April 5, 2025 • 52 mins
Step aboard as we journey through America's most magnificent landscapes without ever getting behind the wheel! This episode is a treasure trove for train enthusiasts and cruise lovers alike as we explore iconic rail journeys and pristine Alaskan waterways.
Discover the historic charm of the Grand Canyon Railway, operating since 1901, where your journey becomes part of the adventure with roaming musicians and perhaps even a staged train robbery! We uncover how this 64-mile route transformed from hauling copper ore to delivering wide-eyed travelers to one of nature's most spectacular wonders. With six classes of service from open-window Pullman cars to luxury domes, there's a perfect option for every traveler.
The conversation shifts to Rocky Mountaineer, where luxury meets wilderness in a unique daylight-only train experience through Canada's breathtaking mountain landscapes and their newer Rockies to Red Rocks route connecting Denver to Moab. Unlike traditional train journeys, Rocky Mountaineer passengers enjoy all the scenery by day and comfortable hotel accommodations by night, with gourmet meals and drinks included throughout.
With Alaska cruise season just days away, we provide an expert breakdown of must-do shore excursions at each iconic port. From Juneau's whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier to Skagway's historic White Pass Railway and Ketchikan's spectacular Misty Fjords flightseeing tours, we guide you through the experiences that make an Alaska cruise truly unforgettable. Plus, we reveal an incredible deal on MSC's new Alaska sailings for 2026.
We wrap up with crucial travel document information as Real ID requirements approach (May 7th) and outline the eight passport mistakes that could derail your international adventures. Are your documents ready for your next journey?
Ready to book your own rail adventure or Alaskan cruise? Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or visit blueplanetvacationscom to start planning your journey today!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show Coming up.
On today's show we will betalking about planes, trains,
but no automobiles, Alaska andAlaskan shore excursions and
real ID and passports.
We've got to straighten all ofthat out.
All of those terms can beconfusing.
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(00:23):
BluePlanetVacationsations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:43):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(01:06):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:16):
It is the weekend, which means it is time
to talk travel.
Hello there, my name is PatrickWiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be here in thestudio here in just a moment.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show, and if you are brand newto the show, or longtime
(01:36):
listeners, our job is to helpyou plan and book your next
vacation.
And if you have no idea whereto go, then our job is very
simple we want to give you ideasof where to vacation next, and
this show is presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, which is Mark's company,and thank you so much for taking
(01:58):
the time to stop and listen.
Coming up on today's show, weare heavy on trains.
We are talking about rockymountaineer Denver to Moab and,
of course, in the CanadianRockies such a great combination
if you want to head to Alaska.
And then we're also going to betalking with Sam Langner of
(02:18):
grand canyon railway.
That is coming up here in thefirst two segments of the show.
But let me bring in my co-hostand good friend, mark Faldmo.
It's good to see you on camera,since Nikki and I are in the
middle of the Atlantic Oceanright now.
Mark Faldmo (02:32):
Good to be here.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:33):
Glad to hear that you've had a great cruise.
We are on Celebrity Ascent MahoBeach which, by the way, if you
don't know what Maho Beach is,what is it?
Sunset?
All of a sudden, I'm blankingSunset Beach.
Okay, yeah, sunset Beach.
This is the beach that youalways see on YouTube, with the
airplanes flying over your head,like feet over your head.
It is absolutely terrifying.
(02:55):
It is real that when they land,they're feet over your head,
but when they take off, peoplereally do get blown into the
ocean and possessions.
It's complete chaos on thebeach.
Mark Faldmo (03:06):
It is one of my favorite places.
It's on the island of St Martinand I love it.
There's a little beach barthere where you can just sit and
watch the airplanes land andalso watch the people that want
to get blown over by the jetswhen they take off.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:20):
It is absolutely one of the most
magical experiences that I'veever had in my entire life.
That alone is a destination anda vacation just by itself.
Mark Faldmo (03:29):
Would you agree?
Yes, I would.
I love airplanes, so that's oneof my favorite spots in the
Caribbean.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:35):
The majesty of airplane travel and watching
them come in is something I willnever forget.
And so there's our planes.
Let's move on to trains.
Oh well, done A little bitearlier this week.
Mark and I are big train peopleand Mark actually introduced me
to this gentleman, Sam Langner,with Grand Canyon Railway.
(03:57):
We talked to him a little bitearlier this week as we were in
port so we could get this on theair for our listeners.
And we're just going to talkabout Grand Canyon Railway.
Let's just go Grand CanyonRailway and Hotel 101.
How long have you existed?
And take us where you get onthe train and what listeners can
expect.
Sam Langner (04:17):
Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel has existed
since 1901.
Originally the route up to theSouth Rim was used for mining
copper ore, but then it becamevery clear that hauling tourists
up to the Grand Canyon was onea better business proposition
and people love to go see thatnatural wonder of the world.
So again, it was in 1901 thatthe Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe Railway worked with the FredHarvey Company to develop the
(04:40):
line and develop the South RimVillage.
So it's very ingrained in thehistory of this region.
Of course, in the modern era weoperate a hotel, a 298-room
hotel in Williams, Arizona, thathas two restaurants and is in
Williams, which is a historicRoute 66 town.
So it's just kind of thatclassic Wild West meets classic
(05:02):
American attractions.
And so the railway itself itdoes that 64 mile run up to the
South Rim, two hours and 15minutes one way, starting in the
morning in Williams, going upto the South Rim and giving
guests a couple hours to goexplore that beautiful natural
wonder.
So it's this very dynamicexperience.
It's just a great way to spenda long weekend or a weekday for
(05:25):
anybody.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:26):
How many day tours are there, or do you just
pick how long you want to staythere?
Sam Langner (05:30):
So the train itself .
It operates 364 days a year.
We run every day except forChristmas, and so there's always
a train that goes up there.
When you're at the South Rimthere are tours that are
available.
So if folks want to do a guidedbus tour, that's an option.
You know a lot of folks justget off and again during the
official three hour layover.
(05:51):
If you're not spending thenight, you know three hours is
enough to to at least take inthe grandeur.
Personally, I always say youneed to spend the night to
really get the full grandeur.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:00):
Oh yeah.
Sam Langner (06:01):
The ride on board.
It's more than just an A to Btrip.
This is an enchanting journeyand it's an entertaining journey
as well.
For the train cars.
You have entertainers, so wehave roaming musicians that come
around.
There's a café car on board, soyou get snacks and higher
levels of service.
So first class and deluxe.
There's finger foods and even achampagne toast, and maybe,
(06:23):
just maybe, there might be anold-fashioned train robbery, but
I won't ruin that for you.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:27):
So where does it start?
You say Williams Arizona, soeveryone has to get themselves
to Williams Arizona, which iswhere, if people don't know
geographically where it is,Correct.
Sam Langner (06:36):
So we're right off I-40.
If you're familiar withNorthern Arizona at all, we're
just about 35 minutes to thewest of Flagstaff.
Arizona Williams is a historicRoute 66 town, so it's one where
there's classic car shows andthe neon lights and old
restaurants.
A quick and easy trip.
Again.
You can fly into Flagstaff andtake a car over Easy.
To get here from Phoenix aswell, it's just a couple hours.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:58):
What's your favorite thing about Grand
Canyon?
What's the one thing that youjust go, man, I just don't get
tired of this.
Sam Langner (07:09):
Well, there's a lot of pretty places in the United
States and I might be a littlebit biased, but for my money the
Grand Canyon is the mostspectacular visual
representation of Earth's layers.
So you are seeing back in timeby looking at Grand Canyon
National Park, in some casesdown at the bottom well over a
billion and a half years ofEarth's history exposed in rock.
Sunsets there and sunrises arebreathtaking.
(07:29):
It's just a very pun intended.
It's a grand place.
It's hard to comprehend and itmakes you feel insignificant in
a charming way.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:41):
So when you start in Williams Arizona, how
long does the journey to theSouth Rim take?
Sam Langner (07:46):
So when you get on the train it's a two hour and 15
minute ride North.
You get three hours whileyou're up at the South Rim and
two hours and 15 minutes backAbout 64 miles one way.
We always joke it's not thefastest way to get to the canyon
.
If you want to go, drive upthere you'd get there faster.
This is about enjoying the ride.
(08:07):
Stepping back in time, you'retraveling at about 40 miles an
hour.
Again, it's about that onboardentertainment and soaking up
these classic rail cars.
We always like to say we do thedriving for you.
You're there to enjoy the rideand by riding aboard Grand
Canyon Railway we figure we keepupwards of 60,000 cars out of
the park per year.
(08:27):
So it's a great way also tokeep just traffic and congestion
out of Grand Canyon NationalPark while enjoying the ride
better than you would whiledriving.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:36):
So, once you get to the canyon, which is
really the main feature of thiswhole of the train, you have
hotels on both ends, meaningWilliams and at the Grand Canyon
.
If you could design a perfectvacation, how many days would
you stay in Williams, or howmany days, or, and how many days
would you stay in the Canyon?
Sam Langner (08:56):
The good news is that we've already created one
for folks.
It's called the Canyon RailsGetaway Package and effectively
that is our curated event forsomeone to enjoy their time
while they're here.
What that includes is a nightat Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, a
dinner and a breakfast, a trainride up to the South Rim, a
overnight stay at MaslowickNorth and then the opportunity
(09:19):
to go up and enjoy tours of yourchoice.
So as an add-on, you could do abus tour that's available up
there, or just a walking tour,and then the next day is a
southbound trip to Williams andan overnight stay.
So if you're looking for a veryfull, long weekend or just a
week getaway, that's the way Iwould do it Again, that's the
Canyon Rails getaway package.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:41):
I didn't even know you existed.
I am so glad that we found you.
Sam Langner (09:45):
Something I didn't mention before.
Well, a few things.
First and foremost, for thosethat are looking to figure out
exactly what class of servicethey would like to choose while
they're on board, we offer sixdifferent classes of train
service aboard Grand CanyonRailway.
You know, if you start at theentry level, there's the Pullman
class, which is a classic 1920sera rail cars, where these are
(10:07):
just windows open we call it40-40 air conditioning, where
all the windows are open andyou're traveling at 40 miles an
hour.
Just charming for families andjust a great classic ride.
Then you have our coach classcars, first class, and luxury
and luxury cars Again 1950s erabusiness cars.
There's domes, there's bars onboard on those upper levels of
(10:27):
service and it's reallyspectacular.
Just very, very pretty cars,depending on which ones you
choose.
We do also have special SteamSaturday events.
So we operate a 1920s eraBaldwin Locomotive Works steam
locomotive that was retrofittedto run on recycled waste
vegetable oil and we call it welovingly call it the French Fry
(10:50):
Express.
It's a, again, just a beautifulsteam locomotive, and on select
Saturdays, typically the firstSaturday of the month, we run
that and pull the consist up tothe South Rim.
So that's very exciting, butthroughout the year again,
there's always something to lookforward to.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:06):
Sam Langner with Grand Canyon Railway.
What a unique way to see theworld, especially the Grand
Canyon.
If you've never been to theGrand Canyon, you're missing out
.
It is truly one of life's mostspectacular visual displays, and
especially at golden hour thelast hour 90 minutes of when the
(11:26):
sun goes down, the Grand Canyonnever disappoints.
It is a spectacular time.
If you are interested in goingon Grand Canyon Railway Williams
to the south room of the GrandCanyon, call Mark in his office
during the break.
Just get the conversationstarted.
No obligation, just call him888-718-7717.
(11:52):
And he will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
Segment number two the hottravel deal of the week, and
this time we are talking abouttrains in Alaska and
southeastern Utah on RockyMountaineer.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
(12:14):
show, continues Alongside MarkFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (12:24):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
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Show Voice (13:13):
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.
(13:34):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:42):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast, a radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,alongside Mark Faldmo, Coming to
you live from the middle of theAtlantic Ocean, courtesy of
Starlink.
I never get tired of this beingin the middle of the ocean,
having good, reliable internetservice and being able to do the
(14:05):
radio show from the ocean.
Mark Faldmo (14:07):
it's just incredible to me that we can do
that it's amazing technology andamazing that you have the views
that you have looking out yourwindow right now it's kind of
hard to complain when you've gotthe ocean on the horizon.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:19):
A little bit earlier this week, while we were
near Maho beach, while we werein port in Phillipsburg, we had
the opportunity to talk with agentleman by the name of August
Bont with Rocky Mountaineer.
They're the company that doesDenver to Moab on a train and
they also do train tours up inthe Canadian Rockies.
Let me bring in August Bontwith Rocky Mountaineer.
(14:41):
It's good to have you here.
August Bont (14:43):
Oh, thank you so much, Patrick.
I'm excited to get to share theRocky Mountaineer story.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:46):
Let's go.
Rocky Mountaineer 101.
What is Rocky Mountaineer?
For those who have never heardof Rocky Mountaineer, Rocky
Mountaineer.
August Bont (14:54):
We are a luxury, daylight only sightseeing train.
We do a lot of our business inWestern Canada, but our newest
route operates between Denverand Moab, so we get to take our
guests through some absolutelystunning scenery on the remote
Canadian and US rocky wilderness.
We get to take our guests onroughly one week journeys
through Vancouver, Banff, Jasper, lake Louise, with some stops
(15:18):
and sightseeing along the way.
How many days is it?
We are customizable.
That's why it's such a greatidea to work with some lovely
travel advisors like Patrick andMark, but most of our guests
take about a week journey withus.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:29):
What does a typical trip look like for most?
August Bont (15:33):
travelers.
I could give you a typical trip.
It might be seven days betweenVancouver and Calgary or Calgary
to Vancouver, with a couplestops along the way in a little
town of Kamloops and then eitherLake Louise or Banff.
So you'll spend two days inCalgary and then you get on the
train through the RockyMountains and through some
beautiful canyons on lakes andrivers and waterfalls.
(15:54):
Then you might spend two daysin Banff, kind of doing some
sightseeing and exploring, andthen continue on to the frontier
town of Calgary before headingback home.
So seven days, six nights,pretty typical package for our
clients.
But you could do it anywhere asshort as two days or if you
wanted to really go for you go15 days round trip Vancouver.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:13):
Okay, let's extend it from seven days to 15.
Where do you go after, once youget to that Eastern part?
August Bont (16:20):
We have three different routes in Western
Canada, so if you want to looptogether two of those three
routes together and see moreparts of Alberta and British
Columbia, kind of how you mightextend that with maybe a week of
sightseeing in between yourfour days on the train.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:36):
What is your favorite trip?
The one that you would do overand, over and over.
August Bont (16:41):
So my favorite trip is probably a little bit
different than what you mighthear from interviewing some
other Rocky Mountain Airemployees.
I love going on Journey Throughthe Clouds up to Jasper because
it's so remote.
You just get a much bettersense of scale of the Canadian
wilderness.
There's more wildlife, there'sfewer people.
But our flagship most popularroute is over to Banff and Lake
Louise because it has all theiconic kind of postcard picture
(17:04):
highlights that you might belooking for out of British
Columbia.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:08):
Let's talk about Denver to Moab.
Is that two days, three days?
What is that one?
August Bont (17:12):
Correct.
Denver to Moab is two days onthe train, and that is where my
heart lies.
Before coming over to the salesteam, I worked on board the
train as a host.
Oh, you did, yeah.
So I got to tell the cowboystories, serve the food and
drink, and I think that's partof what makes Rocky special.
It's the people that make thedifference, and we have such an
incredible onboard team as wellallows us to get these wonderful
(17:34):
guest satisfaction scores.
But Denver to Moab is such anincredible change in scenery up
and over the Rocky Mountains,through canyons and valleys,
along the Colorado River, out tothe what's always called cowboy
country of the Utah high desert, las Vegas.
Is that an option?
Las Vegas is an option, so wehave some tours off the train
that we can enhance the journey.
(17:55):
So if you go Denver to Moab,meet off the train and do a
two-day add-on as a small grouptour through the Mighty Five
National Parks out to Las Vegas,so we call that the Mighty Five
Explorer and it's a seven-day,six-night itinerary.
So what national parks do we goto?
We go to Arches Canyonlands.
That's going to be on yourfirst day off the train.
(18:16):
Your second day off the trainyou'll hit Capitol Reef and
Bryce Canyon, and then, yourthird day, you'll go through
Zion National Park into Vegas.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:24):
That's a good day.
You do it in reverse too, rightMoab to Denver.
Okay, let's go Canada first.
So we arrive in Calgary, wearrive in Vancouver.
What is the onboardingexperience like and what are
some of the accommodations?
August Bont (18:39):
We stay in hotels overnight before, after, during
the journey, so no sleeping inbunk beds or cabins.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:45):
Oh wait, hold on just a second.
That's an important point.
So we're not sleeping on thetrain, we're actually sleeping
in hotels.
August Bont (18:50):
Oh, correct, staying in hotels overnight.
That's kind of a differentiatorfor us is that we are a
daylight only train, and so weget to stay in hotels overnight.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:59):
Oh, I like that.
I love trains, but I like thatidea.
August Bont (19:04):
Absolutely.
So to get back to, I guess theoriginal question was what is
the welcome experience like?
So, you'll make your way fromthe airport to one of our
partner hotels where a RockyMountaineer employee is waiting
for you.
You can get checked in thatafternoon, but likely you'll
have two nights in that hotel.
We've got such an incredibleteam.
The morning of departure you'llgo down to the lobby and hand
(19:25):
your luggage over to us.
It does not actually travel onthe train, it goes on a motor
coach ahead of us and so we'lltake you over to our train
station and then you'll get yourboarding passes, get checked in
, get a cup of coffee, butyou'll enjoy your nine or so
hours on the train that evening.
When you step off the train,we've already checked you into
your hotel room and so when youstep off the train, your room
(19:47):
key is handed to you.
We take you over to the hotelroom, maybe 10 minutes on a
motor coach, and your luggage iswaiting for you in your room.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:55):
So you do all of the quite literal heavy
lifting in this case.
August Bont (20:04):
Exactly, exactly.
We're here.
We have the little magicalwoodland ferries around to move
your luggage, so kind of handledout of sight, out of mind, and
we're just, you're just here toenjoy the experience and let us
take care of you.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:12):
So if it's day only, that means that you're
going through amazing wilderness.
Whether it's Denver to Moab,the scenic red rocks following
the river, or you're up inCanada, you're looking at the
scenery, the train cars are theydomed?
What are the train cars andaccommodations?
August Bont (20:28):
Let's talk about the actual, the travel
experience.
And so every single one of ourrail cars has a beautiful dome
window, spacious seats I wouldcompare them to like business
class type seats on an airlineso tons of legroom, super
comfortable.
And while you're on board,everything is taken care of for
you your food, your drink, thegratuities you will not want for
anything.
We serve breakfast, lunch andsnacks throughout the day.
(20:51):
We don't serve dinner becausewe're into our destinations
before dinner time.
Dinner would be on your own buthonestly, in my experience, I
ate so much food on the train Idon't actually need dinner by
the time I get into a BAMF,Kamloops, Vancouver, wherever
I'm heading.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:03):
I'm partial to the Southwest Denver, to Moab,
but if you're doing this for thefirst time, you can only take
one Rocky Mountaineer.
Which one would you tell peopleto do first?
August Bont (21:13):
It's kind of a two-parter.
If you're doing it once, andonly once, I would say, go for
our three-day route.
We do have one three-day routeout the west coast of Canada
between Vancouver, whistler andJasper.
I'd say, if you only get to doit once, take in the three-day
route and really get to go forit.
But if you're doing it for thefirst time and you're a little
bit more of a local and you wantto try something close to home
(21:35):
our Denver to Moab route wasnamed world's best rail
experience by Travel and Leisuremagazine so to have that in
your backyard, if you're nearbyand get to kind of trial Rocky
Mountain, then take aninternational trip up to Canada
is a good way to do that too.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:50):
When is your favorite time to travel?
We?
August Bont (21:52):
operate from April to October.
In the winter we just don'thave enough daylight, so that
does pare things down a littlebit.
I am partial to September.
I love the crisp fall air.
There's more wildlife activity,some dustings of snow on the
mountains.
But in Canada our busiest timeis going to be July and August
because you get the long, warmsummer days.
(22:13):
People are escaping the summerheat, but in April and May you
get beautiful snowfall, animalsare coming at the forage,
there's wildflowers and then bySeptember, October, towards the
end of the season, you get thesnow back on the mountains and
some great wildlife sightings.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:30):
You mentioned that you sleep in hotels at
night, but what do you like todo or what is there to do when
you get off the train in some ofthose cities or towns?
August Bont (22:38):
There's all kinds of options, so we do package
these itineraries so that youhave choices.
Do you want to take a motorcoach tour through the national
parks?
Do you want to go whalewatching in Vancouver?
Would you rather spend yourtime going up and down the shops
in Banff?
Do you want to take the gondolato the top of the mountain?
Do you want to go golfing atFairmont Banff Springs?
We do leave it pretty wide opento be able to cater to what our
(23:01):
guests are looking for, and soit's kind of a choose your own
adventure.
You know we're here to helpguide you along, give you some
choices, but if there'ssomething you've always had on
your bucket list, we can try tomake that happen.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:12):
Who is the perfect traveler or candidate
for this trip?
August Bont (23:15):
I don't think there's any one demographic or
age range that Rocky Mountaineerfits.
I think, really, who we do wellwith are people who are looking
for a luxury experience andwant to be incredibly well taken
care of and going out to theseremote, beautiful places, but
still want to have someindependence when they're off
the train to be able to kind ofgo back and choose your own
(23:36):
adventure and figure out whereyou want to go, what you want to
do.
We're here to guide you along.
We're here to you know.
Make sure that you have theright experience that you're
looking for.
It's getting to go to remote,beautiful places and luxury.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:49):
Last August 2024, you were on Rocky
Mountaineer from Denver to Moab.
Sam Langner (23:55):
And what was your?
Patrick Wiscombe (23:55):
experience.
Mark Faldmo (23:56):
Yeah, I was lucky enough to be on that Rockies to
Red Rocks itinerary.
I loved it.
You know the stories they tellof the Southwest going over that
beautiful scenery.
It was an amazing experience.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:07):
When we were talking with August Bond of
Rocky Mountaineer, he gave us anexclusive only available on
this radio and podcast.
What's the promotion forlisteners?
Mark Faldmo (24:18):
For our listeners in Utah.
So Utah residents save ahundred dollars per person on
the Rockies to Red Rocksitinerary.
A hundred dollars per person.
A hundred dollars per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:28):
Take advantage , go see Rocky Mountaineer.
Awesome, awesome, awesome, youwill not be disappointed.
Near Awesome, awesome, awesome,you will not be disappointed.
Call Mark during the break, getthe conversation started.
No obligation, of course.
888-718-7717.
And he will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
(24:49):
We've got the cruise deal ofthe week on Holland America and
we've got some additional MSCcruise news that you need to be
aware of.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
Our radio show continuesalongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
(25:09):
We will be right back.
Show Voice (25:12):
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.
(25:33):
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (25:41):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:59):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show Coming up.
In the next 28 minutes we willbe talking about Alaska cruises.
Starting literally next weekend, you can officially board an
Alaska cruise, and so we will betalking about shore excursions
in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan,Sitka and Victoria by the way,
(26:22):
Victoria's spectacular,Beautiful.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:52):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark
(27:13):
Fulton-Mo.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:23):
All aboard.
It is time to talk cruising and, as I alluded to right at the
very bottom of the hour, we'retalking Alaska cruises.
It's official Next week you canget on an Alaskan cruise.
So this week, the infamous JustCruising segment is only about
Alaska.
(27:44):
I know that this is a subjectnear and dear to Mark Faldmo's
heart, and the reason we'rebringing it up is we received a
text message from Jill a littlebit earlier this week that she
is taking an Alaska cruisethat's already been booked.
You took care of that already,right?
I did.
Yes, okay, she's going to betaking an Alaska cruise this
(28:05):
summer and wants to know whatyou would suggest for shore
excursions.
Mark Faldmo (28:10):
Well, I think there are several amazing shore
excursions in Alaska.
Each port is different.
Probably some of my favoriteshore excursions in the world
are in Alaska, so I'll just givea rundown.
We'll start in Juneau.
This isn't in any particularorder because cruise lines visit
these in different order.
In Juneau, I think that is thebest port for whale watching.
(28:33):
The best port for whalewatching, my number one tour
would be a combo tour whichincludes whale watching and
Mendenhall Glacier.
The whale watching is superb inJuneau and then, where most of
the whale watching ships leavefrom, you have to drive right
past Mendenhall Glacier, so youmight as well book a tour that
also includes that.
(28:53):
And you spend about an hour orso at Mendenhall Glacier, where
you can go to the visitor center, learn about the glacier, and
there are also some hikingtrails around Mendenhall Glacier
that you can do.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:04):
I'll just let people know that when you are on
a glacier tour and it soundslike you're in a gun firing
range, it's the ice hitting thewater and man does it make a
racket.
Mark Faldmo (29:15):
It does.
And then the next tour that Ireally like to do in Juneau.
It's called the Glacier GardensAdventure.
This is a garden where they'vetaken all of the fallen trees,
drilled holes, turned the treesupside down so that the root
site is up, and they've turnedthe roots into a planter box and
so it's just hanging withflowers and ferns, and then
(29:37):
there's a couple of trails there.
They take you by a vehicle kindof up to the top of the
mountain where you have anamazing view of the whole valley
, where Juneau is at.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:47):
What a unique idea Turn trees upside down.
Mark Faldmo (29:50):
Yeah, turn trees upside down, so pretty cool
thing there.
Time permitting, I also alwayslike to do the Mount Roberts
Tram, which is right there wheremost of the cruise ships pull
into.
If there's time, walk aroundthe town.
There's some pretty goodshopping right there in downtown
Juneau, and then the MountRoberts Tram is a great thing to
(30:11):
do if you have extra time.
There's also, from what I hear,a pretty good salmon bake.
I'm not a fish eater, butthat's probably one of the more
popular tours in Juneau is to dothe salmon bake.
What about Skagway?
Skagway is probably my favoriteport in all of Alaska.
I do have some family historythere.
My great-great, or maybe threegreat-grandfathers I'm not sure
(30:34):
how far back was one of theminers that went over the
Whitehorse Pass.
So I like going there andexploring that history.
The number one thing to do thereis the White Pass and Yukon
Railroad, and there are threedifferent versions you can take
of this.
One is you can just do thesummit and return, which is
round-trip train.
(30:54):
You can take the train up andthen take a bus back, which
you'll get two different sidesof the canyon there.
Or you can take the YukonExplorer, which takes the train
off and then you get on a busand you go deep into the Yukon
territory.
It has a dog sledding camp thatyou go to a lunch and that's a
pretty interesting tour.
(31:15):
It is an all day tour but veryinteresting.
Another thing you can do inSkagway which I really enjoy
doing, is they have a street cartour.
They have old you know they're1930s buses that you get on
drive around.
They tell about the history ofthe town.
You go to a scenic lookout andyou go up to the cemetery where
(31:36):
Soapy Smith is buried, who wasone of the kind of villains of
the old mining town, and allyour tour guides dressed in
period clothing.
So it's a pretty fun littletour to do and you get a good
history of the town of Skagway.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:51):
Is it bad to say that I have no idea who
Soapy Smith is of Skagway?
Is it bad to say that I have noidea?
Mark Faldmo (31:55):
who Soapy Smith is.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:56):
Not very many people do, unless you've been to
Skagway, okay, Well, I havebeen there and I still don't
know who it was.
Yeah, so you didn't do theright tour, then that's what I'm
saying.
Yes, okay, Ketchikan is one ofthe ports.
What do you like to do there?
Mark Faldmo (32:14):
In.
Ketchikan it's best known, Ithink for its totem poles.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:16):
Oh, that's right.
Totem pole, yes.
Mark Faldmo (32:17):
So that's where you can get a lot of the good
history of totem poles, althoughI will say my favorite thing to
do there is to take a MistyFjords flight scene tour, where
you take a float plane, fly upinto the Misty Fjords, you land
on a lake up there.
It's a pretty fascinating thingto do.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:38):
I've done that several times.
Mark Faldmo (32:38):
So I really enjoy that Misty Fjords flight scene
tour.
But if you are interested intotem poles and this is the tour
that I do most of the time whenI take groups up there or that
I recommend there are threedifferent areas you can see
totem poles.
One is Totem Bright, which ismy favorite, and then there's
Saxman Village and then there'sPotluck Totem Park.
(33:00):
So there are three differentthings you can do there, and
then those are usually combinedwith the wildlife tour.
There's a really good spot inKetchikan where you can go,
usually watch the bears.
What else do you like to do inKetchikan?
I'd say, make sure and go toCreek Street.
You can walk there from most ofthe cruise terminals and it's
just a nice little shoppingstreet.
(33:21):
I love Creek Street.
And then the other thing that'spopular to do that I quite
enjoy is the Great AlaskanLumberjack Show.
It's USA versus Canada and theyhave a logging contest.
It's pretty fun.
It's a very well put togethershow.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:36):
So instead of hockey, we've got logs flying
around.
Yes, when Nikki and I went toAlaska, we did not go to Sitka.
So what do you recommend doingthere, sitka?
Mark Faldmo (33:48):
is probably the fourth port of Alaska.
Not all cruise lines go there.
There's not room for a lot ofships, just one ship at a time.
It used to be that pretty muchonly Holland America went there,
but more and more cruise linesare starting to go there.
So there are three things Ilike to do there.
You can do these as a combotour or individually.
I've always done them as acombo.
(34:09):
And one is Sitka National Park,which is where there was a
battle fought there and sothey've built a park there.
The other is Fortress of theBear, which is kind of a bear
rescue.
It's very interesting.
You can go watch up close togrizzly bears from a safe
distance and kind of see,because it's kind of a
(34:30):
rehabilitation center.
And also same with the RaptorCenter, which is a third place
on this, which is where theyrehabilitate birds of prey Four
trucks.
Yes, oh, birds, okay, birds,birds.
So those are the three things Ilike to do, and I've always
done them as a combo tour.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:48):
One of my favorite ports, truly just for
its beauty.
I've been there during the dayand I've been there at night.
Victoria in Canada is if youcan get there during the day,
and I've been there at night.
Victoria in Canada is if youcan get there during the day.
It is one of the most beautifulplaces on earth that I have
ever seen and I love it.
But what do you like to dothere?
Mark Faldmo (35:05):
Victoria is the international stop that cruise
lines have to make so often.
You're only there from 6 or 8pm to midnight, so it's usually
a shorter stop but, as youmentioned, I love it.
If there's a cruise line thatspends more time there.
I wish they would.
Usually you only have time toeither do a Bouchard Gardens
tour which I would do that withthe cruise line because of the
(35:28):
timing or I just go into theharbor area, walk around and
explore.
It's fascinating.
Speaking earlier of fish,there's a place there called
Redfish Bluefish best fish andchips I've ever had and you can
have it made with severaldifferent types of fish.
I get my halibut and I'm finewith that.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:47):
That's about the only fish that I'll eat
halibut.
Always in this segment of theshow.
This is the infamous JustCruising segment, where it's
only about the cruise news andit's only about cruise deals.
What Alaska cruise deals do wehave for listeners this week?
Mark Faldmo (36:03):
So I've got two.
One is this summer and theother is next summer.
Just because I want to getpeople thinking about that.
For this summer, the end ofAugust is typically a pretty
good time to go for pricing.
Summer, the end of August istypically a pretty good time to
go for pricing.
So this week's deal is a roundtrip Vancouver on Holland
America line.
It visits Tracy Arm, fjord,Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan.
(36:25):
The price this is for an August30th date.
The price and inside cabinstarts at $959.
So for an Alaska cruise, thatis pretty good and a balcony
cabin starts at $959.
Wow, so for an Alaska cruisethat is pretty good, yeah, and a
balcony cabin starts at $1699.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:40):
Okay so significant increase.
But if you're not going to bein your room anyway, just go out
to the outside decks.
Yes, wow, do we know what ship?
That's on the Holland America?
That's on the Koningsdam.
Okay, next week I'm going to beHolland America, but it's going
to be on the east coast of thecountry.
I'm going on the Rotterdam.
Mark Faldmo (36:58):
Their sister ship, so it'll be a similar ship
Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:02):
You just can't go wrong.
Okay, so to get everyone primedfor next year, 2026, if this is
not the year for you to go,what other promotion do you have
for listeners?
Mark Faldmo (37:14):
Yeah, so year for you to go?
What other promotion do youhave for listeners?
Yeah, so I just wanted to throwthis out because next year,
2026, are going to be two newcruise lines sailing to Alaska.
One is Virgin Voyages and theother is MSC.
And I just wanted to throw thisMSC one out because of the
price.
It is such a good price.
It's round trip Seattle visitsKetchikan, Juneau.
It's roundtrip Seattle visitsKetchikan, Juneau, icy Strait
(37:34):
and Victoria.
But where this gets good isthis is a June 1st date.
Ooh, inside cabin is $929,which is about what we just gave
for Home to America.
Right, but the balcony cabin is$1,299.
Whoa, and this $1,299 price isonly slightly increased as you
(37:56):
get into June, so you can getpeak season balcony for under
$1,500.
That's incredible.
I have seen on other sailingson MSC that these prices are
starting to creep up.
So if you are thinking aboutAlaska in 2026, you should look
at MSC and get something underdeposit.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:17):
How much for a balcony then?
Mark Faldmo (38:18):
$1299 for the June 1st date and it goes up to $1349
for a June 29th date.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:25):
That is amazing For Alaska.
That's incredible.
Call Mark in his office duringthe break.
You've got to take advantage ofthat one.
That's a good price to go seeAlaska, especially seven days
round trip out of Seattle888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(38:50):
And of course, mark will postthat on blueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
Final segment of the show.
We've got Mark's travel tipsand we'll wrap up the show and
we will be talking about real IDand passports.
This is important If you'retraveling.
We always talk about having theproper documentation to travel.
(39:11):
We're going to give you all theinsights.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast, our radio
show, continues Alongside mygood friend Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you for listening.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (39:27):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(40:05):
com.
Ad Voice (40:07):
El Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado sparesort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (40:30):
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 (41:00):
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
We hope you are having anabsolute terrific weekend.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,alongside Mark Faldmo Coming up
in this segment, the finalsegment of the show Mark and I
will be talking about travel IDsand we got a text a little bit
(41:23):
earlier this week from one ofour listeners, Jessica2426.
She had some questions aboutreal ID and we're also going to
be talking about eight passportmistakes and what is a travel
visa.
But before we get to Jessica'squestion, I want to bring up the
hot deal update, which is theemail that you send out every
(41:44):
one to two weeks with the latesttravel information.
Let's talk about that for asecond.
Mark Faldmo (41:48):
This is a great way to find out about upcoming
travel deals and offers.
It's really a curated list justfor my clients and our Inside
Travel Talk listeners Reallylook for the best deals out
there and try and find some ofthose unique offers, and also a
little bit of travel news andupdates come out on that as well
(42:08):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:09):
And how do people sign?
Mark Faldmo (42:10):
up for it.
To sign up for that, just go toblueplanetvacations.
com and there will be a pop upif it's your first time visiting
the site.
If not, you can go to Hot Deals, which is in the upper
navigation bar, and you'll see alink there to enter your name
and email address.
That's all we need for this,and we really try and not spam
(42:30):
you with this list.
Make sure it's relevant andvalid at the time we send it.
Also, if there's something timesensitive, since we only do
this show once a week, ifthere's something time sensitive
, I'll put it out and send it,just so that people get the most
current travel deals.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:46):
You and I received a text from one of our
listeners, Jessica 2426, lastfour digits of her number, and
she said I saw something aboutreal ID and that it will be
required soon.
So her question is how do Iknow if I have real ID and what
is real ID, and should I beworried?
Mark Faldmo (43:06):
So I'll start with the last thing that she
mentioned.
Should I be worried Right now?
If you have a Utah driver'slicense or an Idaho driver's
license, which is most of ourlistening area, you don't need
to be worried.
In just a moment we'll talkabout how to identify if you
have a compliance ID.
The states of Utah and Idahohave been issuing these driver's
(43:29):
licenses for quite a while thatare REAL-ID compliant.
What is REAL-ID?
REAL-id was a recommendationfrom the 9-11 Commission and
passed by Congress in 2005.
And it was to make travelingmore secure.
They were finding a lot of fakeIDs were being used to get
through airport security lines,and so RIL-IDs are a little bit
(43:51):
harder to forge and there's somethings in there that help TSA
identify it as a valid ID.
The main thing we should talkabout is the real ID goes into
effect May 7th of this year.
That's about four weeks fromtoday, probably why a lot of
people are seeing these stories.
You'll want to make sure, ifyou're traveling after May 7th,
(44:12):
that you either have a passportor a Real ID compliant driver's
license.
Jessica's main question was howdo I know if I have a Real ID?
In the upper right-hand corner?
On most states' driver'slicense you'll either have a
gold or black star.
If you're from California,it'll actually be a gold bear
with a star in the body of thebear.
(44:33):
California is different, buteveryone else has.
Most states have a gold star.
Some states have a black starin the corner of your passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:44):
It is happening for sure May 7th 2025.
All 50 states.
Mark Faldmo (44:48):
That's correct.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:50):
Okay, it's nice to know that we can move
quickly.
Yes, let's get to the eightpassport mistakes.
Where do you want to start onthis one?
The?
Mark Faldmo (45:01):
first thing, if you're taking an international
trip, look at the expiration ofyour passport and do this in
many cases before you startplanning your trip.
Unfortunately booked a coupleof trips for people over the
years where they have not lookedat their passport and then
found out that it's expired.
Or the main mistake is beingunaware that most countries
(45:22):
require your passport to bevalid for six months after your
last date of return.
Some countries do not have thisrule, but just as a rule of
thumb I tell people make sureyour passport is valid for six
months after your last date ofreturn.
Some reasons for this are what,if you have something medical
come up and you have to stay,you don't want your passport to
(45:43):
expire while you're undergoingthat, because then you will have
to go and wait for a newpassport to be issued for you to
get back home?
Patrick Wiscombe (45:51):
How many times have you renewed your passport?
Mark Faldmo (45:56):
I think I'm on my fourth passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:58):
Do you get an email from the state department?
Who do you get that email from?
Mark Faldmo (46:01):
You don't get an email, although, if you are a
Blue Planet Vacations customerand we've put your passport
information in our system, youwill get a one-year email notice
.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:12):
Okay, so no email unless it comes from you.
Correct, at least as of rightnow.
Mark Faldmo (46:18):
Yes, as of right now.
Okay, next, most common mistakepeople make with passports is
when they're getting a newpassport, they don't check the
current passport processingtimes.
The current passport processingtimes is six to eight weeks for
routine service or two to threeweeks for expedited service,
and you can always check this onthe state department, the
(46:40):
travelstategov website, orthere's a link to it in the
resources on Blue PlanetVacations where you can get the
current processing times.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:49):
Okay.
Is it even an option to get arush or a same-day passport?
Mark Faldmo (46:55):
Yes, it is in certain circumstances.
First of all, you have to benear a passport office and you
do have to prove a couple thingsto get an expedited same-day
passport, or within a few days,you have to prove that you're
traveling within 14 days, or youcan also get expedited service
(47:15):
for passport if you need to geta foreign visa within four weeks
.
If you do get an appointment toget a same-day passport, you do
have to pay the $60 expeditefee on top of the regular
passport fee.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:27):
Okay, the newly announced passport office
in Salt Lake, and I think it wasgoing to be at the airport.
Is it open yet?
It is not open.
Mark Faldmo (47:36):
On the State Department website it is listed
as a location and it lists theopening date as TBA.
So who knows when that'sactually going to open?
But that will be exciting toactually have a passport office
here in Salt Lake for thelisteners of the radio show.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:53):
Before we hit the show, Mark, I have a
question.
What is a travel visa and it'snot a credit card.
I know that.
Mark Faldmo (47:59):
Some countries require you to get a visa for
entry.
For instance, when I went toChina, I actually had to send my
passport to the Chineseconsulate in San Francisco and
they issued me a visa.
So you have to pay the fee, fillout a form and you actually get
a stamp or a sticker in yourpassport.
(48:21):
If you take multiple trips andyou need a visa, you really need
to look at your passportexpiration, as we were talking
about before.
Right, Because I know my fatherwas going on several trips,
needed a visa and it was toChina as well and there was just
no way to get his visa back,because sometimes the foreign
consulates keep up for six toeight weeks themselves, oh wow.
(48:42):
And so my dad actually ended uphaving to get a second passport
, which is also interesting toget because the second passport
is only valid for five years.
You have to prove some thingsin order to get a second
passport, so for a while he hadtwo passports because of that
visa.
So if you're traveling to acountry that requires a visa
(49:02):
yeah, and that's something toreally check out your passport
expiration It'll make sure it'sall going to work within your
travel plans to get your visaback in time, which a visa is
essentially travel authorizationto enter that country back in
time which a visa is essentiallytravel authorization to enter
that country.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:19):
There's a lot of jargon.
I think this conversationthat's taken place for these few
minutes is really going toclean up a lot of questions that
travelers or potentialtravelers have had for a very,
very long time.
Mark Faldmo (49:28):
Yes, it is, and actually also one more passport
mistake I'm sorry I forgot tomention this is Some countries
require you to have consecutivepages, so you have to have two
to four consecutive pages inorder to enter the country.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:43):
Oh, that's right.
Mark Faldmo (49:46):
I've had people go show up in a country without
those blank pages and they havebeen turned away.
Oh my, goodness, I forgot aboutthat you really have to check
the entry requirements andpassport requirements and visa
requirements for countriesyou're visiting.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:59):
And you can help people with that.
Mark Faldmo (50:01):
Yes, yep, and actually on the Blue Planet
Vacations website in theresources, there's a link called
Passport Requirements and thatgoes to a site called Sherpa,
which you just put in yourtravel date and country and
it'll tell you everything youneed to enter that country.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:15):
This has been very, very helpful.
This is going to be one ofthose segments that we could
probably just put on repeatmultiple times to help people
out.
Yeah, all right, if you havetravel related questions about
real ID, passport mistakes,travel visas call Mark in his
office, and you can also callhim about all of the deals that
(50:37):
we've talked about during thisentire show.
His phone number is888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And he has many of theresources on blueplanetvacations
.
com.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, Sunday,
(51:01):
at 11 am, right here on thisradio station and around the
country, and you can stream,download and subscribe to the
podcast at insidetraveltalk.
com.
A lot of people just like goingto the website and just hitting
the play button, but if you area podcast subscriber, we're on
all of the major podcastplatforms.
(51:22):
Okay, our job is done, so nowit's your turn to get out and
explore the world while you can,because you never know what
curveballs life is going tothrow at you.
Could be sickness, could bewhatever.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally,
and thank you so much forlistening.
(51:43):
We'll talk to you again nextweek.
Show Voice (51:47):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(52:08):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (52:30):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex
Insurance Services.
Their travel insurance planscan help protect you and your
vacation.
Travelex is known for theiraward-winning customer service
and high claims paid rate.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com for more information.
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show Coming up.
On today's show we will betalking about planes, trains,
but no automobiles, Alaska andAlaskan shore excursions and
real ID and passports.
We've got to straighten all ofthat out.
All of those terms can beconfusing.
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(00:23):
BluePlanetVacationsations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:43):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(01:06):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:16):
It is the weekend, which means it is time
to talk travel.
Hello there, my name is PatrickWiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be here in thestudio here in just a moment.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show, and if you are brand newto the show, or longtime
(01:36):
listeners, our job is to helpyou plan and book your next
vacation.
And if you have no idea whereto go, then our job is very
simple we want to give you ideasof where to vacation next, and
this show is presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, which is Mark's company,and thank you so much for taking
(01:58):
the time to stop and listen.
Coming up on today's show, weare heavy on trains.
We are talking about rockymountaineer Denver to Moab and,
of course, in the CanadianRockies such a great combination
if you want to head to Alaska.
And then we're also going to betalking with Sam Langner of
(02:18):
grand canyon railway.
That is coming up here in thefirst two segments of the show.
But let me bring in my co-hostand good friend, mark Faldmo.
It's good to see you on camera,since Nikki and I are in the
middle of the Atlantic Oceanright now.
Mark Faldmo (02:32):
Good to be here.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:33):
Glad to hear that you've had a great cruise.
We are on Celebrity Ascent MahoBeach which, by the way, if you
don't know what Maho Beach is,what is it?
Sunset?
All of a sudden, I'm blankingSunset Beach.
Okay, yeah, sunset Beach.
This is the beach that youalways see on YouTube, with the
airplanes flying over your head,like feet over your head.
It is absolutely terrifying.
(02:55):
It is real that when they land,they're feet over your head,
but when they take off, peoplereally do get blown into the
ocean and possessions.
It's complete chaos on thebeach.
Mark Faldmo (03:06):
It is one of my favorite places.
It's on the island of St Martinand I love it.
There's a little beach barthere where you can just sit and
watch the airplanes land andalso watch the people that want
to get blown over by the jetswhen they take off.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:20):
It is absolutely one of the most
magical experiences that I'veever had in my entire life.
That alone is a destination anda vacation just by itself.
Mark Faldmo (03:29):
Would you agree?
Yes, I would.
I love airplanes, so that's oneof my favorite spots in the
Caribbean.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:35):
The majesty of airplane travel and watching
them come in is something I willnever forget.
And so there's our planes.
Let's move on to trains.
Oh well, done A little bitearlier this week.
Mark and I are big train peopleand Mark actually introduced me
to this gentleman, Sam Langner,with Grand Canyon Railway.
(03:57):
We talked to him a little bitearlier this week as we were in
port so we could get this on theair for our listeners.
And we're just going to talkabout Grand Canyon Railway.
Let's just go Grand CanyonRailway and Hotel 101.
How long have you existed?
And take us where you get onthe train and what listeners can
expect.
Sam Langner (04:17):
Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel has existed
since 1901.
Originally the route up to theSouth Rim was used for mining
copper ore, but then it becamevery clear that hauling tourists
up to the Grand Canyon was onea better business proposition
and people love to go see thatnatural wonder of the world.
So again, it was in 1901 thatthe Atchison, Topeka and Santa
Fe Railway worked with the FredHarvey Company to develop the
(04:40):
line and develop the South RimVillage.
So it's very ingrained in thehistory of this region.
Of course, in the modern era weoperate a hotel, a 298-room
hotel in Williams, Arizona, thathas two restaurants and is in
Williams, which is a historicRoute 66 town.
So it's just kind of thatclassic Wild West meets classic
(05:02):
American attractions.
And so the railway itself itdoes that 64 mile run up to the
South Rim, two hours and 15minutes one way, starting in the
morning in Williams, going upto the South Rim and giving
guests a couple hours to goexplore that beautiful natural
wonder.
So it's this very dynamicexperience.
It's just a great way to spenda long weekend or a weekday for
(05:25):
anybody.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:26):
How many day tours are there, or do you just
pick how long you want to staythere?
Sam Langner (05:30):
So the train itself .
It operates 364 days a year.
We run every day except forChristmas, and so there's always
a train that goes up there.
When you're at the South Rimthere are tours that are
available.
So if folks want to do a guidedbus tour, that's an option.
You know a lot of folks justget off and again during the
official three hour layover.
(05:51):
If you're not spending thenight, you know three hours is
enough to to at least take inthe grandeur.
Personally, I always say youneed to spend the night to
really get the full grandeur.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:00):
Oh yeah.
Sam Langner (06:01):
The ride on board.
It's more than just an A to Btrip.
This is an enchanting journeyand it's an entertaining journey
as well.
For the train cars.
You have entertainers, so wehave roaming musicians that come
around.
There's a café car on board, soyou get snacks and higher
levels of service.
So first class and deluxe.
There's finger foods and even achampagne toast, and maybe,
(06:23):
just maybe, there might be anold-fashioned train robbery, but
I won't ruin that for you.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:27):
So where does it start?
You say Williams Arizona, soeveryone has to get themselves
to Williams Arizona, which iswhere, if people don't know
geographically where it is,Correct.
Sam Langner (06:36):
So we're right off I-40.
If you're familiar withNorthern Arizona at all, we're
just about 35 minutes to thewest of Flagstaff.
Arizona Williams is a historicRoute 66 town, so it's one where
there's classic car shows andthe neon lights and old
restaurants.
A quick and easy trip.
Again.
You can fly into Flagstaff andtake a car over Easy.
To get here from Phoenix aswell, it's just a couple hours.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:58):
What's your favorite thing about Grand
Canyon?
What's the one thing that youjust go, man, I just don't get
tired of this.
Sam Langner (07:09):
Well, there's a lot of pretty places in the United
States and I might be a littlebit biased, but for my money the
Grand Canyon is the mostspectacular visual
representation of Earth's layers.
So you are seeing back in timeby looking at Grand Canyon
National Park, in some casesdown at the bottom well over a
billion and a half years ofEarth's history exposed in rock.
Sunsets there and sunrises arebreathtaking.
(07:29):
It's just a very pun intended.
It's a grand place.
It's hard to comprehend and itmakes you feel insignificant in
a charming way.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:41):
So when you start in Williams Arizona, how
long does the journey to theSouth Rim take?
Sam Langner (07:46):
So when you get on the train it's a two hour and 15
minute ride North.
You get three hours whileyou're up at the South Rim and
two hours and 15 minutes backAbout 64 miles one way.
We always joke it's not thefastest way to get to the canyon
.
If you want to go, drive upthere you'd get there faster.
This is about enjoying the ride.
(08:07):
Stepping back in time, you'retraveling at about 40 miles an
hour.
Again, it's about that onboardentertainment and soaking up
these classic rail cars.
We always like to say we do thedriving for you.
You're there to enjoy the rideand by riding aboard Grand
Canyon Railway we figure we keepupwards of 60,000 cars out of
the park per year.
(08:27):
So it's a great way also tokeep just traffic and congestion
out of Grand Canyon NationalPark while enjoying the ride
better than you would whiledriving.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:36):
So, once you get to the canyon, which is
really the main feature of thiswhole of the train, you have
hotels on both ends, meaningWilliams and at the Grand Canyon
.
If you could design a perfectvacation, how many days would
you stay in Williams, or howmany days, or, and how many days
would you stay in the Canyon?
Sam Langner (08:56):
The good news is that we've already created one
for folks.
It's called the Canyon RailsGetaway Package and effectively
that is our curated event forsomeone to enjoy their time
while they're here.
What that includes is a nightat Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, a
dinner and a breakfast, a trainride up to the South Rim, a
overnight stay at MaslowickNorth and then the opportunity
(09:19):
to go up and enjoy tours of yourchoice.
So as an add-on, you could do abus tour that's available up
there, or just a walking tour,and then the next day is a
southbound trip to Williams andan overnight stay.
So if you're looking for a veryfull, long weekend or just a
week getaway, that's the way Iwould do it Again, that's the
Canyon Rails getaway package.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:41):
I didn't even know you existed.
I am so glad that we found you.
Sam Langner (09:45):
Something I didn't mention before.
Well, a few things.
First and foremost, for thosethat are looking to figure out
exactly what class of servicethey would like to choose while
they're on board, we offer sixdifferent classes of train
service aboard Grand CanyonRailway.
You know, if you start at theentry level, there's the Pullman
class, which is a classic 1920sera rail cars, where these are
(10:07):
just windows open we call it40-40 air conditioning, where
all the windows are open andyou're traveling at 40 miles an
hour.
Just charming for families andjust a great classic ride.
Then you have our coach classcars, first class, and luxury
and luxury cars Again 1950s erabusiness cars.
There's domes, there's bars onboard on those upper levels of
(10:27):
service and it's reallyspectacular.
Just very, very pretty cars,depending on which ones you
choose.
We do also have special SteamSaturday events.
So we operate a 1920s eraBaldwin Locomotive Works steam
locomotive that was retrofittedto run on recycled waste
vegetable oil and we call it welovingly call it the French Fry
(10:50):
Express.
It's a, again, just a beautifulsteam locomotive, and on select
Saturdays, typically the firstSaturday of the month, we run
that and pull the consist up tothe South Rim.
So that's very exciting, butthroughout the year again,
there's always something to lookforward to.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:06):
Sam Langner with Grand Canyon Railway.
What a unique way to see theworld, especially the Grand
Canyon.
If you've never been to theGrand Canyon, you're missing out
.
It is truly one of life's mostspectacular visual displays, and
especially at golden hour thelast hour 90 minutes of when the
(11:26):
sun goes down, the Grand Canyonnever disappoints.
It is a spectacular time.
If you are interested in goingon Grand Canyon Railway Williams
to the south room of the GrandCanyon, call Mark in his office
during the break.
Just get the conversationstarted.
No obligation, just call him888-718-7717.
(11:52):
And he will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
Segment number two the hottravel deal of the week, and
this time we are talking abouttrains in Alaska and
southeastern Utah on RockyMountaineer.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
(12:14):
show, continues Alongside MarkFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (12:24):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
Ad Voice (12:46):
We'll be right back Inside.
Travel Talk is brought to youby Anna.
Waterways, From castles andcapitals to vistas and villages
visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities to
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Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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Show Voice (13:13):
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.
(13:34):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:42):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast, a radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,alongside Mark Faldmo, Coming to
you live from the middle of theAtlantic Ocean, courtesy of
Starlink.
I never get tired of this beingin the middle of the ocean,
having good, reliable internetservice and being able to do the
(14:05):
radio show from the ocean.
Mark Faldmo (14:07):
it's just incredible to me that we can do
that it's amazing technology andamazing that you have the views
that you have looking out yourwindow right now it's kind of
hard to complain when you've gotthe ocean on the horizon.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:19):
A little bit earlier this week, while we were
near Maho beach, while we werein port in Phillipsburg, we had
the opportunity to talk with agentleman by the name of August
Bont with Rocky Mountaineer.
They're the company that doesDenver to Moab on a train and
they also do train tours up inthe Canadian Rockies.
Let me bring in August Bontwith Rocky Mountaineer.
(14:41):
It's good to have you here.
August Bont (14:43):
Oh, thank you so much, Patrick.
I'm excited to get to share theRocky Mountaineer story.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:46):
Let's go.
Rocky Mountaineer 101.
What is Rocky Mountaineer?
For those who have never heardof Rocky Mountaineer, Rocky
Mountaineer.
August Bont (14:54):
We are a luxury, daylight only sightseeing train.
We do a lot of our business inWestern Canada, but our newest
route operates between Denverand Moab, so we get to take our
guests through some absolutelystunning scenery on the remote
Canadian and US rocky wilderness.
We get to take our guests onroughly one week journeys
through Vancouver, Banff, Jasper, lake Louise, with some stops
(15:18):
and sightseeing along the way.
How many days is it?
We are customizable.
That's why it's such a greatidea to work with some lovely
travel advisors like Patrick andMark, but most of our guests
take about a week journey withus.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:29):
What does a typical trip look like for most?
August Bont (15:33):
travelers.
I could give you a typical trip.
It might be seven days betweenVancouver and Calgary or Calgary
to Vancouver, with a couplestops along the way in a little
town of Kamloops and then eitherLake Louise or Banff.
So you'll spend two days inCalgary and then you get on the
train through the RockyMountains and through some
beautiful canyons on lakes andrivers and waterfalls.
(15:54):
Then you might spend two daysin Banff, kind of doing some
sightseeing and exploring, andthen continue on to the frontier
town of Calgary before headingback home.
So seven days, six nights,pretty typical package for our
clients.
But you could do it anywhere asshort as two days or if you
wanted to really go for you go15 days round trip Vancouver.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:13):
Okay, let's extend it from seven days to 15.
Where do you go after, once youget to that Eastern part?
August Bont (16:20):
We have three different routes in Western
Canada, so if you want to looptogether two of those three
routes together and see moreparts of Alberta and British
Columbia, kind of how you mightextend that with maybe a week of
sightseeing in between yourfour days on the train.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:36):
What is your favorite trip?
The one that you would do overand, over and over.
August Bont (16:41):
So my favorite trip is probably a little bit
different than what you mighthear from interviewing some
other Rocky Mountain Airemployees.
I love going on Journey Throughthe Clouds up to Jasper because
it's so remote.
You just get a much bettersense of scale of the Canadian
wilderness.
There's more wildlife, there'sfewer people.
But our flagship most popularroute is over to Banff and Lake
Louise because it has all theiconic kind of postcard picture
(17:04):
highlights that you might belooking for out of British
Columbia.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:08):
Let's talk about Denver to Moab.
Is that two days, three days?
What is that one?
August Bont (17:12):
Correct.
Denver to Moab is two days onthe train, and that is where my
heart lies.
Before coming over to the salesteam, I worked on board the
train as a host.
Oh, you did, yeah.
So I got to tell the cowboystories, serve the food and
drink, and I think that's partof what makes Rocky special.
It's the people that make thedifference, and we have such an
incredible onboard team as wellallows us to get these wonderful
(17:34):
guest satisfaction scores.
But Denver to Moab is such anincredible change in scenery up
and over the Rocky Mountains,through canyons and valleys,
along the Colorado River, out tothe what's always called cowboy
country of the Utah high desert, las Vegas.
Is that an option?
Las Vegas is an option, so wehave some tours off the train
that we can enhance the journey.
(17:55):
So if you go Denver to Moab,meet off the train and do a
two-day add-on as a small grouptour through the Mighty Five
National Parks out to Las Vegas,so we call that the Mighty Five
Explorer and it's a seven-day,six-night itinerary.
So what national parks do we goto?
We go to Arches Canyonlands.
That's going to be on yourfirst day off the train.
(18:16):
Your second day off the trainyou'll hit Capitol Reef and
Bryce Canyon, and then, yourthird day, you'll go through
Zion National Park into Vegas.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:24):
That's a good day.
You do it in reverse too, rightMoab to Denver.
Okay, let's go Canada first.
So we arrive in Calgary, wearrive in Vancouver.
What is the onboardingexperience like and what are
some of the accommodations?
August Bont (18:39):
We stay in hotels overnight before, after, during
the journey, so no sleeping inbunk beds or cabins.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:45):
Oh wait, hold on just a second.
That's an important point.
So we're not sleeping on thetrain, we're actually sleeping
in hotels.
August Bont (18:50):
Oh, correct, staying in hotels overnight.
That's kind of a differentiatorfor us is that we are a
daylight only train, and so weget to stay in hotels overnight.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:59):
Oh, I like that.
I love trains, but I like thatidea.
August Bont (19:04):
Absolutely.
So to get back to, I guess theoriginal question was what is
the welcome experience like?
So, you'll make your way fromthe airport to one of our
partner hotels where a RockyMountaineer employee is waiting
for you.
You can get checked in thatafternoon, but likely you'll
have two nights in that hotel.
We've got such an incredibleteam.
The morning of departure you'llgo down to the lobby and hand
(19:25):
your luggage over to us.
It does not actually travel onthe train, it goes on a motor
coach ahead of us and so we'lltake you over to our train
station and then you'll get yourboarding passes, get checked in
, get a cup of coffee, butyou'll enjoy your nine or so
hours on the train that evening.
When you step off the train,we've already checked you into
your hotel room and so when youstep off the train, your room
(19:47):
key is handed to you.
We take you over to the hotelroom, maybe 10 minutes on a
motor coach, and your luggage iswaiting for you in your room.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:55):
So you do all of the quite literal heavy
lifting in this case.
August Bont (20:04):
Exactly, exactly.
We're here.
We have the little magicalwoodland ferries around to move
your luggage, so kind of handledout of sight, out of mind, and
we're just, you're just here toenjoy the experience and let us
take care of you.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:12):
So if it's day only, that means that you're
going through amazing wilderness.
Whether it's Denver to Moab,the scenic red rocks following
the river, or you're up inCanada, you're looking at the
scenery, the train cars are theydomed?
What are the train cars andaccommodations?
August Bont (20:28):
Let's talk about the actual, the travel
experience.
And so every single one of ourrail cars has a beautiful dome
window, spacious seats I wouldcompare them to like business
class type seats on an airlineso tons of legroom, super
comfortable.
And while you're on board,everything is taken care of for
you your food, your drink, thegratuities you will not want for
anything.
We serve breakfast, lunch andsnacks throughout the day.
(20:51):
We don't serve dinner becausewe're into our destinations
before dinner time.
Dinner would be on your own buthonestly, in my experience, I
ate so much food on the train Idon't actually need dinner by
the time I get into a BAMF,Kamloops, Vancouver, wherever
I'm heading.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:03):
I'm partial to the Southwest Denver, to Moab,
but if you're doing this for thefirst time, you can only take
one Rocky Mountaineer.
Which one would you tell peopleto do first?
August Bont (21:13):
It's kind of a two-parter.
If you're doing it once, andonly once, I would say, go for
our three-day route.
We do have one three-day routeout the west coast of Canada
between Vancouver, whistler andJasper.
I'd say, if you only get to doit once, take in the three-day
route and really get to go forit.
But if you're doing it for thefirst time and you're a little
bit more of a local and you wantto try something close to home
(21:35):
our Denver to Moab route wasnamed world's best rail
experience by Travel and Leisuremagazine so to have that in
your backyard, if you're nearbyand get to kind of trial Rocky
Mountain, then take aninternational trip up to Canada
is a good way to do that too.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:50):
When is your favorite time to travel?
We?
August Bont (21:52):
operate from April to October.
In the winter we just don'thave enough daylight, so that
does pare things down a littlebit.
I am partial to September.
I love the crisp fall air.
There's more wildlife activity,some dustings of snow on the
mountains.
But in Canada our busiest timeis going to be July and August
because you get the long, warmsummer days.
(22:13):
People are escaping the summerheat, but in April and May you
get beautiful snowfall, animalsare coming at the forage,
there's wildflowers and then bySeptember, October, towards the
end of the season, you get thesnow back on the mountains and
some great wildlife sightings.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:30):
You mentioned that you sleep in hotels at
night, but what do you like todo or what is there to do when
you get off the train in some ofthose cities or towns?
August Bont (22:38):
There's all kinds of options, so we do package
these itineraries so that youhave choices.
Do you want to take a motorcoach tour through the national
parks?
Do you want to go whalewatching in Vancouver?
Would you rather spend yourtime going up and down the shops
in Banff?
Do you want to take the gondolato the top of the mountain?
Do you want to go golfing atFairmont Banff Springs?
We do leave it pretty wide opento be able to cater to what our
(23:01):
guests are looking for, and soit's kind of a choose your own
adventure.
You know we're here to helpguide you along, give you some
choices, but if there'ssomething you've always had on
your bucket list, we can try tomake that happen.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:12):
Who is the perfect traveler or candidate
for this trip?
August Bont (23:15):
I don't think there's any one demographic or
age range that Rocky Mountaineerfits.
I think, really, who we do wellwith are people who are looking
for a luxury experience andwant to be incredibly well taken
care of and going out to theseremote, beautiful places, but
still want to have someindependence when they're off
the train to be able to kind ofgo back and choose your own
(23:36):
adventure and figure out whereyou want to go, what you want to
do.
We're here to guide you along.
We're here to you know.
Make sure that you have theright experience that you're
looking for.
It's getting to go to remote,beautiful places and luxury.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:49):
Last August 2024, you were on Rocky
Mountaineer from Denver to Moab.
Sam Langner (23:55):
And what was your?
Patrick Wiscombe (23:55):
experience.
Mark Faldmo (23:56):
Yeah, I was lucky enough to be on that Rockies to
Red Rocks itinerary.
I loved it.
You know the stories they tellof the Southwest going over that
beautiful scenery.
It was an amazing experience.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:07):
When we were talking with August Bond of
Rocky Mountaineer, he gave us anexclusive only available on
this radio and podcast.
What's the promotion forlisteners?
Mark Faldmo (24:18):
For our listeners in Utah.
So Utah residents save ahundred dollars per person on
the Rockies to Red Rocksitinerary.
A hundred dollars per person.
A hundred dollars per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:28):
Take advantage , go see Rocky Mountaineer.
Awesome, awesome, awesome, youwill not be disappointed.
Near Awesome, awesome, awesome,you will not be disappointed.
Call Mark during the break, getthe conversation started.
No obligation, of course.
888-718-7717.
And he will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
(24:49):
We've got the cruise deal ofthe week on Holland America and
we've got some additional MSCcruise news that you need to be
aware of.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
Our radio show continuesalongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
(25:09):
We will be right back.
Show Voice (25:12):
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.
(25:33):
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (25:41):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
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Patrick Wiscombe (25:59):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show Coming up.
In the next 28 minutes we willbe talking about Alaska cruises.
Starting literally next weekend, you can officially board an
Alaska cruise, and so we will betalking about shore excursions
in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan,Sitka and Victoria by the way,
(26:22):
Victoria's spectacular,Beautiful.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:52):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark
(27:13):
Fulton-Mo.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:23):
All aboard.
It is time to talk cruising and, as I alluded to right at the
very bottom of the hour, we'retalking Alaska cruises.
It's official Next week you canget on an Alaskan cruise.
So this week, the infamous JustCruising segment is only about
Alaska.
(27:44):
I know that this is a subjectnear and dear to Mark Faldmo's
heart, and the reason we'rebringing it up is we received a
text message from Jill a littlebit earlier this week that she
is taking an Alaska cruisethat's already been booked.
You took care of that already,right?
I did.
Yes, okay, she's going to betaking an Alaska cruise this
(28:05):
summer and wants to know whatyou would suggest for shore
excursions.
Mark Faldmo (28:10):
Well, I think there are several amazing shore
excursions in Alaska.
Each port is different.
Probably some of my favoriteshore excursions in the world
are in Alaska, so I'll just givea rundown.
We'll start in Juneau.
This isn't in any particularorder because cruise lines visit
these in different order.
In Juneau, I think that is thebest port for whale watching.
(28:33):
The best port for whalewatching, my number one tour
would be a combo tour whichincludes whale watching and
Mendenhall Glacier.
The whale watching is superb inJuneau and then, where most of
the whale watching ships leavefrom, you have to drive right
past Mendenhall Glacier, so youmight as well book a tour that
also includes that.
(28:53):
And you spend about an hour orso at Mendenhall Glacier, where
you can go to the visitor center, learn about the glacier, and
there are also some hikingtrails around Mendenhall Glacier
that you can do.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:04):
I'll just let people know that when you are on
a glacier tour and it soundslike you're in a gun firing
range, it's the ice hitting thewater and man does it make a
racket.
Mark Faldmo (29:15):
It does.
And then the next tour that Ireally like to do in Juneau.
It's called the Glacier GardensAdventure.
This is a garden where they'vetaken all of the fallen trees,
drilled holes, turned the treesupside down so that the root
site is up, and they've turnedthe roots into a planter box and
so it's just hanging withflowers and ferns, and then
(29:37):
there's a couple of trails there.
They take you by a vehicle kindof up to the top of the
mountain where you have anamazing view of the whole valley
, where Juneau is at.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:47):
What a unique idea Turn trees upside down.
Mark Faldmo (29:50):
Yeah, turn trees upside down, so pretty cool
thing there.
Time permitting, I also alwayslike to do the Mount Roberts
Tram, which is right there wheremost of the cruise ships pull
into.
If there's time, walk aroundthe town.
There's some pretty goodshopping right there in downtown
Juneau, and then the MountRoberts Tram is a great thing to
(30:11):
do if you have extra time.
There's also, from what I hear,a pretty good salmon bake.
I'm not a fish eater, butthat's probably one of the more
popular tours in Juneau is to dothe salmon bake.
What about Skagway?
Skagway is probably my favoriteport in all of Alaska.
I do have some family historythere.
My great-great, or maybe threegreat-grandfathers I'm not sure
(30:34):
how far back was one of theminers that went over the
Whitehorse Pass.
So I like going there andexploring that history.
The number one thing to do thereis the White Pass and Yukon
Railroad, and there are threedifferent versions you can take
of this.
One is you can just do thesummit and return, which is
round-trip train.
(30:54):
You can take the train up andthen take a bus back, which
you'll get two different sidesof the canyon there.
Or you can take the YukonExplorer, which takes the train
off and then you get on a busand you go deep into the Yukon
territory.
It has a dog sledding camp thatyou go to a lunch and that's a
pretty interesting tour.
(31:15):
It is an all day tour but veryinteresting.
Another thing you can do inSkagway which I really enjoy
doing, is they have a street cartour.
They have old you know they're1930s buses that you get on
drive around.
They tell about the history ofthe town.
You go to a scenic lookout andyou go up to the cemetery where
(31:36):
Soapy Smith is buried, who wasone of the kind of villains of
the old mining town, and allyour tour guides dressed in
period clothing.
So it's a pretty fun littletour to do and you get a good
history of the town of Skagway.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:51):
Is it bad to say that I have no idea who
Soapy Smith is of Skagway?
Is it bad to say that I have noidea?
Mark Faldmo (31:55):
who Soapy Smith is.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:56):
Not very many people do, unless you've been to
Skagway, okay, Well, I havebeen there and I still don't
know who it was.
Yeah, so you didn't do theright tour, then that's what I'm
saying.
Yes, okay, Ketchikan is one ofthe ports.
What do you like to do there?
Mark Faldmo (32:14):
In.
Ketchikan it's best known, Ithink for its totem poles.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:16):
Oh, that's right.
Totem pole, yes.
Mark Faldmo (32:17):
So that's where you can get a lot of the good
history of totem poles, althoughI will say my favorite thing to
do there is to take a MistyFjords flight scene tour, where
you take a float plane, fly upinto the Misty Fjords, you land
on a lake up there.
It's a pretty fascinating thingto do.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:38):
I've done that several times.
Mark Faldmo (32:38):
So I really enjoy that Misty Fjords flight scene
tour.
But if you are interested intotem poles and this is the tour
that I do most of the time whenI take groups up there or that
I recommend there are threedifferent areas you can see
totem poles.
One is Totem Bright, which ismy favorite, and then there's
Saxman Village and then there'sPotluck Totem Park.
(33:00):
So there are three differentthings you can do there, and
then those are usually combinedwith the wildlife tour.
There's a really good spot inKetchikan where you can go,
usually watch the bears.
What else do you like to do inKetchikan?
I'd say, make sure and go toCreek Street.
You can walk there from most ofthe cruise terminals and it's
just a nice little shoppingstreet.
(33:21):
I love Creek Street.
And then the other thing that'spopular to do that I quite
enjoy is the Great AlaskanLumberjack Show.
It's USA versus Canada and theyhave a logging contest.
It's pretty fun.
It's a very well put togethershow.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:36):
So instead of hockey, we've got logs flying
around.
Yes, when Nikki and I went toAlaska, we did not go to Sitka.
So what do you recommend doingthere, sitka?
Mark Faldmo (33:48):
is probably the fourth port of Alaska.
Not all cruise lines go there.
There's not room for a lot ofships, just one ship at a time.
It used to be that pretty muchonly Holland America went there,
but more and more cruise linesare starting to go there.
So there are three things Ilike to do there.
You can do these as a combotour or individually.
I've always done them as acombo.
(34:09):
And one is Sitka National Park,which is where there was a
battle fought there and sothey've built a park there.
The other is Fortress of theBear, which is kind of a bear
rescue.
It's very interesting.
You can go watch up close togrizzly bears from a safe
distance and kind of see,because it's kind of a
(34:30):
rehabilitation center.
And also same with the RaptorCenter, which is a third place
on this, which is where theyrehabilitate birds of prey Four
trucks.
Yes, oh, birds, okay, birds,birds.
So those are the three things Ilike to do, and I've always
done them as a combo tour.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:48):
One of my favorite ports, truly just for
its beauty.
I've been there during the dayand I've been there at night.
Victoria in Canada is if youcan get there during the day,
and I've been there at night.
Victoria in Canada is if youcan get there during the day.
It is one of the most beautifulplaces on earth that I have
ever seen and I love it.
But what do you like to dothere?
Mark Faldmo (35:05):
Victoria is the international stop that cruise
lines have to make so often.
You're only there from 6 or 8pm to midnight, so it's usually
a shorter stop but, as youmentioned, I love it.
If there's a cruise line thatspends more time there.
I wish they would.
Usually you only have time toeither do a Bouchard Gardens
tour which I would do that withthe cruise line because of the
(35:28):
timing or I just go into theharbor area, walk around and
explore.
It's fascinating.
Speaking earlier of fish,there's a place there called
Redfish Bluefish best fish andchips I've ever had and you can
have it made with severaldifferent types of fish.
I get my halibut and I'm finewith that.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:47):
That's about the only fish that I'll eat
halibut.
Always in this segment of theshow.
This is the infamous JustCruising segment, where it's
only about the cruise news andit's only about cruise deals.
What Alaska cruise deals do wehave for listeners this week?
Mark Faldmo (36:03):
So I've got two.
One is this summer and theother is next summer.
Just because I want to getpeople thinking about that.
For this summer, the end ofAugust is typically a pretty
good time to go for pricing.
Summer, the end of August istypically a pretty good time to
go for pricing.
So this week's deal is a roundtrip Vancouver on Holland
America line.
It visits Tracy Arm, fjord,Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan.
(36:25):
The price this is for an August30th date.
The price and inside cabinstarts at $959.
So for an Alaska cruise, thatis pretty good and a balcony
cabin starts at $959.
Wow, so for an Alaska cruisethat is pretty good, yeah, and a
balcony cabin starts at $1699.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:40):
Okay so significant increase.
But if you're not going to bein your room anyway, just go out
to the outside decks.
Yes, wow, do we know what ship?
That's on the Holland America?
That's on the Koningsdam.
Okay, next week I'm going to beHolland America, but it's going
to be on the east coast of thecountry.
I'm going on the Rotterdam.
Mark Faldmo (36:58):
Their sister ship, so it'll be a similar ship
Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:02):
You just can't go wrong.
Okay, so to get everyone primedfor next year, 2026, if this is
not the year for you to go,what other promotion do you have
for listeners?
Mark Faldmo (37:14):
Yeah, so year for you to go?
What other promotion do youhave for listeners?
Yeah, so I just wanted to throwthis out because next year,
2026, are going to be two newcruise lines sailing to Alaska.
One is Virgin Voyages and theother is MSC.
And I just wanted to throw thisMSC one out because of the
price.
It is such a good price.
It's round trip Seattle visitsKetchikan, Juneau.
It's roundtrip Seattle visitsKetchikan, Juneau, icy Strait
(37:34):
and Victoria.
But where this gets good isthis is a June 1st date.
Ooh, inside cabin is $929,which is about what we just gave
for Home to America.
Right, but the balcony cabin is$1,299.
Whoa, and this $1,299 price isonly slightly increased as you
(37:56):
get into June, so you can getpeak season balcony for under
$1,500.
That's incredible.
I have seen on other sailingson MSC that these prices are
starting to creep up.
So if you are thinking aboutAlaska in 2026, you should look
at MSC and get something underdeposit.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:17):
How much for a balcony then?
Mark Faldmo (38:18):
$1299 for the June 1st date and it goes up to $1349
for a June 29th date.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:25):
That is amazing For Alaska.
That's incredible.
Call Mark in his office duringthe break.
You've got to take advantage ofthat one.
That's a good price to go seeAlaska, especially seven days
round trip out of Seattle888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(38:50):
And of course, mark will postthat on blueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
Final segment of the show.
We've got Mark's travel tipsand we'll wrap up the show and
we will be talking about real IDand passports.
This is important If you'retraveling.
We always talk about having theproper documentation to travel.
(39:11):
We're going to give you all theinsights.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast, our radio
show, continues Alongside mygood friend Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you for listening.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (39:27):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(40:05):
com.
Ad Voice (40:07):
El Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado sparesort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (40:30):
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 (41:00):
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
We hope you are having anabsolute terrific weekend.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,alongside Mark Faldmo Coming up
in this segment, the finalsegment of the show Mark and I
will be talking about travel IDsand we got a text a little bit
(41:23):
earlier this week from one ofour listeners, Jessica2426.
She had some questions aboutreal ID and we're also going to
be talking about eight passportmistakes and what is a travel
visa.
But before we get to Jessica'squestion, I want to bring up the
hot deal update, which is theemail that you send out every
(41:44):
one to two weeks with the latesttravel information.
Let's talk about that for asecond.
Mark Faldmo (41:48):
This is a great way to find out about upcoming
travel deals and offers.
It's really a curated list justfor my clients and our Inside
Travel Talk listeners Reallylook for the best deals out
there and try and find some ofthose unique offers, and also a
little bit of travel news andupdates come out on that as well
(42:08):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:09):
And how do people sign?
Mark Faldmo (42:10):
up for it.
To sign up for that, just go toblueplanetvacations.
com and there will be a pop upif it's your first time visiting
the site.
If not, you can go to Hot Deals, which is in the upper
navigation bar, and you'll see alink there to enter your name
and email address.
That's all we need for this,and we really try and not spam
(42:30):
you with this list.
Make sure it's relevant andvalid at the time we send it.
Also, if there's something timesensitive, since we only do
this show once a week, ifthere's something time sensitive
, I'll put it out and send it,just so that people get the most
current travel deals.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:46):
You and I received a text from one of our
listeners, Jessica 2426, lastfour digits of her number, and
she said I saw something aboutreal ID and that it will be
required soon.
So her question is how do Iknow if I have real ID and what
is real ID, and should I beworried?
Mark Faldmo (43:06):
So I'll start with the last thing that she
mentioned.
Should I be worried Right now?
If you have a Utah driver'slicense or an Idaho driver's
license, which is most of ourlistening area, you don't need
to be worried.
In just a moment we'll talkabout how to identify if you
have a compliance ID.
The states of Utah and Idahohave been issuing these driver's
(43:29):
licenses for quite a while thatare REAL-ID compliant.
What is REAL-ID?
REAL-id was a recommendationfrom the 9-11 Commission and
passed by Congress in 2005.
And it was to make travelingmore secure.
They were finding a lot of fakeIDs were being used to get
through airport security lines,and so RIL-IDs are a little bit
(43:51):
harder to forge and there's somethings in there that help TSA
identify it as a valid ID.
The main thing we should talkabout is the real ID goes into
effect May 7th of this year.
That's about four weeks fromtoday, probably why a lot of
people are seeing these stories.
You'll want to make sure, ifyou're traveling after May 7th,
(44:12):
that you either have a passportor a Real ID compliant driver's
license.
Jessica's main question was howdo I know if I have a Real ID?
In the upper right-hand corner?
On most states' driver'slicense you'll either have a
gold or black star.
If you're from California,it'll actually be a gold bear
with a star in the body of thebear.
(44:33):
California is different, buteveryone else has.
Most states have a gold star.
Some states have a black starin the corner of your passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:44):
It is happening for sure May 7th 2025.
All 50 states.
Mark Faldmo (44:48):
That's correct.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:50):
Okay, it's nice to know that we can move
quickly.
Yes, let's get to the eightpassport mistakes.
Where do you want to start onthis one?
The?
Mark Faldmo (45:01):
first thing, if you're taking an international
trip, look at the expiration ofyour passport and do this in
many cases before you startplanning your trip.
Unfortunately booked a coupleof trips for people over the
years where they have not lookedat their passport and then
found out that it's expired.
Or the main mistake is beingunaware that most countries
(45:22):
require your passport to bevalid for six months after your
last date of return.
Some countries do not have thisrule, but just as a rule of
thumb I tell people make sureyour passport is valid for six
months after your last date ofreturn.
Some reasons for this are what,if you have something medical
come up and you have to stay,you don't want your passport to
(45:43):
expire while you're undergoingthat, because then you will have
to go and wait for a newpassport to be issued for you to
get back home?
Patrick Wiscombe (45:51):
How many times have you renewed your passport?
Mark Faldmo (45:56):
I think I'm on my fourth passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:58):
Do you get an email from the state department?
Who do you get that email from?
Mark Faldmo (46:01):
You don't get an email, although, if you are a
Blue Planet Vacations customerand we've put your passport
information in our system, youwill get a one-year email notice
.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:12):
Okay, so no email unless it comes from you.
Correct, at least as of rightnow.
Mark Faldmo (46:18):
Yes, as of right now.
Okay, next, most common mistakepeople make with passports is
when they're getting a newpassport, they don't check the
current passport processingtimes.
The current passport processingtimes is six to eight weeks for
routine service or two to threeweeks for expedited service,
and you can always check this onthe state department, the
(46:40):
travelstategov website, orthere's a link to it in the
resources on Blue PlanetVacations where you can get the
current processing times.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:49):
Okay.
Is it even an option to get arush or a same-day passport?
Mark Faldmo (46:55):
Yes, it is in certain circumstances.
First of all, you have to benear a passport office and you
do have to prove a couple thingsto get an expedited same-day
passport, or within a few days,you have to prove that you're
traveling within 14 days, or youcan also get expedited service
(47:15):
for passport if you need to geta foreign visa within four weeks
.
If you do get an appointment toget a same-day passport, you do
have to pay the $60 expeditefee on top of the regular
passport fee.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:27):
Okay, the newly announced passport office
in Salt Lake, and I think it wasgoing to be at the airport.
Is it open yet?
It is not open.
Mark Faldmo (47:36):
On the State Department website it is listed
as a location and it lists theopening date as TBA.
So who knows when that'sactually going to open?
But that will be exciting toactually have a passport office
here in Salt Lake for thelisteners of the radio show.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:53):
Before we hit the show, Mark, I have a
question.
What is a travel visa and it'snot a credit card.
I know that.
Mark Faldmo (47:59):
Some countries require you to get a visa for
entry.
For instance, when I went toChina, I actually had to send my
passport to the Chineseconsulate in San Francisco and
they issued me a visa.
So you have to pay the fee, fillout a form and you actually get
a stamp or a sticker in yourpassport.
(48:21):
If you take multiple trips andyou need a visa, you really need
to look at your passportexpiration, as we were talking
about before.
Right, Because I know my fatherwas going on several trips,
needed a visa and it was toChina as well and there was just
no way to get his visa back,because sometimes the foreign
consulates keep up for six toeight weeks themselves, oh wow.
(48:42):
And so my dad actually ended uphaving to get a second passport
, which is also interesting toget because the second passport
is only valid for five years.
You have to prove some thingsin order to get a second
passport, so for a while he hadtwo passports because of that
visa.
So if you're traveling to acountry that requires a visa
(49:02):
yeah, and that's something toreally check out your passport
expiration It'll make sure it'sall going to work within your
travel plans to get your visaback in time, which a visa is
essentially travel authorizationto enter that country back in
time which a visa is essentiallytravel authorization to enter
that country.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:19):
There's a lot of jargon.
I think this conversationthat's taken place for these few
minutes is really going toclean up a lot of questions that
travelers or potentialtravelers have had for a very,
very long time.
Mark Faldmo (49:28):
Yes, it is, and actually also one more passport
mistake I'm sorry I forgot tomention this is Some countries
require you to have consecutivepages, so you have to have two
to four consecutive pages inorder to enter the country.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:43):
Oh, that's right.
Mark Faldmo (49:46):
I've had people go show up in a country without
those blank pages and they havebeen turned away.
Oh my, goodness, I forgot aboutthat you really have to check
the entry requirements andpassport requirements and visa
requirements for countriesyou're visiting.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:59):
And you can help people with that.
Mark Faldmo (50:01):
Yes, yep, and actually on the Blue Planet
Vacations website in theresources, there's a link called
Passport Requirements and thatgoes to a site called Sherpa,
which you just put in yourtravel date and country and
it'll tell you everything youneed to enter that country.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:15):
This has been very, very helpful.
This is going to be one ofthose segments that we could
probably just put on repeatmultiple times to help people
out.
Yeah, all right, if you havetravel related questions about
real ID, passport mistakes,travel visas call Mark in his
office, and you can also callhim about all of the deals that
(50:37):
we've talked about during thisentire show.
His phone number is888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And he has many of theresources on blueplanetvacations
.
com.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, Sunday,
(51:01):
at 11 am, right here on thisradio station and around the
country, and you can stream,download and subscribe to the
podcast at insidetraveltalk.
com.
A lot of people just like goingto the website and just hitting
the play button, but if you area podcast subscriber, we're on
all of the major podcastplatforms.
(51:22):
Okay, our job is done, so nowit's your turn to get out and
explore the world while you can,because you never know what
curveballs life is going tothrow at you.
Could be sickness, could bewhatever.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally,
and thank you so much forlistening.
(51:43):
We'll talk to you again nextweek.
Show Voice (51:47):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(52:08):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (52:30):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex
Insurance Services.
Their travel insurance planscan help protect you and your
vacation.
Travelex is known for theiraward-winning customer service
and high claims paid rate.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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