Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick WIscombe (00:00):
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show Coming up.
On today's show, we will betalking about dopamine travel.
Yep, such a thing really doesexist.
The stunning beauty of theFaroe Islands, London in the
springtime, which is really notthat far away, cruising in
Hawaii and the documents youabsolutely need to board a
(00:22):
cruise ship.
Let's get started.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastradio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate with the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (00:52):
Helping you plan your next vacation.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call us now 801-649-3700801-649-3700 and check out the
podcast at insidetraveltalk.
(01:12):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick WIscombe (01:32):
Coming to you live from the Wiscombe-Faldmo
Radio Studios right here in SaltLake City.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
Hello there, I am PatrickWiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be in thestudio here in just a moment and
coming up on this edition ofthe show.
If you're feeling blue, we haveactually got some dopamine
travel ideas to help you feelgood, and part of that is we're
(01:53):
going to take you to Hawaii.
That is just a portion of theshow that is coming up here in
the next hour.
We want to thank you for takingthe time to stop and listen and
, if you are brand new to theshow, the entire purpose of this
radio show is to help you planand book your next vacation or
just give you ideas of where youwant to go on your next
vacation and, by the way, theFaroe Islands is officially on
(02:17):
my to-do list now, and thisradio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com and Mark Faldmo is what?
A couple of weeks back fromNassau, Bahamas, and what other
travel do you have coming uphere in the next week or so?
Mark Faldmo (02:33):
The next thing I have on my official list is the
MSC World America that we talkedabout last week in April, but
hopefully I'll get a few morethings on my travel list in the
next few weeks, because it'sbeen too long.
I've been home for about 10days now.
I'm ready to go again.
It just makes me laugh.
Patrick WIscombe (02:50):
Most people would say oh man, I haven't gone
for a long, long time.
I've been home for 10 days.
Well, let's get to the travelnews headlines.
I saw that Southwest Airlineshas signed a partnership
agreement with Iceland Air.
What's that about?
Mark Faldmo (03:05):
This is good news for those that want to connect
to Europe.
This really opens up Icelandand Europe more to US travelers.
So Southwest Airlines andIceland Air have started a
strategic agreement which willallow them to code share each
other's flights.
This was signed earlier thismonth.
The first airport that this isgoing to happen in is Baltimore,
(03:25):
Washington, which will happenin February.
A little bit later on in theyear they're going to have
connections from Nashville andDenver Iceland Air.
Obviously they fly to Iceland,but they also fly to points
beyond in Europe.
You'll be able to use SouthwestAirlines and get to Europe in
this situation.
Patrick WIscombe (03:44):
You said code share agreement.
What is a code share?
Mark Faldmo (03:48):
A code share agreement is where you might buy
your ticket all on SouthwestAirlines, but one or more
portions will be operated byIceland Air.
Patrick WIscombe (03:58):
Okay, so that's not uncommon.
Mark Faldmo (04:00):
It's not uncommon, so it's like one ticket, but
there might be multiple airlineson one ticket.
Oh, okay, and it's not uncommonto international destinations.
Patrick WIscombe (04:09):
It has been very, very cold.
It's warming up, so it's goingto feel like springtime here
this weekend, which is kind ofnice.
But in case you've got thewinter blues, we've got some
dopamine travel ideas.
We've got 10 destinations thatwill boost your mood.
Mark Faldmo (04:25):
What are they?
There's actually a study doneand they found these 10
destinations that have theseparticular things that help
boost your dopamine levels, makeyou feel happy, and that's fun
spontaneity, sensory stimulation, connection and movement.
So those are the criteria theyused for these destinations.
(04:45):
Most of these I agree with andsome I scratch my head a little
bit, but I can see where they'recoming from.
So the number 10 destinationfor dopamine travel is Oslo,
Norway.
It sounds cold.
It sounds cold right now, yes,but in the summertime it's
wonderful.
If you're looking at thosecriteria, sensory overload, fun,
movement Oslo is a great placefor that.
(05:08):
The next place and this is oneI find interesting it's
Vancouver, British Columbia.
Now, I love Vancouver.
Oh, I do too.
I think it's really underratedit is.
I've mainly done Vancouverbefore or after a cruise, but
it's a great destination.
Number eight spot this is allprobably just for one reason is
Liverpool, England.
(05:28):
It's the birthplace of theBeatles, so that gives certain
people high amounts of dopamine.
Patrick WIscombe (05:35):
If you just happen to run into Paul
McCartney.
Yes, yeah.
Mark Faldmo (05:39):
It's actually ranked as Europe's most walkable
city and so very easy to getaround.
Number seven on the list isMalaga.
Spain, on the shores of theMediterranean, has the most
sunshine of any area in Europe,and there's plenty of beaches
there, so lots of vitamin D anddopamine created there.
(05:59):
For similar reasons, Cadiz Bayin Spain.
Have you been to Cadiz?
I have not.
Patrick WIscombe (06:04):
Oh, I thought you had.
Mark Faldmo (06:06):
One place I haven't been, but again similar reasons
to Malaga, Lisbon, Portugal.
Another place I've not been,but it's on my list Now.
Number four on their list isone that I find interesting, and
it's New Orleans, Louisiana.
Yeah, you're a fan Place that'sgot 12 inches of snow.
Yeah, I'm a big fan of NewOrleans and we'll probably in
(06:26):
the next few weeks we'll talkabout New Orleans again.
The reason why this was onthere is just because it is
another walkable city, theFrench Quarter.
There's just somethingdifferent about New Orleans.
Number three on the list, oneof my favorite places it's Calin
, Estonia.
This is a UNESCO World HeritageSite.
(06:47):
It's just so different of adestination and I think that's
where that dopamine comes from.
Number two is Amsterdam Uniquecity, very walkable, lots of
parks, and it's just kind of afeel-good city to be in
Amsterdam.
Number one, and this is onethat I agree with, is split,
Croatia.
(07:07):
I'd say anywhere in Croatia butthe beaches in Croatia.
I've only been there on acruise ship and there is just a
feeling of excitement.
Patrick WIscombe (07:16):
You love Croatia.
For the entire time that we'vebeen doing this radio show and
podcast, you rant and rave aboutCroatia.
Mark Faldmo (07:24):
Croatia should be on everyone's bucket list.
In fact, this last week I justdid a travel agent event and
there was a person there who wasfrom a company called Katarina
Line and they sail small yachts,I guess like 20 people, and
they just sail around theCroatian islands and we're going
to talk about the Faroe Islandsin a little bit, which was just
added to my bucket list, buttaking one of these small
(07:47):
cruises around the islands ofCroatia has also been recently
added to my bucket list.
Patrick WIscombe (07:52):
Isn't that funny.
The more you travel, the morethat you find things that you're
like man.
I want to go do that.
Mark Faldmo (07:57):
Yeah, I want to go do that.
Yeah, there's just so manyamazing places in the world to
visit.
Patrick WIscombe (08:03):
I saw this story.
This one was funny because youwere just down in Nassau Bahamas
, literally 10 days ago.
When I saw this story, Ithought of you, Atlantis, which
is in Nassau Bahamas, the iconiccoral colored exterior building
.
It's coming to Hawaii, did theysay, where.
Mark Faldmo (08:20):
They're going to build an Atlantis resort in
Hawaii in the Ko'olina area.
So it's by the JW MarriottKo'olina by the Alani Hotel, the
Disney Hotel.
When I saw this story, I wasyeah, I'll believe it when I see
it, Because this has beentalked about for 20 years.
However, the land has beenpurchased and a developer has
(08:43):
started developing that.
It's on 26 acres there in theKo'olina area and this will
actually be the third Atlantisin the world.
There is also another Atlantisin Dubai.
Oh, I didn't know that.
They're going to have 500 hotelrooms and 500 condos.
They're saying it should takeroughly five years to complete.
Patrick WIscombe (09:03):
And while you're over there, just by way
of things to do, go to the DolePlantation and go get a Dole
Whip Delightful.
Mark Faldmo (09:11):
I like to ride the pineapple train there.
Patrick WIscombe (09:14):
The gardens there are pretty stunning.
Yes, Always in the openingsegment of the show we've got
the destination highlight and weare talking about the Faroe
Islands.
In case you're wondering wherethe Faroe Islands are, they are
east off the coast of Iceland.
I won't say just off the coastbecause it seems like it's a
little more ocean-y than justoff the coast.
Mark, it is beautiful.
Mark Faldmo (09:36):
I would encourage everyone out there to just go,
do a Google search for FaroeIslands and click on images and
look and see what we're talkingabout here.
So the Faroe Islands are, asyou mentioned they're right
about in between Iceland andScotland.
I actually have a client thatI'm working on a Faroe Islands
trip to them.
His question was I want to gothere at one of my bucket lists,
(09:56):
but how do I get there?
You can get there on flightsfrom Denmark or Iceland.
If coming from the US, we wouldget there connecting through
Iceland.
You can also take ferries there, but those are two day long
ferries or overnight ferries andthe tourist infrastructure at
the ferry piers is not very good.
Flights is the recommended wayto get there and I have a
(10:18):
company that I work with thatjust does the Faroe Islands and
they have four to 10 nightpackages that they do.
Usually, people go for four orfive nights in the Faroe Islands
and then three to five nightsin Iceland kind of combine those
, and so we can definitelypackage that together.
Looking at some of thesepictures, Patrick, the Faroe
(10:39):
Islands has stunning coastalvillages.
Oh my word.
You know they really go totheir Viking roots in history.
What you think of as aScandinavian oceanfront village.
That is, the Faroe IslandsBreathtaking scenery, you know,
to stunning waterfalls,mountains.
We were talking about dopaminetravel earlier.
I think this would definitelybe one of those locations, just
(11:01):
because of the stunning beauty.
Now I've been to the ShetlandIslands, which is similar to
this, but I think this would beeven a step up from what I
experienced in the ShetlandIslands Wow, you can't go wrong
with this one.
Patrick WIscombe (11:13):
I'm telling you if you can get to the Faroe
Islands too, just go do it.
Like Mark said, google searchFaroe Islands F-A-R-O-E Islands
Unbelievable, I don't even knowhow to describe it.
Just go look for yourself.
You will not be disappointed,but don't do it while you're
driving.
Yes, awesome.
(11:34):
Coming up in the next segment,we've got the hot travel deal of
the week, regardless of thedestination.
But we are going to be talkingabout London in the springtime.
But we are going to be talkingabout London in the springtime.
Oh, just awesome.
I love traveling.
We love traveling.
We want to inspire you to getout and travel.
Go see the world.
(11:55):
Quit putting it off.
Call Mark in his office.
Just get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
Or you can also go toblueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back the hottravel deal of the week we're
headed to London.
That is next.
Thanks for listening.
We'll be right back.
Show Voice (12:17):
If you have travel questions, they have the answers
.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(12:37):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (12:43):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex
Insurance Services.
Their travel insurance planscan help protect you and your
vacation.
Travelex is known for theiraward-winning customer service
and high claims paid rate.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com for more information.
Show Voice (13:11):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and
check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
(13:32):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick WIscombe (13:39):
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,alongside Mark Faldmo.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend If
you're listening to us on theradio either Saturday or Sunday
(14:00):
at 11 am Mountain Time, or ifyou subscribe to the podcast at
InsideTravelTalk.
com Coming up in this segment ofthe show.
This is always the segment forthe hot travel deal of the week,
regardless of the destination,and we will be talking about
London in the springtime, whichis kind of hard to believe that
it's February already, literallythe first day of February today
, and it is time to starttalking springtime travel.
(14:23):
It feels like we just startedwinter.
Mark Faldmo (14:24):
Yeah, wow, okay.
Last week was winter, now itfeels like starting to feel like
springtime, but we'll get coldagain, it always happens that
way.
Patrick WIscombe (14:31):
Let's start off with the travel news
headlines for this segment.
I saw that Quintana Roo, whichis?
Is it a state in Mexico?
Mark Faldmo (14:40):
It is, it's the state that Cancun is in Cancun
and the Riviera Maya.
Patrick WIscombe (14:44):
So Quintana Roo's governor has promised to
regulate airport taxi rides inCancun.
Mark Faldmo (14:51):
A few weeks ago maybe a few months ago we talked
about how to avoid travel scams, and some of them were scams
that taxi drivers pull, and theCancun airport has a really bad
reputation.
This is one reason why I alwaysrecommend using a travel
advisor, because we'll set youup with either shared or private
transfers from the airport andyou don't have to deal with
(15:13):
these taxi drivers.
Patrick WIscombe (15:15):
Which, by the way, you did that for me and
Nikki when we traveled.
I tell you having a private carwas nice.
Mark Faldmo (15:20):
The governor points to two specific things that
went viral.
Nice the governor points to twospecific things that went viral
.
One is some American travelerswere charged a million pesos to
go 74 miles between the airportand their hotel in Tulum.
That is about $4,800 whenthat's converted to go 74 miles,
and the driver wanted the moneyup front.
(15:42):
He said there will be nointernet access there so you
won't be able to pay me.
They did it, but I would use atravel agent to go that same
distance.
A shared transfer is probablyabout $60 a person and if you
wanted a private car or aprivate driver there, it's
probably about $250, $270 for aprivate car to go that distance.
(16:05):
You just have to watch out forthose.
And there are several otherstories about these high prices
being charged by taxis in Cancun.
They're actually trying to getthem to be metered because it is
a problem in Cancun.
Patrick WIscombe (16:16):
By the way, unrelated and not on the rundown
I saw that there was a hotel, aMexican hotel.
It was in Tulum, One of thecoolest hotels I've ever seen.
It is called I got to find ithere.
It's La Valise TulumV-A-L-I-S-E.
In Tulum, where it is abreathtaking oceanfront or
jungle view, and you literallytake your king size bed and you
(16:40):
roll it out onto your porch.
It's like it's on a track andyou can just roll outside.
Amazing.
I got to show you this.
You haven't been there, right,I have not been there.
Mark Faldmo (16:49):
No, that sounds very interesting.
Patrick WIscombe (16:52):
I think both of us our wives we need to go
check this out, because the bedliterally is on a track that
goes outside so you can have anocean front view, amazing, yep,
I'm looking at it now, that'spretty cool.
The only reason I bring it upis because of that taxi ride
from Cancun to Tulum, I saw thisstory that Nice, France, is set
to ban large cruise ships andreduce Airbnbs.
(17:13):
What do we know about this, soNice?
Mark Faldmo (17:15):
is looking to limit cruise ships carrying more than
900 passengers, which actuallyaffects most cruise ships out
there.
Even some of the smaller shipsare right at that 900, 1,000
passenger limit.
They say it's to combat overtourism.
I think these bans are bad forthe traveling community.
(17:36):
There will be other cities inthe area that will allow the
cruise ships to come in.
They'll want that money fromthe cruise ships and get to Nice
from these other cities.
Nearby Cairns is also lookingfor a similar ban and they're
also looking to ban Airbnbs,just because of the impacts that
has on local residents andlocal housing prices.
Patrick WIscombe (17:59):
It is time for the hot travel deal of the week
and, as I mentioned at the topof the show and at the very
beginning of this segment, weare headed to London in the
springtime.
Where do you recommend stayingI?
Mark Faldmo (18:11):
like to stay in the Mayfair District by Hyde Park
Corner.
That is a little bit more highend, so the hotels are a little
bit more expensive there, butkind of on the outskirts of that
you can find things.
You know, one thing that we'vetalked about on this show quite
a bit is location matters.
You can save a little bit ofmoney by being outside of town
(18:33):
or staying a little further awayfrom things, but in many cases
you spend that getting back intotown to see the things you want
to see.
So location matters.
In London I'd say you want tobe near a tube station and then
within walking distance to a fewof the attractions.
Another area is the RegentStreet Piccadilly Circus area,
which that's kind of the mainshopping area.
(18:55):
So I like to be within walkingdistance of that.
Patrick WIscombe (18:59):
If you're not there for very many days.
What do you recommend?
I like to do the hop on hop offpass.
Mark Faldmo (19:05):
You can get a multi-day pass and you can use
that to get around the city.
Most cities have multipledifferent buses.
You know they have a red lineand a green line, so you can
switch buses and get to somedifferent areas of the city.
One thing that I do like inLondon is there's a company and
they're called Golden Tours.
Their hop-on, hop-off has alive guide, so you could ride
(19:29):
the bus five different times andget a whole different tour each
time.
Oh, interesting.
You'll be seeing the same things, but you'll get different
stories.
I really like that option of alive guide on the hop-on hop-off
.
Patrick WIscombe (19:40):
What's it called again, did you say Golden
?
Mark Faldmo (19:42):
Tours Golden.
Ad Voice (19:43):
Tours.
Mark Faldmo (19:47):
And that's something I can sell that hop on
, hop off.
If people are looking for that,and in combination with the hop
on, hop off, I kind of havelike a London in a day that I do
.
So I would start at WestminsterAbbey.
That's where all the royaltygets married, that's where many
of the kings are buried.
Take a tour of WestminsterAbbey, which is also near
Parliament and Big Ben, and thenfrom there take a Thames River
(20:09):
cruise which takes you it'sshort, it's five miles or so to
the Tower of London.
Take a tour of the Tower ofLondon.
You can spend hours there.
That's where the crown jewelsare at.
Very interesting to see the beefeeders there, which is the
guard kind of royal guard of theTower of London.
That'll take you the good partof a day just to do that, but
(20:31):
from there just get on the hopon, hop off and continue the
tour.
What else do you recommend Ifyou're in London, changing of
the guard?
Find a good pub for fish andchips as well.
And then I'd also recommendtaking a day trip.
My favorite day trip it's afull day, it's like 12 hours
long, but you start off, go toWarwick Castle in the morning.
Warwick Castle is owned byMadame Tussauds, the wax museum
(20:54):
people.
They've made wax figures ofkind of period pieces, so it's
not cheesy like the wax museum,as it really helps you
experience the castle.
And then from there you go toStratford, which is
Shakespeare's birthplace.
You can go see Shakespeare'shome that he grew up in, then
after that go to Oxford, whichis where Christchurch College is
(21:16):
famous, most recently for HarryPotter.
It's the dining room scene inHarry.
Patrick WIscombe (21:22):
Potter at.
Mark Faldmo (21:23):
Christchurch College, but that's also where
Alice in Wonderland is from.
Now, oxford is interesting.
When you take a tour ofChristchurch College, it's
usually done by a student, sothey're student-led tours, and
when they point out the imageryof Alice in Wonderland, it's
amazing.
It really kind of immerses youinto those books and then you
(21:43):
know also all the Harry Potterfans enjoy it because of that
dining room that's there.
Patrick WIscombe (21:48):
Isn't that funny how we associate things
with movies, with movies.
Oh it's important.
It's been in a movie now IsStonehenge worth going to.
Mark Faldmo (21:56):
I would say, yes, there are a lot of people that
say that's a one and done thing,and I used to think that until
I went back there last year, Ihad a whole different experience
, and so I like Stonehenge.
And you can combine it withanother thing, and combine it
with the city of Bath, which iswhere Roman baths are, and you
can combine it with Salisbury,which has a one of the largest
(22:19):
cathedrals in Europe.
I would say, yes, Stonehenge isworth going to.
Patrick WIscombe (22:23):
What promotions do we have for
listeners to get over to Londonand what timeframe are we
talking about?
Mark Faldmo (22:28):
So I looked at something that was mid-April, so
this is April 15th to the 22nd.
It was six nights hotel andsince this is shorter six nights
I only look at the nonstop fromSalt Lake City.
So there may be some slightlybetter fares than this.
In fact I know there arebecause I looked at main cabin
and there were airfares foreconomy comfort down in the $700
(22:52):
range for this time frame.
So these prices are in maincabin and on the nonstop from
Salt Lake City.
The hotel that I like to use isthe Thistle Marble Arch.
It's a four-star hotel and forthe flights and hotel that
starts at $1,702 per person,which is a great price, and that
(23:12):
is right near that Marble Arch.
I've used this hotel for severalgroups before.
I really like that.
It's fairly close to a tubestation and it's also fairly
close to a hop-on, hop-offstation.
Oh, okay, so that's what youwere talking about earlier, yes,
and then another hotel, LondonMarble Arch, another four-star,
and that one is $1829 per person.
(23:36):
Similar reasons why that'sprobably just a slightly nicer
hotel to Marriott brand thatwe're familiar with.
But the one I really wanted totalk about is the Royal Horse
Guards.
It's a five-star hotel.
For the airfare and five nightshotel it does start at $2111
per person, so $2111 per personbut it is in the best location.
(23:57):
It's right on the Thames River,within walking distance to
Westminster Abbey, withinwalking distance to Buckingham
Palace to see the changing ofthe guard.
I had some clients actuallystay there a few months ago and
they said it's one of thefavorite hotels they've ever
stayed at.
So that's a good option.
And again, as we talked aboutearlier, location matters and I
(24:20):
think these are three hotelsthat are really good locations
and good value for what you'regetting.
Patrick WIscombe (24:26):
The Thistle Marble Arch four star $1,702 a
person.
The London Marriott Marble Arch, a four star hotel is $1,829
per person and the Royal HorseGuard five star hotel $2,111 per
person.
And you're saying that that isprobably the best location just
(24:48):
because it's so central toeverything.
That's correct.
Call Mark, get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
And he'll also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
(25:08):
It is the infamous justcruising segment.
We are going to Hawaii.
We're actually cruising Hawaii.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
The radio show continues.
Alongside my good friend MarkFaldmo, I'm Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We'll be right back.
Show Voice (25:32):
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 show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors,Patrick and Mark, will be back
after these messages.
Ad Voice (25:58):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick WIscombe (26:17):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
I'm Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be back herein just a second, coming up in
the next 30 minutes we will betalking about cruising in Hawaii
and we're talking aboutactually cruising around all of
the islands.
We've got a repositioningcruise from Tahiti to Hawaii and
a situation that Mark isdealing with right now documents
(26:39):
you absolutely have to havewhen boarding a cruise ship.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastradio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate with the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
(27:01):
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (27:13):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Hit us up right now,801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
(27:34):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick WIscombe (27:48):
All aboard for the infamous Just Cruising
segment on the Inside TravelTalk podcast, a radio show.
Hello again, I'm PatrickWiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be back in thestudio here in just a second.
This is the infamous JustCruising segment, and if you've
always wanted to take a cruisearound the islands of Hawaii, if
you just want to go seeeverything, that is what we're
(28:10):
talking about.
It's a seven-day Hawaiiancruise and we're also going to
give you an idea of when thebest time to go is.
But let's get back to the newsheadlines.
Mark, are you back in thestudio?
I think you are.
I'm back.
Okay, all right, let's get tothe travel news headlines.
American Cruise Lines has addeda second ship in Alaska.
Mark Faldmo (28:34):
American Cruise Lines is a.
They're a smaller ship, so theycarry just 170 passengers.
They have ships that sail theMississippi River We've talked
about their ocean cats beforethat do the east coast of the US
and they do have now two ships,the American Constitution and
(28:55):
the American Constellation,which will be on the west coast
for summer Alaska cruises andthey'll also do fall Puget Sound
cruises.
I think this is an interestingoption.
They've introduced new nationalparks itineraries which start
in Fairbanks, they do Denali,Kenai fjords by land and then
(29:16):
they do Glacier Bay NationalPark and cruise down to Juneau.
This is one of the rare shipsthat actually does have
permission to overnight insideglacier bay, so you spend a
whole night and a day insideglacier bay probably because
(29:37):
they're so small.
Patrick WIscombe (29:38):
I mean just because they're so small, I mean
just because they're small yeah.
Mark Faldmo (29:40):
Wow, yeah, some of those smaller ships have some.
They get to do things that thelarger ships can't do.
These are usually a little bitmore expensive, but you do get
just that much better of anexperience.
Patrick WIscombe (29:54):
That was one of the great experiences of my
life going to Glacier BayNational Park and I know you've
been there too.
You've been there way more thanI have, but that's the one
thing that I wish I could havedone longer is just hang out in
there.
When Nikki and I went to Alaska, you really helped us not incur
such a gigantic cell bill.
(30:15):
So let's talk about Wi-Fi andcell service and how to stay
connected on a cruise ship.
Mark Faldmo (30:21):
This is a question I get quite a lot the cruise
lines all have about Wi-Fi andcell service and how to stay
connected on a cruise ship.
This is a question I get quitea lot.
The cruise lines all have theirWi-Fi internet packages, as
we've talked about a few times.
They're all now gettingStarlink.
You can stream movies.
It used to be really slowinternet that you would get on
board.
But a common question I get iscell service and yes, cruise
(30:41):
lines do have cell service, butI would still recommend staying
in airplane mode and only usingthe ship's Wi-Fi.
I have a Skype number that Ipurchased, I think, for like $60
a year or something, and so Ijust use that Skype number and
have my phone forward to theSkype number when I'm on a
cruise ship because it can addup.
(31:01):
And then you know, as we'vetalked about before, you do want
to stay in airplane mode.
If you let your phone run datawhile on a cruise ship, oh boy,
I've had customers come backwith $1,500 phone bills from
leaving it on and using the dataon the cruise ship.
Oh yeah, you know.
Another question I have,because this is typical to do
(31:23):
when you're travelinginternationally, is to get a
foreign SIM or eSIM for yourphone, but on a cruise ship,
that really doesn't work becauseyou're still using that ship
cell tower, which, no matterwhat.
There's not a SIM card just forcruise ships, because they're
using satellite data which isvery expensive for the cell
phones.
Patrick WIscombe (31:42):
I've got the NCL SIM card.
Mark Faldmo (31:45):
Yes.
So that trick works if you'retraveling internationally by
land, but does not really workon a cruise ship.
Patrick WIscombe (31:53):
Save yourself the hassle airplane mode and
just get the Wi-Fi.
We know it's expensive at times.
Just get it.
It will either cost you alittle bit upfront or it's going
to cost you dearly in the end.
Mark Faldmo (32:05):
At the end.
Patrick WIscombe (32:07):
HX Expeditions has debuted an industry first,
a Greenland cruise package.
Mark Faldmo (32:14):
I guess first we should say what HX is.
They're an expedition cruisingcompany.
They have smaller expeditionships and they have a package
that cruises around Greenlandand includes airfare round trip
from Newark Airport, and so it'sa 12-day Greenland cruise.
And this is interesting becauseit's the industry's first
(32:38):
battery-powered cruise ship,purpose built to go into these
areas that are a little bit moresensitive to the exhaust
pollution.
So it is a hybridbattery-powered cruise ship.
Just hope the battery stayscharged.
Oh yeah, what?
Patrick WIscombe (32:55):
do you pull up to?
I'm sorry, we'll need to gettowed.
I'm sorry.
Do you have a charge on board?
Mark Faldmo (33:01):
yeah, no, that's when they turn on the generators
yeah, okay, I get it.
Patrick WIscombe (33:08):
I'm all for that kind of stuff, but every
once in a while you just have tolike I hope you have engines on
board and they do right.
Mark Faldmo (33:16):
Yes, okay, they do I'm sure they have a generator
of of some sort.
So in fact most cruise shipsrun on electric power anyway.
They just have onboardgenerators that generate the
electricity to drive the engine.
Patrick WIscombe (33:29):
Do we have a price on the Greenland cruise
package on HX Expeditions?
Mark Faldmo (33:35):
I don't have a price on that one, but you can
call me, I can easily get it.
Patrick WIscombe (33:40):
Okay, let's get to the cruise deal of the
week, and we are cruising Hawaii.
This is something that Mark andI have done with our wives, and
what do we have for listeners?
Mark Faldmo (33:52):
this week, I've had several requests on this the
last little while.
People just want to go toHawaii.
A lot of people want to seemultiple islands and I think a
cruise is the best way to dothat.
One thing that's a little bitunique about this cruise is the
amount of port time that theyspend in port.
(34:13):
They have an overnight in Mauiand they have an overnight in
Kauai, so you basically have twofull days in each of those
ports.
The seven-day cruise has over100 hours of port time.
This is NCL's Pride of America.
This is NCL's Pride of America,where most cruises on a
(34:33):
seven-day itinerary might have30 or 40.
So this has nearly double theport time, which makes it unique
.
The next thing is people askwhen is the best time to go.
So if you're looking for price,it's November, and December is
when you're going to find thebest prices.
So I look for this is December6th of 2025.
(34:55):
Inside cabin starts at a littleover $2,000 a person and a
balcony cabin starts at about$3,100 a person.
Patrick WIscombe (35:05):
We usually talk about prices that are half
that when going over.
But it's also not a cruise,it's a you just stay in one spot
hotel, fly over five nights andcome back.
Yeah, why is this cruise moreexpensive than other cruises?
Mark Faldmo (35:18):
If you looked at a multi-island package, say, you
went to three islands and youtook into account all of your
food, your flights, your rentalcar, all of that, you would be
more expensive than this in mostcases.
So to see multiple islands,this is a pretty good deal.
Yeah it is, but it is true.
This is a little bit moreexpensive than your typical
(35:42):
seven-day cruise.
A few reasons for that thiscruise does not have an
international port.
It only cruises within the US,which there are some laws out
there.
The ship has to have been builtin the US and it has to be
crewed by US passengers, andthey also have to follow US
employment laws, which means thecrew can only work eight hours
(36:06):
a day, which causes them to needmore employees because they
have to pay higher wages, theyhave to pay overtime, they have
to pay all of that which youdon't in an internationally
crewed ship.
Oh, interesting, the costs ofthis are more expensive.
I've said many times, I thinkthis is the best way to see
Hawaii if you want to seemultiple islands.
Patrick WIscombe (36:29):
Right, it was fun to experience all of the
islands.
Now I can hear someone say well, how different are the islands?
And then I didn't realize howabsolutely different each and
every island was.
You wouldn't think that for achain of islands that are
relatively close together thatthere would be that much
geographical change.
It's just different.
Mark Faldmo (36:49):
It is yeah, it's one of our favorite places to go
.
Yeah, I love Hawaii All right.
Patrick WIscombe (36:54):
As we go to break here, just recap the
Norwegian Cruise Line, or NCL,pride of America, seven-day
Hawaii cruise.
So again.
Mark Faldmo (37:05):
This is December 6, 2025.
Inside cabin started a littleover $2,000 a person.
A balcony cabin a little over$3,100 a person.
Patrick WIscombe (37:16):
Check it out.
Call Mark, just get theconversation started.
There's no obligation.
Check it out.
Call Mark, just get theconversation started.
There's no obligation.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
I'm telling you, just go toHawaii.
Awesome, when we come backwe've got Mark's travel tips and
(37:40):
we are going to do therepositioning crows from Tahiti
to Hawaii.
We ran a little bit long.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues, we will be rightback.
Show Voice (37:48):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacationscom.
America's best travel advisors.
Call or text the show now.
America's best travel advisors.
(38:09):
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (38:12):
801-649-3700.
We'll be right back Inside.
Travel Talk is brought to youby Anna Waterways.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages visit some
of Europe's most remarkablesites and cities To set out on
your own river cruise journey.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
(38:40):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (38:43):
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.
(39:05):
And now here's Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo.
Patrick WIscombe (39:14):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
Travel Talk podcast and radioshow.
I am Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo is on the other endof this connection.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend
for the last year and a half.
Without you, we don't have ashow.
(39:36):
Without you, we don't have abusiness.
We are just grateful that youwill take the time to stop and
listen to the show Coming up.
In this final segment of theshow, we went a little bit long
talking about Hawaii and NCL'spride of America.
We've got some additionaltravel news that we need to get
(39:58):
to, but as we come back frombreak, we promised listeners
that we would talk about therepositioning cruise from Tahiti
to Hawaii.
What was the price on that andwhen was it?
Mark Faldmo (40:10):
Mark, and so this is May of this year, may 21st.
This is an amazing itinerary.
I actually was able to do thereverse of this itinerary about
two years ago, very high on mylist.
I'll go over the itineraryfirst, and then the pricing.
It starts in Papeete,overnights in Papeete, goes to
Morea Raiatea, then everyone'sfavorite, bora Bora, where it
(40:33):
actually overnight.
So it spends a full day and ahalf there in Bora Bora, a
couple of days at sea, goes toKilo on the big island, goes to
Kona on the big island, oh soyou start on the east side of
the island and then go to Kona,kind of that southwest side.
Yeah, so it does two ports onthe big island.
Okay, yeah, and then goes toKauai, Maui, and then ends in
(40:58):
Honolulu.
Now this is a 14-day cruisethat actually has lots of
overnights, three places withovernights but the price is very
good.
14 nights inside cabin start at$18.95, and a balcony cabin
starts at $28.75.
Patrick WIscombe (41:14):
Wow, if you are just listening to this show
for the first time, never evenheard the show repositioning
cruises.
If you want the most bang foryour buck, that's what you do.
If you take nothing else awayfrom this show, just take that
away.
If you want to start cruising,repositioning cruises are the
way to go.
Mark Faldmo (41:31):
Yep, they are.
They're a great way to go andyou get to see some unique
things on repositioning cruises.
Patrick WIscombe (41:37):
Just because Mark is dealing with a real
situation right now.
We wanted to bring this up, andwhen we started the show, you
have a client who was trying toboard a cruise ship, and so we
wanted to talk about thedocuments that every person
needs to have when boarding acruise ship.
Now let's talk about where theywere about 45 minutes ago, and
(41:59):
then do you have an update onthe story?
Mark Faldmo (42:02):
I do.
I have an update.
So, first thing, there are somecruises that you don't need a
passport, but I would highlyencourage you to get a passport
and travel with a passport.
Cruises that leave from a USport come back to the same US
port.
Most of them you do not need apassport, you only need proof of
(42:24):
citizenship, which is yourbirth certificate.
A lot of people are confusedabout their birth certificate,
so the official birthcertificate is the one that has
a state seal on, usually araised state seal, and what
happened to this client is theyshowed up to the port with their
(42:45):
hospital birth record.
It's the one that has the babyfeet and all of that even right
on it that says this is not alegal document.
And so that's why I say justtravel with a passport.
You know you're going to befine with a passport.
And I just got literally rightbefore we started this segment,
(43:06):
so like two minutes ago, thatthey did make it on the ship.
Oh, they did.
So they had an expired passportwhich they had to have a family
member go to their house, findtheir expired passport, take a
picture of it and send it sothey could prove that they had a
passport, a valid passport atone time, oh wow.
And I think they also got thestate records office to fax them
(43:29):
a copy of their official birthcertificate.
So not having the rightdocumentation when traveling can
cause a lot of stress, oh andsadly we went over this before
the trip.
Oh, you did.
It's something that I go overwith everyone what counts, what
can't.
And you know we say not thehospital certificate, it has to
(43:51):
be the state issued one.
This is not the first time thatthis has happened to me either.
I've had probably three or fourother occasions where clients
have shown up without the rightdocumentation.
Patrick WIscombe (44:03):
Well, I'm just glad they made it on the ship.
Me too, and they literallytexted you.
Mark Faldmo (44:07):
Yeah, just a minute ago that they made it on the
ship, wow.
Patrick WIscombe (44:10):
Make a long story short get a passport
period.
It just makes things everythingeasier.
Mark Faldmo (44:15):
And it's not hard to get a passport these days?
No, and it's fairly quick.
The processing times have goneway down.
Are you a Reddit guy?
I, fairly quick.
The processing times have goneway down.
Are you a Reddit guy?
I'm not.
Sometimes I do.
I get a lot of these travelstories from Reddit.
Patrick WIscombe (44:28):
Well, reddit users had an issue with United
with a reservation.
First of all, what happened,and then how can people avoid it
?
So what?
Mark Faldmo (44:37):
happened is he booked, and it's not clear
whether he booked directly withUnited, although, reading this
article, I don't think he bookeddirectly with United.
I think he booked through athird-party site.
He said he got an email with aconfirmation and that email said
look for an email in a few dayswith your ticket numbers,
(45:05):
ticket numbers.
And so even though you have areservation number especially if
you're booking through athird-party site does not mean
that your ticket has beenticketed.
You actually need to make surethat you have ticket numbers.
This is one reason why Istrongly advocate that you book
with a travel advisor, becauseyou just don't know how a lot of
those third-party booking siteswork.
As a travel advisor, we makesure that everything is ticketed
(45:28):
, that you have ticket numbers.
If something goes wrong, it'sour mistake, not your mistake or
the airline's mistake, and wefix it.
A lot of these, especially whenyou're traveling
internationally, they havecontracts that are paid to the
airline in cash, so when youbook it on their site, they
charge your card and thenthey're supposed to have someone
turn around and ticket thatflight.
(45:50):
And so what I think happened isthat just didn't get in the
queue, it got missed.
Patrick WIscombe (45:55):
It never got ticketed by that online website,
oh so it could be an innocentmistake, but man did it, cause a
headache.
Mark Faldmo (46:06):
It did, and so you know again.
That's why book with a liveperson, a book with a travel
advisor, or make sure you'rebooking directly on the
airline's website.
As a travel agent, I do usesome of these that are called
air consolidators forinternational trips, because I
do this all the time.
I know what to look for and Iknow to make sure that that's
(46:28):
actually ticketed.
This is also a story like wetalked about with the documents
that are just a minute ago.
This is quite common.
People book online, they showup and there's no hotel
reservation, there's no airlinereservation.
So, with the travel agent,we're always here to help
resolve that.
If it's our mistake, we fix it.
Patrick WIscombe (46:49):
I saw a news story that cruise line
passengers are being warned overhidden fees by fake cruise reps
.
Mark Faldmo (46:58):
Yes.
So this is interesting, thefirst paragraph of the story.
Cruise lines have facedunexpected fees in the past.
A Royal Caribbean passenger inparticular warned others after
an unexpected $1,300 bill.
Surprisingly, this was not afake fee.
Instead, it was a phone billafter he failed to put his phone
(47:19):
in airplane mode.
Didn't we just talk about that?
Literally, that part is not afake fee.
But what some cruisers,particularly on Carnival Cruise
Line, are facing is peoplecalling them after their cruise
saying they have an unpaid bill,trying to collect for an unpaid
bill.
People are calling the phonenumbers and clicking on the
(47:42):
links.
I think we've talked about thisbefore.
If you get an email and this isgood for just anything in life,
don't do anything right thenCall back to a number you know
is a verified number to thatcompany and make sure that if
you do owe something, you'repaying the right people.
Patrick WIscombe (48:00):
I closed my eyes and just went, oh no.
Mark Faldmo (48:03):
And that's something similar that I just
saw on the local news thatthere's scams going around with
people getting parking tickets,emails of parking tickets,
needing to pay parking tickets,and all the police departments
are saying they're fake.
So this is a similar thing,with scammers just figuring out
how to steal people's money.
Patrick WIscombe (48:24):
What was interesting about that part of
the story is how they knew thescammers the hidden fee people
scammers how they knew that theyhad been on a cruise and that
they just knew how to targetthem.
That's terrifying, at least itis to me.
Mark Faldmo (48:41):
Yeah, that is unfortunately come from what
people post online, so if you'rescouring people's Facebook
pages or finding things, you canprobably easily find people
that have recently been on acruise.
Patrick WIscombe (48:53):
And that's a low tech way of how to scam
people.
I didn't even think about that.
Mark Faldmo (48:57):
Yeah, it is.
So this came out particularlyfrom Carnival Cruise Line to
watch out for this particularscam.
Patrick WIscombe (49:03):
Okay, so they meaning Carnival Cruise Line to
watch out for this particularscam?
Okay, so they meaning Carnival,are warning their customers,
Correct?
Mark Faldmo (49:10):
Oh, okay, there we go.
It's small amounts, like thescam was that some of them were
asking for like $80, $100.
Isn't?
Patrick WIscombe (49:17):
that the perfect scam, though.
Like something that doesn'traise alarm bells.
You know something that'sreasonable.
Mark Faldmo (49:23):
Yes, yeah, oh something that's reasonable.
Patrick WIscombe (49:25):
Yes, yeah, oh, wow.
Mark's been doing this for 30years over 30 years being a
travel advisor.
He is the man and a good persontoo.
Call him in his office.
If you want to book any of thevacations that we've talked
about for the last hour.
Call him 888-718-7717,888-718-7717, or go to
(49:50):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
You can listen to this show theInside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show tomorrow morning,Sunday, at 11 am Mountain Time,
right here on this radio station, and you can stream, download
and subscribe to the podcast.
Just go to insidetraveltalk.
(50:10):
com.
You can stream the show there.
We're on all of the majorpodcast platforms if you just
want to sign up.
We've done our job.
It is now your turn to get outand explore the world while you
can, because you never know whatcurveball's life is going to
throw at you.
Travel is a great way to have acommon bonding experience with
(50:36):
your family.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week, mark, and Iwill talk to you again next
Saturday and Sunday.
Show Voice (50:48):
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.
That's 888-718-7717.
(51:10):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (51:43):
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
(52:04):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show Coming up.
On today's show, we will betalking about dopamine travel.
Yep, such a thing really doesexist.
The stunning beauty of theFaroe Islands, London in the
springtime, which is really notthat far away, cruising in
Hawaii and the documents youabsolutely need to board a
(00:22):
cruise ship.
Let's get started.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastradio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate with the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (00:52):
Helping you plan your next vacation.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call us now 801-649-3700801-649-3700 and check out the
podcast at insidetraveltalk.
(01:12):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick WIscombe (01:32):
Coming to you live from the Wiscombe-Faldmo
Radio Studios right here in SaltLake City.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
Hello there, I am PatrickWiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be in thestudio here in just a moment and
coming up on this edition ofthe show.
If you're feeling blue, we haveactually got some dopamine
travel ideas to help you feelgood, and part of that is we're
(01:53):
going to take you to Hawaii.
That is just a portion of theshow that is coming up here in
the next hour.
We want to thank you for takingthe time to stop and listen and
, if you are brand new to theshow, the entire purpose of this
radio show is to help you planand book your next vacation or
just give you ideas of where youwant to go on your next
vacation and, by the way, theFaroe Islands is officially on
(02:17):
my to-do list now, and thisradio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com and Mark Faldmo is what?
A couple of weeks back fromNassau, Bahamas, and what other
travel do you have coming uphere in the next week or so?
Mark Faldmo (02:33):
The next thing I have on my official list is the
MSC World America that we talkedabout last week in April, but
hopefully I'll get a few morethings on my travel list in the
next few weeks, because it'sbeen too long.
I've been home for about 10days now.
I'm ready to go again.
It just makes me laugh.
Patrick WIscombe (02:50):
Most people would say oh man, I haven't gone
for a long, long time.
I've been home for 10 days.
Well, let's get to the travelnews headlines.
I saw that Southwest Airlineshas signed a partnership
agreement with Iceland Air.
What's that about?
Mark Faldmo (03:05):
This is good news for those that want to connect
to Europe.
This really opens up Icelandand Europe more to US travelers.
So Southwest Airlines andIceland Air have started a
strategic agreement which willallow them to code share each
other's flights.
This was signed earlier thismonth.
The first airport that this isgoing to happen in is Baltimore,
(03:25):
Washington, which will happenin February.
A little bit later on in theyear they're going to have
connections from Nashville andDenver Iceland Air.
Obviously they fly to Iceland,but they also fly to points
beyond in Europe.
You'll be able to use SouthwestAirlines and get to Europe in
this situation.
Patrick WIscombe (03:44):
You said code share agreement.
What is a code share?
Mark Faldmo (03:48):
A code share agreement is where you might buy
your ticket all on SouthwestAirlines, but one or more
portions will be operated byIceland Air.
Patrick WIscombe (03:58):
Okay, so that's not uncommon.
Mark Faldmo (04:00):
It's not uncommon, so it's like one ticket, but
there might be multiple airlineson one ticket.
Oh, okay, and it's not uncommonto international destinations.
Patrick WIscombe (04:09):
It has been very, very cold.
It's warming up, so it's goingto feel like springtime here
this weekend, which is kind ofnice.
But in case you've got thewinter blues, we've got some
dopamine travel ideas.
We've got 10 destinations thatwill boost your mood.
Mark Faldmo (04:25):
What are they?
There's actually a study doneand they found these 10
destinations that have theseparticular things that help
boost your dopamine levels, makeyou feel happy, and that's fun
spontaneity, sensory stimulation, connection and movement.
So those are the criteria theyused for these destinations.
(04:45):
Most of these I agree with andsome I scratch my head a little
bit, but I can see where they'recoming from.
So the number 10 destinationfor dopamine travel is Oslo,
Norway.
It sounds cold.
It sounds cold right now, yes,but in the summertime it's
wonderful.
If you're looking at thosecriteria, sensory overload, fun,
movement Oslo is a great placefor that.
(05:08):
The next place and this is oneI find interesting it's
Vancouver, British Columbia.
Now, I love Vancouver.
Oh, I do too.
I think it's really underratedit is.
I've mainly done Vancouverbefore or after a cruise, but
it's a great destination.
Number eight spot this is allprobably just for one reason is
Liverpool, England.
(05:28):
It's the birthplace of theBeatles, so that gives certain
people high amounts of dopamine.
Patrick WIscombe (05:35):
If you just happen to run into Paul
McCartney.
Yes, yeah.
Mark Faldmo (05:39):
It's actually ranked as Europe's most walkable
city and so very easy to getaround.
Number seven on the list isMalaga.
Spain, on the shores of theMediterranean, has the most
sunshine of any area in Europe,and there's plenty of beaches
there, so lots of vitamin D anddopamine created there.
(05:59):
For similar reasons, Cadiz Bayin Spain.
Have you been to Cadiz?
I have not.
Patrick WIscombe (06:04):
Oh, I thought you had.
Mark Faldmo (06:06):
One place I haven't been, but again similar reasons
to Malaga, Lisbon, Portugal.
Another place I've not been,but it's on my list Now.
Number four on their list isone that I find interesting, and
it's New Orleans, Louisiana.
Yeah, you're a fan Place that'sgot 12 inches of snow.
Yeah, I'm a big fan of NewOrleans and we'll probably in
(06:26):
the next few weeks we'll talkabout New Orleans again.
The reason why this was onthere is just because it is
another walkable city, theFrench Quarter.
There's just somethingdifferent about New Orleans.
Number three on the list, oneof my favorite places it's Calin
, Estonia.
This is a UNESCO World HeritageSite.
(06:47):
It's just so different of adestination and I think that's
where that dopamine comes from.
Number two is Amsterdam Uniquecity, very walkable, lots of
parks, and it's just kind of afeel-good city to be in
Amsterdam.
Number one, and this is onethat I agree with, is split,
Croatia.
(07:07):
I'd say anywhere in Croatia butthe beaches in Croatia.
I've only been there on acruise ship and there is just a
feeling of excitement.
Patrick WIscombe (07:16):
You love Croatia.
For the entire time that we'vebeen doing this radio show and
podcast, you rant and rave aboutCroatia.
Mark Faldmo (07:24):
Croatia should be on everyone's bucket list.
In fact, this last week I justdid a travel agent event and
there was a person there who wasfrom a company called Katarina
Line and they sail small yachts,I guess like 20 people, and
they just sail around theCroatian islands and we're going
to talk about the Faroe Islandsin a little bit, which was just
added to my bucket list, buttaking one of these small
(07:47):
cruises around the islands ofCroatia has also been recently
added to my bucket list.
Patrick WIscombe (07:52):
Isn't that funny.
The more you travel, the morethat you find things that you're
like man.
I want to go do that.
Mark Faldmo (07:57):
Yeah, I want to go do that.
Yeah, there's just so manyamazing places in the world to
visit.
Patrick WIscombe (08:03):
I saw this story.
This one was funny because youwere just down in Nassau Bahamas
, literally 10 days ago.
When I saw this story, Ithought of you, Atlantis, which
is in Nassau Bahamas, the iconiccoral colored exterior building
.
It's coming to Hawaii, did theysay, where.
Mark Faldmo (08:20):
They're going to build an Atlantis resort in
Hawaii in the Ko'olina area.
So it's by the JW MarriottKo'olina by the Alani Hotel, the
Disney Hotel.
When I saw this story, I wasyeah, I'll believe it when I see
it, Because this has beentalked about for 20 years.
However, the land has beenpurchased and a developer has
(08:43):
started developing that.
It's on 26 acres there in theKo'olina area and this will
actually be the third Atlantisin the world.
There is also another Atlantisin Dubai.
Oh, I didn't know that.
They're going to have 500 hotelrooms and 500 condos.
They're saying it should takeroughly five years to complete.
Patrick WIscombe (09:03):
And while you're over there, just by way
of things to do, go to the DolePlantation and go get a Dole
Whip Delightful.
Mark Faldmo (09:11):
I like to ride the pineapple train there.
Patrick WIscombe (09:14):
The gardens there are pretty stunning.
Yes, Always in the openingsegment of the show we've got
the destination highlight and weare talking about the Faroe
Islands.
In case you're wondering wherethe Faroe Islands are, they are
east off the coast of Iceland.
I won't say just off the coastbecause it seems like it's a
little more ocean-y than justoff the coast.
Mark, it is beautiful.
Mark Faldmo (09:36):
I would encourage everyone out there to just go,
do a Google search for FaroeIslands and click on images and
look and see what we're talkingabout here.
So the Faroe Islands are, asyou mentioned they're right
about in between Iceland andScotland.
I actually have a client thatI'm working on a Faroe Islands
trip to them.
His question was I want to gothere at one of my bucket lists,
(09:56):
but how do I get there?
You can get there on flightsfrom Denmark or Iceland.
If coming from the US, we wouldget there connecting through
Iceland.
You can also take ferries there, but those are two day long
ferries or overnight ferries andthe tourist infrastructure at
the ferry piers is not very good.
Flights is the recommended wayto get there and I have a
(10:18):
company that I work with thatjust does the Faroe Islands and
they have four to 10 nightpackages that they do.
Usually, people go for four orfive nights in the Faroe Islands
and then three to five nightsin Iceland kind of combine those
, and so we can definitelypackage that together.
Looking at some of thesepictures, Patrick, the Faroe
(10:39):
Islands has stunning coastalvillages.
Oh my word.
You know they really go totheir Viking roots in history.
What you think of as aScandinavian oceanfront village.
That is, the Faroe IslandsBreathtaking scenery, you know,
to stunning waterfalls,mountains.
We were talking about dopaminetravel earlier.
I think this would definitelybe one of those locations, just
(11:01):
because of the stunning beauty.
Now I've been to the ShetlandIslands, which is similar to
this, but I think this would beeven a step up from what I
experienced in the ShetlandIslands Wow, you can't go wrong
with this one.
Patrick WIscombe (11:13):
I'm telling you if you can get to the Faroe
Islands too, just go do it.
Like Mark said, google searchFaroe Islands F-A-R-O-E Islands
Unbelievable, I don't even knowhow to describe it.
Just go look for yourself.
You will not be disappointed,but don't do it while you're
driving.
Yes, awesome.
(11:34):
Coming up in the next segment,we've got the hot travel deal of
the week, regardless of thedestination.
But we are going to be talkingabout London in the springtime.
But we are going to be talkingabout London in the springtime.
Oh, just awesome.
I love traveling.
We love traveling.
We want to inspire you to getout and travel.
Go see the world.
(11:55):
Quit putting it off.
Call Mark in his office.
Just get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
Or you can also go toblueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back the hottravel deal of the week we're
headed to London.
That is next.
Thanks for listening.
We'll be right back.
Show Voice (12:17):
If you have travel questions, they have the answers
.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(12:37):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (12:43):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex
Insurance Services.
Their travel insurance planscan help protect you and your
vacation.
Travelex is known for theiraward-winning customer service
and high claims paid rate.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com for more information.
Show Voice (13:11):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and
check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
(13:32):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick WIscombe (13:39):
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,alongside Mark Faldmo.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend If
you're listening to us on theradio either Saturday or Sunday
(14:00):
at 11 am Mountain Time, or ifyou subscribe to the podcast at
InsideTravelTalk.
com Coming up in this segment ofthe show.
This is always the segment forthe hot travel deal of the week,
regardless of the destination,and we will be talking about
London in the springtime, whichis kind of hard to believe that
it's February already, literallythe first day of February today
, and it is time to starttalking springtime travel.
(14:23):
It feels like we just startedwinter.
Mark Faldmo (14:24):
Yeah, wow, okay.
Last week was winter, now itfeels like starting to feel like
springtime, but we'll get coldagain, it always happens that
way.
Patrick WIscombe (14:31):
Let's start off with the travel news
headlines for this segment.
I saw that Quintana Roo, whichis?
Is it a state in Mexico?
Mark Faldmo (14:40):
It is, it's the state that Cancun is in Cancun
and the Riviera Maya.
Patrick WIscombe (14:44):
So Quintana Roo's governor has promised to
regulate airport taxi rides inCancun.
Mark Faldmo (14:51):
A few weeks ago maybe a few months ago we talked
about how to avoid travel scams, and some of them were scams
that taxi drivers pull, and theCancun airport has a really bad
reputation.
This is one reason why I alwaysrecommend using a travel
advisor, because we'll set youup with either shared or private
transfers from the airport andyou don't have to deal with
(15:13):
these taxi drivers.
Patrick WIscombe (15:15):
Which, by the way, you did that for me and
Nikki when we traveled.
I tell you having a private carwas nice.
Mark Faldmo (15:20):
The governor points to two specific things that
went viral.
Nice the governor points to twospecific things that went viral
.
One is some American travelerswere charged a million pesos to
go 74 miles between the airportand their hotel in Tulum.
That is about $4,800 whenthat's converted to go 74 miles,
and the driver wanted the moneyup front.
(15:42):
He said there will be nointernet access there so you
won't be able to pay me.
They did it, but I would use atravel agent to go that same
distance.
A shared transfer is probablyabout $60 a person and if you
wanted a private car or aprivate driver there, it's
probably about $250, $270 for aprivate car to go that distance.
(16:05):
You just have to watch out forthose.
And there are several otherstories about these high prices
being charged by taxis in Cancun.
They're actually trying to getthem to be metered because it is
a problem in Cancun.
Patrick WIscombe (16:16):
By the way, unrelated and not on the rundown
I saw that there was a hotel, aMexican hotel.
It was in Tulum, One of thecoolest hotels I've ever seen.
It is called I got to find ithere.
It's La Valise TulumV-A-L-I-S-E.
In Tulum, where it is abreathtaking oceanfront or
jungle view, and you literallytake your king size bed and you
(16:40):
roll it out onto your porch.
It's like it's on a track andyou can just roll outside.
Amazing.
I got to show you this.
You haven't been there, right,I have not been there.
Mark Faldmo (16:49):
No, that sounds very interesting.
Patrick WIscombe (16:52):
I think both of us our wives we need to go
check this out, because the bedliterally is on a track that
goes outside so you can have anocean front view, amazing, yep,
I'm looking at it now, that'spretty cool.
The only reason I bring it upis because of that taxi ride
from Cancun to Tulum, I saw thisstory that Nice, France, is set
to ban large cruise ships andreduce Airbnbs.
(17:13):
What do we know about this, soNice?
Mark Faldmo (17:15):
is looking to limit cruise ships carrying more than
900 passengers, which actuallyaffects most cruise ships out
there.
Even some of the smaller shipsare right at that 900, 1,000
passenger limit.
They say it's to combat overtourism.
I think these bans are bad forthe traveling community.
(17:36):
There will be other cities inthe area that will allow the
cruise ships to come in.
They'll want that money fromthe cruise ships and get to Nice
from these other cities.
Nearby Cairns is also lookingfor a similar ban and they're
also looking to ban Airbnbs,just because of the impacts that
has on local residents andlocal housing prices.
Patrick WIscombe (17:59):
It is time for the hot travel deal of the week
and, as I mentioned at the topof the show and at the very
beginning of this segment, weare headed to London in the
springtime.
Where do you recommend stayingI?
Mark Faldmo (18:11):
like to stay in the Mayfair District by Hyde Park
Corner.
That is a little bit more highend, so the hotels are a little
bit more expensive there, butkind of on the outskirts of that
you can find things.
You know, one thing that we'vetalked about on this show quite
a bit is location matters.
You can save a little bit ofmoney by being outside of town
(18:33):
or staying a little further awayfrom things, but in many cases
you spend that getting back intotown to see the things you want
to see.
So location matters.
In London I'd say you want tobe near a tube station and then
within walking distance to a fewof the attractions.
Another area is the RegentStreet Piccadilly Circus area,
which that's kind of the mainshopping area.
(18:55):
So I like to be within walkingdistance of that.
Patrick WIscombe (18:59):
If you're not there for very many days.
What do you recommend?
I like to do the hop on hop offpass.
Mark Faldmo (19:05):
You can get a multi-day pass and you can use
that to get around the city.
Most cities have multipledifferent buses.
You know they have a red lineand a green line, so you can
switch buses and get to somedifferent areas of the city.
One thing that I do like inLondon is there's a company and
they're called Golden Tours.
Their hop-on, hop-off has alive guide, so you could ride
(19:29):
the bus five different times andget a whole different tour each
time.
Oh, interesting.
You'll be seeing the same things, but you'll get different
stories.
I really like that option of alive guide on the hop-on hop-off
.
Patrick WIscombe (19:40):
What's it called again, did you say Golden
?
Mark Faldmo (19:42):
Tours Golden.
Ad Voice (19:43):
Tours.
Mark Faldmo (19:47):
And that's something I can sell that hop on
, hop off.
If people are looking for that,and in combination with the hop
on, hop off, I kind of havelike a London in a day that I do
.
So I would start at WestminsterAbbey.
That's where all the royaltygets married, that's where many
of the kings are buried.
Take a tour of WestminsterAbbey, which is also near
Parliament and Big Ben, and thenfrom there take a Thames River
(20:09):
cruise which takes you it'sshort, it's five miles or so to
the Tower of London.
Take a tour of the Tower ofLondon.
You can spend hours there.
That's where the crown jewelsare at.
Very interesting to see the beefeeders there, which is the
guard kind of royal guard of theTower of London.
That'll take you the good partof a day just to do that, but
(20:31):
from there just get on the hopon, hop off and continue the
tour.
What else do you recommend Ifyou're in London, changing of
the guard?
Find a good pub for fish andchips as well.
And then I'd also recommendtaking a day trip.
My favorite day trip it's afull day, it's like 12 hours
long, but you start off, go toWarwick Castle in the morning.
Warwick Castle is owned byMadame Tussauds, the wax museum
(20:54):
people.
They've made wax figures ofkind of period pieces, so it's
not cheesy like the wax museum,as it really helps you
experience the castle.
And then from there you go toStratford, which is
Shakespeare's birthplace.
You can go see Shakespeare'shome that he grew up in, then
after that go to Oxford, whichis where Christchurch College is
(21:16):
famous, most recently for HarryPotter.
It's the dining room scene inHarry.
Patrick WIscombe (21:22):
Potter at.
Mark Faldmo (21:23):
Christchurch College, but that's also where
Alice in Wonderland is from.
Now, oxford is interesting.
When you take a tour ofChristchurch College, it's
usually done by a student, sothey're student-led tours, and
when they point out the imageryof Alice in Wonderland, it's
amazing.
It really kind of immerses youinto those books and then you
(21:43):
know also all the Harry Potterfans enjoy it because of that
dining room that's there.
Patrick WIscombe (21:48):
Isn't that funny how we associate things
with movies, with movies.
Oh it's important.
It's been in a movie now IsStonehenge worth going to.
Mark Faldmo (21:56):
I would say, yes, there are a lot of people that
say that's a one and done thing,and I used to think that until
I went back there last year, Ihad a whole different experience
, and so I like Stonehenge.
And you can combine it withanother thing, and combine it
with the city of Bath, which iswhere Roman baths are, and you
can combine it with Salisbury,which has a one of the largest
(22:19):
cathedrals in Europe.
I would say, yes, Stonehenge isworth going to.
Patrick WIscombe (22:23):
What promotions do we have for
listeners to get over to Londonand what timeframe are we
talking about?
Mark Faldmo (22:28):
So I looked at something that was mid-April, so
this is April 15th to the 22nd.
It was six nights hotel andsince this is shorter six nights
I only look at the nonstop fromSalt Lake City.
So there may be some slightlybetter fares than this.
In fact I know there arebecause I looked at main cabin
and there were airfares foreconomy comfort down in the $700
(22:52):
range for this time frame.
So these prices are in maincabin and on the nonstop from
Salt Lake City.
The hotel that I like to use isthe Thistle Marble Arch.
It's a four-star hotel and forthe flights and hotel that
starts at $1,702 per person,which is a great price, and that
(23:12):
is right near that Marble Arch.
I've used this hotel for severalgroups before.
I really like that.
It's fairly close to a tubestation and it's also fairly
close to a hop-on, hop-offstation.
Oh, okay, so that's what youwere talking about earlier, yes,
and then another hotel, LondonMarble Arch, another four-star,
and that one is $1829 per person.
(23:36):
Similar reasons why that'sprobably just a slightly nicer
hotel to Marriott brand thatwe're familiar with.
But the one I really wanted totalk about is the Royal Horse
Guards.
It's a five-star hotel.
For the airfare and five nightshotel it does start at $2111
per person, so $2111 per personbut it is in the best location.
(23:57):
It's right on the Thames River,within walking distance to
Westminster Abbey, withinwalking distance to Buckingham
Palace to see the changing ofthe guard.
I had some clients actuallystay there a few months ago and
they said it's one of thefavorite hotels they've ever
stayed at.
So that's a good option.
And again, as we talked aboutearlier, location matters and I
(24:20):
think these are three hotelsthat are really good locations
and good value for what you'regetting.
Patrick WIscombe (24:26):
The Thistle Marble Arch four star $1,702 a
person.
The London Marriott Marble Arch, a four star hotel is $1,829
per person and the Royal HorseGuard five star hotel $2,111 per
person.
And you're saying that that isprobably the best location just
(24:48):
because it's so central toeverything.
That's correct.
Call Mark, get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
And he'll also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
(25:08):
It is the infamous justcruising segment.
We are going to Hawaii.
We're actually cruising Hawaii.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
The radio show continues.
Alongside my good friend MarkFaldmo, I'm Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We'll be right back.
Show Voice (25:32):
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 show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors,Patrick and Mark, will be back
after these messages.
Ad Voice (25:58):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick WIscombe (26:17):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
I'm Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be back herein just a second, coming up in
the next 30 minutes we will betalking about cruising in Hawaii
and we're talking aboutactually cruising around all of
the islands.
We've got a repositioningcruise from Tahiti to Hawaii and
a situation that Mark isdealing with right now documents
(26:39):
you absolutely have to havewhen boarding a cruise ship.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastradio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate with the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
(27:01):
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (27:13):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Hit us up right now,801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
(27:34):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick WIscombe (27:48):
All aboard for the infamous Just Cruising
segment on the Inside TravelTalk podcast, a radio show.
Hello again, I'm PatrickWiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be back in thestudio here in just a second.
This is the infamous JustCruising segment, and if you've
always wanted to take a cruisearound the islands of Hawaii, if
you just want to go seeeverything, that is what we're
(28:10):
talking about.
It's a seven-day Hawaiiancruise and we're also going to
give you an idea of when thebest time to go is.
But let's get back to the newsheadlines.
Mark, are you back in thestudio?
I think you are.
I'm back.
Okay, all right, let's get tothe travel news headlines.
American Cruise Lines has addeda second ship in Alaska.
Mark Faldmo (28:34):
American Cruise Lines is a.
They're a smaller ship, so theycarry just 170 passengers.
They have ships that sail theMississippi River We've talked
about their ocean cats beforethat do the east coast of the US
and they do have now two ships,the American Constitution and
(28:55):
the American Constellation,which will be on the west coast
for summer Alaska cruises andthey'll also do fall Puget Sound
cruises.
I think this is an interestingoption.
They've introduced new nationalparks itineraries which start
in Fairbanks, they do Denali,Kenai fjords by land and then
(29:16):
they do Glacier Bay NationalPark and cruise down to Juneau.
This is one of the rare shipsthat actually does have
permission to overnight insideglacier bay, so you spend a
whole night and a day insideglacier bay probably because
(29:37):
they're so small.
Patrick WIscombe (29:38):
I mean just because they're so small, I mean
just because they're small yeah.
Mark Faldmo (29:40):
Wow, yeah, some of those smaller ships have some.
They get to do things that thelarger ships can't do.
These are usually a little bitmore expensive, but you do get
just that much better of anexperience.
Patrick WIscombe (29:54):
That was one of the great experiences of my
life going to Glacier BayNational Park and I know you've
been there too.
You've been there way more thanI have, but that's the one
thing that I wish I could havedone longer is just hang out in
there.
When Nikki and I went to Alaska, you really helped us not incur
such a gigantic cell bill.
(30:15):
So let's talk about Wi-Fi andcell service and how to stay
connected on a cruise ship.
Mark Faldmo (30:21):
This is a question I get quite a lot the cruise
lines all have about Wi-Fi andcell service and how to stay
connected on a cruise ship.
This is a question I get quitea lot.
The cruise lines all have theirWi-Fi internet packages, as
we've talked about a few times.
They're all now gettingStarlink.
You can stream movies.
It used to be really slowinternet that you would get on
board.
But a common question I get iscell service and yes, cruise
(30:41):
lines do have cell service, butI would still recommend staying
in airplane mode and only usingthe ship's Wi-Fi.
I have a Skype number that Ipurchased, I think, for like $60
a year or something, and so Ijust use that Skype number and
have my phone forward to theSkype number when I'm on a
cruise ship because it can addup.
(31:01):
And then you know, as we'vetalked about before, you do want
to stay in airplane mode.
If you let your phone run datawhile on a cruise ship, oh boy,
I've had customers come backwith $1,500 phone bills from
leaving it on and using the dataon the cruise ship.
Oh yeah, you know.
Another question I have,because this is typical to do
(31:23):
when you're travelinginternationally, is to get a
foreign SIM or eSIM for yourphone, but on a cruise ship,
that really doesn't work becauseyou're still using that ship
cell tower, which, no matterwhat.
There's not a SIM card just forcruise ships, because they're
using satellite data which isvery expensive for the cell
phones.
Patrick WIscombe (31:42):
I've got the NCL SIM card.
Mark Faldmo (31:45):
Yes.
So that trick works if you'retraveling internationally by
land, but does not really workon a cruise ship.
Patrick WIscombe (31:53):
Save yourself the hassle airplane mode and
just get the Wi-Fi.
We know it's expensive at times.
Just get it.
It will either cost you alittle bit upfront or it's going
to cost you dearly in the end.
Mark Faldmo (32:05):
At the end.
Patrick WIscombe (32:07):
HX Expeditions has debuted an industry first,
a Greenland cruise package.
Mark Faldmo (32:14):
I guess first we should say what HX is.
They're an expedition cruisingcompany.
They have smaller expeditionships and they have a package
that cruises around Greenlandand includes airfare round trip
from Newark Airport, and so it'sa 12-day Greenland cruise.
And this is interesting becauseit's the industry's first
(32:38):
battery-powered cruise ship,purpose built to go into these
areas that are a little bit moresensitive to the exhaust
pollution.
So it is a hybridbattery-powered cruise ship.
Just hope the battery stayscharged.
Oh yeah, what?
Patrick WIscombe (32:55):
do you pull up to?
I'm sorry, we'll need to gettowed.
I'm sorry.
Do you have a charge on board?
Mark Faldmo (33:01):
yeah, no, that's when they turn on the generators
yeah, okay, I get it.
Patrick WIscombe (33:08):
I'm all for that kind of stuff, but every
once in a while you just have tolike I hope you have engines on
board and they do right.
Mark Faldmo (33:16):
Yes, okay, they do I'm sure they have a generator
of of some sort.
So in fact most cruise shipsrun on electric power anyway.
They just have onboardgenerators that generate the
electricity to drive the engine.
Patrick WIscombe (33:29):
Do we have a price on the Greenland cruise
package on HX Expeditions?
Mark Faldmo (33:35):
I don't have a price on that one, but you can
call me, I can easily get it.
Patrick WIscombe (33:40):
Okay, let's get to the cruise deal of the
week, and we are cruising Hawaii.
This is something that Mark andI have done with our wives, and
what do we have for listeners?
Mark Faldmo (33:52):
this week, I've had several requests on this the
last little while.
People just want to go toHawaii.
A lot of people want to seemultiple islands and I think a
cruise is the best way to dothat.
One thing that's a little bitunique about this cruise is the
amount of port time that theyspend in port.
(34:13):
They have an overnight in Mauiand they have an overnight in
Kauai, so you basically have twofull days in each of those
ports.
The seven-day cruise has over100 hours of port time.
This is NCL's Pride of America.
This is NCL's Pride of America,where most cruises on a
(34:33):
seven-day itinerary might have30 or 40.
So this has nearly double theport time, which makes it unique
.
The next thing is people askwhen is the best time to go.
So if you're looking for price,it's November, and December is
when you're going to find thebest prices.
So I look for this is December6th of 2025.
(34:55):
Inside cabin starts at a littleover $2,000 a person and a
balcony cabin starts at about$3,100 a person.
Patrick WIscombe (35:05):
We usually talk about prices that are half
that when going over.
But it's also not a cruise,it's a you just stay in one spot
hotel, fly over five nights andcome back.
Yeah, why is this cruise moreexpensive than other cruises?
Mark Faldmo (35:18):
If you looked at a multi-island package, say, you
went to three islands and youtook into account all of your
food, your flights, your rentalcar, all of that, you would be
more expensive than this in mostcases.
So to see multiple islands,this is a pretty good deal.
Yeah it is, but it is true.
This is a little bit moreexpensive than your typical
(35:42):
seven-day cruise.
A few reasons for that thiscruise does not have an
international port.
It only cruises within the US,which there are some laws out
there.
The ship has to have been builtin the US and it has to be
crewed by US passengers, andthey also have to follow US
employment laws, which means thecrew can only work eight hours
(36:06):
a day, which causes them to needmore employees because they
have to pay higher wages, theyhave to pay overtime, they have
to pay all of that which youdon't in an internationally
crewed ship.
Oh, interesting, the costs ofthis are more expensive.
I've said many times, I thinkthis is the best way to see
Hawaii if you want to seemultiple islands.
Patrick WIscombe (36:29):
Right, it was fun to experience all of the
islands.
Now I can hear someone say well, how different are the islands?
And then I didn't realize howabsolutely different each and
every island was.
You wouldn't think that for achain of islands that are
relatively close together thatthere would be that much
geographical change.
It's just different.
Mark Faldmo (36:49):
It is yeah, it's one of our favorite places to go
.
Yeah, I love Hawaii All right.
Patrick WIscombe (36:54):
As we go to break here, just recap the
Norwegian Cruise Line, or NCL,pride of America, seven-day
Hawaii cruise.
So again.
Mark Faldmo (37:05):
This is December 6, 2025.
Inside cabin started a littleover $2,000 a person.
A balcony cabin a little over$3,100 a person.
Patrick WIscombe (37:16):
Check it out.
Call Mark, just get theconversation started.
There's no obligation.
Check it out.
Call Mark, just get theconversation started.
There's no obligation.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
I'm telling you, just go toHawaii.
Awesome, when we come backwe've got Mark's travel tips and
(37:40):
we are going to do therepositioning crows from Tahiti
to Hawaii.
We ran a little bit long.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues, we will be rightback.
Show Voice (37:48):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacationscom.
America's best travel advisors.
Call or text the show now.
America's best travel advisors.
(38:09):
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (38:12):
801-649-3700.
We'll be right back Inside.
Travel Talk is brought to youby Anna Waterways.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages visit some
of Europe's most remarkablesites and cities To set out on
your own river cruise journey.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
(38:40):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (38:43):
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.
(39:05):
And now here's Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo.
Patrick WIscombe (39:14):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
Travel Talk podcast and radioshow.
I am Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo is on the other endof this connection.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend
for the last year and a half.
Without you, we don't have ashow.
(39:36):
Without you, we don't have abusiness.
We are just grateful that youwill take the time to stop and
listen to the show Coming up.
In this final segment of theshow, we went a little bit long
talking about Hawaii and NCL'spride of America.
We've got some additionaltravel news that we need to get
(39:58):
to, but as we come back frombreak, we promised listeners
that we would talk about therepositioning cruise from Tahiti
to Hawaii.
What was the price on that andwhen was it?
Mark Faldmo (40:10):
Mark, and so this is May of this year, may 21st.
This is an amazing itinerary.
I actually was able to do thereverse of this itinerary about
two years ago, very high on mylist.
I'll go over the itineraryfirst, and then the pricing.
It starts in Papeete,overnights in Papeete, goes to
Morea Raiatea, then everyone'sfavorite, bora Bora, where it
(40:33):
actually overnight.
So it spends a full day and ahalf there in Bora Bora, a
couple of days at sea, goes toKilo on the big island, goes to
Kona on the big island, oh soyou start on the east side of
the island and then go to Kona,kind of that southwest side.
Yeah, so it does two ports onthe big island.
Okay, yeah, and then goes toKauai, Maui, and then ends in
(40:58):
Honolulu.
Now this is a 14-day cruisethat actually has lots of
overnights, three places withovernights but the price is very
good.
14 nights inside cabin start at$18.95, and a balcony cabin
starts at $28.75.
Patrick WIscombe (41:14):
Wow, if you are just listening to this show
for the first time, never evenheard the show repositioning
cruises.
If you want the most bang foryour buck, that's what you do.
If you take nothing else awayfrom this show, just take that
away.
If you want to start cruising,repositioning cruises are the
way to go.
Mark Faldmo (41:31):
Yep, they are.
They're a great way to go andyou get to see some unique
things on repositioning cruises.
Patrick WIscombe (41:37):
Just because Mark is dealing with a real
situation right now.
We wanted to bring this up, andwhen we started the show, you
have a client who was trying toboard a cruise ship, and so we
wanted to talk about thedocuments that every person
needs to have when boarding acruise ship.
Now let's talk about where theywere about 45 minutes ago, and
(41:59):
then do you have an update onthe story?
Mark Faldmo (42:02):
I do.
I have an update.
So, first thing, there are somecruises that you don't need a
passport, but I would highlyencourage you to get a passport
and travel with a passport.
Cruises that leave from a USport come back to the same US
port.
Most of them you do not need apassport, you only need proof of
(42:24):
citizenship, which is yourbirth certificate.
A lot of people are confusedabout their birth certificate,
so the official birthcertificate is the one that has
a state seal on, usually araised state seal, and what
happened to this client is theyshowed up to the port with their
(42:45):
hospital birth record.
It's the one that has the babyfeet and all of that even right
on it that says this is not alegal document.
And so that's why I say justtravel with a passport.
You know you're going to befine with a passport.
And I just got literally rightbefore we started this segment,
(43:06):
so like two minutes ago, thatthey did make it on the ship.
Oh, they did.
So they had an expired passportwhich they had to have a family
member go to their house, findtheir expired passport, take a
picture of it and send it sothey could prove that they had a
passport, a valid passport atone time, oh wow.
And I think they also got thestate records office to fax them
(43:29):
a copy of their official birthcertificate.
So not having the rightdocumentation when traveling can
cause a lot of stress, oh andsadly we went over this before
the trip.
Oh, you did.
It's something that I go overwith everyone what counts, what
can't.
And you know we say not thehospital certificate, it has to
(43:51):
be the state issued one.
This is not the first time thatthis has happened to me either.
I've had probably three or fourother occasions where clients
have shown up without the rightdocumentation.
Patrick WIscombe (44:03):
Well, I'm just glad they made it on the ship.
Me too, and they literallytexted you.
Mark Faldmo (44:07):
Yeah, just a minute ago that they made it on the
ship, wow.
Patrick WIscombe (44:10):
Make a long story short get a passport
period.
It just makes things everythingeasier.
Mark Faldmo (44:15):
And it's not hard to get a passport these days?
No, and it's fairly quick.
The processing times have goneway down.
Are you a Reddit guy?
I, fairly quick.
The processing times have goneway down.
Are you a Reddit guy?
I'm not.
Sometimes I do.
I get a lot of these travelstories from Reddit.
Patrick WIscombe (44:28):
Well, reddit users had an issue with United
with a reservation.
First of all, what happened,and then how can people avoid it
?
So what?
Mark Faldmo (44:37):
happened is he booked, and it's not clear
whether he booked directly withUnited, although, reading this
article, I don't think he bookeddirectly with United.
I think he booked through athird-party site.
He said he got an email with aconfirmation and that email said
look for an email in a few dayswith your ticket numbers,
(45:05):
ticket numbers.
And so even though you have areservation number especially if
you're booking through athird-party site does not mean
that your ticket has beenticketed.
You actually need to make surethat you have ticket numbers.
This is one reason why Istrongly advocate that you book
with a travel advisor, becauseyou just don't know how a lot of
those third-party booking siteswork.
As a travel advisor, we makesure that everything is ticketed
(45:28):
, that you have ticket numbers.
If something goes wrong, it'sour mistake, not your mistake or
the airline's mistake, and wefix it.
A lot of these, especially whenyou're traveling
internationally, they havecontracts that are paid to the
airline in cash, so when youbook it on their site, they
charge your card and thenthey're supposed to have someone
turn around and ticket thatflight.
(45:50):
And so what I think happened isthat just didn't get in the
queue, it got missed.
Patrick WIscombe (45:55):
It never got ticketed by that online website,
oh so it could be an innocentmistake, but man did it, cause a
headache.
Mark Faldmo (46:06):
It did, and so you know again.
That's why book with a liveperson, a book with a travel
advisor, or make sure you'rebooking directly on the
airline's website.
As a travel agent, I do usesome of these that are called
air consolidators forinternational trips, because I
do this all the time.
I know what to look for and Iknow to make sure that that's
(46:28):
actually ticketed.
This is also a story like wetalked about with the documents
that are just a minute ago.
This is quite common.
People book online, they showup and there's no hotel
reservation, there's no airlinereservation.
So, with the travel agent,we're always here to help
resolve that.
If it's our mistake, we fix it.
Patrick WIscombe (46:49):
I saw a news story that cruise line
passengers are being warned overhidden fees by fake cruise reps
.
Mark Faldmo (46:58):
Yes.
So this is interesting, thefirst paragraph of the story.
Cruise lines have facedunexpected fees in the past.
A Royal Caribbean passenger inparticular warned others after
an unexpected $1,300 bill.
Surprisingly, this was not afake fee.
Instead, it was a phone billafter he failed to put his phone
(47:19):
in airplane mode.
Didn't we just talk about that?
Literally, that part is not afake fee.
But what some cruisers,particularly on Carnival Cruise
Line, are facing is peoplecalling them after their cruise
saying they have an unpaid bill,trying to collect for an unpaid
bill.
People are calling the phonenumbers and clicking on the
(47:42):
links.
I think we've talked about thisbefore.
If you get an email and this isgood for just anything in life,
don't do anything right thenCall back to a number you know
is a verified number to thatcompany and make sure that if
you do owe something, you'repaying the right people.
Patrick WIscombe (48:00):
I closed my eyes and just went, oh no.
Mark Faldmo (48:03):
And that's something similar that I just
saw on the local news thatthere's scams going around with
people getting parking tickets,emails of parking tickets,
needing to pay parking tickets,and all the police departments
are saying they're fake.
So this is a similar thing,with scammers just figuring out
how to steal people's money.
Patrick WIscombe (48:24):
What was interesting about that part of
the story is how they knew thescammers the hidden fee people
scammers how they knew that theyhad been on a cruise and that
they just knew how to targetthem.
That's terrifying, at least itis to me.
Mark Faldmo (48:41):
Yeah, that is unfortunately come from what
people post online, so if you'rescouring people's Facebook
pages or finding things, you canprobably easily find people
that have recently been on acruise.
Patrick WIscombe (48:53):
And that's a low tech way of how to scam
people.
I didn't even think about that.
Mark Faldmo (48:57):
Yeah, it is.
So this came out particularlyfrom Carnival Cruise Line to
watch out for this particularscam.
Patrick WIscombe (49:03):
Okay, so they meaning Carnival Cruise Line to
watch out for this particularscam?
Okay, so they meaning Carnival,are warning their customers,
Correct?
Mark Faldmo (49:10):
Oh, okay, there we go.
It's small amounts, like thescam was that some of them were
asking for like $80, $100.
Isn't?
Patrick WIscombe (49:17):
that the perfect scam, though.
Like something that doesn'traise alarm bells.
You know something that'sreasonable.
Mark Faldmo (49:23):
Yes, yeah, oh something that's reasonable.
Patrick WIscombe (49:25):
Yes, yeah, oh, wow.
Mark's been doing this for 30years over 30 years being a
travel advisor.
He is the man and a good persontoo.
Call him in his office.
If you want to book any of thevacations that we've talked
about for the last hour.
Call him 888-718-7717,888-718-7717, or go to
(49:50):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
You can listen to this show theInside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show tomorrow morning,Sunday, at 11 am Mountain Time,
right here on this radio station, and you can stream, download
and subscribe to the podcast.
Just go to insidetraveltalk.
(50:10):
com.
You can stream the show there.
We're on all of the majorpodcast platforms if you just
want to sign up.
We've done our job.
It is now your turn to get outand explore the world while you
can, because you never know whatcurveball's life is going to
throw at you.
Travel is a great way to have acommon bonding experience with
(50:36):
your family.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week, mark, and Iwill talk to you again next
Saturday and Sunday.
Show Voice (50:48):
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.
That's 888-718-7717.
(51:10):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (51:43):
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
(52:04):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.