October 11, 2025 • 27 mins
Planning the perfect trip shouldn’t feel like a second job—and when cruise lines launch bold new itineraries, timing is everything. We open with a clear-eyed look at why more travelers are turning to advisors as routes, fares, and policies shift, then dive straight into the headlines that matter: the FAA’s push for tighter evacuation briefings (yes, leave the bag), and the DOT’s order impacting the Delta–AeroMexico partnership amid open skies concerns. No panic, just practical guidance on what might change and how to protect your plans.
From there, we chart a course through deals that are both exciting and bookable. Viking’s uniquely integrated river-and-ocean combinations steal the spotlight: a Rhine-to-Norwegian Fjords journey that moves seamlessly from castles and canals to soaring cliffs and glassy inlets; a grand pairing that links fjords with the legendary Rhine and Danube all the way to Budapest; and the new Iberian Odyssey, weaving Barcelona, Seville, and Morocco into a Douro River finale through Portugal’s wine country. With reduced airfare, lower cruise fares, and a limited-time $25 deposit, these itineraries reward decisive planners who love depth without logistical headaches.
Closer to home, American Cruise Lines expands capacity across U.S. waters with all-American Great Lakes routes—think Mackinac Island and Midwest charm without passport friction—plus fresh river itineraries spanning the Smokies, the Arkansas River, and a culture-rich Gulf Coast run from New Orleans to Gulfport. Inclusive pricing that covers Wi‑Fi, drinks, and gratuities, paired with free airfare on select sailings and savings up to $1,500, makes the value easy to grasp. We round it out with our Top Five Cruise Deals page (really closer to fifteen this week), featuring standouts like a sharp NCL Mexican Riviera from San Diego and a two-week Cunard Caribbean priced around $100 per person per day.
If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to plan a river cruise, test a fjord, or finally see the Great Lakes by ship, this lineup brings clarity to your next move. Subscribe for weekly deal roundups, share this with a travel friend, and leave a quick review to help more travelers find smart guidance—and better trips.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
It is time to talk travel.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
Coming up on today's show, Markand I will be talking about the
top five cruise deals of theweek: Viking promoting combo,
river, and ocean cruises.
Such a unique idea.
A revolution is coming to thecruise industry, and the FAA
(00:21):
warns airlines to tightenemergency evacuation protocols.
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk Podcastradio show, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.com,contains travel deals,
promotions, and offers that aretime sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
(00:42):
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:48):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel TalkPodcast and Radio Show,
presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com.
Call or text the show now.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.com.
And now, here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark
(01:12):
Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:25):
Live from Salt Lake City, Utah, you are
listening to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
Hello there.
I am Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be in thestudio here in just a moment.
If you are brand new to thisshow, the entire purpose of our
(01:46):
radio show and podcast is tohelp you plan and book your next
vacation or give you ideas ofwhere you would want to go on
vacation next.
And we are presented by BluePlanetVacations.com and just a
sincere thank you for taking thetime to stop and listen.
And this week we are talkingabout five cruise deals of the
week.
Really, we've it's about 15.
(02:08):
And Viking has a unique ideawhere they're actually starting
to promote combo river and oceancruises.
So maybe you take an oceancruise first, get off in port,
jump on a uh one of their riverships.
We'll give you some of thedetails on that.
And who was this, Mark?
(02:29):
Was this uh Virgin?
They have declared a revolutionon cruise fare pricing.
And the FAA is warning airlinesto tighten emergency protocols.
Those are just a handful of thestories that we'll be talking
about on today's Inside TravelTalk podcast or radio show.
By the way, happy weekend.
Let's get right to the travelnews headlines.
A report has found thatconsumers want to use travel
(02:54):
advisors.
Mark Faldmo (02:55):
This is good news for travel advisors and good
news for consumers.
So this is a study that istaken every year, and demand for
human expertise is surging astravel complexity increases.
Nearly two-thirds of thosesurveyed anticipate using a
travel advisor within the nexttwo years, which, when compared
(03:17):
to last year, that's up from49%.
And interestingly enough, thegrowth is driven primarily by
millennials.
They value the logisticalsupport that a travel advisor
gives.
And also, millennials areusually ones planning more
complex trips likemulti-generational family trips,
(03:37):
smaller groups.
And you know, that's where atravel agent can save the day,
booking those more complexitineraries.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:46):
You were talking about travel
complexities.
Tied in with that is US travelagencies have set new airline
ticket sales records.
Mark Faldmo (03:56):
This is an another study that comes out.
It's from the Airline ReportingCorporation, which is where all
airlines report sales.
U.S.
travel agencies in the month ofAugust sold $8.3 billion in
airline tickets.
Oh wow.
Uh, which is a 2%year-over-year increase.
And that comes after July,where travel agents sold $8.1
(04:20):
billion, which was a 7% increaseover the same period in 2024.
So more and more people areagain booking their vacations
through the professional traveladvisors.
If you look at the othernumbers, online travel agencies,
so like Expedia, have decreased3% year over year, and booking
(04:41):
direct on airline websitesdecreased about 2%.
So more and more people areflocking to the travel advisor.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:50):
Well, what a lot of people don't know is that
you really don't make money onairline tickets at all.
That's correct.
Okay.
The FAA is warning airlines youbetter tighten up your
emergency evacuation protocols.
What specifically are theysaying to fix?
Mark Faldmo (05:04):
They're mainly saying to fix their safety
briefing at the beginning toreiterate that if the plane has
to be evacuated, don't bringyour luggage.
There have been over the lastsix months, there have been two
instances where planes haveneeded to be evacuated, and you
see videos of people coming out.
Yeah, with full luggage andeverything.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:25):
So I have noticed that.
It's in the safety video.
Please just leave everythingthere.
It is.
What are they going to put abold and underlined?
We mean it now.
Mark Faldmo (05:34):
Probably.
Yep.
So they're just asking airlinesto reiterate that where seconds
can save lives.
Bringing a carry-on can burn upvaluable seconds that everybody
needs to evacuate the aircraftif it's needed.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:48):
Delta was ordered.
It's an interesting word toditch the Aero Mexico
partnership.
Why is that?
Mark Faldmo (05:54):
So this was something that came from the the
DOT, and they've ordered themto spin off that relationship by
January 1st.
Still said they can code shareand do a lot of the things
they're doing.
So it won't really affect theflights and the code shares.
And also Delta owns a 20% stakein Aero Mexico.
(06:15):
So I don't know how they'regoing to dissolve that joint
venture with Delta owning 20%.
The reason why is because theDepartment of Transportation
says the government of Mexico isviolating the open skies
agreement.
There's a new airport in MexicoCity, and the the former
president, this was kind of apet project of his.
(06:37):
And so they artificially cappedlimits into Mexico City to try
and force airlines to go to thenew airport.
Oh boy.
They closed down their freight,um, forced everything to go to
the new airport.
They said because of that theywant Delta to dissolve this
relationship because it doesviolate the open skies agreement
that most countries around theworld have signed on to.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:00):
Okay.
That just sounds weak.
Yeah.
We'll see how that unfolds.
Yes.
We want you to be part of theshow, and if you have
travel-related questions, wewant you to text us not only
when we're on the air, but youcan have your travel-related
questions answered during theweek and during the radio show.
(07:22):
Here's the phone number to geta hold of us.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
It just happens to coincidewith Kristen's question.
She is asking, I want tocelebrate Halloween with my
family at a theme park.
And she goes, I know thatthere's Disney's, but uh, are
(07:45):
there any others that you wouldrecommend?
Mark Faldmo (07:47):
Yeah, there are lots of good Halloween things at
theme parks.
Disney does it very well, bothat Disneyland and Disney World.
I particularly like the changesthey make to the haunted
mansion.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:59):
Yes.
Mark Faldmo (08:00):
But if you're looking to go outside of the
Disney parks, Legoland resortshave Brick Retreat.
Um, and and that is at theirFlorida, California, and New
York experiences.
So wait, hold on.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:15):
So where's Legoland in New York?
Is that White Plains?
Oh, I know where it is.
It's uh kind of up by Newburgh,Poughkeepsie.
It's a little bit west ofthere.
Mark Faldmo (08:25):
Yep.
All three of Legoland's themeparks.
They have one of the largestkid-centered Halloween
celebrations in the country.
The name of it officially isBrick or Treat Monster Party.
So that sounds kind of fun.
And then at SeaWorld Parks,they have Hallo Scream at
SeaWorld.
(08:45):
Actually, that's at both parks,SeaWorld and in San Diego.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:49):
One that I like, it's not really
kid-centric.
It's teenage adults-centeredwas Universal Studios put on a
great Halloween.
Yeah, they do.
Oh my god.
Mark Faldmo (09:01):
Universal Halloween horror nights.
Um it is, which you know doesbring in, you know, a lot of
those movies.
Like I'm sure Freddie iswandering the theme parts to
scare you there.
Jason.
Um Jason.
Yeah.
And they have a great uhHalloween themed nights as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:25):
Kristen, if you have follow-up questions,
and we're sure you will, callMark in his office.
Let me just give out the uh thephone number again.
801-649-3700-801-649-3700.
I'll give the number again aswe go to break.
Let's get to the travel deal ofthe week, which is always in
(09:46):
the opening segment of the show.
And one of Mark's favoriteplaces on this planet is Costa
Rica.
What do we have for listeners?
Mark Faldmo (09:56):
So this actually came from a call I got this week
looking to go to Costa Rica.
And we've talked about CostaRica several times on the show
from the different areas.
Just to reiterate, there's thebeach area, which is Guanacaste.
That's where a lot of theall-inclusive resorts are.
Then there's the CentralPacific area, which is also has
(10:17):
some beaches.
There's the rainforest volcanoarea, which is inland.
Arenal volcano area is one ofmy favorite places to visit.
And there's also the Caribbeanside where you have the white
sand Caribbean beaches in CostaRica.
What I've done, if you go tothe Blue Planet Vacations
website, I do have something onCosta Rica, and we can either do
(10:39):
kind of a build your ownadventure, or I've put together
a few sample itineraries to lookat and we can sell from there.
If you do visit Costa Rica, I'drecommend visiting at least two
of the different regions.
I like spending some nights atthe volcano and then some nights
in the Central Pacific area.
(10:59):
What are some of theitineraries that you like
personally?
The one I'd recommend, and youcan find this on the Blue Planet
Vacations.com website byclicking on Costa Rica.
That's an eight-day volcano andbeaches.
So it spends one night in SanJose, because you the flights
usually arrive pretty late atnight.
(11:20):
So you do want one night.
And then it spends three nightsin Arnall Volcano, three nights
in Manuel Antonio, which is inthe southern part of the central
Pacific beach area.
And then I've included someactivities, the volcano.
It includes the Tabacan hotsprings with the dinner, which
is fascinating.
(11:40):
Oh, yeah, you've done that.
I've done that.
When I was there the firsttime, you could just sit in
those warm pools and look up atthe volcano and see the lava
coming out of the top of thevolcano.
Jeez.
It was very fascinating.
It hasn't been like that everytime I've gone back.
(12:02):
It is an active volcano, butnot as active as it once was.
And then in Manuel Antonio, itincludes admission to that
national park with a guide totake you through.
And you know, there's monkeysall over the place.
I've seen two cans and macawsdown there.
It's just such a fun excursion.
Except you do have to leave oneperson back on the beach with
(12:24):
your stuff or the monkeys stillit off.
That's serious too.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:29):
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (12:29):
And you have to police them.
You do, yeah.
So this package, the eight-dayvolcano and beaches, includes
all of the transportation in thecountry, breakfast daily, and
everything we've talked about.
And it starts at $1599 perperson.
Oh wow.
For standard hotels or $1899per person for deluxe hotels.
The other packages listed onthe site, there's just a six-day
(12:52):
volcano tour or a six-day beachescape.
Or if you want a completelycustom designed, if you want to
visit three regions or spendlonger in one region, we can do
a completely custom designedpackage as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:05):
That is the travel deal of the week.
Take advantage of that.
If you've always wanted to go,call Mark in his office at the
break.
We're going to go to breakright now.
Just get the conversationstarted.
There's no obligation.
The phone number is888-718-7717-888.
718-7717.
(13:27):
And he has much of thisinformation posted on
BluePlanetVacations.com.
When we come back, it is timefor the infamous Just Cruising
segment.
It is the segment of the showthat has made us famous here in
the U.S.
and around the world.
We've got five cruise deals ofthe week.
It's really about 15.
And we'll also be talking aboutVikings' very unique idea of
(13:51):
combining ocean cruises andriver cruises.
This is awesome.
You're going to like this.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk Podcast, a radio
show, continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, I amPatrick Wiscombe.
We will be right back.
Give us about 60 seconds.
Show Voice (14:11):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk Podcastand Radio Show is presented by
Blue PlanetVacations.com.
America's Best Travel Advisors.
Call or text the show now.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
(14:32):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (14:39):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by AMA Waterways.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages, visit some
of Europe's most remarkablesites and cities.
To set out on your own rivercruise journey, contact Blue
Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717or BluePlanetVacations.com.
Show Voice (15:06):
Back to the Insight Travel Talk Podcast and Radio
Show.
Presented by BluePlanetVacations.com, America's
best travel advisors.
Get us up right now at801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.com.
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:57):
Alongside Mark Faldmo, this is the infamous
Just Cruising segment.
The segment of the show thathas made us popular around the
country and around the world.
And let me just welcomeeveryone aboard.
Ahoy, Matees.
Ahoy.
This segment of the show isonly about the cruise news
(16:20):
headlines, the cruise deal ofthe week.
We've got five cruise deals ofthe week, but really it's about
15.
We post them onblueplanetvacations.com, which
by the way, you do get a lot oftraffic to that section of the
website.
I do, it's very popular.
Let's get right to the travelnews headlines.
This one really caught my eye,and this is a story about Viking
(16:45):
river cruises.
Now they have river cruises,that's kind of what they're
known for.
And then they also have theocean cruises, which I won't say
a lot of people don't know, butI think they're more known for
their river cruises.
Is that fair to say?
That's fair to say.
Yes.
Yeah.
This is such a unique idea thatViking is starting to combo a
(17:07):
ocean cruise.
You get off the ship and thenyou go over to the river portion
of the cruise.
This idea I love.
Because then you can experiencethe two types of sailings
immediately, back to back.
Mark Faldmo (17:20):
This is something that, at least for the moment,
is something that only Vikingcan do.
A uniquely Viking product.
Right now, on these river andocean combinations, they do have
some specials.
They have uh reduced airfare,and you can deposit these for
$25 per person.
Um, there are three itinerariesthat I want to highlight here.
(17:42):
So the first one is the Rhineand Viking shores and fjords.
It's 15 days long with 12 toursand six countries.
Oh wow.
Uh so what that does is itstarts in Basel, Switzerland,
cruises the Rhine to Amsterdam,and then you get on the cruise
ship in Amsterdam.
You go wait, hold on just asecond.
(18:05):
So you get on a river cruisefirst?
Yep.
Yep, you start on the rivercruise.
Oh wow.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:10):
Okay.
Mark Faldmo (18:10):
So in Basel, Switzerland, cruise the Rhine,
all the castles, Cologne,Germany, and in Amsterdam, then
you get on the cruise ship, theocean cruise ship, um, and you
do a Norwegian fjords cruise.
Wow.
So you you go from Amsterdam touh Skagen in Denmark, Oslo,
Khristiansend, Stavanger, andthen you cruise up one of the
(18:33):
fjords to Flam, which Flam isprobably my favorite port in all
of Norway.
Yeah.
And then you end in Bergen.
So that's a very unique way tosee that area of the world.
The next one is very similarbut longer.
So this is called Grand Europeand Viking Fjords.
(18:53):
This one is 22 days, 18 tours,and six countries.
So wow.
This one starts in Bergen.
It does that same cruise inreverse, but then it does their
14-day Grand European tour.
So you do the Rhine and theDanube, and it ends up in
Budapest.
Wow, these are some impressiveitineraries.
Yep.
(19:14):
Yeah, and then you know, we'lljust do the the one last
itinerary, and this is a new onethat they just barely launched
called Iberian Odyssey.
It's 17 days, 14 tours, visitsthree countries, and it's
Barcelona to Porto.
And so that one you have acruise that goes Barcelona,
Palma, and then cruise down toSeville, goes to Morocco.
(19:38):
The cruise portion ends inLisbon, and then you actually
take uh part on bus.
So you do a bus tour up toPorto, and then you get on the
river and cruise the riveracross Portugal, and then it
comes back and ends in Porto,which is where you'll finish the
river cruise portion of that.
(19:59):
Wow.
If you're looking for somethingunique, Viking definitely has
that.
And the special right now onthat is reduced airfare and then
also reduced cruise fares, andyou can book up for only a $25
deposit.
That's as long as you book byOctober 31st.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:16):
That is so unique.
We've been doing the show fortwo years.
That is a unique one.
Always in this segment of theshow is the cruise deal of the
week.
I think the cruise deal of theweek is the Viking River and
Ocean combinations.
Those itineraries were awesome.
But the actual cruise deal ofthe week is American Cruise
Lines, and they've announcedthat they're expanding their
(20:37):
Mississippi River capacity, andthey're also adding some new
itineraries.
Mark Faldmo (20:41):
I think this is really exciting because they are
adding an all-American port,Great Lakes cruise.
Which no one has done.
No.
So previously they had Canadianports, which means some that
you need passports and thingslike that.
So this is uh nine-day LakeMichigan um and Green Bay
(21:04):
cruise.
Would you do the Great Lakes?
I think I would.
I think I would too.
I there's a lot of demand forthese, so people do want to go
there.
When I first saw these, I waskind of indifferent.
But the more I read about them,they go to some pretty
interesting places, you know,like Mackinac Island in the the
(21:24):
upper peninsula of Michigan.
Uh just some really uniqueplaces.
The UP.
Yeah.
It's mainly a nine-day GreatLakes cruise.
They have two differentitineraries or they have a
14-day itinerary that are all USports in the Great Lakes.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:43):
Don't go during the winter.
Mark Faldmo (21:44):
You're gonna need an icebreaker.
Yeah, don't go during thewinter.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:49):
What are some of the new river cruise
itineraries?
Mark Faldmo (21:52):
They've added a couple of new cruises.
They have an 11-day Great SmokyMountain itinerary that's
between uh Knoxville, Tennessee,and Huntsville, Alabama.
They have a nine-day ArkansasRiver itinerary, and then a new
eight-day Gulf Coast, which isbetween New Orleans, and ends in
(22:14):
Gulfport, Mississippi.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:16):
I think I would like to do that.
Mark Faldmo (22:18):
The Gulf Coast.
The Gulf Coast would be areally good itinerary.
I mean, it goes New Orleans,Pensacola, Mobile, Biloxi, Ocean
Springs, which is inMississippi, and then Gulfport.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:31):
That's a section of the country of that's
always intrigued me, but I'venever gone.
If I'm gonna go do that, thatis probably the most appealing
way to go do it.
Mark Faldmo (22:38):
Yeah.
I mean, I've driven across thaton a car, but I think you'd get
so much more doing it by acruise ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:45):
Yeah, agreed.
What's the uh deal for Americancruise lines for listeners?
Mark Faldmo (22:50):
So right now on Select Cruises, they're offering
free airfare and up to fifteenhundred dollars off select
cruises.
So it's free airfare fromanywhere in the country to where
the cruise starts, and thenfifteen hundred dollars off.
So that's a pretty good dealfor American cruise lines.
And and seven-day cruises startat about thirty, seven hundred
(23:11):
dollars a person.
And again, that includes yourairfare, the cruise, all meals.
One thing I like about Americancruise lines is they pretty
much are all inclusive.
So Wi-Fi, drinks, gratuities,everything is included in your
affair.
As we start to wrap up, let'stalk about the top five cruise
deals of the week.
The top five cruise deals ofthe week.
(23:32):
It's a page onblueplanetvacations.com where I
list five or more of the topcruise deals of the week.
Yeah, there's what, 15 rightnow?
There's about 15 on there rightnow because I I can't stop
adding them because there's soso many good cruises out there.
The one that I just added was aseven-day Mexican Riviera
(23:53):
cruise.
Norwegian cruise line juststarted sailing also out of San
Diego.
Oh, whoa, when did that happen?
Uh I didn't know that.
That starts this year, so so itit starts, I think, in
December.
And so it's a seven-day MexicanRiviera cruise, starts at 459
per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:13):
You're trying to put a little pressure on
princess.
Mark Faldmo (24:16):
Sounds like that goes out of there.
Yeah.
So it starts in Miami, but itdoes the Eastern Caribbean and
the Southern Caribbean.
And that one starts at $1199per person.
So write about $100 per personper day.
(24:36):
On CUNARD.
on Cunard.
Wow.
That is astonishing.
So if you go to that page, TopFive Cruise Deals of the Week on
BluePlanetVacations.com, youcan see every all of the cruises
I have listed, and I updatethat every week with new cruises
or updated pricing for thecruises.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:57):
One thing about Mark is that he will scour
all of his resources to findthe best cruise deals of the
week.
Take advantage of those offers.
Man, you came prepared today.
Mark Faldmo (25:10):
There's a lot of good travel deals out there.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:12):
If you're interested in taking advantage
of any of the deals that we'vetalked about for the last 30
minutes, call Mark in his officeas soon as we get off the
phone.
Just start the conversation, noobligation.
888-718-7717 888-718-7717.
And you can also find much ofthis information and contact
(25:34):
information onBluePlanetVacations.com.
You can listen to this radioshow and podcast every Saturday
and Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
local time on the very radiostation that you're listening to
right now.
And we air on all affiliateradio stations at 11 a.m.
local time.
And you can also listen to thisshow again by streaming the
(25:59):
show, subscribing, anddownloading the show at
insightraveltalk.com.
Plus, we have all of thepodcast platform links on
insidetraveltalk.com.
That's it.
We're done.
Now it's your turn to get outand travel the world while you
can because you never know whatcurveballs life is going to
throw at you.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally,
(26:23):
and a sincere thank you fortaking the time to stop and
listen.
Make it a great week.
We'll talk to you next Saturdayand Sunday.
Show Voice (26:31):
That's it.
That's the end of the show.
You've been listening to theInside Travel Talk Podcast and
Radio Show with Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo.
Presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(26:53):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (26:56):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's RivieraMeyer with authentic, all
inclusive luxury at an El DoradoSpa Resort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888 718 7717 orBluePlanetVacations.com.
It is time to talk travel.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
Coming up on today's show, Markand I will be talking about the
top five cruise deals of theweek: Viking promoting combo,
river, and ocean cruises.
Such a unique idea.
A revolution is coming to thecruise industry, and the FAA
(00:21):
warns airlines to tightenemergency evacuation protocols.
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk Podcastradio show, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.com,contains travel deals,
promotions, and offers that aretime sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
(00:42):
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:48):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel TalkPodcast and Radio Show,
presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com.
Call or text the show now.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.com.
And now, here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark
(01:12):
Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:25):
Live from Salt Lake City, Utah, you are
listening to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
Hello there.
I am Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be in thestudio here in just a moment.
If you are brand new to thisshow, the entire purpose of our
(01:46):
radio show and podcast is tohelp you plan and book your next
vacation or give you ideas ofwhere you would want to go on
vacation next.
And we are presented by BluePlanetVacations.com and just a
sincere thank you for taking thetime to stop and listen.
And this week we are talkingabout five cruise deals of the
week.
Really, we've it's about 15.
(02:08):
And Viking has a unique ideawhere they're actually starting
to promote combo river and oceancruises.
So maybe you take an oceancruise first, get off in port,
jump on a uh one of their riverships.
We'll give you some of thedetails on that.
And who was this, Mark?
(02:29):
Was this uh Virgin?
They have declared a revolutionon cruise fare pricing.
And the FAA is warning airlinesto tighten emergency protocols.
Those are just a handful of thestories that we'll be talking
about on today's Inside TravelTalk podcast or radio show.
By the way, happy weekend.
Let's get right to the travelnews headlines.
A report has found thatconsumers want to use travel
(02:54):
advisors.
Mark Faldmo (02:55):
This is good news for travel advisors and good
news for consumers.
So this is a study that istaken every year, and demand for
human expertise is surging astravel complexity increases.
Nearly two-thirds of thosesurveyed anticipate using a
travel advisor within the nexttwo years, which, when compared
(03:17):
to last year, that's up from49%.
And interestingly enough, thegrowth is driven primarily by
millennials.
They value the logisticalsupport that a travel advisor
gives.
And also, millennials areusually ones planning more
complex trips likemulti-generational family trips,
(03:37):
smaller groups.
And you know, that's where atravel agent can save the day,
booking those more complexitineraries.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:46):
You were talking about travel
complexities.
Tied in with that is US travelagencies have set new airline
ticket sales records.
Mark Faldmo (03:56):
This is an another study that comes out.
It's from the Airline ReportingCorporation, which is where all
airlines report sales.
U.S.
travel agencies in the month ofAugust sold $8.3 billion in
airline tickets.
Oh wow.
Uh, which is a 2%year-over-year increase.
And that comes after July,where travel agents sold $8.1
(04:20):
billion, which was a 7% increaseover the same period in 2024.
So more and more people areagain booking their vacations
through the professional traveladvisors.
If you look at the othernumbers, online travel agencies,
so like Expedia, have decreased3% year over year, and booking
(04:41):
direct on airline websitesdecreased about 2%.
So more and more people areflocking to the travel advisor.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:50):
Well, what a lot of people don't know is that
you really don't make money onairline tickets at all.
That's correct.
Okay.
The FAA is warning airlines youbetter tighten up your
emergency evacuation protocols.
What specifically are theysaying to fix?
Mark Faldmo (05:04):
They're mainly saying to fix their safety
briefing at the beginning toreiterate that if the plane has
to be evacuated, don't bringyour luggage.
There have been over the lastsix months, there have been two
instances where planes haveneeded to be evacuated, and you
see videos of people coming out.
Yeah, with full luggage andeverything.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:25):
So I have noticed that.
It's in the safety video.
Please just leave everythingthere.
It is.
What are they going to put abold and underlined?
We mean it now.
Mark Faldmo (05:34):
Probably.
Yep.
So they're just asking airlinesto reiterate that where seconds
can save lives.
Bringing a carry-on can burn upvaluable seconds that everybody
needs to evacuate the aircraftif it's needed.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:48):
Delta was ordered.
It's an interesting word toditch the Aero Mexico
partnership.
Why is that?
Mark Faldmo (05:54):
So this was something that came from the the
DOT, and they've ordered themto spin off that relationship by
January 1st.
Still said they can code shareand do a lot of the things
they're doing.
So it won't really affect theflights and the code shares.
And also Delta owns a 20% stakein Aero Mexico.
(06:15):
So I don't know how they'regoing to dissolve that joint
venture with Delta owning 20%.
The reason why is because theDepartment of Transportation
says the government of Mexico isviolating the open skies
agreement.
There's a new airport in MexicoCity, and the the former
president, this was kind of apet project of his.
(06:37):
And so they artificially cappedlimits into Mexico City to try
and force airlines to go to thenew airport.
Oh boy.
They closed down their freight,um, forced everything to go to
the new airport.
They said because of that theywant Delta to dissolve this
relationship because it doesviolate the open skies agreement
that most countries around theworld have signed on to.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:00):
Okay.
That just sounds weak.
Yeah.
We'll see how that unfolds.
Yes.
We want you to be part of theshow, and if you have
travel-related questions, wewant you to text us not only
when we're on the air, but youcan have your travel-related
questions answered during theweek and during the radio show.
(07:22):
Here's the phone number to geta hold of us.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
It just happens to coincidewith Kristen's question.
She is asking, I want tocelebrate Halloween with my
family at a theme park.
And she goes, I know thatthere's Disney's, but uh, are
(07:45):
there any others that you wouldrecommend?
Mark Faldmo (07:47):
Yeah, there are lots of good Halloween things at
theme parks.
Disney does it very well, bothat Disneyland and Disney World.
I particularly like the changesthey make to the haunted
mansion.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:59):
Yes.
Mark Faldmo (08:00):
But if you're looking to go outside of the
Disney parks, Legoland resortshave Brick Retreat.
Um, and and that is at theirFlorida, California, and New
York experiences.
So wait, hold on.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:15):
So where's Legoland in New York?
Is that White Plains?
Oh, I know where it is.
It's uh kind of up by Newburgh,Poughkeepsie.
It's a little bit west ofthere.
Mark Faldmo (08:25):
Yep.
All three of Legoland's themeparks.
They have one of the largestkid-centered Halloween
celebrations in the country.
The name of it officially isBrick or Treat Monster Party.
So that sounds kind of fun.
And then at SeaWorld Parks,they have Hallo Scream at
SeaWorld.
(08:45):
Actually, that's at both parks,SeaWorld and in San Diego.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:49):
One that I like, it's not really
kid-centric.
It's teenage adults-centeredwas Universal Studios put on a
great Halloween.
Yeah, they do.
Oh my god.
Mark Faldmo (09:01):
Universal Halloween horror nights.
Um it is, which you know doesbring in, you know, a lot of
those movies.
Like I'm sure Freddie iswandering the theme parts to
scare you there.
Jason.
Um Jason.
Yeah.
And they have a great uhHalloween themed nights as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:25):
Kristen, if you have follow-up questions,
and we're sure you will, callMark in his office.
Let me just give out the uh thephone number again.
801-649-3700-801-649-3700.
I'll give the number again aswe go to break.
Let's get to the travel deal ofthe week, which is always in
(09:46):
the opening segment of the show.
And one of Mark's favoriteplaces on this planet is Costa
Rica.
What do we have for listeners?
Mark Faldmo (09:56):
So this actually came from a call I got this week
looking to go to Costa Rica.
And we've talked about CostaRica several times on the show
from the different areas.
Just to reiterate, there's thebeach area, which is Guanacaste.
That's where a lot of theall-inclusive resorts are.
Then there's the CentralPacific area, which is also has
(10:17):
some beaches.
There's the rainforest volcanoarea, which is inland.
Arenal volcano area is one ofmy favorite places to visit.
And there's also the Caribbeanside where you have the white
sand Caribbean beaches in CostaRica.
What I've done, if you go tothe Blue Planet Vacations
website, I do have something onCosta Rica, and we can either do
(10:39):
kind of a build your ownadventure, or I've put together
a few sample itineraries to lookat and we can sell from there.
If you do visit Costa Rica, I'drecommend visiting at least two
of the different regions.
I like spending some nights atthe volcano and then some nights
in the Central Pacific area.
(10:59):
What are some of theitineraries that you like
personally?
The one I'd recommend, and youcan find this on the Blue Planet
Vacations.com website byclicking on Costa Rica.
That's an eight-day volcano andbeaches.
So it spends one night in SanJose, because you the flights
usually arrive pretty late atnight.
(11:20):
So you do want one night.
And then it spends three nightsin Arnall Volcano, three nights
in Manuel Antonio, which is inthe southern part of the central
Pacific beach area.
And then I've included someactivities, the volcano.
It includes the Tabacan hotsprings with the dinner, which
is fascinating.
(11:40):
Oh, yeah, you've done that.
I've done that.
When I was there the firsttime, you could just sit in
those warm pools and look up atthe volcano and see the lava
coming out of the top of thevolcano.
Jeez.
It was very fascinating.
It hasn't been like that everytime I've gone back.
(12:02):
It is an active volcano, butnot as active as it once was.
And then in Manuel Antonio, itincludes admission to that
national park with a guide totake you through.
And you know, there's monkeysall over the place.
I've seen two cans and macawsdown there.
It's just such a fun excursion.
Except you do have to leave oneperson back on the beach with
(12:24):
your stuff or the monkeys stillit off.
That's serious too.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:29):
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (12:29):
And you have to police them.
You do, yeah.
So this package, the eight-dayvolcano and beaches, includes
all of the transportation in thecountry, breakfast daily, and
everything we've talked about.
And it starts at $1599 perperson.
Oh wow.
For standard hotels or $1899per person for deluxe hotels.
The other packages listed onthe site, there's just a six-day
(12:52):
volcano tour or a six-day beachescape.
Or if you want a completelycustom designed, if you want to
visit three regions or spendlonger in one region, we can do
a completely custom designedpackage as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:05):
That is the travel deal of the week.
Take advantage of that.
If you've always wanted to go,call Mark in his office at the
break.
We're going to go to breakright now.
Just get the conversationstarted.
There's no obligation.
The phone number is888-718-7717-888.
718-7717.
(13:27):
And he has much of thisinformation posted on
BluePlanetVacations.com.
When we come back, it is timefor the infamous Just Cruising
segment.
It is the segment of the showthat has made us famous here in
the U.S.
and around the world.
We've got five cruise deals ofthe week.
It's really about 15.
And we'll also be talking aboutVikings' very unique idea of
(13:51):
combining ocean cruises andriver cruises.
This is awesome.
You're going to like this.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk Podcast, a radio
show, continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, I amPatrick Wiscombe.
We will be right back.
Give us about 60 seconds.
Show Voice (14:11):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk Podcastand Radio Show is presented by
Blue PlanetVacations.com.
America's Best Travel Advisors.
Call or text the show now.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
(14:32):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (14:39):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by AMA Waterways.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages, visit some
of Europe's most remarkablesites and cities.
To set out on your own rivercruise journey, contact Blue
Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717or BluePlanetVacations.com.
Show Voice (15:06):
Back to the Insight Travel Talk Podcast and Radio
Show.
Presented by BluePlanetVacations.com, America's
best travel advisors.
Get us up right now at801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.com.
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:57):
Alongside Mark Faldmo, this is the infamous
Just Cruising segment.
The segment of the show thathas made us popular around the
country and around the world.
And let me just welcomeeveryone aboard.
Ahoy, Matees.
Ahoy.
This segment of the show isonly about the cruise news
(16:20):
headlines, the cruise deal ofthe week.
We've got five cruise deals ofthe week, but really it's about
15.
We post them onblueplanetvacations.com, which
by the way, you do get a lot oftraffic to that section of the
website.
I do, it's very popular.
Let's get right to the travelnews headlines.
This one really caught my eye,and this is a story about Viking
(16:45):
river cruises.
Now they have river cruises,that's kind of what they're
known for.
And then they also have theocean cruises, which I won't say
a lot of people don't know, butI think they're more known for
their river cruises.
Is that fair to say?
That's fair to say.
Yes.
Yeah.
This is such a unique idea thatViking is starting to combo a
(17:07):
ocean cruise.
You get off the ship and thenyou go over to the river portion
of the cruise.
This idea I love.
Because then you can experiencethe two types of sailings
immediately, back to back.
Mark Faldmo (17:20):
This is something that, at least for the moment,
is something that only Vikingcan do.
A uniquely Viking product.
Right now, on these river andocean combinations, they do have
some specials.
They have uh reduced airfare,and you can deposit these for
$25 per person.
Um, there are three itinerariesthat I want to highlight here.
(17:42):
So the first one is the Rhineand Viking shores and fjords.
It's 15 days long with 12 toursand six countries.
Oh wow.
Uh so what that does is itstarts in Basel, Switzerland,
cruises the Rhine to Amsterdam,and then you get on the cruise
ship in Amsterdam.
You go wait, hold on just asecond.
(18:05):
So you get on a river cruisefirst?
Yep.
Yep, you start on the rivercruise.
Oh wow.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:10):
Okay.
Mark Faldmo (18:10):
So in Basel, Switzerland, cruise the Rhine,
all the castles, Cologne,Germany, and in Amsterdam, then
you get on the cruise ship, theocean cruise ship, um, and you
do a Norwegian fjords cruise.
Wow.
So you you go from Amsterdam touh Skagen in Denmark, Oslo,
Khristiansend, Stavanger, andthen you cruise up one of the
(18:33):
fjords to Flam, which Flam isprobably my favorite port in all
of Norway.
Yeah.
And then you end in Bergen.
So that's a very unique way tosee that area of the world.
The next one is very similarbut longer.
So this is called Grand Europeand Viking Fjords.
(18:53):
This one is 22 days, 18 tours,and six countries.
So wow.
This one starts in Bergen.
It does that same cruise inreverse, but then it does their
14-day Grand European tour.
So you do the Rhine and theDanube, and it ends up in
Budapest.
Wow, these are some impressiveitineraries.
Yep.
(19:14):
Yeah, and then you know, we'lljust do the the one last
itinerary, and this is a new onethat they just barely launched
called Iberian Odyssey.
It's 17 days, 14 tours, visitsthree countries, and it's
Barcelona to Porto.
And so that one you have acruise that goes Barcelona,
Palma, and then cruise down toSeville, goes to Morocco.
(19:38):
The cruise portion ends inLisbon, and then you actually
take uh part on bus.
So you do a bus tour up toPorto, and then you get on the
river and cruise the riveracross Portugal, and then it
comes back and ends in Porto,which is where you'll finish the
river cruise portion of that.
(19:59):
Wow.
If you're looking for somethingunique, Viking definitely has
that.
And the special right now onthat is reduced airfare and then
also reduced cruise fares, andyou can book up for only a $25
deposit.
That's as long as you book byOctober 31st.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:16):
That is so unique.
We've been doing the show fortwo years.
That is a unique one.
Always in this segment of theshow is the cruise deal of the
week.
I think the cruise deal of theweek is the Viking River and
Ocean combinations.
Those itineraries were awesome.
But the actual cruise deal ofthe week is American Cruise
Lines, and they've announcedthat they're expanding their
(20:37):
Mississippi River capacity, andthey're also adding some new
itineraries.
Mark Faldmo (20:41):
I think this is really exciting because they are
adding an all-American port,Great Lakes cruise.
Which no one has done.
No.
So previously they had Canadianports, which means some that
you need passports and thingslike that.
So this is uh nine-day LakeMichigan um and Green Bay
(21:04):
cruise.
Would you do the Great Lakes?
I think I would.
I think I would too.
I there's a lot of demand forthese, so people do want to go
there.
When I first saw these, I waskind of indifferent.
But the more I read about them,they go to some pretty
interesting places, you know,like Mackinac Island in the the
(21:24):
upper peninsula of Michigan.
Uh just some really uniqueplaces.
The UP.
Yeah.
It's mainly a nine-day GreatLakes cruise.
They have two differentitineraries or they have a
14-day itinerary that are all USports in the Great Lakes.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:43):
Don't go during the winter.
Mark Faldmo (21:44):
You're gonna need an icebreaker.
Yeah, don't go during thewinter.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:49):
What are some of the new river cruise
itineraries?
Mark Faldmo (21:52):
They've added a couple of new cruises.
They have an 11-day Great SmokyMountain itinerary that's
between uh Knoxville, Tennessee,and Huntsville, Alabama.
They have a nine-day ArkansasRiver itinerary, and then a new
eight-day Gulf Coast, which isbetween New Orleans, and ends in
(22:14):
Gulfport, Mississippi.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:16):
I think I would like to do that.
Mark Faldmo (22:18):
The Gulf Coast.
The Gulf Coast would be areally good itinerary.
I mean, it goes New Orleans,Pensacola, Mobile, Biloxi, Ocean
Springs, which is inMississippi, and then Gulfport.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:31):
That's a section of the country of that's
always intrigued me, but I'venever gone.
If I'm gonna go do that, thatis probably the most appealing
way to go do it.
Mark Faldmo (22:38):
Yeah.
I mean, I've driven across thaton a car, but I think you'd get
so much more doing it by acruise ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:45):
Yeah, agreed.
What's the uh deal for Americancruise lines for listeners?
Mark Faldmo (22:50):
So right now on Select Cruises, they're offering
free airfare and up to fifteenhundred dollars off select
cruises.
So it's free airfare fromanywhere in the country to where
the cruise starts, and thenfifteen hundred dollars off.
So that's a pretty good dealfor American cruise lines.
And and seven-day cruises startat about thirty, seven hundred
(23:11):
dollars a person.
And again, that includes yourairfare, the cruise, all meals.
One thing I like about Americancruise lines is they pretty
much are all inclusive.
So Wi-Fi, drinks, gratuities,everything is included in your
affair.
As we start to wrap up, let'stalk about the top five cruise
deals of the week.
The top five cruise deals ofthe week.
(23:32):
It's a page onblueplanetvacations.com where I
list five or more of the topcruise deals of the week.
Yeah, there's what, 15 rightnow?
There's about 15 on there rightnow because I I can't stop
adding them because there's soso many good cruises out there.
The one that I just added was aseven-day Mexican Riviera
(23:53):
cruise.
Norwegian cruise line juststarted sailing also out of San
Diego.
Oh, whoa, when did that happen?
Uh I didn't know that.
That starts this year, so so itit starts, I think, in
December.
And so it's a seven-day MexicanRiviera cruise, starts at 459
per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:13):
You're trying to put a little pressure on
princess.
Mark Faldmo (24:16):
Sounds like that goes out of there.
Yeah.
So it starts in Miami, but itdoes the Eastern Caribbean and
the Southern Caribbean.
And that one starts at $1199per person.
So write about $100 per personper day.
(24:36):
On CUNARD.
on Cunard.
Wow.
That is astonishing.
So if you go to that page, TopFive Cruise Deals of the Week on
BluePlanetVacations.com, youcan see every all of the cruises
I have listed, and I updatethat every week with new cruises
or updated pricing for thecruises.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:57):
One thing about Mark is that he will scour
all of his resources to findthe best cruise deals of the
week.
Take advantage of those offers.
Man, you came prepared today.
Mark Faldmo (25:10):
There's a lot of good travel deals out there.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:12):
If you're interested in taking advantage
of any of the deals that we'vetalked about for the last 30
minutes, call Mark in his officeas soon as we get off the
phone.
Just start the conversation, noobligation.
888-718-7717 888-718-7717.
And you can also find much ofthis information and contact
(25:34):
information onBluePlanetVacations.com.
You can listen to this radioshow and podcast every Saturday
and Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
local time on the very radiostation that you're listening to
right now.
And we air on all affiliateradio stations at 11 a.m.
local time.
And you can also listen to thisshow again by streaming the
(25:59):
show, subscribing, anddownloading the show at
insightraveltalk.com.
Plus, we have all of thepodcast platform links on
insidetraveltalk.com.
That's it.
We're done.
Now it's your turn to get outand travel the world while you
can because you never know whatcurveballs life is going to
throw at you.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally,
(26:23):
and a sincere thank you fortaking the time to stop and
listen.
Make it a great week.
We'll talk to you next Saturdayand Sunday.
Show Voice (26:31):
That's it.
That's the end of the show.
You've been listening to theInside Travel Talk Podcast and
Radio Show with Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo.
Presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(26:53):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (26:56):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's RivieraMeyer with authentic, all
inclusive luxury at an El DoradoSpa Resort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888 718 7717 orBluePlanetVacations.com.
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