October 19, 2024 • 52 mins
What if your next vacation could redefine luxury and exploration? Get ready to uncover the latest buzz in the travel world, starting with the ritzy makeover of Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii, reborn as the Ritz-Carlton Oahu, promising unparalleled opulence on Oahu's North Shore. Discover United Airlines' exciting global expansion plan for summer 2025, with thrilling new routes from Newark to Greenland and Sicily, and Delta's fresh offering of flights from Los Angeles to Brisbane, Australia. Plus, hear about Spirit Airlines' financial turbulence and what it could mean for your future travel plans.
Experience more convenience and adventure as we navigate through changing travel regulations and must-see destinations. Mexico has made a pivotal customs law reversal, easing travel to Cancun, while the European Union's delay in biometric travel checks means you'll still be collecting those passport stamps. If you're dreaming of a cool escape, learn about the rising trend of "coolcations" and how you can snag a sweet deal for a spring getaway to Oslo, Norway. Don’t miss Disneyland’s exclusive ticket offers for early 2025, making magical memories more affordable for families.
For cruise lovers, we bring the latest industry updates you won't want to miss. MSC Cruises is setting sail for a new world record while building a state-of-the-art terminal in Galveston, Texas. Princess Cruises is upping the tech ante with faster internet tiers, and Royal Caribbean's hiking gratuity rates. Our tips segment will ensure you travel smart and safe, featuring insightful advice on selecting the best airplane seats and understanding entry requirements with tools like Sherpa. Plus, hear a cautionary tale about the perils of oversharing on social media and a quirky case of a child being denied a passport due to his unique name. Tune in for these stories and more, and visit our newly launched BluePlanetVacations.com for all your travel planning needs.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show.
On today's show, mark and Iwill be talking about
Scandinavian vacations cruisingthe Mexican Riviera, plus an
exotic South Pacific cruise.
Let's go.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
(00:24):
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (00:40):
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
(01:04):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:25):
Oh, my goodness, it is time for another
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio for Saturday and Sunday,
October 19th and 20th 2024.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe and, if you are brand new to the
radio show or the podcast, theentire purpose of this show is
to help you plan and book yournext vacation.
This show is all about fun.
You can get the podcast atInsideTravelalk.
(01:49):
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts.
We're on all of the majorpodcast platforms and if you're
in Salt Lake City, we're also onthe air each and every Saturday
and Sunday mornings, startingat 11 o'clock in the morning,
mountain time, and this show ispresented by blueplanetvacations
.
com.
Mark Faldmo joins me.
And, mark, I'm a little tired.
(02:10):
I just got back from Phoenixdoing a little business down in
Phoenix and it's good to talk toyou.
Mark Faldmo (02:17):
Yeah, so a little quick trip for you, but here
we've had a little bit of rainthe past few days, so you
probably enjoyed being in thesun.
I did.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:26):
Let's get to the travel news of the week and
this particular portion of theshow.
It's airline intensive andwe've also got some hotel news.
In fact, let me just startthere.
Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii, onOahu specifically, they're
changing their name.
They're now going to be knownas the Ritz-Carlton Oahu.
Mark Faldmo (02:45):
Turtle Bay is one of the only places that you can
stay on the North Shore, andthere's also the Courtyard Oahu
North Shore which is in Laie,just a few miles away from the
Turtle Bay.
This is interesting that theyare going to that luxury brand
of Ritz-Carlton.
Turtle Bay has always been anice hotel and I know two years
(03:05):
ago they underwent a hugerenovation and made it very
luxury and so I think they werejust positioning that to be able
to turn it into a Rich Carlton.
So now they have that wholebranding and marketing behind
them.
The hotel itself is out on alittle peninsula yeah, it is.
You have a beach on either side.
There's a really good surfingspot there and then the actual
(03:28):
beach on one side.
The Turtle Bay Beach is one ofthe better beaches on the North
Star.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:33):
It is spectacular United is launching
a global expansion for this nextupcoming summer 2025, adding
eight cities and 13 routes.
Mark Faldmo (03:44):
This is very interesting because United is
adding, as you mentioned, eightnew destinations.
Seven of them are not served byany other US airline.
Oh, really, Well, I would sayseven and a half, because one of
the destinations Delta alsoannounced, so currently, most of
them next May or June.
(04:06):
So they have Newark to Bilbao,Spain.
Newark to Faro, Portugal,Newark to Madeira, Portugal, and
I think this is the mostinteresting one Newark to Nuuk.
There will be a flight from USto Greenland and then Newark to
Palermo, Italy.
So that's the one that Deltaalso announced.
(04:26):
So it's interesting.
We've gone from zero flights toSicily to now two flights to
Sicily.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:33):
Within just a few weeks that we've talked
about.
Mark Faldmo (04:35):
Just a few weeks, yeah.
And then they do have the smallhub in Tokyo.
So they're adding a flightTokyo to Taiwan and a flight
Tokyo to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, and then the last flight is
Washington DC to Dakar.
They're also beefing up theirflights to Venice and to Nice
(04:56):
Delta.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:57):
They've just announced that they are adding a
new flight from Los Angeles,from LAX, specifically to
Brisbane, Australia.
Mark Faldmo (05:11):
Traditionally, Australia New Zealand have only
been served by their nationalairlines, so Qantas or Air New
Zealand.
In the last few years Delta hasbeen making some inroads into
that.
Now we're getting flights frommainland US directly to
Australia, which is very nice.
With this new flight toBrisbane, Delta is going to
offer 17 weekly flights betweenthe US and Australia.
(05:33):
Wow, so that's between Sydneyand Brisbane that they'll offer
that many flights.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:38):
This isn't good news for consumers, but
Spirit Airlines is discussing apossible bankruptcy filing.
Mark Faldmo (05:45):
I hope that they'll stay in the market somehow I am
not a big fan of Spirit, butcompetition is always good.
Spirit does keep some of theother airlines a little honest
in what they charge and do.
The CEO of Spirit has come outand kind of really ripped the
Department of Transportation fordenying that merger.
(06:06):
They denied it because it wouldcreate less competition and now
that decision might take out anairline from the market and
they're just looking at Chapter11, which means they'll still
operate.
But I know they've already madesignificant route changes.
For us here in Salt Lake I reada story that Spirit is
(06:27):
considering or has completelypulled out of Salt Lake City
starting in December or January.
But there are some cities thatthey are just completely pulling
out of.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:39):
I want to share some good news, and I know
you do too, butblueplanetvacations.
com and I'm mentioning itspecifically just so we can
start really pointing ourlisteners to the website
blueplanetvacations.
com the website is live, but oneof the things that I wanted to
talk about is Mark's philosophyfor taking care of traveling
(07:02):
customers planning vacationsversus other travel advisors.
Let's start there.
Mark Faldmo (07:08):
Obviously, for any business, a website is important
.
What I've really tried to dowith this website is connect it
to our travelers.
A lot of agencies use likefeeder services where that
service just feeds deals intotheir site Not that those are
bad, but it doesn't reallyconnect it to the person that is
(07:32):
viewing the website.
I don't use those feeder sites.
It creates a lot of extra workfor me to try and tailor and
personalize each deal for ourmarket, for our listeners, for
our audience.
Every agency's website and evenon mine, you'll see the
traditional cruise deals like60% off, 70% off, you know,
(07:55):
depending on the cruise line.
But I've tailored those alittle bit more to certain
destinations, tailored them toour listeners, to our market.
So hopefully those deals, Iguess, make more sense to them.
It shows them how they can usethat deal in their travels.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:12):
One of the things that I've already signed
up for is the hot travel dealupdates.
Tell people how to do that andwhat they can expect.
Mark Faldmo (08:19):
There is a form you can click on hot deals or there
may be a pop-up that pops upasking you if you want to
register for that.
It is our email list and thoseemails will come out every seven
to 10 days or whenever a hotdeal breaks.
I don't want to spam people.
I don't want to send things outevery few days, like some
(08:41):
people do.
I will only send things out ifit's relevant and timely.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:46):
One of the things that I really liked was
that you can actually bookcruises and vacations online,
but I think that something isunique is that anyone who plans
a vacation will be assigned atravel advisor to help with
reservations.
Mark Faldmo (08:58):
On the website.
There's both a vacation bookingtool where you can book
destinations Hawaii, Mexico, theCaribbean and then there's also
a cruise booking tool on there,and if you book there, you're
assigned to one of our advisorsto help with any other travel
needs, to just make sure thingsare booked correctly and as you
(09:19):
want.
A lot of people have issueswith booking online because
they're not sure they did itright.
They're not confident in whatthey've booked, and so this is a
way where, if you want, you canat least do your research there
and then call our agents.
But if you do book, you will beassigned an advisor who will
help you through that process.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:37):
See, I think that's the difference.
You're also adding the podcastto the website.
Mark Faldmo (09:43):
Yeah, so it's there on the main page.
The latest episode is there,and then there's the whole
podcast section that lists allof our past podcasts, and so
this is also where you can findthe show notes.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:55):
One of the things that many people don't
know about you is that you'vetraveled nearly four and a half
million miles and you are goingto be able to share your
experiences, and you'll also beable to see some of the
destinations where you will begoing.
Mark Faldmo (10:10):
But Mark has also been there, which is why he can
help you travel, so that's oneof the things I've always
enjoyed doing is writing aboutmy travel experiences, so there
is an extensive blog section onthe site.
It'll have travel tips, travelnews, travel destination
information.
One of my favorite blogs thatis currently there is one on the
Aranui 5, which we've talkedabout before.
(10:33):
That sails between theMarquesas Islands and Tahiti, so
all of the information about myexperience on that cruise is
there.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:41):
And of course people can book it too.
Mark Faldmo (10:44):
Yeah, and people can book it as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:45):
I love cruising.
I don't think I love cruisingas much as you do, because
you've been on over 150, but oneof my favorite sections on the
website is the top five cruisedeals of the week.
This is kind of how we plan theshow.
Mark Faldmo (10:58):
You know there are a lot of people like you that
like to cruise.
Sometimes they don't know wherethey want to go.
So this top five cruise dealsof the week section is designed
to give you some ideas and alsoshow you where the value is in
the deals.
One thing I've also done thereis those lists the inside,
(11:19):
outside and balcony costs.
But highlighted in red is adeal if it's an exceptionally
good deal.
There's some Alaska cruises onthere that have really good
rates for balcony cabins, soI've highlighted those in red or
some that have a really goodlead in inside price.
So that kind of helps youdecipher deals and know what's
(11:39):
out there.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:41):
Take advantage of Mark's travel experience and
let him help you, and let thewebsite help you.
Book your vacation onblueplanetvacations.
com, where you will be assigneda travel advisor, just to make
sure that you are gettingexactly what you want and that
you're not gambling with Well.
(12:02):
I hope this works outBlueplanetvacations.
com one of the best places tobook your vacation.
Moving forward, coming up inthe next segment, we've got the
hot travel deal of the week,always in segment number two,
and we're going to Scandinaviain the springtime.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
(12:23):
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday
and Sunday mornings.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (12:37):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
Ad Voice (13:10):
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Show Voice (14:06):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and
check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(14:26):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:34):
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
Hello there, my name is PatrickWiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo
.
Mark Faldmo, owner of blueplanet vacationsc.
om, and, if you are just joiningus this very moment, mark was
able to launch the website thisnext week and you can book all
(14:57):
of the vacations with theassistance of his travel
advisors at blueplanetvacations.
com.
That's huge news, mark.
Ad Voice (15:07):
I'm applauding you.
I'm excited.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:09):
Well done Coming up in this segment
segment number two of the showalways the hot travel deal of
the week.
We are headed to Scandinavia,but we're going to do it in the
spring of 2025, and we're goingto answer one of your clients'
questions.
Janice wants to go toScandinavia in the spring and
(15:32):
she's going to ask whatdestination would you recommend
for a nice vacation?
That's coming up here in just acouple of moments, but let's
continue on with the travel newsof the week.
Two or three weeks ago, you andI were talking about the Cancun
airport charging taxes, and Ido mean hefty taxes.
(15:53):
If you brought a laptop and,let's just say, an iPad, you
would get dinged on taxes.
A phone didn't count, but itlooks like they've eliminated
the customs tax for bringingmultiple devices.
Mark Faldmo (16:08):
This is a good thing.
This is a very good thing.
I always travel with a laptopand a tablet.
Most places in Mexico have thiscurrent customs law where they
can tax you on the second device19% of the perceived value up
to $4,000.
So that could be hundreds ofdollars on that second device.
(16:33):
Oh yeah, but they received somuch pushback on this and
actually saw a decline innumbers when this story first
was reported.
I started seeing this about sixweeks ago in the news and then
I saw an official thing a fewweeks ago, which is when we
talked about it, and now they'vecompletely reversed that.
(16:55):
So it definitely is a goodthing for travelers going to
Cancun.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:59):
All right.
So if you have a laptop andI'll just say an iPad or
something, you can go.
You're good to go now To Cancun.
Mark Faldmo (17:05):
Now there are other destinations, more than just
Mexico.
There are several countriesthat have similar things, but
I've never actually seen itenforced.
It could be enforced.
So that's one reason Look atthe entry requirements for
countries you're visiting andmake sure you're not surprised
by any of these little.
I'll just say stupid laws.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:27):
You and I have been talking about the EU and
its biometric travel checks fora few weeks now, really for
about the past year, and we justdid a story on it last week.
So the European Union hasdelayed the new biometric travel
checks as their computer systemis just not up to the task.
(17:49):
It's almost getting comical atthis point how bad this rollout
has been.
Mark Faldmo (17:54):
And you know, last week we talked about our story
was they're doing away withpassport stamps and they're
starting this on November 10th.
They're starting this onNovember 10th and so after they
made that, it's been an officialannouncement for a while, but
we just did that story on theangle of the passport stamps.
Now Germany, France and theNetherlands said that their
(18:15):
border computer system is notready for that and cannot handle
the new biometric screening.
So even if one country is notready, they can't roll it out in
any other destination.
They all have to do it at thesame time.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:28):
I saw this story that Disneyland a $50,
first of all, let that sinking a$50 kids.
Mark Faldmo (18:41):
That's the qualifier.
Disneyland ticket is back.
What are the details on that?
Yeah, so this is a promotionthat starts next week, so for a
limited time, children aged 3through 9 traveling in early
2025 can get a one-day one-parkticket starting at $50.
That's amazing.
The tickets go on sale nextweek, October 22nd.
That is what Tuesday is.
(19:01):
When those go on sale.
They're valid for visitsJanuary 7th to March 20th.
Can they book those?
Patrick Wiscombe (19:09):
$50 tickets through you?
Mark Faldmo (19:10):
Yeah, they can we can do a full Disney package
with those promotions.
They also have a flexibility toadd that a one, two or three
day pass and you can also add ahopping onto that.
Those are great.
Obviously more expensive to addthose, but that one day.
One park pass starts at $50 perchild.
(19:30):
There also are some specials onadult tickets.
They are not every day you kindof have to look at the ticket
calendar but there are dayswhere adults are going to be
priced at $104 a day toDisneyland $104.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:46):
I haven't heard that price in years.
Mark Faldmo (19:48):
Wow.
So Disney's getting a littleaggressive, at least for their
softer season, that Januarythrough March timeframe.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:56):
Here is a marketing term that I'm okay if
it leaves the coolcation.
Yeah, the coolcation, yeah, thecoolcation.
What's the coolcation?
Just in case people don't know.
Mark Faldmo (20:08):
And this kind of goes with our hot deal of the
week.
But a coolcation is when peoplechoose to travel either to a
country with cooler weather ortravel to hot weather
destinations in their coolerseasons, so you're taking a
coolcation.
This is a trend that kind ofstarted in 2023 and has really
(20:31):
come to stride this year, in2024.
Looking at this data to thesedestinations has shown a 300%
increase in bookings.
They're the coolcationdestinations we talked about.
This destination, greenland, isthe number one coolcation
destination, which isinteresting because Greenland is
(20:51):
hard to get to unless you do iton a cruise ship.
But a lot more cruise shipshave started going there and, as
we discussed, united now has aflight to Greenland.
Greenland's kind of becomingwhat Iceland was 10 or 15 years
ago, kind of that emerginginteresting destination.
Oslo, Norway, is the number twocoolcation destination.
(21:13):
The Baltics, so Estonia, Latviaand Lithuania, and then the
French Riviera.
In the wintertime, nice, France, when it's cooler, there are
less crowds is anothercoolcation destination.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:29):
Since we're talking about coolcations, let's
talk about the hot ironicallyenough hot travel deal of the
week.
You had a client.
Janice wanted to go toScandinavia this spring 2025.
What destinations would yourecommend for a nice vacation?
Is her question.
Mark Faldmo (21:46):
Any of those that we just talked about I think
would be great.
The one I chose for thisparticular one is Oslo, Norway.
I love Norway cruises that goto Norway.
That's a good way to see Norway, but also just going to Oslo.
They look at an early Maydeparture from Salt Lake City to
(22:07):
Oslo, Norway, so this wasmidweek departures.
This was for six-night hotels,so the whole vacation with the
flights would be seven days andsix nights.
The price was $1689 per personbased on double occupancy.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:21):
That's amazing because I know that Scandinavia
can be kind of spendy.
That's an amazing price.
Mark Faldmo (22:28):
There are hotels that are less than this price.
You can get it down probably inthe $1,300, $1,400 per person,
but I chose this hotel.
It's called the Ton Hotel Opera.
It's basically connected to themain rail station and then it's
a short walk over.
There's a pedestrian streetthat I love going to in the
evening times.
I've stayed there a few timesand that's where I always choose
(22:51):
to stay, because it was just soeasy to get around.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:53):
How many times have you been to Oslo?
I've been to Oslo seven times.
Okay, all right, so you willknow what to do.
Let's talk about that.
Mark Faldmo (23:01):
I've got two of my favorite things.
One of them is closed, but I'llstill talk about it the Fram
Museum, which is the strongestwooden ship in the world.
It was basically a woodenicebreaker ship.
Really, it still has the worldrecord for sailing furthest
north and south on a singlevoyage.
One of my favorite is the NorskFolk Museum.
(23:23):
This was kind of an open airliving museum.
They have buildings fromdifferent parts of Norway and
they have one of the mostinteresting building exhibits is
the Gull Stave Church.
Norway is famous for theirwooden stave churches and this
is a church that they moved tothis place, but it was
(23:44):
originally built in the 1200s.
What's a good day trip forNorway?
I believe we've talked aboutthis in the past, but it's
Norway in a nutshell.
Take the train from Oslo toFlam.
There's a scenic train down thefjord in Flam and then you take
a cruise on the fjord and thenyou take a bus up to the top, to
(24:04):
another train station, and thenfrom there you can take the
train either back to Oslo or youcould continue on to Bergen and
spend a night in Bergen so youwould end up staying at the
hotel that you had originallybooked, that seven day, six
night hotel.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:22):
So this is a day trip correct.
Mark Faldmo (24:24):
Yeah, you can do it as a day trip and that's how
I've done it.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:28):
All right, we got to take a break here.
When we come back, it is theinfamous Just Cruising segment.
We've also got last minuteMexican Riviera cruises, so if
you've ever wanted to cruise theMexican Riviera, do not miss
this next segment.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
(24:48):
show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for waking upand being part of the show.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (25:01):
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.
(25:22):
com.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (25:34):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
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Patrick Wiscombe (26:36):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
If you are just joining us,mark and I have already
discussed a Scandinavianvacation, a $50 Disneyland
ticket yes, I really did say $50Disneyland ticket and coming up
in the next 30 minutes we'regoing to talk about cruising the
Mexican Riviera, plus an exoticSouth Pacific cruise and more
(26:58):
travel news.
So let's get started.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (27:28):
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.
(27:52):
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:00):
All aboard the Just Cruising segment, the
infamous Just Cruising segmentAlongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
If you are ready to go cruisethe Mexican Riviera, stay right
here for the next few minutes.
(28:21):
We're going to give you thedetails and we've got a really,
really great offer for listenersthis week.
But first we need to get to thequick hit travel news headlines
for this week.
But first we need to get to thequick hit travel news headlines
for this week.
And, as we went into the break,MSC Cruises.
They're going to try and set aGuinness World Record and
they're going to try and do itby using all of the ships in
(28:44):
their fleet.
What details do we have on that, mark?
Mark Faldmo (28:46):
This is actually a program that they've had on a
few of their vessels and they'regoing to roll it out to the
whole fleet and it's where gascan break a Guinness world
record.
To date there have been 30records broken on an MSC cruise
ship.
Those include the fastest topull 100 meters of rope.
(29:06):
Fastest time to complete 20chair rotations in under 21
seconds.
Putting on the most pairs ofsocks on one foot in under 30
seconds.
But they do have an officialGuinness Book of World Record
adjudicator on board that judgesthose and if you break a
Guinness World Record you'regiven an official certificate so
(29:27):
you can claim that you broke aGuinness World Records and then
you're also put in the book.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:32):
I saw this story that Galveston, Texas, has
started construction on the$151 million cruise terminal.
Mark Faldmo (29:40):
This is mainly going to be an MSC cruise
terminal.
They're going to convert an oldcargo warehouse and turn it
into a 165,000 square footcruise terminal and additional
parking structure.
This is good news for Caribbeancruisers.
Galveston is also traditionallya port that's a little bit less
(30:01):
expensive to sail out of.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:04):
Princess Cruises is introducing faster
internet for Princess Packagecruisers only.
Mark Faldmo (30:12):
They are adding another tier of internet and you
can only get it if you're aPrincess Plus or Princess
Premier package holder.
If you go with the lower tierpricing, you can get the regular
standard internet Starlink,where they're going to allow
faster speeds, if you'vepurchased that Princess Plus or
Princess Premier package.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:33):
I saw that another cruise line is going to
up the gratuities.
Normally I would like, oh, comeon, come on.
But cabin stewards and theservers on cruise ships, they
deserve to be paid truly.
They make or break a cruise,deserve to be paid.
Mark Faldmo (30:50):
Truly, they make or break a cruise.
They do All of the staff reallydo, as you said, make or break
a cruise.
And so Royal Caribbean isadding another 50 cents a day
per person to the gratuities.
So the standard rate will gofrom $18 to $18.50.
If you're in a suite, it'll goto $21 from $20.50.
(31:11):
If you're currently booked on aRoyal Caribbean cruise, you can
repay your gratuities byNovember 1st and lock in the
lower rate, but after November1st they will charge the higher
rate.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:25):
Because this is the infamous Just Cruising
segment always in segment threeof the show.
It is time for the cruise dealof the week, and we actually
have two cruises this week, butmostly we're going to
concentrate on the MexicanRiviera.
What do we have for listenersthis week?
Mark Faldmo (31:42):
I've had several calls for last minute Mexican
Riviera cruises.
Something easy for us here inSalt Lake area to get to Mexican
Riviera cruises leave.
Something easy for us here inSalt Lake area to get to Mexican
Riviera cruises leave from LosAngeles or San Diego.
The one I chose was on PrincessCruise Lines on December 14th
and it's a seven-day cruise thatvisits Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán
(32:03):
and Puerto Vallarta.
How many days it starts?
Seven nights, oh, seven nights.
So it starts at $678 per personfor an inside cabin or $808 per
person for a balcony cabin.
This does include all taxes andfees, so anything that is
(32:24):
required to pay this includes.
So on this Princess ship theyactually don't have outside
cabins, and so this balcony rate.
It's a pretty good balcony rate808, but that is either an
obstructed or partiallyobstructed balcony.
But you can still go out on thebalcony and enjoy the outside
at that, and you can also, ifyou want, upgrade to just a full
(32:46):
balcony.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:47):
Let's talk about things to do in the
Mexican Riviera.
Mark Faldmo (32:50):
So I've kind of chosen my favorite shore
excursions or just activitiesthat I like to do when I'm there
on a land vacation as well, butthey can all be done as a shore
excursion.
In Cabo I like to do whalewatching.
Cabo is kind of on thecontinental shelf there, and so
the currents come and just stirup lots of food and so there's
(33:12):
lots of whales in that Cabo area.
There's some glass bottom boatsthat go out and do that.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:16):
Now did you say stir up food Probably for
the whales.
Mark Faldmo (33:20):
Yeah, yeah, because it hits that kind of
continental shelf and it goes up, so it brings up all of that
food just up right in an areathere.
Cabo is also really good fordeep sea fishing for that same
reason.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:32):
Have you ever done that before?
Mark Faldmo (33:34):
I have, oh you have .
We had a company that had afishing tournament and by the
fourth day no one wanted to goout.
So I went out on a boat all bymyself and caught probably 30
mahi-mahi.
They had four lines in thewater like no move to this pole,
move to this pole.
I was like two hours in and Isaid I'm done.
(33:56):
So I cut the trip in halfbecause I couldn't, it was so
tiring and so.
But it's a great place for deepsea fishing.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:08):
What else do you like to do?
Mark Faldmo (34:10):
Yeah, the other thing I like to do is a little
bit more of a cultural thing isgo to Todos Santos.
We've talked about the Mexicanmagic towns before, so this is a
magic town.
There is a hotel there calledHotel California.
They play off of the Eagles,but it is not the hotel that
that's about.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:29):
So Hotel California-ish Ish, yeah, eagles
, but it is not the hotel thatthat's about.
Mark Faldmo (34:32):
But so hotel california, ish, ish, yeah, and
so they are in Baja, California,so it's called the hotel
California.
But you go in and the eaglesare playing all the time there,
um, and it's just a nice littletown to visit.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:44):
That's about 45 minutes away from Cabo what
about some of the outdooradventures in Puerto Vallarta?
Mark Faldmo (34:50):
Yeah, and so in Puerto Vallarta there's a tour
and it's actually called theoutdoor adventure, and this is
one where you take a Zodiacacross the bay, you take a four
by four up a mountain, youswitch from a four by four to
donkeys and go up to the top ofthe mountain and then you zip
line down.
On the way down the mountainthere are three water slides and
(35:13):
a few places where you rappel,and so you kind of do everything
zipline, rappel and water slidecoming down the mountain.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:22):
That sounds amazing.
I've never even heard of thisone.
Mark Faldmo (35:26):
It is.
That's probably my favoritething to do there.
I also like snorkeling at theMarietta's islands.
These tours will take you outto the islands where you can
snorkel, um, and then they alsogo to a kind of a secluded
private beach where your boat isthe usually the only boat there
.
And then another thing inPuerto Vallarta.
You know me, I always like food.
(35:47):
They have one of the best tacotours where you walk around
Puerto Vallarta.
They have one of the best tacotours where you walk around
Puerto Vallarta and eat tacoswith all the best little taco
stands.
See even that sounds great Forus here in the West Coast area,
easy to get to and usually apretty good price, and this date
was a great price.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:04):
When is it?
It was December 14th.
Mark Faldmo (36:07):
So coming up here in about two months.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:09):
Yes, I know that we have one last cruise
deal for listeners.
Where does this one sail out ofand how long is it?
Mark Faldmo (36:19):
In the past we've talked about Hall America's
legendary voyages.
Oh yeah, and this is one ofthose legendary voyages.
One of those legendary voyages.
So this is a 51 day cruiseround trip San Diego that visits
about everywhere in the SouthPacific.
You would want to visit the 51days.
It starts at $7,109 per personfor an inside or $7,809 for an
(36:46):
ocean view.
I'm sorry the ship does nothave balconies, but they do have
suites that have balcony If youwant those prices.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:53):
Did you see 51 days?
Mark Faldmo (36:55):
51 days.
So it's like, what is that?
Patrick Wiscombe (36:59):
A hundred, and I don't know, $150 a day per
day.
Yeah, that's a 51 days Geezyeah.
Mark Faldmo (37:07):
What I like about this is the itinerary.
So you leave from San Diegocruise to Hawaii.
It visits Kona, Kauai, itovernights in Honolulu and then
visits Maui, and then back tothe Big Island and visits Hilo.
From Hilo it cruises down to anisland called Fanning Island.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:32):
So you spend about a week in Hawaii five to
five-ish days, Correct.
Mark Faldmo (37:36):
Okay In Hawaii and then you go to Fanning Island
and I've been to Fanning Islandfour times.
It's a small atoll, 800, 900miles south of Hawaii.
A lot of the locals there, theydon't have electricity and so
it's kind of like Polynesia was100 years ago, Hawaii was 100
years ago.
They still live in kind ofgrass huts and things like that,
(37:59):
but it's a wonderful stop.
The people are so nice there.
From Fannin Island you thencross the equator and then you
cross the international datelineand then you go to Samoa, go to
Pago Pago in American Samoa,then from there you cross the
international dateline back, goto Apia in Samoa and then you go
(38:22):
to Fiji, a couple of ports inFiji, and then you go to a
couple of ports in Tonga andthen from there you go to French
Polynesia.
You go to some of the TuamotuIslands, go to Raiatea, Moorea,
Huahini, overnight in Papetee,which is on the island of Tahiti
(38:42):
, and then back up to some moreTuamotu Islands.
Then go to Nuka Hiva, which isin the Marquesas Islands,
another one of my favoritecruise stops and then from there
you cruise straight back to SanDiego.
So this really visits everySouth Pacific country that you'd
want to visit and it is a greatprice If you have 51 days to
(39:06):
spare.
$7,000 a person starting pointis a pretty good rate for a 51
day cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:13):
A lot of people are going to hear that
$7,100 price and that's $139 aday.
Ad Voice (39:19):
That's amazing To go see all of that.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:22):
Oh my word, it feels like someone who has to
be on sabbatical or is retired.
Hey, we'll see you in 51 days.
Yeah, we got to take a breakhere when we come back.
We've got the final segment ofthe show.
Mark's Travel Tips Got a fewmore travel news headlines that
we need to share with listeners.
Go to blueplanetvacations.
com.
(39:43):
That is the company's website,blueplanetvacations.
com.
It is such a great time to bealive, Such an easy time to
travel to.
If you really stop and thinkabout it.
You can pick your destinationand just go.
That's what this show is allabout.
It's about having fun.
(40:04):
It's about creating memoriesthat will last an entire
lifetime.
Final segment of the showcoming up.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your day.
You're listening to the insidetravel talk podcast, a radio
show alongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
We will be right back exploreyour world.
Show Voice (40:26):
you're listening to the inside travel talk podcast
and radio show with pat Wiscombeand Mark 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 (40:53):
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801-649-3700.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:08):
And now your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark
Faldmo, final segment of thisweek's Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
I am Patrick Wiscombe.
He is Mark Faldmo, owner ofBluePlanetVacations.
com.
You can always call his officeMonday through Friday
(42:38):
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And I just want to remindlisteners that you can sign up
for the hot travel deal of theweek on his website Again,
blueplanetvacations.
com.
You can also book vacations onthe website, which is a new
feature that just came out thisweek, and then anything that you
(42:58):
book will automatically begiven to a travel advisor to
make sure that you are gettingexactly what you want, not what
you're exactly hoping for.
How's that, mark?
Yeah, oh, we hope we're doingit right.
This show is all about creatingmemories with you and your
family, your friends, your lovedones, whoever it is that you
(43:20):
want to travel with.
This is the show for you, andif you want to pick up the show,
you can go to InsideTravelTalk.
com and you can also pick it upon BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Let's start with the travelnews headlines as we start to
wrap up for this week.
You wouldn't think thatairplanes have massive
difference between them, butthere is.
(43:41):
You have a travel tip about howto find the best seat on a
plane.
I think there's a websitecalled SeatMaps.
com.
Why should people look up wherethey're going to sit on a plane
?
Mark Faldmo (43:53):
I use this all the time seatmaps.
com, and if you go toblueplanetvacations.
com, there's also a link in ourtravel resources.
What it does is it lists everyseat and says if it's a good or
a bad seat.
I am a window seat person andon some 737s and some other
(44:14):
aircraft some of the windowseats have air duct going up
them, so they are missing awindow.
Kind of judges seats like thisis a good seat because of where
it's located, or this is a badseat because of where it's
located.
It'll tell you if the seatreclines.
It'll tell you if it's anarrower seat because some seats
towards the back of theairplane and in other places are
(44:36):
a little bit narrower becausethe fuselage starts to bend,
yeah, and so it'll just tell youthe pros and cons of each seat
on the airplane.
They have every airline.
You can either put in yourflight date and flight number
and it'll bring up your aircraft, or you can just browse say I'm
flying on Delta, and then it'lllist all of the different types
(44:57):
of airplanes that that airlineflies.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:00):
One of the most important travel tips that
we can share with listeners.
If you're travelinginternationally, meaning from
the United States to someplaceelse, sometimes there are
country specific entryrequirements, and this is where
Mark's experience willabsolutely help you.
There's a link onblueplanetvacations.
com and it is a tremendousresource, in addition to Mark,
(45:25):
of what requirements are neededif you're going to a country.
This is something that mostpeople just don't even think
about.
Mark Faldmo (45:33):
A lot of countries require visas to go or require
certain forms to be filled outbefore you go.
That's one of the moreconfusing parts of travel, and
so this website, Sherpa, andagain there's a link to this on
blueplanetvacations.
com.
If you go to the bottom footer,there's a link to this on
blueplanetvacations.
com.
If you go to the bottom footer,there's a link to travel
(45:54):
resources and there's a link tothis Sherpa for country-specific
entry requirements.
What I like about this is it'llsummarize what the entry
requirements are and then itwill give you the link to the
official country's the embassyor the official country's
information on where you canfind that.
(46:14):
You can search these things andnot get accurate information.
So I rely on this link to makesure I get to the correct
government entity of the countryI'm visiting for that
information.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:29):
As we start to wrap up here and as I was
flying back from Phoenix, reallyanywhere you and I have
traveled together.
We've been to Florida, we'vebeen, you know, Atlanta, we've
been a few places and one of thethings that just amazed me is
that we're 30,000 feet in theair and I'm sitting there
texting, and what a remarkablemiracle that it is.
(46:53):
I saw this news story thatSpaceX, that Starlink, has 2,500
airplanes under contract to gettheir service, and if you
really stop and think about that, that's incredible.
Mark Faldmo (47:08):
A lot of airlines, I think.
As we talked about last week,united is starting free Wi-Fi.
Delta's had free Wi-Fi forabout 18 months now.
Just that.
We've come that far for aservice that you paid for that
was slow, to now a servicethat's free and you can stream
movies on it.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:28):
The entertainment options nowadays
on flights are amazing, andthere's a lot a library of
things that you can watch andlisten to.
One more story before we takeoff that I saw that a family's
$15,000 cruise was canceledbecause of a Facebook post.
(47:48):
What was that about?
Mark Faldmo (47:53):
This is a lesson to be careful what you post online
.
Now I've heard this happen toairline tickets before, but they
were so excited that theybooked their cruise.
They posted a copy of theconfirmation from the cruise
line and said look, we're goingon this cruise, which had all of
their identifiable information,had their confirmation number,
everything you need to go, andso someone got on and canceled
(48:18):
their cruise just days beforethey were to go.
They were in penalty, they lostall of their money and so just
be careful about what you putonline.
I've seen this happen beforePeople posting flight
itineraries, flightconfirmations online and the
same thing has happened whereit's canceled and they lose
(48:40):
their money.
It's fine to say you're goingon a cruise, but don't post
anything.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:46):
Here's my proof that I'm going that I'm
going.
Yeah, that feels like a socialmedia thing.
Hey look what I'm going.
That I'm going.
Yeah, that feels like a socialmedia thing.
Hey, look what I'm doing.
Someone was denied a passportbecause of their name.
What was that about?
Mark Faldmo (49:00):
I think we had a story about this a little bit
earlier, but this is a wholedifferent name.
So a seven-year-old boy wasdenied a passport because of his
name.
His parents are Star wars fans,no and no.
They named him first name Loki,middle name Skywalker, and then
(49:23):
his last name, and so becauseboth of those names are
trademarked, he he was denied apassport.
That's right.
I forgot that trademarks canget and so I think we did one
that was a Game of Thrones name.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:39):
Yeah, or another child was denied.
Mark Faldmo (49:41):
So you know, I guess when you're naming your
children, be careful that it'snot a trademark name.
It'll be hard to get a passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:50):
Loki Skywalker .
Yeah, it's kind of a cool namebecause it'll be hard to get a
passport.
Mark Faldmo (49:52):
Loki Skywalker yeah , it's kind of a cool name
though.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:56):
Well, yeah, Loki Loki, we feel bad for you.
Loki Skywalker oh boy, I hopethey get it resolved, me too.
Yeah, that's it for this week'sedition of the Inside Travel
(50:17):
Talk podcast, a radio show.
Remember, if you want to takeadvantage of any of the offers
that we've discussed for thepast hour, office Monday through
Friday 888-718-7717,888-718-7717.
(50:37):
And be sure to sign up for thepodcast on InsideTravelTalk.
com and be sure to sign up forthe hot travel deal of the week
on Mark's website,blueplanetvacations.
com.
You can listen to the show againtomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11
(51:00):
am, here on AM 860 KKAT in SaltLake City.
If you want or need to listento the show again, you can
download and subscribe to thepodcast version of the show on
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms and, while
you're at it, may I ask you tosubscribe and leave us a
(51:20):
five-star review.
It really does help us gettraction with the podcast
platforms.
So thank you.
Well, now it's your turn.
Get out and explore the worldwhile you can, because you never
know what curveballs life isgoing to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
(51:41):
just remember today's a goodday for a good day.
Have a great week.
We'll talk to you again nextweek.
Show Voice (51:48):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(52:09):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show.
On today's show, mark and Iwill be talking about
Scandinavian vacations cruisingthe Mexican Riviera, plus an
exotic South Pacific cruise.
Let's go.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
(00:24):
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (00:40):
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
(01:04):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:25):
Oh, my goodness, it is time for another
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio for Saturday and Sunday,
October 19th and 20th 2024.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe and, if you are brand new to the
radio show or the podcast, theentire purpose of this show is
to help you plan and book yournext vacation.
This show is all about fun.
You can get the podcast atInsideTravelalk.
(01:49):
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts.
We're on all of the majorpodcast platforms and if you're
in Salt Lake City, we're also onthe air each and every Saturday
and Sunday mornings, startingat 11 o'clock in the morning,
mountain time, and this show ispresented by blueplanetvacations
.
com.
Mark Faldmo joins me.
And, mark, I'm a little tired.
(02:10):
I just got back from Phoenixdoing a little business down in
Phoenix and it's good to talk toyou.
Mark Faldmo (02:17):
Yeah, so a little quick trip for you, but here
we've had a little bit of rainthe past few days, so you
probably enjoyed being in thesun.
I did.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:26):
Let's get to the travel news of the week and
this particular portion of theshow.
It's airline intensive andwe've also got some hotel news.
In fact, let me just startthere.
Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii, onOahu specifically, they're
changing their name.
They're now going to be knownas the Ritz-Carlton Oahu.
Mark Faldmo (02:45):
Turtle Bay is one of the only places that you can
stay on the North Shore, andthere's also the Courtyard Oahu
North Shore which is in Laie,just a few miles away from the
Turtle Bay.
This is interesting that theyare going to that luxury brand
of Ritz-Carlton.
Turtle Bay has always been anice hotel and I know two years
(03:05):
ago they underwent a hugerenovation and made it very
luxury and so I think they werejust positioning that to be able
to turn it into a Rich Carlton.
So now they have that wholebranding and marketing behind
them.
The hotel itself is out on alittle peninsula yeah, it is.
You have a beach on either side.
There's a really good surfingspot there and then the actual
(03:28):
beach on one side.
The Turtle Bay Beach is one ofthe better beaches on the North
Star.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:33):
It is spectacular United is launching
a global expansion for this nextupcoming summer 2025, adding
eight cities and 13 routes.
Mark Faldmo (03:44):
This is very interesting because United is
adding, as you mentioned, eightnew destinations.
Seven of them are not served byany other US airline.
Oh, really, Well, I would sayseven and a half, because one of
the destinations Delta alsoannounced, so currently, most of
them next May or June.
(04:06):
So they have Newark to Bilbao,Spain.
Newark to Faro, Portugal,Newark to Madeira, Portugal, and
I think this is the mostinteresting one Newark to Nuuk.
There will be a flight from USto Greenland and then Newark to
Palermo, Italy.
So that's the one that Deltaalso announced.
(04:26):
So it's interesting.
We've gone from zero flights toSicily to now two flights to
Sicily.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:33):
Within just a few weeks that we've talked
about.
Mark Faldmo (04:35):
Just a few weeks, yeah.
And then they do have the smallhub in Tokyo.
So they're adding a flightTokyo to Taiwan and a flight
Tokyo to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, and then the last flight is
Washington DC to Dakar.
They're also beefing up theirflights to Venice and to Nice
(04:56):
Delta.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:57):
They've just announced that they are adding a
new flight from Los Angeles,from LAX, specifically to
Brisbane, Australia.
Mark Faldmo (05:11):
Traditionally, Australia New Zealand have only
been served by their nationalairlines, so Qantas or Air New
Zealand.
In the last few years Delta hasbeen making some inroads into
that.
Now we're getting flights frommainland US directly to
Australia, which is very nice.
With this new flight toBrisbane, Delta is going to
offer 17 weekly flights betweenthe US and Australia.
(05:33):
Wow, so that's between Sydneyand Brisbane that they'll offer
that many flights.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:38):
This isn't good news for consumers, but
Spirit Airlines is discussing apossible bankruptcy filing.
Mark Faldmo (05:45):
I hope that they'll stay in the market somehow I am
not a big fan of Spirit, butcompetition is always good.
Spirit does keep some of theother airlines a little honest
in what they charge and do.
The CEO of Spirit has come outand kind of really ripped the
Department of Transportation fordenying that merger.
(06:06):
They denied it because it wouldcreate less competition and now
that decision might take out anairline from the market and
they're just looking at Chapter11, which means they'll still
operate.
But I know they've already madesignificant route changes.
For us here in Salt Lake I reada story that Spirit is
(06:27):
considering or has completelypulled out of Salt Lake City
starting in December or January.
But there are some cities thatthey are just completely pulling
out of.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:39):
I want to share some good news, and I know
you do too, butblueplanetvacations.
com and I'm mentioning itspecifically just so we can
start really pointing ourlisteners to the website
blueplanetvacations.
com the website is live, but oneof the things that I wanted to
talk about is Mark's philosophyfor taking care of traveling
(07:02):
customers planning vacationsversus other travel advisors.
Let's start there.
Mark Faldmo (07:08):
Obviously, for any business, a website is important
.
What I've really tried to dowith this website is connect it
to our travelers.
A lot of agencies use likefeeder services where that
service just feeds deals intotheir site Not that those are
bad, but it doesn't reallyconnect it to the person that is
(07:32):
viewing the website.
I don't use those feeder sites.
It creates a lot of extra workfor me to try and tailor and
personalize each deal for ourmarket, for our listeners, for
our audience.
Every agency's website and evenon mine, you'll see the
traditional cruise deals like60% off, 70% off, you know,
(07:55):
depending on the cruise line.
But I've tailored those alittle bit more to certain
destinations, tailored them toour listeners, to our market.
So hopefully those deals, Iguess, make more sense to them.
It shows them how they can usethat deal in their travels.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:12):
One of the things that I've already signed
up for is the hot travel dealupdates.
Tell people how to do that andwhat they can expect.
Mark Faldmo (08:19):
There is a form you can click on hot deals or there
may be a pop-up that pops upasking you if you want to
register for that.
It is our email list and thoseemails will come out every seven
to 10 days or whenever a hotdeal breaks.
I don't want to spam people.
I don't want to send things outevery few days, like some
(08:41):
people do.
I will only send things out ifit's relevant and timely.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:46):
One of the things that I really liked was
that you can actually bookcruises and vacations online,
but I think that something isunique is that anyone who plans
a vacation will be assigned atravel advisor to help with
reservations.
Mark Faldmo (08:58):
On the website.
There's both a vacation bookingtool where you can book
destinations Hawaii, Mexico, theCaribbean and then there's also
a cruise booking tool on there,and if you book there, you're
assigned to one of our advisorsto help with any other travel
needs, to just make sure thingsare booked correctly and as you
(09:19):
want.
A lot of people have issueswith booking online because
they're not sure they did itright.
They're not confident in whatthey've booked, and so this is a
way where, if you want, you canat least do your research there
and then call our agents.
But if you do book, you will beassigned an advisor who will
help you through that process.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:37):
See, I think that's the difference.
You're also adding the podcastto the website.
Mark Faldmo (09:43):
Yeah, so it's there on the main page.
The latest episode is there,and then there's the whole
podcast section that lists allof our past podcasts, and so
this is also where you can findthe show notes.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:55):
One of the things that many people don't
know about you is that you'vetraveled nearly four and a half
million miles and you are goingto be able to share your
experiences, and you'll also beable to see some of the
destinations where you will begoing.
Mark Faldmo (10:10):
But Mark has also been there, which is why he can
help you travel, so that's oneof the things I've always
enjoyed doing is writing aboutmy travel experiences, so there
is an extensive blog section onthe site.
It'll have travel tips, travelnews, travel destination
information.
One of my favorite blogs thatis currently there is one on the
Aranui 5, which we've talkedabout before.
(10:33):
That sails between theMarquesas Islands and Tahiti, so
all of the information about myexperience on that cruise is
there.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:41):
And of course people can book it too.
Mark Faldmo (10:44):
Yeah, and people can book it as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:45):
I love cruising.
I don't think I love cruisingas much as you do, because
you've been on over 150, but oneof my favorite sections on the
website is the top five cruisedeals of the week.
This is kind of how we plan theshow.
Mark Faldmo (10:58):
You know there are a lot of people like you that
like to cruise.
Sometimes they don't know wherethey want to go.
So this top five cruise dealsof the week section is designed
to give you some ideas and alsoshow you where the value is in
the deals.
One thing I've also done thereis those lists the inside,
(11:19):
outside and balcony costs.
But highlighted in red is adeal if it's an exceptionally
good deal.
There's some Alaska cruises onthere that have really good
rates for balcony cabins, soI've highlighted those in red or
some that have a really goodlead in inside price.
So that kind of helps youdecipher deals and know what's
(11:39):
out there.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:41):
Take advantage of Mark's travel experience and
let him help you, and let thewebsite help you.
Book your vacation onblueplanetvacations.
com, where you will be assigneda travel advisor, just to make
sure that you are gettingexactly what you want and that
you're not gambling with Well.
(12:02):
I hope this works outBlueplanetvacations.
com one of the best places tobook your vacation.
Moving forward, coming up inthe next segment, we've got the
hot travel deal of the week,always in segment number two,
and we're going to Scandinaviain the springtime.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
(12:23):
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday
and Sunday mornings.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (12:37):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
Ad Voice (13:10):
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Show Voice (14:06):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and
check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(14:26):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:34):
Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
Hello there, my name is PatrickWiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo
.
Mark Faldmo, owner of blueplanet vacationsc.
om, and, if you are just joiningus this very moment, mark was
able to launch the website thisnext week and you can book all
(14:57):
of the vacations with theassistance of his travel
advisors at blueplanetvacations.
com.
That's huge news, mark.
Ad Voice (15:07):
I'm applauding you.
I'm excited.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:09):
Well done Coming up in this segment
segment number two of the showalways the hot travel deal of
the week.
We are headed to Scandinavia,but we're going to do it in the
spring of 2025, and we're goingto answer one of your clients'
questions.
Janice wants to go toScandinavia in the spring and
(15:32):
she's going to ask whatdestination would you recommend
for a nice vacation?
That's coming up here in just acouple of moments, but let's
continue on with the travel newsof the week.
Two or three weeks ago, you andI were talking about the Cancun
airport charging taxes, and Ido mean hefty taxes.
(15:53):
If you brought a laptop and,let's just say, an iPad, you
would get dinged on taxes.
A phone didn't count, but itlooks like they've eliminated
the customs tax for bringingmultiple devices.
Mark Faldmo (16:08):
This is a good thing.
This is a very good thing.
I always travel with a laptopand a tablet.
Most places in Mexico have thiscurrent customs law where they
can tax you on the second device19% of the perceived value up
to $4,000.
So that could be hundreds ofdollars on that second device.
(16:33):
Oh yeah, but they received somuch pushback on this and
actually saw a decline innumbers when this story first
was reported.
I started seeing this about sixweeks ago in the news and then
I saw an official thing a fewweeks ago, which is when we
talked about it, and now they'vecompletely reversed that.
(16:55):
So it definitely is a goodthing for travelers going to
Cancun.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:59):
All right.
So if you have a laptop andI'll just say an iPad or
something, you can go.
You're good to go now To Cancun.
Mark Faldmo (17:05):
Now there are other destinations, more than just
Mexico.
There are several countriesthat have similar things, but
I've never actually seen itenforced.
It could be enforced.
So that's one reason Look atthe entry requirements for
countries you're visiting andmake sure you're not surprised
by any of these little.
I'll just say stupid laws.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:27):
You and I have been talking about the EU and
its biometric travel checks fora few weeks now, really for
about the past year, and we justdid a story on it last week.
So the European Union hasdelayed the new biometric travel
checks as their computer systemis just not up to the task.
(17:49):
It's almost getting comical atthis point how bad this rollout
has been.
Mark Faldmo (17:54):
And you know, last week we talked about our story
was they're doing away withpassport stamps and they're
starting this on November 10th.
They're starting this onNovember 10th and so after they
made that, it's been an officialannouncement for a while, but
we just did that story on theangle of the passport stamps.
Now Germany, France and theNetherlands said that their
(18:15):
border computer system is notready for that and cannot handle
the new biometric screening.
So even if one country is notready, they can't roll it out in
any other destination.
They all have to do it at thesame time.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:28):
I saw this story that Disneyland a $50,
first of all, let that sinking a$50 kids.
Mark Faldmo (18:41):
That's the qualifier.
Disneyland ticket is back.
What are the details on that?
Yeah, so this is a promotionthat starts next week, so for a
limited time, children aged 3through 9 traveling in early
2025 can get a one-day one-parkticket starting at $50.
That's amazing.
The tickets go on sale nextweek, October 22nd.
That is what Tuesday is.
(19:01):
When those go on sale.
They're valid for visitsJanuary 7th to March 20th.
Can they book those?
Patrick Wiscombe (19:09):
$50 tickets through you?
Mark Faldmo (19:10):
Yeah, they can we can do a full Disney package
with those promotions.
They also have a flexibility toadd that a one, two or three
day pass and you can also add ahopping onto that.
Those are great.
Obviously more expensive to addthose, but that one day.
One park pass starts at $50 perchild.
(19:30):
There also are some specials onadult tickets.
They are not every day you kindof have to look at the ticket
calendar but there are dayswhere adults are going to be
priced at $104 a day toDisneyland $104.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:46):
I haven't heard that price in years.
Mark Faldmo (19:48):
Wow.
So Disney's getting a littleaggressive, at least for their
softer season, that Januarythrough March timeframe.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:56):
Here is a marketing term that I'm okay if
it leaves the coolcation.
Yeah, the coolcation, yeah, thecoolcation.
What's the coolcation?
Just in case people don't know.
Mark Faldmo (20:08):
And this kind of goes with our hot deal of the
week.
But a coolcation is when peoplechoose to travel either to a
country with cooler weather ortravel to hot weather
destinations in their coolerseasons, so you're taking a
coolcation.
This is a trend that kind ofstarted in 2023 and has really
(20:31):
come to stride this year, in2024.
Looking at this data to thesedestinations has shown a 300%
increase in bookings.
They're the coolcationdestinations we talked about.
This destination, greenland, isthe number one coolcation
destination, which isinteresting because Greenland is
(20:51):
hard to get to unless you do iton a cruise ship.
But a lot more cruise shipshave started going there and, as
we discussed, united now has aflight to Greenland.
Greenland's kind of becomingwhat Iceland was 10 or 15 years
ago, kind of that emerginginteresting destination.
Oslo, Norway, is the number twocoolcation destination.
(21:13):
The Baltics, so Estonia, Latviaand Lithuania, and then the
French Riviera.
In the wintertime, nice, France, when it's cooler, there are
less crowds is anothercoolcation destination.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:29):
Since we're talking about coolcations, let's
talk about the hot ironicallyenough hot travel deal of the
week.
You had a client.
Janice wanted to go toScandinavia this spring 2025.
What destinations would yourecommend for a nice vacation?
Is her question.
Mark Faldmo (21:46):
Any of those that we just talked about I think
would be great.
The one I chose for thisparticular one is Oslo, Norway.
I love Norway cruises that goto Norway.
That's a good way to see Norway, but also just going to Oslo.
They look at an early Maydeparture from Salt Lake City to
(22:07):
Oslo, Norway, so this wasmidweek departures.
This was for six-night hotels,so the whole vacation with the
flights would be seven days andsix nights.
The price was $1689 per personbased on double occupancy.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:21):
That's amazing because I know that Scandinavia
can be kind of spendy.
That's an amazing price.
Mark Faldmo (22:28):
There are hotels that are less than this price.
You can get it down probably inthe $1,300, $1,400 per person,
but I chose this hotel.
It's called the Ton Hotel Opera.
It's basically connected to themain rail station and then it's
a short walk over.
There's a pedestrian streetthat I love going to in the
evening times.
I've stayed there a few timesand that's where I always choose
(22:51):
to stay, because it was just soeasy to get around.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:53):
How many times have you been to Oslo?
I've been to Oslo seven times.
Okay, all right, so you willknow what to do.
Let's talk about that.
Mark Faldmo (23:01):
I've got two of my favorite things.
One of them is closed, but I'llstill talk about it the Fram
Museum, which is the strongestwooden ship in the world.
It was basically a woodenicebreaker ship.
Really, it still has the worldrecord for sailing furthest
north and south on a singlevoyage.
One of my favorite is the NorskFolk Museum.
(23:23):
This was kind of an open airliving museum.
They have buildings fromdifferent parts of Norway and
they have one of the mostinteresting building exhibits is
the Gull Stave Church.
Norway is famous for theirwooden stave churches and this
is a church that they moved tothis place, but it was
(23:44):
originally built in the 1200s.
What's a good day trip forNorway?
I believe we've talked aboutthis in the past, but it's
Norway in a nutshell.
Take the train from Oslo toFlam.
There's a scenic train down thefjord in Flam and then you take
a cruise on the fjord and thenyou take a bus up to the top, to
(24:04):
another train station, and thenfrom there you can take the
train either back to Oslo or youcould continue on to Bergen and
spend a night in Bergen so youwould end up staying at the
hotel that you had originallybooked, that seven day, six
night hotel.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:22):
So this is a day trip correct.
Mark Faldmo (24:24):
Yeah, you can do it as a day trip and that's how
I've done it.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:28):
All right, we got to take a break here.
When we come back, it is theinfamous Just Cruising segment.
We've also got last minuteMexican Riviera cruises, so if
you've ever wanted to cruise theMexican Riviera, do not miss
this next segment.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
(24:48):
show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for waking upand being part of the show.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (25:01):
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.
(25:22):
com.
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (25:34):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
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Patrick Wiscombe (26:36):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
If you are just joining us,mark and I have already
discussed a Scandinavianvacation, a $50 Disneyland
ticket yes, I really did say $50Disneyland ticket and coming up
in the next 30 minutes we'regoing to talk about cruising the
Mexican Riviera, plus an exoticSouth Pacific cruise and more
(26:58):
travel news.
So let's get started.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (27:28):
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.
(27:52):
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:00):
All aboard the Just Cruising segment, the
infamous Just Cruising segmentAlongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
If you are ready to go cruisethe Mexican Riviera, stay right
here for the next few minutes.
(28:21):
We're going to give you thedetails and we've got a really,
really great offer for listenersthis week.
But first we need to get to thequick hit travel news headlines
for this week.
But first we need to get to thequick hit travel news headlines
for this week.
And, as we went into the break,MSC Cruises.
They're going to try and set aGuinness World Record and
they're going to try and do itby using all of the ships in
(28:44):
their fleet.
What details do we have on that, mark?
Mark Faldmo (28:46):
This is actually a program that they've had on a
few of their vessels and they'regoing to roll it out to the
whole fleet and it's where gascan break a Guinness world
record.
To date there have been 30records broken on an MSC cruise
ship.
Those include the fastest topull 100 meters of rope.
(29:06):
Fastest time to complete 20chair rotations in under 21
seconds.
Putting on the most pairs ofsocks on one foot in under 30
seconds.
But they do have an officialGuinness Book of World Record
adjudicator on board that judgesthose and if you break a
Guinness World Record you'regiven an official certificate so
(29:27):
you can claim that you broke aGuinness World Records and then
you're also put in the book.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:32):
I saw this story that Galveston, Texas, has
started construction on the$151 million cruise terminal.
Mark Faldmo (29:40):
This is mainly going to be an MSC cruise
terminal.
They're going to convert an oldcargo warehouse and turn it
into a 165,000 square footcruise terminal and additional
parking structure.
This is good news for Caribbeancruisers.
Galveston is also traditionallya port that's a little bit less
(30:01):
expensive to sail out of.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:04):
Princess Cruises is introducing faster
internet for Princess Packagecruisers only.
Mark Faldmo (30:12):
They are adding another tier of internet and you
can only get it if you're aPrincess Plus or Princess
Premier package holder.
If you go with the lower tierpricing, you can get the regular
standard internet Starlink,where they're going to allow
faster speeds, if you'vepurchased that Princess Plus or
Princess Premier package.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:33):
I saw that another cruise line is going to
up the gratuities.
Normally I would like, oh, comeon, come on.
But cabin stewards and theservers on cruise ships, they
deserve to be paid truly.
They make or break a cruise,deserve to be paid.
Mark Faldmo (30:50):
Truly, they make or break a cruise.
They do All of the staff reallydo, as you said, make or break
a cruise.
And so Royal Caribbean isadding another 50 cents a day
per person to the gratuities.
So the standard rate will gofrom $18 to $18.50.
If you're in a suite, it'll goto $21 from $20.50.
(31:11):
If you're currently booked on aRoyal Caribbean cruise, you can
repay your gratuities byNovember 1st and lock in the
lower rate, but after November1st they will charge the higher
rate.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:25):
Because this is the infamous Just Cruising
segment always in segment threeof the show.
It is time for the cruise dealof the week, and we actually
have two cruises this week, butmostly we're going to
concentrate on the MexicanRiviera.
What do we have for listenersthis week?
Mark Faldmo (31:42):
I've had several calls for last minute Mexican
Riviera cruises.
Something easy for us here inSalt Lake area to get to Mexican
Riviera cruises leave.
Something easy for us here inSalt Lake area to get to Mexican
Riviera cruises leave from LosAngeles or San Diego.
The one I chose was on PrincessCruise Lines on December 14th
and it's a seven-day cruise thatvisits Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán
(32:03):
and Puerto Vallarta.
How many days it starts?
Seven nights, oh, seven nights.
So it starts at $678 per personfor an inside cabin or $808 per
person for a balcony cabin.
This does include all taxes andfees, so anything that is
(32:24):
required to pay this includes.
So on this Princess ship theyactually don't have outside
cabins, and so this balcony rate.
It's a pretty good balcony rate808, but that is either an
obstructed or partiallyobstructed balcony.
But you can still go out on thebalcony and enjoy the outside
at that, and you can also, ifyou want, upgrade to just a full
(32:46):
balcony.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:47):
Let's talk about things to do in the
Mexican Riviera.
Mark Faldmo (32:50):
So I've kind of chosen my favorite shore
excursions or just activitiesthat I like to do when I'm there
on a land vacation as well, butthey can all be done as a shore
excursion.
In Cabo I like to do whalewatching.
Cabo is kind of on thecontinental shelf there, and so
the currents come and just stirup lots of food and so there's
(33:12):
lots of whales in that Cabo area.
There's some glass bottom boatsthat go out and do that.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:16):
Now did you say stir up food Probably for
the whales.
Mark Faldmo (33:20):
Yeah, yeah, because it hits that kind of
continental shelf and it goes up, so it brings up all of that
food just up right in an areathere.
Cabo is also really good fordeep sea fishing for that same
reason.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:32):
Have you ever done that before?
Mark Faldmo (33:34):
I have, oh you have .
We had a company that had afishing tournament and by the
fourth day no one wanted to goout.
So I went out on a boat all bymyself and caught probably 30
mahi-mahi.
They had four lines in thewater like no move to this pole,
move to this pole.
I was like two hours in and Isaid I'm done.
(33:56):
So I cut the trip in halfbecause I couldn't, it was so
tiring and so.
But it's a great place for deepsea fishing.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:08):
What else do you like to do?
Mark Faldmo (34:10):
Yeah, the other thing I like to do is a little
bit more of a cultural thing isgo to Todos Santos.
We've talked about the Mexicanmagic towns before, so this is a
magic town.
There is a hotel there calledHotel California.
They play off of the Eagles,but it is not the hotel that
that's about.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:29):
So Hotel California-ish Ish, yeah, eagles
, but it is not the hotel thatthat's about.
Mark Faldmo (34:32):
But so hotel california, ish, ish, yeah, and
so they are in Baja, California,so it's called the hotel
California.
But you go in and the eaglesare playing all the time there,
um, and it's just a nice littletown to visit.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:44):
That's about 45 minutes away from Cabo what
about some of the outdooradventures in Puerto Vallarta?
Mark Faldmo (34:50):
Yeah, and so in Puerto Vallarta there's a tour
and it's actually called theoutdoor adventure, and this is
one where you take a Zodiacacross the bay, you take a four
by four up a mountain, youswitch from a four by four to
donkeys and go up to the top ofthe mountain and then you zip
line down.
On the way down the mountainthere are three water slides and
(35:13):
a few places where you rappel,and so you kind of do everything
zipline, rappel and water slidecoming down the mountain.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:22):
That sounds amazing.
I've never even heard of thisone.
Mark Faldmo (35:26):
It is.
That's probably my favoritething to do there.
I also like snorkeling at theMarietta's islands.
These tours will take you outto the islands where you can
snorkel, um, and then they alsogo to a kind of a secluded
private beach where your boat isthe usually the only boat there
.
And then another thing inPuerto Vallarta.
You know me, I always like food.
(35:47):
They have one of the best tacotours where you walk around
Puerto Vallarta.
They have one of the best tacotours where you walk around
Puerto Vallarta and eat tacoswith all the best little taco
stands.
See even that sounds great Forus here in the West Coast area,
easy to get to and usually apretty good price, and this date
was a great price.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:04):
When is it?
It was December 14th.
Mark Faldmo (36:07):
So coming up here in about two months.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:09):
Yes, I know that we have one last cruise
deal for listeners.
Where does this one sail out ofand how long is it?
Mark Faldmo (36:19):
In the past we've talked about Hall America's
legendary voyages.
Oh yeah, and this is one ofthose legendary voyages.
One of those legendary voyages.
So this is a 51 day cruiseround trip San Diego that visits
about everywhere in the SouthPacific.
You would want to visit the 51days.
It starts at $7,109 per personfor an inside or $7,809 for an
(36:46):
ocean view.
I'm sorry the ship does nothave balconies, but they do have
suites that have balcony If youwant those prices.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:53):
Did you see 51 days?
Mark Faldmo (36:55):
51 days.
So it's like, what is that?
Patrick Wiscombe (36:59):
A hundred, and I don't know, $150 a day per
day.
Yeah, that's a 51 days Geezyeah.
Mark Faldmo (37:07):
What I like about this is the itinerary.
So you leave from San Diegocruise to Hawaii.
It visits Kona, Kauai, itovernights in Honolulu and then
visits Maui, and then back tothe Big Island and visits Hilo.
From Hilo it cruises down to anisland called Fanning Island.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:32):
So you spend about a week in Hawaii five to
five-ish days, Correct.
Mark Faldmo (37:36):
Okay In Hawaii and then you go to Fanning Island
and I've been to Fanning Islandfour times.
It's a small atoll, 800, 900miles south of Hawaii.
A lot of the locals there, theydon't have electricity and so
it's kind of like Polynesia was100 years ago, Hawaii was 100
years ago.
They still live in kind ofgrass huts and things like that,
(37:59):
but it's a wonderful stop.
The people are so nice there.
From Fannin Island you thencross the equator and then you
cross the international datelineand then you go to Samoa, go to
Pago Pago in American Samoa,then from there you cross the
international dateline back, goto Apia in Samoa and then you go
(38:22):
to Fiji, a couple of ports inFiji, and then you go to a
couple of ports in Tonga andthen from there you go to French
Polynesia.
You go to some of the TuamotuIslands, go to Raiatea, Moorea,
Huahini, overnight in Papetee,which is on the island of Tahiti
(38:42):
, and then back up to some moreTuamotu Islands.
Then go to Nuka Hiva, which isin the Marquesas Islands,
another one of my favoritecruise stops and then from there
you cruise straight back to SanDiego.
So this really visits everySouth Pacific country that you'd
want to visit and it is a greatprice If you have 51 days to
(39:06):
spare.
$7,000 a person starting pointis a pretty good rate for a 51
day cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:13):
A lot of people are going to hear that
$7,100 price and that's $139 aday.
Ad Voice (39:19):
That's amazing To go see all of that.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:22):
Oh my word, it feels like someone who has to
be on sabbatical or is retired.
Hey, we'll see you in 51 days.
Yeah, we got to take a breakhere when we come back.
We've got the final segment ofthe show.
Mark's Travel Tips Got a fewmore travel news headlines that
we need to share with listeners.
Go to blueplanetvacations.
com.
(39:43):
That is the company's website,blueplanetvacations.
com.
It is such a great time to bealive, Such an easy time to
travel to.
If you really stop and thinkabout it.
You can pick your destinationand just go.
That's what this show is allabout.
It's about having fun.
(40:04):
It's about creating memoriesthat will last an entire
lifetime.
Final segment of the showcoming up.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your day.
You're listening to the insidetravel talk podcast, a radio
show alongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
We will be right back exploreyour world.
Show Voice (40:26):
you're listening to the inside travel talk podcast
and radio show with pat Wiscombeand Mark 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 (40:53):
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Show Voice (41:50):
America's best travel advisors.
Call the show right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:08):
And now your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark
Faldmo, final segment of thisweek's Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show.
I am Patrick Wiscombe.
He is Mark Faldmo, owner ofBluePlanetVacations.
com.
You can always call his officeMonday through Friday
(42:38):
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And I just want to remindlisteners that you can sign up
for the hot travel deal of theweek on his website Again,
blueplanetvacations.
com.
You can also book vacations onthe website, which is a new
feature that just came out thisweek, and then anything that you
(42:58):
book will automatically begiven to a travel advisor to
make sure that you are gettingexactly what you want, not what
you're exactly hoping for.
How's that, mark?
Yeah, oh, we hope we're doingit right.
This show is all about creatingmemories with you and your
family, your friends, your lovedones, whoever it is that you
(43:20):
want to travel with.
This is the show for you, andif you want to pick up the show,
you can go to InsideTravelTalk.
com and you can also pick it upon BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Let's start with the travelnews headlines as we start to
wrap up for this week.
You wouldn't think thatairplanes have massive
difference between them, butthere is.
(43:41):
You have a travel tip about howto find the best seat on a
plane.
I think there's a websitecalled SeatMaps.
com.
Why should people look up wherethey're going to sit on a plane
?
Mark Faldmo (43:53):
I use this all the time seatmaps.
com, and if you go toblueplanetvacations.
com, there's also a link in ourtravel resources.
What it does is it lists everyseat and says if it's a good or
a bad seat.
I am a window seat person andon some 737s and some other
(44:14):
aircraft some of the windowseats have air duct going up
them, so they are missing awindow.
Kind of judges seats like thisis a good seat because of where
it's located, or this is a badseat because of where it's
located.
It'll tell you if the seatreclines.
It'll tell you if it's anarrower seat because some seats
towards the back of theairplane and in other places are
(44:36):
a little bit narrower becausethe fuselage starts to bend,
yeah, and so it'll just tell youthe pros and cons of each seat
on the airplane.
They have every airline.
You can either put in yourflight date and flight number
and it'll bring up your aircraft, or you can just browse say I'm
flying on Delta, and then it'lllist all of the different types
(44:57):
of airplanes that that airlineflies.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:00):
One of the most important travel tips that
we can share with listeners.
If you're travelinginternationally, meaning from
the United States to someplaceelse, sometimes there are
country specific entryrequirements, and this is where
Mark's experience willabsolutely help you.
There's a link onblueplanetvacations.
com and it is a tremendousresource, in addition to Mark,
(45:25):
of what requirements are neededif you're going to a country.
This is something that mostpeople just don't even think
about.
Mark Faldmo (45:33):
A lot of countries require visas to go or require
certain forms to be filled outbefore you go.
That's one of the moreconfusing parts of travel, and
so this website, Sherpa, andagain there's a link to this on
blueplanetvacations.
com.
If you go to the bottom footer,there's a link to this on
blueplanetvacations.
com.
If you go to the bottom footer,there's a link to travel
(45:54):
resources and there's a link tothis Sherpa for country-specific
entry requirements.
What I like about this is it'llsummarize what the entry
requirements are and then itwill give you the link to the
official country's the embassyor the official country's
information on where you canfind that.
(46:14):
You can search these things andnot get accurate information.
So I rely on this link to makesure I get to the correct
government entity of the countryI'm visiting for that
information.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:29):
As we start to wrap up here and as I was
flying back from Phoenix, reallyanywhere you and I have
traveled together.
We've been to Florida, we'vebeen, you know, Atlanta, we've
been a few places and one of thethings that just amazed me is
that we're 30,000 feet in theair and I'm sitting there
texting, and what a remarkablemiracle that it is.
(46:53):
I saw this news story thatSpaceX, that Starlink, has 2,500
airplanes under contract to gettheir service, and if you
really stop and think about that, that's incredible.
Mark Faldmo (47:08):
A lot of airlines, I think.
As we talked about last week,united is starting free Wi-Fi.
Delta's had free Wi-Fi forabout 18 months now.
Just that.
We've come that far for aservice that you paid for that
was slow, to now a servicethat's free and you can stream
movies on it.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:28):
The entertainment options nowadays
on flights are amazing, andthere's a lot a library of
things that you can watch andlisten to.
One more story before we takeoff that I saw that a family's
$15,000 cruise was canceledbecause of a Facebook post.
(47:48):
What was that about?
Mark Faldmo (47:53):
This is a lesson to be careful what you post online
.
Now I've heard this happen toairline tickets before, but they
were so excited that theybooked their cruise.
They posted a copy of theconfirmation from the cruise
line and said look, we're goingon this cruise, which had all of
their identifiable information,had their confirmation number,
everything you need to go, andso someone got on and canceled
(48:18):
their cruise just days beforethey were to go.
They were in penalty, they lostall of their money and so just
be careful about what you putonline.
I've seen this happen beforePeople posting flight
itineraries, flightconfirmations online and the
same thing has happened whereit's canceled and they lose
(48:40):
their money.
It's fine to say you're goingon a cruise, but don't post
anything.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:46):
Here's my proof that I'm going that I'm
going.
Yeah, that feels like a socialmedia thing.
Hey look what I'm going.
That I'm going.
Yeah, that feels like a socialmedia thing.
Hey, look what I'm doing.
Someone was denied a passportbecause of their name.
What was that about?
Mark Faldmo (49:00):
I think we had a story about this a little bit
earlier, but this is a wholedifferent name.
So a seven-year-old boy wasdenied a passport because of his
name.
His parents are Star wars fans,no and no.
They named him first name Loki,middle name Skywalker, and then
(49:23):
his last name, and so becauseboth of those names are
trademarked, he he was denied apassport.
That's right.
I forgot that trademarks canget and so I think we did one
that was a Game of Thrones name.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:39):
Yeah, or another child was denied.
Mark Faldmo (49:41):
So you know, I guess when you're naming your
children, be careful that it'snot a trademark name.
It'll be hard to get a passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:50):
Loki Skywalker .
Yeah, it's kind of a cool namebecause it'll be hard to get a
passport.
Mark Faldmo (49:52):
Loki Skywalker yeah , it's kind of a cool name
though.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:56):
Well, yeah, Loki Loki, we feel bad for you.
Loki Skywalker oh boy, I hopethey get it resolved, me too.
Yeah, that's it for this week'sedition of the Inside Travel
(50:17):
Talk podcast, a radio show.
Remember, if you want to takeadvantage of any of the offers
that we've discussed for thepast hour, office Monday through
Friday 888-718-7717,888-718-7717.
(50:37):
And be sure to sign up for thepodcast on InsideTravelTalk.
com and be sure to sign up forthe hot travel deal of the week
on Mark's website,blueplanetvacations.
com.
You can listen to the show againtomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11
(51:00):
am, here on AM 860 KKAT in SaltLake City.
If you want or need to listento the show again, you can
download and subscribe to thepodcast version of the show on
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms and, while
you're at it, may I ask you tosubscribe and leave us a
(51:20):
five-star review.
It really does help us gettraction with the podcast
platforms.
So thank you.
Well, now it's your turn.
Get out and explore the worldwhile you can, because you never
know what curveballs life isgoing to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
(51:41):
just remember today's a goodday for a good day.
Have a great week.
We'll talk to you again nextweek.
Show Voice (51:48):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(52:09):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
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