
So kind of regular service andfirst class is what they have.
And they do have domed cars forthe sightseeing.
That's something you'll needfor Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:30):
I'm glad they have the domed cars.
Do you sleep on this train ordo you go into a hotel at night?
Mark Faldmo (10:36):
This train.
You will stay in hotels duringthe night, not on the train.
It's all kind of similar to howwe've talked about with Rocky
Mountain Air before.
This is all daylight train, soyou're sightseeing, you're not
missing anything, and then youspend the night in a hotel.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:50):
Okay, that all of a sudden got way more
interesting, because I don'twant to be missing anything on a
train, so I'm glad it's just adaytime tour.
Yeah, kai, if you areinterested and it sounds like
you are are call Mark in hisoffice as soon as we get off the
(11:11):
air or when you're ready tohave that conversation, no
obligation 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717 is how you get ahold of Mark, and you can also
also check out his website,blueplanetvacations.
com.
Mark, this sounds fantastic.
I do want to do Alaska by train.
(11:33):
Never done it before, I've onlydone it on a cruise ship, so
I'm actually glad you broughtthis up.
When we come back, we've got thehot travel deal of the week.
We are going to help you saveup to $200 to go to Mexico,
Puerto Vallarta specifically.
That is next.
Plus, we've got the travel newsheadlines that we need to get
to.
Jetblue is not merging withUnited.
(11:56):
Jetblue CEO made that veryclear this past week.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
Our radio show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be back in about twominutes.
Show Voice (12:15):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
(12:36):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (12:42):
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Waterways, from castles andcapitals to vistas and villages
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Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or
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(13:16):
radio show presented by blueplanet vacations dot com
America's best travel advisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:37):
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
We want to help you plan andbook your next vacation, coming
up in this segment of the show,always in segment number two,
the hot travel deal of the week.
This week we're going to Mexicoand we're going to help you
(13:59):
save up to $200 per reservation.
But before we talk Mexico,let's get back to the travel
news headlines.
We talked about this last weekwhen JetBlue and United were
forming some kind of businesspartnership or an alliance.
I thought it was interestingthat JetBlue's CEO said the
airline JetBlue that is, is notinterested in merging with
(14:23):
United.
Eh we'll see how it goes.
Mark Faldmo (14:26):
You know just a quick recap.
They just have reciprocalbenefits for their frequent
flyer program.
So JetBlue can fly on JetBlueand earn United miles, you can
fly on United and earn JetBluemiles, which is the basics of
that.
You can buy tickets on bothairlines' websites.
So it kind of really helpsJetBlue especially reach out
(14:48):
there in the Northeast.
But one reason why they'recoming out so strong about this,
their alliance they had withAmerican Airlines was terminated
by a judge because there wererumors that JetBlue and American
were going to merge.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:01):
Oh, there we go.
Mark Faldmo (15:02):
So that's kind of what killed it.
All these steps were leading toa merger killed it.
All these steps were leading toa merger, and so JetBlue is
really just trying to play itand say we're not interested in
merging so that there's no legalhurdles, no additional legal
hurdles to go through.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:17):
I'm going to assume that this is the case and
it's in effect now.
I assume that if you go to,JetBlue that you can now start
booking United flights thedeparture city and then the
arrival city.
Is that how they're making thiswork?
Mark Faldmo (15:31):
Yes, it is.
They're mainly trying to getcities that United doesn't serve
but JetBlue does, to feed intothat.
But you can just buy a Unitedticket on JetBlue.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:41):
Let's talk Mexico here for a second.
Nayarit is launching aninternational flight from Los
Angeles starting this July.
Now, if you don't know whereNayarit is and I hope I'm saying
that right is near PuertoVallarta.
Mark Faldmo (15:54):
In Puerto Vallarta, the tourist destinations.
You're actually in twodifferent states.
In Mexico, you're in Jalisco,which is where Puerto Vallarta
is, and then, just a few milesnorth of the Puerto Vallarta
airport, you enter the state ofNayarit.
Nayarit has started a new it'snot daily flight, but it's on
Voleris Airlines, which is aMexican airline, from Los
(16:17):
Angeles to the now new NayaritInternational Airport Got it.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:22):
Okay, I didn't know that it was a new airport.
Mark Faldmo (16:24):
Now to visit Puerto Vallarta.
You probably wouldn'tnecessarily fly into this
airport because it's pretty farnorth in the state of Nayarit,
but if you are going todestinations like salulita, san
Blas, out actually on thePacific coast there, this would
be the airport that you couldfly into, and I'm sure they'll
get more and more internationalflights to that, because that
(16:47):
area that's about two hours awayfrom the Puerto Vallarta
airport and so this airportbrings those destinations a
little bit closer.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:55):
My perception is that Puerto Vallarta is
really, I don't knowrevitalizing I don't know if
that's the right word thatthey're putting some real
resources into their airport,meaning they're expanding it.
Is that a right way to look atthis?
Mark Faldmo (17:11):
Yes, they are.
Yeah, the Puerto Vallartaairport is building a second
terminal, so terminal two.
It is on track to open by theend of this year and it'll
increase the yearly number ofpassengers the airport's able to
hold by about 2 millionpassengers.
That's a considerable expansion,then it is, and I think it's
(17:32):
something that Puerto Vallartaneeds.
You know, Puerto Vallarta isone of my favorite destinations
to fly into, but right now,depending on when your plane
arrives, they just park out onthe tarmac and bus you in, and
then you have really longcustoms lines.
I think this will helpalleviate that, where there will
(17:53):
be hopefully enough gates tohandle all of the airplanes that
come in.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:58):
Well, that's the perfect way to segue into
the hot travel deal of the week,which is, of course, Puerto
Vallarta.
What do we have for listeners?
This?
Mark Faldmo (18:06):
week.
Puerto Vallarta.
That's probably my favoritedestination in all of Mexico.
It keeps kind of a lot of itsold world charm.
Go down to the Malecon, whichis the boardwalk that runs in
downtown Puerto Vallarta atsunset time with street vendors,
street performers Wonderfulexperiences in Puerto Vallarta.
Right now for fall travel, wedo have up to $200 off packages
(18:31):
and prices have really come downto Mexico.
Right now we have four-starproperties, four-star
all-inclusive propertiesstarting at $1,049 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:44):
Whoa Okay, and that's with that.
$200 savings as well.
Mark Faldmo (18:48):
That's with that $200 savings already included in
this particular date was aSeptember 4th departure date
from Salt Lake City to PuertoVallarta and whatever city
you're coming from, we can pricethis out.
That $200 still is good fromany city in the US.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:06):
What are some of your favorite things to do in
Puerto Vallarta?
Mark Faldmo (19:10):
In Puerto Vallarta I really enjoy two things.
One is the outdoor adventure,which kind of combines a whole
bunch of different activities.
So you take an inflatablespeedboat across the bay and
then you get on four-wheel drivevehicles and you go up the
mountain as far as the vehiclescan go, and then you switch to
(19:31):
donkeys and go up even furtherand then to get down it's a zip
line with a combination ofrappelling and water slides.
Oh wow.
And then when you complete that, you have homemade fresh
quesadillas made with freshlymade tortillas.
Oh, my goodness, really good.
So that's one of my favoritethings to do.
(19:53):
Another thing would be it'scalled Rhythms of the Night and
it's kind of a Mexican folkloricshow where you take a boat
across the bay.
There's no electricity here,except the stage is run by some
lights and electricity, but thedestination itself does not have
electricity.
So when you get there there'sjust thousands of lit candles
(20:14):
that light all of the paths.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:15):
Oh, wow.
Mark Faldmo (20:16):
So you go have dinner and then a show.
It's a wonderful option.
If you're in Puerto Vallarta inthe wintertime, whale watching
is something that's really funto do there.
You can actually see whalesfrom a lot of the hotels and
just sit at the hotels and watchwhales.
But to go out and actually dothe whale watching I've seen
some of the best whale watchingin Puerto Vallarta- I was
(20:38):
talking to Nathan and Kenzie, myson and daughter-in-law.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:42):
They were talking about whale watching and
they said it was by far one ofthe greatest experiences of
their life, because they couldnot believe the sheer size of
whales.
They talked about it forprobably 10 minutes straight.
I just listened to them.
If you've never gone whalewatching, they loved it and you
(21:03):
probably will too.
Mark Faldmo (21:04):
Probably one of my favorite things is when the
whale gets too close, they shutdown all of the engines and so
you're just floating out thereand the whales sometimes will
play with the boats and soyou're close to the whales and
you can really experience howlarge they are and how majestic
the whales are.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:21):
If there's anyone named Jonah on your tour,
just be careful.
Mark Faldmo (21:27):
Just be careful.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:27):
Yeah, this is save up to $200 per reservation.
Let's talk about some of thehotels that you would recommend
staying.
Mark Faldmo (21:36):
So the first one is kind of the lead in.
It's a four-star, all-inclusive, starts at $1,049 per person
and that's a really good oneright on the beach.
It is in Nyer 8.
For a four-star hotel that is avery good price.
The next one is right in kindof what would be called the
hotel zone of Puerto Vallartaand that's the Fiesta Americana
(21:56):
Puerto Vallarta.
It's a four and a half star andthis would be probably one of
my two picks there, and that onestarts at $1,199 per person.
One starts at $1,199 per person,my overall pick is five-star
all-inclusive Villa PremierBoutique Hotel, which starts at
$1,719 per person.
(22:18):
Now this one is a little bitmore expensive than the other
hotels, but it's a smallboutique hotel, very
individualized and personalizedservice.
All of the hotels face theocean and you know in Puerto
Vallarta you have some of thebest sunsets in the world there
and this hotel really highlightsthose sunsets.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:40):
You've stayed in Villa Premier, correct?
Mark Faldmo (22:42):
Yeah, I've stayed there probably five or six times
.
I hope to get back again therethis year.
Actually so well, it wasn'tthat long ago that you were
there.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:50):
Yeah, well, I love Puerto Vallarta.
Yeah, you do Take advantage ofthis offer.
Call Mark in his office, getthe conversation started.
If you want to go to PuertoVallarta, save up to $200 per
reservation, and that alsoincluded round trip airfare from
whatever city you are comingfrom.
Have I got that right?
That's correct, okay, call Markin his office during the break.
(23:14):
Just get the conversationstarted.
No obligation.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
And you can also go toblueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back after thebottom of the hour news break,
it is time for the infamous justcruising segment.
(23:38):
We'll be talking aboutMargaritaville at sea, Holland
America adding a third ship forNorthern Europe, and we've got
the cruise deal of the week andwe're going to the Caribbean.
Caribbean's always good.
Nikki and I literally spent amonth in the Caribbean in April.
Awesome place to vacation.
(23:58):
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show, continues Alongside MarkFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you, a genuine thank you,for listening to the show.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (24:14):
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
after these messages thissegment of inside travel talk is
(24:42):
sponsored by el dorado sparesorts.
Ad Voice (24:45):
escape to Cancun's Riviera maya with authentic
all-inclusive luxury at an ElDorado spa resort.
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Patrick Wiscombe (24:59):
Okay, we're back.
Welcome back to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes, markand I will be talking about the
best solo cruise lines to go on,solar eclipse cruises, which
would be fascinating in themiddle of the ocean, winter
cruising in the Caribbean, andwhat is the least expensive port
to cruise from.
(25:20):
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (25:46):
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.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:26):
All aboard for the infamous Just Cruising
segment right here on the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo is running backinto the studio.
He had to print something offComing up.
In this segment of the show wewill be talking about solo
cruises.
I've never been on a cruisejust all by myself.
(26:48):
We'll be talking about HollandAmerica adding a third ship to
Northern Europe, sailings in2027.
And we're going to give yousome options if you want to go
see a solar eclipse.
That's coming up here in thissegment of the show.
But let's first get to thecruise news headlines.
This part of the show is onlyabout the cruise news and cruise
(27:09):
deals for our listeners.
Mark, let's start withMargaritaville at sea.
Now, the Paradise went in forsome refurbishment.
It needed it, frankly.
But you're talking aboutMargaritaville at sea and I
think their Islander ship is areally good option if you want
to go on a cruise not only withfamily, but also if you want to
go by yourself.
Mark Faldmo (27:29):
Margaritaville at Sea was recently just voted the
best solo cruise single cruiseline.
They actually have a specialfor July cruises, so that's kind
of close in, but they have fourand five day cruises from Tampa
where a single person cancruise for just $540.
Wow.
Typically how cruise lines dothat is you still have to pay
(27:51):
the full price for the cabins,but you get a little bit of a
discount because you don't paytwo taxes.
So on most other cruise linesthe same price would be about a
thousand dollars.
They are offering just regularcabins for singles in July for
just the regular per person rate.
That's a pretty good deal.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:09):
Oh yeah, that's a great deal.
The Islander is their newestship.
They've also meaningMargaritaville at sea.
They've announced a new shipand I think that comes out in
what 26 or 27?
Correct.
Mark Faldmo (28:19):
Okay, so this is In 27, I believe.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:21):
Okay, so this is for the Islander, which is
their current flagship productfor 540.
Wow.
Mark Faldmo (28:26):
It's their newest ship it is an older ship but
it's new to their fleet Thencompletely renovated with that
Margaritaville kind of themethrough it.
And I think that Margaritavilletheme which I personally love I
love their hotels enjoyed thecruise line when we did that
Anything.
Margaritaville just kind ofthat laid back, relaxed
atmosphere but still a littlebit of luxury mixed in with that
(28:49):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:49):
When Nikki and I were in Grand Turks they had
a Margaritaville pool and kindof a beach side place to relax.
We spent I don't know three orfour hours there and it was
terrific.
If you haven't experiencedMargaritaville kind of fun.
Mark Faldmo (29:03):
Yes, it is, I really enjoy it.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:06):
Holland America will be adding a third
ship for its Northern Europesailing starting in about two
years, 2027.
Mark Faldmo (29:14):
Just a few months ago we did a story about Holland
America adding a second ship toNorthern Europe during this
time frame.
There's such a high demandalready.
People are already booking out2027 cruise vacations.
They have added a third ship.
So the ship they added was theZuiderdam, which will home port
in Amsterdam, and then they alsohave the new Stendam, which is
(29:39):
in Rotterdam, which was theother ship that they added.
Northern Europe has becomeextremely popular.
That is Norwegian fjords,that's Iceland, Greenland,
that's Baltic cruises.
It's probably one of myfavorite places to cruise.
Anything that includes theNorwegian fjords is probably my
favorite, since that's where myfamily history and heritage is
(30:01):
from.
I particularly like Norway, butto also go to Finland, Estonia,
Sweden All of those places arejust wonderful to visit.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:10):
I think it would be absolutely fascinating
to do a solar eclipse cruise inthe middle of the ocean.
There's just something abouthow dark it gets depending on
where you are in relation to theeclipse and the shadow that it
casts.
It's something that is so eerie.
It's kind of a specialexperience, and so to be in the
(30:31):
middle of the ocean toexperience an eclipse would be
fun.
Cruise lines are offering asolution so you can go see the
eclipse somewhere in the middleof the ocean in 2026.
Who is offering it the last?
Mark Faldmo (30:42):
full eclipse April 8th 2024, kind of caught the
cruise lines off guard.
Show Voice (30:46):
Oh really they put those out and they filled up so
fast.
Mark Faldmo (30:50):
They've had some in their lineup for 2026, but
they're adding more.
For instance, Seabourn CruiseLine and Virgin Voyages has
added a ship that will go thepath of that solar eclipse.
Is going Greenland, Iceland,Spain and Russia oh wow, they're
all going to be in the path ofthat eclipse.
So those two cruise lines haveadded extra ships and Princess
(31:14):
Cruises added a third ship toits lineup to see the 2026
eclipse.
Do we know the date on that yet?
Yeah, so that date is August12th of 2026.
That's at about 14 months fromnow 2026.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:28):
What's that?
About 14 months from now.
So cruise lines are taking apage out of the airlines saying,
hey, let's go on an eclipseflight.
So they're following the pathof the eclipse.
I'm surprised that cruise linesdidn't pick up on that in 2024.
That kind of surprises me, yeah.
Mark Faldmo (31:44):
I think their 2026 ones filled up so fast that
they're just kind of leftscrambling trying to get more
voyages.
And in fact last week HollandAmerica launched two departures
for an eclipse in 2027.
So they are getting a littlebit more proactive about that.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:01):
Let's get to the cruise deal of the week,
which is always in the infamousjust cruising segment portion of
the show, and we want to answeryour travel-related questions.
So if you have questions, callor text us while we're in the
studio right now.
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(32:22):
James is texting us.
He wants to take his family ona Caribbean cruise in January,
so this would be 2026.
Is Galveston a good port todepart from?
And the answer is yes.
There's not that many cruiselines going out of there yet,
but Galveston is a growing portas of right now.
(32:43):
Who is cruising out ofGalveston?
Which companies?
Mark Faldmo (32:45):
Right now Princess, msc, norwegian Carnival and
Disney.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:49):
Oh, what's that many?
Mark Faldmo (32:51):
All offer sailings from Galveston in the winter of
2026.
Galveston, because of thecompetition that's recently come
in MSC, is a new entrance intothat Disney as well.
They've sailed out of therebefore, but for this year it's
new and so there's pricepressures on cruises and they
are a lot lower compared toother ports.
(33:12):
So one of his questions was isGalveston a good port to depart
from?
I would say any port, anytimeyou're getting on a cruise ship,
that's a good port to departfrom.
I would say any port.
Anytime you're getting on acruise ship, that's a good port
to depart from.
Oh yeah, but Galveston, justbecause of the price, it's a
really affordable place tocruise from.
Now.
One drawback is the port isabout an hour from the airport,
(33:34):
unlike Miami where you could getoff an airplane and be to the
cruise ship in 10 minutes, andthat's not the case in Galveston
.
But there are some pretty gooditineraries that depart out of
Galveston.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:45):
Is MSC.
Do we know if they're buildinga brand new terminal in
Galveston like their newterminal in Miami?
Mark Faldmo (33:51):
Yes, they announced that they are building a new
terminal there, which will beexciting for the whole area, a
new place for cruises to departout of.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:00):
Oh wait, so they're not only going to bring
their own ships in, are theygoing to rent this out to some
of these other cruise lines?
Yeah, other cruise lines willprobably use the terminal.
That's amazing because theirbrand new terminal in Miami,
first of all, it's beautiful andcan they move some people
through there.
I was surprised howtechnologically advanced the
Miami port was.
Mark Faldmo (34:21):
Yeah, it is when MSC only has one ship there.
They will probably let othercruise lines use that, because
to use it for one day a week is.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:30):
That's not cost effective, doesn't make a
lot of sense.
No.
So with Galveston they're goingto let other cruise lines go
use their terminal.
But in Miami, does MSC allowother cruise ships to use their
terminal?
I don't think so.
Mark Faldmo (34:46):
No, because in Miami the main cruise lines all
have their own big advancedterminals like that.
So Royal Caribbean has a brandnew one, Norwegian has a brand
new one.
All have opened in the last twoto three years.
Those main cruise lines havetheir own terminal.
There is some more genericcruise terminals.
That's just kind of whereeverybody else departs from.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:06):
I know we're talking about Galveston right
now, but let me go over to Miami.
I thought it was amazing howMSC World America faces toward
the city, meaning the front ofthe ship faces towards downtown
Miami and Icon of the Seas facesout toward the ocean, so
they're pointing east, basically.
But I thought it was kind offunny how both ships Icon of the
(35:28):
Seas and MSC World America howthey face each other and they're
right next to each other in theport of Miami.
Seeing those two ships togetheris pretty breathtaking.
Mark Faldmo (35:39):
It is Two elegant, big ships.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:42):
You cannot comprehend how large Icon of the
Seas is.
Well, both of them, really.
Let's get back to the cruisedeal of the week out of
Galveston.
What do we have for listeners?
This week We've got two choices.
Mark Faldmo (35:54):
So James wanted to go in January and these kind of
really illustrate how low thecruise prices are cruising out
of Galveston.
So MSC on January 4th actuallyJanuary 11th is a little bit
less in cost.
So January 11th, inside cabin$466 per person for a seven day
(36:17):
cruise.
Balcony cabin starts at $686for a seven-day cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:25):
Okay, so I'm going to assume that that's
Western Caribbean.
Mark Faldmo (36:28):
Western yep that goes to Costa Maya, roatan and.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:32):
Cozumel, especially in January.
Now I know that it's hotoutside right now, so you kind
of have to look forward to whenit's absolutely frigid here 30
degrees or less and all of asudden you're in the Caribbean
going.
Wow, I like being out here, notbeing cold.
On the MSC cruise, the pricesthat you just gave.
(36:54):
Which ship is that on?
That's on the MSC Seascape,okay, seascape and Princess.
How much is that and what portsare revisiting and on what ship
?
Mark Faldmo (37:08):
Princess.
This is January 25th of 2026.
On the Regal Princess.
The ports again from Galvestonare Cozumel, Belize City and
Mahual, which is Costa Maya, andI chose this one because the
rates are even lower than msc.
Oh really.
So January 25th departure, aninside cabin starts at 519, so
(37:28):
that's a little bit higher thanwhat msc was, right, but a
balcony cabin starts at 609dollars.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:37):
It's so cheap for a seven day cruise.
Mark Faldmo (37:40):
Seven day cruise Typically.
Once you add in your airfare tothat, you're probably at what
just the cruise only is out ofMiami, and so this from
Galveston just kind ofillustrates how good this port
is.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:53):
I see Galveston really starting to
catch on and it just feels likea couple weeks ago when you were
in Mexico and you were on RoyalCaribbean's was it?
Ovation of the Seas, ovation ofthe Seas.
Yeah, I'm starting to see aconsistent push west with all of
the cruise lines.
Is that fair to say?
I mean it's slow, but it'sstarting to happen.
Mark Faldmo (38:15):
It is, yeah, with Galveston coming on, which
really isn't west, but it'sfurther west than most.
And then all these ships comingto Southern California.
I mean Royal Caribbean alsorecently announced, along with
their two ships in Los Angeles,they're going to have a ship in
San Diego, I think, starting in2027.
(38:35):
So there's a big push west.
Who's in 20.
?
Patrick Wiscombe (38:39):
Oh, royal Caribbean.
Okay, so they're going to bringanother one?
Yes, to San Diego.
I love this.
Generally speaking, you alwayshave to go to Miami or someplace
, Florida.
I'm going to like this idea ofnot having to travel that far.
Although I love flying onplanes, it would be nice to just
go a little bit closer, alittle bit shorter flight.
Yes, let me give out the calland the text line.
(39:03):
If you have travel-relatedquestions, like James did,
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
So we can answer yourtravel-related questions.
We want you to be part of theshow.
Take advantage of that offer.
Out of Galveston, call Mark inhis office.
(39:23):
Just get the conversationstarted.
There's absolutely noobligation and you can get the
information you need.
And when you're ready to book,if you decide to book, call Mark
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
When we come back, we've gotMark's travel tips.
We'll wrap up the show andwe've got a little bit more
(39:45):
cruise news that we couldn't getto in this segment.
Msc is expanding their SouthernCaribbean offerings with
year-round sailings and we'realso going to be talking about
Salt Lake Airport.
Why?
Not because we live here, butbecause it's getting praise from
travelers around the country,and we're not even talking about
local travelers.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
(40:07):
The radio show continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe, heis Mark Faldmo.
Give us about two minutes andthe show continues.
Thank you for listening.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (40:19):
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 (40:40):
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
(41:01):
blueplanetvacations.
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Show Voice (41:09):
They'll help you plan and book your next vacation
.
Yeah, really, you're listeningto the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show presentedby blueplanetvacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:30):
and now here's Patrick Wiscombe and mark
Faldmo thank you so much forallowing us to be part of your
weekend.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo is the co-host ofthis radio show and podcast and,
(41:55):
if you are just joining usright now, the entire purpose of
this radio show and podcast isto help you plan and book your
next vacation.
And if you have no idea whereto go, then we're going to give
you some ideas of where toconsider next.
And we are presented byblueplanetvacations.
com.
You can call their officeanytime 888-718-7717,
(42:19):
888-718-7717.
And you can also find them onblueplanetvacations.
com Coming up in this segment ofthe show, the final segment of
the show, we will be talkingabout the Salt Lake
International Airport, notbecause we live here, but
because Salt Lake Airport isgetting some real love from
(42:40):
travelers who pass through andgo into Salt Lake City
International.
We'll get to that, but before wedo we need to continue the
cruise news.
A couple things we didn't getto in the last segment.
Msc Cruises is expanding theirSouthern Caribbean offerings
with year-round sailings.
What ship is that on and whatare they offering with?
Mark Faldmo (43:01):
year-round sailings .
What ship is that on and whatare they offering?
Msc has had a ship in theSouthern Caribbean, mainly for
the European clientele in thewintertime, so they are
expanding this to year-roundsailings and they'll have two
ships in the wintertime.
This is the MSC Opera that willbe year-round doing Southern
Caribbean cruises.
The home port for that is LaRomana in Dominican Republic.
(43:22):
Oh really they're going toDominican Republic, so you start
a lot further south there inthe.
Caribbean and they're offeringseven and 14-day cruises.
So it alternates kind of twodifferent itineraries and so you
can do one seven-night or youcan do a combination of the two
different seven day itineraries.
That highlights MSC'scommitment to the North America
(43:46):
market.
All of these new ships from NewYork, Miami, Galveston and
moving a ship to Alaska nextyear, they're really making
inroads to the North Americanmarket.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:57):
Royal Caribbean is unveiling their new
southern Caribbean sailings.
So, like msc, they're goingafter the southern Caribbean
market, but they're going to doit a little different.
Where are they home?
Porting the ship or ships?
Mark Faldmo (44:10):
last week, I believe it was, we talked about
panama and vacation in panama.
Royal Caribbean southernCaribbean cruises are going to
start from Clone panama, whichis the other side of panama from
panologne Panama which is theother side of Panama, from
Panama City so is that on theeast side of the canal?
Patrick Wiscombe (44:27):
I think it is.
Mark Faldmo (44:28):
It is, yeah, it's on the technically the north
side of the canal but it's inthe Caribbean side.
Okay, so you won't actually gothrough the Panama Canal on this
, Cologne is the city.
That's basically where theAtlantic locks are at the Panama
Canal.
From Cologne we'll go toCartagena, Colombia, Kinderdijk
(44:48):
in Aruba and Williamstead inCuracao, have a few days at sea
on either end and then end backin Cologne.
Panama.
That's a unique starting point.
It is, and you know, like theMSC one we talked about,
Dominican Republic.
Panama would be a great placefor a pre-cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:05):
Oh, absolutely yeah, salt Lake International
Airport is getting praise fromtravelers, not just locals like
you and me.
You and I are airport fansanyway.
Salt Lake International hasalways been under construction
in our lifetime and it's stillunder construction right now.
But I will say, after travelingthe world, after seeing
(45:25):
different airports, I got tohand it to Salt Lake.
It is a beautiful airport andI'm starting to see how aged and
how old some of these otherairports and other cities truly
are.
Mark Faldmo (45:37):
We just had our ASTA American Society of Travel
Advisors Conference in Salt LakeCity and everyone's saying how
wonderful the airport was.
I heard that from so manypeople out of state.
It's interesting because whenthe airport first opened, locals
didn't about 30% of that walkthat you have to go to the B
gates, to the second terminal.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:07):
To be fair, it was a walk.
Mark Faldmo (46:10):
It was so.
Nowadays people are reallyliking that airport, so I think
it's very interesting.
The old airport was built tohandle about 10 million
passengers.
The new airport is currently tohandle about 10 million
passengers.
The new airport is currentlyhandling 24 million passengers
annually.
When it's fully completed, itwill handle 34 million
(46:30):
passengers Whoa.
One thing that the new airporthas brought to us here in Salt
Lake City is six new airlineshave started to fly here Spirit,
air Canada, avalo, sun Country,Hawaiian and WestJet.
All have started operating outof Salt Lake City.
So you know, rather than justthe main airlines Delta,
American, united Southwest wenow have a lot more options
(46:53):
flying out of Salt Lake City.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:56):
Have they given a timeline for when Phase
3 that they're in right now,phase three and four?
When is that going to becomplete?
Mark Faldmo (47:02):
Yeah, so they're currently in phase three and
four.
Phase three should finish upthis fall.
Phase four will be completesometime in 2026.
So when the airport iscompleted, it will have 96 gates
.
Oh wow, so this fall 10 newgates will open and then the
(47:23):
remaining 11 gates will opensometime in 2026, which will
complete the construction of theairport.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:29):
What about airline?
Mark Faldmo (47:30):
lounges.
This is something that'sinteresting because, you know,
Salt Lake has always been prettyheavily Delta and we've talked
about some of these loungesbefore, but the new airport will
have two Delta Sky Clubs.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:43):
Oh, so they're going to add a second one.
Mark Faldmo (47:45):
They'll have one in the B gates as well as a Delta
One lounge which I think I heardis going to be in the B gates.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:53):
Have you ever been in a Delta One lounge?
I have not.
Mark Faldmo (47:57):
I have not been in a Delta One lounge so Well.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:00):
Sky Clubs are pretty good as is, so I'm
curious to see what a Delta Onelounge looks like.
Mark Faldmo (48:05):
Yeah, I know.
At the Los Angeles airport theother day, Delta One had its own
check-in area and its ownsecurity screening.
Ad Voice (48:12):
And.
Mark Faldmo (48:12):
I think that's the same at JFK airport.
So you go from the securityscreening right into the Delta
One lounge.
Oh, I know what you're talkingabout.
Pretty interesting you pay forDelta One?
You do, yeah, it's prettyspectacular.
And then other lounges.
We're getting a Centurionlounge, so American Express
lounge, which is for those withspecific American Express credit
(48:35):
card, and then also a UnitedClub will be coming to the Salt
Lake airport.
So the airport has really grownup.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:43):
This last trip out there for me and Nikki.
I was just remembering when wewere pretty small I had to pick
up my uncle with my aunt at SaltLake International, but it was
much smaller and there was nofreeway into the airport.
I remember that whole conceptof driving into an airport on a
freeway or, you know, anexpressway or something like
that blew my mind.
(49:04):
Do you remember taking the backroads to the airport?
Mark Faldmo (49:08):
Like it was.
It was hard to get there.
Yeah, yeah, I actually did thatuntil the early two thousands
when they closed those roadsafter nine 11.
So I used to always take thatback way in.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:19):
It's kind of fun to see our airport grow up.
I would dare say it rivals, notin terms of quantity I mean, 96
gates is quite a bit butcompared to other larger
airports.
I think Salt Lake Internationaltruly is a spectacularly
beautiful airport compared toother airports.
Mark Faldmo (49:36):
now, yeah, it is, and you know, one of the things
they really built into this isbetween every two gates, so
really every four gates.
When you look at it, there's aset of restrooms.
Oh yeah, there's always arestroom close and there's no
long lines like you get at otherairports.
Now you go to Atlanta, forinstance.
Atlanta has a terminal just asbig.
(49:57):
So one of those terminals let'ssay the A concourse yeah,
Atlanta is as big as Salt Lake'sA concourse, but there's twice
as many restrooms in Salt LakeAirport as there are in that
Atlanta concourse.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:13):
Well, that's going to do it, we are done.
If you want to take advantageof the cruise deals the
destination of the week, the hottravel deal of the week, if you
want to go to Mexico, save upto $200 per reservation and the
numerous cruise deals out ofGalveston, call Mark in his
office as soon as we get off theair.
Just get the conversationrolling, no obligation.
(50:35):
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717,888-718-7717, and he will post
all of these deals on thewebsite blueplanetvacations.
com.
That's it, we're done.
You can listen to the show againtomorrow morning, Sunday, at
11am, right here on this radiostation and around the country.
(50:57):
Plus, you can stream, downloadand subscribe to the podcast at
insideTravelTalk.
com, because we are on all ofthe major podcast platforms and
if you just don't want tosubscribe, we understand, we can
accommodate you there.
You can just press the playbutton on InsideTravelTalk.
com.
It is your turn to get out andexplore the world while you can,
(51:19):
because you never know whatcurveball's life is going to
throw at you.
Live your life deliberately andlive your life intentionally.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will talk to you again nextSaturday and Sunday.
Have a great week.
Show Voice (51:35):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(51:55):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (52:02):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex
Insurance Services, their travelinsurance plan.
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