June 7, 2025 • 53 mins
Curious about the future of travel? From robot bartenders mixing perfect cocktails on cruise ships to pianists performing in elevators, the travel landscape is evolving in fascinating ways. Royal Caribbean's addition of Ovation of the Seas to its West Coast fleet marks an exciting opportunity for travelers to experience these innovations on shorter three to four-day cruises – perfect for those wondering if cruising fits their vacation style.
For adventure seekers longing to explore Europe at a more intimate pace, guided biking tours offer an immersive alternative to traditional sightseeing. Whether you're cycling through Scotland's castle-dotted landscapes, along the Danube between Berlin and Prague, or winding through Tuscany's hillside villages, these tours accommodate every skill level with options ranging from leisurely 20-mile days to challenging 70-mile routes. The beauty lies in the flexibility – choose your preferred intensity each day while experiencing the authentic pulse of European culture away from tourist crowds.
Looking for something tropical? Panama emerges as a compelling destination with three distinct experiences: cosmopolitan city life, pristine beaches, and lush jungle adventures. The Gamboa Rainforest Reserve, once the officers' club during American control of the Panama Canal Zone, offers a fascinating blend of history and nature. Don't miss touring the engineering marvel of the Panama Canal itself – whether from the observation deck of its dedicated museum or aboard a small boat navigating through its impressive locks.
As summer travel season intensifies, remember essential preparations: verify your passport meets "export validity" requirements (many countries demand 3-6 months remaining validity), enroll in expedited security programs like TSA PreCheck or Clear, and download your airline's mobile app for real-time updates. These simple steps can transform your travel experience from stressful to seamless.
Ready to turn these travel inspirations into reality? Connect with the travel experts at Blue Planet Vacations to craft your perfect adventure, whether it's cruising with robots, cycling through Europe, or exploring Panama's diverse landscapes. Your next unforgettable journey awaits!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
It is the weekend, which means it's time
for the Inside Travel Talkpodcast, a radio show, hello
there Coming up.
On today's show, mark and Iwill be talking about the
rolling ship, piano robot,bartenders and no, we're not
making that up biking throughEurope and Mount Etna blowing
its top in Italy.
A lot to talk about.
Let's start the show.
(00:20):
The Inside Travel Talk podcast,a 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 (01:16):
It is the weekend.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
Hello there, my name is PatrickWiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be here in thestudio here in just a moment
and, if you're brand new to theshow or if you're a longtime
listener, the entire purpose ofthis radio show and podcast is
help you plan and book your nextvacation, or just give you
(01:39):
ideas of where you would want toconsider vacationing next.
And we are presented byBluePplanetvacations.
com.
And just a sincere thank youfor taking the time to stop and
listen.
Coming up in this section ofthe show, you are back from Los
Angeles.
You just spent three days onRoyal Caribbean's Ovation of the
(02:00):
Seas.
This is the second of two shipsthat are now on the West Coast.
Do they both come out of LosAngeles?
They do.
Mark Faldmo (02:08):
Yeah, so this event I was on was to celebrate Royal
Caribbean adding the secondship to West Coast, particularly
Los Angeles.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:16):
I thought the funniest part of that particular
ship.
When you sent pictures of therobot bartenders mixing drinks.
When you sent pictures of therobot bartenders mixing drinks.
Talk about replacing humanswith robots.
That's probably the ideal job.
It's pretty interesting towatch the rolling ship piano
Explain to listeners why thepiano was in the elevator.
(02:36):
Talk about an intimate concertOn this ship.
Mark Faldmo (02:38):
Royal Caribbean just had a rolling piano and
you'd see this guy throughvarious parts of the ship, but
one evening evening he spent allevening in the elevators, so he
just played for people whenthey got on the elevators and it
was a pretty cool thing towatch and experience.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:55):
That was a short concert yes, going from
deck six to deck 12 or whateverdecks you were going to.
Yes, let's get to the travelnews headlines.
Delta is adding a second flightfrom Salt.
Mark Faldmo (03:11):
Lake City International to Puerto Vallarta
for the holidays.
This winter Delta is addinglots of Caribbean, Mexico and
Central America flightsthroughout their route system,
and one that's of particularinterest to us is Puerto
Vallarta from Salt Lake.
Now this is just for theholidays, so it starts December
20th and runs through January5th, so it's just a short run.
(03:32):
It's just that two-week timeframe.
But they also announced they'readding two new destinations in
the Caribbean St Vincent andGrenada.
So daily flights from Atlanta,and they've added extra flights
to Cancun from all of their hubsDetroit JFK, Los Angeles,
Boston, Nashville, and thenother cities like Kansas City,
(03:53):
Indianapolis and Austin.
They've added Punta Cana, anextra stop from Atlanta.
There's several other cities inMexico and Central America that
they are adding flights to, andthese all start pretty much
December 20th.
Some go through that first partof January and some of them go
all the way through mid-April.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:12):
I know that the holidays make a lot of sense
to go on vacation.
That's the busy and probablythe most expensive time of the
year.
I would argue if you can go theweek after or the day or a
couple days after the new year,that is the best time to go,
probably price-wise as well.
Mark Faldmo (04:29):
In that kind of peak of winter travel, probably
January 3rd, once you're donewith New Year's travel, you can
get some pretty good deals.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:37):
United Airlines is moving up check-in
time for domestic travelers.
How much are they moving it up?
Mark Faldmo (04:44):
This is only for domestic travelers.
How much are they moving it up?
This is only for domestic.
Now, if you don't have checkedbags, you have to check in for
your flight at least 45 minutesprior or they'll cancel your
flight.
Previously it was 30 minutes,but that doesn't give the gate
agents enough time to process,upgrades process, standbys
process, all of that.
So they've moved it up to 45minutes prior to the flight for
(05:08):
domestic travel.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:09):
It's official Amsterdam is sick of tourists.
But Amsterdam locals are suingfamous TikTok shops.
I'm surprised about this oneand the city oh and the city.
Mark Faldmo (05:21):
This is kind of a story about being a respectful
traveler.
There is a famous fry shop inAmsterdam.
That's what Amsterdam is knownfor is their French fries.
I have never heard that it is sofamous on TikTok.
It's right in the historiccenter of Amsterdam and it has
lines out the door.
People don't use the trash bins.
(05:42):
They're loud and they kind ofmake it miserable for the locals
that live in the door.
People don't use the trash bins.
They're loud and they kind ofmake it miserable for the locals
that live in the area.
That's the problem here Overtourism is kind of a buzzword
in travel.
I don't know that Amsterdamreally has over tourism
problem, but there are certainspots that really get out of
control with tourists.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:05):
I guess it's not the end of the story.
Then We'll probably have a fewfollow-ups.
Mark Faldmo (06:08):
Yeah, we'll see what happens there.
See what happens to this fryshop.
They have two other locationsand it's just this one in the
historic city center that ishaving issues.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:18):
Let me invite all of our listeners right now.
If you have a travel relatedquestion, we want to hear from
you.
This is the studio and the textnumber 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700 if you have atravel related question and we
did receive a text from Jasonand this is our destination of
(06:40):
the week, always in the openingsegment of the show.
His question is pretty simplehe wants to go biking in Europe.
He's asking is that possible?
And the answer is yes, it ispossible.
Mark Faldmo (06:53):
Definitely yes.
There are a few ways you can dothis.
In the past, when we've talkedabout river cruises Avalon and
Ama Waterways, which are my twofavorite river cruise companies
they all have 20 or so bikes onboard.
So each day in port you canchoose to do a bike tour and
then just kind of have yourhotel follow you along, Do a 10
(07:14):
to 20 mile bike ride each dayand then, while you're doing
that, the cruise ship goes tothe next port and meets you
there.
The other way, if you reallywant to get into biking, there's
a company called Backroads andthey specialize in bicycle tours
throughout the world.
They started in Europe, butthey have them here in the US,
they have them in Africa, theyhave them in South America, so
(07:37):
they do bicycle tours throughoutthe world.
They have three different typesof tours One is biking, one is
walking and hiking and one theycall multi-adventure, which
combines biking, hiking andwalking.
It's a really good way to seeEurope.
They do have some of the biketours that do have e-bikes.
Oh, there we go To help outwith that.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:59):
So I have an e-bike and I don't think I've
told you this, but I have 6,384miles on my bike.
Those are original miles fromme.
Mark Faldmo (08:08):
That's a lot of biking.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:10):
So I'm all over this idea.
I didn't even know it was anoption, so I'm actually glad
that Jason is asking thisquestion.
Mark Faldmo (08:16):
You know, I've sold a few of these and people have
really enjoyed these bikingtours.
I chose three differentitineraries.
In Europe they have differentlevels of hotels Premier, which
are higher end, deluxe and thenClassic, so depending on which
level of accommodation you wantto stay at.
And then they have fivedifferent activity levels, from
easy to hard, and you can chooseeach day.
(08:38):
So, like on each day, it saystoday we offer level one through
three or we offer level twothrough five, and you can choose
what you want to do each day.
You don't have to do the fullbiking.
So whatever you're comfortablewith is what they'll let you do.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:55):
My only criteria would be biking for
sure.
Absolutely, Jason.
This is a great idea.
I just require a hot tub At theend of the day, that's it,
that's my only requirement, Ijust require a hot tub.
So at the end of the day,that's it.
That's my only requirement.
Mark Faldmo (09:07):
I'll just briefly go over what the levels are.
So level one is 18 to 22 milesper day with a thousand feet max
elevation gain.
Level two is 18 to 32 with amax of 2200 feet elevation gain.
Level three 26 to 42 miles witha 3,400 elevation level.
(09:29):
Level four 36 to 54 miles,4,400 elevation, and then level
five is 48 to 70 plus miles.
Wow, so I haven't seen verymany level five options on the
tours.
I've looked through, but theydo have those different options
each day.
So depending on how aggressiveyou want to be or how
(09:49):
comfortable you are, they willhave that.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:52):
What a unique way to see Europe.
By the way, that's a lot ofelevation, holy cow, yes, are
there certain countries wherethis is?
Mark Faldmo (10:00):
offered Almost every country in Europe they
have tours in.
I chose three that I think werepretty interesting.
One is Scotland and England.
So this one you bike fromEdinburgh to Yorkshire in
England, so it's through twocountries.
It's a five-night tour.
You stop at castles and tourcastles.
(10:21):
You have all sorts of culturalexperiences, you know.
Just a wonderful tour.
The other one that I looked atwas Berlin to Prague.
Oh wow, this one was a again afive night tour, berlin to
Prague.
Some of this you're notbicycling.
They transport you throughcertain spots of this but you
can choose each day how manymiles you want to bike.
(10:43):
And this one you bike along theDanube River for a while.
Explore Germany, Czech Republic.
And then the last one that Ilooked at was Tuscany Bike Tour.
This was a six day fromFlorence to Arazio and just
those hillsides, those hilltoptowns there in Tuscany, just
(11:05):
biking from one little villageto another.
An amazing experience there.
And you've booked a few ofthese before.
I haven't booked any of theirbike tours, but I've booked some
of their hiking and walkingtours.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:17):
How is it that we've been doing this show for
a year and a half and I've neverheard this before?
I don't know.
Mark Faldmo (11:23):
I blame you, blame it on me.
I know you like biking, oh, Ido.
We should have brought this upbefore.
You know, just had that requestthis week and thought that's
something to talk about.
A lot of people like that kindof active adventure.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:40):
Okay, let me just give out the studio and
text number.
We want to answer your travelrelated questions 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700 jason.
Call mark in his office.
I might even be calling you inthe office I'm so glad that you
brought this up, but I guess mythanks has to go to jason for
(12:02):
bringing up biking throughEurope.
You know, I've heard of goingthrough trains in Europe.
I've never heard of biking.
This is an awesome idea.
Jason, call Mark, get theconversation started during the
break 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(12:25):
And you can also call Mark.
The phone number is also onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
Man, that first segment wentvery, very quickly.
It's time for the hot traveldeal of the week.
We are taking more of yourcalls and texts and with this
time we're going to Panama.
We can help you save up to $200going to Panama.
(12:45):
We've got five nights airfarefrom Salt Lake City.
We'll give you the details whenthe Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be back in about twominutes.
Show Voice (13:03):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
(13:23):
We'll be right back beachgetaway.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Now back to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show
(14:00):
presented by blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700,.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:32):
It is the weekend, which means that it's
time for the Inside Travel Talkpodcast, a radio show.
Mark, and I hope that you arehaving a terrific weekend,
whether you're listening to uson Saturday, or if you're
listening to us on Sunday oraround the country at 11 o'clock
on whatever radio station thatyou are listening to right now,
we want you to be part of theshow.
We want to answer yourtravel-related texts.
(14:52):
Call us now while we're in thestudio 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
So we can answer your travelrelated texts and questions and
we will be getting to.
I forgot who it was.
This was a question from one ofour listeners.
(15:13):
I forgot who it was.
Anyway, yeah, Julie.
Okay, Julie wants to go toPanama.
We'll get to her question herein just a second.
But let's get back to thetravel news headlines, and there
was a little bit of what do wecall this?
A blockbuster partnershipbetween United Airlines and
JetBlue to team up?
Mark Faldmo (15:32):
Yeah, and so this comes two years after a federal
judge blocked JetBlue andAmericans Northeast Alliance.
Jetblue has always been tryingto find ways to strengthen their
network on the East Coast, andthey've just struck a new
alliance with United Airlines,which they're calling the Blue
Sky Alliance.
This allows frequent flyermembers of both airlines to earn
(15:56):
and redeem miles on each of theairlines.
It gives the elite membersstatus benefits when flying on
the other airline, and so it's areally good alliance, I think,
for both of these airlines.
Where United has a pretty bigglobal reach and JetBlue has a
(16:17):
good kind of leisure networkthere on the northeast, it'll
feed into both airlines,particularly in the New York
area, where United has a big hubin Newark, new Jersey, and
JetBlue has their mainoperations there out of JFK
Airport.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:33):
Southwest is officially entering a new era,
with bag fees and other policychanges coming.
We talked about this.
What about a month and a halfago, maybe two months ago?
They meaning Southwest reallycreated some headaches, not only
for themselves.
I'm curious to track this forthe next year to see if it's
going to sink the airline orboost the airline, or if it's
(16:57):
just going to remain kind ofnothing.
Mark Faldmo (17:00):
Starting last week, southwest is now charging bag
fees.
Kind of the cornerstone of thebrand was bags fly free.
That is no longer the case.
So any ticket purchasedstarting June 1st and after, you
will now have a $35 bag fee forthe first check bag and $45 for
the second check bag, matchingwhat most other airlines have.
(17:22):
I'm curious, like you, to seewhat happens with Southwest.
Other airlines are alreadycourting Southwest flyers with
promotions, some with temporarybags fly-free, to get them to
switch, and it'll be veryinteresting to see how this all
pans out.
But it effectively makesSouthwest just like everybody
(17:43):
else.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:43):
Viking River Cruises or Viking Cruising, I
should say says that theircruising season 2025 is
effectively sold out.
Mark Faldmo (17:55):
Inventory as of May 11th this is about a month old
now this information they're 95%sold out for 2025.
Information they're 95% soldout for 2025.
There's not much availabilityif you're looking to go on a
river or ocean cruise on Vikingin 2025.
And that actually holds truefor a lot of the river cruise
(18:15):
companies.
It's so popular these days thatthey're already selling Q3, and
4 of 2026 is what they'refocusing on now.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:24):
Just a couple of days ago I received a little
booklet of Viking river cruisesfor 2026, 2027.
No mention of for the balanceof this year.
I know this isn't the infamousjust cruising segment, but they
had some interesting offerswhere it was basically $2,000 a
person and $25 deposits and theyhad some really impressive
(18:46):
destinations and it's no wonderthat they're sold out.
Honestly, I thought that afterCOVID, I thought cruising was
going to be dead.
Instead, it's coming backstronger than it ever has been
before.
Mark Faldmo (18:58):
Both river and ocean, are so strong, in fact,
that we'll talk about in thejust cruising segment.
I was on that cruise with RoyalCaribbean, with some of their
executives, and they did makethat point.
Oh, they did that.
Financially they're strongerthan they've ever been, despite
all of the loans, and RoyalCaribbean gave travel agencies
(19:19):
loans to keep them afloat duringCOVID.
Ad Voice (19:21):
Oh wow.
Mark Faldmo (19:22):
Despite all of that , it's all paid back now and
they're in a very strongposition financially.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:28):
Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week,
which is always in this secondsegment of the show.
And again let me invite all oflisteners whether you're
listening to us live on theradio or if you're podcasting us
a little bit later call or textthe show.
We want to answer yourtravel-related questions.
801-649-3700.
(19:51):
801-649-3700.
And we received a text fromJulie who is asking I want to go
to Panama in October.
Where do you recommend staying?
Mark Faldmo (20:04):
Panama.
There's three different areasthat you can stay.
One is Panama City, the otheris a beach area and then you can
also stay in the jungle.
For a vacationer I'd recommendin the beach or jungle area.
Panama City is just a big city.
It's pretty amazing when you'rethere.
I've been to Panama City a fewtimes, but I'd rather stay in
(20:25):
the beach or jungle area.
Right now we have save up to$200.
And you are in kind of LatinAmerica there.
So Central America and Mexicosave up to $200.
And I looked for October 8th forfive nights.
This is airfare from Salt LakeCity, five nights hotel.
Now, this does not includetransfers, those are an
(20:46):
additional cost.
And then, also, kind of ourstandard disclaimer, most of our
radio listeners are in SaltLake City.
That's why we use that, but wecan look at this from other
cities all across the US.
So the hotels I looked at RiuPlaya Blanca, which is in the
beach area.
It's a four-star hotel Startedat $1149 per person, based on
(21:08):
double occupancy.
And then one of my favoritehotels is the Gamboa Rainforest
Reserve.
This one is in the jungle.
It's a four-star hotel.
It starts at $1169 per person.
Now, unlike the Riu and thenext hotel we'll talk about.
That price is not all-inclusive, but they do have an option
(21:29):
that you can upgrade to anall-inclusive plan.
The reason why I like thishotel when the US controlled the
Panama Canal Zone, this was theoffice search club for the
military, and so you know it hasa golf course.
It's right there on Gatun Lake,just a really nice location.
Then the next hotel again backto an all-inclusive is the
Dreams Playa Bonita.
(21:50):
This one is considered a cityhotel but you have to go on a
bridge across the Panama Canaland it is actually on a beach.
So it's considered city but ona beach.
I've stayed at this hotelbefore and really enjoyed it.
That price starts at $1369 perperson.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:08):
Is that a five-star?
Mark Faldmo (22:09):
That is a five-star resort.
Oh okay, dreams, part of thatHyatt Inclusive family of brands
, does a great job, five-star ona good beach and the Dreams is
probably the one I would choosebecause you're kind of close to
everything and you can also getinto the jungle to do a lot of
those activities.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:29):
Did being in the jungle bother you?
Was it noisy?
Mark Faldmo (22:32):
No, it didn't bother me.
It's quite a good setting rightthere on the lake.
There's monkeys around, there'sall sorts of wildlife around.
It's a really interesting placeto stay as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:44):
Okay, what about things to do when you stay
at one of those three hotels?
Mark Faldmo (22:49):
All of these.
Panama Canal is kind of themain draw of Panama, so you can
take cruises just on smallerboats that take you through the
loch, so you can see how all ofthat works.
Oh, that'd be fun.
You can also go to the PanamaCanal Museum, which is a museum
about the canal, but then theyalso have an observation deck
(23:10):
where you can just sit there andwatch ships go through the
Panama Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:13):
Have you done that?
I mean, I know that you'veactually gone through the Panama
Canal, but you were on a ship,but just observing.
Have you done that?
Mark Faldmo (23:19):
Yeah, I've done it both ways and I really like that
canal museum.
It's fascinating both whenyou're on the ship and at the
museum to watch how they getships through the Panama Canal.
Then there's other things likezip lines.
One of the more fascinatingthings to do is to take a tour
out to a local village.
There's still indigenous tribesliving pretty much how they
(23:45):
lived a hundred years ago.
Oh wow, they take you out onthe kind of their dugout canoes
and take you to their villageand kind of really show you
their culture, how they how manytimes have you been to Panama,
Mark?
Two by land, three by sea.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:05):
That sounds like something in the two of by
land, three by sea.
Yeah, a little Americanbackwards American history.
Yeah, Julie, call Mark in hisoffice, get the conversation
started.
No obligation.
888-718-7717.
(24:25):
888-718-7717.
And he'll also put thisinformation on
blueplanetvacations.
com when we come back at thebottom of the hour.
It is time for the infamousJust Cruising segment, where
it's only about cruise news andwe've got the cruise deal of the
week.
We are talking Royal Caribbean.
Mark is back from Ovation ofthe Seas.
(24:48):
We'll talk about his experiencein Mexico and what he was doing
in Mexico.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
A radio show continues andwe'll have the exclusive offers
that we have just for ourlisteners.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be right back.
Give us about two minutes.
Show Voice (25:11):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show with PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo,
presented by BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(25:32):
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (25:40):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:59):
Okay, we're back.
Welcome back to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes, markand I will be talking about
Royal Caribbean's deals 60% offfor a second guest, their kids
sale, free promotion, shortcruises and free airfare to
Tahiti.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(26:22):
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:44):
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.
(27:19):
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
the beautiful horn ship, hornof Norwegians, aqua brand new
ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:35):
Nicki and I were on it in April beautiful,
just a great cruise experience.
Going out of Port of Miami.
Mark, I think they've movedthat ship.
What up to?
Is it Port Canaveral or is itFort Lauderdale?
Do you know Port Canaveral?
I believe?
Yeah, okay, that sounds rightComing up in this segment, the
(27:56):
infamous Just Cruising segment.
If you're just joining the showand you love cruising, you have
found the perfect time tolisten to the show.
We will be talking about thecruise deal of the week, which
is 60% off, a second guest andkids sale free.
That is coming up in the nextfew minutes.
But let's get back to thetravel news headlines.
(28:16):
I saw that Windstar islaunching a free airfare offer
for cruises in Tahiti.
Well, first of all, who isWindstar?
A lot of people probablyhaven't heard of them.
Mark Faldmo (28:28):
Windstar operates small ships.
They're known for their tallsailing ships, so they're big
sailing boats, but they alsohave a few smaller yachts in
their fleet.
These are 200 passengers orless ships and so you know, a
little bit more luxurious.
These smaller ships can get toa little bit more interesting
(28:50):
and remote ports.
This is on select 2025 and 2026packages.
So the free airfare is from LosAngeles on Air Tahiti Nui and
it applies for departures July2025 through the end of March
2026.
Their itineraries include airhotel stays and transfers, along
(29:11):
with the cruise portion.
They offer several differentitineraries in French Polynesia
Tahiti area.
The first is Dreams of Tahiti,which is a 10-day voyage through
the society islands.
So that would be Bora Bora,Morea Huahini, Tahiti, Raiatea
would be those islands.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:30):
Those are some of your favorite islands too,
yeah.
Mark Faldmo (29:32):
And then they have a little bit more extensive so
Tahiti and the Tuamotu Islands,which pairs the Tuamotus with
islands like Fakarava isprobably one of my favorites in
the Tuamotu Islands.
And then they have TahitianTreasures, which is a 17 day
voyage which includes all ofthat plus the Marquesas Islands.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:54):
Knowing that you love that part of the world
and the number of times thatyou've been there, this is right
up your alley.
Mark Faldmo (29:59):
Yeah, it is.
And free airfare.
That's saving you $1,500 ormore per person.
So you get a great cruise on asmall luxury ship and free
airfare.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:09):
The Atlantic hurricane season is officially
in swing.
There's no storms as of thisconversation, noaa, which is the
National Oceanic Atmosphere,and I forgot what the other
thing was Administration.
Mark Faldmo (30:22):
Administration probably.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:24):
We'll just call it NOAA.
Noaa is predicting anabove-normal 2025 Atlantic
hurricane season Alwayssomething to consider if you're
cruising in that part of theworld during this time of the
year.
So they're saying above-normal.
Mark Faldmo (30:39):
They're giving a 60% chance of an above normal
season.
They're predicting between 13and 19 named storms.
Of those, six to 10 will becomehurricanes.
Then they're kind of hedgingtheir bet.
There's a 30% chance of anormal hurricane season, so
they're kind of given bothpredictions.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:01):
There isn't that math yeah, 60 for bad, but
about 30 for this and then 10for whatever.
Yeah, princess is unveilingtheir 2026 2027 voyage featuring
Antarctic wonders and more.
What details do we have on?
Mark Faldmo (31:20):
that they're actually unveiling a whole
season in South America andAntarctica.
They have six departuresranging from 15 to 33 days on
the Royal Class ship, theMajestic Princess, with
overnight experiences in theAntarctic Peninsula.
For cruise lines, especiallythe ones that sail the larger
(31:42):
ships, kind of comes and goes,but this is a great way to at
least see Antarctica.
Now, because of the size of theship, you don't actually get
off the ship on Antarcticathey're just kind of scenic sail
past.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:56):
So you're not going to go on land on this one.
Mark Faldmo (31:59):
You're not going to go on land on any of the big
cruise lines, but they are verypopular, especially a lot of the
scenic cruising that they do.
You know just that area of theworld, the southern tip of South
America, is beautiful.
You know these cruises gothrough the Beagle Channel,
glacier Alley.
That would be spectacular.
You've said how much you'veenjoyed Glacier Bay.
(32:20):
Yeah, glacier Alley is severalmore glaciers and larger
glaciers than in Glacier Bay.
So you know, just hanging ontidewater glaciers to see.
These are now on sale.
November of 2026 to January of2027 is when these start.
They sell out pretty fast.
(32:41):
So if you are interested in oneof these sailings, give Blue
Planet Vacations a call and wecan look at these sailings and
get you pricing.
These are smaller ships.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:49):
These aren't the gigantic cruise ships,
correct these?
Mark Faldmo (32:52):
are larger ships.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:52):
Oh, so these are larger ships.
Mark Faldmo (32:54):
Yes, so the Majestic Princess is just over
3,500 guests.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:58):
Oh big Okay.
Mark Faldmo (33:00):
It's a larger ship and that's why they don't stop,
because they're too big.
You could never get everyoneashore with no docking
facilities, and theirregulations by ship size is
because I think only 100 peopleat a time can be off the ship on
Antarctica is the regulation,so you could never get a ship of
3,500 passengers to meet thatrequirement.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:23):
I'm assuming that this ship would not go
through the Drake Passage.
Mark Faldmo (33:26):
These are all round-trip Buenos Aires for the
most part, so they would not gothrough the Drake Passage.
There are other cruise linesthat, if you do want that
experience of going through theDrake Passage, that go Buenos
Aires to Santiago Chile.
I've personally not done that,but I've had a couple clients
and said it was a fun experienceto go through the Drake Passage
(33:47):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:48):
It was up and down.
I've seen some footage of goingthrough the Drake Passage and I
realized that the weatherchanges.
But I was like, wow, if that'show big those waves can get,
yikes, yeah, okay, so not goingthrough there, not on these ones
.
Yes, let's get to the cruisedeal of the week, which is
always in this segment of theshow, the infamous Just Cruising
(34:10):
segment.
You're getting back from Mexico.
You did a three-day cruise onOvation of the Seas, but while
you were there, you found outabout Royal Caribbean's deals of
60% off second guest and kidssail free.
Mark Faldmo (34:25):
So that deal is good.
Fleet wide on Royal Caribbean,it's not destination specific
60% off the second guest, oreffectively 30% off for the
cabin, and then kids sail freeon select sailings for Royal
Caribbean.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:40):
Royal Caribbean has added a second
ship to the West Coast.
It was that Ovation of the Seas, the ship that you were on.
Mark Faldmo (34:47):
Yep, that's the one I was just on.
I was on that celebration ofadding that second ship.
For the last few years they'vehad the Navigator of the Seas,
which does a combination ofthree, four and seven day
Mexican, Baja or Mexican Rivieracruises.
This week started the Ovationof the Seas, the ship that I
just got off of, which doesthree, five and six day Mexican
(35:08):
Riviera cruises throughSeptember and then in October
the Quantum of the Seas is goingto come and do three, four,
five and six day Mexican, Bajaor Riviera cruises.
Royal Caribbean is really goingall in on those shorter cruises
and so now they have these newerway, more modern ships doing
(35:28):
these shorter cruises.
You know, for me it's kind ofexciting to see a ship like this
doing a short cruises out ofLos Angeles.
The reason why I like that issome people wonder if cruising
is for them and that three andfour day cruise is the perfect
kind of test run to see if youlike cruising.
(35:48):
Typically you would do that onone of those older ships that
didn't have all the bells andwhistles and it probably would
turn you away more than get youexcited for cruising.
But now, with Ovation andQuantum and Navigator being
there.
Navigator is probably thecruise ship that families would
enjoy more.
(36:08):
It has the water slides.
Quantum and Ovation have reallygood swimming pools, hot tubs.
They don't have water slides,but they have other things like
bumper cars and all sorts ofthings for families to do on
board.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:22):
At the top of the hour we were talking about
robot bartenders that weremixing drinks.
I'm curious how a drink orderwould be placed and then the
robot just goes to work.
It's probably through an app.
Mark Faldmo (36:33):
Yeah, it's through an app, you place it and then
it's attached to your key cardand so the robot will make it.
It'll say it comes out onstation one, and so it mixes it
up, and then you just scan yourkey card and the little conveyor
belt brings you your drink.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:49):
Was that fun to?
Mark Faldmo (36:50):
watch it?
Patrick Wiscombe (36:51):
Were there any complaints from people going
that's not what I ordered, or atleast it's not a good
combination of what I want.
Mark Faldmo (36:57):
I didn't hear any complaints on the drinks.
It was very fun to watch.
I sat there for probably 30minutes watching the process,
but we were talking about theroaming piano on the elevators.
Just some very interestingentertainment options on board
these shorter cruises on thesenewer ships.
(37:17):
If you're unsure about cruising, it'd be a great way to see
what cruising is about.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:22):
You mentioned that if you're new to cruising,
you're not sure if it's yourthing.
Three, four days is a good wayto go, but where would you go?
Mark Faldmo (37:30):
So these ones out of Los Angeles go to Ensenada
and Catalina.
Ensenada is very interesting.
I enjoy Ensenada.
I've heard some people say theyreally don't want to go back to
Ensenada.
Ensenada doesn't really havelike a lot of the ports, zip
lines and some of that adventurestuff.
(37:50):
It's more of a culture andhistory place.
So the two things that I findvery interesting in the Ensenada
area one is a building calledLa Riviera and it was an old
hotel and casino that was builtin the 1930s during Prohibition,
and so this is where Hollywoodwent to To get their alcohol.
(38:12):
To get their alcohol.
It was frequented by a CharlieChaplin, Desi Arnaz, Lucille
Ball, so it kind of has thatHollywood history connected to
it.
10 years after it opened,Mexico then prohibited gambling,
which so the hotel was onlyopen for 10 years.
Everyone came for the casinoand alcohol, and then when the
(38:33):
casino shut down, I guess thealcohol wasn't enough to you
know.
By then prohibition was over inthe US as well.
We had a cultural presentationthere where they did kind of
different dances from differentregions of Mexico.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:47):
Oh, so you actually went in for a
presentation.
Mark Faldmo (38:50):
I thought all of this stuff was on the ship.
This was a presentation in LaRivera, the old casino.
The famous thing in Ensenada isLa Bufadora, which is a
blowhole, and so you go right onthe ocean, the waves hit lava
tunnel, just perfect, and itshoots up like a geyser.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:09):
Oh, I've probably seen something like
that on social media then.
Mark Faldmo (39:13):
There are only four or five blowholes around the
world and Ensenada does have one.
It's very interesting to get tobecause the buses park at one
end or the parking lot is at oneend, and then you have to walk
a little over a quarter miledown to the blowhole.
But it's all shops and vendors.
You get people hey, come see myshop.
(39:33):
And so you get haggled a lot onyour way there.
Oh yeah, which, culturally, isvery interesting.
Personally, I don't like that.
Have you been there?
La Bufadora?
I've been there a few times andHeather and I went there on
Monday.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:47):
You just have to have a strong will to say no,
I'm not interested, and say itover and, over and over.
Mark Faldmo (39:52):
Yes.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:52):
As long as you can say no and mean it, they'll
quit bothering you.
Mark Faldmo (39:55):
But I'll tell you, I did buy things down there.
Oh, you did.
There's a really good taco shopthere.
And then I bought bags ofchurros.
Show Voice (40:07):
Bags of churros.
Mark Faldmo (40:08):
Probably the best churros I've had.
Yeah, they come in a bag withsix or seven churros.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:15):
What is the cost for a three and four day
cruise.
Then I looked in November.
Mark Faldmo (40:19):
So this would be on the Navigator of the Seas.
So four day Mexican Baja cruise.
November 3rd was the date.
It goes to Catalina Island andEnsenada, Mexico.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:31):
You keep talking about Catalina Island.
Is that different than Catalina, I'll say, off the coast of Los
Angeles.
Mark Faldmo (40:40):
So this is the Catalina Island just off the
coast of Los Angeles.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:43):
Oh, so you do go there.
Mark Faldmo (40:44):
You go there, yeah, and then it's not a Mexico, so
that on the Navigator of theSeas an inside cabin starts at
$390.
So under $100 per person perday, and a balcony cabin starts
at $656 per person per day.
A great way to get your feetwet into cruising, if you're
unsure of cruising.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:04):
That's a good way to test drive.
I hadn't thought about testdriving to cruise, and it's kind
of nice to have everything onthe West Coast now instead of
having to go to Florida almostexclusively.
Mark Faldmo (41:17):
Yes, it is.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:18):
And you had a great time correct For the three
days.
Yeah, great time.
Mark Faldmo (41:22):
I loved it, but I love to cruise.
This is, you know, again, over150, probably approaching 200
cruises, and so I love it.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:31):
Jeez.
Call Mark in his office if youwant to test drive Mexico on a
three and four day cruise888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
When we come back we've got thesummer travel checklist Things
to do now to make your tripgreat.
That's next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast or radio
(41:54):
show continues.
I'm Patrick Wiscombe, he isMark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (42:00):
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.
Ad Voice (42:26):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
authentic tall ship sailingexperiences featuring creative
itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
Central America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(42:47):
blueplanetvacations.
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Show Voice (42:56):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
blueplanetvacations.
com America's Best TravelAdvisors.
Call the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700,
(43:16):
801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:24):
Your attention , please, your attention.
Please Sit down.
It sounds like I'm scolding you.
Hey, sit down there.
Yes, we'll get to that storycoming up here in just a second.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show alongside my good friend,mark Faldmo.
(43:46):
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you for allowing us to bepart of your weekend.
We do want to take your travelrelated questions and we do want
to take your calls.
If you want to call the studioor text 801-649-3700,
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(44:08):
We really want to answer yourquestions.
Take advantage of our knowledge.
All right, I thought this wasfunny.
I saw this headline that acountry is fining impatient
airplane passengers.
Hence the very start of thissegment where I said sit down,
sit down there.
Mark Faldmo (44:28):
This is a new law that was recently passed in
Turkey and this kind of goes toairplane etiquette when is the
right time to stand up?
This new law is passengers thatstand up before the flight is
finished taxiing or before it'stheir rows turned to the face,
(44:49):
up to about a $70 fine.
If the plane stops at the gateand you stand up right away, you
could be fined up to about $70in Turkey During COVID, I took a
group to Peru and they had asimilar rule during COVID in
Peru and so the flight attendantwould dismiss three rows at a
time so they'd walk back and youhad to stay seated until it was
(45:11):
your turn, until you weredismissed to leave.
You know, I was on just myflight home from Los Angeles the
other day after the cruisesomeone got up in the row,
someone from clear back of theplane just went rushing past
everybody already standing inthe aisle.
Kind of annoying when thathappens.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:27):
So people are already standing in the, in the
aisle, the aisle the guy,whoever was trying to get past
everyone that was standing inthe aisle past everyone.
Mark Faldmo (45:33):
Yeah, trying to get off the plane.
So that's crazy.
Yeah, wait your turn.
If you do have a tightconnection, let the flight
attendant know and they willhelp facilitate that.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:45):
But yeah, don't just rush past did it
create kind of a commotion onthe plane?
I'm assuming it had to.
Mark Faldmo (45:51):
I don't know how it did a little.
It did a little bit.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:54):
Yeah Well, don't do that.
You're right, that goes toairplane etiquette.
Here is a question that I havefor you while we're talking
about Mark's travel tips when isit okay to press the flight
attendant call button?
There are people who will pressit gratuitously.
Mark Faldmo (46:10):
Yeah, this is an article that was written by a
flight attendant, just with somegeneral guidelines when you
should press the call buttonmedical emergencies, faulty seat
, spilled liquids or food.
When it's okay to press thecall button If you need to ask
for water, if your bags are outof reach, you need help getting
(46:32):
something out of the overheadbin, or like if you missed out
on meal service or something.
When it's not okay to press thecall button during takeoff and
landing, trying to upgrade yourseat.
I've seen on my flight homefrom Los Angeles we were
(46:56):
upgraded to first class andthere's one person hit her call
button four times during theflight.
It was just random stuff and soWas she in first class as well?
She was in first class as well.
It wasn't any of these itemsthat the flight attendant in
this article says it's okay todo.
One of it was.
It seemed like just a chit chat, and so you know you should use
your best judgment.
(47:16):
Don't annoy the flightattendants by using your call
attendant button out of turn.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:22):
I think there was something on that list that
is an appropriate time to pressthe flight attendant button and
this references the safety video.
When you leave, like if youdrop your phone between the
chair, don't get the phoneyourself because you could break
the battery, cause a fire.
I'm assuming that would be anappropriate time as well.
Mark Faldmo (47:40):
Yes, and don't adjust your seat.
If you drop your phone Again,any of that could break the
phone's battery and cause a fire.
I did press my call attendantbutton on the flight because my
screen froze.
I went to look at the map tosee where we were at and it
wouldn't go back so I had tohave the flight attendant reset
(48:00):
my screen.
Oh okay, I hope inappropriate,although that would fall under
faulty or misbehaving seats.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:07):
Yeah.
So let's go over the summertravel checklist things to do
now.
Don't put it off to the lastsecond to make your vacation
great.
Mark Faldmo (48:16):
These are kind of just basic things.
First thing is triple checkyour passport expiration date.
Oh yeah, and you know we we'vetalked about this a few times on
the show.
I'm surprised at how manypeople show up with an expired
passport or a passport thatdoesn't meet the country they're
going to requirements forexport validity.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:38):
I don't know that.
I'm aware of the term exportvalidity.
What does that mean?
Mark Faldmo (48:42):
Some countries require that your passport be
valid for three, six or ninemonths from the date of travel.
If you try and fly to a countrythat requires your passport be
valid for six months from thedate of entry and your passport
expires within that, you'll bedenied entry into that country.
Okay, what else is on the list,Mark?
(49:02):
The next thing is to sign upfor programs to help get you
through the airport, like TSAPreCheck or Global Entry and
Clear as well.
Now.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:12):
Clear is a paid program.
Is it a month or a year?
Mark Faldmo (49:16):
A year.
So well, they're all paidprograms but just you know
various different things.
So PreCheck and Global Entryare a government program and
Clear is a private company thatdoes that.
So all of those will basicallyget you to the front of the line
.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:34):
And, of course , tsa.
Pre and global entry is just atthe airport.
Mark Faldmo (49:38):
And then another thing which has been in the news
the last few weeks that we'vetalked about check your real ID.
Make sure you have the real IDor travel with your passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:49):
Did you see long lines getting through Salt
Lake City International?
Mark Faldmo (49:54):
No, I didn't.
No, it was.
I don't think the problems thatpeople thought were going to
happen with real ID actuallyhappened.
So you know there were somehiccups on the first few days at
certain airports, but for themost part people are able to get
through.
It's still a good thing tocheck that you do have the real
ID, just in case.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:12):
What about long lines coming from LAX to
Salt Lake City?
Mark Faldmo (50:16):
Well, I don't know because I also have digital ID,
so that's basically just walkthrough.
So at LAX the lines arecompletely separate, so I
couldn't even see what thegeneral line was like.
What else is on the summertravel checklist Download your
airline's mobile app so you cancheck in, you get flight alerts,
flight notifications.
(50:37):
Having the airline's mobile appis, I think, very important.
And then also a lot of airlinesnow that offer the
complimentary internet.
You do have to be a member oftheir frequent flyer program to
get that complimentary internet.
Make sure you sign up for thatairline's frequent flyer program
and know your login so that youcan get the free internet.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:59):
Still amazes me that we can be 30 plus
thousand feet in the air andtext with each other.
Mark Faldmo (51:04):
Yes.
Patrick Wiscombe (51:06):
Those are some great tips, the way, if you can
swing it financially tsa preglobal entry, global entry if
you're traveling internationally.
I guess, technically, you didcoming from Mexico into Los
Angeles, didn't you?
Yes yep, on the cruise ship.
So you were able to get off thecruise ship pretty quick I, I
(51:29):
was yeah.
That's going to do it.
If you want to take advantageof any of the offers that we've
talked about for the last hour,call Mark in his office,
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And, of course, you can alwaysgo to blueplanetvacations.
com.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, Sunday,
(51:55):
at 11am, right here on thisradio station in and around the
country, and you can stream,download and subscribe to this
very radio show and podcast oninsidetraveltalk.
com.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms, but let's
just say that you're not apodcaster.
You can just stream the showright at insidetraveltalk.
(52:18):
com.
Our job is done.
Now it's your turn to get outand explore the world while you
can, because you never know whatcurve's life is going to throw
at you.
Live your life deliberately andlive your life intentionally.
Get out and see the world.
It's a beautiful place.
(52:38):
People are awesome.
That's why I love doing thisshow with Mark.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will talk to you again nextweek.
Show Voice (52:49):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(53:09):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
It is the weekend, which means it's time
for the Inside Travel Talkpodcast, a radio show, hello
there Coming up.
On today's show, mark and Iwill be talking about the
rolling ship, piano robot,bartenders and no, we're not
making that up biking throughEurope and Mount Etna blowing
its top in Italy.
A lot to talk about.
Let's start the show.
(00:20):
The Inside Travel Talk podcast,a 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 (01:16):
It is the weekend.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
Hello there, my name is PatrickWiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be here in thestudio here in just a moment
and, if you're brand new to theshow or if you're a longtime
listener, the entire purpose ofthis radio show and podcast is
help you plan and book your nextvacation, or just give you
(01:39):
ideas of where you would want toconsider vacationing next.
And we are presented byBluePplanetvacations.
com.
And just a sincere thank youfor taking the time to stop and
listen.
Coming up in this section ofthe show, you are back from Los
Angeles.
You just spent three days onRoyal Caribbean's Ovation of the
(02:00):
Seas.
This is the second of two shipsthat are now on the West Coast.
Do they both come out of LosAngeles?
They do.
Mark Faldmo (02:08):
Yeah, so this event I was on was to celebrate Royal
Caribbean adding the secondship to West Coast, particularly
Los Angeles.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:16):
I thought the funniest part of that particular
ship.
When you sent pictures of therobot bartenders mixing drinks.
When you sent pictures of therobot bartenders mixing drinks.
Talk about replacing humanswith robots.
That's probably the ideal job.
It's pretty interesting towatch the rolling ship piano
Explain to listeners why thepiano was in the elevator.
(02:36):
Talk about an intimate concertOn this ship.
Mark Faldmo (02:38):
Royal Caribbean just had a rolling piano and
you'd see this guy throughvarious parts of the ship, but
one evening evening he spent allevening in the elevators, so he
just played for people whenthey got on the elevators and it
was a pretty cool thing towatch and experience.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:55):
That was a short concert yes, going from
deck six to deck 12 or whateverdecks you were going to.
Yes, let's get to the travelnews headlines.
Delta is adding a second flightfrom Salt.
Mark Faldmo (03:11):
Lake City International to Puerto Vallarta
for the holidays.
This winter Delta is addinglots of Caribbean, Mexico and
Central America flightsthroughout their route system,
and one that's of particularinterest to us is Puerto
Vallarta from Salt Lake.
Now this is just for theholidays, so it starts December
20th and runs through January5th, so it's just a short run.
(03:32):
It's just that two-week timeframe.
But they also announced they'readding two new destinations in
the Caribbean St Vincent andGrenada.
So daily flights from Atlanta,and they've added extra flights
to Cancun from all of their hubsDetroit JFK, Los Angeles,
Boston, Nashville, and thenother cities like Kansas City,
(03:53):
Indianapolis and Austin.
They've added Punta Cana, anextra stop from Atlanta.
There's several other cities inMexico and Central America that
they are adding flights to, andthese all start pretty much
December 20th.
Some go through that first partof January and some of them go
all the way through mid-April.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:12):
I know that the holidays make a lot of sense
to go on vacation.
That's the busy and probablythe most expensive time of the
year.
I would argue if you can go theweek after or the day or a
couple days after the new year,that is the best time to go,
probably price-wise as well.
Mark Faldmo (04:29):
In that kind of peak of winter travel, probably
January 3rd, once you're donewith New Year's travel, you can
get some pretty good deals.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:37):
United Airlines is moving up check-in
time for domestic travelers.
How much are they moving it up?
Mark Faldmo (04:44):
This is only for domestic travelers.
How much are they moving it up?
This is only for domestic.
Now, if you don't have checkedbags, you have to check in for
your flight at least 45 minutesprior or they'll cancel your
flight.
Previously it was 30 minutes,but that doesn't give the gate
agents enough time to process,upgrades process, standbys
process, all of that.
So they've moved it up to 45minutes prior to the flight for
(05:08):
domestic travel.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:09):
It's official Amsterdam is sick of tourists.
But Amsterdam locals are suingfamous TikTok shops.
I'm surprised about this oneand the city oh and the city.
Mark Faldmo (05:21):
This is kind of a story about being a respectful
traveler.
There is a famous fry shop inAmsterdam.
That's what Amsterdam is knownfor is their French fries.
I have never heard that it is sofamous on TikTok.
It's right in the historiccenter of Amsterdam and it has
lines out the door.
People don't use the trash bins.
(05:42):
They're loud and they kind ofmake it miserable for the locals
that live in the door.
People don't use the trash bins.
They're loud and they kind ofmake it miserable for the locals
that live in the area.
That's the problem here Overtourism is kind of a buzzword
in travel.
I don't know that Amsterdamreally has over tourism
problem, but there are certainspots that really get out of
control with tourists.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:05):
I guess it's not the end of the story.
Then We'll probably have a fewfollow-ups.
Mark Faldmo (06:08):
Yeah, we'll see what happens there.
See what happens to this fryshop.
They have two other locationsand it's just this one in the
historic city center that ishaving issues.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:18):
Let me invite all of our listeners right now.
If you have a travel relatedquestion, we want to hear from
you.
This is the studio and the textnumber 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700 if you have atravel related question and we
did receive a text from Jasonand this is our destination of
(06:40):
the week, always in the openingsegment of the show.
His question is pretty simplehe wants to go biking in Europe.
He's asking is that possible?
And the answer is yes, it ispossible.
Mark Faldmo (06:53):
Definitely yes.
There are a few ways you can dothis.
In the past, when we've talkedabout river cruises Avalon and
Ama Waterways, which are my twofavorite river cruise companies
they all have 20 or so bikes onboard.
So each day in port you canchoose to do a bike tour and
then just kind of have yourhotel follow you along, Do a 10
(07:14):
to 20 mile bike ride each dayand then, while you're doing
that, the cruise ship goes tothe next port and meets you
there.
The other way, if you reallywant to get into biking, there's
a company called Backroads andthey specialize in bicycle tours
throughout the world.
They started in Europe, butthey have them here in the US,
they have them in Africa, theyhave them in South America, so
(07:37):
they do bicycle tours throughoutthe world.
They have three different typesof tours One is biking, one is
walking and hiking and one theycall multi-adventure, which
combines biking, hiking andwalking.
It's a really good way to seeEurope.
They do have some of the biketours that do have e-bikes.
Oh, there we go To help outwith that.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:59):
So I have an e-bike and I don't think I've
told you this, but I have 6,384miles on my bike.
Those are original miles fromme.
Mark Faldmo (08:08):
That's a lot of biking.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:10):
So I'm all over this idea.
I didn't even know it was anoption, so I'm actually glad
that Jason is asking thisquestion.
Mark Faldmo (08:16):
You know, I've sold a few of these and people have
really enjoyed these bikingtours.
I chose three differentitineraries.
In Europe they have differentlevels of hotels Premier, which
are higher end, deluxe and thenClassic, so depending on which
level of accommodation you wantto stay at.
And then they have fivedifferent activity levels, from
easy to hard, and you can chooseeach day.
(08:38):
So, like on each day, it saystoday we offer level one through
three or we offer level twothrough five, and you can choose
what you want to do each day.
You don't have to do the fullbiking.
So whatever you're comfortablewith is what they'll let you do.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:55):
My only criteria would be biking for
sure.
Absolutely, Jason.
This is a great idea.
I just require a hot tub At theend of the day, that's it,
that's my only requirement, Ijust require a hot tub.
So at the end of the day,that's it.
That's my only requirement.
Mark Faldmo (09:07):
I'll just briefly go over what the levels are.
So level one is 18 to 22 milesper day with a thousand feet max
elevation gain.
Level two is 18 to 32 with amax of 2200 feet elevation gain.
Level three 26 to 42 miles witha 3,400 elevation level.
(09:29):
Level four 36 to 54 miles,4,400 elevation, and then level
five is 48 to 70 plus miles.
Wow, so I haven't seen verymany level five options on the
tours.
I've looked through, but theydo have those different options
each day.
So depending on how aggressiveyou want to be or how
(09:49):
comfortable you are, they willhave that.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:52):
What a unique way to see Europe.
By the way, that's a lot ofelevation, holy cow, yes, are
there certain countries wherethis is?
Mark Faldmo (10:00):
offered Almost every country in Europe they
have tours in.
I chose three that I think werepretty interesting.
One is Scotland and England.
So this one you bike fromEdinburgh to Yorkshire in
England, so it's through twocountries.
It's a five-night tour.
You stop at castles and tourcastles.
(10:21):
You have all sorts of culturalexperiences, you know.
Just a wonderful tour.
The other one that I looked atwas Berlin to Prague.
Oh wow, this one was a again afive night tour, berlin to
Prague.
Some of this you're notbicycling.
They transport you throughcertain spots of this but you
can choose each day how manymiles you want to bike.
(10:43):
And this one you bike along theDanube River for a while.
Explore Germany, Czech Republic.
And then the last one that Ilooked at was Tuscany Bike Tour.
This was a six day fromFlorence to Arazio and just
those hillsides, those hilltoptowns there in Tuscany, just
(11:05):
biking from one little villageto another.
An amazing experience there.
And you've booked a few ofthese before.
I haven't booked any of theirbike tours, but I've booked some
of their hiking and walkingtours.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:17):
How is it that we've been doing this show for
a year and a half and I've neverheard this before?
I don't know.
Mark Faldmo (11:23):
I blame you, blame it on me.
I know you like biking, oh, Ido.
We should have brought this upbefore.
You know, just had that requestthis week and thought that's
something to talk about.
A lot of people like that kindof active adventure.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:40):
Okay, let me just give out the studio and
text number.
We want to answer your travelrelated questions 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700 jason.
Call mark in his office.
I might even be calling you inthe office I'm so glad that you
brought this up, but I guess mythanks has to go to jason for
(12:02):
bringing up biking throughEurope.
You know, I've heard of goingthrough trains in Europe.
I've never heard of biking.
This is an awesome idea.
Jason, call Mark, get theconversation started during the
break 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(12:25):
And you can also call Mark.
The phone number is also onblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
Man, that first segment wentvery, very quickly.
It's time for the hot traveldeal of the week.
We are taking more of yourcalls and texts and with this
time we're going to Panama.
We can help you save up to $200going to Panama.
(12:45):
We've got five nights airfarefrom Salt Lake City.
We'll give you the details whenthe Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be back in about twominutes.
Show Voice (13:03):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
(13:23):
We'll be right back beachgetaway.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Now back to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show
(14:00):
presented by blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700,.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:32):
It is the weekend, which means that it's
time for the Inside Travel Talkpodcast, a radio show.
Mark, and I hope that you arehaving a terrific weekend,
whether you're listening to uson Saturday, or if you're
listening to us on Sunday oraround the country at 11 o'clock
on whatever radio station thatyou are listening to right now,
we want you to be part of theshow.
We want to answer yourtravel-related texts.
(14:52):
Call us now while we're in thestudio 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
So we can answer your travelrelated texts and questions and
we will be getting to.
I forgot who it was.
This was a question from one ofour listeners.
(15:13):
I forgot who it was.
Anyway, yeah, Julie.
Okay, Julie wants to go toPanama.
We'll get to her question herein just a second.
But let's get back to thetravel news headlines, and there
was a little bit of what do wecall this?
A blockbuster partnershipbetween United Airlines and
JetBlue to team up?
Mark Faldmo (15:32):
Yeah, and so this comes two years after a federal
judge blocked JetBlue andAmericans Northeast Alliance.
Jetblue has always been tryingto find ways to strengthen their
network on the East Coast, andthey've just struck a new
alliance with United Airlines,which they're calling the Blue
Sky Alliance.
This allows frequent flyermembers of both airlines to earn
(15:56):
and redeem miles on each of theairlines.
It gives the elite membersstatus benefits when flying on
the other airline, and so it's areally good alliance, I think,
for both of these airlines.
Where United has a pretty bigglobal reach and JetBlue has a
(16:17):
good kind of leisure networkthere on the northeast, it'll
feed into both airlines,particularly in the New York
area, where United has a big hubin Newark, new Jersey, and
JetBlue has their mainoperations there out of JFK
Airport.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:33):
Southwest is officially entering a new era,
with bag fees and other policychanges coming.
We talked about this.
What about a month and a halfago, maybe two months ago?
They meaning Southwest reallycreated some headaches, not only
for themselves.
I'm curious to track this forthe next year to see if it's
going to sink the airline orboost the airline, or if it's
(16:57):
just going to remain kind ofnothing.
Mark Faldmo (17:00):
Starting last week, southwest is now charging bag
fees.
Kind of the cornerstone of thebrand was bags fly free.
That is no longer the case.
So any ticket purchasedstarting June 1st and after, you
will now have a $35 bag fee forthe first check bag and $45 for
the second check bag, matchingwhat most other airlines have.
(17:22):
I'm curious, like you, to seewhat happens with Southwest.
Other airlines are alreadycourting Southwest flyers with
promotions, some with temporarybags fly-free, to get them to
switch, and it'll be veryinteresting to see how this all
pans out.
But it effectively makesSouthwest just like everybody
(17:43):
else.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:43):
Viking River Cruises or Viking Cruising, I
should say says that theircruising season 2025 is
effectively sold out.
Mark Faldmo (17:55):
Inventory as of May 11th this is about a month old
now this information they're 95%sold out for 2025.
Information they're 95% soldout for 2025.
There's not much availabilityif you're looking to go on a
river or ocean cruise on Vikingin 2025.
And that actually holds truefor a lot of the river cruise
(18:15):
companies.
It's so popular these days thatthey're already selling Q3, and
4 of 2026 is what they'refocusing on now.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:24):
Just a couple of days ago I received a little
booklet of Viking river cruisesfor 2026, 2027.
No mention of for the balanceof this year.
I know this isn't the infamousjust cruising segment, but they
had some interesting offerswhere it was basically $2,000 a
person and $25 deposits and theyhad some really impressive
(18:46):
destinations and it's no wonderthat they're sold out.
Honestly, I thought that afterCOVID, I thought cruising was
going to be dead.
Instead, it's coming backstronger than it ever has been
before.
Mark Faldmo (18:58):
Both river and ocean, are so strong, in fact,
that we'll talk about in thejust cruising segment.
I was on that cruise with RoyalCaribbean, with some of their
executives, and they did makethat point.
Oh, they did that.
Financially they're strongerthan they've ever been, despite
all of the loans, and RoyalCaribbean gave travel agencies
(19:19):
loans to keep them afloat duringCOVID.
Ad Voice (19:21):
Oh wow.
Mark Faldmo (19:22):
Despite all of that , it's all paid back now and
they're in a very strongposition financially.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:28):
Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week,
which is always in this secondsegment of the show.
And again let me invite all oflisteners whether you're
listening to us live on theradio or if you're podcasting us
a little bit later call or textthe show.
We want to answer yourtravel-related questions.
801-649-3700.
(19:51):
801-649-3700.
And we received a text fromJulie who is asking I want to go
to Panama in October.
Where do you recommend staying?
Mark Faldmo (20:04):
Panama.
There's three different areasthat you can stay.
One is Panama City, the otheris a beach area and then you can
also stay in the jungle.
For a vacationer I'd recommendin the beach or jungle area.
Panama City is just a big city.
It's pretty amazing when you'rethere.
I've been to Panama City a fewtimes, but I'd rather stay in
(20:25):
the beach or jungle area.
Right now we have save up to$200.
And you are in kind of LatinAmerica there.
So Central America and Mexicosave up to $200.
And I looked for October 8th forfive nights.
This is airfare from Salt LakeCity, five nights hotel.
Now, this does not includetransfers, those are an
(20:46):
additional cost.
And then, also, kind of ourstandard disclaimer, most of our
radio listeners are in SaltLake City.
That's why we use that, but wecan look at this from other
cities all across the US.
So the hotels I looked at RiuPlaya Blanca, which is in the
beach area.
It's a four-star hotel Startedat $1149 per person, based on
(21:08):
double occupancy.
And then one of my favoritehotels is the Gamboa Rainforest
Reserve.
This one is in the jungle.
It's a four-star hotel.
It starts at $1169 per person.
Now, unlike the Riu and thenext hotel we'll talk about.
That price is not all-inclusive, but they do have an option
(21:29):
that you can upgrade to anall-inclusive plan.
The reason why I like thishotel when the US controlled the
Panama Canal Zone, this was theoffice search club for the
military, and so you know it hasa golf course.
It's right there on Gatun Lake,just a really nice location.
Then the next hotel again backto an all-inclusive is the
Dreams Playa Bonita.
(21:50):
This one is considered a cityhotel but you have to go on a
bridge across the Panama Canaland it is actually on a beach.
So it's considered city but ona beach.
I've stayed at this hotelbefore and really enjoyed it.
That price starts at $1369 perperson.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:08):
Is that a five-star?
Mark Faldmo (22:09):
That is a five-star resort.
Oh okay, dreams, part of thatHyatt Inclusive family of brands
, does a great job, five-star ona good beach and the Dreams is
probably the one I would choosebecause you're kind of close to
everything and you can also getinto the jungle to do a lot of
those activities.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:29):
Did being in the jungle bother you?
Was it noisy?
Mark Faldmo (22:32):
No, it didn't bother me.
It's quite a good setting rightthere on the lake.
There's monkeys around, there'sall sorts of wildlife around.
It's a really interesting placeto stay as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:44):
Okay, what about things to do when you stay
at one of those three hotels?
Mark Faldmo (22:49):
All of these.
Panama Canal is kind of themain draw of Panama, so you can
take cruises just on smallerboats that take you through the
loch, so you can see how all ofthat works.
Oh, that'd be fun.
You can also go to the PanamaCanal Museum, which is a museum
about the canal, but then theyalso have an observation deck
(23:10):
where you can just sit there andwatch ships go through the
Panama Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:13):
Have you done that?
I mean, I know that you'veactually gone through the Panama
Canal, but you were on a ship,but just observing.
Have you done that?
Mark Faldmo (23:19):
Yeah, I've done it both ways and I really like that
canal museum.
It's fascinating both whenyou're on the ship and at the
museum to watch how they getships through the Panama Canal.
Then there's other things likezip lines.
One of the more fascinatingthings to do is to take a tour
out to a local village.
There's still indigenous tribesliving pretty much how they
(23:45):
lived a hundred years ago.
Oh wow, they take you out onthe kind of their dugout canoes
and take you to their villageand kind of really show you
their culture, how they how manytimes have you been to Panama,
Mark?
Two by land, three by sea.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:05):
That sounds like something in the two of by
land, three by sea.
Yeah, a little Americanbackwards American history.
Yeah, Julie, call Mark in hisoffice, get the conversation
started.
No obligation.
888-718-7717.
(24:25):
888-718-7717.
And he'll also put thisinformation on
blueplanetvacations.
com when we come back at thebottom of the hour.
It is time for the infamousJust Cruising segment, where
it's only about cruise news andwe've got the cruise deal of the
week.
We are talking Royal Caribbean.
Mark is back from Ovation ofthe Seas.
(24:48):
We'll talk about his experiencein Mexico and what he was doing
in Mexico.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
A radio show continues andwe'll have the exclusive offers
that we have just for ourlisteners.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be right back.
Give us about two minutes.
Show Voice (25:11):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show with PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo,
presented by BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(25:32):
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (25:40):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:59):
Okay, we're back.
Welcome back to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes, markand I will be talking about
Royal Caribbean's deals 60% offfor a second guest, their kids
sale, free promotion, shortcruises and free airfare to
Tahiti.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(26:22):
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:44):
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.
(27:19):
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
the beautiful horn ship, hornof Norwegians, aqua brand new
ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:35):
Nicki and I were on it in April beautiful,
just a great cruise experience.
Going out of Port of Miami.
Mark, I think they've movedthat ship.
What up to?
Is it Port Canaveral or is itFort Lauderdale?
Do you know Port Canaveral?
I believe?
Yeah, okay, that sounds rightComing up in this segment, the
(27:56):
infamous Just Cruising segment.
If you're just joining the showand you love cruising, you have
found the perfect time tolisten to the show.
We will be talking about thecruise deal of the week, which
is 60% off, a second guest andkids sale free.
That is coming up in the nextfew minutes.
But let's get back to thetravel news headlines.
(28:16):
I saw that Windstar islaunching a free airfare offer
for cruises in Tahiti.
Well, first of all, who isWindstar?
A lot of people probablyhaven't heard of them.
Mark Faldmo (28:28):
Windstar operates small ships.
They're known for their tallsailing ships, so they're big
sailing boats, but they alsohave a few smaller yachts in
their fleet.
These are 200 passengers orless ships and so you know, a
little bit more luxurious.
These smaller ships can get toa little bit more interesting
(28:50):
and remote ports.
This is on select 2025 and 2026packages.
So the free airfare is from LosAngeles on Air Tahiti Nui and
it applies for departures July2025 through the end of March
2026.
Their itineraries include airhotel stays and transfers, along
(29:11):
with the cruise portion.
They offer several differentitineraries in French Polynesia
Tahiti area.
The first is Dreams of Tahiti,which is a 10-day voyage through
the society islands.
So that would be Bora Bora,Morea Huahini, Tahiti, Raiatea
would be those islands.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:30):
Those are some of your favorite islands too,
yeah.
Mark Faldmo (29:32):
And then they have a little bit more extensive so
Tahiti and the Tuamotu Islands,which pairs the Tuamotus with
islands like Fakarava isprobably one of my favorites in
the Tuamotu Islands.
And then they have TahitianTreasures, which is a 17 day
voyage which includes all ofthat plus the Marquesas Islands.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:54):
Knowing that you love that part of the world
and the number of times thatyou've been there, this is right
up your alley.
Mark Faldmo (29:59):
Yeah, it is.
And free airfare.
That's saving you $1,500 ormore per person.
So you get a great cruise on asmall luxury ship and free
airfare.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:09):
The Atlantic hurricane season is officially
in swing.
There's no storms as of thisconversation, noaa, which is the
National Oceanic Atmosphere,and I forgot what the other
thing was Administration.
Mark Faldmo (30:22):
Administration probably.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:24):
We'll just call it NOAA.
Noaa is predicting anabove-normal 2025 Atlantic
hurricane season Alwayssomething to consider if you're
cruising in that part of theworld during this time of the
year.
So they're saying above-normal.
Mark Faldmo (30:39):
They're giving a 60% chance of an above normal
season.
They're predicting between 13and 19 named storms.
Of those, six to 10 will becomehurricanes.
Then they're kind of hedgingtheir bet.
There's a 30% chance of anormal hurricane season, so
they're kind of given bothpredictions.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:01):
There isn't that math yeah, 60 for bad, but
about 30 for this and then 10for whatever.
Yeah, princess is unveilingtheir 2026 2027 voyage featuring
Antarctic wonders and more.
What details do we have on?
Mark Faldmo (31:20):
that they're actually unveiling a whole
season in South America andAntarctica.
They have six departuresranging from 15 to 33 days on
the Royal Class ship, theMajestic Princess, with
overnight experiences in theAntarctic Peninsula.
For cruise lines, especiallythe ones that sail the larger
(31:42):
ships, kind of comes and goes,but this is a great way to at
least see Antarctica.
Now, because of the size of theship, you don't actually get
off the ship on Antarcticathey're just kind of scenic sail
past.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:56):
So you're not going to go on land on this one.
Mark Faldmo (31:59):
You're not going to go on land on any of the big
cruise lines, but they are verypopular, especially a lot of the
scenic cruising that they do.
You know just that area of theworld, the southern tip of South
America, is beautiful.
You know these cruises gothrough the Beagle Channel,
glacier Alley.
That would be spectacular.
You've said how much you'veenjoyed Glacier Bay.
(32:20):
Yeah, glacier Alley is severalmore glaciers and larger
glaciers than in Glacier Bay.
So you know, just hanging ontidewater glaciers to see.
These are now on sale.
November of 2026 to January of2027 is when these start.
They sell out pretty fast.
(32:41):
So if you are interested in oneof these sailings, give Blue
Planet Vacations a call and wecan look at these sailings and
get you pricing.
These are smaller ships.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:49):
These aren't the gigantic cruise ships,
correct these?
Mark Faldmo (32:52):
are larger ships.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:52):
Oh, so these are larger ships.
Mark Faldmo (32:54):
Yes, so the Majestic Princess is just over
3,500 guests.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:58):
Oh big Okay.
Mark Faldmo (33:00):
It's a larger ship and that's why they don't stop,
because they're too big.
You could never get everyoneashore with no docking
facilities, and theirregulations by ship size is
because I think only 100 peopleat a time can be off the ship on
Antarctica is the regulation,so you could never get a ship of
3,500 passengers to meet thatrequirement.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:23):
I'm assuming that this ship would not go
through the Drake Passage.
Mark Faldmo (33:26):
These are all round-trip Buenos Aires for the
most part, so they would not gothrough the Drake Passage.
There are other cruise linesthat, if you do want that
experience of going through theDrake Passage, that go Buenos
Aires to Santiago Chile.
I've personally not done that,but I've had a couple clients
and said it was a fun experienceto go through the Drake Passage
(33:47):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:48):
It was up and down.
I've seen some footage of goingthrough the Drake Passage and I
realized that the weatherchanges.
But I was like, wow, if that'show big those waves can get,
yikes, yeah, okay, so not goingthrough there, not on these ones
.
Yes, let's get to the cruisedeal of the week, which is
always in this segment of theshow, the infamous Just Cruising
(34:10):
segment.
You're getting back from Mexico.
You did a three-day cruise onOvation of the Seas, but while
you were there, you found outabout Royal Caribbean's deals of
60% off second guest and kidssail free.
Mark Faldmo (34:25):
So that deal is good.
Fleet wide on Royal Caribbean,it's not destination specific
60% off the second guest, oreffectively 30% off for the
cabin, and then kids sail freeon select sailings for Royal
Caribbean.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:40):
Royal Caribbean has added a second
ship to the West Coast.
It was that Ovation of the Seas, the ship that you were on.
Mark Faldmo (34:47):
Yep, that's the one I was just on.
I was on that celebration ofadding that second ship.
For the last few years they'vehad the Navigator of the Seas,
which does a combination ofthree, four and seven day
Mexican, Baja or Mexican Rivieracruises.
This week started the Ovationof the Seas, the ship that I
just got off of, which doesthree, five and six day Mexican
(35:08):
Riviera cruises throughSeptember and then in October
the Quantum of the Seas is goingto come and do three, four,
five and six day Mexican, Bajaor Riviera cruises.
Royal Caribbean is really goingall in on those shorter cruises
and so now they have these newerway, more modern ships doing
(35:28):
these shorter cruises.
You know, for me it's kind ofexciting to see a ship like this
doing a short cruises out ofLos Angeles.
The reason why I like that issome people wonder if cruising
is for them and that three andfour day cruise is the perfect
kind of test run to see if youlike cruising.
(35:48):
Typically you would do that onone of those older ships that
didn't have all the bells andwhistles and it probably would
turn you away more than get youexcited for cruising.
But now, with Ovation andQuantum and Navigator being
there.
Navigator is probably thecruise ship that families would
enjoy more.
(36:08):
It has the water slides.
Quantum and Ovation have reallygood swimming pools, hot tubs.
They don't have water slides,but they have other things like
bumper cars and all sorts ofthings for families to do on
board.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:22):
At the top of the hour we were talking about
robot bartenders that weremixing drinks.
I'm curious how a drink orderwould be placed and then the
robot just goes to work.
It's probably through an app.
Mark Faldmo (36:33):
Yeah, it's through an app, you place it and then
it's attached to your key cardand so the robot will make it.
It'll say it comes out onstation one, and so it mixes it
up, and then you just scan yourkey card and the little conveyor
belt brings you your drink.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:49):
Was that fun to?
Mark Faldmo (36:50):
watch it?
Patrick Wiscombe (36:51):
Were there any complaints from people going
that's not what I ordered, or atleast it's not a good
combination of what I want.
Mark Faldmo (36:57):
I didn't hear any complaints on the drinks.
It was very fun to watch.
I sat there for probably 30minutes watching the process,
but we were talking about theroaming piano on the elevators.
Just some very interestingentertainment options on board
these shorter cruises on thesenewer ships.
(37:17):
If you're unsure about cruising, it'd be a great way to see
what cruising is about.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:22):
You mentioned that if you're new to cruising,
you're not sure if it's yourthing.
Three, four days is a good wayto go, but where would you go?
Mark Faldmo (37:30):
So these ones out of Los Angeles go to Ensenada
and Catalina.
Ensenada is very interesting.
I enjoy Ensenada.
I've heard some people say theyreally don't want to go back to
Ensenada.
Ensenada doesn't really havelike a lot of the ports, zip
lines and some of that adventurestuff.
(37:50):
It's more of a culture andhistory place.
So the two things that I findvery interesting in the Ensenada
area one is a building calledLa Riviera and it was an old
hotel and casino that was builtin the 1930s during Prohibition,
and so this is where Hollywoodwent to To get their alcohol.
(38:12):
To get their alcohol.
It was frequented by a CharlieChaplin, Desi Arnaz, Lucille
Ball, so it kind of has thatHollywood history connected to
it.
10 years after it opened,Mexico then prohibited gambling,
which so the hotel was onlyopen for 10 years.
Everyone came for the casinoand alcohol, and then when the
(38:33):
casino shut down, I guess thealcohol wasn't enough to you
know.
By then prohibition was over inthe US as well.
We had a cultural presentationthere where they did kind of
different dances from differentregions of Mexico.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:47):
Oh, so you actually went in for a
presentation.
Mark Faldmo (38:50):
I thought all of this stuff was on the ship.
This was a presentation in LaRivera, the old casino.
The famous thing in Ensenada isLa Bufadora, which is a
blowhole, and so you go right onthe ocean, the waves hit lava
tunnel, just perfect, and itshoots up like a geyser.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:09):
Oh, I've probably seen something like
that on social media then.
Mark Faldmo (39:13):
There are only four or five blowholes around the
world and Ensenada does have one.
It's very interesting to get tobecause the buses park at one
end or the parking lot is at oneend, and then you have to walk
a little over a quarter miledown to the blowhole.
But it's all shops and vendors.
You get people hey, come see myshop.
(39:33):
And so you get haggled a lot onyour way there.
Oh yeah, which, culturally, isvery interesting.
Personally, I don't like that.
Have you been there?
La Bufadora?
I've been there a few times andHeather and I went there on
Monday.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:47):
You just have to have a strong will to say no,
I'm not interested, and say itover and, over and over.
Mark Faldmo (39:52):
Yes.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:52):
As long as you can say no and mean it, they'll
quit bothering you.
Mark Faldmo (39:55):
But I'll tell you, I did buy things down there.
Oh, you did.
There's a really good taco shopthere.
And then I bought bags ofchurros.
Show Voice (40:07):
Bags of churros.
Mark Faldmo (40:08):
Probably the best churros I've had.
Yeah, they come in a bag withsix or seven churros.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:15):
What is the cost for a three and four day
cruise.
Then I looked in November.
Mark Faldmo (40:19):
So this would be on the Navigator of the Seas.
So four day Mexican Baja cruise.
November 3rd was the date.
It goes to Catalina Island andEnsenada, Mexico.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:31):
You keep talking about Catalina Island.
Is that different than Catalina, I'll say, off the coast of Los
Angeles.
Mark Faldmo (40:40):
So this is the Catalina Island just off the
coast of Los Angeles.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:43):
Oh, so you do go there.
Mark Faldmo (40:44):
You go there, yeah, and then it's not a Mexico, so
that on the Navigator of theSeas an inside cabin starts at
$390.
So under $100 per person perday, and a balcony cabin starts
at $656 per person per day.
A great way to get your feetwet into cruising, if you're
unsure of cruising.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:04):
That's a good way to test drive.
I hadn't thought about testdriving to cruise, and it's kind
of nice to have everything onthe West Coast now instead of
having to go to Florida almostexclusively.
Mark Faldmo (41:17):
Yes, it is.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:18):
And you had a great time correct For the three
days.
Yeah, great time.
Mark Faldmo (41:22):
I loved it, but I love to cruise.
This is, you know, again, over150, probably approaching 200
cruises, and so I love it.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:31):
Jeez.
Call Mark in his office if youwant to test drive Mexico on a
three and four day cruise888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
When we come back we've got thesummer travel checklist Things
to do now to make your tripgreat.
That's next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast or radio
(41:54):
show continues.
I'm Patrick Wiscombe, he isMark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (42:00):
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.
Ad Voice (42:26):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
authentic tall ship sailingexperiences featuring creative
itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
Central America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(42:47):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (42:56):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
blueplanetvacations.
com America's Best TravelAdvisors.
Call the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700,
(43:16):
801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:24):
Your attention , please, your attention.
Please Sit down.
It sounds like I'm scolding you.
Hey, sit down there.
Yes, we'll get to that storycoming up here in just a second.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show alongside my good friend,mark Faldmo.
(43:46):
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you for allowing us to bepart of your weekend.
We do want to take your travelrelated questions and we do want
to take your calls.
If you want to call the studioor text 801-649-3700,
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(44:08):
We really want to answer yourquestions.
Take advantage of our knowledge.
All right, I thought this wasfunny.
I saw this headline that acountry is fining impatient
airplane passengers.
Hence the very start of thissegment where I said sit down,
sit down there.
Mark Faldmo (44:28):
This is a new law that was recently passed in
Turkey and this kind of goes toairplane etiquette when is the
right time to stand up?
This new law is passengers thatstand up before the flight is
finished taxiing or before it'stheir rows turned to the face,
(44:49):
up to about a $70 fine.
If the plane stops at the gateand you stand up right away, you
could be fined up to about $70in Turkey During COVID, I took a
group to Peru and they had asimilar rule during COVID in
Peru and so the flight attendantwould dismiss three rows at a
time so they'd walk back and youhad to stay seated until it was
(45:11):
your turn, until you weredismissed to leave.
You know, I was on just myflight home from Los Angeles the
other day after the cruisesomeone got up in the row,
someone from clear back of theplane just went rushing past
everybody already standing inthe aisle.
Kind of annoying when thathappens.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:27):
So people are already standing in the, in the
aisle, the aisle the guy,whoever was trying to get past
everyone that was standing inthe aisle past everyone.
Mark Faldmo (45:33):
Yeah, trying to get off the plane.
So that's crazy.
Yeah, wait your turn.
If you do have a tightconnection, let the flight
attendant know and they willhelp facilitate that.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:45):
But yeah, don't just rush past did it
create kind of a commotion onthe plane?
I'm assuming it had to.
Mark Faldmo (45:51):
I don't know how it did a little.
It did a little bit.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:54):
Yeah Well, don't do that.
You're right, that goes toairplane etiquette.
Here is a question that I havefor you while we're talking
about Mark's travel tips when isit okay to press the flight
attendant call button?
There are people who will pressit gratuitously.
Mark Faldmo (46:10):
Yeah, this is an article that was written by a
flight attendant, just with somegeneral guidelines when you
should press the call buttonmedical emergencies, faulty seat
, spilled liquids or food.
When it's okay to press thecall button If you need to ask
for water, if your bags are outof reach, you need help getting
(46:32):
something out of the overheadbin, or like if you missed out
on meal service or something.
When it's not okay to press thecall button during takeoff and
landing, trying to upgrade yourseat.
I've seen on my flight homefrom Los Angeles we were
(46:56):
upgraded to first class andthere's one person hit her call
button four times during theflight.
It was just random stuff and soWas she in first class as well?
She was in first class as well.
It wasn't any of these itemsthat the flight attendant in
this article says it's okay todo.
One of it was.
It seemed like just a chit chat, and so you know you should use
your best judgment.
(47:16):
Don't annoy the flightattendants by using your call
attendant button out of turn.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:22):
I think there was something on that list that
is an appropriate time to pressthe flight attendant button and
this references the safety video.
When you leave, like if youdrop your phone between the
chair, don't get the phoneyourself because you could break
the battery, cause a fire.
I'm assuming that would be anappropriate time as well.
Mark Faldmo (47:40):
Yes, and don't adjust your seat.
If you drop your phone Again,any of that could break the
phone's battery and cause a fire.
I did press my call attendantbutton on the flight because my
screen froze.
I went to look at the map tosee where we were at and it
wouldn't go back so I had tohave the flight attendant reset
(48:00):
my screen.
Oh okay, I hope inappropriate,although that would fall under
faulty or misbehaving seats.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:07):
Yeah.
So let's go over the summertravel checklist things to do
now.
Don't put it off to the lastsecond to make your vacation
great.
Mark Faldmo (48:16):
These are kind of just basic things.
First thing is triple checkyour passport expiration date.
Oh yeah, and you know we we'vetalked about this a few times on
the show.
I'm surprised at how manypeople show up with an expired
passport or a passport thatdoesn't meet the country they're
going to requirements forexport validity.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:38):
I don't know that.
I'm aware of the term exportvalidity.
What does that mean?
Mark Faldmo (48:42):
Some countries require that your passport be
valid for three, six or ninemonths from the date of travel.
If you try and fly to a countrythat requires your passport be
valid for six months from thedate of entry and your passport
expires within that, you'll bedenied entry into that country.
Okay, what else is on the list,Mark?
(49:02):
The next thing is to sign upfor programs to help get you
through the airport, like TSAPreCheck or Global Entry and
Clear as well.
Now.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:12):
Clear is a paid program.
Is it a month or a year?
Mark Faldmo (49:16):
A year.
So well, they're all paidprograms but just you know
various different things.
So PreCheck and Global Entryare a government program and
Clear is a private company thatdoes that.
So all of those will basicallyget you to the front of the line
.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:34):
And, of course , tsa.
Pre and global entry is just atthe airport.
Mark Faldmo (49:38):
And then another thing which has been in the news
the last few weeks that we'vetalked about check your real ID.
Make sure you have the real IDor travel with your passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:49):
Did you see long lines getting through Salt
Lake City International?
Mark Faldmo (49:54):
No, I didn't.
No, it was.
I don't think the problems thatpeople thought were going to
happen with real ID actuallyhappened.
So you know there were somehiccups on the first few days at
certain airports, but for themost part people are able to get
through.
It's still a good thing tocheck that you do have the real
ID, just in case.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:12):
What about long lines coming from LAX to
Salt Lake City?
Mark Faldmo (50:16):
Well, I don't know because I also have digital ID,
so that's basically just walkthrough.
So at LAX the lines arecompletely separate, so I
couldn't even see what thegeneral line was like.
What else is on the summertravel checklist Download your
airline's mobile app so you cancheck in, you get flight alerts,
flight notifications.
(50:37):
Having the airline's mobile appis, I think, very important.
And then also a lot of airlinesnow that offer the
complimentary internet.
You do have to be a member oftheir frequent flyer program to
get that complimentary internet.
Make sure you sign up for thatairline's frequent flyer program
and know your login so that youcan get the free internet.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:59):
Still amazes me that we can be 30 plus
thousand feet in the air andtext with each other.
Mark Faldmo (51:04):
Yes.
Patrick Wiscombe (51:06):
Those are some great tips, the way, if you can
swing it financially tsa preglobal entry, global entry if
you're traveling internationally.
I guess, technically, you didcoming from Mexico into Los
Angeles, didn't you?
Yes yep, on the cruise ship.
So you were able to get off thecruise ship pretty quick I, I
(51:29):
was yeah.
That's going to do it.
If you want to take advantageof any of the offers that we've
talked about for the last hour,call Mark in his office,
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And, of course, you can alwaysgo to blueplanetvacations.
com.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, Sunday,
(51:55):
at 11am, right here on thisradio station in and around the
country, and you can stream,download and subscribe to this
very radio show and podcast oninsidetraveltalk.
com.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms, but let's
just say that you're not apodcaster.
You can just stream the showright at insidetraveltalk.
(52:18):
com.
Our job is done.
Now it's your turn to get outand explore the world while you
can, because you never know whatcurve's life is going to throw
at you.
Live your life deliberately andlive your life intentionally.
Get out and see the world.
It's a beautiful place.
(52:38):
People are awesome.
That's why I love doing thisshow with Mark.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will talk to you again nextweek.
Show Voice (52:49):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(53:09):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
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