May 31, 2025 • 52 mins
Royal Caribbean's strategic expansion on the West Coast marks a significant shift in cruise accessibility for Western travelers. With Ovation of the Seas joining the Los Angeles fleet, passengers now have unprecedented options for Mexican Riviera explorations without trekking to Florida ports. Mark broadcasts directly from LA, preparing to board this celebrated vessel and sharing firsthand insights on what travelers can expect.
Normandy's D-Day landing beaches emerge as our destination highlight, offering a profound journey through pivotal moments in world history. Whether exploring via river cruise from Paris, joining specialized tours with historical experts, or creating a custom itinerary based in charming Bayeux, these sacred sites deliver experiences that transcend typical tourism. The American Cemetery, in particular, provides a deeply moving tribute that every American should witness firsthand.
Hawaii's enduring appeal gets a fresh perspective as we explore three distinct ways to experience the islands by sea. Current pricing reveals surprising value, with packages from Salt Lake City starting at just $999 including airfare. The insider breakdown of round-trip voyages from California, Norwegian's unique inter-island cruising aboard Pride of America, and luxury repositioning journeys to Tahiti via Hawaii offers something for every style of traveler.
Royal Caribbean's "Perfect Day Mexico" development promises to revolutionize private cruise destinations with record-breaking attractions including the Americas' tallest water slide and the world's longest lazy river. Meanwhile, Delta's fare rebrand creates new terminology without substantially changing their service offerings.
Whether seeking cultural immersion, historical significance, tropical relaxation, or maritime adventure, this episode delivers actionable insights for your next journey. Discover these opportunities while prices remain favorable by calling 888-718-7717 or visiting Blue Planet Vacations online.
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 Royal Caribbean
adding a second ship to the WestCoast called Ovation of the
Seas.
Delta is introducing all newfares and products, d-day trips
and three ways to cruise Hawaii.
Let's start the show.
(00:20):
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 (00:42):
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 (01:17):
We hope you are having an absolute terrific
weekend.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
The entire purpose of thisradio show and podcast is to
help you plan and book your nextvacation, and if you have no
idea where to go, then we'regoing to give you some ideas of
(01:39):
where you should consider next.
And we are presented proudlypresented by by
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Thank you for taking the timeTo stop and listen.
Coming up in this episode ofthe show, mark is in Los Angeles
and he is broadcasting from LosAngeles.
Right now he's getting ready toboard Royal Caribbean's Ovation
(02:01):
of the Seas.
We'll also be talking aboutDelta introducing all new fares
and products and, I think,something that every American
should do D-Day.
We'll talk about how to getthere and we'll also talk about
three ways to cruise to Hawaii.
But let's bring in the co-hostof this award-nominated show.
(02:23):
It is.
Mark Faldmo (02:24):
It's a good show.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:25):
A good show.
Mark is in LA right now gettingready to board Ovation of the
Seas.
And how are things in LosAngeles this morning?
Things are good in Los Angeles.
Mark Faldmo (02:34):
Where are you staying down there?
Patrick Wiscombe (02:35):
And what have you been doing for the past few
days?
Mark Faldmo (02:37):
Heather and I came down, went to some baseball
games.
We went to a Padres game.
Show Voice (02:42):
Oh, you went to San Diego.
I drove down to San Diego.
Mark Faldmo (02:44):
And then we drove back up and last night we were
at the Yankees-Dodgers game.
Then in a few hours we areheaded out to board the ship
Ovation of the Seas.
This is a celebration.
It's not a new ship, but it'san invite-only event to
celebrate Royal Caribbean addinga second ship to the West Coast
.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:04):
Okay, so this is the ad that we've been
running for basically six months.
Mark Faldmo (03:08):
Yes, so now they have two ships doing three, four
, six and seven-day cruises fromLos Angeles area.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:22):
Let's get to the travel news headlines.
Delta said that they'reintroducing all new fares and
products New fares I get.
I guess that will includedifferent levels of service.
Mark Faldmo (03:27):
Yeah, this is interesting because there really
is not a change in how theyoperate.
They've just rebranded this, sonow they have five different
products.
They have Delta Main, DeltaComfort, Delta First, Delta
Premium Select and Delta One.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:47):
Oh boy, okay, now I've flown Delta One.
That was delightful going overto Hawaii.
Mark Faldmo (03:52):
Yes, I love Delta One.
Some people might hear that andsay, well, what happened to
Basic Economy?
No, they are not doing awaywith Basic Economy, they've just
added it as a product withinDelta Main.
So now you have Main Basic,main classic and main extra to
choose from.
So main basic is what we wouldhave called economy, basic
(04:15):
economy, which is it's the same.
You can't cancel it.
It's a user to lose a ticket,no sky miles, not eligible for
upgrades and no seat assignments.
And then they have Main Classic, which is Main Cabin, and then
they have Main Extra, which ifyou've purchased a Delta ticket,
if you go right now, it justsays Main Refundable.
(04:36):
So it's the same products, justrenamed.
And then they've added theExtra, that refundable category,
to all of those five differentproducts.
So now you'll have firstclassic and first extra Delta
One, delta One Extra.
So they've added fullyrefundable, which if you buy
that extra category, it gets youextra SkyMiles as well.
(05:00):
You get two extra SkyMiles perdollar spent.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:04):
So it's a rebrand.
Mark Faldmo (05:05):
It's a rebrand, basically yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:08):
I would say that Delta is becoming a premium
airline.
Is that fair to say?
Mark Faldmo (05:12):
Yes, they are, and they're really trying to push
people towards those higherfares, the extra fares.
I still don't know if it'sworth buying the refundable
fares, because you still get aflight credit for the future,
but I guess there are somecircumstances where you would
want a fully refundable ticketand then also, if you really
like those upgrades where that'sthe tiebreaker, it might be
(05:32):
worth to have that tiebreaker.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:35):
SeaLife Florida welcomes its first
marine animals at Legoland aheadof their June 6th opening.
I don't know that I've everheard of Sea Life Florida, but I
guess it's part of Legoland.
Mark Faldmo (05:47):
Yeah, it's part of a brand new section of Legoland
in Florida, and Legoland is alittle bit south and kind of in
between Orlando and Tampa whereLegoland is.
So they've added this new SeaLife Florida which opens on June
6th next week.
Probably not as grand asSeaWorld has, so they'll have
(06:09):
more than 25 interactiveexhibits, including stingray bay
rock pools, and then they have10 underwater themed galleries.
It's officially a conservationpark and so they are working to
rebuild sea life and study howsea life works in different
exhibits and differentconditions.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:30):
So this is basically SeaWorld at Legoland.
Mark Faldmo (06:33):
At Legoland, correct?
Patrick Wiscombe (06:35):
Yeah, Explora Journeys will be scheduling its
first Alaska season.
Mark Faldmo (06:41):
That's actually owned by MSC oh, that's right,
cruise lines.
And so first, a lot of peopleprobably have not heard about
Explorer Journeys, so here's alittle overview of Explorer.
It's a luxury cruise experience.
They kind of frame themselvesas an ultra luxury cruise
focusing on intimate, immersivevoyages.
(07:01):
They're boutique style ships.
They're smaller.
They really try and get thatpersonalized service Destination
wise.
They don't have set itineraries, although it looks like this
Alaska will be a set itinerary.
Right now they only have oneship sailing.
Their second ship comes outthis year.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:19):
Oh, is this the Explorer and Explorer 2?
Yes, okay, so it's that line.
Is this the Explora and Explora2?
Mark Faldmo (07:25):
Yes, okay, so it's that line and this ship will
actually be the Explora 3 whenit sells to Alaska, and they've
also announced an Explora 4.
And it's all-inclusive service,so the pricing includes dining,
drinks, excursions, wellnessactivities.
So it's kind of a seamlesstravel experience.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:44):
Okay, so what you pay?
You just get everything.
Mark Faldmo (07:46):
Correct.
Yeah, and so they areintroducing.
So this is not until 2027, butthey are up for sale now and
they are North and Southbound.
Alaska cruises betweenVancouver and Seward Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:00):
Have you ever been on Explorer?
Mark Faldmo (08:02):
I have not been on Explorer.
They are such a new cruise lineThey've been sailing for about
two years now so I have not hadthe chance.
I did talk to Explorer Journeysthis past week at a convention
I was at and they actually havepretty good prices for being in
that ultra luxury small shipcategory.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:21):
Well, that's kind of the niche that MSC is.
You and I were on World Americain April and you would think
that with these big, giganticships, icon of the seas-esque
size ships, that they wouldcharge a premium.
But they really don't.
You will literally pay two andthree times on Royal Caribbean
what you'll pay on MSC.
Yeah, so they're followingExplorer, that is, they are
(08:44):
following that exact same model,sounds like.
Mark Faldmo (08:46):
Yes, yeah, they are .
So I do know several peoplethat have been on Explorer and
say it's just a wonderfulexperience.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:54):
Memorial Day was this past Monday.
Always in this first segment,we have the destination of the
week, which is Normandy, and, ofcourse, d-day this will be
something that Nikki and I willbe doing for sure Going to visit
Normandy and, of course, d-daythis will be something that
Nikki and I will be doing forsure.
Mark Faldmo (09:06):
Going to visit Normandy and the landing beaches
of D-Day.
I think every American shouldvisit, go to the American
cemetery.
It's such a special experienceto go, hear those stories and
see where that happened.
So we're coming up on it'll be81 years ago this week, so June
6th 1944, when D-Day happened,and so I've actually had several
(09:31):
people this past few monthsthat have asked about D-Day
tours and how to see Normandy.
This is a good time to bring uphow you can get to Normandy and
see that D-Day history.
Bring up how you can get toNormandy and see that D-Day
history.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:43):
Referring to sports and let me just take a
slight left turn here we alwaystalk about must-win situations
in sports.
You know Game 7, it's amust-win, blah, blah, blah when
it comes to the shaping of thiswonderful plan that we are on.
Normandy was a must-win foreverybody.
That's why it's so incredible.
(10:04):
What's the best way to go see?
I would call it a sacred site,yeah.
Mark Faldmo (10:09):
So there are kind of three ways to do this.
The first is a river cruise.
Most cruise lines have a reallygood Landing Beaches of Norway
program from Paris Right now.
We've talked about this thelast few weeks Avalon Waterways
has a free airfare to Europe onselect sailings.
So you could has several toursthat do that northern France
(10:46):
D-Day area.
They also have a special $799airfare to Europe or save up to
$1,000 per trip.
How I would recommend doing itis doing a custom private tour.
This is how I've sent severalof my customers the past few
months to see Normandy.
What I would do is fly intoParis, spend two or three days
(11:12):
in the Paris area seeing thesights there and then taking the
train or arrange a private carand go up to a city called Bayou
.
And this is a historic town.
It has an old world, historiccity center.
It's compared to more of avillage than a city.
You know, it's just that kindof setting that you're in.
(11:32):
And the reason why I say go toBayou is because it escaped much
of the destruction thatsurrounding cities had in World
War II.
So it still has its oldcathedral, it still has all of
the old world charm, whereas alot of those cities have been
rebuilt after World War II.
It also has a UNESCO listedtapestry that's still there from
(11:58):
the 11th century.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:00):
Wow.
Mark Faldmo (12:00):
It's a really good launching place to go see
Normandy.
Actually, in the city thatwe've talked about there's the
Tapestry Museum, the Cathedral,the Old City Center, which has a
mill and half-timbered homes,so it's really kind of a
charming little city.
Oh yeah, but from there you cantake and I have good company
(12:21):
that I work with that takes youon private tours out to the
landing beaches, and you caneven choose to go in the old
World War II Jeeps so you canhop in the Jeeps and your driver
guide will take you around tothe landing beaches.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:34):
I would do that.
Not that it's authentic, but itwould at least put you in the
right transportation mode.
Mark Faldmo (12:40):
You'd go see several of the landing beaches,
definitely go to the AmericanCemetery, which is probably my
favorite site.
To's an island During low tide?
It's not an island.
(13:07):
If you saw a picture of ityou'd probably recognize it.
It's a pretty iconic islandthere and it has a pretty
interesting link to World War II.
It was a German outpost andafter D-Day it was actually
liberated by one soldier and tworeporters.
The Germans were on such alosing streak, I guess, that one
(13:34):
soldier and two reporterswalked in and basically kicked
all the Germans out.
They fled when the three peoplewalked into Mont Saint-Michel
Pretty interesting World War IIhistory there.
And then, when you're done inBayeux, two to four days in
Bayeux and then you can go backto Paris for a night or two and
fly back.
Or you could continue on and goto London.
If you wanted to make a wholeWorld War II trip out of it, oh,
I would Go to London.
(13:55):
You can see the Churchill WarRooms.
Lots of World War IIinteresting things in London to
visit.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:01):
That sounds spectacular, and especially
coming off Memorial Day, whichwas last Monday or this past
Monday.
Yeah, go see it.
Nikki and I will be seeing it.
If you have any interest inpaying respects to those who
came before us in a trulymust-win situation, take the
(14:26):
time, call Mark in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
Ad Voice (14:56):
And our thanks to the men and women who served in
World War II.
We'll be back after thisCaribbean and central America to
book your unique star clippersailing adventure.
Show Voice (15:04):
Contact blue planet vacations at 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com now back to the insidetravel talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
(15:24):
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo dot com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:48):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show,alongside my very tan friend,
because he's also back from Fijibut presently in Los Angeles
ready to take off and go toMexico.
My word, you are living in thesun.
Yes, coming up in this segmentof the show it's always the hot
(16:11):
travel deal of the week.
This week we're going to Hawaii.
We're going to help you saveabout $250 on packages to get to
Hawaii.
But before we talk about thattravel deal of the week, let's
get back to the travel newsheadlines.
Alaska Airlines is planning anew long haul experience.
(16:32):
What are the details on that?
Mark Faldmo (16:34):
When Alaska Airlines purchased Hawaiian,
they had already agreed topurchase several 787
Dreamliner's, and so they'rejust trying to figure out what
to do with these 787s.
They just barely launched theirfirst long haul flight to Asia
a few weeks ago, and now, withthe 787, they really want to go
(16:55):
and compete with Delta, whichSeattle is a Delta hub as well
as Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:00):
I didn't know that.
Mark Faldmo (17:01):
Yeah, on these international routes, delta
actually in the Northwest mergerthat was Northwest Airlines hub
they're planning an all newpremium cabin, first class on
the 787s said it's going to bebetter than anything any airline
offers and so they are reallywanting to compete with Delta on
the international routes andthey'll have the plane to do it
(17:23):
now.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:24):
Those 787s are just unbelievable.
Mark Faldmo (17:26):
They're beautiful plan they're huge, although
looking at the comments of this,they said please put standard
window shades in them, becausethe 787 actually just has a
touch screen that dims it and itbreaks sometimes, and so some
seats.
You can't close the windowshade, so you know.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:45):
I'm a window shade open kind of guy but I
didn't realize that I was kindof in the minority.
I didn't realize how manypeople close the window shades,
even on takeoff and landing.
Mark Faldmo (17:56):
Yeah, I'm definitely a window shades
person open as well, although Ilook out all the time.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:01):
Yeah, you do.
Tickets for airlines are down4%, which is the biggest drop
since last year, June of 2024.
Mark Faldmo (18:10):
The third straight month of declines and the
largest decrease in the past 10months.
What this means for thevacation traveler is better
airfares.
Airlines really haven't startedreducing their flights yet, but
with more capacity, the lowerthe airfares are going to go.
Last week we talked aboutMexico.
(18:30):
This week we're going to talkabout Hawaii.
Some of those deals we talkedabout last week to Mexico
five-star hotels for five-nightpackages less than $1,000 a
person.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:40):
Yeah, that's incredible.
Mark Faldmo (18:42):
And a good part of that drop in the price was the
airfare, because airlines arejust finding those destinations
and really putting thoseairfares on sale to fill the
seats.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:53):
If you've never flown, now's a good time
because you're going to savemoney.
Mark Faldmo (18:57):
Yes, yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:58):
I'm a little bit surprised how many people
still have not flown just withinmy own family.
To you and I it's just commonhey, you know, let's just go
jump on an airplane.
But to a lot of my familymembers they've never flown and
I didn't know that.
Mark Faldmo (19:10):
I just assumed that they had, and that's one of the
purposes of the show to helpshow people that travel can be
affordable and get affordableways to do it.
A lot of people do think flyingis expensive and to certain
destinations it can be, butthere are times when you can
find a great deal and go out andexplore the world.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:27):
Go fly, totally worth it.
Mark Faldmo (19:29):
Yeah, there's going to be some really good flight
specials out there.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:33):
The cruise industry has reached a deal with
Mexico on a.
Is this the standard passengerfee?
That was fluctuating all overthe place?
Mark Faldmo (19:42):
Yeah, Mexico wanted to charge a new per-person head
fee for cruise passengers.
Okay, it was going to be like$40 to $50 per person per port
that they were charging Per port, per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:58):
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (19:59):
Yeah, and so they came to an agreement where that
passenger fee is going to be $5and it'll gradually increase
over the next few years butwon't reach that initial
proposed fee.
Thanks to the cruise lines forreally standing up for that,
because it really would havebeen a big burden on cruise
(20:19):
lines that visit Mexico.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:22):
Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week,
which is always in this segment, and we are talking about
Hawaii.
There are two vacations thateveryone can go on that will
always be successful.
Number one is Alaska, numbertwo is Hawaii.
The hot travel deal of the weekis to help our listeners save
up to $250 on packages to Hawaii.
What are the details Right now?
Mark Faldmo (20:44):
we have save up to $250.
This is from anywhere in thecountry, but I've chosen pricing
from Salt Lake City, sincethat's where most of our
listeners are listening.
Right now we're seeing theprices drop about $150 per
person to what they were a fewweeks ago.
And these are all for six days.
Five nights include airfarefrom Salt Lake City.
(21:06):
A five nights hotel Best pricesis on the Big Island, so fly
into Kona and that package pricestarts at $999 per person and
that is staying at the RoyalKona.
It's a three-star hotel but Ireally enjoy that hotel for the
location.
It's walking distance to lotsof shops and restaurants.
(21:29):
One of my favorite restaurantsin the area is their Great
Sunsets.
Just a good kind of basic hotel, but in a good location right
there in Kona.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:41):
Is that the hotel that's kind of on that
southwest corner of the island?
Mark Faldmo (21:44):
It is Okay.
The next best island price-wiseis Oahu.
Waikiki area Starts at $1,019per person, and I should say
these are for early Septemberdates.
So midweek travel, earlySeptember, and that starts at
the Outrigger Waikiki Paradise,which is a four-star hotel newly
renovated For those that havelistened to us for a long time,
(22:07):
it used to be the OutriggerWaikiki East Hotel.
They renovated it and rebrandedit.
It's in a great location, twoblocks off the beach, and then a
kawaii starts at $1,129 perperson and that is at the Hilton
Garden Inn Wailua Bay.
(22:28):
It's a three and a half starhotel right on the beach, though
Very good hotel for Kauai.
And then Maui starts at $1,169per person and that is at the
Royal Kahana Hotel.
Hawaii is a really good valueright now compared to what it
was even four weeks ago.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:49):
You can't go wrong with any of those islands.
Just choose where you want togo.
Probably the most popular isOahu.
If you want to guaranteeyourself a great vacation.
There's two places to go, as Imentioned at the beginning of
this segment Alaska and Hawaii.
You cannot go wrong going toany of those places.
(23:12):
Call Mark in his office to bookyour vacation, no obligation.
Call him in his office at888-718-7717.
888-718-7717,.
888-718-7717.
And he'll also put all of thisinformation on
blueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
At the bottom of the hour we'vegot the infamous Just Cruising
(23:35):
segment where it's only aboutthe cruise news and it is only
about promotions.
If you want to go on a cruise,that is next when the Inside
Travel Talk podcast radio showcontinues Alongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (23:56):
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.
(24:17):
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (24:39):
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.
Our oceanfront resorts areexclusively for adults and have
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Patrick Wiscombe (25:01):
Okay, we're back.
Welcome back to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes we willbe talking about Royal
Caribbean's brand new perfectday.
Mexico MSC Cruises is orderingtwo more world ships.
We'll give you the details and,if you don't have a passport,
we're going to tell you how tocruise without a passport.
(25:22):
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 (25:48):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
(26:10):
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Fulton
.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:29):
All aboard for the infamous Just Cruising
segment right here on the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show that is the beautiful shiphorn of Norwegian's Aqua, a ship
that Nikki and I were on abouta month ago.
A beautiful, truly beautifulship, and if you've ever been on
any cruise and the airconditioning hasn't worked, we
(26:52):
can confirm that Norwegian'sAqua, at least the balcony
stateroom that we were in.
It was as cold as we wanted theroom to be.
Mark Faldmo (27:00):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:01):
Man, it was cold in there.
We could dial it up.
We just prefer things a littlebit on the frigid side.
Yeah, oh, dude, me too.
That was a genuinely beautifulship.
I was so impressed with thatship Coming up.
In this segment of the show.
We will be talking about RoyalCaribbean's brand new under
construction Perfect Day Mexico,and we'll talk about MSC
(27:26):
Cruises ordering two more worldclass ships.
That's not world class, nothyphen, it's just world like
World, Europa, world America.
They're ordering two more worldships.
Let's get to the cruise newsheadlines.
In fact, let's just start withRoyal Caribbean's perfect day
Mexico.
Where is it?
Mark Faldmo (27:47):
It's on mainland Mexico, in the port of Mahual,
or Costa Maya.
Okay, costa Maya, but that'sgoing to set several world
records, including the tallestwater slide in North and South
America and the longest lazyriver in the world.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:02):
I didn't realize what a fan I am of lazy
rivers.
Mark Faldmo (28:05):
Wait until you hear about this one that I'll talk
about in just a moment.
Okay, and so this kind ofcontinues the trend.
Royal Caribbean has startedthese destinations the Perfect
Day Cocoa Cay, perfect DayMexico, and also their beach
club, and a new one that theyjust announced that we'll talk
about on another episode, whichis La Lepa, which is in the
South Pacific, on the island ofVanuatu.
(28:27):
Let's focus on the perfect day,Mexico.
The water park has the tallestwater slide in North and South
America.
It will have 30 water slidesacross five slide towers, the
highest one being 170 feet.
It'll take more than two minutesto complete.
(28:48):
That is so long it is, yeah.
And then they have anotherwater slide that's a family raft
designed for four to six peopleto ride at one time going down
the water slide.
So some pretty interestingwater park elements there.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:04):
Depending on the size of the individuals in
the raft it's going to take acurrent of water to push people
along.
Mark Faldmo (29:13):
Yeah, so moving on to their next area is Splash
Cove.
It'll be the world's longestlazy river.
It will take over an hour tofloat the whole thing, if you
did it at one time.
Ad Voice (29:24):
An hour.
Mark Faldmo (29:25):
An hour to go all the way around the lazy river,
multiple entry and exit pointswith a whole bunch of float-up
bars along the way.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:34):
By the way, I didn't realize that I was a
float-up bar.
Mark Faldmo (29:37):
Float-up bar, swim-up bar, yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:39):
I had so many virgin pina coladas when we were
on vacation I was, like youknow, kind of like just swimming
up to the bar it was terrificin fact, I loved it so much that
I actually proposed it to ourhoa yeah, but I'm like hey, if
you want to make money, let'sjust do a swim up bar and
speaking of swim up bars in theSplash Cove they'll have a
(30:01):
massive 100,000 square foot pool, which is just one of 10 pools
in the complex at Perfect DayMexico.
This place is going to beenormous.
Is this for everybody or isthis kind of a cruise ship type
destination?
It's a cruise ship destination.
Mark Faldmo (30:17):
It'll be just for rural Caribbean guests, and they
also have El Hideaway, which isan adults-only section which
features a zero-entry pool.
I had to look up what that isand it's a pool with no stairs.
It just has a gradual slopelike a beach.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:33):
Yeah.
So when Nikki and I were inGrand Turk we went to
Margaritaville.
They had a zero entry pool andit was.
I didn't think it would be abig deal, but as you get a
little older it's kind of likeoh, all right, that's just a
nice little gradual ascent anddecent.
Mark Faldmo (30:49):
Slope in.
Yeah, I love it In this area.
They have a massive swim up barand an in-pool DJ.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:56):
We did that at Grand Bimini.
So Nikki and I were in themiddle of the pool at Bimini
Island.
We just started dancing in thepool and that brought a lot of
people in from the edges.
We must have just looked likefools, but I'm like we're never
going to see these people again.
Let's just have fun.
Mark Faldmo (31:12):
Yeah, and then kind of the last thing is for those
that just like to chill on thebeach.
They will have two differentbeaches.
They'll have a north and southbeach, so you can go just relax
on the beach with complimentarybeach loungers, umbrellas,
towels.
Another thing that's importantabout these destinations is food
.
They'll have 12 differentoptions, from sit-down to
(31:32):
grab-and-go eateries and buffets.
It'll have almost anything youwould want in kind of a private
destination.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:39):
This is going to be a huge success.
And kind of a privatedestination, this is going to be
a huge success.
If the private islands likePerfect Day at Coco Cay, msc's
private island Ocean Key,Norwegian's Great Stirrup Key,
this is going to be a huge hit.
Ad Voice (31:53):
This is going to be a destination.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:55):
people will just want to go to get on those
ships for that specific reasonand go have a great vacation.
Yeah, royal Caribbean in thatdestination will still go have a
great vacation.
Mark Faldmo (32:01):
Yeah, royal Caribbean in that destination
will still have the option ofdoing the tours.
You know there are some greatarchaeological sites from there
and great things to do fromCosta Maya, so you still will
have those options to go tothose things.
But you'll now have this wholeoption of the whole private
destination with a water park,beaches, dining options.
(32:22):
I think it'll be a perfectdestination to go to
Margaritaville.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:27):
Is this Margaritaville at sea?
Yeah, Margaritaville at sea isadding a third cruise ship in
2026, so they haveMargaritaville at sea paradise,
which we were on last year.
They have what's the one inTampa, Margaritaville at Sea,
islander, and so they've orderedanother one.
Mark Faldmo (32:48):
Yeah, they've ordered or purchasing another
one.
Like all of Margaritaville atSea ships, this is a former
Costa ship.
This third ship will be what isnow the Costa Fortuna, which
Margaritaville at Sea come intoin 2026.
It'll be their largest ship.
It'll carry up to 3,500passengers.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:10):
Wow, okay, so they're really making it bigger.
Yeah, they are.
Mark Faldmo (33:14):
Margaritaville has been on a pretty interesting
trajectory.
The last two years we were onthe Margaritaville at Sea
Paradise, which is a fairly oldship.
It used to just do basicallycasino cruises gambling cruises
would go between Palm Beach andGrand Bahama and then they
purchased that.
When it was rebrandedMargaritaville at sea, they
(33:37):
tried to make it more of acruise experience than a casino
experience On that two-daycruise that we did.
It's kind of hard to do that,but then they added the Islander
, which was doing three, fourand seven, and when they add
this new ship so they'll haveanywhere between two and 10-day
cruises.
It's not clear where this shipis going to Margaritaville at
Sea out of cruises.
(33:59):
It's not clear where this shipis going to sail out of.
Margaritaville as a brand is abrand that I really like.
You know, I like the hotelskind of like that laid back
luxury that they try and do.
Now.
They had a hard time doing iton the Paradise, but they've
really executed well on theIslander.
I'm sure they'll do a good jobon this new ship that they have.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:16):
Yeah, the Paradise.
You know Good burgers, oh, mygoodness, burger, how many
burgers did I have?
And burgers in Paradise, orwhatever it was called.
Mark Faldmo (34:29):
Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:30):
Oh my heavens, those were good.
Mark Faldmo (34:32):
You know, and that's one thing, they really
delivered on food.
Oh, they sure did.
I thought food onMargaritaville at Sea was
amazing, even though it was anolder ship.
Their food and entertainmentwas very good.
Show Voice (34:43):
Yeah, agreed.
Mark Faldmo (34:44):
What could be better than sitting out on a
deck listening to Jimmy Buffett?
Patrick Wiscombe (34:48):
Eating a cheeseburger Eating a
cheeseburger, yeah.
Oh, that was okay.
Yeah, I will hand it to him,which, by the way,
Margaritaville at Sea, atParadise, was going into dry
dock for renovations of memoryserves, didn't?
Mark Faldmo (35:01):
we talk about that a few weeks ago we did a few
weeks ago.
It's going to go in for majorrenovations.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:05):
Yeah, it needs it.
Mark Faldmo (35:07):
Yeah, and you know, when we sold it was only a few
months removed from being justthat casino shift where all
their guests cared about wasgoing to the casino and so so,
so they've they've really kindof rebranded that and changed
that.
It'll be very interesting tosee what happens with that brand
cruise brand going forward,agreed.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:28):
Let's get to the cruise deal of the week,
which is always in this segment,and this week we are going.
What are we doing?
Are we going to West coast,because that's where you are?
You're in Los Angeles right now.
What kind of repositioningcruises do we have for listeners
this week?
Mark Faldmo (35:45):
Well, we're going to Hawaii.
I had a customer, Whitney, whowants to cruise to Hawaii in
November, December and was justwondering what the options were.
There are three different waysyou can cruise to Hawaii.
One is round trip from the WestCoast.
Another is inter-island cruise,which, Norwegian, is the only
(36:07):
one that offers that.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:08):
Yeah, Pride of America.
Mark Faldmo (36:09):
Pride of America.
And then there arerepositioning cruises, and so I
just wanted to bring anitinerary up on each of these
ways to do that.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:19):
Let's start with the round trip West Coast.
Mark Faldmo (36:22):
So these are round trip Los Angeles A lot of people
that don't like to fly butstill want to see Hawaii.
This is a good option.
Now you do have to like days atsea for this, because you have
four days at sea getting toHawaii and four days at sea
getting back to Los Angeles.
Holland America Carnival andPrincess both do this round trip
(36:45):
Los Angeles to Hawaii, so Ichose a carnival 14-day carnival
cruise.
This leaves the end of November, so leave Los Angeles, spends a
full day in Maui, a full day inHonolulu, a full day in Kauai
and a full day in Hilo, and thencruises back to Los Angeles
(37:06):
with a stop which is a half dayin Ensenada, Because this ship
is not American built orAmerican crewed.
It has to have an internationalstop, so that stop is Ensenada,
Mexico, before returning to LosAngeles area.
So that's 14 days, 14 days, andit starts at $1688 per person
(37:27):
for an inside cabin or $3119 perperson for a balcony cabin.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:33):
Wow, that's a big difference between inside
and a balcony.
That's bigger than I thought itwas going to be.
Mark Faldmo (37:38):
Yeah, you know, on a cruise like this, I did look
at both Holland America andPrincess and it was about the
same.
Carnival did have the betterprices.
Probably the reason that jumpis because the balconies are in
demand on this.
Yeah, with that many days atsea, a lot of people just want
to sit on the balcony and read abook, not have to worry about
deck chairs around the pool.
And read a book, not have toworry about deck chairs around
the pool.
(37:58):
That's a good point.
With this many days at sea, Idefinitely would take a balcony
cab, yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:01):
If you can swing it, do it.
Mark Faldmo (38:03):
And then the next way to cruise.
Hawaii is just a seven-dayinner island on Norwegian's
Pride of America.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:11):
Both of us have been on that one.
Mark Faldmo (38:13):
Yeah, and then last week we talked about that ship
is going in for a fullrenovation.
I don't recall when that was.
If you want to see every islandin Hawaii, I think this is the
best way to see all of theislands of Hawaii.
Agreed, absolutely.
Now, when we talk about theprices, well, let's talk about
the prices and then we'll talkabout the itinerary.
(38:34):
An inside cabin on this startsat $2339 per person and a
balcony starts at $3855 perperson, and this was pretty much
for any date in November.
Now, compared to your typicalcruise, that is a little bit
higher.
But again, to see all of theislands in Hawaii.
If you were to fly around toall the islands and stay for a
(38:55):
night or two on each of theislands, you would pay way more
than this, and the cruise alsoincludes food and entertainment
along the way.
So it is a great way to seeHawaii.
But the one thing I like aboutthis is they do have overnights
in certain islands.
You leave Honolulu, you go toMaui and you overnight in Maui,
(39:15):
so you're there from 8 am to 6pm the next day.
It's almost two days yeah,almost two full days, in Maui
and then you go to Hilo, 8 am to6 pm, and then you go to Kona,
7 am to 5.30 pm.
So those are two differentports on the Big Island.
So you're basically getting twofull days on the big island and
(39:36):
then overnight in kawaii, 8 amto 5 30 pm, before heading back
to Honolulu.
So for a seven-day cruise, Ithink this particular cruise has
the most port time of anyseven-day cruise out there, so
you're in port more thananything there.
That was fun.
The third way to see hawaii ison a repositioning cruise.
(39:58):
Whitney specifically asked forNovember.
There are several cruises.
Norwegian has several cruisesthat do this In November.
I found an interesting 21-dayLos Angeles to Tahiti cruise on
Oceana.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:13):
That's NCL's luxury cruise ship.
Premium yeah, okay, premium,that's the premium.
That's NCL's luxury cruise ship.
Mark Faldmo (40:17):
Premium.
Yeah, okay, premium, that's thepremium, okay.
And so Oceana is known for finedining, luxurious comfort, and
destinations are what Oceanareally goes for.
Oceana is the cruise line thatreally kind of started
overnighting in destinations.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:32):
Oh.
Mark Faldmo (40:32):
I didn't know that.
They kind of come out as kindof like a country club, casual
type cruise line, as you knowkind of where they are, and they
also have medium sized shipswith anywhere between 700 and
1200 guests.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:46):
Okay, so small .
Mark Faldmo (40:47):
Small so they can get to a lot of ports.
This ship can get in to manyports in Tahiti where the big
ships can't get to Right First.
We'll just start in Los Angeleswith the itinerary Spends a day
in Honolulu, Kauai, Maui, Konaand Hilo.
Before heading off to Tahiti,it's overnights in Bora Bora.
(41:10):
7 am to 5 pm in Bora Bora Goesto Raiatea for a full day,
Huahenie for a full day,Huahenie for a full day and
Morea for a full day Wow.
Before heading to Papeete andovernighting in Papeete, some of
these islands like Raiatea isprobably one of my favorite
islands.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:30):
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (41:31):
In the French Polynesia.
There I just remember taking aspeedboat up a river.
They say it's where the kind ofHawaiians left before they went
to Hawaii, and so that's somefolklore there 21 day Los
Angeles to Tahiti on Oceana.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:50):
What are we talking about?
Price?
Mark Faldmo (41:51):
This cruise ship that does this does not have any
inside cabins, so outsiderocean view cabins start at $3185
and a balcony starts at $4290.
For 21 days that's a prettygood price?
Oh, it sure is, particularlybecause this is on a premium, a
higher end cruise line, thanyour typical cruise line.
Those ships are beautiful aswell.
(42:14):
They are yeah, they do a greatjob.
I've never sailed on Oceania,but I've eaten lunch on a few of
their ships before.
Really good food.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:24):
I didn't sail, but I ate, yes.
Yeah, that sounds amazing.
As I said at the very beginningof this segment and really the
end of that last segment, if youwant to have a terrific
vacation Hawaii, you just can'tgo wrong.
You've got the West Coast, theInter-Island and the
(42:45):
repositioning cruises.
Call Mark in his office at thebreak, just get the conversation
started, no obligation.
888-718-7717.
888-7 7, 7, 1, 7.
And he'll also post this onblue planet vacations dot com
(43:05):
when we come back.
We've got Mark's travel tipsand we'll wrap up.
We've got a frontier story thatyou will not want to miss.
We're talking about frontierairlines.
That is next when the insidetravel talk podcast and radio
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, livefrom Los Angeles, my name is
Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
(43:28):
We will be right back.
Show Voice (43:32):
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.
com.
We'll be right back.
(43:54):
We'll be right back.
(44:28):
718-7717 or blueplanetvacations.
com.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show with
Patrick Wiscombe and Mark 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 (45:01):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
Hello there, Thank you forallowing us to be part of your
weekend Coming up in this finalsegment of the show.
We've got Mark's travel tipsand, of course, the travel news
headlines, and we're also goingto get to.
I don't have a passport, but Iwant to take a cruise.
(45:24):
We're going to tell you how togo on a cruise without a
passport.
Let's get to the travel newsheadlines.
Here I saw this news storyabout a Frontier Airlines story
out of Los Angeles, which iswhere you are right now.
This news story about waitingfor a flight and the boarding
agent yelling at people.
Mark Faldmo (45:41):
This is actually something that Heather and I
experienced in Los Angeles andthen there actually was a news
story about it.
We were I don't know if it wasthe same flight, I can't
remember what we heard wasFrontier or Spirit.
This story in particular isFrontier.
The gate agent just made anannouncement and said no pushing
, we don't want anyone to gethurt because people are so
(46:02):
restless to get on the airplane.
So that's one thing.
These low cost carriers havekind of created, I would say an
angry passenger because everyonewants to get on, to get their
overhead space, get their seat.
They've kind of created asituation where people are not
cordial to each other, literally.
When Heather and I looked overwhen we saw a similar situation
(46:24):
to this, it was almost a boxingmatch over there because people
were so wanting to get on theairplane.
Just goes as a reminder makesure and treat your fellow
passengers kindly, treat yourgate agents kindly.
Hopefully you'll get to whereyou're going pleasantly.
If you choose to go on one ofthose more budget airlines, well
, that's another thing.
(46:44):
With airlines charging forchecked bags, people bring more
carry-ons, which makes thatoverhead bin space a little bit
harder to get.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:52):
We received a text question from Janice, which
, by the way, if you want to askyour travel related question,
just call us or text us whilewe're in the studio 801-649-3700
.
801-649-3700 is how Janice gota hold of us.
Her question is I don't have apassport but I want to take a
(47:16):
cruise.
I've seen the term closed loopcruise.
What does that mean, and do Ineed a passport to do a closed
loop cruise?
Let's just start with the firstpart.
What is a closed loop cruise?
Mark Faldmo (47:28):
A closed loop cruise is a cruise that starts
and ends in the same port.
So if you don't have a passport, generally speaking, if your
cruise starts and ends in thesame US port, like a Mexican
Riviera, Los Angeles to LosAngeles, or, in the Caribbean,
Miami to Miami, that is a closedloop cruise.
(47:49):
Now, technically, on most ofthose cruises, you do not need a
passport.
You just need your driver'slicense, an original
state-issued birth certificateor a certified copy of your
birth certificate.
However, that being said, Iwould still recommend that
everybody cruise with a passport.
Ad Voice (48:11):
Yes.
Mark Faldmo (48:12):
Just for safety reasons.
If, for some reason, you missthe ship and you're on an island
, you can't return home untilyou get a passport, so you'll
have to go through that processat destination or something
medically happens and you missthe ship, it's just good
practice to travel with apassport.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:33):
To that point.
When we were on MSC's WorldAmerica in April, we were in San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
There was a guest whoexperienced cardiac arrest.
Now how do I know that I endedup talking to the nurse who
actually I didn't know I wasgoing to talk to him.
We were just on MSC's privateisland Ocean Key at that very,
(48:54):
very north end of the island andI was just making conversation
hey, how you doing?
And then he said this is myfirst time on the island, I work
on the ship.
And he said he was a nurse andso I asked him about the
incident.
He didn't give away anyconfidential or private
information, he just said myquestion to him was did
something happen last night?
And he goes yeah, we had one ofour guests experience cardiac
(49:17):
arrest.
I didn't ask if he had apassport, but they did have to
get him off the ship.
We were two or three hours intothe journey.
They turned the ship around toget him to a hospital in Puerto
Rico.
Emergencies do happen.
We're not trying to scarepeople to get a passport.
We don't get money from this,it's just a good idea.
Mark Faldmo (49:35):
Yeah, it is, and you know also, more and more
islands, especially in theCaribbean, like Barbados and
Martinique, do require you tohave a passport.
Oh, they do If you cruise.
So even if you're on a closedloop, there are some
destinations.
Those countries are so small,someone was to miss the ship
there.
They don't have the facilitiesreally to help with passports
(49:58):
and things like that.
So some islands in theCaribbean do require you have a
passport, regardless of if it'sa closed loop or not.
So and that's just a recentthing, in the last year or so
that that's happened.
I recommend everybody cruisewith a passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:14):
And it makes getting off the ship faster too.
Yes, it does.
It's just a good idea to have apassport If you have any
questions on how to get apassport, if you have no idea
what you're doing.
That's why we're here.
Call Mark in his office888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(50:34):
And there is a resourcessection on blueplanetvacations.
com in the footer.
I think it's literally calledresources.
Is that right, mark?
Mark Faldmo (50:43):
It is resources and there's all sorts of links on
passport information and how-tos.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:49):
You can listen to the show again tomorrow
morning, Sunday, at 11 am, righthere on this radio station and
around the country, and you canstream, download and subscribe
to the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
If you're not a podcaster, youcan literally just stream the
show right on the website, butif you do like getting podcasts,
(51:09):
you can subscribe to the show.
We're on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
Well, now it's your turn to getout and explore the world while
you can, because you never knowwhat curveballs life is going
to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
Thank you so much for listening.
(51:29):
Really, we don't have abusiness, we don't have a show
without you.
Thank you.
We will talk to you next weekand we'll give you a report,
because Mark is going to becoming back from Mexico.
Have a great week.
Show Voice (51:46):
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.
Rick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo,presented by BluePlanetVacations
.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(52:07):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show Coming up.
On today's show we will betalking about Royal Caribbean
adding a second ship to the WestCoast called Ovation of the
Seas.
Delta is introducing all newfares and products, d-day trips
and three ways to cruise Hawaii.
Let's start the show.
(00:20):
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 (00:42):
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 (01:17):
We hope you are having an absolute terrific
weekend.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
The entire purpose of thisradio show and podcast is to
help you plan and book your nextvacation, and if you have no
idea where to go, then we'regoing to give you some ideas of
(01:39):
where you should consider next.
And we are presented proudlypresented by by
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Thank you for taking the timeTo stop and listen.
Coming up in this episode ofthe show, mark is in Los Angeles
and he is broadcasting from LosAngeles.
Right now he's getting ready toboard Royal Caribbean's Ovation
(02:01):
of the Seas.
We'll also be talking aboutDelta introducing all new fares
and products and, I think,something that every American
should do D-Day.
We'll talk about how to getthere and we'll also talk about
three ways to cruise to Hawaii.
But let's bring in the co-hostof this award-nominated show.
(02:23):
It is.
Mark Faldmo (02:24):
It's a good show.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:25):
A good show.
Mark is in LA right now gettingready to board Ovation of the
Seas.
And how are things in LosAngeles this morning?
Things are good in Los Angeles.
Mark Faldmo (02:34):
Where are you staying down there?
Patrick Wiscombe (02:35):
And what have you been doing for the past few
days?
Mark Faldmo (02:37):
Heather and I came down, went to some baseball
games.
We went to a Padres game.
Show Voice (02:42):
Oh, you went to San Diego.
I drove down to San Diego.
Mark Faldmo (02:44):
And then we drove back up and last night we were
at the Yankees-Dodgers game.
Then in a few hours we areheaded out to board the ship
Ovation of the Seas.
This is a celebration.
It's not a new ship, but it'san invite-only event to
celebrate Royal Caribbean addinga second ship to the West Coast
.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:04):
Okay, so this is the ad that we've been
running for basically six months.
Mark Faldmo (03:08):
Yes, so now they have two ships doing three, four
, six and seven-day cruises fromLos Angeles area.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:22):
Let's get to the travel news headlines.
Delta said that they'reintroducing all new fares and
products New fares I get.
I guess that will includedifferent levels of service.
Mark Faldmo (03:27):
Yeah, this is interesting because there really
is not a change in how theyoperate.
They've just rebranded this, sonow they have five different
products.
They have Delta Main, DeltaComfort, Delta First, Delta
Premium Select and Delta One.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:47):
Oh boy, okay, now I've flown Delta One.
That was delightful going overto Hawaii.
Mark Faldmo (03:52):
Yes, I love Delta One.
Some people might hear that andsay, well, what happened to
Basic Economy?
No, they are not doing awaywith Basic Economy, they've just
added it as a product withinDelta Main.
So now you have Main Basic,main classic and main extra to
choose from.
So main basic is what we wouldhave called economy, basic
(04:15):
economy, which is it's the same.
You can't cancel it.
It's a user to lose a ticket,no sky miles, not eligible for
upgrades and no seat assignments.
And then they have Main Classic, which is Main Cabin, and then
they have Main Extra, which ifyou've purchased a Delta ticket,
if you go right now, it justsays Main Refundable.
(04:36):
So it's the same products, justrenamed.
And then they've added theExtra, that refundable category,
to all of those five differentproducts.
So now you'll have firstclassic and first extra Delta
One, delta One Extra.
So they've added fullyrefundable, which if you buy
that extra category, it gets youextra SkyMiles as well.
(05:00):
You get two extra SkyMiles perdollar spent.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:04):
So it's a rebrand.
Mark Faldmo (05:05):
It's a rebrand, basically yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:08):
I would say that Delta is becoming a premium
airline.
Is that fair to say?
Mark Faldmo (05:12):
Yes, they are, and they're really trying to push
people towards those higherfares, the extra fares.
I still don't know if it'sworth buying the refundable
fares, because you still get aflight credit for the future,
but I guess there are somecircumstances where you would
want a fully refundable ticketand then also, if you really
like those upgrades where that'sthe tiebreaker, it might be
(05:32):
worth to have that tiebreaker.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:35):
SeaLife Florida welcomes its first
marine animals at Legoland aheadof their June 6th opening.
I don't know that I've everheard of Sea Life Florida, but I
guess it's part of Legoland.
Mark Faldmo (05:47):
Yeah, it's part of a brand new section of Legoland
in Florida, and Legoland is alittle bit south and kind of in
between Orlando and Tampa whereLegoland is.
So they've added this new SeaLife Florida which opens on June
6th next week.
Probably not as grand asSeaWorld has, so they'll have
(06:09):
more than 25 interactiveexhibits, including stingray bay
rock pools, and then they have10 underwater themed galleries.
It's officially a conservationpark and so they are working to
rebuild sea life and study howsea life works in different
exhibits and differentconditions.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:30):
So this is basically SeaWorld at Legoland.
Mark Faldmo (06:33):
At Legoland, correct?
Patrick Wiscombe (06:35):
Yeah, Explora Journeys will be scheduling its
first Alaska season.
Mark Faldmo (06:41):
That's actually owned by MSC oh, that's right,
cruise lines.
And so first, a lot of peopleprobably have not heard about
Explorer Journeys, so here's alittle overview of Explorer.
It's a luxury cruise experience.
They kind of frame themselvesas an ultra luxury cruise
focusing on intimate, immersivevoyages.
(07:01):
They're boutique style ships.
They're smaller.
They really try and get thatpersonalized service Destination
wise.
They don't have set itineraries, although it looks like this
Alaska will be a set itinerary.
Right now they only have oneship sailing.
Their second ship comes outthis year.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:19):
Oh, is this the Explorer and Explorer 2?
Yes, okay, so it's that line.
Is this the Explora and Explora2?
Mark Faldmo (07:25):
Yes, okay, so it's that line and this ship will
actually be the Explora 3 whenit sells to Alaska, and they've
also announced an Explora 4.
And it's all-inclusive service,so the pricing includes dining,
drinks, excursions, wellnessactivities.
So it's kind of a seamlesstravel experience.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:44):
Okay, so what you pay?
You just get everything.
Mark Faldmo (07:46):
Correct.
Yeah, and so they areintroducing.
So this is not until 2027, butthey are up for sale now and
they are North and Southbound.
Alaska cruises betweenVancouver and Seward Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:00):
Have you ever been on Explorer?
Mark Faldmo (08:02):
I have not been on Explorer.
They are such a new cruise lineThey've been sailing for about
two years now so I have not hadthe chance.
I did talk to Explorer Journeysthis past week at a convention
I was at and they actually havepretty good prices for being in
that ultra luxury small shipcategory.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:21):
Well, that's kind of the niche that MSC is.
You and I were on World Americain April and you would think
that with these big, giganticships, icon of the seas-esque
size ships, that they wouldcharge a premium.
But they really don't.
You will literally pay two andthree times on Royal Caribbean
what you'll pay on MSC.
Yeah, so they're followingExplorer, that is, they are
(08:44):
following that exact same model,sounds like.
Mark Faldmo (08:46):
Yes, yeah, they are .
So I do know several peoplethat have been on Explorer and
say it's just a wonderfulexperience.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:54):
Memorial Day was this past Monday.
Always in this first segment,we have the destination of the
week, which is Normandy, and, ofcourse, d-day this will be
something that Nikki and I willbe doing for sure Going to visit
Normandy and, of course, d-daythis will be something that
Nikki and I will be doing forsure.
Mark Faldmo (09:06):
Going to visit Normandy and the landing beaches
of D-Day.
I think every American shouldvisit, go to the American
cemetery.
It's such a special experienceto go, hear those stories and
see where that happened.
So we're coming up on it'll be81 years ago this week, so June
6th 1944, when D-Day happened,and so I've actually had several
(09:31):
people this past few monthsthat have asked about D-Day
tours and how to see Normandy.
This is a good time to bring uphow you can get to Normandy and
see that D-Day history.
Bring up how you can get toNormandy and see that D-Day
history.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:43):
Referring to sports and let me just take a
slight left turn here we alwaystalk about must-win situations
in sports.
You know Game 7, it's amust-win, blah, blah, blah when
it comes to the shaping of thiswonderful plan that we are on.
Normandy was a must-win foreverybody.
That's why it's so incredible.
(10:04):
What's the best way to go see?
I would call it a sacred site,yeah.
Mark Faldmo (10:09):
So there are kind of three ways to do this.
The first is a river cruise.
Most cruise lines have a reallygood Landing Beaches of Norway
program from Paris Right now.
We've talked about this thelast few weeks Avalon Waterways
has a free airfare to Europe onselect sailings.
So you could has several toursthat do that northern France
(10:46):
D-Day area.
They also have a special $799airfare to Europe or save up to
$1,000 per trip.
How I would recommend doing itis doing a custom private tour.
This is how I've sent severalof my customers the past few
months to see Normandy.
What I would do is fly intoParis, spend two or three days
(11:12):
in the Paris area seeing thesights there and then taking the
train or arrange a private carand go up to a city called Bayou
.
And this is a historic town.
It has an old world, historiccity center.
It's compared to more of avillage than a city.
You know, it's just that kindof setting that you're in.
(11:32):
And the reason why I say go toBayou is because it escaped much
of the destruction thatsurrounding cities had in World
War II.
So it still has its oldcathedral, it still has all of
the old world charm, whereas alot of those cities have been
rebuilt after World War II.
It also has a UNESCO listedtapestry that's still there from
(11:58):
the 11th century.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:00):
Wow.
Mark Faldmo (12:00):
It's a really good launching place to go see
Normandy.
Actually, in the city thatwe've talked about there's the
Tapestry Museum, the Cathedral,the Old City Center, which has a
mill and half-timbered homes,so it's really kind of a
charming little city.
Oh yeah, but from there you cantake and I have good company
(12:21):
that I work with that takes youon private tours out to the
landing beaches, and you caneven choose to go in the old
World War II Jeeps so you canhop in the Jeeps and your driver
guide will take you around tothe landing beaches.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:34):
I would do that.
Not that it's authentic, but itwould at least put you in the
right transportation mode.
Mark Faldmo (12:40):
You'd go see several of the landing beaches,
definitely go to the AmericanCemetery, which is probably my
favorite site.
To's an island During low tide?
It's not an island.
(13:07):
If you saw a picture of ityou'd probably recognize it.
It's a pretty iconic islandthere and it has a pretty
interesting link to World War II.
It was a German outpost andafter D-Day it was actually
liberated by one soldier and tworeporters.
The Germans were on such alosing streak, I guess, that one
(13:34):
soldier and two reporterswalked in and basically kicked
all the Germans out.
They fled when the three peoplewalked into Mont Saint-Michel
Pretty interesting World War IIhistory there.
And then, when you're done inBayeux, two to four days in
Bayeux and then you can go backto Paris for a night or two and
fly back.
Or you could continue on and goto London.
If you wanted to make a wholeWorld War II trip out of it, oh,
I would Go to London.
(13:55):
You can see the Churchill WarRooms.
Lots of World War IIinteresting things in London to
visit.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:01):
That sounds spectacular, and especially
coming off Memorial Day, whichwas last Monday or this past
Monday.
Yeah, go see it.
Nikki and I will be seeing it.
If you have any interest inpaying respects to those who
came before us in a trulymust-win situation, take the
(14:26):
time, call Mark in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
Ad Voice (14:56):
And our thanks to the men and women who served in
World War II.
We'll be back after thisCaribbean and central America to
book your unique star clippersailing adventure.
Show Voice (15:04):
Contact blue planet vacations at 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com now back to the insidetravel talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
(15:24):
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo dot com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:48):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show,alongside my very tan friend,
because he's also back from Fijibut presently in Los Angeles
ready to take off and go toMexico.
My word, you are living in thesun.
Yes, coming up in this segmentof the show it's always the hot
(16:11):
travel deal of the week.
This week we're going to Hawaii.
We're going to help you saveabout $250 on packages to get to
Hawaii.
But before we talk about thattravel deal of the week, let's
get back to the travel newsheadlines.
Alaska Airlines is planning anew long haul experience.
(16:32):
What are the details on that?
Mark Faldmo (16:34):
When Alaska Airlines purchased Hawaiian,
they had already agreed topurchase several 787
Dreamliner's, and so they'rejust trying to figure out what
to do with these 787s.
They just barely launched theirfirst long haul flight to Asia
a few weeks ago, and now, withthe 787, they really want to go
(16:55):
and compete with Delta, whichSeattle is a Delta hub as well
as Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:00):
I didn't know that.
Mark Faldmo (17:01):
Yeah, on these international routes, delta
actually in the Northwest mergerthat was Northwest Airlines hub
they're planning an all newpremium cabin, first class on
the 787s said it's going to bebetter than anything any airline
offers and so they are reallywanting to compete with Delta on
the international routes andthey'll have the plane to do it
(17:23):
now.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:24):
Those 787s are just unbelievable.
Mark Faldmo (17:26):
They're beautiful plan they're huge, although
looking at the comments of this,they said please put standard
window shades in them, becausethe 787 actually just has a
touch screen that dims it and itbreaks sometimes, and so some
seats.
You can't close the windowshade, so you know.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:45):
I'm a window shade open kind of guy but I
didn't realize that I was kindof in the minority.
I didn't realize how manypeople close the window shades,
even on takeoff and landing.
Mark Faldmo (17:56):
Yeah, I'm definitely a window shades
person open as well, although Ilook out all the time.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:01):
Yeah, you do.
Tickets for airlines are down4%, which is the biggest drop
since last year, June of 2024.
Mark Faldmo (18:10):
The third straight month of declines and the
largest decrease in the past 10months.
What this means for thevacation traveler is better
airfares.
Airlines really haven't startedreducing their flights yet, but
with more capacity, the lowerthe airfares are going to go.
Last week we talked aboutMexico.
(18:30):
This week we're going to talkabout Hawaii.
Some of those deals we talkedabout last week to Mexico
five-star hotels for five-nightpackages less than $1,000 a
person.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:40):
Yeah, that's incredible.
Mark Faldmo (18:42):
And a good part of that drop in the price was the
airfare, because airlines arejust finding those destinations
and really putting thoseairfares on sale to fill the
seats.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:53):
If you've never flown, now's a good time
because you're going to savemoney.
Mark Faldmo (18:57):
Yes, yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:58):
I'm a little bit surprised how many people
still have not flown just withinmy own family.
To you and I it's just commonhey, you know, let's just go
jump on an airplane.
But to a lot of my familymembers they've never flown and
I didn't know that.
Mark Faldmo (19:10):
I just assumed that they had, and that's one of the
purposes of the show to helpshow people that travel can be
affordable and get affordableways to do it.
A lot of people do think flyingis expensive and to certain
destinations it can be, butthere are times when you can
find a great deal and go out andexplore the world.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:27):
Go fly, totally worth it.
Mark Faldmo (19:29):
Yeah, there's going to be some really good flight
specials out there.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:33):
The cruise industry has reached a deal with
Mexico on a.
Is this the standard passengerfee?
That was fluctuating all overthe place?
Mark Faldmo (19:42):
Yeah, Mexico wanted to charge a new per-person head
fee for cruise passengers.
Okay, it was going to be like$40 to $50 per person per port
that they were charging Per port, per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:58):
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (19:59):
Yeah, and so they came to an agreement where that
passenger fee is going to be $5and it'll gradually increase
over the next few years butwon't reach that initial
proposed fee.
Thanks to the cruise lines forreally standing up for that,
because it really would havebeen a big burden on cruise
(20:19):
lines that visit Mexico.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:22):
Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week,
which is always in this segment, and we are talking about
Hawaii.
There are two vacations thateveryone can go on that will
always be successful.
Number one is Alaska, numbertwo is Hawaii.
The hot travel deal of the weekis to help our listeners save
up to $250 on packages to Hawaii.
What are the details Right now?
Mark Faldmo (20:44):
we have save up to $250.
This is from anywhere in thecountry, but I've chosen pricing
from Salt Lake City, sincethat's where most of our
listeners are listening.
Right now we're seeing theprices drop about $150 per
person to what they were a fewweeks ago.
And these are all for six days.
Five nights include airfarefrom Salt Lake City.
(21:06):
A five nights hotel Best pricesis on the Big Island, so fly
into Kona and that package pricestarts at $999 per person and
that is staying at the RoyalKona.
It's a three-star hotel but Ireally enjoy that hotel for the
location.
It's walking distance to lotsof shops and restaurants.
(21:29):
One of my favorite restaurantsin the area is their Great
Sunsets.
Just a good kind of basic hotel, but in a good location right
there in Kona.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:41):
Is that the hotel that's kind of on that
southwest corner of the island?
Mark Faldmo (21:44):
It is Okay.
The next best island price-wiseis Oahu.
Waikiki area Starts at $1,019per person, and I should say
these are for early Septemberdates.
So midweek travel, earlySeptember, and that starts at
the Outrigger Waikiki Paradise,which is a four-star hotel newly
renovated For those that havelistened to us for a long time,
(22:07):
it used to be the OutriggerWaikiki East Hotel.
They renovated it and rebrandedit.
It's in a great location, twoblocks off the beach, and then a
kawaii starts at $1,129 perperson and that is at the Hilton
Garden Inn Wailua Bay.
(22:28):
It's a three and a half starhotel right on the beach, though
Very good hotel for Kauai.
And then Maui starts at $1,169per person and that is at the
Royal Kahana Hotel.
Hawaii is a really good valueright now compared to what it
was even four weeks ago.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:49):
You can't go wrong with any of those islands.
Just choose where you want togo.
Probably the most popular isOahu.
If you want to guaranteeyourself a great vacation.
There's two places to go, as Imentioned at the beginning of
this segment Alaska and Hawaii.
You cannot go wrong going toany of those places.
(23:12):
Call Mark in his office to bookyour vacation, no obligation.
Call him in his office at888-718-7717.
888-718-7717,.
888-718-7717.
And he'll also put all of thisinformation on
blueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
At the bottom of the hour we'vegot the infamous Just Cruising
(23:35):
segment where it's only aboutthe cruise news and it is only
about promotions.
If you want to go on a cruise,that is next when the Inside
Travel Talk podcast radio showcontinues Alongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (23:56):
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.
(24:17):
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (24:39):
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.
Our oceanfront resorts areexclusively for adults and have
been voted among the mostromantic resorts in Mexico and
the world.
To book your romantic beachgetaway at an El Dorado Spa
Resort, contact Blue PlanetVacations at 888-718-7717 or
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Patrick Wiscombe (25:01):
Okay, we're back.
Welcome back to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes we willbe talking about Royal
Caribbean's brand new perfectday.
Mexico MSC Cruises is orderingtwo more world ships.
We'll give you the details and,if you don't have a passport,
we're going to tell you how tocruise without a passport.
(25:22):
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 (25:48):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
(26:10):
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Fulton
.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:29):
All aboard for the infamous Just Cruising
segment right here on the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show that is the beautiful shiphorn of Norwegian's Aqua, a ship
that Nikki and I were on abouta month ago.
A beautiful, truly beautifulship, and if you've ever been on
any cruise and the airconditioning hasn't worked, we
(26:52):
can confirm that Norwegian'sAqua, at least the balcony
stateroom that we were in.
It was as cold as we wanted theroom to be.
Mark Faldmo (27:00):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:01):
Man, it was cold in there.
We could dial it up.
We just prefer things a littlebit on the frigid side.
Yeah, oh, dude, me too.
That was a genuinely beautifulship.
I was so impressed with thatship Coming up.
In this segment of the show.
We will be talking about RoyalCaribbean's brand new under
construction Perfect Day Mexico,and we'll talk about MSC
(27:26):
Cruises ordering two more worldclass ships.
That's not world class, nothyphen, it's just world like
World, Europa, world America.
They're ordering two more worldships.
Let's get to the cruise newsheadlines.
In fact, let's just start withRoyal Caribbean's perfect day
Mexico.
Where is it?
Mark Faldmo (27:47):
It's on mainland Mexico, in the port of Mahual,
or Costa Maya.
Okay, costa Maya, but that'sgoing to set several world
records, including the tallestwater slide in North and South
America and the longest lazyriver in the world.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:02):
I didn't realize what a fan I am of lazy
rivers.
Mark Faldmo (28:05):
Wait until you hear about this one that I'll talk
about in just a moment.
Okay, and so this kind ofcontinues the trend.
Royal Caribbean has startedthese destinations the Perfect
Day Cocoa Cay, perfect DayMexico, and also their beach
club, and a new one that theyjust announced that we'll talk
about on another episode, whichis La Lepa, which is in the
South Pacific, on the island ofVanuatu.
(28:27):
Let's focus on the perfect day,Mexico.
The water park has the tallestwater slide in North and South
America.
It will have 30 water slidesacross five slide towers, the
highest one being 170 feet.
It'll take more than two minutesto complete.
(28:48):
That is so long it is, yeah.
And then they have anotherwater slide that's a family raft
designed for four to six peopleto ride at one time going down
the water slide.
So some pretty interestingwater park elements there.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:04):
Depending on the size of the individuals in
the raft it's going to take acurrent of water to push people
along.
Mark Faldmo (29:13):
Yeah, so moving on to their next area is Splash
Cove.
It'll be the world's longestlazy river.
It will take over an hour tofloat the whole thing, if you
did it at one time.
Ad Voice (29:24):
An hour.
Mark Faldmo (29:25):
An hour to go all the way around the lazy river,
multiple entry and exit pointswith a whole bunch of float-up
bars along the way.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:34):
By the way, I didn't realize that I was a
float-up bar.
Mark Faldmo (29:37):
Float-up bar, swim-up bar, yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:39):
I had so many virgin pina coladas when we were
on vacation I was, like youknow, kind of like just swimming
up to the bar it was terrificin fact, I loved it so much that
I actually proposed it to ourhoa yeah, but I'm like hey, if
you want to make money, let'sjust do a swim up bar and
speaking of swim up bars in theSplash Cove they'll have a
(30:01):
massive 100,000 square foot pool, which is just one of 10 pools
in the complex at Perfect DayMexico.
This place is going to beenormous.
Is this for everybody or isthis kind of a cruise ship type
destination?
It's a cruise ship destination.
Mark Faldmo (30:17):
It'll be just for rural Caribbean guests, and they
also have El Hideaway, which isan adults-only section which
features a zero-entry pool.
I had to look up what that isand it's a pool with no stairs.
It just has a gradual slopelike a beach.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:33):
Yeah.
So when Nikki and I were inGrand Turk we went to
Margaritaville.
They had a zero entry pool andit was.
I didn't think it would be abig deal, but as you get a
little older it's kind of likeoh, all right, that's just a
nice little gradual ascent anddecent.
Mark Faldmo (30:49):
Slope in.
Yeah, I love it In this area.
They have a massive swim up barand an in-pool DJ.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:56):
We did that at Grand Bimini.
So Nikki and I were in themiddle of the pool at Bimini
Island.
We just started dancing in thepool and that brought a lot of
people in from the edges.
We must have just looked likefools, but I'm like we're never
going to see these people again.
Let's just have fun.
Mark Faldmo (31:12):
Yeah, and then kind of the last thing is for those
that just like to chill on thebeach.
They will have two differentbeaches.
They'll have a north and southbeach, so you can go just relax
on the beach with complimentarybeach loungers, umbrellas,
towels.
Another thing that's importantabout these destinations is food
.
They'll have 12 differentoptions, from sit-down to
(31:32):
grab-and-go eateries and buffets.
It'll have almost anything youwould want in kind of a private
destination.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:39):
This is going to be a huge success.
And kind of a privatedestination, this is going to be
a huge success.
If the private islands likePerfect Day at Coco Cay, msc's
private island Ocean Key,Norwegian's Great Stirrup Key,
this is going to be a huge hit.
Ad Voice (31:53):
This is going to be a destination.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:55):
people will just want to go to get on those
ships for that specific reasonand go have a great vacation.
Yeah, royal Caribbean in thatdestination will still go have a
great vacation.
Mark Faldmo (32:01):
Yeah, royal Caribbean in that destination
will still have the option ofdoing the tours.
You know there are some greatarchaeological sites from there
and great things to do fromCosta Maya, so you still will
have those options to go tothose things.
But you'll now have this wholeoption of the whole private
destination with a water park,beaches, dining options.
(32:22):
I think it'll be a perfectdestination to go to
Margaritaville.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:27):
Is this Margaritaville at sea?
Yeah, Margaritaville at sea isadding a third cruise ship in
2026, so they haveMargaritaville at sea paradise,
which we were on last year.
They have what's the one inTampa, Margaritaville at Sea,
islander, and so they've orderedanother one.
Mark Faldmo (32:48):
Yeah, they've ordered or purchasing another
one.
Like all of Margaritaville atSea ships, this is a former
Costa ship.
This third ship will be what isnow the Costa Fortuna, which
Margaritaville at Sea come intoin 2026.
It'll be their largest ship.
It'll carry up to 3,500passengers.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:10):
Wow, okay, so they're really making it bigger.
Yeah, they are.
Mark Faldmo (33:14):
Margaritaville has been on a pretty interesting
trajectory.
The last two years we were onthe Margaritaville at Sea
Paradise, which is a fairly oldship.
It used to just do basicallycasino cruises gambling cruises
would go between Palm Beach andGrand Bahama and then they
purchased that.
When it was rebrandedMargaritaville at sea, they
(33:37):
tried to make it more of acruise experience than a casino
experience On that two-daycruise that we did.
It's kind of hard to do that,but then they added the Islander
, which was doing three, fourand seven, and when they add
this new ship so they'll haveanywhere between two and 10-day
cruises.
It's not clear where this shipis going to Margaritaville at
Sea out of cruises.
(33:59):
It's not clear where this shipis going to sail out of.
Margaritaville as a brand is abrand that I really like.
You know, I like the hotelskind of like that laid back
luxury that they try and do.
Now.
They had a hard time doing iton the Paradise, but they've
really executed well on theIslander.
I'm sure they'll do a good jobon this new ship that they have.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:16):
Yeah, the Paradise.
You know Good burgers, oh, mygoodness, burger, how many
burgers did I have?
And burgers in Paradise, orwhatever it was called.
Mark Faldmo (34:29):
Cheeseburger in Paradise.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:30):
Oh my heavens, those were good.
Mark Faldmo (34:32):
You know, and that's one thing, they really
delivered on food.
Oh, they sure did.
I thought food onMargaritaville at Sea was
amazing, even though it was anolder ship.
Their food and entertainmentwas very good.
Show Voice (34:43):
Yeah, agreed.
Mark Faldmo (34:44):
What could be better than sitting out on a
deck listening to Jimmy Buffett?
Patrick Wiscombe (34:48):
Eating a cheeseburger Eating a
cheeseburger, yeah.
Oh, that was okay.
Yeah, I will hand it to him,which, by the way,
Margaritaville at Sea, atParadise, was going into dry
dock for renovations of memoryserves, didn't?
Mark Faldmo (35:01):
we talk about that a few weeks ago we did a few
weeks ago.
It's going to go in for majorrenovations.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:05):
Yeah, it needs it.
Mark Faldmo (35:07):
Yeah, and you know, when we sold it was only a few
months removed from being justthat casino shift where all
their guests cared about wasgoing to the casino and so so,
so they've they've really kindof rebranded that and changed
that.
It'll be very interesting tosee what happens with that brand
cruise brand going forward,agreed.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:28):
Let's get to the cruise deal of the week,
which is always in this segment,and this week we are going.
What are we doing?
Are we going to West coast,because that's where you are?
You're in Los Angeles right now.
What kind of repositioningcruises do we have for listeners
this week?
Mark Faldmo (35:45):
Well, we're going to Hawaii.
I had a customer, Whitney, whowants to cruise to Hawaii in
November, December and was justwondering what the options were.
There are three different waysyou can cruise to Hawaii.
One is round trip from the WestCoast.
Another is inter-island cruise,which, Norwegian, is the only
(36:07):
one that offers that.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:08):
Yeah, Pride of America.
Mark Faldmo (36:09):
Pride of America.
And then there arerepositioning cruises, and so I
just wanted to bring anitinerary up on each of these
ways to do that.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:19):
Let's start with the round trip West Coast.
Mark Faldmo (36:22):
So these are round trip Los Angeles A lot of people
that don't like to fly butstill want to see Hawaii.
This is a good option.
Now you do have to like days atsea for this, because you have
four days at sea getting toHawaii and four days at sea
getting back to Los Angeles.
Holland America Carnival andPrincess both do this round trip
(36:45):
Los Angeles to Hawaii, so Ichose a carnival 14-day carnival
cruise.
This leaves the end of November, so leave Los Angeles, spends a
full day in Maui, a full day inHonolulu, a full day in Kauai
and a full day in Hilo, and thencruises back to Los Angeles
(37:06):
with a stop which is a half dayin Ensenada, Because this ship
is not American built orAmerican crewed.
It has to have an internationalstop, so that stop is Ensenada,
Mexico, before returning to LosAngeles area.
So that's 14 days, 14 days, andit starts at $1688 per person
(37:27):
for an inside cabin or $3119 perperson for a balcony cabin.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:33):
Wow, that's a big difference between inside
and a balcony.
That's bigger than I thought itwas going to be.
Mark Faldmo (37:38):
Yeah, you know, on a cruise like this, I did look
at both Holland America andPrincess and it was about the
same.
Carnival did have the betterprices.
Probably the reason that jumpis because the balconies are in
demand on this.
Yeah, with that many days atsea, a lot of people just want
to sit on the balcony and read abook, not have to worry about
deck chairs around the pool.
And read a book, not have toworry about deck chairs around
the pool.
(37:58):
That's a good point.
With this many days at sea, Idefinitely would take a balcony
cab, yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:01):
If you can swing it, do it.
Mark Faldmo (38:03):
And then the next way to cruise.
Hawaii is just a seven-dayinner island on Norwegian's
Pride of America.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:11):
Both of us have been on that one.
Mark Faldmo (38:13):
Yeah, and then last week we talked about that ship
is going in for a fullrenovation.
I don't recall when that was.
If you want to see every islandin Hawaii, I think this is the
best way to see all of theislands of Hawaii.
Agreed, absolutely.
Now, when we talk about theprices, well, let's talk about
the prices and then we'll talkabout the itinerary.
(38:34):
An inside cabin on this startsat $2339 per person and a
balcony starts at $3855 perperson, and this was pretty much
for any date in November.
Now, compared to your typicalcruise, that is a little bit
higher.
But again, to see all of theislands in Hawaii.
If you were to fly around toall the islands and stay for a
(38:55):
night or two on each of theislands, you would pay way more
than this, and the cruise alsoincludes food and entertainment
along the way.
So it is a great way to seeHawaii.
But the one thing I like aboutthis is they do have overnights
in certain islands.
You leave Honolulu, you go toMaui and you overnight in Maui,
(39:15):
so you're there from 8 am to 6pm the next day.
It's almost two days yeah,almost two full days, in Maui
and then you go to Hilo, 8 am to6 pm, and then you go to Kona,
7 am to 5.30 pm.
So those are two differentports on the Big Island.
So you're basically getting twofull days on the big island and
(39:36):
then overnight in kawaii, 8 amto 5 30 pm, before heading back
to Honolulu.
So for a seven-day cruise, Ithink this particular cruise has
the most port time of anyseven-day cruise out there, so
you're in port more thananything there.
That was fun.
The third way to see hawaii ison a repositioning cruise.
(39:58):
Whitney specifically asked forNovember.
There are several cruises.
Norwegian has several cruisesthat do this In November.
I found an interesting 21-dayLos Angeles to Tahiti cruise on
Oceana.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:13):
That's NCL's luxury cruise ship.
Premium yeah, okay, premium,that's the premium.
That's NCL's luxury cruise ship.
Mark Faldmo (40:17):
Premium.
Yeah, okay, premium, that's thepremium, okay.
And so Oceana is known for finedining, luxurious comfort, and
destinations are what Oceanareally goes for.
Oceana is the cruise line thatreally kind of started
overnighting in destinations.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:32):
Oh.
Mark Faldmo (40:32):
I didn't know that.
They kind of come out as kindof like a country club, casual
type cruise line, as you knowkind of where they are, and they
also have medium sized shipswith anywhere between 700 and
1200 guests.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:46):
Okay, so small .
Mark Faldmo (40:47):
Small so they can get to a lot of ports.
This ship can get in to manyports in Tahiti where the big
ships can't get to Right First.
We'll just start in Los Angeleswith the itinerary Spends a day
in Honolulu, Kauai, Maui, Konaand Hilo.
Before heading off to Tahiti,it's overnights in Bora Bora.
(41:10):
7 am to 5 pm in Bora Bora Goesto Raiatea for a full day,
Huahenie for a full day,Huahenie for a full day and
Morea for a full day Wow.
Before heading to Papeete andovernighting in Papeete, some of
these islands like Raiatea isprobably one of my favorite
islands.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:30):
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (41:31):
In the French Polynesia.
There I just remember taking aspeedboat up a river.
They say it's where the kind ofHawaiians left before they went
to Hawaii, and so that's somefolklore there 21 day Los
Angeles to Tahiti on Oceana.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:50):
What are we talking about?
Price?
Mark Faldmo (41:51):
This cruise ship that does this does not have any
inside cabins, so outsiderocean view cabins start at $3185
and a balcony starts at $4290.
For 21 days that's a prettygood price?
Oh, it sure is, particularlybecause this is on a premium, a
higher end cruise line, thanyour typical cruise line.
Those ships are beautiful aswell.
(42:14):
They are yeah, they do a greatjob.
I've never sailed on Oceania,but I've eaten lunch on a few of
their ships before.
Really good food.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:24):
I didn't sail, but I ate, yes.
Yeah, that sounds amazing.
As I said at the very beginningof this segment and really the
end of that last segment, if youwant to have a terrific
vacation Hawaii, you just can'tgo wrong.
You've got the West Coast, theInter-Island and the
(42:45):
repositioning cruises.
Call Mark in his office at thebreak, just get the conversation
started, no obligation.
888-718-7717.
888-7 7, 7, 1, 7.
And he'll also post this onblue planet vacations dot com
(43:05):
when we come back.
We've got Mark's travel tipsand we'll wrap up.
We've got a frontier story thatyou will not want to miss.
We're talking about frontierairlines.
That is next when the insidetravel talk podcast and radio
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, livefrom Los Angeles, my name is
Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
(43:28):
We will be right back.
Show Voice (43:32):
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.
com.
We'll be right back.
(43:54):
We'll be right back.
(44:28):
718-7717 or blueplanetvacations.
com.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show with
Patrick Wiscombe and Mark 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 (45:01):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
Hello there, Thank you forallowing us to be part of your
weekend Coming up in this finalsegment of the show.
We've got Mark's travel tipsand, of course, the travel news
headlines, and we're also goingto get to.
I don't have a passport, but Iwant to take a cruise.
(45:24):
We're going to tell you how togo on a cruise without a
passport.
Let's get to the travel newsheadlines.
Here I saw this news storyabout a Frontier Airlines story
out of Los Angeles, which iswhere you are right now.
This news story about waitingfor a flight and the boarding
agent yelling at people.
Mark Faldmo (45:41):
This is actually something that Heather and I
experienced in Los Angeles andthen there actually was a news
story about it.
We were I don't know if it wasthe same flight, I can't
remember what we heard wasFrontier or Spirit.
This story in particular isFrontier.
The gate agent just made anannouncement and said no pushing
, we don't want anyone to gethurt because people are so
(46:02):
restless to get on the airplane.
So that's one thing.
These low cost carriers havekind of created, I would say an
angry passenger because everyonewants to get on, to get their
overhead space, get their seat.
They've kind of created asituation where people are not
cordial to each other, literally.
When Heather and I looked overwhen we saw a similar situation
(46:24):
to this, it was almost a boxingmatch over there because people
were so wanting to get on theairplane.
Just goes as a reminder makesure and treat your fellow
passengers kindly, treat yourgate agents kindly.
Hopefully you'll get to whereyou're going pleasantly.
If you choose to go on one ofthose more budget airlines, well
, that's another thing.
(46:44):
With airlines charging forchecked bags, people bring more
carry-ons, which makes thatoverhead bin space a little bit
harder to get.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:52):
We received a text question from Janice, which
, by the way, if you want to askyour travel related question,
just call us or text us whilewe're in the studio 801-649-3700
.
801-649-3700 is how Janice gota hold of us.
Her question is I don't have apassport but I want to take a
(47:16):
cruise.
I've seen the term closed loopcruise.
What does that mean, and do Ineed a passport to do a closed
loop cruise?
Let's just start with the firstpart.
What is a closed loop cruise?
Mark Faldmo (47:28):
A closed loop cruise is a cruise that starts
and ends in the same port.
So if you don't have a passport, generally speaking, if your
cruise starts and ends in thesame US port, like a Mexican
Riviera, Los Angeles to LosAngeles, or, in the Caribbean,
Miami to Miami, that is a closedloop cruise.
(47:49):
Now, technically, on most ofthose cruises, you do not need a
passport.
You just need your driver'slicense, an original
state-issued birth certificateor a certified copy of your
birth certificate.
However, that being said, Iwould still recommend that
everybody cruise with a passport.
Ad Voice (48:11):
Yes.
Mark Faldmo (48:12):
Just for safety reasons.
If, for some reason, you missthe ship and you're on an island
, you can't return home untilyou get a passport, so you'll
have to go through that processat destination or something
medically happens and you missthe ship, it's just good
practice to travel with apassport.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:33):
To that point.
When we were on MSC's WorldAmerica in April, we were in San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
There was a guest whoexperienced cardiac arrest.
Now how do I know that I endedup talking to the nurse who
actually I didn't know I wasgoing to talk to him.
We were just on MSC's privateisland Ocean Key at that very,
(48:54):
very north end of the island andI was just making conversation
hey, how you doing?
And then he said this is myfirst time on the island, I work
on the ship.
And he said he was a nurse andso I asked him about the
incident.
He didn't give away anyconfidential or private
information, he just said myquestion to him was did
something happen last night?
And he goes yeah, we had one ofour guests experience cardiac
(49:17):
arrest.
I didn't ask if he had apassport, but they did have to
get him off the ship.
We were two or three hours intothe journey.
They turned the ship around toget him to a hospital in Puerto
Rico.
Emergencies do happen.
We're not trying to scarepeople to get a passport.
We don't get money from this,it's just a good idea.
Mark Faldmo (49:35):
Yeah, it is, and you know also, more and more
islands, especially in theCaribbean, like Barbados and
Martinique, do require you tohave a passport.
Oh, they do If you cruise.
So even if you're on a closedloop, there are some
destinations.
Those countries are so small,someone was to miss the ship
there.
They don't have the facilitiesreally to help with passports
(49:58):
and things like that.
So some islands in theCaribbean do require you have a
passport, regardless of if it'sa closed loop or not.
So and that's just a recentthing, in the last year or so
that that's happened.
I recommend everybody cruisewith a passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:14):
And it makes getting off the ship faster too.
Yes, it does.
It's just a good idea to have apassport If you have any
questions on how to get apassport, if you have no idea
what you're doing.
That's why we're here.
Call Mark in his office888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(50:34):
And there is a resourcessection on blueplanetvacations.
com in the footer.
I think it's literally calledresources.
Is that right, mark?
Mark Faldmo (50:43):
It is resources and there's all sorts of links on
passport information and how-tos.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:49):
You can listen to the show again tomorrow
morning, Sunday, at 11 am, righthere on this radio station and
around the country, and you canstream, download and subscribe
to the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
If you're not a podcaster, youcan literally just stream the
show right on the website, butif you do like getting podcasts,
(51:09):
you can subscribe to the show.
We're on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
Well, now it's your turn to getout and explore the world while
you can, because you never knowwhat curveballs life is going
to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
Thank you so much for listening.
(51:29):
Really, we don't have abusiness, we don't have a show
without you.
Thank you.
We will talk to you next weekand we'll give you a report,
because Mark is going to becoming back from Mexico.
Have a great week.
Show Voice (51:46):
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.
Rick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo,presented by BluePlanetVacations
.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(52:07):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
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