October 5, 2024 • 54 mins
Ready for a rollercoaster ride of travel insights and laughs? Imagine being pranked at Sydney Airport with a hilarious sign by Specsavers—our episode kicks off with this funny tale. Then, we dive into a serious debate brewing in Paris over the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower. Hear firsthand the conflicting views between the Paris mayor and Gustav Eiffel’s descendants. Plus, get the scoop on Delta Airlines’ record-setting transatlantic expansion for 2025, connecting more U.S. cities to European destinations, and why Delta’s new codeshare agreement with SAS will make your Scandinavian trips a breeze.
What’s on the horizon for international travelers? Discover the UK's new electronic travel authorization requirements for US and Canadian visitors starting January 8, 2025, and rejoice as Hawaiian Airlines rolls out free Starlink Wi-Fi on long-haul flights. Learn about Southwest Airlines’ innovative move towards assigned seating and celebrate the return of the Polynesian Cultural Center's water show in Oahu. Don't miss our hot travel deal to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, with unbeatable discounts on all-inclusive packages for early 2025.
Cruise enthusiasts, this one’s for you! From Disney Cruise Lines’ new passport policy to Norwegian Cruise Line's game-changing "More at Sea" program, we’ve got essential tips and updates. Explore our top Caribbean shore excursions, including the serene bamboo rafting in Jamaica and the thrilling cave tubing in Belize City. And if expedition cruises are your thing, get excited about Windstar Cruises' luxury sailings in the South Pacific and learn about top expedition lines like HX and Viking that guarantee bucket-list experiences. Tune in for all these incredible travel insights and more!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
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 (00:32):
Explore your world.
It's the inside travel talkpodcast and radio show presented
by blue planet vacations.
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
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:00):
Ah, good morning.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will join me herein just a second.
If you are new to the show, theentire purpose of this show is
to help you plan and book yournext vacation.
(01:21):
Whether it's one of thevacations that we're going to
talk about the show today, or avacation that you want to go on
and just need assistance, someguidance and what to do, you
have found the right show.
This is a fun show.
It's all about travel.
You can get the podcast of thisshow at insidetraveltTalk.
(01:41):
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts, and if you're in the
Salt Lake City area, we are alsoon the air right now, obviously
, because you're listening to usevery Saturday and Sunday
morning at 11 am Mountain Timeand we are presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Mark is the owner of thecompany Coming up on today's
(02:05):
show.
Oh boy, what do you do ifyou're traveling during
hurricane season?
What are the rules andregulations that apply to you?
That is a question that we'vebeen getting all week long,
really last week as well.
We're also going to head toMexico, Puerto Vallarta
(02:25):
specifically, and we're alsogoing to be talking about
cruises in the Caribbean that iscoming up in this hour of the
Inside Travel Talk podcast, ourradio show.
Let me introduce to everyone myfriend and owner of
blueplanetvacations.
com, mark Faldmo.
Let's get to the travel news ofthe week.
I saw this story.
(02:45):
It was some kind of an airportprank that was in Sydney.
What was that about?
Mark Faldmo (02:51):
It's a welcome to Melbourne sign hanging right on
the main escalator when you'recoming down to the baggage claim
area.
What it is?
It's actually an advertisement.
It's for a company calledSpecsavers, which is a eyeglass
group, and so it has big welcometo Melbourne.
And then do you need to checkyour glasses?
Patrick Wiscombe (03:14):
That is pretty funny.
I saw that the mayor of Parisplans to keep the Olympic rings
on the Eiffel Tower.
I think that's a great move.
Mark Faldmo (03:23):
It is.
They want to kind ofmemorialize the Olympics.
Now there are some dissenters.
The family of Gustav Eiffel,who built the tower, has
expressed their displeasure inkeeping the Olympic rings on
there.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:38):
I can see their point as well.
Maybe you keep it up for a year, maybe one or two years, and
then go ahead and bring themdown Looking at the pictures of
it.
Mark Faldmo (03:48):
with the rings on there, I think it fits perfect.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:51):
Delta plans a record transatlantic expansion
starting next summer.
So what is that 2025?
Mark Faldmo (03:58):
Yeah, and this is exciting.
It opens up more of the worldto traveling especially for
those of us in Salt Lake withDelta.
So here are some of the newroutes that they're going to be
adding Boston to Milan,Minneapolis to Rome, Atlanta to
Naples and New York and Sicilyare some of the routes, and then
(04:19):
other new routes Detroit toDublin, Atlanta to Brussels,
Boston to Barcelona, and thenthey're also going to expand
service, so add more dailyflights between Atlanta and
Athens, Rome, Barcelona andZurich, all between Atlanta, and
then also add more flightsbetween Detroit and Munich.
(04:41):
So overall, Delta will operatemore than 700 weekly flights to
33 European destinations.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:49):
That is impressive.
Delta and SAS sign a co-chairagreement.
Now, my first thought when Isaw the story is what's a
co-chair agreement?
Mark Faldmo (04:59):
A co-chair agreement is basically when
airlines cooperate together.
You might book a flight, let'ssay, salt Lake City to
Copenhagen, Denmark.
We're gonna use SAS.
Since that's part of this, SASjust recently announced service
from Seattle to Copenhagen, sonow you can fly all on one
(05:19):
ticket.
So you might fly on Delta SaltLake City to Seattle and then
switch to SAS Airlines Seattleto Copenhagen, but your ticket
will say it's all either onDelta Airlines or all either on
SAS Airlines.
As we've talked about in thepast, when SAS joins SkyTeam,
this is really going to open upScandinavia to Delta flyers.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:41):
I think it will also be less confusing
because then you just open upthe app, whatever app you're
using, delta, SAS and all yourinformation is there.
So you don't have to go betweenthe apps.
Mark Faldmo (05:51):
It also makes it easy for those redeeming
frequent flyer miles.
Codeshares have pros and cons.
I think generally, this is agood move.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:59):
There's a gentleman by the name of Jim.
He's asking well, since you'retalking about hurricanes, should
I even plan on going on a tripto the Caribbean?
That's generally Bahamas,Caribbean, that's generally
where most of the hurricaneshappen for us here in the United
States.
But should he plan a tripduring hurricane season?
And I think that we should justtalk about this because the
(06:21):
Hurricane Helene has just beendominating the news- First of
all, when is hurricane season?
Mark Faldmo (06:32):
Hurricane season is June 1st to November 30th.
There are outliers before andafter, but September is the most
active month.
If you're concerned abouttraveling during hurricane
season, maybe avoid September.
You know I've traveled toMexico and the Caribbean during
September before I've run intosome tropical storms.
The challenges of travelingduring hurricane season your
(06:54):
trip could get canceled, itcould get cut short, it could be
modified.
If you're on a cruise, they'llchange the itinerary around and
you could get stuck in thedestination.
So that's some of thechallenges to consider when
traveling during hurricaneseason, especially the month of
September.
But there are some benefits oftraveling during hurricane
(07:15):
season Lower prices, there'smore availability of deals and
there's also less peopletraveling, so there are fewer
crowds.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:24):
If you're the kind of person that can be
flexible on this kind of stuff,now's the time to go.
Mark Faldmo (07:29):
It is.
I've done most of my travelingto Cancun and Mexico in
September and October.
I've been in some tropicalstorms.
I've been in one hurricane.
Luckily the hurricane was acategory two so it wasn't too
big but there are someconsiderations when doing that.
Let's give listeners what?
Patrick Wiscombe (07:49):
six tips, seven tips.
Mark Faldmo (07:52):
Here are the tips that I would.
Some of these are for travel ingeneral, but especially when
traveling during hurricaneseason.
The number one tip is purchasetravel insurance that will cover
hurricanes, and also purchasethe insurance when you purchase
your trip.
If you wait until there's anamed storm, it will not cover
(08:14):
you, so you have to purchase itwhen you purchase your trip.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:18):
And it's really pretty inexpensive too.
Mark Faldmo (08:22):
It is yeah.
And also don't assume that thetravel insurance that comes with
your credit cards will coverthat.
A lot of them will not coverhurricane insurance or the
coverage is not sufficient forwhat you need.
Number two travel tip is don'tassume you can cancel your trip
because of a hurricane.
You know airlines and hotelsmay let you reschedule, but
(08:46):
without insurance you won't getyour money back in most cases.
Number three is know what yourtravel insurance will cover.
Some of them have limits as faras what they'll cover per day
If your trip is delayed or ifyou need extra hotel nights.
There are some limits, so knowwhat your insurance will cover.
Number four I think this is abig one is stay informed.
(09:09):
The best resource is theNational Hurricane Center, and
you can just Google NationalHurricane Center or the web
address is nhc.
noaa.
gov.
Currently right now, as we'rerecording this show, it shows
there's a tropical storm namedKirk out there and a disturbance
(09:32):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:32):
When I looked at this In the Caribbean right
now.
Mark Faldmo (09:35):
In the Caribbean.
When I looked at this yesterday, there were actually six
different places of disturbance,so most of them have gone away.
What I like about this is itshows tropical disturbances and
their percentage of forming intoa tropical storm.
It'll show tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes
.
And you can look at theAtlantic, the Eastern Pacific,
(09:57):
which is the West Coast ofMexico, or the Central Pacific,
which would cover Hawaii.
Yeah, so it's a very goodresource.
And the number six tip is planfor some disruption during your
vacation.
If there's a storm in yourvicinity and you won't always
take a direct hit, but you mightbe on the outskirts of storms
make sure and pack extramedicine.
(10:19):
I usually always pack at leasta week's worth of medicine.
I pack snacks those have to benon-perishable, sealed snacks
and have the power bricks tocharge your electronics.
Make sure they're chargedbefore the storm hits so you can
have things, so you can chargeyour tablets and phones.
And then I always download someentertainment, some movies, tv
(10:42):
shows to watch.
Download some entertainment,some movies, tv shows to watch.
If the power's out, if theinternet's out, it's nice to be
able to just watch movies duringthat.
And then the number six tip isbe flexible, know that your
vacation could experience badweather or severe weather, and
just approach that trip with theproper mindset, positive
(11:02):
attitude and make all thedifference in having a good trip
.
Embrace the unexpected andenjoy the adventure.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:10):
Those are all good suggestions and Mark knows
what he's talking about becausehe has traveled over four and a
half million miles, or nearlyfour and a half billion miles.
He's been on over 150 cruises.
He knows what he's talkingabout.
So if you need help planningyour vacation, call him in his
office.
He's open Monday through Friday, standard business hours.
(11:34):
His number is 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
When we come back, we've gotthe hot travel deal of the week.
Regardless of the destination.
We are going to Mexico, PuertoVallarta specifically, we've got
(11:54):
some killer deals.
If you want to go to Mexico,that is next when the Inside
Travel Talk podcast and radioshow continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
He is Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (12:11):
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.
(12:32):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (12:47):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
Our oceanfront resorts areexclusively for adults and have
been voted among the mostromantic resorts in Mexico and
the world.
El Dorado resorts are perfectfor anniversaries, honeymoons or
(13:09):
to get away with yoursignificant other.
El Dorado Spa Resorts featureseven all-inclusive oceanfront
resorts along the Riviera Maya,where the culinary excellence is
a fundamental part of theexperience and each resort
offers unique accommodationswhere you can choose from
swim-up suites, rooms withprivate plunge or infinity pools
, or beautiful overwaterbungalows.
(13:30):
El Dorado Resorts features aworld-class spa where you can
relax and rejuvenate withexceptional spa treatments.
To book your romantic beachgetaway at an El Dorado Spa
Resort, contact Blue PlanetVacations at 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (13:57):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byblueplanetvacations.
com.
And radio show presented byblueplanetvacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700.
(14:20):
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:28):
It is such a beautiful Saturday morning.
There's just something aboutthis time of year.
We talked about going to seeall of the colors, all the
foliage around the country.
Last week we were talking aboutthe Rocky Mountaineer.
Go, look at all the trees andhow they're changing.
Mount Timpanogos really thewhole Wasatch Front is just a
(14:50):
blaze in color.
It is absolutely spectacularoutside.
Coming up in this segment ofthe Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show, let me justremind listeners, if you are new
to the show, the entire purposeof this show is to help you
plan and book your next vacationand in this segment we've got
(15:11):
the hot travel deal of the week,regardless of the destination.
This week we are headed toMexico, Puerto Vallarta
specifically, but before we getthere we've got the quick hit
travel news headlines.
I saw that Delta has unveiledthe first ever flights from Salt
Lake City to Seoul, south Korea.
Mark Faldmo (15:32):
Yeah, so this is exciting news for those of us in
Salt Lake City.
It opens up the whole Asiamarket.
Delta does have a co-chairagreement with Korean Air, so
you'll be able to take the Deltaflight to Seoul and then
connect just as if you're flyingon South Korea, to anywhere in
Asia that Korean Air flies to.
(15:53):
That flight is going to startJune 12th of 2025.
It's just under 6,000 milesfrom Salt Lake to Seoul.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:01):
It's funny you should say that and you had no
idea I was going to say this,but I just hit 6,000 miles on my
bike, so I can say, in terms ofmiles, that I've ridden my bike
from Salt Lake City to Seoul.
Mark Faldmo (16:15):
Yes, yes.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:18):
The UK has set dates for launch of electronic
travel authorization visarequirements for the United
States and Canada.
What else do we know about that?
Mark Faldmo (16:28):
They have announced they're going to have this.
This is for people that arepart of the visa waiver
countries, which the US andCanada are.
You're not going to have to geta visa, but you do have to go
online and refill out and getpre-approved to travel to the UK
and the cost will be about $10.
So this starts on January 8th2025.
(16:52):
If you are traveling to the UKon or after January 8th 2025,
you will need to go to theirsite, put in all of your
information and pay the $10 orso per person to be able to get
authorization to travel to theUK.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:09):
Hawaiian Airlines is now offering free
Starlink which, by the way, hatsoff to Elon Musk for coming up
with Starlink Wi-Fi to servecountries but in this particular
case, Hawaiian Airlines is nowoffering free Starlink Wi-Fi on
most flights.
Mark Faldmo (17:23):
So this is on all of their long-haul flights.
So it does not include theinter-island flights, but those
flights are like 10 minutes offlying time anyway.
So well, 10 minutes of flyingtime above 10,000 feet, where
they turn the Wi-Fi on allflights mainland to the US and
some of their flights to Asia.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:44):
Oahu's Polynesian Cultural Center,
which Nikki and I were justthere in March, has relaunched
the water show.
Mark Faldmo (17:52):
Yeah, so I'm really excited about this.
This is the canoe show, whichwas the world-famous canoe show,
where all of the villages ofthe Polynesian Cultural Center
would come out on canoes and doa little parade and dance and
show off some of the things fromtheir area of the world.
This is something that wentaway with COVID.
(18:13):
When I was there in Novemberfor Thanksgiving, we were
talking to someone at thePolynesian Cultural Center and
they just didn't have the peopleback to do the canoe show, and
so I'm glad that this is finallyback up and going, because it
is a special part of visitingthe Polynesian Cultural Center.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:33):
Southwest Airlines says that they're going
to take their time to implementassigned seating.
Mark Faldmo (18:38):
They are going to start retrofitting the planes in
the middle part of next year,but they're not going to sell
them.
So this means that you can usetheir old boarding system and
you could get the extra roomseats.
They're not going to startactually selling the seats until
the first half of 2026.
(18:59):
They'll have most of theirfleet outfitted with the extra
legroom seats, but you won't beable to start purchasing them
until 2026.
And those will just be on afirst come, first serve basis
until they start selling them.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:13):
The new redesign of Southwest Airlines
on some of their planes.
Visually pretty amazing, Looksgood.
Mark Faldmo (19:19):
It is.
Yeah, I'm probably not going tobe as big of a fan of this new
seating.
I have my little quirks aboutSouthwest, where I like to sit
and how I like to board.
I think the seating was onething that made Southwest
different and a little bitspecial.
It should help them attractmore of the business travelers,
the kind of higher revenuetravelers.
(19:41):
So it's probably overall goodfor Southwest.
I personally don't like it.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:46):
It is time for the hot travel deal of the week
, always in segment number twoof the show, and we are going to
Mexico, Puerto Vallartaspecifically.
Mark Faldmo (19:56):
So first we have a little bit of news here.
A few weeks ago we talked aboutsave up to $550.
Oh, that's right.
Vacations to Hawaii, Mexico andthe Caribbean yes, when you pay
your vacation in full.
For 2025 trips, that promotionhas been extended until October
(20:17):
24th, so they've given us aboutanother month of this promotion,
the details of this travelbetween January 1st and December
15th 2025, which that's beenextended because previously it
was only traveled to the middleof June.
So now they've extended it outthrough the whole year of 2025.
You pay in full at the time ofbooking to get the discount and
(20:40):
it is valid for Hawaii, Mexico,the Caribbean, Costa Rica.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:45):
I want to talk specifically about the
different areas of PuertoVallarta and where to stay.
What do you recommend?
Mark Faldmo (20:52):
In Puerto Vallarta there are several different
areas to stay.
There's the downtown area,there's the hotel zone, there's
the marina area, there's alsowhat they call the south zone
and then there's Riviera Narita,which is the north area of
(21:13):
Puerto Vallarta.
If you're going from theairport as kind of your major
landmark, the closest area isthe marina area and then the
hotel zone and then it kind ofbranches out from there.
Personally, I like to stay inthe downtown or kind of the
southern end of the hotel zoneif it's my personal travel.
(21:34):
Or I like the south zonebecause there's not as much down
there, so the hotels are alittle bit more spread out, a
little bit less people.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:43):
What hotels are participating in the hot
travel deal of the week?
Mark Faldmo (21:48):
Five Nights Air round trip.
Air from Salt Lake City Othercities are available I will just
have to check the price on thatFive Nights Hotel and then
transportation between theairport and the hotel.
These are all inclusive hotels,so literally you could just pay
these prices and be done withit, and not spend another dime
if you didn't want to.
(22:09):
These deals are all departingJanuary 8th 2025.
They're per person, based ondouble occupancy, and they also
include all of the taxes andfees, so they include the total
end price of the trip.
What's the first hotel?
So the first hotel is the RioJalisco.
It's a four-star hotel and thatprice starts at $1,019 per
(22:34):
person.
I really like the location ofit.
It's kind of in the RivieraNarita area Not really because
it's not technically on thatside of the border between the
state of Jalisco and Narita, butit's right up there, really
good, located closer to theairport, and a hotel that I
really like is called the GrandPark Royale Luxury Hotel.
(22:58):
It's a four-star hotel, and nowthis one is in the south zone.
This one is about 30, 40 minutesSouth of the airport, but it's
kind of located on its ownlittle Bay and so you have a
really good beach you don't havea lot of other people around.
That one starts at $1,049 perperson.
So 30 bucks more per person.
(23:20):
30 bucks more, I think, for abetter location.
But then these last two, Ithink, are some of my favorite
hotels, just like I say, almosteverything is my favorite.
I think that's funny.
But the Buena Ventura GrandHotel, which is a four-star
hotel, and this one is veryclose to downtown.
(23:40):
This is, I think, probably oneof the best located if you're
looking for that culture ofPuerto Vallarta, to get down to
the Malecon, to experience allof that, and it starts at $1219
per person.
And then the Fiesta AmericanaPuerto Vallarta, which is a four
and a half star hotel.
It also starts at $1219 perperson.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:08):
It also starts at $1219 per person, and that
is in the hotel zone, which isthe.
Again, the hotel zone is thearea between the marina area and
the downtown area.
You love Puerto Vallarta.
You've said that for years.
What was the?
Mark Faldmo (24:20):
hotel that you stayed at just in.
Was that April?
Yeah, in April.
Now that was the Villa Premier.
Oh, that's right Again, that'sa five-star small boutique hotel
.
It's actually right next to theBuena Ventura Grand that we
talked about.
Okay, yeah.
That sounds familiar, so that'sanother one.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:44):
I didn't include that because I was
trying to get hotels in thedifferent areas that we talked
about, but that's another one toconsider the Villa Premier
Boutique Hotel.
If you are interested inbooking a trip to Mexico, call
Mark in his office, 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
You just can't go wrong withMexico, especially when it's all
inclusive.
It includes all the food, thetransportation, round trip, air,
(25:08):
five nights hotel.
Call them 888-718-7717.
When we come back, we've gotthe infamous cruise deal of the
week and this time we are headedto Jamaica, the Eastern
Caribbean.
That is next when the insidetravel talk podcast, a radio
show, continues alongside MarkFaldmo.
(25:31):
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Show Voice (25:32):
we will be right back you're listening to the
inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
(25:54):
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (26:18):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
Imagine yourself on the deck ofa timelessly elegant clipper
ship a warm breeze blowingsoftly.
As the captain and his crewunfurl the sails above you.
You begin to tingle from headto toe as you sail into the
sunset to tomorrow's next hiddencove.
Years, star Clippers hasoffered unique, authentic tall
(26:44):
ship sailing experiences,featuring creative itineraries
throughout the Mediterranean,Caribbean and Central America.
Itineraries are handcraftedbased on wind patterns to enable
these majestic ships to takeadvantage of the power of the
wind.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:05):
The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byblueplanetvacations.
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 (27:33):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(27:55):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:02):
All aboard.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show.
You are just joining the show.
This is the infamous JustCruising segment where it's only
about cruising In the cruisenews of the week coming up, only
about cruising.
In the Cruise News of the WeekComing up, we are going to talk
(28:31):
about a seven-day EasternCaribbean and a seven-day
Western Caribbean.
We'll explain the destinationscoming up here in this segment,
but before we do, let's get tothe Travel News of the Week.
Travel news of the week.
I saw that Disney Cruise Linesis no longer accepting
photocopies of guest birthcertificates.
I think the headline there iswhat you were still accepting
(28:54):
photocopies of birthcertificates.
Mark Faldmo (28:57):
Yes, yeah, this actually surprised me.
The last 15 years or so, Idon't think I've ever told
anyone they could use aphotocopy of a birth certificate
to get on to a cruise ship.
Yeah, never a passport.
(29:18):
If you have a passport, or ifyou're going on a cruise, get a
passport, because if you have tofly home from a foreign port,
something happens.
Your birth certificate won'tcut it.
You'll have to wait until youcan get a passport or an
emergency passport to get home.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:35):
Yeah, this is a big deal and that could be a
friendly country.
We're not even talking aboutEurope, we're talking about
Canada.
We're talking about Mexico.
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (29:43):
Countries right at our border.
I didn't even know photocopy ofyour birth certificate was
allowed.
But what the official rule is.
As long as you're a round tripsailing departing from the same
US port, you can use a passportto travel.
For instance, if you left fromMiami but came back to Fort
Lauderdale you would need apassport, but if you do
(30:07):
roundtrip Miami, you can justuse your birth certificate.
Just use a passport.
If you don't have one, get onefor emergency purposes, if
nothing else.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:18):
Carnival Cruise Lines has issued a
clarity over food restrictionsin port.
What is that about?
Mark Faldmo (30:26):
This has always been a rule since I've cruised.
I've taken a lot of cruises andyou've never been able to take
off rolls, meat, cheese, freshfruits.
You can take off some sealedsnacks.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:42):
Are you talking from the ship into the
port city?
Mark Faldmo (30:45):
Into the port.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:46):
Yeah, and the same thing getting back on.
Mark Faldmo (30:48):
You can't take food back on the ship, and I guess
this was in response to aFacebook post that kind of went
viral.
Here's the exact words of theperson I was victimized on my
carnival cruise.
Oh boy, it's pretty normal tograb a few rolls and some meat,
cheeses, fruit cookie to takeoff the boat when you're in port
(31:09):
.
I was putting this into aplastic container when the
worker told me I could not do it.
He took the food and threw itaway.
You've never been able to takethat type of stuff off of the
ship.
Now, some people may have putit in backpacks and snuck it off
, but legally you're not allowedespecially fresh fruits and
(31:29):
vegetables, because they havecertain insects in them and
stuff that the other countriesdon't want spreading in their
country.
So it's pretty normal to not beable to take that off.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:40):
So don't be surprised if your food gets
taken Correct.
Port Canaveral a great portcity, by the way, in Florida has
backed off plans for a newcruise terminal.
Man, they were all gung-ho andnow it's off.
Mark Faldmo (31:54):
They announced this a few weeks ago.
It was mainly going to be usedas a pier to help support the
space industry there, but it wasgoing to double as a cruise
ship pier, and so the cruiseport commissioner says we're
just going to have to go back tothe drawing board.
(32:14):
They're full.
Fort Everglades and FortLauderdale is full.
Miami is full, so ships aregoing elsewhere.
So they were really hoping toget this extra cruise terminal.
Plans are off for now.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:25):
I saw this promotion from NCL that it is
changing its free at sea to moreat sea.
Mark Faldmo (32:34):
For the contemporary cruise lines.
It was kind of a game changer,kind of a revolutionary thing in
the industry where they weremaking their cruises basically
more all-inclusive.
The new Morrissey provides anenhanced beverage package and
there's no limit.
It used to be up to $15 perdrink but now there's no limit.
(32:55):
Enhanced specialty dining,which, based on the length of
your cruise, it's actuallygiving you more nights that you
can choose to use the specialtydining.
And Enhanced Wi-Fi is givingyou more free minutes.
And all of their ships are nowconverted to Starlink.
That's a good change.
The program still does keep thefree shore excursion credits.
(33:18):
Third and fourth guests sellfor free or a discounted rate
and the free airfare for thesecond guest.
There we go.
One thing that I actually likeabout this now is if you don't
want the unlimited bar, you cannow choose to take that off and
they'll actually give you acredit back on that portion of
your accrued.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:39):
This person's name sounds familiar because I
think we've talked about Debbiebefore.
She sent you a text earlierthis week and she wants to take
a Caribbean cruise, but wants tochoose an itinerary that has
the best shore excursions.
And basically her question isMark, help me, what are your
(34:00):
favorite excursions?
Mark Faldmo (34:02):
My number one shore excursion in the Caribbean is
from Belize City and that'sLamani Archaeological Site.
I like this one because youtake a speedboat up a river for
about an hour and then you getto this huge pyramid that's just
out in the middle of the jungleand every time I've been there
there's not very many people, ohwow.
So it's really interesting toget to and then you have a nice
(34:26):
lunch prepared there and thenyou take the speedboat back.
The next one and we've talkedabout this one before is in
Jamaica.
I love the bamboo rafting.
I like the calmness of thatactivity, where you just get on
and you have a local driver onthe rafts and you just have a
conversation with them as youfloat down the river and he
(34:48):
points you out points ofinterest, tells you about the
local flora and fauna.
It's a relaxing activity.
I really like that one.
My number three short excursionis in St Thomas and it's to
actually take the ferry over tost john and either do a drive
around the island or snorkel.
Trunk Bay is one of the mostgorgeous beaches and bays, I
(35:11):
think, in all of the world.
Number four excursion is backin Belize City, which is cave
tubing.
All over the Yucatan Peninsula.
There's cenotes and undergroundcaves and this is one where you
go cave tubing in Belize City,wow.
Number five shore excursion isin the port of Tortola and it's
(35:33):
actually to take a ferry or aboat over to the smaller island
of Virgin Gorda, one of the mostbeautiful settings you'll be
for water.
I kind of pictured this as allthe really nice super yachts
pulling up to these beaches,anchoring and having a little
beach bay to themselves.
That's what I felt like when Iwas in this, going to Virgin
(35:55):
Gorda.
And then number six excursionCayman Islands, stingray City
and we've talked about that onewhere you go out and swim with
the stingrays.
Tell that to Steve Irwin.
Yes, I'm sorry, that's terrible.
And then number seven is in StMartin.
This is a place, not really anexcursion.
I like to go over to Maho Beachand the Sunset Beach Bar.
(36:18):
This is the beach that's rightunder the runway of the
International Airport.
Okay, so planes literally flylike.
The end of the runway isprobably 50 feet from the start
of the beach yeah, that lookshorrifying, but I would do it.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:33):
At least I don't think I would do it the
beach bar.
Mark Faldmo (36:37):
You can just sit there.
I just get a good meal, watchthe planes come in, watch people
get blown over.
People stand behind the planesas they're taking off and get
blown over.
Not smart people stand behindthe planes as they're taking off
and get blown over.
My number eight short excursionis in the port of Costa Maya,
or Mahual, which is Chochcoban,which is an archaeological site
combined with the Seven ColorLagoon.
(36:58):
It's a lagoon that has sevenshades of blue.
You can kayak there or justrelax on the side of the lagoon
and have a nice meal.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:08):
This will be the cruise deal of the week.
Let's start with the WesternCaribbean.
Let's start with the NCL Miami.
What day is that and how muchis it?
Mark Faldmo (37:17):
This one is Western Caribbean.
It does include two of theports that we mentioned above.
It includes Costa Maya andBelize City.
It's those two ports that havemy favorite excursions in.
This is a January 25th sailingand the inside price starts at
$788 per person and again, thisincludes all taxes and fees.
(37:39):
That's the end price of thecruise and then obviously plus
airfare, if you want to doairfare Balcony, and I think
this is a great price for thatmiddle of the cruise.
And then obviously plus airfareif you want to do airfare
Balcony, and I think this is agreat price for that middle of
the winter Balcony cabin $1,068per person for the cruise.
Again includes all taxes andfees.
What about the Eastern Caribbean?
Yep, so in the EasternCaribbean, this is a January
(38:00):
11th date and this is also onNorwegian Cruise Line.
That's, on the Norwegian EpicLeaves from Port Canaveral and
it includes Portola and StThomas.
So again, two of the ports wejust talked about Also includes
Porta Plata in the DominicanRepublic and their private
island in the Bahamas.
(38:20):
That one starts at $839 perperson and a balcony cabin
starts at $1219 per person.
Those are great prices and you?
Patrick Wiscombe (38:29):
know what you're talking about because
you've done over 150 cruises.
So when we talk about thecruise deal of the week, chances
are that either one of us, butmostly Mark, has been on one of
these cruises.
You cannot go wrong going to theCaribbean.
You've never seen so manyshades of blue in your life.
It's just amazing To book oneof those vacations.
(38:54):
Call Mark in his office.
He's open Monday through Friday, 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
It is hard to believe thatwe're already to the end of the
show.
We'll take one more break.
When we come back, we've gotMark's travel tips and we'll
(39:15):
wrap up and we'll summarizeeverything that we've talked
about for the past hour.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday
and Sunday mornings.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
He is Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (39:30):
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 (40:05):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Ammo Waterways
.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages, visit some
of Europe's most remarkablesites and cities.
The award-winning andfamily-owned river cruise line
Ammo Waterways offers a widevariety of unforgettable
itineraries along Europe'siconic rivers, perfectly suited
to every traveler's interests.
(40:25):
Europe's iconic riversperfectly suited to every
traveler's interests.
Whether you are passionateabout music, history,
architecture or enjoy the finerthings in a Europe river cruise
on, AMA Waterways is the giftthat keeps on giving To set out
on your own river cruise journey.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
(41:01):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (41:04):
America's best travel advisors.
Call the show right now.
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:20):
Sometimes I think I have the greatest job in
the world alongside Mark Faldmo.
This show is only about travelPlaces to go, great prices to go
experience the world.
Mark is the owner ofBluePlanetVacations.
com, he's the sponsor of theshow and I am his humble
(41:45):
sidekick that gets to travelwith him from time to time.
Mark and I have known eachother for a few years now and
he's honestly, not only a goodperson, but he's really become a
great friend.
Mark Faldmo (42:03):
Yeah, it's been good these last few years, as we
, as we've been doing the show.
Yeah, you're right, talk abouttravel or traveling it's fun.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:12):
It is a great job, it's fun, yeah you are
listening to the inside traveltalk podcast or radio show.
He is mark faldmo.
My name is patrick wiskam.
Coming up in this final segmentof this week's show we've got
mark's travel tips and, uh,we're going to kind of extend
the infamous just cruisingsegment and we're going to talk
(42:34):
about expedition cruises and howthey differ from regular
cruises.
I guess you can kind of figureit out, but there's some really
cool niche niche I can't saythat with a straight face cruise
lines and we'll get to thathere in just a second.
But as we start this, the finalsegment of this week's show,
we've got some quick hit travelnews headlines and cafe pacific
(42:58):
has banned a couple over areclining seat issue.
Was this the one that wasmaking the headlines on
Instagram a little bit earlier?
Mark Faldmo (43:14):
It was.
It garnered lots of views onsocial media.
This comes back to airplaneetiquette.
So basically, someone washarassed for putting their seat
back and you can do that.
Yeah, you know, it escalated somuch that the airline had to
ban the aggressors in that whichwere the people harassing the
person.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:29):
Putting the seat back.
That reclined their seat.
Yeah, he was kicking the seat.
Mark Faldmo (43:33):
We've had segments before on airplane etiquette
when I think of reclining theseats if the flight is less than
three hours, personally I don'trecline the seat.
If it's longer than three hours, I recline the seat if needed,
but those seats don't recline aseat.
If it's longer than three hours, I recline the seat if needed,
but those seats don't recline awhole lot.
It doesn't take a whole lot ofyour space if the person in
front of you reclines the seat.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:53):
Ponant Transatlantic Voyage reaches the
North Pole of Inaccessibility.
My question is what is theNorth Pole of Inaccessibility?
Mark Faldmo (44:04):
The North Pole of Inaccessibility is a sailor's
measurement.
It's the point in the ArcticOcean where pack ice is the
furthest from any landmass.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:18):
Okay, so we're talking about ice.
Mark Faldmo (44:20):
So this cruise is the first, and here's what I
learned.
There are three different NorthPoles.
There's the magnetic North PoleOkay.
There's the magnetic North PoleOkay.
There's the true North Pole Yep.
And there's this North Pole ofinaccessibility, and this ship,
in mid-September, was the firstcruise line to visit all three
(44:41):
North Poles.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:42):
Okay, I think the headline there is huh,
there's three North poles.
Mark Faldmo (44:47):
Yep, and this story kind of goes along with the
expedition cruises that we'regoing to be talking about.
These are the type ofexperiences that you get on
expedition cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:59):
So we've learned that there's three North
poles on this show.
That feels like a triviaquestion.
Windstar Cruises is expandingSouth Pacific presence to Fiji,
Tonga and the Cook Islands.
Mark Faldmo (45:13):
Windstar is typically known for their tall
sailing ships, but they havepurchased some luxury yachts and
they have one that has beensailing in Tahiti, and now they
are introducing new itinerariesto lots of other places in the
South Pacific, including Fiji,Tonga, the Cook Islands.
(45:35):
They're introducing also twomore seven-night cruise that
goes to the Tuamotu Islands andan 11-night Marquesas Islands
itinerary.
This Windstar is more of aluxury product to get to some of
those fairly less traveledplaces in the world and in the
South Pacific.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:55):
One of the reasons I travel is for the
stories that you get to sharewith people, because that's what
really essentially what we doevery week.
We get to share the journal ofour travels More so you than me,
because you're on the road waymore than I am.
I think the challenge thatpeople have is getting the word
out that these kinds ofexperiences even exist.
Mark Faldmo (46:17):
Yeah, there are so many interesting, fun and
wonderful things to see in theworld.
A lot of these companies aremaking them more accessible to
us but, like you said, gettingthe word out Also for some of
these, that might be gettingover a little bit of sticker
shock for some people, but theyare wonderful travel experiences
(46:39):
and if they're within yourbudget, there is.
We'll learn in just a minutewhen we talk more about the
expedition cruises.
There's lots of opportunitiesout there.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:49):
Actually, let's just segue into it.
Expedition cruises are, fromwhat I read are, the fastest
growing segments of the cruiseindustry.
So let's just start kind ofbasic here.
What are expedition cruises,expedition- cruises are smaller
ships.
Mark Faldmo (47:04):
They go to unique, harder to get to regions of the
world.
Most of the expedition cruisesare in the polar regions, Arctic
or Antarctic, but they also goto places like Galapagos Islands
.
They're mainly just uniquecruises that go to very
interesting places.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:24):
Let's talk about the reasons to take an
expedition cruise.
Mark Faldmo (47:27):
They go to bucket list destinations or experiences
.
You're cruising on smallerships with fewer guests.
You know some of theseexpedition cruises have maybe 40
guests on them.
Wow, Expedition cruises arealso the best way to experience
some of the most pristine andnatural areas of the world.
And the main reason explore theunknown, Go to places that very
(47:52):
few people get to visit.
That's the reason to take anexpedition cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:57):
Let's talk about the expedition cruise
lines specifically and wherethey go or what they focus on.
Mark Faldmo (48:04):
There's probably about 20 expedition cruise lines
operating in the world today.
I've kind of narrowed down tomy top favorite five cruises.
The first one we're going totalk about is HX, and we've
talked about HX before on theshow.
They're a Norwegian company.
They mainly focus on the polarregions, you know, Arctic and
(48:26):
Antarctic.
They're very good If you'relooking to that Norway, Iceland,
Greenland.
A unique thing about them isthey have that Northern Lights
guarantee certain times of theyear If you've never seen the
Northern Lights.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:42):
Just go do it.
It's one of those things thatyou can't.
It is special, it is, it'smoving, it stirs the soul when
you do it.
It's one of those things thatyou can't.
It is special, it is, it'smoving, it stirs the soul.
When you see it, you realizehow insignificant you are when
you see the majesty of theheavens.
Mark Faldmo (48:56):
Especially if you're on some of these Arctic
cruises where you're out in themiddle of the Arctic Ocean and
see the Northern Lights justaway from anything.
I think that's an experience Ipersonally would want to have.
Is Viking part of this.
Yes, Viking has an expeditiondivision.
They actually have twoexpedition ships.
(49:19):
Their expedition ships sailagain the Arctic regions, South
America, the Great Lakes.
That they do, I think, one ofthe most interesting itineraries
they have.
They have a couple of cruisesthat are called longitudinal
world cruises.
So rather than going around theworld from east to west, they
(49:42):
do it.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:42):
Oh really, south to north, north to south.
Mark Faldmo (49:45):
South to north or north to south?
Oh, really, south to north,north to south, south to north
or north to south?
Oh wow, when I was looking atthis, you tell me what sticks
out for you on this cruise.
Longitudinal world cruiseBuenos Aires to Milwaukee,
Wisconsin.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:02):
That's incredible.
Those are two port cities thatI don't normally put together.
Something a little closer tohome would be the Baja cruises,
meaning Baja, Mexico.
That's incredible.
Those are two port cities thatI don't normally put together.
Mark Faldmo (50:11):
Something a little closer to home would be the Baja
Cruises, meaning Baja Mexico.
So this cruise line is LindbladCruise Line and National
Geographic.
They have some pretty uniquecruises in Baja.
They have anything from five to11 day cruises that sail in
that area and they have whaleintense cruises.
They go up into Magdalena Bay,which is on the west coast of
(50:34):
the Baja Peninsula, there, whichis just whale watching heaven,
and so you know, on NationalGeographic they're smaller ships
and with that name of NationalGeographic they're very
nature-focused cruises.
Another expedition cruise lineis Atlas Ocean Voyages.
Now, this is a luxury cruiseline.
(50:55):
They have basicallyice-breaking yachts.
They have custom-designedinflatable zodiac rafts so they
can land you on Antarctica andland you on really inaccessible
places.
Atlas ocean voyages arerelatively new.
Patrick Wiscombe (51:12):
They started in 2019, oh, but they're a
wonderful company let's talkabout Alaska here for a second.
There's a company that doesthat the company that does
Alaska.
Mark Faldmo (51:24):
They do Alaska in the summer and then they do
Hawaii and Central America inthe winter, but they are called
UnCruise and I think they areprobably the best way to see
Alaska if you're looking forthat unique experience.
They're a locally owned companyin Alaska.
Un Cruise is their name becausethey don't like to be
(51:48):
associated with the big megacruise lines that go there.
They have much smaller cruiseships.
Most of them leave from likeJuneau area, so you're flying to
Juneau.
They have kayaking at glaciers,they have historians on board,
they have naturalists on board.
Patrick Wiscombe (52:05):
They really get you immersed into Alaska I
cannot oversell how great Alaskawas one of my favorite, one of
my favorite cruises how manytimes have you been to Alaska?
Mark Faldmo (52:20):
probably 15 or 20, somewhere in there.
Patrick Wiscombe (52:25):
If we have whet your appetite to go to
Mexico, to go to the eastern orwestern part of the Caribbean
with the deals that we've talkedabout, Puerto Vallarta, call
Mark in his office.
He knows his stuff.
He's traveled nearly 4.5million miles, over 150 cruises.
(52:46):
He has seen the planet.
It's your turn now to goexplore the world.
Call him in his office.
He's open Monday through Friday888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
If you have missed any part ofthe show, you can listen to the
(53:08):
podcast on insidetraveltalk.
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
Just do a search for InsideTravel Talk.
And while you're at it, may Iask you to subscribe to the show
and leave us a five-star review.
It really does help us gettraction with the podcast
(53:29):
platform.
So I'll just thank you inadvance.
Now it's your turn.
Get out, explore the worldwhile you can, because you never
know what curve balls life isgoing to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
just remember today is a goodday for a good day.
Have a great week.
(53:50):
We'll talk to you again nextweek.
Show Voice (53:55):
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.
(54:16):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Thank you.
The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
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 (00:32):
Explore your world.
It's the inside travel talkpodcast and radio show presented
by blue planet vacations.
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
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:00):
Ah, good morning.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will join me herein just a second.
If you are new to the show, theentire purpose of this show is
to help you plan and book yournext vacation.
(01:21):
Whether it's one of thevacations that we're going to
talk about the show today, or avacation that you want to go on
and just need assistance, someguidance and what to do, you
have found the right show.
This is a fun show.
It's all about travel.
You can get the podcast of thisshow at insidetraveltTalk.
(01:41):
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts, and if you're in the
Salt Lake City area, we are alsoon the air right now, obviously
, because you're listening to usevery Saturday and Sunday
morning at 11 am Mountain Timeand we are presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Mark is the owner of thecompany Coming up on today's
(02:05):
show.
Oh boy, what do you do ifyou're traveling during
hurricane season?
What are the rules andregulations that apply to you?
That is a question that we'vebeen getting all week long,
really last week as well.
We're also going to head toMexico, Puerto Vallarta
(02:25):
specifically, and we're alsogoing to be talking about
cruises in the Caribbean that iscoming up in this hour of the
Inside Travel Talk podcast, ourradio show.
Let me introduce to everyone myfriend and owner of
blueplanetvacations.
com, mark Faldmo.
Let's get to the travel news ofthe week.
I saw this story.
(02:45):
It was some kind of an airportprank that was in Sydney.
What was that about?
Mark Faldmo (02:51):
It's a welcome to Melbourne sign hanging right on
the main escalator when you'recoming down to the baggage claim
area.
What it is?
It's actually an advertisement.
It's for a company calledSpecsavers, which is a eyeglass
group, and so it has big welcometo Melbourne.
And then do you need to checkyour glasses?
Patrick Wiscombe (03:14):
That is pretty funny.
I saw that the mayor of Parisplans to keep the Olympic rings
on the Eiffel Tower.
I think that's a great move.
Mark Faldmo (03:23):
It is.
They want to kind ofmemorialize the Olympics.
Now there are some dissenters.
The family of Gustav Eiffel,who built the tower, has
expressed their displeasure inkeeping the Olympic rings on
there.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:38):
I can see their point as well.
Maybe you keep it up for a year, maybe one or two years, and
then go ahead and bring themdown Looking at the pictures of
it.
Mark Faldmo (03:48):
with the rings on there, I think it fits perfect.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:51):
Delta plans a record transatlantic expansion
starting next summer.
So what is that 2025?
Mark Faldmo (03:58):
Yeah, and this is exciting.
It opens up more of the worldto traveling especially for
those of us in Salt Lake withDelta.
So here are some of the newroutes that they're going to be
adding Boston to Milan,Minneapolis to Rome, Atlanta to
Naples and New York and Sicilyare some of the routes, and then
(04:19):
other new routes Detroit toDublin, Atlanta to Brussels,
Boston to Barcelona, and thenthey're also going to expand
service, so add more dailyflights between Atlanta and
Athens, Rome, Barcelona andZurich, all between Atlanta, and
then also add more flightsbetween Detroit and Munich.
(04:41):
So overall, Delta will operatemore than 700 weekly flights to
33 European destinations.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:49):
That is impressive.
Delta and SAS sign a co-chairagreement.
Now, my first thought when Isaw the story is what's a
co-chair agreement?
Mark Faldmo (04:59):
A co-chair agreement is basically when
airlines cooperate together.
You might book a flight, let'ssay, salt Lake City to
Copenhagen, Denmark.
We're gonna use SAS.
Since that's part of this, SASjust recently announced service
from Seattle to Copenhagen, sonow you can fly all on one
(05:19):
ticket.
So you might fly on Delta SaltLake City to Seattle and then
switch to SAS Airlines Seattleto Copenhagen, but your ticket
will say it's all either onDelta Airlines or all either on
SAS Airlines.
As we've talked about in thepast, when SAS joins SkyTeam,
this is really going to open upScandinavia to Delta flyers.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:41):
I think it will also be less confusing
because then you just open upthe app, whatever app you're
using, delta, SAS and all yourinformation is there.
So you don't have to go betweenthe apps.
Mark Faldmo (05:51):
It also makes it easy for those redeeming
frequent flyer miles.
Codeshares have pros and cons.
I think generally, this is agood move.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:59):
There's a gentleman by the name of Jim.
He's asking well, since you'retalking about hurricanes, should
I even plan on going on a tripto the Caribbean?
That's generally Bahamas,Caribbean, that's generally
where most of the hurricaneshappen for us here in the United
States.
But should he plan a tripduring hurricane season?
And I think that we should justtalk about this because the
(06:21):
Hurricane Helene has just beendominating the news- First of
all, when is hurricane season?
Mark Faldmo (06:32):
Hurricane season is June 1st to November 30th.
There are outliers before andafter, but September is the most
active month.
If you're concerned abouttraveling during hurricane
season, maybe avoid September.
You know I've traveled toMexico and the Caribbean during
September before I've run intosome tropical storms.
The challenges of travelingduring hurricane season your
(06:54):
trip could get canceled, itcould get cut short, it could be
modified.
If you're on a cruise, they'llchange the itinerary around and
you could get stuck in thedestination.
So that's some of thechallenges to consider when
traveling during hurricaneseason, especially the month of
September.
But there are some benefits oftraveling during hurricane
(07:15):
season Lower prices, there'smore availability of deals and
there's also less peopletraveling, so there are fewer
crowds.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:24):
If you're the kind of person that can be
flexible on this kind of stuff,now's the time to go.
Mark Faldmo (07:29):
It is.
I've done most of my travelingto Cancun and Mexico in
September and October.
I've been in some tropicalstorms.
I've been in one hurricane.
Luckily the hurricane was acategory two so it wasn't too
big but there are someconsiderations when doing that.
Let's give listeners what?
Patrick Wiscombe (07:49):
six tips, seven tips.
Mark Faldmo (07:52):
Here are the tips that I would.
Some of these are for travel ingeneral, but especially when
traveling during hurricaneseason.
The number one tip is purchasetravel insurance that will cover
hurricanes, and also purchasethe insurance when you purchase
your trip.
If you wait until there's anamed storm, it will not cover
(08:14):
you, so you have to purchase itwhen you purchase your trip.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:18):
And it's really pretty inexpensive too.
Mark Faldmo (08:22):
It is yeah.
And also don't assume that thetravel insurance that comes with
your credit cards will coverthat.
A lot of them will not coverhurricane insurance or the
coverage is not sufficient forwhat you need.
Number two travel tip is don'tassume you can cancel your trip
because of a hurricane.
You know airlines and hotelsmay let you reschedule, but
(08:46):
without insurance you won't getyour money back in most cases.
Number three is know what yourtravel insurance will cover.
Some of them have limits as faras what they'll cover per day
If your trip is delayed or ifyou need extra hotel nights.
There are some limits, so knowwhat your insurance will cover.
Number four I think this is abig one is stay informed.
(09:09):
The best resource is theNational Hurricane Center, and
you can just Google NationalHurricane Center or the web
address is nhc.
noaa.
gov.
Currently right now, as we'rerecording this show, it shows
there's a tropical storm namedKirk out there and a disturbance
(09:32):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:32):
When I looked at this In the Caribbean right
now.
Mark Faldmo (09:35):
In the Caribbean.
When I looked at this yesterday, there were actually six
different places of disturbance,so most of them have gone away.
What I like about this is itshows tropical disturbances and
their percentage of forming intoa tropical storm.
It'll show tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes
.
And you can look at theAtlantic, the Eastern Pacific,
(09:57):
which is the West Coast ofMexico, or the Central Pacific,
which would cover Hawaii.
Yeah, so it's a very goodresource.
And the number six tip is planfor some disruption during your
vacation.
If there's a storm in yourvicinity and you won't always
take a direct hit, but you mightbe on the outskirts of storms
make sure and pack extramedicine.
(10:19):
I usually always pack at leasta week's worth of medicine.
I pack snacks those have to benon-perishable, sealed snacks
and have the power bricks tocharge your electronics.
Make sure they're chargedbefore the storm hits so you can
have things, so you can chargeyour tablets and phones.
And then I always download someentertainment, some movies, tv
(10:42):
shows to watch.
Download some entertainment,some movies, tv shows to watch.
If the power's out, if theinternet's out, it's nice to be
able to just watch movies duringthat.
And then the number six tip isbe flexible, know that your
vacation could experience badweather or severe weather, and
just approach that trip with theproper mindset, positive
(11:02):
attitude and make all thedifference in having a good trip
.
Embrace the unexpected andenjoy the adventure.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:10):
Those are all good suggestions and Mark knows
what he's talking about becausehe has traveled over four and a
half million miles, or nearlyfour and a half billion miles.
He's been on over 150 cruises.
He knows what he's talkingabout.
So if you need help planningyour vacation, call him in his
office.
He's open Monday through Friday, standard business hours.
(11:34):
His number is 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
When we come back, we've gotthe hot travel deal of the week.
Regardless of the destination.
We are going to Mexico, PuertoVallarta specifically, we've got
(11:54):
some killer deals.
If you want to go to Mexico,that is next when the Inside
Travel Talk podcast and radioshow continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
He is Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (12:11):
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.
(12:32):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (12:47):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
Our oceanfront resorts areexclusively for adults and have
been voted among the mostromantic resorts in Mexico and
the world.
El Dorado resorts are perfectfor anniversaries, honeymoons or
(13:09):
to get away with yoursignificant other.
El Dorado Spa Resorts featureseven all-inclusive oceanfront
resorts along the Riviera Maya,where the culinary excellence is
a fundamental part of theexperience and each resort
offers unique accommodationswhere you can choose from
swim-up suites, rooms withprivate plunge or infinity pools
, or beautiful overwaterbungalows.
(13:30):
El Dorado Resorts features aworld-class spa where you can
relax and rejuvenate withexceptional spa treatments.
To book your romantic beachgetaway at an El Dorado Spa
Resort, contact Blue PlanetVacations at 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (13:57):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byblueplanetvacations.
com.
And radio show presented byblueplanetvacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700.
(14:20):
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:28):
It is such a beautiful Saturday morning.
There's just something aboutthis time of year.
We talked about going to seeall of the colors, all the
foliage around the country.
Last week we were talking aboutthe Rocky Mountaineer.
Go, look at all the trees andhow they're changing.
Mount Timpanogos really thewhole Wasatch Front is just a
(14:50):
blaze in color.
It is absolutely spectacularoutside.
Coming up in this segment ofthe Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show, let me justremind listeners, if you are new
to the show, the entire purposeof this show is to help you
plan and book your next vacationand in this segment we've got
(15:11):
the hot travel deal of the week,regardless of the destination.
This week we are headed toMexico, Puerto Vallarta
specifically, but before we getthere we've got the quick hit
travel news headlines.
I saw that Delta has unveiledthe first ever flights from Salt
Lake City to Seoul, south Korea.
Mark Faldmo (15:32):
Yeah, so this is exciting news for those of us in
Salt Lake City.
It opens up the whole Asiamarket.
Delta does have a co-chairagreement with Korean Air, so
you'll be able to take the Deltaflight to Seoul and then
connect just as if you're flyingon South Korea, to anywhere in
Asia that Korean Air flies to.
(15:53):
That flight is going to startJune 12th of 2025.
It's just under 6,000 milesfrom Salt Lake to Seoul.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:01):
It's funny you should say that and you had no
idea I was going to say this,but I just hit 6,000 miles on my
bike, so I can say, in terms ofmiles, that I've ridden my bike
from Salt Lake City to Seoul.
Mark Faldmo (16:15):
Yes, yes.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:18):
The UK has set dates for launch of electronic
travel authorization visarequirements for the United
States and Canada.
What else do we know about that?
Mark Faldmo (16:28):
They have announced they're going to have this.
This is for people that arepart of the visa waiver
countries, which the US andCanada are.
You're not going to have to geta visa, but you do have to go
online and refill out and getpre-approved to travel to the UK
and the cost will be about $10.
So this starts on January 8th2025.
(16:52):
If you are traveling to the UKon or after January 8th 2025,
you will need to go to theirsite, put in all of your
information and pay the $10 orso per person to be able to get
authorization to travel to theUK.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:09):
Hawaiian Airlines is now offering free
Starlink which, by the way, hatsoff to Elon Musk for coming up
with Starlink Wi-Fi to servecountries but in this particular
case, Hawaiian Airlines is nowoffering free Starlink Wi-Fi on
most flights.
Mark Faldmo (17:23):
So this is on all of their long-haul flights.
So it does not include theinter-island flights, but those
flights are like 10 minutes offlying time anyway.
So well, 10 minutes of flyingtime above 10,000 feet, where
they turn the Wi-Fi on allflights mainland to the US and
some of their flights to Asia.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:44):
Oahu's Polynesian Cultural Center,
which Nikki and I were justthere in March, has relaunched
the water show.
Mark Faldmo (17:52):
Yeah, so I'm really excited about this.
This is the canoe show, whichwas the world-famous canoe show,
where all of the villages ofthe Polynesian Cultural Center
would come out on canoes and doa little parade and dance and
show off some of the things fromtheir area of the world.
This is something that wentaway with COVID.
(18:13):
When I was there in Novemberfor Thanksgiving, we were
talking to someone at thePolynesian Cultural Center and
they just didn't have the peopleback to do the canoe show, and
so I'm glad that this is finallyback up and going, because it
is a special part of visitingthe Polynesian Cultural Center.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:33):
Southwest Airlines says that they're going
to take their time to implementassigned seating.
Mark Faldmo (18:38):
They are going to start retrofitting the planes in
the middle part of next year,but they're not going to sell
them.
So this means that you can usetheir old boarding system and
you could get the extra roomseats.
They're not going to startactually selling the seats until
the first half of 2026.
(18:59):
They'll have most of theirfleet outfitted with the extra
legroom seats, but you won't beable to start purchasing them
until 2026.
And those will just be on afirst come, first serve basis
until they start selling them.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:13):
The new redesign of Southwest Airlines
on some of their planes.
Visually pretty amazing, Looksgood.
Mark Faldmo (19:19):
It is.
Yeah, I'm probably not going tobe as big of a fan of this new
seating.
I have my little quirks aboutSouthwest, where I like to sit
and how I like to board.
I think the seating was onething that made Southwest
different and a little bitspecial.
It should help them attractmore of the business travelers,
the kind of higher revenuetravelers.
(19:41):
So it's probably overall goodfor Southwest.
I personally don't like it.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:46):
It is time for the hot travel deal of the week
, always in segment number twoof the show, and we are going to
Mexico, Puerto Vallartaspecifically.
Mark Faldmo (19:56):
So first we have a little bit of news here.
A few weeks ago we talked aboutsave up to $550.
Oh, that's right.
Vacations to Hawaii, Mexico andthe Caribbean yes, when you pay
your vacation in full.
For 2025 trips, that promotionhas been extended until October
(20:17):
24th, so they've given us aboutanother month of this promotion,
the details of this travelbetween January 1st and December
15th 2025, which that's beenextended because previously it
was only traveled to the middleof June.
So now they've extended it outthrough the whole year of 2025.
You pay in full at the time ofbooking to get the discount and
(20:40):
it is valid for Hawaii, Mexico,the Caribbean, Costa Rica.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:45):
I want to talk specifically about the
different areas of PuertoVallarta and where to stay.
What do you recommend?
Mark Faldmo (20:52):
In Puerto Vallarta there are several different
areas to stay.
There's the downtown area,there's the hotel zone, there's
the marina area, there's alsowhat they call the south zone
and then there's Riviera Narita,which is the north area of
(21:13):
Puerto Vallarta.
If you're going from theairport as kind of your major
landmark, the closest area isthe marina area and then the
hotel zone and then it kind ofbranches out from there.
Personally, I like to stay inthe downtown or kind of the
southern end of the hotel zoneif it's my personal travel.
(21:34):
Or I like the south zonebecause there's not as much down
there, so the hotels are alittle bit more spread out, a
little bit less people.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:43):
What hotels are participating in the hot
travel deal of the week?
Mark Faldmo (21:48):
Five Nights Air round trip.
Air from Salt Lake City Othercities are available I will just
have to check the price on thatFive Nights Hotel and then
transportation between theairport and the hotel.
These are all inclusive hotels,so literally you could just pay
these prices and be done withit, and not spend another dime
if you didn't want to.
(22:09):
These deals are all departingJanuary 8th 2025.
They're per person, based ondouble occupancy, and they also
include all of the taxes andfees, so they include the total
end price of the trip.
What's the first hotel?
So the first hotel is the RioJalisco.
It's a four-star hotel and thatprice starts at $1,019 per
(22:34):
person.
I really like the location ofit.
It's kind of in the RivieraNarita area Not really because
it's not technically on thatside of the border between the
state of Jalisco and Narita, butit's right up there, really
good, located closer to theairport, and a hotel that I
really like is called the GrandPark Royale Luxury Hotel.
(22:58):
It's a four-star hotel, and nowthis one is in the south zone.
This one is about 30, 40 minutesSouth of the airport, but it's
kind of located on its ownlittle Bay and so you have a
really good beach you don't havea lot of other people around.
That one starts at $1,049 perperson.
So 30 bucks more per person.
(23:20):
30 bucks more, I think, for abetter location.
But then these last two, Ithink, are some of my favorite
hotels, just like I say, almosteverything is my favorite.
I think that's funny.
But the Buena Ventura GrandHotel, which is a four-star
hotel, and this one is veryclose to downtown.
(23:40):
This is, I think, probably oneof the best located if you're
looking for that culture ofPuerto Vallarta, to get down to
the Malecon, to experience allof that, and it starts at $1219
per person.
And then the Fiesta AmericanaPuerto Vallarta, which is a four
and a half star hotel.
It also starts at $1219 perperson.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:08):
It also starts at $1219 per person, and that
is in the hotel zone, which isthe.
Again, the hotel zone is thearea between the marina area and
the downtown area.
You love Puerto Vallarta.
You've said that for years.
What was the?
Mark Faldmo (24:20):
hotel that you stayed at just in.
Was that April?
Yeah, in April.
Now that was the Villa Premier.
Oh, that's right Again, that'sa five-star small boutique hotel
.
It's actually right next to theBuena Ventura Grand that we
talked about.
Okay, yeah.
That sounds familiar, so that'sanother one.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:44):
I didn't include that because I was
trying to get hotels in thedifferent areas that we talked
about, but that's another one toconsider the Villa Premier
Boutique Hotel.
If you are interested inbooking a trip to Mexico, call
Mark in his office, 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
You just can't go wrong withMexico, especially when it's all
inclusive.
It includes all the food, thetransportation, round trip, air,
(25:08):
five nights hotel.
Call them 888-718-7717.
When we come back, we've gotthe infamous cruise deal of the
week and this time we are headedto Jamaica, the Eastern
Caribbean.
That is next when the insidetravel talk podcast, a radio
show, continues alongside MarkFaldmo.
(25:31):
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Show Voice (25:32):
we will be right back you're listening to the
inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
(25:54):
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (26:18):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
Imagine yourself on the deck ofa timelessly elegant clipper
ship a warm breeze blowingsoftly.
As the captain and his crewunfurl the sails above you.
You begin to tingle from headto toe as you sail into the
sunset to tomorrow's next hiddencove.
Years, star Clippers hasoffered unique, authentic tall
(26:44):
ship sailing experiences,featuring creative itineraries
throughout the Mediterranean,Caribbean and Central America.
Itineraries are handcraftedbased on wind patterns to enable
these majestic ships to takeadvantage of the power of the
wind.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:05):
The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byblueplanetvacations.
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 (27:33):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(27:55):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:02):
All aboard.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show.
You are just joining the show.
This is the infamous JustCruising segment where it's only
about cruising In the cruisenews of the week coming up, only
about cruising.
In the Cruise News of the WeekComing up, we are going to talk
(28:31):
about a seven-day EasternCaribbean and a seven-day
Western Caribbean.
We'll explain the destinationscoming up here in this segment,
but before we do, let's get tothe Travel News of the Week.
Travel news of the week.
I saw that Disney Cruise Linesis no longer accepting
photocopies of guest birthcertificates.
I think the headline there iswhat you were still accepting
(28:54):
photocopies of birthcertificates.
Mark Faldmo (28:57):
Yes, yeah, this actually surprised me.
The last 15 years or so, Idon't think I've ever told
anyone they could use aphotocopy of a birth certificate
to get on to a cruise ship.
Yeah, never a passport.
(29:18):
If you have a passport, or ifyou're going on a cruise, get a
passport, because if you have tofly home from a foreign port,
something happens.
Your birth certificate won'tcut it.
You'll have to wait until youcan get a passport or an
emergency passport to get home.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:35):
Yeah, this is a big deal and that could be a
friendly country.
We're not even talking aboutEurope, we're talking about
Canada.
We're talking about Mexico.
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (29:43):
Countries right at our border.
I didn't even know photocopy ofyour birth certificate was
allowed.
But what the official rule is.
As long as you're a round tripsailing departing from the same
US port, you can use a passportto travel.
For instance, if you left fromMiami but came back to Fort
Lauderdale you would need apassport, but if you do
(30:07):
roundtrip Miami, you can justuse your birth certificate.
Just use a passport.
If you don't have one, get onefor emergency purposes, if
nothing else.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:18):
Carnival Cruise Lines has issued a
clarity over food restrictionsin port.
What is that about?
Mark Faldmo (30:26):
This has always been a rule since I've cruised.
I've taken a lot of cruises andyou've never been able to take
off rolls, meat, cheese, freshfruits.
You can take off some sealedsnacks.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:42):
Are you talking from the ship into the
port city?
Mark Faldmo (30:45):
Into the port.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:46):
Yeah, and the same thing getting back on.
Mark Faldmo (30:48):
You can't take food back on the ship, and I guess
this was in response to aFacebook post that kind of went
viral.
Here's the exact words of theperson I was victimized on my
carnival cruise.
Oh boy, it's pretty normal tograb a few rolls and some meat,
cheeses, fruit cookie to takeoff the boat when you're in port
(31:09):
.
I was putting this into aplastic container when the
worker told me I could not do it.
He took the food and threw itaway.
You've never been able to takethat type of stuff off of the
ship.
Now, some people may have putit in backpacks and snuck it off
, but legally you're not allowedespecially fresh fruits and
(31:29):
vegetables, because they havecertain insects in them and
stuff that the other countriesdon't want spreading in their
country.
So it's pretty normal to not beable to take that off.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:40):
So don't be surprised if your food gets
taken Correct.
Port Canaveral a great portcity, by the way, in Florida has
backed off plans for a newcruise terminal.
Man, they were all gung-ho andnow it's off.
Mark Faldmo (31:54):
They announced this a few weeks ago.
It was mainly going to be usedas a pier to help support the
space industry there, but it wasgoing to double as a cruise
ship pier, and so the cruiseport commissioner says we're
just going to have to go back tothe drawing board.
(32:14):
They're full.
Fort Everglades and FortLauderdale is full.
Miami is full, so ships aregoing elsewhere.
So they were really hoping toget this extra cruise terminal.
Plans are off for now.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:25):
I saw this promotion from NCL that it is
changing its free at sea to moreat sea.
Mark Faldmo (32:34):
For the contemporary cruise lines.
It was kind of a game changer,kind of a revolutionary thing in
the industry where they weremaking their cruises basically
more all-inclusive.
The new Morrissey provides anenhanced beverage package and
there's no limit.
It used to be up to $15 perdrink but now there's no limit.
(32:55):
Enhanced specialty dining,which, based on the length of
your cruise, it's actuallygiving you more nights that you
can choose to use the specialtydining.
And Enhanced Wi-Fi is givingyou more free minutes.
And all of their ships are nowconverted to Starlink.
That's a good change.
The program still does keep thefree shore excursion credits.
(33:18):
Third and fourth guests sellfor free or a discounted rate
and the free airfare for thesecond guest.
There we go.
One thing that I actually likeabout this now is if you don't
want the unlimited bar, you cannow choose to take that off and
they'll actually give you acredit back on that portion of
your accrued.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:39):
This person's name sounds familiar because I
think we've talked about Debbiebefore.
She sent you a text earlierthis week and she wants to take
a Caribbean cruise, but wants tochoose an itinerary that has
the best shore excursions.
And basically her question isMark, help me, what are your
(34:00):
favorite excursions?
Mark Faldmo (34:02):
My number one shore excursion in the Caribbean is
from Belize City and that'sLamani Archaeological Site.
I like this one because youtake a speedboat up a river for
about an hour and then you getto this huge pyramid that's just
out in the middle of the jungleand every time I've been there
there's not very many people, ohwow.
So it's really interesting toget to and then you have a nice
(34:26):
lunch prepared there and thenyou take the speedboat back.
The next one and we've talkedabout this one before is in
Jamaica.
I love the bamboo rafting.
I like the calmness of thatactivity, where you just get on
and you have a local driver onthe rafts and you just have a
conversation with them as youfloat down the river and he
(34:48):
points you out points ofinterest, tells you about the
local flora and fauna.
It's a relaxing activity.
I really like that one.
My number three short excursionis in St Thomas and it's to
actually take the ferry over tost john and either do a drive
around the island or snorkel.
Trunk Bay is one of the mostgorgeous beaches and bays, I
(35:11):
think, in all of the world.
Number four excursion is backin Belize City, which is cave
tubing.
All over the Yucatan Peninsula.
There's cenotes and undergroundcaves and this is one where you
go cave tubing in Belize City,wow.
Number five shore excursion isin the port of Tortola and it's
(35:33):
actually to take a ferry or aboat over to the smaller island
of Virgin Gorda, one of the mostbeautiful settings you'll be
for water.
I kind of pictured this as allthe really nice super yachts
pulling up to these beaches,anchoring and having a little
beach bay to themselves.
That's what I felt like when Iwas in this, going to Virgin
(35:55):
Gorda.
And then number six excursionCayman Islands, stingray City
and we've talked about that onewhere you go out and swim with
the stingrays.
Tell that to Steve Irwin.
Yes, I'm sorry, that's terrible.
And then number seven is in StMartin.
This is a place, not really anexcursion.
I like to go over to Maho Beachand the Sunset Beach Bar.
(36:18):
This is the beach that's rightunder the runway of the
International Airport.
Okay, so planes literally flylike.
The end of the runway isprobably 50 feet from the start
of the beach yeah, that lookshorrifying, but I would do it.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:33):
At least I don't think I would do it the
beach bar.
Mark Faldmo (36:37):
You can just sit there.
I just get a good meal, watchthe planes come in, watch people
get blown over.
People stand behind the planesas they're taking off and get
blown over.
Not smart people stand behindthe planes as they're taking off
and get blown over.
My number eight short excursionis in the port of Costa Maya,
or Mahual, which is Chochcoban,which is an archaeological site
combined with the Seven ColorLagoon.
(36:58):
It's a lagoon that has sevenshades of blue.
You can kayak there or justrelax on the side of the lagoon
and have a nice meal.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:08):
This will be the cruise deal of the week.
Let's start with the WesternCaribbean.
Let's start with the NCL Miami.
What day is that and how muchis it?
Mark Faldmo (37:17):
This one is Western Caribbean.
It does include two of theports that we mentioned above.
It includes Costa Maya andBelize City.
It's those two ports that havemy favorite excursions in.
This is a January 25th sailingand the inside price starts at
$788 per person and again, thisincludes all taxes and fees.
(37:39):
That's the end price of thecruise and then obviously plus
airfare, if you want to doairfare Balcony, and I think
this is a great price for thatmiddle of the cruise.
And then obviously plus airfareif you want to do airfare
Balcony, and I think this is agreat price for that middle of
the winter Balcony cabin $1,068per person for the cruise.
Again includes all taxes andfees.
What about the Eastern Caribbean?
Yep, so in the EasternCaribbean, this is a January
(38:00):
11th date and this is also onNorwegian Cruise Line.
That's, on the Norwegian EpicLeaves from Port Canaveral and
it includes Portola and StThomas.
So again, two of the ports wejust talked about Also includes
Porta Plata in the DominicanRepublic and their private
island in the Bahamas.
(38:20):
That one starts at $839 perperson and a balcony cabin
starts at $1219 per person.
Those are great prices and you?
Patrick Wiscombe (38:29):
know what you're talking about because
you've done over 150 cruises.
So when we talk about thecruise deal of the week, chances
are that either one of us, butmostly Mark, has been on one of
these cruises.
You cannot go wrong going to theCaribbean.
You've never seen so manyshades of blue in your life.
It's just amazing To book oneof those vacations.
(38:54):
Call Mark in his office.
He's open Monday through Friday, 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
It is hard to believe thatwe're already to the end of the
show.
We'll take one more break.
When we come back, we've gotMark's travel tips and we'll
(39:15):
wrap up and we'll summarizeeverything that we've talked
about for the past hour.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday
and Sunday mornings.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
He is Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (39:30):
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 (40:05):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Ammo Waterways
.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages, visit some
of Europe's most remarkablesites and cities.
The award-winning andfamily-owned river cruise line
Ammo Waterways offers a widevariety of unforgettable
itineraries along Europe'siconic rivers, perfectly suited
to every traveler's interests.
(40:25):
Europe's iconic riversperfectly suited to every
traveler's interests.
Whether you are passionateabout music, history,
architecture or enjoy the finerthings in a Europe river cruise
on, AMA Waterways is the giftthat keeps on giving To set out
on your own river cruise journey.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
(41:01):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (41:04):
America's best travel advisors.
Call the show right now.
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:20):
Sometimes I think I have the greatest job in
the world alongside Mark Faldmo.
This show is only about travelPlaces to go, great prices to go
experience the world.
Mark is the owner ofBluePlanetVacations.
com, he's the sponsor of theshow and I am his humble
(41:45):
sidekick that gets to travelwith him from time to time.
Mark and I have known eachother for a few years now and
he's honestly, not only a goodperson, but he's really become a
great friend.
Mark Faldmo (42:03):
Yeah, it's been good these last few years, as we
, as we've been doing the show.
Yeah, you're right, talk abouttravel or traveling it's fun.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:12):
It is a great job, it's fun, yeah you are
listening to the inside traveltalk podcast or radio show.
He is mark faldmo.
My name is patrick wiskam.
Coming up in this final segmentof this week's show we've got
mark's travel tips and, uh,we're going to kind of extend
the infamous just cruisingsegment and we're going to talk
(42:34):
about expedition cruises and howthey differ from regular
cruises.
I guess you can kind of figureit out, but there's some really
cool niche niche I can't saythat with a straight face cruise
lines and we'll get to thathere in just a second.
But as we start this, the finalsegment of this week's show,
we've got some quick hit travelnews headlines and cafe pacific
(42:58):
has banned a couple over areclining seat issue.
Was this the one that wasmaking the headlines on
Instagram a little bit earlier?
Mark Faldmo (43:14):
It was.
It garnered lots of views onsocial media.
This comes back to airplaneetiquette.
So basically, someone washarassed for putting their seat
back and you can do that.
Yeah, you know, it escalated somuch that the airline had to
ban the aggressors in that whichwere the people harassing the
person.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:29):
Putting the seat back.
That reclined their seat.
Yeah, he was kicking the seat.
Mark Faldmo (43:33):
We've had segments before on airplane etiquette
when I think of reclining theseats if the flight is less than
three hours, personally I don'trecline the seat.
If it's longer than three hours, I recline the seat if needed,
but those seats don't recline aseat.
If it's longer than three hours, I recline the seat if needed,
but those seats don't recline awhole lot.
It doesn't take a whole lot ofyour space if the person in
front of you reclines the seat.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:53):
Ponant Transatlantic Voyage reaches the
North Pole of Inaccessibility.
My question is what is theNorth Pole of Inaccessibility?
Mark Faldmo (44:04):
The North Pole of Inaccessibility is a sailor's
measurement.
It's the point in the ArcticOcean where pack ice is the
furthest from any landmass.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:18):
Okay, so we're talking about ice.
Mark Faldmo (44:20):
So this cruise is the first, and here's what I
learned.
There are three different NorthPoles.
There's the magnetic North PoleOkay.
There's the magnetic North PoleOkay.
There's the true North Pole Yep.
And there's this North Pole ofinaccessibility, and this ship,
in mid-September, was the firstcruise line to visit all three
(44:41):
North Poles.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:42):
Okay, I think the headline there is huh,
there's three North poles.
Mark Faldmo (44:47):
Yep, and this story kind of goes along with the
expedition cruises that we'regoing to be talking about.
These are the type ofexperiences that you get on
expedition cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:59):
So we've learned that there's three North
poles on this show.
That feels like a triviaquestion.
Windstar Cruises is expandingSouth Pacific presence to Fiji,
Tonga and the Cook Islands.
Mark Faldmo (45:13):
Windstar is typically known for their tall
sailing ships, but they havepurchased some luxury yachts and
they have one that has beensailing in Tahiti, and now they
are introducing new itinerariesto lots of other places in the
South Pacific, including Fiji,Tonga, the Cook Islands.
(45:35):
They're introducing also twomore seven-night cruise that
goes to the Tuamotu Islands andan 11-night Marquesas Islands
itinerary.
This Windstar is more of aluxury product to get to some of
those fairly less traveledplaces in the world and in the
South Pacific.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:55):
One of the reasons I travel is for the
stories that you get to sharewith people, because that's what
really essentially what we doevery week.
We get to share the journal ofour travels More so you than me,
because you're on the road waymore than I am.
I think the challenge thatpeople have is getting the word
out that these kinds ofexperiences even exist.
Mark Faldmo (46:17):
Yeah, there are so many interesting, fun and
wonderful things to see in theworld.
A lot of these companies aremaking them more accessible to
us but, like you said, gettingthe word out Also for some of
these, that might be gettingover a little bit of sticker
shock for some people, but theyare wonderful travel experiences
(46:39):
and if they're within yourbudget, there is.
We'll learn in just a minutewhen we talk more about the
expedition cruises.
There's lots of opportunitiesout there.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:49):
Actually, let's just segue into it.
Expedition cruises are, fromwhat I read are, the fastest
growing segments of the cruiseindustry.
So let's just start kind ofbasic here.
What are expedition cruises,expedition- cruises are smaller
ships.
Mark Faldmo (47:04):
They go to unique, harder to get to regions of the
world.
Most of the expedition cruisesare in the polar regions, Arctic
or Antarctic, but they also goto places like Galapagos Islands
.
They're mainly just uniquecruises that go to very
interesting places.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:24):
Let's talk about the reasons to take an
expedition cruise.
Mark Faldmo (47:27):
They go to bucket list destinations or experiences
.
You're cruising on smallerships with fewer guests.
You know some of theseexpedition cruises have maybe 40
guests on them.
Wow, Expedition cruises arealso the best way to experience
some of the most pristine andnatural areas of the world.
And the main reason explore theunknown, Go to places that very
(47:52):
few people get to visit.
That's the reason to take anexpedition cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:57):
Let's talk about the expedition cruise
lines specifically and wherethey go or what they focus on.
Mark Faldmo (48:04):
There's probably about 20 expedition cruise lines
operating in the world today.
I've kind of narrowed down tomy top favorite five cruises.
The first one we're going totalk about is HX, and we've
talked about HX before on theshow.
They're a Norwegian company.
They mainly focus on the polarregions, you know, Arctic and
(48:26):
Antarctic.
They're very good If you'relooking to that Norway, Iceland,
Greenland.
A unique thing about them isthey have that Northern Lights
guarantee certain times of theyear If you've never seen the
Northern Lights.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:42):
Just go do it.
It's one of those things thatyou can't.
It is special, it is, it'smoving, it stirs the soul when
you do it.
It's one of those things thatyou can't.
It is special, it is, it'smoving, it stirs the soul.
When you see it, you realizehow insignificant you are when
you see the majesty of theheavens.
Mark Faldmo (48:56):
Especially if you're on some of these Arctic
cruises where you're out in themiddle of the Arctic Ocean and
see the Northern Lights justaway from anything.
I think that's an experience Ipersonally would want to have.
Is Viking part of this.
Yes, Viking has an expeditiondivision.
They actually have twoexpedition ships.
(49:19):
Their expedition ships sailagain the Arctic regions, South
America, the Great Lakes.
That they do, I think, one ofthe most interesting itineraries
they have.
They have a couple of cruisesthat are called longitudinal
world cruises.
So rather than going around theworld from east to west, they
(49:42):
do it.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:42):
Oh really, south to north, north to south.
Mark Faldmo (49:45):
South to north or north to south?
Oh, really, south to north,north to south, south to north
or north to south?
Oh wow, when I was looking atthis, you tell me what sticks
out for you on this cruise.
Longitudinal world cruiseBuenos Aires to Milwaukee,
Wisconsin.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:02):
That's incredible.
Those are two port cities thatI don't normally put together.
Something a little closer tohome would be the Baja cruises,
meaning Baja, Mexico.
That's incredible.
Those are two port cities thatI don't normally put together.
Mark Faldmo (50:11):
Something a little closer to home would be the Baja
Cruises, meaning Baja Mexico.
So this cruise line is LindbladCruise Line and National
Geographic.
They have some pretty uniquecruises in Baja.
They have anything from five to11 day cruises that sail in
that area and they have whaleintense cruises.
They go up into Magdalena Bay,which is on the west coast of
(50:34):
the Baja Peninsula, there, whichis just whale watching heaven,
and so you know, on NationalGeographic they're smaller ships
and with that name of NationalGeographic they're very
nature-focused cruises.
Another expedition cruise lineis Atlas Ocean Voyages.
Now, this is a luxury cruiseline.
(50:55):
They have basicallyice-breaking yachts.
They have custom-designedinflatable zodiac rafts so they
can land you on Antarctica andland you on really inaccessible
places.
Atlas ocean voyages arerelatively new.
Patrick Wiscombe (51:12):
They started in 2019, oh, but they're a
wonderful company let's talkabout Alaska here for a second.
There's a company that doesthat the company that does
Alaska.
Mark Faldmo (51:24):
They do Alaska in the summer and then they do
Hawaii and Central America inthe winter, but they are called
UnCruise and I think they areprobably the best way to see
Alaska if you're looking forthat unique experience.
They're a locally owned companyin Alaska.
Un Cruise is their name becausethey don't like to be
(51:48):
associated with the big megacruise lines that go there.
They have much smaller cruiseships.
Most of them leave from likeJuneau area, so you're flying to
Juneau.
They have kayaking at glaciers,they have historians on board,
they have naturalists on board.
Patrick Wiscombe (52:05):
They really get you immersed into Alaska I
cannot oversell how great Alaskawas one of my favorite, one of
my favorite cruises how manytimes have you been to Alaska?
Mark Faldmo (52:20):
probably 15 or 20, somewhere in there.
Patrick Wiscombe (52:25):
If we have whet your appetite to go to
Mexico, to go to the eastern orwestern part of the Caribbean
with the deals that we've talkedabout, Puerto Vallarta, call
Mark in his office.
He knows his stuff.
He's traveled nearly 4.5million miles, over 150 cruises.
(52:46):
He has seen the planet.
It's your turn now to goexplore the world.
Call him in his office.
He's open Monday through Friday888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
If you have missed any part ofthe show, you can listen to the
(53:08):
podcast on insidetraveltalk.
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
Just do a search for InsideTravel Talk.
And while you're at it, may Iask you to subscribe to the show
and leave us a five-star review.
It really does help us gettraction with the podcast
(53:29):
platform.
So I'll just thank you inadvance.
Now it's your turn.
Get out, explore the worldwhile you can, because you never
know what curve balls life isgoing to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
just remember today is a goodday for a good day.
Have a great week.
(53:50):
We'll talk to you again nextweek.
Show Voice (53:55):
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.
(54:16):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
24/7 News: The Latest
Today’s Latest News In 4 Minutes. Updated Hourly.