September 20, 2025 • 27 mins
The travel landscape is changing in ways that might surprise you. Airlines are now leveraging sophisticated AI technology to analyze your browsing history and past purchasing behavior to potentially charge you higher fares. Delta Airlines recently announced plans to deploy an AI pricing tool for 20% of their domestic fares, raising significant concerns among travelers. While some carriers deny using personalized pricing, the trend points to a future where what you pay could depend on who you are—and your digital footprint.
This shift highlights the renewed value of travel advisors who can access reservation systems where customer identity isn't linked to fare offerings. When booking through an advisor, you're more likely to receive standardized pricing based on contracted bulk fares rather than algorithmically determined rates targeting your specific profile. As Mark explains, "These are set contracted fares, usually based on a 12-month contract, so I know that's always going to be my fare as long as there are seats available."
Beyond airline pricing, we explore two distinctive ways to experience the Galapagos Islands—expedition cruises with companies like Celebrity Expeditions, or land-based tours utilizing smaller catamarans and local lodges. For those dreaming of Greek Island adventures, we highlight alternatives to mainstream cruise lines, including Celestial Cruises with their immersive cultural experiences and extended port times, and Star Clippers' romantic tall ships offering unique sailing itineraries with up to 65% savings on 2026-2027 voyages. We also discuss Princess Cruise Lines' massive expansion into Japan with 78 departures planned for 2027, and the surprising trend of Generation X travelers embracing guided tours after years of independent travel.
For our listeners in Sale Lake City we discuss on offer for 20% Off Airport Parking with Park n Jet. This offer can be found on Blue Planet Vacations website.
We also discuss AmaWaterways plans for several new ships by 2030 and possibly some smaller charter only River cruise options.
Ready to explore these destinations without overpaying? Visit BluePlanetVacations.com or call 888-718-7717 to work with travel advisors who can navigate these changing systems and secure the best value for your next adventure.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
It is the weekend, which means it is time
to talk travel.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show
Coming up.
On today's show, mark and Iwill be talking about.
Airlines are changing how theyprice fares and it's raising
concerns.
Traveling to the GalapagosIslands, princess Cruise Lines
gets serious about Japan andcruising in and around Greece.
(00:22):
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastradio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that are
time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (00:44):
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
(01:09):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:15):
Hello, there, I am Patrick Wiscombe, alongside
Mark Faldmo.
He will be here in just amoment.
The entire purpose of thisradio show and podcast is to
help you plan and book your nextvacation, or we're just going
to give you ideas of where youwould like to vacation next, and
we are presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com and thank you for taking thetime to stop and listen.
(01:37):
And this week we are talkingabout airlines, kind of getting
into your business Plus.
We're going to travel to theGalapagos Islands.
Princess Cruise Lines isgetting serious about Japan.
They laid out their plans andwe're going to cruise in and
around Greece.
That's coming up on this editionof the Inside Travel Talk
(01:59):
podcast, a radio show, and ifyou are a podcaster and you
can't catch us live, just go toInsideTravelTalk.
com.
You can stream the show livethere, but we've also got links
to all of the major podcastplatforms if you just want to
subscribe.
And now it is time, let mebring in the owner of
BluePlanetVacations.
com, mark Faldmo.
(02:22):
How was your week?
I haven't even talked to youall week had a good week.
Mark Faldmo (02:25):
It's been busy and I'm just excited to talk travel
today.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:28):
Well, I know you've been busy when I send you
an email at four o'clock in themorning.
As I'm sitting here in theoffice and you respond to the
email at four o'clock in themorning, I was not expecting
that.
Mark Faldmo (02:40):
Yeah, yeah, I've had some fun projects working on
.
I'm going out tomorrow toTennessee, taking a big group to
Memphis and to Nashville to gosee the history and the music
sites back there, going to the.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:55):
Grand Ole Opry , which I'm excited for.
I know that you're married, butyou can pass this on to someone
who is single, who is inMemphis.
You go up to a girl and you sayare you from Memphis?
Because you're the only 10 Isee.
Let's get to the travel newsheadlines.
You and I are big fans of rail,and so let's start with Grand
Canyon Railway and Hotel.
(03:17):
Are they celebrating their 25thanniversary and they're going
to have the Polar Expressspecial?
Mark Faldmo (03:22):
prize.
Yeah, so it's their 25thanniversary.
Actually, when I was in theGrand Canyon a few weeks ago,
saw the train pull up.
I love trains.
I wish I would have journeyedto the Grand Canyon on the Grand
Canyon railway.
But as part of their 25thanniversary they do the Polar
Express every year, but theyhave some special pricing.
So this runs from the firstweek of November until December
(03:46):
30th.
It's a 90-minute round tripfrom Williams Arizona that
starts at $62 a person.
Weekends are a little bithigher and they do have a
special Christmas Eve trainthat's more expensive than that.
But you can also buy this witha package.
So they have a train and hotelpackage where the hotel portion
(04:07):
starts at $125 a night andincludes breakfast and dinner,
and then you put your train ontop of that.
So it's a pretty good deal.
And Williams Arizona has kept alot of it has and it's kept a
lot of its Route 66 history.
So you go there and there's theold fashioned diners.
It's just a nice little town tovisit.
Those cafes have the best food,anyway they do Again.
(04:31):
It's a 90 minute train ride,round trip and then you stop at
Santa's village.
So there's time to get off tomeet Santa and his reindeer
along the way.
Kids will love that?
Patrick Wiscombe (04:41):
Yeah, this is probably the main story of the
week.
Airlines pricing plans areraising concerns.
This is why you should use atravel agent right here and I
realize that we're doing theshow and we want you to book
your travel through us but thisis a legitimate concern.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (05:00):
A few years ago, airlines started looking at
their customer profiles.
So if you were logged intotheir websites and they knew who
you were, they looked at yourtravel history and you know, for
instance, if you took abusiness trip and your company
paid for first class and you goto book your personal trip, they
said, oh, he booked a firstclass and so they might only
(05:21):
offer you premium fares.
But a few weeks ago, unitedtheir recent investor call said
they were deploying an AIpricing tool and they want that
pricing tool to develop pricingfor 20% of their domestic fares.
A lot of people came out andsaid they're going in and
scrubbing the Internet with AIon all of their customers and
(05:43):
offering them higher fares,which Delta specifically said
they're not doing that.
They're using the AI to analyzefares and raise fares as needed
or lower fares as needed.
This has created quite a stir inthe travel industry because
that airline has lots of data onyou and they can raise the
(06:03):
fares as needed based on thedata.
So, as you said, that is areason to book through a travel
advisor.
Right now at least all of oursystems they don't know who the
actual customer is, and sotravel agents are getting better
fares in some cases on airlinetickets and if you go through
that, where it has the AIdigging through your purchase
(06:25):
history of fares and raisingprices, Look at the fares online
and Mark really doesn't makeany money on airfare at all.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:33):
You might as well just save yourself the
money and book it through him.
I mean, obviously, take a lookat the fare and compare the
price that you're getting onlineto the price that Mark has
given you, and you'll probablyend up saving at least something
.
Mark Faldmo (06:46):
And then when you package that with a hotel, which
is where I then do get paid bythe airline to book the seats,
if you package it together,those are set contracted fares,
usually based on a 12 monthcontract, and so I know that's
always going to be my fare andit's not going to be as long as
there are seats available.
That pricing system is notgoing to be my fare and it's not
going to be as long as thereare seats available.
That pricing system is notgoing to raise the fare on me
(07:08):
because it is a contracted bulkfare.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:11):
I saw this story that guided tours are
gaining popularity with Gen X.
Mark Faldmo (07:17):
In travel.
It really is all about thedifferent generations because it
probably is in any salesbusiness different purchase
patterns.
But Gen X, which is mygeneration and your generation
kind of, have always been thatindependent, you know, kind of
do it.
Our own generation and 10 yearsago that was kind of the big
(07:39):
Gen Xers were a harder sale fora travel advisor.
But now they're turning totravel advisors and turning to
escorted and hosted tours.
They just want it done for them.
Some of them are approachingthat retirement age.
A lot of travel brands, likeGlobus, which is one we talk
about they've had a hugeincrease, you know, almost 30%
(08:03):
increase in Generation Xpurchases on their tours.
I've always been a fan of thesetours.
We've talked about Globusseveral times on this.
We had TJ on that talked aboutGlobus.
I love having everything donefor me, having a guide with me,
the whole time and getting thatinsight.
It's just such an easy way totravel and I think you get more
(08:27):
on these tours than you getdoing it on your own.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:30):
Frequently.
You get special access.
You basically cut the line.
Mark Faldmo (08:35):
Yes, yeah, another tour company called Talk Tours.
They're developing tours forjust people in their 40s and 50s
, so they're going right forthose Gen Xers.
What tour was that?
Tauck, it's called Tauck.
Yeah, how do you spell that?
T-a-u-c-k?
Oh, okay, they're more of aluxury provider.
I've sent several clients onTauck tours and they love them.
(08:58):
I'm partial to Globus, butTauck is probably a step up in
luxury from Globus.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:05):
A little bit earlier this week we were able
to get a parking discount.
If you need to head to the SaltLake International Airport and
if you park at Park and Jet, wehave a special discount that we
just want to mention quickly.
Mark Faldmo (09:18):
For our customers in the Salt Lake City area, blue
Planet Vacations has negotiateda 20% parking discount at Park
and Jet.
So if you just go toblueplanetvacations.
com, down in the bottom footerthere's a Park Jet logo.
If you click there it'll takeyou to all the details to get
that 20% discount at Park Jet atthe Salt Lake City Airport.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:39):
We want you to be part of the show.
So if you have travel-relatedquestions, call or text your
question to 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And during the week we receiveda.
Was this a call?
I think it was a call.
It was a call, yeah, fromJanine saying that she wanted to
(10:00):
go to the Galapagos Islands,and what are my options?
So it's kind of a broadquestion.
Where do you want to start withthis?
Mark Faldmo (10:08):
one.
There are two main options toget to the Galapagos.
The first one, and probablywhat most people do, are the
expedition cruises.
HX goes there, CelebrityExpeditions goes there.
There are several expeditionships that go there and into the
Galapagos Islands.
The other way to do it there'sa company I work with that owns
(10:30):
some lodges and hotels on theislands and what they do is you
buy their packages and you caneither kind of base camp out of
one main lodge and then take daytrips out to the different
islands, or you can kind of sailaround during the daytime and
spend your nights in hotels thatare on these islands and since
(10:52):
it's a protected area, there'snot a lot of development there.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:56):
Well, that's why I was surprised when you
said hotels.
Mark Faldmo (10:59):
A lot of these were just grandfathered in before
they really started protectingthe Galapagos.
And I like that because you'rewith smaller groups.
These are generally catamaransheld between 15 and 30 people,
so you really get to visit theseislands with smaller groups,
even though expedition cruisesare relatively small they're 200
(11:20):
to 400 people in size.
These smaller groups are better, I think, doing it where you
kind of have the land-basedGalapagos, you do get a lot more
interaction with the localsthat live there, something that
I like to do.
I like that interaction withlocals, going into the markets
that they have or just visitingwith the locals.
(11:41):
Either way is a good way to seethe Galapagos.
How you get to the Galapagos isyou fly into Quito, Ecuador,
and then from there you fly overto the main island in the
Galapagos and that's whereyou'll either check into that
first hotel or board yourexpedition cruise ship.
I recommend spending a few daysin Quito oh yeah, before or
(12:05):
after.
It's a really culturally richcity or after it's a really
culturally rich city and thenyou can even do some things, get
up into the Amazon rainforestand you'll get some really
interesting things there in.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:16):
Quito.
I actually have a friend inQuito.
I've not seen him for a longtime, but I was surprised how
sneaky good Quito was.
Mark Faldmo (12:24):
Yes, Also that kind of gateway to the Galapagos and
probably if you look at mostpeople's travel bucket list,
it's probably on 85 or 90% ofeveryone's bucket list.
Either one of these ways is agood way to see it.
I prefer the land way.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:43):
Janine, if you have follow-up questions, you
probably will Call Mark in hisoffice during the break or
whenever you hear this If you'relistening to it on the podcast.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(13:03):
And he'll also put this onblueplanetvacations.
com Coming up.
It is time.
It is time.
It is time for the infamousJust Cruising segment, where
it's only about the cruise newsand it's only about cruise deals
.
This week we're talking aboutAmaW aterways.
Princess Cruises is gettingserious about their largest ever
(13:23):
Japan deployment, starting in2027.
And, of course, we'll have thecruise deal of the week where we
will be cruising in and aroundthe Greek Isles.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show, continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, I amPatrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be back in about 60seconds.
(13:45):
Stay right there.
Show Voice (13:49):
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.
(14:10):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (14:16):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Anna.
Waterways, from castles andcapitals to vistas and villages
visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities To
set out on your own river cruisejourney.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (14:42):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byblueplanetvacations.
com.
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.
(15:03):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:32):
Ahoy, mateys, Ahoy, mateys, Ahoy.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, I amPatrick Wiscombe Coming up in
this segment of the show.
It is the portion of the showthat has made us famous around
the country and around the worldwhere we only talk about the
(15:52):
cruise news and the cruise newsheadlines.
And this week we've got thecruise deal of the week, which
is going to be cruising in andaround the Greek Isles.
We'll get to that here in justa second.
But let's first get to thecruise news headlines.
And I saw the story Mark, thatAma Waterways co-founder says
smaller, charter only shipscould be on the way.
Mark Faldmo (16:14):
There's actually two different topics.
One just popped up in my inboxthat I'm going to add to this.
Ama Waterways introduced theAma Magna, and then the upcoming
Ama Rudy, which I call themdouble wide's, so they're double
the size of the average cruiseship.
They can only go on the DanubeRiver because of the bridge
restrictions and all of that.
(16:35):
But now they're going in theopposite direction.
They're building smaller,charter only ships for private
river cruises.
I've read a few things thatsome of these could be as small
as 12 people on board, so afamily could just take a private
river cruise if they wanted andit'll be just like a regular
(16:57):
river cruise where you'll havethe stops and your meals and
your servers and your tours.
They've really seen kind oftheir group business really
explode and so they said why notmake ships that are tailored
just for these groups so theycan just buy out a whole ship
and make them smaller?
And on a related note this isthe story that just popped in as
we were talking about AmaWaterways They've just put in an
(17:19):
order for eight more ships tosail in Europe, so by 2030, and
then they already have severalships that are scheduled to
arrive in 26 and 27.
Then they already have severalships that are scheduled to
arrive in 26 and 27.
Currently, AMA has 27 ships, 23of which sail in Europe.
They plan to have a globalfleet of over 40 ships by the
(17:41):
end of 2030.
I think the river cruise is thebest way to see Europe,
followed closely by a Globustour by a land tour, but you
know the river cruise, where youget your meals, your activities
, your accommodations, it's justa great way to see that you can
come back and have a place torelax at night.
(18:01):
River cruise is, in my opinion,the best way to see.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:04):
Europe Princess Cruise Lines has
unveiled, or is unveiling, theirlargest ever deployment for
Japan, for 2027.
You know, that's a part of theworld that you really don't
think of cruising.
Mark Faldmo (18:18):
I've always struggled to sell Japan cruises,
oh really.
Because I've not been.
Like you said, you don't thinkof it as a cruise destination.
One of my agents, Julie, justgot back from a Japan cruise
with her family and said it'sprobably her favorite cruise
that she's ever taken.
Princess is going to have twoships in Japan in 2027 for
(18:42):
longer seasons than they've hadbefore, so they'll have a total
of 78 departures and 50different itineraries ranging
from seven to 28 days, and theyhave 45 different destinations
and six countries from theirJapan-based cruises.
The more I think about it, Ithink a cruise is a great way to
(19:04):
see Japan.
Japan has been it's on kind ofthe hot list right now.
It's in the probably the secondor third most searched vacation
destination over the past 12months and I think a cruise
would be a good way.
It does help alleviate some ofthe language barriers that you
might have if you're doing aland-based tour there and you do
(19:27):
get to see everything thatJapan has to offer store there
and you do get to see everythingthat Japan has to offer.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:33):
A little bit earlier this week we received
was this a call?
This was also a call fromBarbara.
It was also a call.
Yep, and if you want to get intouch with the show and you have
travel related questions,whether we're on the air or it's
during the week when we're noton the air, call or text
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
Those texts come to you, dothey not?
They do they come right to me.
(19:55):
Barbara's question is I want togo on a Greek Isles cruise, but
I don't want to be on a bigship or a big cruise line.
Is that even possible?
Is her questions there?
Mark Faldmo (20:06):
are two options that come to mind for me.
One is called Celestial CruiseLine.
They're smaller ships that sailaround the Greek Isles.
They have two ships and theyboth hold about 1200 people.
They specialize in the GreekIsles and Eastern Mediterranean.
That's all they sail.
Their ships are based yearround in Athens.
(20:28):
They really immerse you in theculture of Greece and they spend
more port time compared toother cruise lines.
They really try and get thatauthentic local experience.
They really have lots ofdifferent itineraries.
They have the shorter cruises,from three and four nights, as
well as longer cruises of sevento 14 nights, depending on which
(20:52):
options you want.
Their fares include all meals,drinks, gratuities, wi-fi and
shore excursions.
This is Celestial.
So this is Celestial.
Yeah, so it's.
Everything is included.
Right now for Celestial, theyhave save up to 50% off on 26
and 27 cruises, anything fornext year or the following year.
(21:14):
And I want to highlight one oftheir itineraries.
I think this would be perfect ifyou're looking to explore the
Greek Isles.
It's seven nights, seven portsand two countries.
It leaves from Athens.
You go and spend a full day inKousadasi in Turkey, which is
where you can get to Ephesus,which is a fantastic place, and
(21:35):
then you can also get yourTurkish delight there in that
port, and I came back with asuitcase full of Turkish delight
from Kousadasi.
I enjoy that, I know, yeah.
And then down there you go toRhodes, greece, spend a full day
there, a full day on the islandof Crete, a full day in
(21:57):
Santorini, a full day in Mykonos, a full day in Mylos, and then
back to Athens.
That cruise starts at $8.59 perperson for an inside or $17.69
for a balcony.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:14):
That's a lot of ports in seven days.
Mark Faldmo (22:17):
It gets them packed in and again, they really want
you to see Greece.
Another itinerary, just quickly, that I like.
This one actually starts at$100 less, but I like it because
of where it goes.
It's called Heavenly Greece andItaly and Croatia, so that one
(22:37):
goes from Athens, goes toCataclon in Greece, Cephalonia,
and then goes to Corfu I loveCorfu and then it goes to
Dubrovnik in Croatia, Kotor inMontenegro and then Bari, which
is in the hill of the boot ofItaly, and then back to Athens.
(22:59):
Really incorporate a lot ofGreece in.
But you can go to Italy, Turkeyand some of those Aegean Sea
countries.
We've talked about Globus a fewtimes.
They have a lot of Greece toursthat do a land portion but then
you can add on a three or fournight cruise and that's all
using Celestial Cruises.
They do partner with other tourcompanies to get that cruise
(23:22):
aspect in Greece.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:24):
What about a clipper ship?
What do you recommend there?
Yeah Well, do you?
Mark Faldmo (23:29):
I do and you know Star Clippers and we've talked
about Star Clippers severaltimes on the show.
One of my favorite cruiseexperiences, you know to be on a
smaller ship that's three to400 people and then just sailing
through wherever you're sailing, but in this case, the Greek
Isles.
It's just a great way to seethe destinations.
(23:50):
Right now, star Clippers hassave up to 65%.
Oh wow, this is a really uniqueproduct, so it's more expensive
than Celestial.
Their fair started at about$2,000 a person on up to sail
through the Greek Isles.
One itinerary that I really likefrom them is leave from Athens,
(24:12):
go to Hydra, Santorini, Rhodes,and then it has Bodrum, which
is in Turkey, and Dillon River,which is in Turkey as well, and
then they have kind of thenorthern Greek isles where it
goes up almost to Istanbul.
Another good way if you'relooking for a smaller ship
(24:34):
experience in Greece and stillrelatively affordable, you know,
not going to the smaller luxuryor even expedition ships that
do these on occasion.
These are two great options tosell the Greek Isles on a
smaller ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:52):
Barbara, it sounds like we have got the
answer for you.
Call Mark in his office as soonas we get off the air so you
can get the information.
Obviously you're going to havesome additional questions no
obligation, of course.
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(25:12):
And he'll also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com.
And take advantage of thetravel deal of the week.
Get down to the GalapagosIslands as well.
You can listen to the show againtomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11
am, right here on the veryradio station that you're
listening to right now at 11 am,local time around the country.
(25:37):
But if you can't listen to uslive, you can stream, download
and subscribe to the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
We're on all of the majorpodcast platforms and you can
also just stream the show rightthere.
So if you're in the office,also just stream the show right
there.
So if you're in the office,just stream it on your computer.
It is now your turn our job isdone to get out and explore the
(25:59):
world while you can, because younever know what Curveball's
life is going to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally.
That's what we say around here,and a sincere thank you for
listening.
Really, we don't have a showwithout you.
We don't have a businesswithout you.
We don't have anything withoutyou.
So thank you for allowing us tobe part of your weekend.
(26:19):
Until next week, have a greatweek.
Show Voice (26:25):
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.
(26:46):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week 7717.
Ad Voice (26:56):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
This segment of Inside TravelTalk is sponsored by Star
Clippers.
For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
authentic tall ship sailingexperiences featuring creative
itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
Central America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(27:16):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
It is the weekend, which means it is time
to talk travel.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show
Coming up.
On today's show, mark and Iwill be talking about.
Airlines are changing how theyprice fares and it's raising
concerns.
Traveling to the GalapagosIslands, princess Cruise Lines
gets serious about Japan andcruising in and around Greece.
(00:22):
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastradio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that are
time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (00:44):
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
(01:09):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:15):
Hello, there, I am Patrick Wiscombe, alongside
Mark Faldmo.
He will be here in just amoment.
The entire purpose of thisradio show and podcast is to
help you plan and book your nextvacation, or we're just going
to give you ideas of where youwould like to vacation next, and
we are presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com and thank you for taking thetime to stop and listen.
(01:37):
And this week we are talkingabout airlines, kind of getting
into your business Plus.
We're going to travel to theGalapagos Islands.
Princess Cruise Lines isgetting serious about Japan.
They laid out their plans andwe're going to cruise in and
around Greece.
That's coming up on this editionof the Inside Travel Talk
(01:59):
podcast, a radio show, and ifyou are a podcaster and you
can't catch us live, just go toInsideTravelTalk.
com.
You can stream the show livethere, but we've also got links
to all of the major podcastplatforms if you just want to
subscribe.
And now it is time, let mebring in the owner of
BluePlanetVacations.
com, mark Faldmo.
(02:22):
How was your week?
I haven't even talked to youall week had a good week.
Mark Faldmo (02:25):
It's been busy and I'm just excited to talk travel
today.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:28):
Well, I know you've been busy when I send you
an email at four o'clock in themorning.
As I'm sitting here in theoffice and you respond to the
email at four o'clock in themorning, I was not expecting
that.
Mark Faldmo (02:40):
Yeah, yeah, I've had some fun projects working on
.
I'm going out tomorrow toTennessee, taking a big group to
Memphis and to Nashville to gosee the history and the music
sites back there, going to the.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:55):
Grand Ole Opry , which I'm excited for.
I know that you're married, butyou can pass this on to someone
who is single, who is inMemphis.
You go up to a girl and you sayare you from Memphis?
Because you're the only 10 Isee.
Let's get to the travel newsheadlines.
You and I are big fans of rail,and so let's start with Grand
Canyon Railway and Hotel.
(03:17):
Are they celebrating their 25thanniversary and they're going
to have the Polar Expressspecial?
Mark Faldmo (03:22):
prize.
Yeah, so it's their 25thanniversary.
Actually, when I was in theGrand Canyon a few weeks ago,
saw the train pull up.
I love trains.
I wish I would have journeyedto the Grand Canyon on the Grand
Canyon railway.
But as part of their 25thanniversary they do the Polar
Express every year, but theyhave some special pricing.
So this runs from the firstweek of November until December
(03:46):
30th.
It's a 90-minute round tripfrom Williams Arizona that
starts at $62 a person.
Weekends are a little bithigher and they do have a
special Christmas Eve trainthat's more expensive than that.
But you can also buy this witha package.
So they have a train and hotelpackage where the hotel portion
(04:07):
starts at $125 a night andincludes breakfast and dinner,
and then you put your train ontop of that.
So it's a pretty good deal.
And Williams Arizona has kept alot of it has and it's kept a
lot of its Route 66 history.
So you go there and there's theold fashioned diners.
It's just a nice little town tovisit.
Those cafes have the best food,anyway they do Again.
(04:31):
It's a 90 minute train ride,round trip and then you stop at
Santa's village.
So there's time to get off tomeet Santa and his reindeer
along the way.
Kids will love that?
Patrick Wiscombe (04:41):
Yeah, this is probably the main story of the
week.
Airlines pricing plans areraising concerns.
This is why you should use atravel agent right here and I
realize that we're doing theshow and we want you to book
your travel through us but thisis a legitimate concern.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (05:00):
A few years ago, airlines started looking at
their customer profiles.
So if you were logged intotheir websites and they knew who
you were, they looked at yourtravel history and you know, for
instance, if you took abusiness trip and your company
paid for first class and you goto book your personal trip, they
said, oh, he booked a firstclass and so they might only
(05:21):
offer you premium fares.
But a few weeks ago, unitedtheir recent investor call said
they were deploying an AIpricing tool and they want that
pricing tool to develop pricingfor 20% of their domestic fares.
A lot of people came out andsaid they're going in and
scrubbing the Internet with AIon all of their customers and
(05:43):
offering them higher fares,which Delta specifically said
they're not doing that.
They're using the AI to analyzefares and raise fares as needed
or lower fares as needed.
This has created quite a stir inthe travel industry because
that airline has lots of data onyou and they can raise the
(06:03):
fares as needed based on thedata.
So, as you said, that is areason to book through a travel
advisor.
Right now at least all of oursystems they don't know who the
actual customer is, and sotravel agents are getting better
fares in some cases on airlinetickets and if you go through
that, where it has the AIdigging through your purchase
(06:25):
history of fares and raisingprices, Look at the fares online
and Mark really doesn't makeany money on airfare at all.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:33):
You might as well just save yourself the
money and book it through him.
I mean, obviously, take a lookat the fare and compare the
price that you're getting onlineto the price that Mark has
given you, and you'll probablyend up saving at least something
.
Mark Faldmo (06:46):
And then when you package that with a hotel, which
is where I then do get paid bythe airline to book the seats,
if you package it together,those are set contracted fares,
usually based on a 12 monthcontract, and so I know that's
always going to be my fare andit's not going to be as long as
there are seats available.
That pricing system is notgoing to be my fare and it's not
going to be as long as thereare seats available.
That pricing system is notgoing to raise the fare on me
(07:08):
because it is a contracted bulkfare.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:11):
I saw this story that guided tours are
gaining popularity with Gen X.
Mark Faldmo (07:17):
In travel.
It really is all about thedifferent generations because it
probably is in any salesbusiness different purchase
patterns.
But Gen X, which is mygeneration and your generation
kind of, have always been thatindependent, you know, kind of
do it.
Our own generation and 10 yearsago that was kind of the big
(07:39):
Gen Xers were a harder sale fora travel advisor.
But now they're turning totravel advisors and turning to
escorted and hosted tours.
They just want it done for them.
Some of them are approachingthat retirement age.
A lot of travel brands, likeGlobus, which is one we talk
about they've had a hugeincrease, you know, almost 30%
(08:03):
increase in Generation Xpurchases on their tours.
I've always been a fan of thesetours.
We've talked about Globusseveral times on this.
We had TJ on that talked aboutGlobus.
I love having everything donefor me, having a guide with me,
the whole time and getting thatinsight.
It's just such an easy way totravel and I think you get more
(08:27):
on these tours than you getdoing it on your own.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:30):
Frequently.
You get special access.
You basically cut the line.
Mark Faldmo (08:35):
Yes, yeah, another tour company called Talk Tours.
They're developing tours forjust people in their 40s and 50s
, so they're going right forthose Gen Xers.
What tour was that?
Tauck, it's called Tauck.
Yeah, how do you spell that?
T-a-u-c-k?
Oh, okay, they're more of aluxury provider.
I've sent several clients onTauck tours and they love them.
(08:58):
I'm partial to Globus, butTauck is probably a step up in
luxury from Globus.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:05):
A little bit earlier this week we were able
to get a parking discount.
If you need to head to the SaltLake International Airport and
if you park at Park and Jet, wehave a special discount that we
just want to mention quickly.
Mark Faldmo (09:18):
For our customers in the Salt Lake City area, blue
Planet Vacations has negotiateda 20% parking discount at Park
and Jet.
So if you just go toblueplanetvacations.
com, down in the bottom footerthere's a Park Jet logo.
If you click there it'll takeyou to all the details to get
that 20% discount at Park Jet atthe Salt Lake City Airport.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:39):
We want you to be part of the show.
So if you have travel-relatedquestions, call or text your
question to 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And during the week we receiveda.
Was this a call?
I think it was a call.
It was a call, yeah, fromJanine saying that she wanted to
(10:00):
go to the Galapagos Islands,and what are my options?
So it's kind of a broadquestion.
Where do you want to start withthis?
Mark Faldmo (10:08):
one.
There are two main options toget to the Galapagos.
The first one, and probablywhat most people do, are the
expedition cruises.
HX goes there, CelebrityExpeditions goes there.
There are several expeditionships that go there and into the
Galapagos Islands.
The other way to do it there'sa company I work with that owns
(10:30):
some lodges and hotels on theislands and what they do is you
buy their packages and you caneither kind of base camp out of
one main lodge and then take daytrips out to the different
islands, or you can kind of sailaround during the daytime and
spend your nights in hotels thatare on these islands and since
(10:52):
it's a protected area, there'snot a lot of development there.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:56):
Well, that's why I was surprised when you
said hotels.
Mark Faldmo (10:59):
A lot of these were just grandfathered in before
they really started protectingthe Galapagos.
And I like that because you'rewith smaller groups.
These are generally catamaransheld between 15 and 30 people,
so you really get to visit theseislands with smaller groups,
even though expedition cruisesare relatively small they're 200
(11:20):
to 400 people in size.
These smaller groups are better, I think, doing it where you
kind of have the land-basedGalapagos, you do get a lot more
interaction with the localsthat live there, something that
I like to do.
I like that interaction withlocals, going into the markets
that they have or just visitingwith the locals.
(11:41):
Either way is a good way to seethe Galapagos.
How you get to the Galapagos isyou fly into Quito, Ecuador,
and then from there you fly overto the main island in the
Galapagos and that's whereyou'll either check into that
first hotel or board yourexpedition cruise ship.
I recommend spending a few daysin Quito oh yeah, before or
(12:05):
after.
It's a really culturally richcity or after it's a really
culturally rich city and thenyou can even do some things, get
up into the Amazon rainforestand you'll get some really
interesting things there in.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:16):
Quito.
I actually have a friend inQuito.
I've not seen him for a longtime, but I was surprised how
sneaky good Quito was.
Mark Faldmo (12:24):
Yes, Also that kind of gateway to the Galapagos and
probably if you look at mostpeople's travel bucket list,
it's probably on 85 or 90% ofeveryone's bucket list.
Either one of these ways is agood way to see it.
I prefer the land way.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:43):
Janine, if you have follow-up questions, you
probably will Call Mark in hisoffice during the break or
whenever you hear this If you'relistening to it on the podcast.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(13:03):
And he'll also put this onblueplanetvacations.
com Coming up.
It is time.
It is time.
It is time for the infamousJust Cruising segment, where
it's only about the cruise newsand it's only about cruise deals
.
This week we're talking aboutAmaW aterways.
Princess Cruises is gettingserious about their largest ever
(13:23):
Japan deployment, starting in2027.
And, of course, we'll have thecruise deal of the week where we
will be cruising in and aroundthe Greek Isles.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show, continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, I amPatrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be back in about 60seconds.
(13:45):
Stay right there.
Show Voice (13:49):
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.
(14:10):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (14:16):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Anna.
Waterways, from castles andcapitals to vistas and villages
visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities To
set out on your own river cruisejourney.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (14:42):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byblueplanetvacations.
com.
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.
(15:03):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:32):
Ahoy, mateys, Ahoy, mateys, Ahoy.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, I amPatrick Wiscombe Coming up in
this segment of the show.
It is the portion of the showthat has made us famous around
the country and around the worldwhere we only talk about the
(15:52):
cruise news and the cruise newsheadlines.
And this week we've got thecruise deal of the week, which
is going to be cruising in andaround the Greek Isles.
We'll get to that here in justa second.
But let's first get to thecruise news headlines.
And I saw the story Mark, thatAma Waterways co-founder says
smaller, charter only shipscould be on the way.
Mark Faldmo (16:14):
There's actually two different topics.
One just popped up in my inboxthat I'm going to add to this.
Ama Waterways introduced theAma Magna, and then the upcoming
Ama Rudy, which I call themdouble wide's, so they're double
the size of the average cruiseship.
They can only go on the DanubeRiver because of the bridge
restrictions and all of that.
(16:35):
But now they're going in theopposite direction.
They're building smaller,charter only ships for private
river cruises.
I've read a few things thatsome of these could be as small
as 12 people on board, so afamily could just take a private
river cruise if they wanted andit'll be just like a regular
(16:57):
river cruise where you'll havethe stops and your meals and
your servers and your tours.
They've really seen kind oftheir group business really
explode and so they said why notmake ships that are tailored
just for these groups so theycan just buy out a whole ship
and make them smaller?
And on a related note this isthe story that just popped in as
we were talking about AmaWaterways They've just put in an
(17:19):
order for eight more ships tosail in Europe, so by 2030, and
then they already have severalships that are scheduled to
arrive in 26 and 27.
Then they already have severalships that are scheduled to
arrive in 26 and 27.
Currently, AMA has 27 ships, 23of which sail in Europe.
They plan to have a globalfleet of over 40 ships by the
(17:41):
end of 2030.
I think the river cruise is thebest way to see Europe,
followed closely by a Globustour by a land tour, but you
know the river cruise, where youget your meals, your activities
, your accommodations, it's justa great way to see that you can
come back and have a place torelax at night.
(18:01):
River cruise is, in my opinion,the best way to see.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:04):
Europe Princess Cruise Lines has
unveiled, or is unveiling, theirlargest ever deployment for
Japan, for 2027.
You know, that's a part of theworld that you really don't
think of cruising.
Mark Faldmo (18:18):
I've always struggled to sell Japan cruises,
oh really.
Because I've not been.
Like you said, you don't thinkof it as a cruise destination.
One of my agents, Julie, justgot back from a Japan cruise
with her family and said it'sprobably her favorite cruise
that she's ever taken.
Princess is going to have twoships in Japan in 2027 for
(18:42):
longer seasons than they've hadbefore, so they'll have a total
of 78 departures and 50different itineraries ranging
from seven to 28 days, and theyhave 45 different destinations
and six countries from theirJapan-based cruises.
The more I think about it, Ithink a cruise is a great way to
(19:04):
see Japan.
Japan has been it's on kind ofthe hot list right now.
It's in the probably the secondor third most searched vacation
destination over the past 12months and I think a cruise
would be a good way.
It does help alleviate some ofthe language barriers that you
might have if you're doing aland-based tour there and you do
(19:27):
get to see everything thatJapan has to offer store there
and you do get to see everythingthat Japan has to offer.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:33):
A little bit earlier this week we received
was this a call?
This was also a call fromBarbara.
It was also a call.
Yep, and if you want to get intouch with the show and you have
travel related questions,whether we're on the air or it's
during the week when we're noton the air, call or text
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
Those texts come to you, dothey not?
They do they come right to me.
(19:55):
Barbara's question is I want togo on a Greek Isles cruise, but
I don't want to be on a bigship or a big cruise line.
Is that even possible?
Is her questions there?
Mark Faldmo (20:06):
are two options that come to mind for me.
One is called Celestial CruiseLine.
They're smaller ships that sailaround the Greek Isles.
They have two ships and theyboth hold about 1200 people.
They specialize in the GreekIsles and Eastern Mediterranean.
That's all they sail.
Their ships are based yearround in Athens.
(20:28):
They really immerse you in theculture of Greece and they spend
more port time compared toother cruise lines.
They really try and get thatauthentic local experience.
They really have lots ofdifferent itineraries.
They have the shorter cruises,from three and four nights, as
well as longer cruises of sevento 14 nights, depending on which
(20:52):
options you want.
Their fares include all meals,drinks, gratuities, wi-fi and
shore excursions.
This is Celestial.
So this is Celestial.
Yeah, so it's.
Everything is included.
Right now for Celestial, theyhave save up to 50% off on 26
and 27 cruises, anything fornext year or the following year.
(21:14):
And I want to highlight one oftheir itineraries.
I think this would be perfect ifyou're looking to explore the
Greek Isles.
It's seven nights, seven portsand two countries.
It leaves from Athens.
You go and spend a full day inKousadasi in Turkey, which is
where you can get to Ephesus,which is a fantastic place, and
(21:35):
then you can also get yourTurkish delight there in that
port, and I came back with asuitcase full of Turkish delight
from Kousadasi.
I enjoy that, I know, yeah.
And then down there you go toRhodes, greece, spend a full day
there, a full day on the islandof Crete, a full day in
(21:57):
Santorini, a full day in Mykonos, a full day in Mylos, and then
back to Athens.
That cruise starts at $8.59 perperson for an inside or $17.69
for a balcony.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:14):
That's a lot of ports in seven days.
Mark Faldmo (22:17):
It gets them packed in and again, they really want
you to see Greece.
Another itinerary, just quickly, that I like.
This one actually starts at$100 less, but I like it because
of where it goes.
It's called Heavenly Greece andItaly and Croatia, so that one
(22:37):
goes from Athens, goes toCataclon in Greece, Cephalonia,
and then goes to Corfu I loveCorfu and then it goes to
Dubrovnik in Croatia, Kotor inMontenegro and then Bari, which
is in the hill of the boot ofItaly, and then back to Athens.
(22:59):
Really incorporate a lot ofGreece in.
But you can go to Italy, Turkeyand some of those Aegean Sea
countries.
We've talked about Globus a fewtimes.
They have a lot of Greece toursthat do a land portion but then
you can add on a three or fournight cruise and that's all
using Celestial Cruises.
They do partner with other tourcompanies to get that cruise
(23:22):
aspect in Greece.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:24):
What about a clipper ship?
What do you recommend there?
Yeah Well, do you?
Mark Faldmo (23:29):
I do and you know Star Clippers and we've talked
about Star Clippers severaltimes on the show.
One of my favorite cruiseexperiences, you know to be on a
smaller ship that's three to400 people and then just sailing
through wherever you're sailing, but in this case, the Greek
Isles.
It's just a great way to seethe destinations.
(23:50):
Right now, star Clippers hassave up to 65%.
Oh wow, this is a really uniqueproduct, so it's more expensive
than Celestial.
Their fair started at about$2,000 a person on up to sail
through the Greek Isles.
One itinerary that I really likefrom them is leave from Athens,
(24:12):
go to Hydra, Santorini, Rhodes,and then it has Bodrum, which
is in Turkey, and Dillon River,which is in Turkey as well, and
then they have kind of thenorthern Greek isles where it
goes up almost to Istanbul.
Another good way if you'relooking for a smaller ship
(24:34):
experience in Greece and stillrelatively affordable, you know,
not going to the smaller luxuryor even expedition ships that
do these on occasion.
These are two great options tosell the Greek Isles on a
smaller ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:52):
Barbara, it sounds like we have got the
answer for you.
Call Mark in his office as soonas we get off the air so you
can get the information.
Obviously you're going to havesome additional questions no
obligation, of course.
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(25:12):
And he'll also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com.
And take advantage of thetravel deal of the week.
Get down to the GalapagosIslands as well.
You can listen to the show againtomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11
am, right here on the veryradio station that you're
listening to right now at 11 am,local time around the country.
(25:37):
But if you can't listen to uslive, you can stream, download
and subscribe to the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
We're on all of the majorpodcast platforms and you can
also just stream the show rightthere.
So if you're in the office,also just stream the show right
there.
So if you're in the office,just stream it on your computer.
It is now your turn our job isdone to get out and explore the
(25:59):
world while you can, because younever know what Curveball's
life is going to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally.
That's what we say around here,and a sincere thank you for
listening.
Really, we don't have a showwithout you.
We don't have a businesswithout you.
We don't have anything withoutyou.
So thank you for allowing us tobe part of your weekend.
(26:19):
Until next week, have a greatweek.
Show Voice (26:25):
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.
(26:46):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week 7717.
Ad Voice (26:56):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
This segment of Inside TravelTalk is sponsored by Star
Clippers.
For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
authentic tall ship sailingexperiences featuring creative
itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
Central America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(27:16):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
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