October 12, 2024 • 54 mins
Can Maui really outshine Paris as the ultimate romantic getaway for U.S. travelers? Join us as we dive into this surprising revelation and explore the allure of Maui’s enchanting beaches that have captivated hearts. Meanwhile, we uncover why Athens is clamping down on Airbnbs and what it means for travelers worldwide. Plus, discover the latest in travel innovation with United Airlines’ introduction of free in-flight Wi-Fi, setting a new standard for connectivity at 30,000 feet.
Journey with us to the Caribbean, where we map out your perfect island escape. From the vibrant all-inclusive resorts of Jamaica and the Dominican Republic to the passport-free paradise of the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, we've got you covered. For those seeking seclusion, our top picks include the serene shores of Grand Cayman and St. Lucia. Whether you’re after a bustling resort or a tranquil retreat, we’ll guide you through the best options to tailor your dream vacation to your preferences.
As we close the episode, excitement is in the air with the buzz around Italy’s espresso sleeper trains, offering scenic travel through the breathtaking Italian Alps. We also delve into the latest on European travel protocols, highlighting the upcoming shift to biometric entry systems and how Global Entry can ease your travel experience. Wrapping up with a touch of inspiration, we encourage you to embrace every travel opportunity with an adventurous spirit. Thank you for tuning into Inside Travel Talk with your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, and get ready for more travel insights next weekend!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (00:24):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside travel talkpodcast and radio show presented
by blue planet vacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700 and
check out the podcast at insidetravel talk.
com.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(00:49):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:54):
I am starting to wonder if this amazing
weather is going to go away.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will join me herein just a second and, if you're
(01:16):
brand new to the show, theentire purpose of this radio
show is to help you plan andbook your next vacation of this
radio show is to help you planand book your next vacation.
This is a fun show.
You're going to hear somereally amazing travel offers in
the next hour.
You can get the podcast of thisshow at InsideTravelTalk.
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts, and if you're in the
(01:41):
Salt Lake City area.
We're also on the air each andevery Saturday and Sunday
mornings at 11 o'clock MountainTime and we are presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com Coming up.
On today's edition of the show,we are talking about the best
Caribbean islands to visit.
Winter's coming up it's kind ofhard to believe on a day like
(02:04):
today.
We're going to talk aboutAlaska cruises and we're also
going to be talking aboutEuropean vacations, but before
we get there, we do need tostart with the quick hit travel
news headlines.
I saw this article Mark thatGreece is cracking down on
Airbnbs and short-term rentalsin Athens.
Mark Faldmo (02:26):
Yeah, the government announced last month
that they're going to put a banon short-term rentals in three
of the districts in Athens.
They're going to test this outfor a year and see how it goes.
Greece is facing a housingcrisis.
In Athens particularly.
They're banning it on theseshort-term rentals and Airbnb.
This is similar to what we'vetalked about in Hawaii,
(02:48):
particularly Maui, which hasbanned short-term rentals and
Airbnbs in what would beconsidered apartments.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:55):
United Airlines has signed a deal with
Starlink for free in-flightWi-Fi.
That's great news.
Mark Faldmo (03:02):
United will join Delta and JetBlue, which
currently offer free Wi-Fi.
That's great news.
United will join Delta andJetBlue, which currently offer
free Wi-Fi.
It's good that airlines arestarting to recognize this and
actually provide it for free.
Now there still are a fewairlines American Southwest and
Alaska do have Wi-Fi, but at anadditional cost.
I can't tell you how nice it'sbeen on Delta, whenever I fly,
(03:23):
to have that free Wi-Fi.
I typically don't work or lookat work-related things on planes
.
I kind of use that as my timeto watch a movie and relax and
decompress, but it is nice tohave that when it's needed.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:37):
One of the favorite things that you and I
have ever done together is theBrightline trains when you and I
were in Palm Beach.
The high-speed Brightline Westtrains will feature sleek seats
and what they're calling a partycar.
What other details do we haveon that this?
Mark Faldmo (03:55):
is a high-speed rail that is currently being
constructed between Los Angelesand Las Vegas.
Oh, it is under construction.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:03):
I didn't know that.
Mark Faldmo (04:04):
Between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Oh, it is under construction.
I didn't know that.
It's an all-electric 218-miletrain service.
Now they've unveiled some oftheir amenities and options that
they're going to offer.
They're going to have a partycar which is going to have food
and soft drinks, lounge seating.
They're also going to have atwo-class cabin seating.
They're also going to have atwo-class cabin.
They're going to have theirsmart category, which is two
(04:28):
seats, an aisle and two seats,or their premium, which is like
first class, which will have oneseat, an aisle and two seats.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:35):
When we went from Fort Lauderdale to Palm
Beach, Brightline was one of thegreatest things that we have
ever done.
I cannot wait for Brightline toshow up between Los Angeles and
Las Vegas.
I'm going to do it, just so wecan go ride the train, just to
do it.
Yeah, ride the train.
I don't know that I'll join theparty car, but maybe for the
Diet Coke, yes.
Always in this opening segmentof the show we have the
(04:59):
destination of the week, and youreceived a text a little bit
earlier this week that Philipwants to go to a Caribbean
island and he is asking what arethe best options the first
consideration should be is doyou want an all-inclusive resort
or not?
Mark Faldmo (05:17):
some islands have lots of all-inclusive options
and some have very few or noneat all.
And I think the secondconsideration is how hard is the
island to get to?
Depending on where you're fromhere in the West, some of those
Eastern Caribbean islands areharder to get to.
They might be three stops toget there.
(05:39):
So now I've broken this listdown into three different
categories.
I've broken this list down intothree different categories.
The first category is theeasiest to get to with
all-inclusive options.
So my picks for that would beJamaica or Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic you usuallyhave to take an overnight flight
(06:05):
to like Atlanta, somewhere onthe East Coast and then arrive
there early in the afternoon.
Jamaica there are a few flightsfor us here on the West Coast
where you can get there in oneday just leave early in the
morning and get there later inthe evening.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:14):
But you do need to have a passport to go to
Jamaica or the DominicanRepublic, correct?
Mark Faldmo (06:20):
Yes, you do need a passport to get those.
Most of the Caribbean islandsyou do.
And that actually brings us tothe second category which is
often a question we get is Iwant to go somewhere warm with a
beach, but I don't have apassport.
Where can I go?
So the Caribbean islands youcan get to that don't require a
passport are St Thomas and StCroix, which are US Virgin
(06:43):
Islands, our territories of theUS.
Another one I'd probably throwin there is St John.
We talked about St John, Ithink, last week when we talked
about cruise shore excursionswith Trunk Bay, that one you'd
actually fly into St Thomas andthen take a ferry or a
helicopter over to the hotelsthat are on St John and you
could actually throw on anotherisland with no passport, which
(07:06):
is Puerto Rico.
We've talked about Puerto Ricoin the past, although if you
want that you know kind ofCaribbean island experience,
probably St Croix is the bestoption and it's a little harder
to get to as well, and then theharder to get to islands.
These islands are a little bitmore relaxed, less touristy.
I would throw in Grand Caymanon that and we've talked lots
(07:29):
about Grand Cayman.
Yeah, grand Cayman yeah, youknow, if you're there not on a
cruise day, you know, becausesometimes when the cruise ships
come in it can get prettycrowded, you know.
But Grand Cayman, withoutcruise ships, is a wonderful
place to visit.
St Lucia is on there.
St Lucia is probably one of themost beautiful islands in the
(07:53):
Caribbean.
There are two volcanic peaksthere.
They're known as the Pitons.
A lot of people probably haveseen these pictures of their
conical, really steep, pointykind of triangle volcanoes.
This again is probably one ofthe most beautiful islands to
visit.
There's a beach called SugarBeach, which is right in between
the two volcanoes.
(08:13):
Then Barbados.
I love Barbados.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:17):
How many times have you been to Barbados?
Mark Faldmo (08:19):
I've been to Barbados four times.
On a cruise is the only wayI've done it, but I would love
to go back there and visitBarbados.
It has one of the best beachesthat I've ever seen there,
although a lot of Caribbeanislands have really great
beaches.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:36):
It's hard to complain when you're in the
Caribbean.
It is.
Mark Faldmo (08:40):
A few others that I would throw in that really
weren't on my list is Grenada.
I love Grenada, which is a partof the British Overseas
Territories.
It's a capital of St George,kind of reminds me of an Italian
coastal town.
You just have to decide whatare your goals of your vacation.
(09:01):
Do you want an all-inclusive?
Do you want more secluded andrelaxed?
How easy is it to get to?
Are kind of the considerationson that and the passport and the
passport, and if you need apassport, yes, that's a good
point you just truly can't gowrong with the Caribbean.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:20):
It's honestly one of the best vacations Nicki
and I've ever been on.
You and I have not been to theCaribbean with our wives, but
you just can't go wrong.
But I will say this if you goin summer, get ready to sweat.
I will say this it's prettytoasty during the summer.
If you are interested inplanning a vacation to go to the
(09:41):
Caribbean, call Mark in hisoffice Monday through Friday.
A vacation to go to theCaribbean?
Call Mark in his office Mondaythrough Friday.
His office number is888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(10:02):
When we come back, we've gotthe hot travel deal of the week
and this time we are going toEurope.
You will not want to miss someof these offers that we have
that is coming up next.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday
morning.
Thank you for inviting us intoyour ears.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show alongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
(10:23):
We will be right back, markFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Show Voice (10:26):
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be right back.
Taking you to destinationsaround the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (10:57):
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
We'll be right back.
This segment of Inside TravelTalk is sponsored by Star
Clippers.
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Show Voice (12:04):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(12:25):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:32):
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio showAlongside my good friend, mark
Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Alongside my good friend, markFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe, ifyou are just brand new to the
show, this radio show is allabout having fun and all about
(12:53):
travel, getting out andexploring the world, and all we
do is talk about vacations, thehottest travel deals of the week
that is coming up in thissegment, and we are headed to
Europe, and if you've alwayswanted to head to that part of
the world, this is the segmentthat you will want to listen to
(13:18):
right now.
But you can also podcast theshow a little bit later by going
to insidetraveltalk.
com.
By going to InsideTravelTalk.
com.
Europe is one of my favoritedestinations Paris, specifically
.
That's still on my to-do list,especially after the Olympics,
but I'm going to wait for thingsto kind of clear out before
Nikki and I go.
Speaking of Paris, I saw thisnews story that a US destination
(13:44):
just dethroned Paris as themost romantic in the world.
Now I have a hard timebelieving that.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (13:52):
Paris, is known as the city of love, but Maui in
Hawaii has dethroned Paris asthe most romantic spot for US
travelers to vacation, to Idon't know Maui's pretty good.
This was an article in Traveland Leisure where 2,000
Americans they weren't inconnection to any traveling or
(14:14):
anything like that, it was justa random survey and 34% of
respondents said that Maui wasthe most romantic destination.
Paris did come in second.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:26):
Nikki and I were in Maui in March and I will
say that Maui was spectacular.
I know that I just said I can'timagine a more romantic place.
Maui's pretty good.
Mark Faldmo (14:37):
I really enjoy Maui and it is pretty romantic.
Well, I think all of the SouthPacific is romantic, all the
Pacific Islands, I should sayHawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, all pretty
romantic.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:52):
One of my favorite things to do over in
Hawaii, while we're talkingabout Maui, was just to go walk
on the beach.
There is something for mepersonally so therapeutic me
personally so therapeutic.
There's something about theroar of the ocean and just that
constant water motion that justsoothes my soul.
It really is spectacular.
Mark Faldmo (15:13):
It is, yeah, nothing like being on a good
beach.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:16):
Disney World is offering savings on 2025
resort bookings.
It's not very often when DisneyWorld starts discounting their
properties.
Mark Faldmo (15:28):
Walt Disney World Resorts has announced save up to
25% at select resorts.
So the savings range from 10%to 25% and they also depend on
the date, and this is for thefirst half of 2025.
The date and this is for thefirst half of 2025.
(15:50):
If you're looking to go toDisney world in Florida in the
first few months of this year,it's a great chance to go,
especially with the family, forsure, especially if you have
young kids.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:59):
I don't know there's some pretty old adults
that like going there too.
So, yes, yeah, just go.
We'll just say, we'll just say,just book it, just go, just
book it.
Yeah.
One of my favorite things thatI mentioned in this in segment
one is traveling by train.
Italy's new sleeper trainstravel from Rome which I'm
already a fan of at that pointto mountain and sea destinations
(16:22):
.
Mark Faldmo (16:23):
These are called espresso trains and they are
purely for tourists.
They're not really part of theItalian rail system.
They are tourist trains.
They operate in the summertimeand then they also operate in
the wintertime to get people tothe ski resorts in the Italian
Alps.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:42):
That sounds even more delightful.
Mark Faldmo (16:44):
They have refurbished trains dating back
from the 1960s through the 1990s.
So they've taken all of theseolder trains and refurbished
them, added them to thesetourist routes, which, again,
the Italian Alps are amazing.
Taking a train to or throughthe Italian Alps is on my bucket
(17:06):
list.
I've done the outskirts of themby bus, but I'd love to take a
train through them.
So I think these espressotrains are a great way to go.
Do it in the summertime go fromRome up to either coastal
resorts in the northern part ofItaly or to the Italian Alps.
These routes are mainlyovernight routes, but they do
(17:28):
also offer some daytime routeson this.
So the main part of these istheir overnight sleeper trains.
So they've taken these old,vintage sleeper trains and
renovated them for this purpose.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:41):
We were talking about the Caribbean in
segment number one of the showand I saw this story that St
Martin is launching a digitalentry form for visitors.
Mark Faldmo (17:52):
This actually started on Tuesday of this week,
October 8th, similar to theelectronic entry system, so
we've talked about otherdestinations.
You'll have to pre-fill outthis form and get approval to
fly into the country of StMartin, and Mark can walk you
through that.
St Martin is an interestingisland.
It wasn't on the list we talkedabout last segment but it's
(18:14):
interesting because half of theisland is Dutch and half of the
island is French.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:19):
Always in segment number two of the show
is the hot travel deal of theweek.
Janice was texting you a littlebit earlier that she wants to
go to Europe this next springmeaning 2025, and wants to see
several countries, and she'sasking it's kind of a big
question what's the best way todo this?
Mark Faldmo (18:40):
There's a few different ways that you can do
this.
There's group tours, which arebus tours.
You can just put it togetherand get yourself between the
countries.
You can also do some privatetours, where things are a little
bit more private.
You're still on your own.
I think the best way to seeEurope, especially if it's your
first time there, is to do oneof these group or escorted
(19:03):
hosted.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:04):
You've said that for a while now.
Mark Faldmo (19:05):
There are two companies that I like.
One is Globus and the other isCosmos.
They're actually operated bythe same company.
Globus is usually a little bitmore expensive, but that's
because they stay in hotels thatare centrally located.
They usually have a little bitmore included, and then Cosmos
usually stays on the outskirtsof town, still well located, but
(19:28):
not right central, and theydon't include quite as much.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:32):
Let's talk about the Globus deal first.
Mark Faldmo (19:35):
I've got three different departures on Globus
that we're going to talk about.
That will help you see Europe.
But the Globus deal right nowis save up to $1,000 per
reservation on select 2025 grouptours and that $1,000 off per
reservation needs to be bookedby November 8th.
I like these multiple countrytours because they give you a
(19:57):
good sampling of the countries.
So the first one it's calledthe European Sampler and I chose
a May 7th date and it is ninedays, four countries.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:10):
It sounds like we're going to a restaurant.
Let's go to the Sampler, please.
The.
Mark Faldmo (20:13):
Sampler.
This May 7th date is a smallgroup tour, so that's up to 18
guests.
They also do have regular grouptours, but that small group
tour on May 7th starts at $3689per person.
But I really like this tour.
It starts in Amsterdam, has twonights in Amsterdam and then
(20:34):
you go down to Heidelberg inGermany.
That day also includes afew-hour cruise through Castle
Country on the Rhine River river.
Then from there you go downthrough the black forest to
Lucerne, Switzerland, with twonights in Lucerne, Switzerland.
I think of all of the cities inEurope, Lucerne is probably my
(20:57):
favorite destination.
I've been there several times.
I would go back to Lucerne in aheartbeat.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:04):
How many days is this one.
Mark Faldmo (21:06):
The whole tour is nine days, so from Lucerne you
spend the night in southernFrance, in the Burgundy area,
and then up two nights in Parisis where you end.
That's a pretty good sampleright there.
And then they also have anoption you can extend it and end
in Paris.
You can go from Paris to Londonand spend two nights in London
(21:28):
at the end, which is an optionthat's good, too, countries, and
I like this one because itincludes Italy.
So this one, you start in Rome,have two nights in Rome, one
(21:49):
night in Florence, one night inVenice, and then you do go
through the Italian alps that wewere just talking about yeah
with two nights in Rome, or twonights in Lucerne and
Switzerland, and then you take atrain from Switzerland to Paris
with two nights in Paris.
And that tour is $3599 perperson.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:10):
These tours are amazing.
This is incredible.
Mark Faldmo (22:14):
The one thing that I like about these tours is
you're with a local guide thewhole time.
You get insights.
You just won't get doing it onyour own.
Or you can buy all the touristbooks, but you won't get the
insights you get doing a grouptour like this with a local
guide.
What's the last tour?
This is Poland, east Germany andWorld War II history.
(22:36):
So, depending on what you wantto see, I think this is a great
tour to do and it's also a greatprice.
It's 13 days, two countries.
It starts at $3149 per personand all of these tours we talked
about include that $1,000 offper reservation.
This tour starts two nights inWarsaw, Poland.
(23:00):
You go down to Krakow, Poland,with a stop in Auschwitz, and
then from there you go upanother night in Warkla, Poland,
and then a night in Dresden.
Two nights in Berlin, one nightin Weimar in Germany, one night
in Nuremberg and then twonights in Munich.
(23:23):
In between Munich and Nurembergyou go to Dachau, another
concentration camp.
Globus and Cosmos have severalgreat options for tours like
this.
These were three that I thoughtwere just good multiple country
destinations.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:38):
We're going to take a break here.
If you want to go to Europe andyou want to go on one of these
tours, call Mark in his office.
His phone number, Mondaythrough Friday, is 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(23:58):
Man, I just want to go now.
In fact, uh, you and I are inthe the studio right now and I'm
I'm actually looking at theback of my phone because I've
got the uh, the credit card here.
Actually looking at the back ofmy phone because I've got the
credit card here.
I've got something for you.
Give me that credit card number.
Here it is it's 5-1.
You really whet my appetite onthat one.
(24:20):
When we come back, it is theinfamous Just Cruising segment.
We've got the cruise news ofthe week.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues alongside MarkFaldmo, my friend, my name is
Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday
and Sunday mornings.
(24:40):
We will be right back.
Show Voice (24:42):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show with PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo,
presented by BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(25:04):
com.
Ad Voice (25:25):
We'll be right back.
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Patrick Wiscombe (26:06):
The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byblueplanetvacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:33):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(26:57):
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:06):
All aboard.
All aboard for the infamousJust Cruising segment right here
on the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show.
If you are listening to us onthe air right now here in Salt
Lake City, 860 KKAT, and youneed to re-listen to a segment
(27:30):
of the show, or if you justenjoy the show and want to
listen to it again, may I inviteyou to go to InsideTravelTalk.
com to get the podcast.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms Coming up in
this segment of the show.
We've got the infamous CruiseDeal of the Week and we've got
(27:51):
the infamous cruise deal of theweek and we've also got the
cruise news of the week.
In fact, Mark, let's just goahead and start there.
I saw this news story that toJuneau, Alaska, the free ship
Saturday was voted down.
What are the details on that?
Mark Faldmo (28:10):
A group in Juneau put something on their ballot
which was ship free Saturday andalso on the 4th of July, to ban
ships from visiting JuneauSaturdays and on the 4th of July
.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:23):
You know, this whole time I was like, oh sweet
, why would you vote down a freecruise?
Like free ship Saturday, jumpon a boat.
Oh wow, talk about the storynot matching what was in my head
.
Mark Faldmo (28:36):
As of right now, 60% of participating voters
voted against ship-freeSaturdays.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:43):
What's?
The tram right off the pier orthe dock in Juneau?
Mark Faldmo (28:47):
Mount Roberts, yeah , mount Roberts tram in Juneau.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:50):
That is fantastic.
I don't recommend going up tothe top if it's foggy or raining
, because you just look at thetop side of clouds.
On a clear day, that is aspectacular view from the top.
Mark Faldmo (29:02):
Yes, it is.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:04):
This is still on Patrick and Nikki's to-do
list Alma Waterways, which youhave been on several times.
They are creating a newitinerary.
Let's tell listeners whatthat's about and where they're
going.
Mark Faldmo (29:17):
They've created a new itinerary called the Swiss
Alps and Rhine Castles.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:21):
That's even more delightful.
Mark Faldmo (29:23):
Yep.
So this is a cruise along theRhine.
It's a seven-night cruise,travels between Amsterdam and
Basel, Switzerland, and some ofthe highlights are Strasberg in
France, Heidelberg, Rudersheimand Cologne in Germany.
It has some other stops alongthe way, but those are the main
(29:44):
highlight.
I think this will be a greatoption and they actually also
have a pre-cruise.
A great option, and theyactually also have a pre-cruise.
Oh, we're just talking aboutsimilar places.
This episode, a pre-cruiseoption in Luzern, Switzerland.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:58):
This just gets getting better yeah.
Mark Faldmo (30:00):
In our previous segment, where we talked about
the bus tours, group tours beinga great way to see Europe.
River cruises are also a greatway to see Europe.
In fact, on river cruises youget to some places that you
don't get to on the bus tours.
Another great option to seeEurope Ama would always be my
pick for river cruise in Europe.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:21):
Beth, our contact at Star Clippers.
They just announced a new freedeal in the Caribbean man, we
are Caribbean heavy this week.
We are, yeah, Caribbean andEurope we are.
Mark Faldmo (30:30):
Caribbean heavy this week.
We are, yeah, Caribbean andEurope.
It seems like Star Clippers, onselect cruises, is offering a
free two-night stay eitherbefore or after the cruise in St
Martin.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:43):
Oh my word, this just keeps getting better.
Mark Faldmo (30:46):
When we're talking early about the Caribbean
islands, at least for us in thewestern part of the US, St
Martin is a harder port to getto, and that's where the
Caribbean sailings for StarClipper leave from is St Martin.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:59):
Oh, I didn't know that.
I thought they were someplaceelse.
Mark Faldmo (31:03):
Yeah, no, so you have to fly into St Martin and
get on the ship, so this is agreat offering to either go
before or after.
I'd recommend before in casethere's any flight issues.
Star Clipper has severaladvantages.
One is it's small the StarFlyer that does this has 166
(31:24):
passengers.
Another benefit is exploreremote islands and secluded
harbors with that.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:30):
Something that you and I did back in April was
the Margaritaville at Sea.
That's the name of the companywe went on.
Which ship were we on?
Mark Faldmo (31:37):
The Paradise.
Yeah, okay, paradise, that'sthe name of the ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:40):
Yeah, so Margaritaville at Sea is
offering longer cruises on theParadise boat which is what we
were just talking about from ahundred bucks a person.
You and I were there.
We did it for two days, but nowthey're starting to offer three
and four nights, which I thinkis a great move by the company.
Mark Faldmo (32:01):
Margaritaville at sea.
They took over a company thatwas called Paradise Cruise Lines
and they were basically agambling ship.
They would leave, go outFreeport Bahamas two nights and
come back, but their main sourceof revenue was gambling and now
that Margaritaville at sea isoperating this cruise line,
they're trying to make it morelike a regular cruise line.
(32:23):
Paradise that leaves out ofPalm Beach Florida now has new
itineraries, a three-nightitinerary with Saturdays at sea,
so it just goes to FreeportBahamas and then has a day at
sea.
They're offering two newfour-night itineraries One is
Key West and Freeport and theother one is Nassau and Freeport
(32:46):
, so two ports in the Bahamas.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:47):
Let's get to the cruise deal of the week, the
infamous cruise deal of theweek, and we are talking Alaska.
What offers do we have forlisteners this week?
Mark Faldmo (32:57):
So there's some great cruise options out there
for 2025.
First, we should talk about thethree types of Alaska cruises.
There are round-trip cruises,and those either go round-trip
Seattle or round-trip Vancouver.
And then there's one-waycruises that go between
Vancouver and either Whittier orSeward, which is near.
(33:23):
Those are both near Anchorage.
And then there's cruise toursand they combine an Alaska, an
inland Alaska experience.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:34):
On the one-way cruise options, so, Nikki and I
, last year we did theround-trip cruise from Seattle
on NCL Great, great experience.
Mark Faldmo (33:46):
We've talked about Alaska quite a bit in some of
the past shows.
It's one of my top cruisedestinations.
I've probably been on somewherebetween 20 and 25 Alaska
cruises and I love it.
Now, moving on to some of theprices, there are some great
prices out there.
I looked in earlier in theseason, so these are late April
(34:10):
and May cruises that I looked at, which is generally where the
best prices are.
Now, the one thing you'll tradeoff on these dates is it'll be
a little bit cooler, but you'llgenerally have better weather in
May.
You know, going through Alaska,you're in a temperate
rainforest and May is one of thedrier months to go.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:30):
You really surprised me when you said that
Alaska is a rainforest.
Mark Faldmo (34:34):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:35):
And I can confirm.
Mark Faldmo (34:36):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:37):
It does rain.
Mark Faldmo (34:39):
You go to Ketchikan .
One of the landmarks inKetchikan is the rain
thermometer that tells how muchrain they've had so far that
year.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:46):
Uh-huh, yep, let's start with the round-trip
cruise Seattle.
How many days is that and whatis the price per person inside
cabin and a balcony?
Mark Faldmo (34:55):
I chose this cruise round trip Seattle.
It's a little bit unique it's anine day cruise.
You know where most of theround trip cruises are seven
days.
So this one is early season.
It's April 23rd, so this isprobably one of the first
sailings of the season.
The inside cabins on that startat $1181 per person Still
(35:19):
amazing.
But the reason why I chose thisis because the balcony rate
Balcony rate was $1599 perperson and again, all of these
cruise fares now include all ofthe taxes and fees.
So this isn't a price plustaxes and fees.
Taxes and fees are included inthis price For a balcony.
(35:40):
That's amazing For a balcony.
Yeah, this cruise again roundtrip Seattle.
It visits Ketchikan, Juneau,Skagway, icy Strait the glacier
that you visit is glacier bayand then Victoria in Canada and
then back to Seattle when you goto glacier bay it is so quiet.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:00):
I thought there was a gun range at glacier
bay.
It was the ice hitting thewater and it sounded like
gunshots going off.
Mark Faldmo (36:09):
It was incredible when that compact ice falls off
the glacier and hits that warmerwater, it explodes.
It's pretty interesting howthat worked.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:18):
What about the one-way?
The northbound one-way cruiseon NCL?
How much is that?
Mark Faldmo (36:23):
So the northbound on NCL.
This is a cruise betweenVancouver and Whittier and it's
a May 5th departure and I chosethis one because of the inside
price.
The inside price starts at $699per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:39):
That's a hundred bucks a day.
That is so good.
Mark Faldmo (36:41):
Yeah, that's so good to see that.
This one visits Ketchikan,Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait and
the glacier is Hubbard Glacier.
Now, one of the things I likeabout one-way cruises is
generally they visit two glacierfields.
So, like Glacier Bay andCollege Fjord, this particular
(37:03):
one has a better price.
It only visits one glacier,which is Hubbard Glacier, but it
does add an extra port of IcyStrait, which is not typical.
And then the third type ofcruise, which is a cruise tour.
That's where you take either anorthbound or southbound cruise
and it combines with a cruisetour in the interior of Alaska.
(37:26):
So this cruise tour is ninedays, May 11th, on Holland
America and cruise portion is anorthbound.
So Vancouver it goes, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay,
College Fjord.
So those are the two glacierfields.
The cruise port ends inWhittier and then from there you
(37:47):
go to Denali National Park,spend a night in Denali or near
Denali National Park and thentwo nights in Fairbanks, Alaska,
before you come home.
If you want to see the interiorof Alaska, a cruise tour is a
great way to do that.
I particularly like doing itwhere you have a northbound
cruise and then the land tour,because you kind of work your
(38:09):
way into Alaska and you end withDenali.
You end with that interior ofAlaska and the last cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:16):
I thought this was kind of funny the alaska
repo cruise, yeah what do youhave?
Mark Faldmo (38:21):
a boat come in and you know take the NCL ship.
Take the NCL yeah so no, sothis repo crew short for
reposition cruise.
So they typically do these atthe beginning or end of the
season.
They're just to get their shipspositioned correctly because,
since they need an internationalport, they need to.
(38:41):
Depending on where the ship'scoming from, they need to
reposition it to a differentport.
This is a May 13th date.
It's a four-day cruise betweenVancouver and Seattle and it
just goes Vancouver to Ketchikan, stay at sea back to Seattle.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:58):
Yeah, you just man.
Even that sounds great.
Mark Faldmo (39:01):
I've done this cruise before and I love it.
It's shorter, but you do getthat Alaska experience.
The reason why I chose this isbecause the balcony cabins start
$439 for a person.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:17):
Wow.
Mark Faldmo (39:17):
I'm not even going to mention the inside cabin,
because the inside cabin is only$20 less than the balcony.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:24):
So just do the balcony yeah, do that.
We got to take a break here Tobook Alaska cruise.
Now I know you've beenlistening to the show for a year
.
We put on the air for over ayear.
I promise you will not bedisappointed with Alaska.
If you want the sure thing thateveryone in the family is going
(39:45):
to enjoy Alaska is it?
You can just agree on thatperiod.
Call Mark in his office, getthese booked.
These are phenomenal offers.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717 to book yourAlaska cruise.
(40:09):
He's open Monday through Friday.
You will not be disappointed,in fact.
888-17 to book your Alaskacruise.
He's open Monday through Friday.
You will not be disappointed,in fact, once you go, we're
inviting you on the show.
You just have an openinvitation.
Tell us how it went.
888-718-7717.
When we come back it's the lastsegment of the show.
Already We've got Mark's traveltips.
(40:29):
We've got some additionaltravel news that we need to
share with you.
Mark is going to talk aboutfour things that he would pay
for on a cruise.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues Alongside MarkFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
We will be right back.
Ad Voice (41:01):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Amar Waterways
.
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To set out on your own rivercruise journey.
(41:22):
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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Show Voice (41:41):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
blueplanetvacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call the show right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:05):
Final segment of this week's Inside Travel
Talk podcast and radio showsegment of this week's Inside
Travel Talk podcast and radioshow.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe and if you
are just catching the lastsegment of the show, all we do
is talk about travel, and if youneed to re-listen to any of the
(42:32):
show that's already been on theair, may I ask you to go to
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
Insidetraveltalk.
com and you can find us on allof the major podcast platforms,
but InsideTravelTalk.
com will direct you to all ofthe platforms so you don't have
to go search for it.
Coming up in this final segmentof the show, mark came up with
(42:56):
this idea about four things thathe would pay for on a cruise,
and we're going to talk aboutthat here in this segment, but
before we do, let's finish upwith the travel news of the week
.
Mark Faldmo (43:18):
If you love passport stamps?
Well, Europe has got some badnews for you.
What's the bad news?
Europe is implementing, onNovember 10th of this year, a
new automated entry and exitsystem.
So they are no longer going tostamp your passport when you
come in and out of the EuropeanUnion, so they're just going to
use biometric data fingerprints,facial recognition and
(43:41):
cross-reference that with yourpassport.
They say it will save travelerstime, because standing in line
to get your passport stampeddoes take time.
So they say this will save timebecause you'll basically be
able to walk through with thisbiometric data.
And then it also helps theEuropean Union identify
overstayers, which is a problemin a lot of countries, People
(44:04):
that come in and overstay atourist visa or a tourist entry.
I should say so an overstayer.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:12):
An overstayer, yeah, I have good news on this
front, mark.
You remember when you and Iwere flying to Florida in April,
fort Lauderdale and yours trulywas filling out the global
entry application.
Well, guess what's coming upthis month?
In about 10 days, I finallyhave my global entry application
.
Well, guess what's coming upthis month?
In about 10 days, I finallyhave my global entry interview,
(44:36):
Niki and I yeah, it's about time.
Mark Faldmo (44:38):
That'll be great when you get that.
Yep.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:41):
So let's talk about the things to know about
global entry.
Mark Faldmo (44:44):
There are some tips and tricks for global entry and
this is an article I found.
That's from the points guy, whohas lots of good travel
information, and these are histricks.
A lot of credit cards will giveyou a free credit for global
entry, so they will pay for allor part of your global entry as
(45:06):
part of the perk of the creditcard.
That's a good perk.
So I have that, you know theDelta Reserve card.
I think you have the DeltaReserve card, I do as well.
So after you've been a memberfor a year, they will either
provide your TSA pre-check feeor your global entry fee.
The other thing is, as you justtalked about, your global entry
(45:28):
fee, interview appointment,which is probably one of the
most frustrating parts of theprogram.
Oh, yeah, can take I mean, youdid that in May and you're just
getting your appointments now inOctober.
A few tips for that If you havean international trip, you can
do your interview upon arrivalback to the U?
(45:49):
S.
So if you're coming throughcustoms, you can ask for your
global entry interview andthey'll do it right there.
Other things is is you can signup for an email which will tell
you hey, if you chose, forinstance, salt Lake as your
interview site, they will letyou know when spots have opened
up for that to get it doneearlier.
But again, that is probably oneof the most frustrating parts
(46:15):
of global entry is the time ittakes to get your interview.
And then another tip for yourinterview make sure you bring
your passport with you.
The interview should take about10 to 15 minutes, although mine
have lasted less than five.
When I've done it, and thenafter your interview, your
global entry will be activeright then, but you'll receive
(46:35):
your card in about 10 days.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:37):
Good to know I would have forgotten the
passport, so thank you fortelling me that.
Mark Faldmo (46:41):
Global entry is easy to use Nowadays.
At most airports it's just afacial recognition.
You basically walk past a kiosk.
It scans your face and thenlets you through, which makes it
nice.
There are some older kioskswhere you actually have to scan
your passport and then it printsyou a ticket, but most are now
just scanned your face and letsyou walk through.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:04):
If you have an iPhone and you're familiar with
Face ID, that's pretty muchwhat it is.
Yeah, it takes about that longtoo.
Maybe slightly longer but notmuch.
Mark Faldmo (47:12):
Another perk for global entry is it also does
give you TSA pre-check.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:17):
So yes, I forgot about that.
Mark Faldmo (47:19):
That's a great perk with global entry.
A lot of people do ask should Iget TSA pre-check or global
entry?
And my thing is if you take oneor two international trips a
year, I would get global entryyes.
Or two international trips ayear, I would get global entry?
Yes, Because then you get thepre-check for all your domestic
trips.
Plus, you get that expeditedscreening through with your
(47:41):
global entry.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:42):
Google Wallet is adding the ability to store
passports.
This idea I love.
Mark Faldmo (47:48):
That's a great thing to store your passport on
your phone.
They've added the Real IDcompliant driver's licenses.
Now, for the states that havethat, you can add those to your
Google Wallet.
It just makes another place sothat if you misplace your
physical passport, it makes iteasier to get your passport
renewed and you have it in asecure place on your phone.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:11):
What's with this Delta Digital ID?
Mark Faldmo (48:16):
have it in a secure place on your phone.
What's with this Delta digitalID?
To be eligible for the digitalID, you have to be a SkyMiles
member and you have to beenrolled in pre-check or global
entry in this case.
And so digital ID and they'retesting at a few airports.
I've actually been able to dothis at JFK airport and I've
been able to do it at LosAngeles airport.
It's a separate line that yougo through, so there's a TSA
(48:38):
pre-check line and then there'sa regular line, there's a clear
line and then there's a digitalID line which is basically kind
of like how we talked aboutglobal entry.
You basically just walk through.
It just scans your face,matches it all up with
everything and lets you through,and then it's kind of like a
fast pass to the TSA pre-check,let's you skip to the front of
(48:59):
that line.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:00):
If you're the kind of person that just hates
lines and I don't know reallyanybody that just says, oh, I
love lines, this is a time saverIf time is more important than
money do what we're talkingabout.
You saw an article and I knowthat you're going to agree with
the things that are in thisarticle, but four things that
you, mark Faldmo, would pay foron a cruise.
(49:23):
What?
Mark Faldmo (49:26):
are those four things?
The first thing is a pre-cruisestay to stay a night or two
before your cruise leaves inthat port destination.
I always recommend this in caseyour flight is canceled,
delayed.
It just gives you some peace ofmind before you go, and it's
always nice to see thedestination that you're cruising
(49:47):
out of.
Let's take Europe, for instance.
Your cruise leaves from Rome.
If you fly in, you don't get tosee Rome.
The next thing that thisarticle mentioned was onboard
spa treatments.
I'm not as much of a spa person, but I know you spent a lot of
time in the spa.
You paid for a room that gaveyou access to the spa and some
(50:07):
of its services.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:08):
In 24 hours.
I spent eight hours in there.
I was in there a lot.
That thermal spa wasspectacular.
Mark Faldmo (50:15):
The next thing is specialty dining.
Cruises do come with theirmeals in the dining room, can
always get meals in the buffet.
I like the specialty diningbecause it offers you a little
bit more personalized service, alittle bit less crowded, a
little bit less rushed.
So I do like the specialtydining.
The food is great all over theship, but there are some things
(50:37):
you know, like in the steakhousethey have aged steaks.
A little bit more upgradedmenus in the specialty dining.
And the next thing shoreexcursions.
Some people think the shoreexcursions are too expensive and
so they'll just get off theship and walk around, which in
some ports is okay.
But I'd recommend choosing oneor two ports, if not all of the
(50:57):
ports, and choose an excursionthat really excites you.
I would add one more thing tothis list.
I'd add a fifth thing, which isupgrade to a balcony cabin.
Yes, there are a lot of peoplethat say I don't spend a lot of
time in my cabin, so an insidecabin is fine.
And there are some people thatlove inside cabins because they
(51:19):
can sleep better.
You know no outside light, fordifferent reasons, but I always
think it's worth it to upgradeto a balcony.
I have a hard time now cruisingin anything lower than a
balcony.
I love to just sit on thebalcony and for those people
that do say they wouldn't spenda lot of time in their cabin
anyway, if you get a balcony youspend more time in it and I
(51:41):
think you enjoy your cruisebetter.
Patrick Wiscombe (51:44):
I cannot believe how fast this last hour
went.
If you're interested in goingon a cruise and we've talked
about the Alaska cruises in thelast segment call Mark in his
office.
We also talked about going toEurope.
We talked about cruising onclipper ships.
(52:05):
It is an amazing, amazing timeto go cruising and the deals
that we offer this week reallyare spectacular.
Call Mark in his office.
He's there Monday throughFriday 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(52:29):
You can listen to the show againtomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11
am, right here on 860 KKAT.
And if you want or need tolisten to the show again, you
can download and subscribe tothe podcast version of this show
on InsideTravelTalk.
com.
We're on all of the majorpodcast platforms and while
(52:51):
you're at it, may I ask you tosubscribe and leave us a
five-star review please.
It really does help us gettraction with the podcast
platform.
So, thank you.
Now it's your turn.
Get out, explore the worldwhile you can, because you never
know what curveballs life isgoing to throw at you, and you
know what I'm talking about isgoing to throw at you, and you
(53:13):
know what I'm talking about.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
just remember today is a goodday for a good day, have a great
week.
Show Voice (53:28):
We'll talk to you next Saturday and Sunday morning
.
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.
(53:49):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (00:24):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside travel talkpodcast and radio show presented
by blue planet vacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700 and
check out the podcast at insidetravel talk.
com.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(00:49):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:54):
I am starting to wonder if this amazing
weather is going to go away.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will join me herein just a second and, if you're
(01:16):
brand new to the show, theentire purpose of this radio
show is to help you plan andbook your next vacation of this
radio show is to help you planand book your next vacation.
This is a fun show.
You're going to hear somereally amazing travel offers in
the next hour.
You can get the podcast of thisshow at InsideTravelTalk.
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts, and if you're in the
(01:41):
Salt Lake City area.
We're also on the air each andevery Saturday and Sunday
mornings at 11 o'clock MountainTime and we are presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com Coming up.
On today's edition of the show,we are talking about the best
Caribbean islands to visit.
Winter's coming up it's kind ofhard to believe on a day like
(02:04):
today.
We're going to talk aboutAlaska cruises and we're also
going to be talking aboutEuropean vacations, but before
we get there, we do need tostart with the quick hit travel
news headlines.
I saw this article Mark thatGreece is cracking down on
Airbnbs and short-term rentalsin Athens.
Mark Faldmo (02:26):
Yeah, the government announced last month
that they're going to put a banon short-term rentals in three
of the districts in Athens.
They're going to test this outfor a year and see how it goes.
Greece is facing a housingcrisis.
In Athens particularly.
They're banning it on theseshort-term rentals and Airbnb.
This is similar to what we'vetalked about in Hawaii,
(02:48):
particularly Maui, which hasbanned short-term rentals and
Airbnbs in what would beconsidered apartments.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:55):
United Airlines has signed a deal with
Starlink for free in-flightWi-Fi.
That's great news.
Mark Faldmo (03:02):
United will join Delta and JetBlue, which
currently offer free Wi-Fi.
That's great news.
United will join Delta andJetBlue, which currently offer
free Wi-Fi.
It's good that airlines arestarting to recognize this and
actually provide it for free.
Now there still are a fewairlines American Southwest and
Alaska do have Wi-Fi, but at anadditional cost.
I can't tell you how nice it'sbeen on Delta, whenever I fly,
(03:23):
to have that free Wi-Fi.
I typically don't work or lookat work-related things on planes
.
I kind of use that as my timeto watch a movie and relax and
decompress, but it is nice tohave that when it's needed.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:37):
One of the favorite things that you and I
have ever done together is theBrightline trains when you and I
were in Palm Beach.
The high-speed Brightline Westtrains will feature sleek seats
and what they're calling a partycar.
What other details do we haveon that this?
Mark Faldmo (03:55):
is a high-speed rail that is currently being
constructed between Los Angelesand Las Vegas.
Oh, it is under construction.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:03):
I didn't know that.
Mark Faldmo (04:04):
Between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Oh, it is under construction.
I didn't know that.
It's an all-electric 218-miletrain service.
Now they've unveiled some oftheir amenities and options that
they're going to offer.
They're going to have a partycar which is going to have food
and soft drinks, lounge seating.
They're also going to have atwo-class cabin seating.
They're also going to have atwo-class cabin.
They're going to have theirsmart category, which is two
(04:28):
seats, an aisle and two seats,or their premium, which is like
first class, which will have oneseat, an aisle and two seats.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:35):
When we went from Fort Lauderdale to Palm
Beach, Brightline was one of thegreatest things that we have
ever done.
I cannot wait for Brightline toshow up between Los Angeles and
Las Vegas.
I'm going to do it, just so wecan go ride the train, just to
do it.
Yeah, ride the train.
I don't know that I'll join theparty car, but maybe for the
Diet Coke, yes.
Always in this opening segmentof the show we have the
(04:59):
destination of the week, and youreceived a text a little bit
earlier this week that Philipwants to go to a Caribbean
island and he is asking what arethe best options the first
consideration should be is doyou want an all-inclusive resort
or not?
Mark Faldmo (05:17):
some islands have lots of all-inclusive options
and some have very few or noneat all.
And I think the secondconsideration is how hard is the
island to get to?
Depending on where you're fromhere in the West, some of those
Eastern Caribbean islands areharder to get to.
They might be three stops toget there.
(05:39):
So now I've broken this listdown into three different
categories.
I've broken this list down intothree different categories.
The first category is theeasiest to get to with
all-inclusive options.
So my picks for that would beJamaica or Dominican Republic.
Dominican Republic you usuallyhave to take an overnight flight
(06:05):
to like Atlanta, somewhere onthe East Coast and then arrive
there early in the afternoon.
Jamaica there are a few flightsfor us here on the West Coast
where you can get there in oneday just leave early in the
morning and get there later inthe evening.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:14):
But you do need to have a passport to go to
Jamaica or the DominicanRepublic, correct?
Mark Faldmo (06:20):
Yes, you do need a passport to get those.
Most of the Caribbean islandsyou do.
And that actually brings us tothe second category which is
often a question we get is Iwant to go somewhere warm with a
beach, but I don't have apassport.
Where can I go?
So the Caribbean islands youcan get to that don't require a
passport are St Thomas and StCroix, which are US Virgin
(06:43):
Islands, our territories of theUS.
Another one I'd probably throwin there is St John.
We talked about St John, Ithink, last week when we talked
about cruise shore excursionswith Trunk Bay, that one you'd
actually fly into St Thomas andthen take a ferry or a
helicopter over to the hotelsthat are on St John and you
could actually throw on anotherisland with no passport, which
(07:06):
is Puerto Rico.
We've talked about Puerto Ricoin the past, although if you
want that you know kind ofCaribbean island experience,
probably St Croix is the bestoption and it's a little harder
to get to as well, and then theharder to get to islands.
These islands are a little bitmore relaxed, less touristy.
I would throw in Grand Caymanon that and we've talked lots
(07:29):
about Grand Cayman.
Yeah, grand Cayman yeah, youknow, if you're there not on a
cruise day, you know, becausesometimes when the cruise ships
come in it can get prettycrowded, you know.
But Grand Cayman, withoutcruise ships, is a wonderful
place to visit.
St Lucia is on there.
St Lucia is probably one of themost beautiful islands in the
(07:53):
Caribbean.
There are two volcanic peaksthere.
They're known as the Pitons.
A lot of people probably haveseen these pictures of their
conical, really steep, pointykind of triangle volcanoes.
This again is probably one ofthe most beautiful islands to
visit.
There's a beach called SugarBeach, which is right in between
the two volcanoes.
(08:13):
Then Barbados.
I love Barbados.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:17):
How many times have you been to Barbados?
Mark Faldmo (08:19):
I've been to Barbados four times.
On a cruise is the only wayI've done it, but I would love
to go back there and visitBarbados.
It has one of the best beachesthat I've ever seen there,
although a lot of Caribbeanislands have really great
beaches.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:36):
It's hard to complain when you're in the
Caribbean.
It is.
Mark Faldmo (08:40):
A few others that I would throw in that really
weren't on my list is Grenada.
I love Grenada, which is a partof the British Overseas
Territories.
It's a capital of St George,kind of reminds me of an Italian
coastal town.
You just have to decide whatare your goals of your vacation.
(09:01):
Do you want an all-inclusive?
Do you want more secluded andrelaxed?
How easy is it to get to?
Are kind of the considerationson that and the passport and the
passport, and if you need apassport, yes, that's a good
point you just truly can't gowrong with the Caribbean.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:20):
It's honestly one of the best vacations Nicki
and I've ever been on.
You and I have not been to theCaribbean with our wives, but
you just can't go wrong.
But I will say this if you goin summer, get ready to sweat.
I will say this it's prettytoasty during the summer.
If you are interested inplanning a vacation to go to the
(09:41):
Caribbean, call Mark in hisoffice Monday through Friday.
A vacation to go to theCaribbean?
Call Mark in his office Mondaythrough Friday.
His office number is888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(10:02):
When we come back, we've gotthe hot travel deal of the week
and this time we are going toEurope.
You will not want to miss someof these offers that we have
that is coming up next.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday
morning.
Thank you for inviting us intoyour ears.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show alongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
(10:23):
We will be right back, markFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Show Voice (10:26):
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be right back.
Taking you to destinationsaround the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (10:57):
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
We'll be right back.
This segment of Inside TravelTalk is sponsored by Star
Clippers.
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ship, a warm breeze blowingsoftly, as the captain and his
(11:18):
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(12:03):
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Show Voice (12:04):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(12:25):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:32):
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio showAlongside my good friend, mark
Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Alongside my good friend, markFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe, ifyou are just brand new to the
show, this radio show is allabout having fun and all about
(12:53):
travel, getting out andexploring the world, and all we
do is talk about vacations, thehottest travel deals of the week
that is coming up in thissegment, and we are headed to
Europe, and if you've alwayswanted to head to that part of
the world, this is the segmentthat you will want to listen to
(13:18):
right now.
But you can also podcast theshow a little bit later by going
to insidetraveltalk.
com.
By going to InsideTravelTalk.
com.
Europe is one of my favoritedestinations Paris, specifically
.
That's still on my to-do list,especially after the Olympics,
but I'm going to wait for thingsto kind of clear out before
Nikki and I go.
Speaking of Paris, I saw thisnews story that a US destination
(13:44):
just dethroned Paris as themost romantic in the world.
Now I have a hard timebelieving that.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (13:52):
Paris, is known as the city of love, but Maui in
Hawaii has dethroned Paris asthe most romantic spot for US
travelers to vacation, to Idon't know Maui's pretty good.
This was an article in Traveland Leisure where 2,000
Americans they weren't inconnection to any traveling or
(14:14):
anything like that, it was justa random survey and 34% of
respondents said that Maui wasthe most romantic destination.
Paris did come in second.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:26):
Nikki and I were in Maui in March and I will
say that Maui was spectacular.
I know that I just said I can'timagine a more romantic place.
Maui's pretty good.
Mark Faldmo (14:37):
I really enjoy Maui and it is pretty romantic.
Well, I think all of the SouthPacific is romantic, all the
Pacific Islands, I should sayHawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, all pretty
romantic.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:52):
One of my favorite things to do over in
Hawaii, while we're talkingabout Maui, was just to go walk
on the beach.
There is something for mepersonally so therapeutic me
personally so therapeutic.
There's something about theroar of the ocean and just that
constant water motion that justsoothes my soul.
It really is spectacular.
Mark Faldmo (15:13):
It is, yeah, nothing like being on a good
beach.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:16):
Disney World is offering savings on 2025
resort bookings.
It's not very often when DisneyWorld starts discounting their
properties.
Mark Faldmo (15:28):
Walt Disney World Resorts has announced save up to
25% at select resorts.
So the savings range from 10%to 25% and they also depend on
the date, and this is for thefirst half of 2025.
The date and this is for thefirst half of 2025.
(15:50):
If you're looking to go toDisney world in Florida in the
first few months of this year,it's a great chance to go,
especially with the family, forsure, especially if you have
young kids.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:59):
I don't know there's some pretty old adults
that like going there too.
So, yes, yeah, just go.
We'll just say, we'll just say,just book it, just go, just
book it.
Yeah.
One of my favorite things thatI mentioned in this in segment
one is traveling by train.
Italy's new sleeper trainstravel from Rome which I'm
already a fan of at that pointto mountain and sea destinations
(16:22):
.
Mark Faldmo (16:23):
These are called espresso trains and they are
purely for tourists.
They're not really part of theItalian rail system.
They are tourist trains.
They operate in the summertimeand then they also operate in
the wintertime to get people tothe ski resorts in the Italian
Alps.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:42):
That sounds even more delightful.
Mark Faldmo (16:44):
They have refurbished trains dating back
from the 1960s through the 1990s.
So they've taken all of theseolder trains and refurbished
them, added them to thesetourist routes, which, again,
the Italian Alps are amazing.
Taking a train to or throughthe Italian Alps is on my bucket
(17:06):
list.
I've done the outskirts of themby bus, but I'd love to take a
train through them.
So I think these espressotrains are a great way to go.
Do it in the summertime go fromRome up to either coastal
resorts in the northern part ofItaly or to the Italian Alps.
These routes are mainlyovernight routes, but they do
(17:28):
also offer some daytime routeson this.
So the main part of these istheir overnight sleeper trains.
So they've taken these old,vintage sleeper trains and
renovated them for this purpose.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:41):
We were talking about the Caribbean in
segment number one of the showand I saw this story that St
Martin is launching a digitalentry form for visitors.
Mark Faldmo (17:52):
This actually started on Tuesday of this week,
October 8th, similar to theelectronic entry system, so
we've talked about otherdestinations.
You'll have to pre-fill outthis form and get approval to
fly into the country of StMartin, and Mark can walk you
through that.
St Martin is an interestingisland.
It wasn't on the list we talkedabout last segment but it's
(18:14):
interesting because half of theisland is Dutch and half of the
island is French.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:19):
Always in segment number two of the show
is the hot travel deal of theweek.
Janice was texting you a littlebit earlier that she wants to
go to Europe this next springmeaning 2025, and wants to see
several countries, and she'sasking it's kind of a big
question what's the best way todo this?
Mark Faldmo (18:40):
There's a few different ways that you can do
this.
There's group tours, which arebus tours.
You can just put it togetherand get yourself between the
countries.
You can also do some privatetours, where things are a little
bit more private.
You're still on your own.
I think the best way to seeEurope, especially if it's your
first time there, is to do oneof these group or escorted
(19:03):
hosted.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:04):
You've said that for a while now.
Mark Faldmo (19:05):
There are two companies that I like.
One is Globus and the other isCosmos.
They're actually operated bythe same company.
Globus is usually a little bitmore expensive, but that's
because they stay in hotels thatare centrally located.
They usually have a little bitmore included, and then Cosmos
usually stays on the outskirtsof town, still well located, but
(19:28):
not right central, and theydon't include quite as much.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:32):
Let's talk about the Globus deal first.
Mark Faldmo (19:35):
I've got three different departures on Globus
that we're going to talk about.
That will help you see Europe.
But the Globus deal right nowis save up to $1,000 per
reservation on select 2025 grouptours and that $1,000 off per
reservation needs to be bookedby November 8th.
I like these multiple countrytours because they give you a
(19:57):
good sampling of the countries.
So the first one it's calledthe European Sampler and I chose
a May 7th date and it is ninedays, four countries.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:10):
It sounds like we're going to a restaurant.
Let's go to the Sampler, please.
The.
Mark Faldmo (20:13):
Sampler.
This May 7th date is a smallgroup tour, so that's up to 18
guests.
They also do have regular grouptours, but that small group
tour on May 7th starts at $3689per person.
But I really like this tour.
It starts in Amsterdam, has twonights in Amsterdam and then
(20:34):
you go down to Heidelberg inGermany.
That day also includes afew-hour cruise through Castle
Country on the Rhine River river.
Then from there you go downthrough the black forest to
Lucerne, Switzerland, with twonights in Lucerne, Switzerland.
I think of all of the cities inEurope, Lucerne is probably my
(20:57):
favorite destination.
I've been there several times.
I would go back to Lucerne in aheartbeat.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:04):
How many days is this one.
Mark Faldmo (21:06):
The whole tour is nine days, so from Lucerne you
spend the night in southernFrance, in the Burgundy area,
and then up two nights in Parisis where you end.
That's a pretty good sampleright there.
And then they also have anoption you can extend it and end
in Paris.
You can go from Paris to Londonand spend two nights in London
(21:28):
at the end, which is an optionthat's good, too, countries, and
I like this one because itincludes Italy.
So this one, you start in Rome,have two nights in Rome, one
(21:49):
night in Florence, one night inVenice, and then you do go
through the Italian alps that wewere just talking about yeah
with two nights in Rome, or twonights in Lucerne and
Switzerland, and then you take atrain from Switzerland to Paris
with two nights in Paris.
And that tour is $3599 perperson.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:10):
These tours are amazing.
This is incredible.
Mark Faldmo (22:14):
The one thing that I like about these tours is
you're with a local guide thewhole time.
You get insights.
You just won't get doing it onyour own.
Or you can buy all the touristbooks, but you won't get the
insights you get doing a grouptour like this with a local
guide.
What's the last tour?
This is Poland, east Germany andWorld War II history.
(22:36):
So, depending on what you wantto see, I think this is a great
tour to do and it's also a greatprice.
It's 13 days, two countries.
It starts at $3149 per personand all of these tours we talked
about include that $1,000 offper reservation.
This tour starts two nights inWarsaw, Poland.
(23:00):
You go down to Krakow, Poland,with a stop in Auschwitz, and
then from there you go upanother night in Warkla, Poland,
and then a night in Dresden.
Two nights in Berlin, one nightin Weimar in Germany, one night
in Nuremberg and then twonights in Munich.
(23:23):
In between Munich and Nurembergyou go to Dachau, another
concentration camp.
Globus and Cosmos have severalgreat options for tours like
this.
These were three that I thoughtwere just good multiple country
destinations.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:38):
We're going to take a break here.
If you want to go to Europe andyou want to go on one of these
tours, call Mark in his office.
His phone number, Mondaythrough Friday, is 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(23:58):
Man, I just want to go now.
In fact, uh, you and I are inthe the studio right now and I'm
I'm actually looking at theback of my phone because I've
got the uh, the credit card here.
Actually looking at the back ofmy phone because I've got the
credit card here.
I've got something for you.
Give me that credit card number.
Here it is it's 5-1.
You really whet my appetite onthat one.
(24:20):
When we come back, it is theinfamous Just Cruising segment.
We've got the cruise news ofthe week.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues alongside MarkFaldmo, my friend, my name is
Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday
and Sunday mornings.
(24:40):
We will be right back.
Show Voice (24:42):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show with PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo,
presented by BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(25:04):
com.
Ad Voice (25:25):
We'll be right back.
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Patrick Wiscombe (26:06):
The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byblueplanetvacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:33):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(26:57):
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:06):
All aboard.
All aboard for the infamousJust Cruising segment right here
on the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show.
If you are listening to us onthe air right now here in Salt
Lake City, 860 KKAT, and youneed to re-listen to a segment
(27:30):
of the show, or if you justenjoy the show and want to
listen to it again, may I inviteyou to go to InsideTravelTalk.
com to get the podcast.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms Coming up in
this segment of the show.
We've got the infamous CruiseDeal of the Week and we've got
(27:51):
the infamous cruise deal of theweek and we've also got the
cruise news of the week.
In fact, Mark, let's just goahead and start there.
I saw this news story that toJuneau, Alaska, the free ship
Saturday was voted down.
What are the details on that?
Mark Faldmo (28:10):
A group in Juneau put something on their ballot
which was ship free Saturday andalso on the 4th of July, to ban
ships from visiting JuneauSaturdays and on the 4th of July
.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:23):
You know, this whole time I was like, oh sweet
, why would you vote down a freecruise?
Like free ship Saturday, jumpon a boat.
Oh wow, talk about the storynot matching what was in my head
.
Mark Faldmo (28:36):
As of right now, 60% of participating voters
voted against ship-freeSaturdays.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:43):
What's?
The tram right off the pier orthe dock in Juneau?
Mark Faldmo (28:47):
Mount Roberts, yeah , mount Roberts tram in Juneau.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:50):
That is fantastic.
I don't recommend going up tothe top if it's foggy or raining
, because you just look at thetop side of clouds.
On a clear day, that is aspectacular view from the top.
Mark Faldmo (29:02):
Yes, it is.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:04):
This is still on Patrick and Nikki's to-do
list Alma Waterways, which youhave been on several times.
They are creating a newitinerary.
Let's tell listeners whatthat's about and where they're
going.
Mark Faldmo (29:17):
They've created a new itinerary called the Swiss
Alps and Rhine Castles.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:21):
That's even more delightful.
Mark Faldmo (29:23):
Yep.
So this is a cruise along theRhine.
It's a seven-night cruise,travels between Amsterdam and
Basel, Switzerland, and some ofthe highlights are Strasberg in
France, Heidelberg, Rudersheimand Cologne in Germany.
It has some other stops alongthe way, but those are the main
(29:44):
highlight.
I think this will be a greatoption and they actually also
have a pre-cruise.
A great option, and theyactually also have a pre-cruise.
Oh, we're just talking aboutsimilar places.
This episode, a pre-cruiseoption in Luzern, Switzerland.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:58):
This just gets getting better yeah.
Mark Faldmo (30:00):
In our previous segment, where we talked about
the bus tours, group tours beinga great way to see Europe.
River cruises are also a greatway to see Europe.
In fact, on river cruises youget to some places that you
don't get to on the bus tours.
Another great option to seeEurope Ama would always be my
pick for river cruise in Europe.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:21):
Beth, our contact at Star Clippers.
They just announced a new freedeal in the Caribbean man, we
are Caribbean heavy this week.
We are, yeah, Caribbean andEurope we are.
Mark Faldmo (30:30):
Caribbean heavy this week.
We are, yeah, Caribbean andEurope.
It seems like Star Clippers, onselect cruises, is offering a
free two-night stay eitherbefore or after the cruise in St
Martin.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:43):
Oh my word, this just keeps getting better.
Mark Faldmo (30:46):
When we're talking early about the Caribbean
islands, at least for us in thewestern part of the US, St
Martin is a harder port to getto, and that's where the
Caribbean sailings for StarClipper leave from is St Martin.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:59):
Oh, I didn't know that.
I thought they were someplaceelse.
Mark Faldmo (31:03):
Yeah, no, so you have to fly into St Martin and
get on the ship, so this is agreat offering to either go
before or after.
I'd recommend before in casethere's any flight issues.
Star Clipper has severaladvantages.
One is it's small the StarFlyer that does this has 166
(31:24):
passengers.
Another benefit is exploreremote islands and secluded
harbors with that.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:30):
Something that you and I did back in April was
the Margaritaville at Sea.
That's the name of the companywe went on.
Which ship were we on?
Mark Faldmo (31:37):
The Paradise.
Yeah, okay, paradise, that'sthe name of the ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:40):
Yeah, so Margaritaville at Sea is
offering longer cruises on theParadise boat which is what we
were just talking about from ahundred bucks a person.
You and I were there.
We did it for two days, but nowthey're starting to offer three
and four nights, which I thinkis a great move by the company.
Mark Faldmo (32:01):
Margaritaville at sea.
They took over a company thatwas called Paradise Cruise Lines
and they were basically agambling ship.
They would leave, go outFreeport Bahamas two nights and
come back, but their main sourceof revenue was gambling and now
that Margaritaville at sea isoperating this cruise line,
they're trying to make it morelike a regular cruise line.
(32:23):
Paradise that leaves out ofPalm Beach Florida now has new
itineraries, a three-nightitinerary with Saturdays at sea,
so it just goes to FreeportBahamas and then has a day at
sea.
They're offering two newfour-night itineraries One is
Key West and Freeport and theother one is Nassau and Freeport
(32:46):
, so two ports in the Bahamas.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:47):
Let's get to the cruise deal of the week, the
infamous cruise deal of theweek, and we are talking Alaska.
What offers do we have forlisteners this week?
Mark Faldmo (32:57):
So there's some great cruise options out there
for 2025.
First, we should talk about thethree types of Alaska cruises.
There are round-trip cruises,and those either go round-trip
Seattle or round-trip Vancouver.
And then there's one-waycruises that go between
Vancouver and either Whittier orSeward, which is near.
(33:23):
Those are both near Anchorage.
And then there's cruise toursand they combine an Alaska, an
inland Alaska experience.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:34):
On the one-way cruise options, so, Nikki and I
, last year we did theround-trip cruise from Seattle
on NCL Great, great experience.
Mark Faldmo (33:46):
We've talked about Alaska quite a bit in some of
the past shows.
It's one of my top cruisedestinations.
I've probably been on somewherebetween 20 and 25 Alaska
cruises and I love it.
Now, moving on to some of theprices, there are some great
prices out there.
I looked in earlier in theseason, so these are late April
(34:10):
and May cruises that I looked at, which is generally where the
best prices are.
Now, the one thing you'll tradeoff on these dates is it'll be
a little bit cooler, but you'llgenerally have better weather in
May.
You know, going through Alaska,you're in a temperate
rainforest and May is one of thedrier months to go.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:30):
You really surprised me when you said that
Alaska is a rainforest.
Mark Faldmo (34:34):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:35):
And I can confirm.
Mark Faldmo (34:36):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:37):
It does rain.
Mark Faldmo (34:39):
You go to Ketchikan .
One of the landmarks inKetchikan is the rain
thermometer that tells how muchrain they've had so far that
year.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:46):
Uh-huh, yep, let's start with the round-trip
cruise Seattle.
How many days is that and whatis the price per person inside
cabin and a balcony?
Mark Faldmo (34:55):
I chose this cruise round trip Seattle.
It's a little bit unique it's anine day cruise.
You know where most of theround trip cruises are seven
days.
So this one is early season.
It's April 23rd, so this isprobably one of the first
sailings of the season.
The inside cabins on that startat $1181 per person Still
(35:19):
amazing.
But the reason why I chose thisis because the balcony rate
Balcony rate was $1599 perperson and again, all of these
cruise fares now include all ofthe taxes and fees.
So this isn't a price plustaxes and fees.
Taxes and fees are included inthis price For a balcony.
(35:40):
That's amazing For a balcony.
Yeah, this cruise again roundtrip Seattle.
It visits Ketchikan, Juneau,Skagway, icy Strait the glacier
that you visit is glacier bayand then Victoria in Canada and
then back to Seattle when you goto glacier bay it is so quiet.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:00):
I thought there was a gun range at glacier
bay.
It was the ice hitting thewater and it sounded like
gunshots going off.
Mark Faldmo (36:09):
It was incredible when that compact ice falls off
the glacier and hits that warmerwater, it explodes.
It's pretty interesting howthat worked.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:18):
What about the one-way?
The northbound one-way cruiseon NCL?
How much is that?
Mark Faldmo (36:23):
So the northbound on NCL.
This is a cruise betweenVancouver and Whittier and it's
a May 5th departure and I chosethis one because of the inside
price.
The inside price starts at $699per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:39):
That's a hundred bucks a day.
That is so good.
Mark Faldmo (36:41):
Yeah, that's so good to see that.
This one visits Ketchikan,Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait and
the glacier is Hubbard Glacier.
Now, one of the things I likeabout one-way cruises is
generally they visit two glacierfields.
So, like Glacier Bay andCollege Fjord, this particular
(37:03):
one has a better price.
It only visits one glacier,which is Hubbard Glacier, but it
does add an extra port of IcyStrait, which is not typical.
And then the third type ofcruise, which is a cruise tour.
That's where you take either anorthbound or southbound cruise
and it combines with a cruisetour in the interior of Alaska.
(37:26):
So this cruise tour is ninedays, May 11th, on Holland
America and cruise portion is anorthbound.
So Vancouver it goes, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay,
College Fjord.
So those are the two glacierfields.
The cruise port ends inWhittier and then from there you
(37:47):
go to Denali National Park,spend a night in Denali or near
Denali National Park and thentwo nights in Fairbanks, Alaska,
before you come home.
If you want to see the interiorof Alaska, a cruise tour is a
great way to do that.
I particularly like doing itwhere you have a northbound
cruise and then the land tour,because you kind of work your
(38:09):
way into Alaska and you end withDenali.
You end with that interior ofAlaska and the last cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:16):
I thought this was kind of funny the alaska
repo cruise, yeah what do youhave?
Mark Faldmo (38:21):
a boat come in and you know take the NCL ship.
Take the NCL yeah so no, sothis repo crew short for
reposition cruise.
So they typically do these atthe beginning or end of the
season.
They're just to get their shipspositioned correctly because,
since they need an internationalport, they need to.
(38:41):
Depending on where the ship'scoming from, they need to
reposition it to a differentport.
This is a May 13th date.
It's a four-day cruise betweenVancouver and Seattle and it
just goes Vancouver to Ketchikan, stay at sea back to Seattle.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:58):
Yeah, you just man.
Even that sounds great.
Mark Faldmo (39:01):
I've done this cruise before and I love it.
It's shorter, but you do getthat Alaska experience.
The reason why I chose this isbecause the balcony cabins start
$439 for a person.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:17):
Wow.
Mark Faldmo (39:17):
I'm not even going to mention the inside cabin,
because the inside cabin is only$20 less than the balcony.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:24):
So just do the balcony yeah, do that.
We got to take a break here Tobook Alaska cruise.
Now I know you've beenlistening to the show for a year
.
We put on the air for over ayear.
I promise you will not bedisappointed with Alaska.
If you want the sure thing thateveryone in the family is going
(39:45):
to enjoy Alaska is it?
You can just agree on thatperiod.
Call Mark in his office, getthese booked.
These are phenomenal offers.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717 to book yourAlaska cruise.
(40:09):
He's open Monday through Friday.
You will not be disappointed,in fact.
888-17 to book your Alaskacruise.
He's open Monday through Friday.
You will not be disappointed,in fact, once you go, we're
inviting you on the show.
You just have an openinvitation.
Tell us how it went.
888-718-7717.
When we come back it's the lastsegment of the show.
Already We've got Mark's traveltips.
(40:29):
We've got some additionaltravel news that we need to
share with you.
Mark is going to talk aboutfour things that he would pay
for on a cruise.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues Alongside MarkFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
We will be right back.
Ad Voice (41:01):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Amar Waterways
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(41:22):
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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Show Voice (41:41):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
blueplanetvacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call the show right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:05):
Final segment of this week's Inside Travel
Talk podcast and radio showsegment of this week's Inside
Travel Talk podcast and radioshow.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe and if you
are just catching the lastsegment of the show, all we do
is talk about travel, and if youneed to re-listen to any of the
(42:32):
show that's already been on theair, may I ask you to go to
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
Insidetraveltalk.
com and you can find us on allof the major podcast platforms,
but InsideTravelTalk.
com will direct you to all ofthe platforms so you don't have
to go search for it.
Coming up in this final segmentof the show, mark came up with
(42:56):
this idea about four things thathe would pay for on a cruise,
and we're going to talk aboutthat here in this segment, but
before we do, let's finish upwith the travel news of the week
.
Mark Faldmo (43:18):
If you love passport stamps?
Well, Europe has got some badnews for you.
What's the bad news?
Europe is implementing, onNovember 10th of this year, a
new automated entry and exitsystem.
So they are no longer going tostamp your passport when you
come in and out of the EuropeanUnion, so they're just going to
use biometric data fingerprints,facial recognition and
(43:41):
cross-reference that with yourpassport.
They say it will save travelerstime, because standing in line
to get your passport stampeddoes take time.
So they say this will save timebecause you'll basically be
able to walk through with thisbiometric data.
And then it also helps theEuropean Union identify
overstayers, which is a problemin a lot of countries, People
(44:04):
that come in and overstay atourist visa or a tourist entry.
I should say so an overstayer.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:12):
An overstayer, yeah, I have good news on this
front, mark.
You remember when you and Iwere flying to Florida in April,
fort Lauderdale and yours trulywas filling out the global
entry application.
Well, guess what's coming upthis month?
In about 10 days, I finallyhave my global entry application
.
Well, guess what's coming upthis month?
In about 10 days, I finallyhave my global entry interview,
(44:36):
Niki and I yeah, it's about time.
Mark Faldmo (44:38):
That'll be great when you get that.
Yep.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:41):
So let's talk about the things to know about
global entry.
Mark Faldmo (44:44):
There are some tips and tricks for global entry and
this is an article I found.
That's from the points guy, whohas lots of good travel
information, and these are histricks.
A lot of credit cards will giveyou a free credit for global
entry, so they will pay for allor part of your global entry as
(45:06):
part of the perk of the creditcard.
That's a good perk.
So I have that, you know theDelta Reserve card.
I think you have the DeltaReserve card, I do as well.
So after you've been a memberfor a year, they will either
provide your TSA pre-check feeor your global entry fee.
The other thing is, as you justtalked about, your global entry
(45:28):
fee, interview appointment,which is probably one of the
most frustrating parts of theprogram.
Oh, yeah, can take I mean, youdid that in May and you're just
getting your appointments now inOctober.
A few tips for that If you havean international trip, you can
do your interview upon arrivalback to the U?
(45:49):
S.
So if you're coming throughcustoms, you can ask for your
global entry interview andthey'll do it right there.
Other things is is you can signup for an email which will tell
you hey, if you chose, forinstance, salt Lake as your
interview site, they will letyou know when spots have opened
up for that to get it doneearlier.
But again, that is probably oneof the most frustrating parts
(46:15):
of global entry is the time ittakes to get your interview.
And then another tip for yourinterview make sure you bring
your passport with you.
The interview should take about10 to 15 minutes, although mine
have lasted less than five.
When I've done it, and thenafter your interview, your
global entry will be activeright then, but you'll receive
(46:35):
your card in about 10 days.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:37):
Good to know I would have forgotten the
passport, so thank you fortelling me that.
Mark Faldmo (46:41):
Global entry is easy to use Nowadays.
At most airports it's just afacial recognition.
You basically walk past a kiosk.
It scans your face and thenlets you through, which makes it
nice.
There are some older kioskswhere you actually have to scan
your passport and then it printsyou a ticket, but most are now
just scanned your face and letsyou walk through.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:04):
If you have an iPhone and you're familiar with
Face ID, that's pretty muchwhat it is.
Yeah, it takes about that longtoo.
Maybe slightly longer but notmuch.
Mark Faldmo (47:12):
Another perk for global entry is it also does
give you TSA pre-check.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:17):
So yes, I forgot about that.
Mark Faldmo (47:19):
That's a great perk with global entry.
A lot of people do ask should Iget TSA pre-check or global
entry?
And my thing is if you take oneor two international trips a
year, I would get global entryyes.
Or two international trips ayear, I would get global entry?
Yes, Because then you get thepre-check for all your domestic
trips.
Plus, you get that expeditedscreening through with your
(47:41):
global entry.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:42):
Google Wallet is adding the ability to store
passports.
This idea I love.
Mark Faldmo (47:48):
That's a great thing to store your passport on
your phone.
They've added the Real IDcompliant driver's licenses.
Now, for the states that havethat, you can add those to your
Google Wallet.
It just makes another place sothat if you misplace your
physical passport, it makes iteasier to get your passport
renewed and you have it in asecure place on your phone.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:11):
What's with this Delta Digital ID?
Mark Faldmo (48:16):
have it in a secure place on your phone.
What's with this Delta digitalID?
To be eligible for the digitalID, you have to be a SkyMiles
member and you have to beenrolled in pre-check or global
entry in this case.
And so digital ID and they'retesting at a few airports.
I've actually been able to dothis at JFK airport and I've
been able to do it at LosAngeles airport.
It's a separate line that yougo through, so there's a TSA
(48:38):
pre-check line and then there'sa regular line, there's a clear
line and then there's a digitalID line which is basically kind
of like how we talked aboutglobal entry.
You basically just walk through.
It just scans your face,matches it all up with
everything and lets you through,and then it's kind of like a
fast pass to the TSA pre-check,let's you skip to the front of
(48:59):
that line.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:00):
If you're the kind of person that just hates
lines and I don't know reallyanybody that just says, oh, I
love lines, this is a time saverIf time is more important than
money do what we're talkingabout.
You saw an article and I knowthat you're going to agree with
the things that are in thisarticle, but four things that
you, mark Faldmo, would pay foron a cruise.
(49:23):
What?
Mark Faldmo (49:26):
are those four things?
The first thing is a pre-cruisestay to stay a night or two
before your cruise leaves inthat port destination.
I always recommend this in caseyour flight is canceled,
delayed.
It just gives you some peace ofmind before you go, and it's
always nice to see thedestination that you're cruising
(49:47):
out of.
Let's take Europe, for instance.
Your cruise leaves from Rome.
If you fly in, you don't get tosee Rome.
The next thing that thisarticle mentioned was onboard
spa treatments.
I'm not as much of a spa person, but I know you spent a lot of
time in the spa.
You paid for a room that gaveyou access to the spa and some
(50:07):
of its services.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:08):
In 24 hours.
I spent eight hours in there.
I was in there a lot.
That thermal spa wasspectacular.
Mark Faldmo (50:15):
The next thing is specialty dining.
Cruises do come with theirmeals in the dining room, can
always get meals in the buffet.
I like the specialty diningbecause it offers you a little
bit more personalized service, alittle bit less crowded, a
little bit less rushed.
So I do like the specialtydining.
The food is great all over theship, but there are some things
(50:37):
you know, like in the steakhousethey have aged steaks.
A little bit more upgradedmenus in the specialty dining.
And the next thing shoreexcursions.
Some people think the shoreexcursions are too expensive and
so they'll just get off theship and walk around, which in
some ports is okay.
But I'd recommend choosing oneor two ports, if not all of the
(50:57):
ports, and choose an excursionthat really excites you.
I would add one more thing tothis list.
I'd add a fifth thing, which isupgrade to a balcony cabin.
Yes, there are a lot of peoplethat say I don't spend a lot of
time in my cabin, so an insidecabin is fine.
And there are some people thatlove inside cabins because they
(51:19):
can sleep better.
You know no outside light, fordifferent reasons, but I always
think it's worth it to upgradeto a balcony.
I have a hard time now cruisingin anything lower than a
balcony.
I love to just sit on thebalcony and for those people
that do say they wouldn't spenda lot of time in their cabin
anyway, if you get a balcony youspend more time in it and I
(51:41):
think you enjoy your cruisebetter.
Patrick Wiscombe (51:44):
I cannot believe how fast this last hour
went.
If you're interested in goingon a cruise and we've talked
about the Alaska cruises in thelast segment call Mark in his
office.
We also talked about going toEurope.
We talked about cruising onclipper ships.
(52:05):
It is an amazing, amazing timeto go cruising and the deals
that we offer this week reallyare spectacular.
Call Mark in his office.
He's there Monday throughFriday 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(52:29):
You can listen to the show againtomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11
am, right here on 860 KKAT.
And if you want or need tolisten to the show again, you
can download and subscribe tothe podcast version of this show
on InsideTravelTalk.
com.
We're on all of the majorpodcast platforms and while
(52:51):
you're at it, may I ask you tosubscribe and leave us a
five-star review please.
It really does help us gettraction with the podcast
platform.
So, thank you.
Now it's your turn.
Get out, explore the worldwhile you can, because you never
know what curveballs life isgoing to throw at you, and you
know what I'm talking about isgoing to throw at you, and you
(53:13):
know what I'm talking about.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
just remember today is a goodday for a good day, have a great
week.
Show Voice (53:28):
We'll talk to you next Saturday and Sunday morning
.
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.
(53:49):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
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