January 4, 2025 • 52 mins
Imagine unlocking the secrets to seamless travel with our latest podcast episode. Discover what the Korean Air acquisition of Asiana Airlines means for your future adventures, particularly if you're dreaming of an Asian getaway with enhanced access from Salt Lake City. We also spotlight Frontier Airlines' Go Wild Pass for 2025, a tantalizing offer for frequent flyers itching for unlimited travel. Plus, get the scoop on the highly anticipated revamp of Waikiki's Rainbow Tower, setting the stage for a refreshed Hawaiian escape.
For those with a passion for natural wonders and travel transformations, we've got you covered. Get an inside look at the dramatic Kilauea eruption on Hawaii's Big Island—an experience best captured from above on a helicopter tour. While the Volcano National Park Visitor Center is temporarily closing for updates, the park's incredible landscape remains fully accessible. Plus, we discuss the new U.S. government rule clamping down on hotel junk fees, a move set to streamline and simplify your travel budgeting.
Join us as we navigate the globe aboard MSC Cruise Lines' extraordinary 121-day world cruise itinerary, spanning an impressive 25 countries. Whether you're curious about the nuances of Panama Canal cruises or eager to hear about the latest cruise ships debuting in 2025, we've got the insights you need. From upcoming adventures on the MSC Poesia repositioning cruise to Disney's enticing travel deals, this episode is packed with options to inspire your next journey.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
It is time for the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show Coming up.
On today's show we're going tobe talking about Panama Canal
cruises, two Disney offers andour favorite trips and vacations
.
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
(00:23):
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 (00:38):
Helping you plan your next vacation.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call us now 801-649-3700,801-649-3700, and check out the
podcast at InsideTravelTalk.
(00:59):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:14):
Serving up the world to our listeners.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be here injust a minute and, as I
mentioned just before we startedthis show, we're going to be
talking about Panama Canalcruises, Disney offers and, of
(01:36):
course, our favorite trips orvacations.
We want to thank you for takingthe time to stop and listen,
and the entire purpose of thisshow, if you've never heard it
before.
We want to thank you for takingthe time to stop and listen,
and the entire purpose of thisshow, if you've never heard it
before, is to help you plan andbook your next vacation.
And if you have no idea whereto go, our job is pretty simple
it is to give you ideas of whereyou want to vacation next, and
(02:00):
Mark and I are presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com and Mark.
It is hard to believe as youenter the studio.
I cannot believe that we arestarting season three of the
podcast.
It's unbelievable to me.
Mark Faldmo (02:16):
Yep, season three, we just keep going.
Show gets better as we keepgoing.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:25):
As we start the podcast, let's start with
the travel news headlines.
I saw a story that Korean Airhas acquired, or is acquiring, a
majority stake in AsianaAirlines.
When did that happen?
Mark Faldmo (02:35):
This happened in mid-December.
Korean Air is taking over orpurchasing Asiana Airlines,
which is going to enhance theirroute network in Asia.
A few weeks ago, we talkedabout Delta Airlines starting a
new flight from Salt Lake Cityto Seoul, Korea, and Korean Air
is a SkyTeam member.
So this acquisition of Asianais really going to help us here
(02:58):
in Salt Lake when going to Asiaand around about the way, even
though these are two airlinesbased in South Korea.
For us here in Salt Lake andfor those listeners in Salt Lake
, it's going to really open upmore of Asia.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:11):
I can get behind this idea, mark, maybe
Frontier Airlines that's thepause in my voice.
Frontier Airlines is selling anall-you-can-fly pass for 2025.
I'm curious to know how much itis.
But it is Frontier Airlines,which is why I kind of went.
Maybe I can get behind this.
Mark Faldmo (03:29):
This is the second year in a row that they're doing
this.
The pass's name is called theGo Wild Pass.
It's $499, which is discountedfrom the typical price of $699.
It will give you unlimitedflights between May 1st 2025 and
April 30th 2026.
Okay, now here's the terms andconditions.
(03:53):
So you can book it all the wayup until one day prior to flight
, but you don't get any includedluggage, both carry on and
checked luggage.
You don't get an assigned seat,so that's all done.
Basically, when you're boardingthe flight, so, you're going to
get the middle seat.
You'll probably get the middleseat and it's an included pass,
but I think by law they have tocharge something for it.
(04:15):
So the cost of each flight isone cent plus any government
taxes and fees.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:20):
When you and I travel together on business, I
travel pretty light.
You've seen that I justbasically bring a backpack and
it's got everything in there.
Laptop, everything, clothes,etc.
I can't even bring that, orthey're going to charge me for
it.
You'd have to pay for it.
Mark Faldmo (04:34):
They will charge you for it.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:36):
Oh boy.
Mark Faldmo (04:36):
I know someone that worked in San Francisco and
they bought this pass becausethey were commuting two times a
week between Salt Lake and SanFrancisco and it was well worth
it.
That's a short flight, middleseats are hard, but for an hour
and 20 minutes it's not that bad.
Yeah, it's not terrible, and ifyou're responsible to get
yourself to and from work inanother city, you know commuting
a lot.
This makes a lot of sense.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:57):
You have traveled almost 4 billion miles.
Would you consider doing this?
Mark Faldmo (05:01):
I would consider it .
I'd have to go really evaluateit on what my travel plans are.
If you're just going, let's say, salt Lake City to the West
Coast right now on Delta, you'repaying $350 round trip, so this
will cost you basically thecost of two round trip flights.
Okay, now you'll have to payother things on top of that, but
if I was going to someplacethat frontier flew that wasn't
(05:24):
too long, I would definitelyconsider getting this Let me
just ask you a follow-upquestion On Frontier Airlines,
this all-you-can-fly pass is itgood for international?
It is.
This is good anywhere inFrontier's route network.
So Mexico, the Caribbean,Central America, wherever they
fly, this is valid.
I might have to take a look atthis.
(05:45):
It automatically renews nextyear at the $699 rate unless you
cancel it.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:50):
Well, I know what Patrick's doing after the
show.
Yeah, I got to figure out howmuch a carry-on would be
Carry-on is worth.
Yeah, while I was gone for thelast two weeks, you sent me this
article that Waikiki's or, asSiri says, Waikiki, the iconic
Rainbow Tower, is getting arenovation.
What kind of plans do they haveto renovate the place?
Mark Faldmo (06:10):
The Hilton Hawaiian Village.
They have several towers thatyou can stay in.
The Rainbow Tower is the iconicone that everyone sees on the
TV shows.
You know Hawaii Five-0, magnumPI.
They're completely renovatingguest rooms and hallways within
the structure.
I think you stayed there abouta year ago and it probably felt
(06:30):
like it didn't need renovation,but they're going to really
upgrade that even more than whatit was, the hotel rooms were
huge.
That's one thing.
At the Hilton Hawaiian Village,with the exception of one of
the towers, they all have prettylarge guest rooms.
And then you look at theRainbow Tower.
It has large rooms plus greatviews of Diamond Head if you're
(06:53):
on the right side, or the Marinaif you're on the other side of
that tower.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:58):
You put us on the Diamond Head side.
We had a high floor, we were up.
What 20 stories, Something likethat.
Mark Faldmo (07:10):
I don't remember how tall it was, but we were up
there a ways.
That's probably my favoritehotel in Waikiki, so I'll be
excited to see these renovatedrooms.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:13):
Always in this segment is the destination of
the week and the question Markwas asked most often during the
past few weeks what was Mark'smost memorable vacation and why?
Mark Faldmo (07:26):
And I actually liked answering this question
because travel is such a goodway to make memories, both with
friends and family and makememories with yourself.
Travel is such a good way toconnect with the world.
But I think my most memorabletrip was a trip to Norway.
It was a family trip.
It was with aunts and unclesand some cousins and it was kind
(07:48):
of a family history trip.
So we've talked about on thisshow a few times.
That's where my heritage isfrom, is Norway and Iceland.
We can go to the family farmwhere my last name, Faldmo,
comes from.
We flew into Stockholm, Sweden,saw the sights of Stockholm,
Sweden.
If you're an ABBA fan, there'sa great ABBA museum there.
(08:12):
And then we got on an overnighttrain with sleeper cars.
The train ride was about 36hours.
We went from Stockholm up toNarvik, Norway, which is in the
Arctic Circle.
That's where the Nazis firstinvaded Norway in World War II
and so there's a Narvik underNazi occupation museum which is
fascinating Also there.
We took a tram ride up to thetop of a mountain at like 2 am
(08:33):
and it was light as day.
This was in early June, so wewere almost 24 hours of sunlight
.
We went down to the ocean, swamin the ocean in the middle of
the night in the Arctic Circle,and then we got on a bus and
drove down the Norwegian coastto Oslo.
Wow, it's a road and ferrysystem.
(08:53):
We'd bus for a while, then thebus would get on a ferry and
take you across the fjord orsomething.
But that drive that first dayout of Narvik I could not
believe the scenery.
It was so beautiful, just tallmountains shooting up from sea
level.
That part of the world in theArctic Circle is just so
beautiful.
As we were driving down kind ofa fun thing, you know, travel,
(09:16):
some things don't go as plannedOur bus broke down kind of in
the middle of nowhere, oh boy,and so they called a public bus
to come get us.
They took us to a restaurantwhile our bus was being fixed,
and I don't like tomatoes, butthe only place this little rest
stop had to offer was tomatosoup.
It was the best tomato soupI've ever had.
I kind of crave that tomatosoup.
(09:39):
So after we got our bus fixed,we went down to Mohsen, which is
about halfway down Norway.
After we got our bus fixed, wewent down to Mohsen, which is
about halfway down Norway, andthat's where my family is from.
We went to some cemeteries.
Like I mentioned earlier, wesaw the family farm, which is on
a great big waterfall on theriver that runs behind the farm,
and then we ended up in Oslo,Norway, and saw the sights there
.
That was about a two-week longtrip.
(10:01):
The memories that were madethere, and especially to connect
with some family heritage, wasan amazing trip.
So that's probably my mostmemorable trip.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:10):
If I have to volunteer something, my first
thought was going to Alaska andthe way you describe, going down
the Norwegian fjords whereyou're in the water and then
these just gigantic mountainsjust shoot out of the water into
the sky.
And I still remember I can'tremember if it was Ketchikan or
(10:30):
wherever it was the boat justpulls up to the pier right there
in Ketchikan and you're in thewater.
You get off the boat and thenyou're right next to a mountain
in a train.
It was unbelievable.
Mark Faldmo (10:41):
Yeah, and those memories are what makes travel
worth it, I think.
Oh, agreed, you know travel, asI mentioned a little bit
earlier, that's my passion.
I love to connect that and Ilove to help people connect with
our world around us and withfamily and friends as they
travel.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:58):
Well, I think we've done our job in this
segment in this segment.
So if you have been inspired toeither go to Norway, go to
Alaska, wherever it is that youenjoy going, Mark can help you
with that.
Just call him in his office ifyou would please 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(11:21):
When we come back, we've gotmore travel news of the week in
segment number two.
We've always got the hot traveldeal of the week, regardless of
the destination, and are wegoing to Disney on this one?
Mark Faldmo (11:37):
We are.
Our deal is going to be Disney,both Disney world and Disney
cruise line.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:43):
And we're talking 50% off for kids.
That's just a little bit of ateaser.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues Alongside MarkFaldmo, my name is Patrick
Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (12:03):
If you have travel questions, they have the answers
.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(12:23):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (12:42):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
(13:14):
com.
Show Voice (13:16):
Www.
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Text the show now 801-649-3700,801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:31):
Here's Patrick and Mark, it is the weekend.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo is on the other endof this connection and you are
(13:52):
listening to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
If you're new to the show,first of all, thanks for
stopping.
If you're a longtime listener,our job is to help you plan and
book your next vacation and togive you ideas of where to
travel in our great world.
Mark and I love to travel andwe want to pass that passion on
(14:14):
to our listeners.
And if you have any travelrelated questions, call Mark in
his office, 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
We live in Utah and that meansthat there are lots of families
that like to go to Disney,whether that be in Orlando,
(14:37):
which I was there not too longago.
I bring that up because in thissegment we've got the hot
travel deal of the week andwe're going to be talking about
Disney deals free dining plans,50% off kids.
But before we get there, let'sget to the travel headlines.
This one's been developing forjust a little bit, but there's a
new Hawaiian volcanic eruptiongoing on.
(14:59):
Is it in?
Not Kona?
Where is it?
Oh, it's the Big Island.
Mark Faldmo (15:03):
Y eah, it's on the Big Island .
It's volcano.
Okay, all right.
And this started erupting againlast week and I've had a couple
customers ask is this going toaffect my vacation plans to
Hawaii?
In general, some volcanoes,like the volcanoes in Iceland or
some of the ones in Asia wherethey kind of blow their top and
(15:25):
there's a big ash plume thevolcanoes in Hawaii do not ha ve
that.
Flights aren't affected unlessit directly affects the airport.
This is just a good chance toactually see a live volcano.
There are several ways you cando this.
The best way is by helicopter.
If you're going to the bigisland in the next few weeks,
(15:45):
book a helicopter ride and seeif you can get a glimpse of the
erupting volcano.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:50):
So Nikki and I were there about 10 months ago.
I really wish that we wereheaded over there right now,
because I would love to watch alava event.
Mark Faldmo (15:59):
Yeah, yeah, I remember I was young, early
teenage years, and took ahelicopter ride.
This is when there was a bigflow going into the ocean, so we
went out and saw the flow goinginto the ocean, Even though the
helicopter was a safe distanceaway.
We were in one of the open airhelicopters and you could feel
the heat from the lava from thedistance we were at You're
(16:21):
kidding so it was fascinating asa child to see that and I've
always wanted to go back.
I've been to Hawaii probably 20, 30 times since then and I've
never seen lava.
Every time I go I always seemto be in between events.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:37):
I guess that's a good thing.
Yes, yeah, one of the thingsthat just genuinely amazes me is
that when it first comes outthat some of these lava flows
are fast I don't know how fastin terms of miles per hour, but
you always think of lava as kindof creeping.
But when it first erupts it canrun like a river quick.
Mark Faldmo (16:58):
It can yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:59):
Related to the Big Island.
The visitor center on the BigIsland, Hawaii's Volcano
National Park, is going to closefor renovation.
It's kind of old.
It does need some renovation.
Mark Faldmo (17:11):
I've thought for years that it needs renovation
and they finally are gettingaround to doing that.
The Visitor Center will closeon February 17th and it could
take up to two years to complete.
They've moved some of theexhibits to some of the other
areas, but the park will remainopen 24 hours a day during
construction so you can still gosee that.
(17:32):
You just won't be able to gointo the visitor center.
It gets 1.5 million visitors ayear and where they had the
visitor center just couldn'thandle the number of visitors
they get.
And in 2018, there was anotherkind of science center, the
Yager Museum, which wasirreparably damaged in the 2018
(17:53):
eruption.
So they closed that and theyactually have taken that
building down and all theexhibits out.
Once this new visitor centeropens in about two years, I'm
looking forward to seeing whatthey've done.
Those exhibits and movies theyhave are always fascinating to
me.
I love how the national parksdo that and really get you a
good flavor of where you'revisiting.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:13):
By the way, the Big Island, since we're
talking about it right now,geographically it is one of the
most amazing islands I have everseen in my life.
The trip from Hilo over to Kona, kind of a east to west trip or
kind of a east to southwestkind of trajectory that is some
of the most breathtaking andweird geography I've ever seen
(18:35):
in my life.
It feels like you're on themoon, not that, I know what the
moon is like.
Mark Faldmo (18:39):
The big island it's probably my favorite island in
Hawaii.
That's because it has all thedifferent climate zones.
It has everything but Arcticand tundra.
It has every other climacticzone in the world on that island
.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:51):
It was wild to be part of that.
I saw a story that the USgovernment is finalizing the
hotel junk fee rule.
This one I want to hear about.
Mark Faldmo (19:03):
Yeah, so we've been talking about this one probably
ever since we've started thispodcast and radio show.
It finally was voted on, whichthis means that hotels they're
trying to eliminate a lot of thebait and switch tactics that
hotels use and they want peopleto know the full price when
they're booking a trip.
A lot of hotels used toadvertise here's the rate plus
(19:24):
taxes, but then when you getthere, you have to pay a resort
fee, you have to pay aconvenience fee, you have all of
these fees on top of what youthought you were getting.
And so this was voted on inmid-December and it will take
effect 120 days after that vote.
So we're looking at April-ishLooking at April-ish when that's
(19:45):
going to take place.
And one thing that I foundinteresting and I'd like to see
where they came up with thesenumbers, but the FTC estimates
the rule will save consumers upto 53 million hours annually in
wasted time spent on trying tofind what the total price is,
and it will save them more than$11 billion over the next decade
(20:07):
.
So I guess that's over 10 years,but I've never liked you show
up somewhere.
Oh, but you have to pay this,you have to pay that.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:15):
It adds up quick too.
Yeah, I am pro-capitalism, butgood grief, come on.
Mark Faldmo (20:21):
Yeah, this is definitely a good rule, and
they're doing similar thingswith the airlines as well.
So, as we've talked about,we'll continue to stay on these
types of stories that help maketravel easier.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:31):
Always in segment two of the show, we've
got the hot travel deal of theweek, regardless of the
destination, and this week we'retalking Disney.
Mark Faldmo (20:40):
We've got two different offers for Disney.
The first one is at Walt DisneyWorld.
They are bringing back theirfree dining program, so this has
to be booked between January2nd and February 10th.
It is valid for most arrivalsMay 27th to June 26th and July
7th to August 6th.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:02):
So okay.
So there's a booking period andthen there's a travel period,
Then there's a travel period.
Okay.
Mark Faldmo (21:07):
And you can get the free dining when you purchase a
non-discounted minimumthree-night resort stay and
three-day park pass.
One more thing I should mentionon this is there are two
different dining plans andthat's based on which level of
hotel you're staying at atDisney.
So the moderate, less expensiveones you get the quick service
(21:30):
dining plan, which is two quickservice meals, one snack and a
refillable drink mug, or thedining plan which is one quick
service meal, one table servicemeal and then one snack and one
refillable mug, depending onwhich level of hotel you stay at
.
The more expensive ones you doget a little bit more.
For the dining plan you get asit-down meal rather than the
(21:53):
quick service meals.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:54):
We just talked about Walt Disney World.
Let's talk about the DisneyCruise Line now.
Mark Faldmo (21:58):
Over the last few years Disney Cruise Line, Disney
World, Disneyland have all doneoffers for Disney Plus
subscribers.
So this particular one, youhave to be a Disney Plus
subscriber, but it's 50% offkids on select savings if you
book by February 16th.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:18):
Let me just ask you a basic question what is
Disney Plus?
Mark Faldmo (22:22):
So Disney Plus is their TV platform.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:26):
Oh, Disney Plus, Hello Disney Plus.
Yep, for some reason I hadamusement park, like there was
some kind of ticket level.
Yeah, I know what Disney Plusis.
Mark Faldmo (22:33):
Yeah, nope, so yeah .
So it's the Disney Plus.
Okay, and some people might say50% off kids.
A lot of cruise lines areoffering free kids, but even
this, if you're a Disney Plussubscriber, or if you just
subscribe to get this and youhave two kids sailing with you,
that could save you $1,000 onthe cruise.
(22:54):
Oh yeah, it is a good deal, andthese offers that have come
through over the years forDisney Plus subscribers have
been pretty good, and I thinkthis is another good one.
So if you want to go on aDisney cruise and you're a
Disney Plus subscriber and youhave kids, this is an offer for
you.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:12):
And you can take care of anyone who wants to
go to Disney, right, I can.
So, as we go to break here,call Mark if you're interested
in this particular offer.
I can.
So, as we go to break here,call Mark if you're interested
in this particular offer.
His office number is888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(23:36):
And you can also see this offeron blueplanetvacations.
com.
And if you have any questions,just call Mark One more time on
the phone number 888 718-7717.
Okay, when we come back, thesecond half of the show is on
the way.
The next segment is only aboutcruising.
It's our infamous just cruisingsegment and we are going to be
(24:00):
talking about a 121 day cruisethat will visit 25 countries.
Warm up the credit card because, mark, this sounds amazing to
be on a cruise for 121 days.
Wait, what four months?
A little over four months.
And it has a fantasticitinerary too.
Okay, we'll talk about thatnext.
And, of course, we've alwaysgot the cruise deal of the week
(24:22):
that is not 121 days long.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much, really forallowing this to be part of your
weekend.
We will be right back part ofyour weekend.
Show Voice (24:46):
We will be right back.
They've literally traveledmillions of miles to answer your
travel related questions.
Yeah, they really have.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors,Patrick and Mark, will be back
after these messages.
Ad Voice (25:12):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Amar Waterways
.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages.
Visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities To
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Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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Patrick Wiscombe (25:30):
Welcome back and thanks for listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show Coming up.
In the remaining 30 minutes ofthe show, mark and I will be
talking about Panama Canalcruises and new cruise ships
coming out in 2025.
I love new cruise ships.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(25:51):
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:18):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Hit us up right now,801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(26:38):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:49):
All aboard for segment number three of the
Inside Travel Talk podcast, aradio show.
This segment is only aboutcruising.
We just simply call it theinfamous Just Cruising segment
and coming up here in thissegment we're going to talk
about Panama Canal cruises,which is one of Mark's favorite
(27:10):
things to do, and new cruiseships coming out in 2025.
Is this going to include I wasreading something while I was on
vacation that Is this MSC'sWorld America ship.
Is that one of them?
That'll be one of the ships onthe list.
Yeah, man, that ship looksawesome and I'm so glad that you
(27:32):
and I have that connection withLaura at MSC Cruises.
She's just a good person andshe is very, very amazing at
what she does in the cruiseindustry.
Anyway, we'll get to that herein a second.
We've got the travel newsheadlines and we've got the
cruise deal of the week.
That is not 121 days, in fact.
(27:53):
Let's just start there.
Let's start with the 121 daycruise that will visit 25
countries.
What I don't know is have theystarted booking it?
Mark Faldmo (28:03):
They have, yeah this is open for booking as of
about 10 days ago and this isfor a departure date in 2027.
So it's still two years off.
They need some lead time tosell these.
Oh sure, and these uniquethings also sell out pretty
quick.
It's round trip either Rome orBarcelona.
Also sell out pretty quick.
(28:23):
It's round trip either Rome orBarcelona.
So starting either January 5thor January 8th 2027.
This is on MSC Cruise Lines.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:28):
You say January 2027.
So we're two years out,basically Two years out, yep.
Mark Faldmo (28:33):
Okay and we'll go over the itinerary in just a
minute on this.
But one thing that I findinteresting in this is the
cruise fare includes 15 shortexcursions per person,
complimentary dining and drink,beverage package and a 30%
discount on laundry service.
I've not seen that offered onother cruise lines before.
(28:54):
Where they're offering someshort excursions and beverage
package, usually those areupgrades.
So overall a pretty good deal.
Now it is fairly expensive, butyou know, one thing we like to
try and do here is find some ofthe unique things out there.
This still price-wise, itstarts at about $19999.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:16):
$19999?
.
I'm like sign me up.
Mark Faldmo (29:18):
Yeah, so it starts at just under $20,000 per person
, but when you do that math out,that's like $120 a day.
Yeah, over four months that's apretty good deal where you're
getting meals, drinks,entertainment, some short
excursions.
With the new cruise regulations, that does include all of the
(29:39):
taxes and fees, which, on this,I bet those are a hefty amount.
The best part of this is theitinerary.
We don't have a lot of time,but this has two places that are
highlights for me.
Starts in Rome, as I said, oryou can get on a little bit
later in Barcelona.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:55):
If you had a choice, which one would you
start out of?
Mark Faldmo (29:57):
I probably would get on in Rome.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:59):
Okay, me too.
Mark Faldmo (30:00):
So it sails western Mediterranean ports, goes down
to Gibraltar, Casablanca, andthen it sails down across to the
east coast of South America.
There are several ports, butthe main ones Rio de Janeiro,
Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, and thenit comes back around up to
Valparaiso in Chile.
(30:20):
And then this next segment,which is the South Pacific I
think is the most interesting tome has a stop in Easter Island,
has a stop Bounty Bay Passage,which we've talked about this
before.
It's the Pitcairn Islands, yep,where the crew of the Mutiny on
the Bounty fled to.
It's one of the most remoteislands in the world.
I've not been there.
(30:41):
I have a nephew that's beenthere, one of the most beautiful
Pacific islands you'll ever see.
And then from there it goes toTahiti, goes down to the Cook
Islands, sails around NewZealand, goes to Tasmania,
Sydney, and then sails up toFiji, then to Hawaii, over to
Los Angeles, does a MexicanRiviera, goes through the Panama
(31:04):
Canal, some Caribbean ports andthen back over to the
Mediterranean and then again ineither Rome or Barcelona.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:13):
Wow, that is a world cruise.
Mark Faldmo (31:16):
That is, and it has some fascinating ports.
You know it has three placesthat are on my bucket list that
I have not done, one beingUshuaia, and then Easter Island
and Pit Carnes on there.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:29):
What ship is this on?
Who's the cruise company andwhat ship Do we know yet?
Mark Faldmo (31:32):
This is on MSC.
It's on the MSC.
Musica is the name of the ship.
Oh, that's a nice ship.
Yeah, okay.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:39):
Yeah, yeah, that's one of their newer modern
ships?
I think it is.
Mark Faldmo (31:43):
If it's the one I'm thinking of, yeah, it's one of
their ships that came out in theI want to say about 2018, but
I'm not sure.
It's not one of the big megaships, but it is one of their
newer ships.
That sounds amazing and andthey can book that through you
right, yes, yep, I candefinitely get that booked if
you're interested in that, orany world cruise for that matter
(32:04):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:04):
There is a shore excursions group and
they're rolling out a thousandnew shore excursion options, if
I'm reading that correctly.
Mark Faldmo (32:13):
Yeah, so shore excursion group is a company
that I work with quite closely.
If you go toblueplanetvacations.
com, there is a link on almostevery cruise page where you can
look at shore excursions.
They're a third-party shoreexcursion provider.
They do a great job.
They now have over 4,000 toursin 300 ports.
Wow, they've added a little over400 tours in Europe, almost 300
(32:37):
in Australia, new Zealand andAlaska, and then also a little
over 200 new experiences in theCaribbean.
This is a company that I highlyrecommend.
Usually we say it's safer to dothe shore excursions through
the cruise line, but you pay alot more so shore excursion
group is an alternative and theydo have money back guarantee.
(32:59):
They do have a return to shippolicy that provides
transportation meals and up to athousand dollars per guest if
they don't get you back to theship in time.
So they do have insurance inplace if something was to happen
.
I've used them for some bigcruise groups and they've
handled all of my group well.
I have a family where theyarranged a private,
(33:21):
well-watching tour in Cabocoming up in April and they do a
really good job.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:26):
If you want to text the show, because we do
take texts during the week youcan call or text us 801-649-3700
, 801-649-3700 to text yourquestion.
Diane is texting the show andshe's asking about Panama Canal
cruises.
This is a client question fromyour client, but she texted you.
Mark Faldmo (33:49):
So she had six different questions that she
asked and you know, I thought Ithought these they're all really
good questions.
There's so much information outthere on the Panama Canal.
I've been lucky enough.
I've done the Panama Canal afew times.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:03):
Diane's first question is when is the best
time to go see the Panama Canalon a cruise?
Mark Faldmo (34:08):
I think the best time is in the late spring or
late fall.
This is when they'rerepositioning ships to and from
different locations.
There are Panama Canal cruisesthat go fairly frequently, but
you'll get a better deal onthese repositioning cruises when
they're just trying to get themfrom point A to point B to
start a new season somewhere,and those usually happen when
(34:29):
they're trying to position shipsfrom the Caribbean to go to
Alaska or, vice versa, shipsfrom Alaska going to the
Caribbean for the winter season.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:38):
Another one of the questions that she had is
what direction, meaning east orwest, should I choose?
Should I do the full transit orthe partial transit?
I guess you better explain whatthe difference is.
Mark Faldmo (34:49):
There are cruises.
You can go to Miami, you can goto Florida and take a Panama
Canal cruise that only goesthrough the Atlantic locks.
That's a good way to see howthe locks work, experience the
canal, but I'd recommend a fulltransit.
So this is one that goes fromthe Pacific to the Atlantic or
vice versa.
So you'd start on the Eastcoast and in the West coast or
(35:12):
vice versa.
On that, if you do the partialtransit, you miss the Gatun Cut,
you miss what is the PanamaCanal.
You will experience goingthrough the locks, but you'll
miss what is the Panama Canal.
You will experience goingthrough the locks, but you'll
miss what is the Panama Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:26):
All right.
So full transit is what you'resaying here.
Yeah, Full transit.
Diane is also asking should Iget a balcony if I'm going to do
a Panama Canal?
Mark Faldmo (35:35):
cruise.
I would say yes, because whenyou're going through the canal,
you can go experience it on thefront of the ship, you can
experience it on deck, butwatching from your balcony you
get just as good of views of allof that.
And then when you're cruisingactually through the canal,
through the Gatun Cut, you getto see that.
I think one of our otherquestions is what side of the
ship should I be on?
(35:56):
It really doesn't matter.
But if you're one place whereit may matter is when you're
going we'll just take going fromPacific to Atlantic.
You'd want to be on the rightside of the ship because that's
the side where Panama City is on.
So, starboard side, starboardside, yep, if you're going the
(36:17):
other direction, then you wouldwant to be on the left or port
side of the ship, but it reallydoesn't matter on that, the
other direction.
And then you would want to beon the left or port side of the
ship, but it really doesn'tmatter on that.
There's just a little bit moreto see on that side of the ship
how long does it take to getthrough the panama canal?
Patrick Wiscombe (36:31):
it's a full day process.
So, oh, it is.
I think sometimes, when theysay canal, you know, I always
think of like these smallwatering ditches.
Yeah, that's not what this isno.
Mark Faldmo (36:45):
no, this is.
It's a big ordeal to actuallyget through the canal.
Early in the morning, all theships are going from Pacific to
Atlantic and then they meet upin Gatun Lake.
Now, what's it called?
It's Gatun Lake.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:00):
Gatun, gatun.
Okay, it's's it called, it'sGatun.
Mark Faldmo (37:01):
Lake.
Gatun.
Gatun.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:02):
Okay.
Mark Faldmo (37:03):
It's a man-made lake and that's kind of what
drives the canal, because it'sall gravity driven.
All the water is filled bygravity and the locks, and so it
all comes.
It flows from the mountains ofPanama into the lake and so they
only do traffic in onedirection now and then in the
evening do traffic in onedirection now and then in the
evening it opens up to go theother direction.
(37:24):
Oh, interesting, I've only donepanama canal from Pacific side
to Atlantic side, so in that westarted through the canal.
At about 5 am is when theprocess starts, going through
the canal and then so it's kindof an am pm.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:38):
Yes, yes, so west to east is am, and then of
course the opposite in theevening or the afternoon.
Mark Faldmo (37:45):
Yeah, yeah, because there's the Gatun Cut where the
ships go through, there's notroom for two-way traffic.
Well, there might be, but it'spretty narrow, so it's safer
just to go all one direction.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:03):
One of the last questions that Diane had
was should she go through thenew locks or the old locks?
Mark Faldmo (38:05):
Well, I have not been through the new locks, I
think I would prefer the oldlocks.
Now, how that's decided is ifthe ship is above a certain size
, you'll go through the newlocks.
The smaller ships that can fitthrough the old locks will
always go through the old locks.
If you're wanting to go throughthe old locks, always go
through the old locks.
If you're wanting to go throughthe old locks which I think
that's where a lot of thescenery is at is in the old
(38:27):
locks you'll want to go on asmaller ship through the Panama
Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:31):
As promised always in this segment, the
infamous Just Cruising segment,we've got the cruise deal of the
week, and what do we have forlisteners this week?
Mark Faldmo (38:41):
We're going to continue on with Panama Canal
theme and I've chosen twosailings.
They're both this coming springand they're both repositioning
their ships.
The first one is on MSC.
It's an 18-day cruise.
It goes from Miami to Seattle.
Oh really, they'rerepositioning the cruise to
Alaska.
You know MSC is one of the newentrants in Alaska cruises, and
(39:04):
so you know they're going toprobably start offering these
spring and fall Panama Canalcruises a little bit more
regularly.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:12):
Do we know which ships that they're taking
to Seattle?
Miami to Seattle?
Mark Faldmo (39:16):
Yeah, they're taking the I can't pronounce
this the Poesia Poesia.
It's Italian, it's an Italianword.
What?
Patrick Wiscombe (39:24):
is it?
Mark Faldmo (39:25):
The M-S-C Poesia oh poesia.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:27):
Oh, okay.
Mark Faldmo (39:28):
P-O-E-S-I-A.
Okay, or Poesia, or somethinglike that.
Poesia, yeah, I guess if I'mgoing to be on radio and podcast
, I hit you cold.
So yeah, and so again.
April 23rd it's 18 day cruisestarts at $1758 per person for
an inside cabin or $2368 perperson for a balcony cabin, so
(39:51):
that on the inside is less than$100 a day.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:54):
That's phenomenal.
MSC has, really they are cominginto the American market hard
right now and they are offeringamazing cruises for massive
discounts compared to some ofthe other cruise lines.
Yeah, by the way, the MSC Poseaif we're saying that right was
built in 2008, was lastrefurbished in 2018.
Mark Faldmo (40:16):
Yeah, and about 2,500 passengers and that's the
size that will go through theold blocks.
Okay, all right On that.
And that just quickly.
The itinerary on that starts inMiami, goes to Cartagena,
Colombia goes to Cologne andPanama does the Panama Canal,
goes to Costa Rica, Cabo SanLucas, san Diego, Los Angeles
(40:38):
and ends in Seattle.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:39):
Dude, that's a good itinerary.
It's less than $100 a day.
Mark Faldmo (40:44):
It is Wow, Okay, and then the next one.
We'll just do two Panama Canalcruises.
This one is later in May it'sMay 17th and this one they're
repositioning the ship that wasdoing the Mexican Riviera.
They're repositioning it to NewYork to do Canada and New
England.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:00):
Oh, probably for the fall.
Mark Faldmo (41:02):
For the fall.
In the summer, yeah, yeah, soit'll do Canada, new England and
possibly Bermuda in the summerand then do the fall colors tour
.
This one starts at $1688 perperson and it's an 18-day cruise
as well.
It departs on May 17th and thisone departs Los Angeles, Puerto
(41:24):
Vallarta, Huatulco, Mexico, andthen goes to Chiapas in Mexico,
goes to Costa Rica, panama City, does the Panama Canal, goes to
Aruba and then ends in New YorkCity.
So those are two great optionsfor Panama Canal one April, one
May.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:42):
And you're going from coast to coast, I
mean Los Angeles to New York.
That's a good trip and it's 18days, 18 days.
What ship is 18 days, 18 days?
What ship is the Princess?
The 18 days?
Mark Faldmo (41:52):
So the Princess one is on the Island Princess,
which is also.
It's about the same size as theMSC one, so that one would go
through the older locks as welland you can book those obviously
, yes, I can book those.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:04):
Okay, call Mark in his office, 888-718-7717
, 888-718-7717.
And you can also go toblueplanetvacations.
com.
Final segment of the showcoming up.
We've got Mark's travel tips,just a little bit more travel
news headlines that we need toget to, and then we'll recap the
(42:26):
deals briefly everything thatwe've mentioned in this episode
of the show.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend,
mark and I will be right back.
Show Voice (42:40):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (43:15):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
authentic tall ship sailingexperiences featuring creative
itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
Central America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(43:37):
blueplanetvacations.
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Show Voice (44:13):
They'll help you plan and book your next vacation
.
Yeah, really, you're listeningto the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show presentedby BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
(44:34):
And now here's Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:47):
Thank you so much for allowing us to be part
of your weekend.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
Mark Faldmo is running in fromthe other room.
He had to print some stuff offfor this final segment Coming up
(45:09):
.
In this final segment, this iswe're going to be talking about
Mark's travel tips and we'realso going to recap all of the
offers that we've madethroughout this entire hour.
Let's start with the travelnews headlines and then we'll
recap everything.
Let's talk about the new cruiseships.
I guess we should have includedthis in the just cruising
segment.
Let's talk about the cruiseships debuting in 2025.
(45:31):
This is a subject that I alwayslike, because I like new cruise
ships a lot.
Mark Faldmo (45:35):
Yeah, new cruise ships are fascinating All the
new bells and whistles.
Unfortunately, we don't havetime to go over all the bells
and whistles of these ships, butwe'll kind of give a brief
thing.
So the first new ship comingout is in April of 2025, and
that's the MSC World America.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:51):
Very Icon of the Seas-esque, very, very large
ship.
Mark Faldmo (45:56):
Yeah, we did a segment on that, the things that
it was offering, and I'mexcited to see this ship.
It'll have a guest capacity ofjust under 7,000 passengers and
it will sail round trip Miami.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:10):
I'm going to call Laura See if we can do a
media preview for that one.
Mark Faldmo (46:15):
Yes, the next ship coming out will also be in April
of 2025, which is the NorwegianAqua.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:23):
Yeah, that's a beautiful ship.
Mark Faldmo (46:25):
That is, and this will be a sister ship to the
Prima and it'll have about 3,500guests.
It is also set to sail roundtrip Miami.
So in April, miami is gettingtwo brand new cruise ships.
What other cruise ships?
And then we have Oceana CruiseLines, which will put out the
Allura in July 2025.
(46:46):
It's a brand owned by NorwegianCruise Line and that ship will
have a capacity of about 1,200guests.
So it's a smaller ship.
Another smaller ship that willcome out in July of 2025 is the
Viking Vesta, which has justunder 1,000 guests.
That one will mainly be sailingthe Mediterranean and Northern
(47:07):
Europe.
Royal Caribbean also has one oftheir large ships coming out in
August of 2025, the Star of theSeas.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:15):
Oh wait, who's making that one?
Mark Faldmo (47:18):
Royal Caribbean, oh okay, the Star of the Seas.
Yes, I've seen a little bit ofPR on that one already yeah,
there's been some out on thatand it has just over 5,500 guest
capacity.
Virgin Voyages, one of myfavorite cruise lines, will put
out the Brilliant Lady inSeptember of 2025, with a guest
capacity of just under 3,000,which will sail Bermuda from New
(47:42):
York City and then in thewinter season it will be
Caribbean sailings.
And then Princess Cruises, inSeptember, will launch the Star
Princess guest capacity of 4,300.
And that will be in theMediterranean, and Caribbean is
where that ship will be sailing.
The last ship is one that we'vealso talked about the Disney
(48:02):
Destiny, which will come out in2025.
It has a guest capacity of4,000 and it will be sailing
from Fort Lauderdale, from PortEverglades.
Disney is really working onexpanding their fleet.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:16):
This feels like a story we've been talking
about all of 2024, that the UKis opening applications for
electronic travel authorization.
It's on it's off, it's on.
Mark Faldmo (48:27):
Yep.
So I wanted to put this in thisshow because we've announced
already that it's on, it's off.
It's on Yep.
So I wanted to put this in thisshow because we've announced
already that it's on andstarting, but it does start
January 8th, so four days fromnow.
If you're traveling to the UK,you do need to go on to the UK
government website and purchasean electronic travel
authorization or an ETA to visitthe UK.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:51):
As we take off for the week, let's recap all
of the deals that we've talkedin each of the segments and I'll
let you decide where you wantto start.
Mark Faldmo (48:58):
Let's start the travel deal of the week, which
was Disney.
We talked about the free Disneydining plan, which is a pretty
good offer by Disney.
You have to book it by Ibelieve it was mid-February,
like February 15th, and thenit's for travel, most dates
during the summer.
There are some blackout datesMay through the end of August on
(49:19):
that with some blackout dates.
And then we also talked aboutfor those that were Disney Plus
subscribers.
If you're a Disney Plussubscriber you get 50% off kids
on a Disney cruise, which couldbe hundreds, maybe thousands of
dollars in savings, with thosekids at 50% off on Disney Cruise
Line.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:39):
Okay, In segment three we had the
infamous just cruising segmentwhat do we have?
Mark Faldmo (49:44):
And then we talked in length about Panama Canal
cruises and we talked about twocruises, one on which was an
18-day cruise on MSC Starts at$17.58 per person, so less than
$100 per person per day SailingApril 23rd from Miami to Seattle
as they position that ship forAlaska cruises.
(50:04):
And then we talked aboutanother repositioning cruise on
Princess, which left May 17th,and this one sailed Los Angeles
to New York City through thePanama Canal.
They're repositioning thatcruise to do Canada, new England
, and that one started at $16.88per person, so again just under
$100 per person per day, whichis a good benchmark for cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:29):
Those were good deals as cruises go awesome
.
Yeah, that's going to do it,man.
This show goes so fast each andevery week and it's fun to talk
travel.
And if we have whet yourappetite to go travel, if we've
given you an idea of where to goor if you just know where you
want to go, let Mark help you.
(50:52):
He's traveled over 4 millionmiles, he's done over 150
cruises and I'm proud to callhim my friend and he's a good
man.
You can see all of the vacationspecials that we talked about on
blueplanetvacations.
com or you can just call him inhis office, 888-718-7717,
(51:15):
888-718-7717.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, Sunday,
at 11 am, right here on 860-KKATor whatever radio station
you're listening to.
And if you want or need tolisten to the show again, you
can download and subscribe tothe podcast of the show at
(51:36):
insidetraveltalk.
com, and if you go to thatwebsite, you can just get the
link to all of the major podcastplatforms.
Well, that's it.
It's your turn to get out andexplore the world while you can,
because you just never knowwhat curveballs life is going to
throw at you.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
(51:58):
Thank you so much for listening.
Have a great week, mark, and Iwill talk to you again next
Saturday and Sunday.
Show Voice (52:09):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(52:30):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
It is time for the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show Coming up.
On today's show we're going tobe talking about Panama Canal
cruises, two Disney offers andour favorite trips and vacations
.
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
(00:23):
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 (00:38):
Helping you plan your next vacation.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call us now 801-649-3700,801-649-3700, and check out the
podcast at InsideTravelTalk.
(00:59):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:14):
Serving up the world to our listeners.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will be here injust a minute and, as I
mentioned just before we startedthis show, we're going to be
talking about Panama Canalcruises, Disney offers and, of
(01:36):
course, our favorite trips orvacations.
We want to thank you for takingthe time to stop and listen,
and the entire purpose of thisshow, if you've never heard it
before.
We want to thank you for takingthe time to stop and listen,
and the entire purpose of thisshow, if you've never heard it
before, is to help you plan andbook your next vacation.
And if you have no idea whereto go, our job is pretty simple
it is to give you ideas of whereyou want to vacation next, and
(02:00):
Mark and I are presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com and Mark.
It is hard to believe as youenter the studio.
I cannot believe that we arestarting season three of the
podcast.
It's unbelievable to me.
Mark Faldmo (02:16):
Yep, season three, we just keep going.
Show gets better as we keepgoing.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:25):
As we start the podcast, let's start with
the travel news headlines.
I saw a story that Korean Airhas acquired, or is acquiring, a
majority stake in AsianaAirlines.
When did that happen?
Mark Faldmo (02:35):
This happened in mid-December.
Korean Air is taking over orpurchasing Asiana Airlines,
which is going to enhance theirroute network in Asia.
A few weeks ago, we talkedabout Delta Airlines starting a
new flight from Salt Lake Cityto Seoul, Korea, and Korean Air
is a SkyTeam member.
So this acquisition of Asianais really going to help us here
(02:58):
in Salt Lake when going to Asiaand around about the way, even
though these are two airlinesbased in South Korea.
For us here in Salt Lake andfor those listeners in Salt Lake
, it's going to really open upmore of Asia.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:11):
I can get behind this idea, mark, maybe
Frontier Airlines that's thepause in my voice.
Frontier Airlines is selling anall-you-can-fly pass for 2025.
I'm curious to know how much itis.
But it is Frontier Airlines,which is why I kind of went.
Maybe I can get behind this.
Mark Faldmo (03:29):
This is the second year in a row that they're doing
this.
The pass's name is called theGo Wild Pass.
It's $499, which is discountedfrom the typical price of $699.
It will give you unlimitedflights between May 1st 2025 and
April 30th 2026.
Okay, now here's the terms andconditions.
(03:53):
So you can book it all the wayup until one day prior to flight
, but you don't get any includedluggage, both carry on and
checked luggage.
You don't get an assigned seat,so that's all done.
Basically, when you're boardingthe flight, so, you're going to
get the middle seat.
You'll probably get the middleseat and it's an included pass,
but I think by law they have tocharge something for it.
(04:15):
So the cost of each flight isone cent plus any government
taxes and fees.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:20):
When you and I travel together on business, I
travel pretty light.
You've seen that I justbasically bring a backpack and
it's got everything in there.
Laptop, everything, clothes,etc.
I can't even bring that, orthey're going to charge me for
it.
You'd have to pay for it.
Mark Faldmo (04:34):
They will charge you for it.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:36):
Oh boy.
Mark Faldmo (04:36):
I know someone that worked in San Francisco and
they bought this pass becausethey were commuting two times a
week between Salt Lake and SanFrancisco and it was well worth
it.
That's a short flight, middleseats are hard, but for an hour
and 20 minutes it's not that bad.
Yeah, it's not terrible, and ifyou're responsible to get
yourself to and from work inanother city, you know commuting
a lot.
This makes a lot of sense.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:57):
You have traveled almost 4 billion miles.
Would you consider doing this?
Mark Faldmo (05:01):
I would consider it .
I'd have to go really evaluateit on what my travel plans are.
If you're just going, let's say, salt Lake City to the West
Coast right now on Delta, you'repaying $350 round trip, so this
will cost you basically thecost of two round trip flights.
Okay, now you'll have to payother things on top of that, but
if I was going to someplacethat frontier flew that wasn't
(05:24):
too long, I would definitelyconsider getting this Let me
just ask you a follow-upquestion On Frontier Airlines,
this all-you-can-fly pass is itgood for international?
It is.
This is good anywhere inFrontier's route network.
So Mexico, the Caribbean,Central America, wherever they
fly, this is valid.
I might have to take a look atthis.
(05:45):
It automatically renews nextyear at the $699 rate unless you
cancel it.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:50):
Well, I know what Patrick's doing after the
show.
Yeah, I got to figure out howmuch a carry-on would be
Carry-on is worth.
Yeah, while I was gone for thelast two weeks, you sent me this
article that Waikiki's or, asSiri says, Waikiki, the iconic
Rainbow Tower, is getting arenovation.
What kind of plans do they haveto renovate the place?
Mark Faldmo (06:10):
The Hilton Hawaiian Village.
They have several towers thatyou can stay in.
The Rainbow Tower is the iconicone that everyone sees on the
TV shows.
You know Hawaii Five-0, magnumPI.
They're completely renovatingguest rooms and hallways within
the structure.
I think you stayed there abouta year ago and it probably felt
(06:30):
like it didn't need renovation,but they're going to really
upgrade that even more than whatit was, the hotel rooms were
huge.
That's one thing.
At the Hilton Hawaiian Village,with the exception of one of
the towers, they all have prettylarge guest rooms.
And then you look at theRainbow Tower.
It has large rooms plus greatviews of Diamond Head if you're
(06:53):
on the right side, or the Marinaif you're on the other side of
that tower.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:58):
You put us on the Diamond Head side.
We had a high floor, we were up.
What 20 stories, Something likethat.
Mark Faldmo (07:10):
I don't remember how tall it was, but we were up
there a ways.
That's probably my favoritehotel in Waikiki, so I'll be
excited to see these renovatedrooms.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:13):
Always in this segment is the destination of
the week and the question Markwas asked most often during the
past few weeks what was Mark'smost memorable vacation and why?
Mark Faldmo (07:26):
And I actually liked answering this question
because travel is such a goodway to make memories, both with
friends and family and makememories with yourself.
Travel is such a good way toconnect with the world.
But I think my most memorabletrip was a trip to Norway.
It was a family trip.
It was with aunts and unclesand some cousins and it was kind
(07:48):
of a family history trip.
So we've talked about on thisshow a few times.
That's where my heritage isfrom, is Norway and Iceland.
We can go to the family farmwhere my last name, Faldmo,
comes from.
We flew into Stockholm, Sweden,saw the sights of Stockholm,
Sweden.
If you're an ABBA fan, there'sa great ABBA museum there.
(08:12):
And then we got on an overnighttrain with sleeper cars.
The train ride was about 36hours.
We went from Stockholm up toNarvik, Norway, which is in the
Arctic Circle.
That's where the Nazis firstinvaded Norway in World War II
and so there's a Narvik underNazi occupation museum which is
fascinating Also there.
We took a tram ride up to thetop of a mountain at like 2 am
(08:33):
and it was light as day.
This was in early June, so wewere almost 24 hours of sunlight
.
We went down to the ocean, swamin the ocean in the middle of
the night in the Arctic Circle,and then we got on a bus and
drove down the Norwegian coastto Oslo.
Wow, it's a road and ferrysystem.
(08:53):
We'd bus for a while, then thebus would get on a ferry and
take you across the fjord orsomething.
But that drive that first dayout of Narvik I could not
believe the scenery.
It was so beautiful, just tallmountains shooting up from sea
level.
That part of the world in theArctic Circle is just so
beautiful.
As we were driving down kind ofa fun thing, you know, travel,
(09:16):
some things don't go as plannedOur bus broke down kind of in
the middle of nowhere, oh boy,and so they called a public bus
to come get us.
They took us to a restaurantwhile our bus was being fixed,
and I don't like tomatoes, butthe only place this little rest
stop had to offer was tomatosoup.
It was the best tomato soupI've ever had.
I kind of crave that tomatosoup.
(09:39):
So after we got our bus fixed,we went down to Mohsen, which is
about halfway down Norway.
After we got our bus fixed, wewent down to Mohsen, which is
about halfway down Norway, andthat's where my family is from.
We went to some cemeteries.
Like I mentioned earlier, wesaw the family farm, which is on
a great big waterfall on theriver that runs behind the farm,
and then we ended up in Oslo,Norway, and saw the sights there
.
That was about a two-week longtrip.
(10:01):
The memories that were madethere, and especially to connect
with some family heritage, wasan amazing trip.
So that's probably my mostmemorable trip.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:10):
If I have to volunteer something, my first
thought was going to Alaska andthe way you describe, going down
the Norwegian fjords whereyou're in the water and then
these just gigantic mountainsjust shoot out of the water into
the sky.
And I still remember I can'tremember if it was Ketchikan or
(10:30):
wherever it was the boat justpulls up to the pier right there
in Ketchikan and you're in thewater.
You get off the boat and thenyou're right next to a mountain
in a train.
It was unbelievable.
Mark Faldmo (10:41):
Yeah, and those memories are what makes travel
worth it, I think.
Oh, agreed, you know travel, asI mentioned a little bit
earlier, that's my passion.
I love to connect that and Ilove to help people connect with
our world around us and withfamily and friends as they
travel.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:58):
Well, I think we've done our job in this
segment in this segment.
So if you have been inspired toeither go to Norway, go to
Alaska, wherever it is that youenjoy going, Mark can help you
with that.
Just call him in his office ifyou would please 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(11:21):
When we come back, we've gotmore travel news of the week in
segment number two.
We've always got the hot traveldeal of the week, regardless of
the destination, and are wegoing to Disney on this one?
Mark Faldmo (11:37):
We are.
Our deal is going to be Disney,both Disney world and Disney
cruise line.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:43):
And we're talking 50% off for kids.
That's just a little bit of ateaser.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues Alongside MarkFaldmo, my name is Patrick
Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (12:03):
If you have travel questions, they have the answers
.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(12:23):
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (12:42):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
(13:14):
com.
Show Voice (13:16):
Www.
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Text the show now 801-649-3700,801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:31):
Here's Patrick and Mark, it is the weekend.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo is on the other endof this connection and you are
(13:52):
listening to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
If you're new to the show,first of all, thanks for
stopping.
If you're a longtime listener,our job is to help you plan and
book your next vacation and togive you ideas of where to
travel in our great world.
Mark and I love to travel andwe want to pass that passion on
(14:14):
to our listeners.
And if you have any travelrelated questions, call Mark in
his office, 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
We live in Utah and that meansthat there are lots of families
that like to go to Disney,whether that be in Orlando,
(14:37):
which I was there not too longago.
I bring that up because in thissegment we've got the hot
travel deal of the week andwe're going to be talking about
Disney deals free dining plans,50% off kids.
But before we get there, let'sget to the travel headlines.
This one's been developing forjust a little bit, but there's a
new Hawaiian volcanic eruptiongoing on.
(14:59):
Is it in?
Not Kona?
Where is it?
Oh, it's the Big Island.
Mark Faldmo (15:03):
Y eah, it's on the Big Island .
It's volcano.
Okay, all right.
And this started erupting againlast week and I've had a couple
customers ask is this going toaffect my vacation plans to
Hawaii?
In general, some volcanoes,like the volcanoes in Iceland or
some of the ones in Asia wherethey kind of blow their top and
(15:25):
there's a big ash plume thevolcanoes in Hawaii do not ha ve
that.
Flights aren't affected unlessit directly affects the airport.
This is just a good chance toactually see a live volcano.
There are several ways you cando this.
The best way is by helicopter.
If you're going to the bigisland in the next few weeks,
(15:45):
book a helicopter ride and seeif you can get a glimpse of the
erupting volcano.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:50):
So Nikki and I were there about 10 months ago.
I really wish that we wereheaded over there right now,
because I would love to watch alava event.
Mark Faldmo (15:59):
Yeah, yeah, I remember I was young, early
teenage years, and took ahelicopter ride.
This is when there was a bigflow going into the ocean, so we
went out and saw the flow goinginto the ocean, Even though the
helicopter was a safe distanceaway.
We were in one of the open airhelicopters and you could feel
the heat from the lava from thedistance we were at You're
(16:21):
kidding so it was fascinating asa child to see that and I've
always wanted to go back.
I've been to Hawaii probably 20, 30 times since then and I've
never seen lava.
Every time I go I always seemto be in between events.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:37):
I guess that's a good thing.
Yes, yeah, one of the thingsthat just genuinely amazes me is
that when it first comes outthat some of these lava flows
are fast I don't know how fastin terms of miles per hour, but
you always think of lava as kindof creeping.
But when it first erupts it canrun like a river quick.
Mark Faldmo (16:58):
It can yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:59):
Related to the Big Island.
The visitor center on the BigIsland, Hawaii's Volcano
National Park, is going to closefor renovation.
It's kind of old.
It does need some renovation.
Mark Faldmo (17:11):
I've thought for years that it needs renovation
and they finally are gettingaround to doing that.
The Visitor Center will closeon February 17th and it could
take up to two years to complete.
They've moved some of theexhibits to some of the other
areas, but the park will remainopen 24 hours a day during
construction so you can still gosee that.
(17:32):
You just won't be able to gointo the visitor center.
It gets 1.5 million visitors ayear and where they had the
visitor center just couldn'thandle the number of visitors
they get.
And in 2018, there was anotherkind of science center, the
Yager Museum, which wasirreparably damaged in the 2018
(17:53):
eruption.
So they closed that and theyactually have taken that
building down and all theexhibits out.
Once this new visitor centeropens in about two years, I'm
looking forward to seeing whatthey've done.
Those exhibits and movies theyhave are always fascinating to
me.
I love how the national parksdo that and really get you a
good flavor of where you'revisiting.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:13):
By the way, the Big Island, since we're
talking about it right now,geographically it is one of the
most amazing islands I have everseen in my life.
The trip from Hilo over to Kona, kind of a east to west trip or
kind of a east to southwestkind of trajectory that is some
of the most breathtaking andweird geography I've ever seen
(18:35):
in my life.
It feels like you're on themoon, not that, I know what the
moon is like.
Mark Faldmo (18:39):
The big island it's probably my favorite island in
Hawaii.
That's because it has all thedifferent climate zones.
It has everything but Arcticand tundra.
It has every other climacticzone in the world on that island
.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:51):
It was wild to be part of that.
I saw a story that the USgovernment is finalizing the
hotel junk fee rule.
This one I want to hear about.
Mark Faldmo (19:03):
Yeah, so we've been talking about this one probably
ever since we've started thispodcast and radio show.
It finally was voted on, whichthis means that hotels they're
trying to eliminate a lot of thebait and switch tactics that
hotels use and they want peopleto know the full price when
they're booking a trip.
A lot of hotels used toadvertise here's the rate plus
(19:24):
taxes, but then when you getthere, you have to pay a resort
fee, you have to pay aconvenience fee, you have all of
these fees on top of what youthought you were getting.
And so this was voted on inmid-December and it will take
effect 120 days after that vote.
So we're looking at April-ishLooking at April-ish when that's
(19:45):
going to take place.
And one thing that I foundinteresting and I'd like to see
where they came up with thesenumbers, but the FTC estimates
the rule will save consumers upto 53 million hours annually in
wasted time spent on trying tofind what the total price is,
and it will save them more than$11 billion over the next decade
(20:07):
.
So I guess that's over 10 years,but I've never liked you show
up somewhere.
Oh, but you have to pay this,you have to pay that.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:15):
It adds up quick too.
Yeah, I am pro-capitalism, butgood grief, come on.
Mark Faldmo (20:21):
Yeah, this is definitely a good rule, and
they're doing similar thingswith the airlines as well.
So, as we've talked about,we'll continue to stay on these
types of stories that help maketravel easier.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:31):
Always in segment two of the show, we've
got the hot travel deal of theweek, regardless of the
destination, and this week we'retalking Disney.
Mark Faldmo (20:40):
We've got two different offers for Disney.
The first one is at Walt DisneyWorld.
They are bringing back theirfree dining program, so this has
to be booked between January2nd and February 10th.
It is valid for most arrivalsMay 27th to June 26th and July
7th to August 6th.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:02):
So okay.
So there's a booking period andthen there's a travel period,
Then there's a travel period.
Okay.
Mark Faldmo (21:07):
And you can get the free dining when you purchase a
non-discounted minimumthree-night resort stay and
three-day park pass.
One more thing I should mentionon this is there are two
different dining plans andthat's based on which level of
hotel you're staying at atDisney.
So the moderate, less expensiveones you get the quick service
(21:30):
dining plan, which is two quickservice meals, one snack and a
refillable drink mug, or thedining plan which is one quick
service meal, one table servicemeal and then one snack and one
refillable mug, depending onwhich level of hotel you stay at
.
The more expensive ones you doget a little bit more.
For the dining plan you get asit-down meal rather than the
(21:53):
quick service meals.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:54):
We just talked about Walt Disney World.
Let's talk about the DisneyCruise Line now.
Mark Faldmo (21:58):
Over the last few years Disney Cruise Line, Disney
World, Disneyland have all doneoffers for Disney Plus
subscribers.
So this particular one, youhave to be a Disney Plus
subscriber, but it's 50% offkids on select savings if you
book by February 16th.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:18):
Let me just ask you a basic question what is
Disney Plus?
Mark Faldmo (22:22):
So Disney Plus is their TV platform.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:26):
Oh, Disney Plus, Hello Disney Plus.
Yep, for some reason I hadamusement park, like there was
some kind of ticket level.
Yeah, I know what Disney Plusis.
Mark Faldmo (22:33):
Yeah, nope, so yeah .
So it's the Disney Plus.
Okay, and some people might say50% off kids.
A lot of cruise lines areoffering free kids, but even
this, if you're a Disney Plussubscriber, or if you just
subscribe to get this and youhave two kids sailing with you,
that could save you $1,000 onthe cruise.
(22:54):
Oh yeah, it is a good deal, andthese offers that have come
through over the years forDisney Plus subscribers have
been pretty good, and I thinkthis is another good one.
So if you want to go on aDisney cruise and you're a
Disney Plus subscriber and youhave kids, this is an offer for
you.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:12):
And you can take care of anyone who wants to
go to Disney, right, I can.
So, as we go to break here,call Mark if you're interested
in this particular offer.
I can.
So, as we go to break here,call Mark if you're interested
in this particular offer.
His office number is888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(23:36):
And you can also see this offeron blueplanetvacations.
com.
And if you have any questions,just call Mark One more time on
the phone number 888 718-7717.
Okay, when we come back, thesecond half of the show is on
the way.
The next segment is only aboutcruising.
It's our infamous just cruisingsegment and we are going to be
(24:00):
talking about a 121 day cruisethat will visit 25 countries.
Warm up the credit card because, mark, this sounds amazing to
be on a cruise for 121 days.
Wait, what four months?
A little over four months.
And it has a fantasticitinerary too.
Okay, we'll talk about thatnext.
And, of course, we've alwaysgot the cruise deal of the week
(24:22):
that is not 121 days long.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much, really forallowing this to be part of your
weekend.
We will be right back part ofyour weekend.
Show Voice (24:46):
We will be right back.
They've literally traveledmillions of miles to answer your
travel related questions.
Yeah, they really have.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors,Patrick and Mark, will be back
after these messages.
Ad Voice (25:12):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Amar Waterways
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From castles and capitals tovistas and villages.
Visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities To
set out on your own river cruisejourney.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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Patrick Wiscombe (25:30):
Welcome back and thanks for listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show Coming up.
In the remaining 30 minutes ofthe show, mark and I will be
talking about Panama Canalcruises and new cruise ships
coming out in 2025.
I love new cruise ships.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(25:51):
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:18):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Hit us up right now,801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(26:38):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:49):
All aboard for segment number three of the
Inside Travel Talk podcast, aradio show.
This segment is only aboutcruising.
We just simply call it theinfamous Just Cruising segment
and coming up here in thissegment we're going to talk
about Panama Canal cruises,which is one of Mark's favorite
(27:10):
things to do, and new cruiseships coming out in 2025.
Is this going to include I wasreading something while I was on
vacation that Is this MSC'sWorld America ship.
Is that one of them?
That'll be one of the ships onthe list.
Yeah, man, that ship looksawesome and I'm so glad that you
(27:32):
and I have that connection withLaura at MSC Cruises.
She's just a good person andshe is very, very amazing at
what she does in the cruiseindustry.
Anyway, we'll get to that herein a second.
We've got the travel newsheadlines and we've got the
cruise deal of the week.
That is not 121 days, in fact.
(27:53):
Let's just start there.
Let's start with the 121 daycruise that will visit 25
countries.
What I don't know is have theystarted booking it?
Mark Faldmo (28:03):
They have, yeah this is open for booking as of
about 10 days ago and this isfor a departure date in 2027.
So it's still two years off.
They need some lead time tosell these.
Oh sure, and these uniquethings also sell out pretty
quick.
It's round trip either Rome orBarcelona.
Also sell out pretty quick.
(28:23):
It's round trip either Rome orBarcelona.
So starting either January 5thor January 8th 2027.
This is on MSC Cruise Lines.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:28):
You say January 2027.
So we're two years out,basically Two years out, yep.
Mark Faldmo (28:33):
Okay and we'll go over the itinerary in just a
minute on this.
But one thing that I findinteresting in this is the
cruise fare includes 15 shortexcursions per person,
complimentary dining and drink,beverage package and a 30%
discount on laundry service.
I've not seen that offered onother cruise lines before.
(28:54):
Where they're offering someshort excursions and beverage
package, usually those areupgrades.
So overall a pretty good deal.
Now it is fairly expensive, butyou know, one thing we like to
try and do here is find some ofthe unique things out there.
This still price-wise, itstarts at about $19999.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:16):
$19999?
.
I'm like sign me up.
Mark Faldmo (29:18):
Yeah, so it starts at just under $20,000 per person
, but when you do that math out,that's like $120 a day.
Yeah, over four months that's apretty good deal where you're
getting meals, drinks,entertainment, some short
excursions.
With the new cruise regulations, that does include all of the
(29:39):
taxes and fees, which, on this,I bet those are a hefty amount.
The best part of this is theitinerary.
We don't have a lot of time,but this has two places that are
highlights for me.
Starts in Rome, as I said, oryou can get on a little bit
later in Barcelona.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:55):
If you had a choice, which one would you
start out of?
Mark Faldmo (29:57):
I probably would get on in Rome.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:59):
Okay, me too.
Mark Faldmo (30:00):
So it sails western Mediterranean ports, goes down
to Gibraltar, Casablanca, andthen it sails down across to the
east coast of South America.
There are several ports, butthe main ones Rio de Janeiro,
Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, and thenit comes back around up to
Valparaiso in Chile.
(30:20):
And then this next segment,which is the South Pacific I
think is the most interesting tome has a stop in Easter Island,
has a stop Bounty Bay Passage,which we've talked about this
before.
It's the Pitcairn Islands, yep,where the crew of the Mutiny on
the Bounty fled to.
It's one of the most remoteislands in the world.
I've not been there.
(30:41):
I have a nephew that's beenthere, one of the most beautiful
Pacific islands you'll ever see.
And then from there it goes toTahiti, goes down to the Cook
Islands, sails around NewZealand, goes to Tasmania,
Sydney, and then sails up toFiji, then to Hawaii, over to
Los Angeles, does a MexicanRiviera, goes through the Panama
(31:04):
Canal, some Caribbean ports andthen back over to the
Mediterranean and then again ineither Rome or Barcelona.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:13):
Wow, that is a world cruise.
Mark Faldmo (31:16):
That is, and it has some fascinating ports.
You know it has three placesthat are on my bucket list that
I have not done, one beingUshuaia, and then Easter Island
and Pit Carnes on there.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:29):
What ship is this on?
Who's the cruise company andwhat ship Do we know yet?
Mark Faldmo (31:32):
This is on MSC.
It's on the MSC.
Musica is the name of the ship.
Oh, that's a nice ship.
Yeah, okay.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:39):
Yeah, yeah, that's one of their newer modern
ships?
I think it is.
Mark Faldmo (31:43):
If it's the one I'm thinking of, yeah, it's one of
their ships that came out in theI want to say about 2018, but
I'm not sure.
It's not one of the big megaships, but it is one of their
newer ships.
That sounds amazing and andthey can book that through you
right, yes, yep, I candefinitely get that booked if
you're interested in that, orany world cruise for that matter
(32:04):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:04):
There is a shore excursions group and
they're rolling out a thousandnew shore excursion options, if
I'm reading that correctly.
Mark Faldmo (32:13):
Yeah, so shore excursion group is a company
that I work with quite closely.
If you go toblueplanetvacations.
com, there is a link on almostevery cruise page where you can
look at shore excursions.
They're a third-party shoreexcursion provider.
They do a great job.
They now have over 4,000 toursin 300 ports.
Wow, they've added a little over400 tours in Europe, almost 300
(32:37):
in Australia, new Zealand andAlaska, and then also a little
over 200 new experiences in theCaribbean.
This is a company that I highlyrecommend.
Usually we say it's safer to dothe shore excursions through
the cruise line, but you pay alot more so shore excursion
group is an alternative and theydo have money back guarantee.
(32:59):
They do have a return to shippolicy that provides
transportation meals and up to athousand dollars per guest if
they don't get you back to theship in time.
So they do have insurance inplace if something was to happen
.
I've used them for some bigcruise groups and they've
handled all of my group well.
I have a family where theyarranged a private,
(33:21):
well-watching tour in Cabocoming up in April and they do a
really good job.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:26):
If you want to text the show, because we do
take texts during the week youcan call or text us 801-649-3700
, 801-649-3700 to text yourquestion.
Diane is texting the show andshe's asking about Panama Canal
cruises.
This is a client question fromyour client, but she texted you.
Mark Faldmo (33:49):
So she had six different questions that she
asked and you know, I thought Ithought these they're all really
good questions.
There's so much information outthere on the Panama Canal.
I've been lucky enough.
I've done the Panama Canal afew times.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:03):
Diane's first question is when is the best
time to go see the Panama Canalon a cruise?
Mark Faldmo (34:08):
I think the best time is in the late spring or
late fall.
This is when they'rerepositioning ships to and from
different locations.
There are Panama Canal cruisesthat go fairly frequently, but
you'll get a better deal onthese repositioning cruises when
they're just trying to get themfrom point A to point B to
start a new season somewhere,and those usually happen when
(34:29):
they're trying to position shipsfrom the Caribbean to go to
Alaska or, vice versa, shipsfrom Alaska going to the
Caribbean for the winter season.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:38):
Another one of the questions that she had is
what direction, meaning east orwest, should I choose?
Should I do the full transit orthe partial transit?
I guess you better explain whatthe difference is.
Mark Faldmo (34:49):
There are cruises.
You can go to Miami, you can goto Florida and take a Panama
Canal cruise that only goesthrough the Atlantic locks.
That's a good way to see howthe locks work, experience the
canal, but I'd recommend a fulltransit.
So this is one that goes fromthe Pacific to the Atlantic or
vice versa.
So you'd start on the Eastcoast and in the West coast or
(35:12):
vice versa.
On that, if you do the partialtransit, you miss the Gatun Cut,
you miss what is the PanamaCanal.
You will experience goingthrough the locks, but you'll
miss what is the Panama Canal.
You will experience goingthrough the locks, but you'll
miss what is the Panama Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:26):
All right.
So full transit is what you'resaying here.
Yeah, Full transit.
Diane is also asking should Iget a balcony if I'm going to do
a Panama Canal?
Mark Faldmo (35:35):
cruise.
I would say yes, because whenyou're going through the canal,
you can go experience it on thefront of the ship, you can
experience it on deck, butwatching from your balcony you
get just as good of views of allof that.
And then when you're cruisingactually through the canal,
through the Gatun Cut, you getto see that.
I think one of our otherquestions is what side of the
ship should I be on?
(35:56):
It really doesn't matter.
But if you're one place whereit may matter is when you're
going we'll just take going fromPacific to Atlantic.
You'd want to be on the rightside of the ship because that's
the side where Panama City is on.
So, starboard side, starboardside, yep, if you're going the
(36:17):
other direction, then you wouldwant to be on the left or port
side of the ship, but it reallydoesn't matter on that, the
other direction.
And then you would want to beon the left or port side of the
ship, but it really doesn'tmatter on that.
There's just a little bit moreto see on that side of the ship
how long does it take to getthrough the panama canal?
Patrick Wiscombe (36:31):
it's a full day process.
So, oh, it is.
I think sometimes, when theysay canal, you know, I always
think of like these smallwatering ditches.
Yeah, that's not what this isno.
Mark Faldmo (36:45):
no, this is.
It's a big ordeal to actuallyget through the canal.
Early in the morning, all theships are going from Pacific to
Atlantic and then they meet upin Gatun Lake.
Now, what's it called?
It's Gatun Lake.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:00):
Gatun, gatun.
Okay, it's's it called, it'sGatun.
Mark Faldmo (37:01):
Lake.
Gatun.
Gatun.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:02):
Okay.
Mark Faldmo (37:03):
It's a man-made lake and that's kind of what
drives the canal, because it'sall gravity driven.
All the water is filled bygravity and the locks, and so it
all comes.
It flows from the mountains ofPanama into the lake and so they
only do traffic in onedirection now and then in the
evening do traffic in onedirection now and then in the
evening it opens up to go theother direction.
(37:24):
Oh, interesting, I've only donepanama canal from Pacific side
to Atlantic side, so in that westarted through the canal.
At about 5 am is when theprocess starts, going through
the canal and then so it's kindof an am pm.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:38):
Yes, yes, so west to east is am, and then of
course the opposite in theevening or the afternoon.
Mark Faldmo (37:45):
Yeah, yeah, because there's the Gatun Cut where the
ships go through, there's notroom for two-way traffic.
Well, there might be, but it'spretty narrow, so it's safer
just to go all one direction.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:03):
One of the last questions that Diane had
was should she go through thenew locks or the old locks?
Mark Faldmo (38:05):
Well, I have not been through the new locks, I
think I would prefer the oldlocks.
Now, how that's decided is ifthe ship is above a certain size
, you'll go through the newlocks.
The smaller ships that can fitthrough the old locks will
always go through the old locks.
If you're wanting to go throughthe old locks, always go
through the old locks.
If you're wanting to go throughthe old locks which I think
that's where a lot of thescenery is at is in the old
(38:27):
locks you'll want to go on asmaller ship through the Panama
Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:31):
As promised always in this segment, the
infamous Just Cruising segment,we've got the cruise deal of the
week, and what do we have forlisteners this week?
Mark Faldmo (38:41):
We're going to continue on with Panama Canal
theme and I've chosen twosailings.
They're both this coming springand they're both repositioning
their ships.
The first one is on MSC.
It's an 18-day cruise.
It goes from Miami to Seattle.
Oh really, they'rerepositioning the cruise to
Alaska.
You know MSC is one of the newentrants in Alaska cruises, and
(39:04):
so you know they're going toprobably start offering these
spring and fall Panama Canalcruises a little bit more
regularly.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:12):
Do we know which ships that they're taking
to Seattle?
Miami to Seattle?
Mark Faldmo (39:16):
Yeah, they're taking the I can't pronounce
this the Poesia Poesia.
It's Italian, it's an Italianword.
What?
Patrick Wiscombe (39:24):
is it?
Mark Faldmo (39:25):
The M-S-C Poesia oh poesia.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:27):
Oh, okay.
Mark Faldmo (39:28):
P-O-E-S-I-A.
Okay, or Poesia, or somethinglike that.
Poesia, yeah, I guess if I'mgoing to be on radio and podcast
, I hit you cold.
So yeah, and so again.
April 23rd it's 18 day cruisestarts at $1758 per person for
an inside cabin or $2368 perperson for a balcony cabin, so
(39:51):
that on the inside is less than$100 a day.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:54):
That's phenomenal.
MSC has, really they are cominginto the American market hard
right now and they are offeringamazing cruises for massive
discounts compared to some ofthe other cruise lines.
Yeah, by the way, the MSC Poseaif we're saying that right was
built in 2008, was lastrefurbished in 2018.
Mark Faldmo (40:16):
Yeah, and about 2,500 passengers and that's the
size that will go through theold blocks.
Okay, all right On that.
And that just quickly.
The itinerary on that starts inMiami, goes to Cartagena,
Colombia goes to Cologne andPanama does the Panama Canal,
goes to Costa Rica, Cabo SanLucas, san Diego, Los Angeles
(40:38):
and ends in Seattle.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:39):
Dude, that's a good itinerary.
It's less than $100 a day.
Mark Faldmo (40:44):
It is Wow, Okay, and then the next one.
We'll just do two Panama Canalcruises.
This one is later in May it'sMay 17th and this one they're
repositioning the ship that wasdoing the Mexican Riviera.
They're repositioning it to NewYork to do Canada and New
England.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:00):
Oh, probably for the fall.
Mark Faldmo (41:02):
For the fall.
In the summer, yeah, yeah, soit'll do Canada, new England and
possibly Bermuda in the summerand then do the fall colors tour
.
This one starts at $1688 perperson and it's an 18-day cruise
as well.
It departs on May 17th and thisone departs Los Angeles, Puerto
(41:24):
Vallarta, Huatulco, Mexico, andthen goes to Chiapas in Mexico,
goes to Costa Rica, panama City, does the Panama Canal, goes to
Aruba and then ends in New YorkCity.
So those are two great optionsfor Panama Canal one April, one
May.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:42):
And you're going from coast to coast, I
mean Los Angeles to New York.
That's a good trip and it's 18days, 18 days.
What ship is 18 days, 18 days?
What ship is the Princess?
The 18 days?
Mark Faldmo (41:52):
So the Princess one is on the Island Princess,
which is also.
It's about the same size as theMSC one, so that one would go
through the older locks as welland you can book those obviously
, yes, I can book those.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:04):
Okay, call Mark in his office, 888-718-7717
, 888-718-7717.
And you can also go toblueplanetvacations.
com.
Final segment of the showcoming up.
We've got Mark's travel tips,just a little bit more travel
news headlines that we need toget to, and then we'll recap the
(42:26):
deals briefly everything thatwe've mentioned in this episode
of the show.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend,
mark and I will be right back.
Show Voice (42:40):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (43:15):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
authentic tall ship sailingexperiences featuring creative
itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
Central America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(43:37):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (44:13):
They'll help you plan and book your next vacation
.
Yeah, really, you're listeningto the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show presentedby BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
(44:34):
And now here's Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:47):
Thank you so much for allowing us to be part
of your weekend.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
Mark Faldmo is running in fromthe other room.
He had to print some stuff offfor this final segment Coming up
(45:09):
.
In this final segment, this iswe're going to be talking about
Mark's travel tips and we'realso going to recap all of the
offers that we've madethroughout this entire hour.
Let's start with the travelnews headlines and then we'll
recap everything.
Let's talk about the new cruiseships.
I guess we should have includedthis in the just cruising
segment.
Let's talk about the cruiseships debuting in 2025.
(45:31):
This is a subject that I alwayslike, because I like new cruise
ships a lot.
Mark Faldmo (45:35):
Yeah, new cruise ships are fascinating All the
new bells and whistles.
Unfortunately, we don't havetime to go over all the bells
and whistles of these ships, butwe'll kind of give a brief
thing.
So the first new ship comingout is in April of 2025, and
that's the MSC World America.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:51):
Very Icon of the Seas-esque, very, very large
ship.
Mark Faldmo (45:56):
Yeah, we did a segment on that, the things that
it was offering, and I'mexcited to see this ship.
It'll have a guest capacity ofjust under 7,000 passengers and
it will sail round trip Miami.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:10):
I'm going to call Laura See if we can do a
media preview for that one.
Mark Faldmo (46:15):
Yes, the next ship coming out will also be in April
of 2025, which is the NorwegianAqua.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:23):
Yeah, that's a beautiful ship.
Mark Faldmo (46:25):
That is, and this will be a sister ship to the
Prima and it'll have about 3,500guests.
It is also set to sail roundtrip Miami.
So in April, miami is gettingtwo brand new cruise ships.
What other cruise ships?
And then we have Oceana CruiseLines, which will put out the
Allura in July 2025.
(46:46):
It's a brand owned by NorwegianCruise Line and that ship will
have a capacity of about 1,200guests.
So it's a smaller ship.
Another smaller ship that willcome out in July of 2025 is the
Viking Vesta, which has justunder 1,000 guests.
That one will mainly be sailingthe Mediterranean and Northern
(47:07):
Europe.
Royal Caribbean also has one oftheir large ships coming out in
August of 2025, the Star of theSeas.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:15):
Oh wait, who's making that one?
Mark Faldmo (47:18):
Royal Caribbean, oh okay, the Star of the Seas.
Yes, I've seen a little bit ofPR on that one already yeah,
there's been some out on thatand it has just over 5,500 guest
capacity.
Virgin Voyages, one of myfavorite cruise lines, will put
out the Brilliant Lady inSeptember of 2025, with a guest
capacity of just under 3,000,which will sail Bermuda from New
(47:42):
York City and then in thewinter season it will be
Caribbean sailings.
And then Princess Cruises, inSeptember, will launch the Star
Princess guest capacity of 4,300.
And that will be in theMediterranean, and Caribbean is
where that ship will be sailing.
The last ship is one that we'vealso talked about the Disney
(48:02):
Destiny, which will come out in2025.
It has a guest capacity of4,000 and it will be sailing
from Fort Lauderdale, from PortEverglades.
Disney is really working onexpanding their fleet.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:16):
This feels like a story we've been talking
about all of 2024, that the UKis opening applications for
electronic travel authorization.
It's on it's off, it's on.
Mark Faldmo (48:27):
Yep.
So I wanted to put this in thisshow because we've announced
already that it's on, it's off.
It's on Yep.
So I wanted to put this in thisshow because we've announced
already that it's on andstarting, but it does start
January 8th, so four days fromnow.
If you're traveling to the UK,you do need to go on to the UK
government website and purchasean electronic travel
authorization or an ETA to visitthe UK.
Patrick Wiscombe (48:51):
As we take off for the week, let's recap all
of the deals that we've talkedin each of the segments and I'll
let you decide where you wantto start.
Mark Faldmo (48:58):
Let's start the travel deal of the week, which
was Disney.
We talked about the free Disneydining plan, which is a pretty
good offer by Disney.
You have to book it by Ibelieve it was mid-February,
like February 15th, and thenit's for travel, most dates
during the summer.
There are some blackout datesMay through the end of August on
(49:19):
that with some blackout dates.
And then we also talked aboutfor those that were Disney Plus
subscribers.
If you're a Disney Plussubscriber you get 50% off kids
on a Disney cruise, which couldbe hundreds, maybe thousands of
dollars in savings, with thosekids at 50% off on Disney Cruise
Line.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:39):
Okay, In segment three we had the
infamous just cruising segmentwhat do we have?
Mark Faldmo (49:44):
And then we talked in length about Panama Canal
cruises and we talked about twocruises, one on which was an
18-day cruise on MSC Starts at$17.58 per person, so less than
$100 per person per day SailingApril 23rd from Miami to Seattle
as they position that ship forAlaska cruises.
(50:04):
And then we talked aboutanother repositioning cruise on
Princess, which left May 17th,and this one sailed Los Angeles
to New York City through thePanama Canal.
They're repositioning thatcruise to do Canada, new England
, and that one started at $16.88per person, so again just under
$100 per person per day, whichis a good benchmark for cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:29):
Those were good deals as cruises go awesome
.
Yeah, that's going to do it,man.
This show goes so fast each andevery week and it's fun to talk
travel.
And if we have whet yourappetite to go travel, if we've
given you an idea of where to goor if you just know where you
want to go, let Mark help you.
(50:52):
He's traveled over 4 millionmiles, he's done over 150
cruises and I'm proud to callhim my friend and he's a good
man.
You can see all of the vacationspecials that we talked about on
blueplanetvacations.
com or you can just call him inhis office, 888-718-7717,
(51:15):
888-718-7717.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, Sunday,
at 11 am, right here on 860-KKATor whatever radio station
you're listening to.
And if you want or need tolisten to the show again, you
can download and subscribe tothe podcast of the show at
(51:36):
insidetraveltalk.
com, and if you go to thatwebsite, you can just get the
link to all of the major podcastplatforms.
Well, that's it.
It's your turn to get out andexplore the world while you can,
because you just never knowwhat curveballs life is going to
throw at you.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
(51:58):
Thank you so much for listening.
Have a great week, mark, and Iwill talk to you again next
Saturday and Sunday.
Show Voice (52:09):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(52:30):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
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