November 30, 2024 • 50 mins
What if you could travel smarter, enjoy delicious perks, and avoid common travel mishaps all at once? Tune in as we unravel the secrets to making the most of your travel experiences, from discovering hidden gems in Mediterranean cruise ports to relishing Shake Shack's tasty offerings aboard Delta Airlines flights. With winter on the horizon, we guide you through top travel destinations, whether you're chasing the sun in Cancun or embracing the winter charm of Paris.
Hosts Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmoe share their expertise and personal stories, responding to listener queries with tailored travel advice. Discover unique Mediterranean cruise itineraries with Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises, and learn how weather patterns influence travel choices, prompting more adventurous off-season escapades. We also highlight Southwest Airlines' eco-friendly switch to bamboo cups, a small but significant step towards sustainable travel.
Let's not forget the crucial travel tips to avoid cruise pitfalls, especially when winter river cruising. From ensuring you have the right travel documents to the necessity of travel insurance, we cover it all. We explore the intersection of technology and travel, with insights on how apps and digital tools can enhance your journey. Plus, learn why Ama Waterways' winter river cruises offer incredible value and explore Royal Caribbean's strategic moves in the cruise industry. Get ready to plan your next adventure with confidence and style!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show Coming up.
On today's show we're going tobe talking about Mark's favorite
Mediterranean cruise ports, howto get bonus Delta SkyMiles,
what Shake Shack and Delta areteaming up.
We'll tell you how, and we'llalso be talking about wintertime
cruises.
Let's get started.
(00:20):
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:51):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:20):
I don't know about you, but my stomach has
taken in more food in the lastfew days than I care to admit,
but man, was it tasty.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
(01:42):
This is the hangover the foodhangover edition of the show.
As I was talking about right atthe very beginning of the show,
we're going to be talking aboutShake Shack, as if I want to
talk about more food, shakeShack and Delta are teaming up.
We'll give you the detailscoming up here in just a few
minutes.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to stop and listen to the
(02:04):
show Just a few minutes.
Thank you so much for takingthe time to stop and listen to
the show and the entire purposeof this show is to help you plan
and book your next vacation andhelp you create memories, not
only for yourself, your friends,your family that when you look
back and you're an old man andyou need to take pills, you're
going to go.
Man, I'm glad I went on thatvacation with my family.
(02:26):
If you don't know where to go,then our job is pretty simple to
give you vacation ideas anddestinations for you to consider
.
You can get the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts If you're in the Salt
Lake City area.
We are on the air everySaturday and Sunday morning,
starting at 11 am Mountain Time,and this show is presented by
(02:47):
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Mark Faldmo is the owner ofsaid company.
How are you feeling after allthat food?
Pretty?
Mark Faldmo (02:54):
good, I had a good holiday.
I actually went to PuertoVallarta earlier this week,
loved it.
I came back just in time for agood Thanksgiving meal.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:03):
Oh, that's right, I forgot.
You took off and went downthere.
Mark Faldmo (03:05):
Yeah, we just went for a quick time to Puerto
Vallarta.
This holiday probably wasn'tquite as good as last year, when
we took the whole family toHawaii and ate at Duke's, but it
was still a great ThanksgivingLots of good food.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:19):
Generally speaking, everything is a
downgrade when you're not inHawaii and you're not sitting at
Duke's Looking at I can't thinkof the volcano, but Diamond
Head, diamond Head, oh that view, and the beach and the ocean,
looking at Diamond Head is thatis some next level awesome.
Yes, yeah, let's start here,since it's really starting to
(03:41):
get pretty cold outside.
What are the five most popularwinter destinations for
Americans?
Mark Faldmo (03:48):
Number five is Paris, France.
It's the only cold weatherdestination that made this list.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:56):
Paris was number five.
What's number four?
So?
Mark Faldmo (03:58):
number four is Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
So in the kind of Riviera Mayathere it's got great beaches
right there by the Mayan ruins.
You know a lot of greatarchaeological sites snorkeling,
the second largest coral reefis just outside of Playa del
Carmen.
There.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:17):
I always think of the Mayan ruins, but I don't
think of great beaches nextdoor.
Mark Faldmo (04:21):
Tulum has one of the best beaches in the area.
I think you have to take alittle pathway of stairs down to
it and it's just a great beach.
What's number three on thislist?
Cabo San Lucas, another Mexicodestination, this time on the
west coast of Mexico.
Cabo is one of the sunniestdestinations year-round, great
(04:44):
for golf deep-sea fishing.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:46):
And.
Mark Faldmo (04:46):
Sammy Hagar and Sammy Hagar, which, by the way,
did you see?
He continued his residency inLas Vegas.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:53):
Yeah, I did see that I think Patrick will be
taking a trip down to Las Vegasthen, yes, I didn't realize
what a Sammy Hagar fan I was, metoo.
Mark Faldmo (05:02):
So maybe we should take that trip and go see them
together.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:06):
So I agree.
I don't think Heather and Nikkiwould want to come on that one.
Mark Faldmo (05:09):
Probably not.
What's number two?
So number two is Punta Cana inthe Dominican Republic, another
beach destination.
I very much enjoy Punta Cana.
One of my favorite things to dothere is go out on the
countryside and visit a localfarm, kind of a local community,
and they just show you how theylive, show you how to make
(05:31):
chocolate, because DominicanRepublic is a pretty large
producer of chocolate.
It's a beach destination, but agood one.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:39):
And then the number one destination for
winter.
Mark Faldmo (05:43):
I would consider this the same as number four.
They say number one is Cancun,Mexico.
So to get to Playa del Carmenyou have to fly into Cancun
anyway, and they're about 40miles apart.
For the same reasons.
Good beaches, good food.
You know, when I was there it'sbeen about 10 days ago in
Cancun Lots of good tacos.
(06:04):
One thing I like there at thehotel I like to stay at that we
talked about, which was ElDorado Royale, different
habanero sauce.
I love habanero sauce and inthe morning they have these
rolled tacos.
So taquitos, put some onionsand cilantro on with some sour
cream, habanero sauce, and thenI'll eat a taquito and then
drink some Mexican hot chocolatewith the cinnamon.
(06:25):
Makes that burn really good.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:30):
I wish that I could indulge in the pleasures
of food I sweat at ketchup, sowhat you just described just
sounds like a day of me sittingin the hotel room.
There's other good, more mellowfood.
Give me a good corn tortilla ora flour tortilla.
Give me a Diet Coke.
I saw a news item that ShakeShack Burgers and Delta Airlines
(06:54):
are teaming up, or at leastkind of teaming up, to feed the
burgers to some of itspassengers.
What are the details, though?
Mark Faldmo (07:03):
This will be for those in first class, where you
get a choice of meal.
So one of the meals is going tobe a Shake Shack cheeseburger.
There we go.
Right now this is onlyavailable from flights departing
Boston, but they are going toroll it out to other airports.
I don't think I recall everseeing an airline team up with a
restaurant for onboard food.
(07:24):
Yeah, that's a first.
And if it's consistent withShake Shack, I thought this was
kind of interesting.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:30):
while we're talking about Punta Cana, Rafael
Nadal, the tennis player, andMalia Hotel Brands are teaming
up.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (07:39):
They are opening up a new lifestyle brand hotel.
It's called Xel.
It will be opening in PuntaCana, expected to open on
December 12th.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:50):
Oh, so coming up real quick.
Mark Faldmo (07:52):
It's a smaller, 190 room hotel.
It's going to be all inclusive,so that means it's going to
have, you know, the typical allinclusive information.
It's going to have multiplerestaurants and, of course, with
Rafael Nadal, it's going tohave seven tennis courts.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:08):
Of course it is.
I thought that they would haveplayed on his name.
The name of the place would becalled Backhand.
Yeah, all right, let's get tothe destination of the week.
Was this a text or an emailthat you got?
Destination of the week.
Was this a text or an emailthat you got?
This was a text.
Okay, dave wants to go on aMediterranean cruise, but wants
(08:30):
unique ports.
And what ports should heconsider?
Mark Faldmo (08:33):
So my favorite two ports, which are also unique in
the Mediterranean I think, isValletta in Malta and Kotor in
Montenegro.
A few years ago it was rated asEurope's cultural heritage
center.
It's like walking around anopen-air museum.
It has some Arab influence, ithas Greek influence, it has
(08:57):
Roman influence.
It's an island in the kind ofsouthern Mediterranean and it
actually was basically foundedby the Hospitaller Knights
during the Crusades and it was ahospital island, so I guess
that's where they'd evacuate allof the injured Crusaders to
Malta.
Sailing into Valletta and Maltais spectacular.
(09:21):
It's got high cliffs with theyellow stone buildings, colorful
balconies.
It is, I think, my favoriteplace in all of the
Mediterranean to visit.
And the other one, Kotor inMontenegro, in the Aegean Sea.
And sailing to there it'ssailing up what they call
Europe's southern fjord.
(09:42):
So you sail in the morning.
It's a scenic cruise, like kindof sailing through a fjord in
Alaska or Norway, and then youget to the end of it and there
is the city of Kotor, which is asmall walled city, lots of
history, kind of a uniquesituation there in Kotor.
And if you're like to shop forChristmas stuff, there's a
(10:03):
Christmas shop there that mywife loves to go in.
I can't tell you how manyhundreds of dollars we've spent
in there buying nutcrackers andRussian nesting dolls and St
Nicholas and there's all sortsof amazing Christmas stuff in
that Christmas shop in CoutureMontenegro.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:23):
We're a little bit short on time, so let's
continue this conversation onthe other side of the break.
We'll give you the itineraries.
For what Was it?
Couture or Malta?
Or yes to both?
Mark Faldmo (10:35):
To both.
I have one itinerary thatincludes each of those stops,
okay, great.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:40):
We'll continue the conversation and if you
have questions that you want toask us while we're on the air,
text us right now 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Dave, we will continue talkingabout your Mediterranean cruise
and the unique ports that'scoming up next, and we also give
(11:04):
you the hot travel deal of theweek in the next segment.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday
and Sunday mornings.
Mark and I will be right back.
Show Voice (11:18):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
Ad Voice (11:57):
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
Exclusively for adults and havebeen voted among the most
romantic resorts in Mexico andthe world.
To book your romantic beachgetaway at an El Dorado spa
resort, contact Blue PlanetVacations at 888-718-7717 or
(12:23):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (12:23):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalkcom.
(12:44):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmoe.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:53):
Mark, I was just thinking about the Shake
Shack burger, the cheeseburgerthat we were talking about in
the first segment.
Shake Shack teaming up withDelta Airlines bringing their
burgers to the service If you'rein first class.
I haven't eaten yet, so thatsounds amazing.
Mark Faldmo (13:13):
I think that's where I'm going to go today for
lunch.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:16):
Should we just go there after the show?
Yes, All right, that sounds sogood right now.
Welcome back to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe, dreaming of
Shake Shack Burgers Coming up.
In this segment of the show wehave the destination of the week
(13:37):
.
We're going to continue theconversation.
Dave sent a text that he wantsto go on a Mediterranean cruise
but wants unique ports and theports that he should consider.
And we've also got the travelnews headlines.
And, of course, always in thissecond segment, we've got the
hot travel deal of the week andwe're going to tell you how to
get some bonus sky miles ifyou're a Delta flyer.
(14:00):
But let's first get to thetravel news headlines.
You know this doesn't surpriseme at all that weather is a
concern and is increasinglybeing factored into travel
decisions for US travelers.
Mark Faldmo (14:15):
This is interesting in that this has become more
pronounced the last year or two,where people are making travel
decisions based on possibleweather, so avoiding certain
destinations prone to hurricanesor blizzards or large storms.
They are making traveldecisions based on potential
(14:36):
weather.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:37):
It's a little tough to time the weather,
honestly.
You just need to know thathurricane season is between,
what is it?
June through November.
June 1st through the end ofNovember.
Okay, so we're stilltechnically in that right now,
yeah, but today's the last day.
Mark Faldmo (14:54):
Yes, and when I was in Cancun about 10 days ago
there was a hurricane that hitin Belize and we saw some
effects of that A little bitwindy.
One thing is we've talked aboutin the past you also can get
some pretty good deals whenconsidering traveling in some of
these off seasons.
So hurricane season in Mexicoand the Caribbean, for instance,
(15:16):
looking at Costa Rica, if yougo during what they call the
green season, which is the rainyseason, you can get some good
deals on that.
I guess pros and cons, but moreand more people are opting to
try and avoid these if they can.
But again, it's hard, likehurricane season that takes out
six months out of the year thatyou can travel, so it's almost
(15:39):
advantageous to travel when theweather is going to be kind of
rough because of the dealsavailable.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:46):
But the flip side of that is you can't be
upset if something goes wrong.
Mark Faldmo (15:50):
Yes, side note, I did a honeymoon for a friend to
Costa Rica about two weeks agoand they got there.
The operator said well, we hadto cancel their zip line because
it was rainy.
They got it rescheduled.
Then they had to cancel thenational park because the
government closed all thenational parks due to rain, and
(16:10):
they said it's just unusuallyrainy here.
And then when I talked to myfriend he's like oh, that was
one of the best trips that we'vehad.
So you've got to figure out howto make the best out of your
situation.
For that situation in CostaRica they do call it the green
season because it makes thejungle absolutely amazing.
(16:31):
Humid, yes.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:35):
Southwest Airlines is making bold changes
to its drinks and travelers.
Well, they seem to be split.
Mark Faldmo (16:43):
They're trying to do away with plastics on board,
so they are now serving drinksin bamboo cups.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:52):
Please no paper straws.
Yes, I draw the line at paperstraws.
Mark Faldmo (16:58):
Yes they just fall apart.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:01):
I said that we would continue the conversation
and, if you're just joining us,one of our listeners his name
is Dave he sent a text to ushere in the studio 801-649-3700,
801-649-3700 to get your travelquestions answered.
He wanted to go on aMediterranean cruise, but wanted
(17:21):
unique ports, and what portsshould he consider?
That was the question Insegment one.
We started answering thatquestion, but we wanted to give
him a more detailed answer.
So let's talk about the CoutureMontenegro itinerary and then
let's give him the Maltaitinerary.
Mark Faldmo (17:39):
Yeah, so I've chosen two itineraries.
So one includes Kotor, oneincludes Malta.
The first one is RoyalCaribbean.
This is the one that includesKotor.
It's a May 24th 2025 departure.
It's an Adriatic sea cruising.
It leaves from Venice.
It goes to Kotor, which is theunique port, also goes to Athens
(18:02):
, Santorini and Split in Croatia, before returning back to
Venice.
That's a great itinerary.
You get a little bit of theGreek Isles, you get some
Croatia, which is another Ialmost put Croatia on this list
because it's pretty unique aswell, but I think Kotor, out of
(18:24):
all of these, is the most unique.
But then you get Athens, thehistory of Athens, amazing
Santorini, beautiful landscapesin Santorini.
And then, of course, startingand ending in Venice is always a
plus.
I think two weeks ago we talkedabout Venice as one of the
(18:46):
unique places in the world tovisit.
So this cruise again May 24thinside cabins start at $857 per
person and a balcony cabinstarts at $1437 per person.
That is a phenomenal deal.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:00):
That is that's a great price for a med cruise
deal that is, that's a greatprice for uh, mad cruz Dave,
call mark in his office, book itwith him or, if you have
additional questions, his officenumber, 888-718-7717.
One more time, 888-718-7717.
What was the price on thatagain?
Mark Faldmo (19:24):
That one started at $857 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:27):
And what cruise line is that?
That was on Royal Caribbean.
That's a really good one.
Let's talk about the Maltaitinerary.
Mark Faldmo (19:34):
This one is on MSC Cruises.
It goes round trip Barcelonagoes to Marseille, France, genoa
, Italy, Naples in Italy,Messina on Sicily, and then the
port we're focusing on isValletta, in Malta, and back to
Barcelona.
This is on the MSC World Europa.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:54):
That's a pretty new ship, if memory
serves their new large ship.
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (19:59):
This was a May 2nd departure Starts at $1019 per
person for an inside or $1319for a balcony, so a lower price
balcony than that other cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:10):
Did you say what the dates were for Dave on
the Couture and Valletta Malta?
Mark Faldmo (20:16):
Yes, that one was May 24th.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:18):
All right, hot travel deal of the week.
Let's go with the email thatboth of us got a little bit
earlier directly from Deltatalking about bonus sky miles.
So if you're a Delta person,listen up.
Mark Faldmo (20:31):
Delta has an offer with Delta Vacations.
They're one of my preferredsuppliers.
I book a lot of vacationsthrough Delta Vacations and this
is a way to get SkyMiles onyour whole vacation.
You get your miles on flights,hotel car, any activities.
Plus you get those additionalmedallion qualifying dollars.
(20:55):
So you can get up to 10,000bonus SkyMiles for booking a
Delta vacations package.
So how it works is the leadperson on the reservation, so
the main person will get thosebonus SkyMiles and the points
for the hotel car activities,all of that and the bonus
(21:17):
medallion qualification miles,but everyone else will still
earn their flight miles on that.
So you know booking with DeltaVacations is a great way to help
build up and earn SkyMiles.
And then also you know, ifyou're looking to get status
with Delta where you earn thosemedallion qualifying dollars,
(21:39):
it'll really help.
I've looked at a couple ofinstances for the medallion
qualifying miles just to seewhat you could get.
A six-night trip to Cancun onaverage is about $6,000
medallion qualifying dollars.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:54):
Won't that get you to gold status?
Mark Faldmo (21:57):
That'll jump you pretty quick, and that was in
Delta Comfort six-night hotel,the four-and-a-half five-star
hotel, with some activitiesadded in to that.
It's a great way to earn thosemedallion qualifying miles and
also just get your regularSkyMiles up for redemption.
And also they do have apromotion that's going on right
(22:20):
now If you are a medallionmember with Delta, you can get
up to another $250 off yourvacation price.
Also, don't forget, if you havea Delta SkyMiles credit card,
you also can get two to threemiles on top of everything you
spend, because you get the bonusmiles with using a Delta
(22:41):
American Express card as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:44):
Yeah, right here, I've got the reserve card.
By the way, one of the thingsthat I love most about this
thing is getting into the SkyClub.
Salt Lake Sky Club is amazing.
Mark Faldmo (22:54):
Awesome, it is, yeah, and there's.
If you travel a lot and mosttravelers probably do know this
that travel a lot I'd get theDelta Reserve Card, so you do
get that included access intothe Sky Club.
It's a lot less expensive topay the annual fee on the
reserve card than to justoutright buy a Sky Club
membership.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:14):
Yeah, agreed, I think it's $650 a year to have
this card.
Yes, if you travel a lot, moneywell spent, Dave, I hope that
answers your question.
Call Mark in his office to book.
Dave, I hope that answers yourquestion.
Call Mark in his office to book888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(23:36):
The number's also good if youhave follow-up questions for
your Mediterranean crews.
And then, of course, the MSCtheir itinerary.
By the way, MSC does have greatships, very modern, and Royal
Caribbean does a great job inthat part of the world as well.
You just really you just can'tgo wrong.
(23:56):
Call Mark 888-718-7717.
And you can also go toblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
It is the infamous JustCruising segment.
Nothing but cruise news andcruise deals.
You're going to get more cruisedeals, even though we've
already kind of hinted at thecruises in this segment.
(24:17):
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe, heis Mark Faldmo.
We'll be back after the break.
Thanks for listening is.
Show Voice (24:28):
Patrick Wiscombe.
He is Mark Faldmo.
We'll be back after the break.
Thanks for listening.
Taking you to destinationsaround the world, the Inside
Travel Talk podcast and radioshow is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(24:49):
Thanks for listening.
Ad Voice (25:02):
We'll be right back.
Visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities.
To set out on your own rivercruise journey, contact Blue
Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717or blueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:15):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes, markand I will be talking about 10
disastrous mistakes cruisepassengers make winter river
cruising and we're going toanswer the question that we get
frequently what is a cruise tour?
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(25:37):
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 (26:01):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:18):
and now here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe
and mark all aboard for theinfamous just cruising segment,
part of the inside travel talkpodcast, a radio show airing
(26:43):
each and every Saturday andSunday right here and on
InsideTravelTalk.
com, where you can pick up theshow.
Coming up in this segment, theinfamous just cruising segment,
we've got 10 disastrous it's abig word mark disastrous
mistakes that cruise shippassengers make.
(27:06):
We'll talk about that.
That cruise ship passengersmake.
We'll talk about that.
We'll also be talking aboutViking and Disney dominating the
US as the best cruise lines andwe'll be talking about Royal
Caribbean is confirming theirdeal to buy Mexico's port of
Costa Maya.
I did not know that.
Really, that's a pretty bigdevelopment.
Mark Faldmo (27:27):
Mark, yeah, that is .
That'll be interesting when weget to it.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:38):
And we've also got the cruise deal of the week
.
We are talking about winterriver cruises on Ama Waterways.
That is all coming up here injust this segment of the show.
But let's get to the travelnews headlines.
Where do you want to start?
Should we go Royal Caribbean ordo you want to talk about the
10 disastrous mistakes?
Let's start off with themistake 10 disastrous mistakes
that cruise ship passengers make.
Let's fly through these.
(27:58):
Let's go 10 to one here.
Mark Faldmo (28:01):
Most of these can be avoided if you book with a
professional travel advisor.
A lot of people make thesemistakes, just not knowing.
Number one is scheduling aflight on the same day as
embarkation.
Oh yeah, yeah, that's a bad one.
There are some ports you can dothat in, but I still don't even
recommend that.
I say always fly in a daybefore.
(28:23):
You never know if a flight'sgonna get delayed or canceled.
You wanna have plenty ofoptions to make it to your
cruise.
Cruise is a big investment.
You don't want to miss it.
No, all right.
Number two.
Number two and this is a bigone I think this is now three
shows in a row that we'vementioned this, but failing to
purchase travel insurance.
(28:44):
What a good travel insuranceplan will do?
It helps you out if you'redelayed or your flights are
canceled.
It also covers lost luggage andalso health reasons when you're
traveling.
So, on every trip, I highlyrecommend purchasing travel
insurance.
There's lots of good companiesout there.
(29:04):
I particularly like Travel XInsurance, but there's other
ones Travel Guard, travelInsured all do a good job and
you should purchase travelinsurance for any vacation, not
just a cruise.
Number three Is showing up tothe port without correct
documents.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:22):
Now, the documents that you're talking
about, generally speaking, areyour passport or the birth
certificate and, I guess, id.
Mark Faldmo (29:31):
And ID, yeah, and in some cases a visa Number.
Four is confusing real ID withenhanced driver's license or an
EDL.
An EDL it functions like apassport card, so it's not a
passport, but an enhanceddriver's license is proof of
citizenship.
So you can take a what's calleda closed loop cruise, so a
(29:55):
cruise that departs and ends atthe same port on an EDL, without
your passport, without yourbirth certificate, and people
are confusing the enhanceddriver's license with real ID.
So real ID is one that has thegold star in it and you for sure
need your birth certificatewith that one.
But I would just make it easyIf you're going on a cruise, get
(30:18):
a passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:19):
Yeah, really Take the time, Just get it done.
Mark Faldmo (30:22):
Number five Overlooking the 24-week
pregnancy rule.
I've had many clients that havetried to show up with the port
within that 24 weeks and beendenied boarding, even though
we've advised against it.
They all think they can do it.
You do need a doctor's note toboard if you're pregnant, saying
(30:42):
that you're not within that24-week rule.
This is also going back to thegetting travel protection,
because sometimes you book acruise way in advance.
So if you've purchased travelinsurance and then become
pregnant, travel insurance wouldcover if you're not able to go
but you can't be pregnant andthen purchase the travel
(31:03):
insurance, you have to havepurchased it before for travel
insurance to cover it in thatsituation.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:10):
Number seven.
Mark Faldmo (31:12):
Attempting to bring a baby under six months of age.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:14):
Not a good idea.
Mark Faldmo (31:15):
Anyway, most cruise lines are either six months or
12 months, so the child has tobe older than that.
So just check with your cruiseline.
Cruise lines do have prettygood medical facilities on board
, but they're not equipped tohelp with infant medical issues
as much, so they've all madethis rule just for the safety of
the infant.
(31:36):
It's the right call, yes, numbereight is failing to put your
mobile device in airplane mode.
That's a really good one.
I've had people come back witha thousand dollar phone bill
because they did not put theirphone in airplane mode.
Ships have a cell tower on andthen you'll pay the ship's rate
(31:57):
for mobile data at sea, which isvery expensive.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:01):
Yes, you will.
Mark Faldmo (32:02):
And then if you get calls and texts, luckily
there's, you know, a lot oftimes you can get internet on
board and a lot of the chat apps.
You know a lot of times you canget internet on board and a lot
of the chat apps you know.
Whatsapp and Apple's messagesand Google messages all let you
send text messages via Wi-Ficonnection now.
So there are lots of ways thatyou can avoid that and still
communicate with the outsideworld.
(32:22):
Number nine not checking theyalla board times on port days.
There's some really funnyYouTube videos about there,
about pier runners.
As the ship's pulling out,they're running down the pier.
So just make sure you know whatthe all aboard time is.
The all aboard time is usually60, 45 or 30 minutes prior.
(32:45):
Read the cruise contract.
All cruise lines have a cruisecontract that you agree to when
you purchase a cruise.
These documents can be quitelengthy, but it does contain
valuable information.
You can get those on the cruiseline website.
Most confirmations will comewith a link to that.
I think it was in last week'sshow.
What are the cruiser'sresponsibilities when they
(33:06):
change ports or they cancel aport?
That's all in the cruisecontract.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:11):
When Nikki and I were on MSC Seashore MSC
Cruises Seashore the ship wewere in port in Costa Maya and I
think Icon of the Seas was inport.
You and I have been together inMiami when Icon of the Seas is
in.
That ship is so enormous Ididn't even know a ship could be
that big.
Royal Caribbean just confirmedthat they're buying Mexico's
(33:35):
port of Costa Maya and that'swhere I saw, in addition to
being with you.
Mark Faldmo (33:40):
I saw the Icon of the Seas in port there and I was
like good grief and I wascloser to it this time, my point
being they're buying that portA few weeks ago they mentioned
the perfect day Mexico, whichwas in that Costa Maya port, and
they did recently confirm thatthey've purchased land adjacent
to the port in Costa Maya, andthis is where their perfect day
(34:03):
Mexico will go.
Now other cruise lines willstill call on Costa Maya, but
their Perfect Day Mexico willhave a separate entrance to the
port.
They're going to kind of bringin their beach club concept in
with this as well.
Oh good, so it'll be a privateport there in Costa Maya or
Royal Caribbean.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:22):
The private islands.
If you've never been to one,get to one.
They are that spectacular Justto go on that alone, regardless
of the other ports, the privateports where the ships pull up
and you can have an entire beachday worth every penny to get on
a cruise ship yes.
Really.
Yeah, I made a mistake, mark.
(34:43):
I started talking about the 10disastrous mistakes that cruise
ship passengers make, and wewent way too long.
Mark Faldmo (34:51):
We did, but that was a great segment.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:52):
Yeah, it really was Okay.
So what we'll do when we cameback, this will be I mentioned
that it was the cruise deal ofthe week.
What we're going to do is we'rejust literally going to move it
down to the next segment.
We'll get to the Winter RiverCruises, we'll talk about Ama
Waterways offering a 20% off onselect sailings and we'll give
(35:14):
you the additional deal that wehave.
That was my mistake, my bad.
More of the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show when Mark
and I come back.
Thank you so much for listening.
We'll be right back.
Show Voice (35:29):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (36:04):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex
Insurance Services.
When the travel insurancequestion comes up, a lot of
people think I'm young andhealthy, I'll be fine.
But in today's uncertain world,are you sure If you're not
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A lot of travel insurance planslook similar, but let's talk
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(36:26):
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Show Voice (36:59):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call the show right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:23):
Final segment of this week's Inside Travel
Talk podcast, a radio showalongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
I made the mistake of notgetting to the cruise deal of
the week because I went a littlebit too long on the travel news
, so thanks for hanging out.
I promise we will get to theinfamous cruise deal of the week
(37:46):
coming up in this segment as wecome back from break.
We've got one piece of travelnews that we need to talk about.
That traveler frustration isreal, obviously, but let's talk
about the technology, how it'shelping travelers.
Mark, let's start there.
Mark Faldmo (38:08):
This is a study that was done by Amadeus, which
is a GDS Global DistributionSystem for Travel.
It's what the airlines use andtravel agents use.
So in their study it was halfof travelers found that the most
frustrating part of travel isfinding the correct routes and
(38:29):
schedule.
Interestingly enough, that ishigher among younger travelers
and lower among older travelers,but it came out to about 50%.
And also, what they findfrustrating is when a flight is
delayed or changed, and so thisis where technology really can
come in, especially with theairline's mobile apps and other
(38:51):
mobile apps to help you justreschedule a flight right on a
Monday of travel withnotifications.
Digital bag tracking One thingthat's nice.
A lot of airlines do this.
I like on Delta, where it saysyour bag is loaded onto the
plane yes, I do like that.
Or your bag is coming out oncarousel five when it's coming
out.
So now there are a lot ofthings that technology can do to
(39:13):
help alleviate stress, and youknow things that we've talked
about before as well, such asTSA, precheck, global ID, real
ID all of these new technologythings are wonderful and
hopefully will help reduce someof the stress of travel.
Interestingly enough, in thisreport, they did find that of
leisure travelers, about 50% forall of these categories
(39:36):
actually wanted humanintervention at the security
checks, border control, whenthey check in for flights, when
they check in for a cruise.
There still is that need forthe human intervention in that.
Oh how interesting.
But there is technology thatcan help with a lot of this
stuff.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:54):
Let's get to the cruise deal of the week,
delayed from segment three tothis segment.
Let's talk about winter rivercruises.
Your favorite river cruise lineis Ama Waterways.
What deal do we have forlisteners this week?
I think?
Mark Faldmo (40:07):
we talked a few weeks ago about some river
cruise lines adding wintercruises and now more and more
are adding them.
It'll be an interestingexperiment to see if this works.
Just going back to ocean cruiselines, I remember years ago
Norwegian Cruise Lines said itwas going to do round-trip
Caribbean cruises from New Yorkand everyone said those will
(40:29):
never work out of New York inthe winter months.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:31):
I would argue that it would actually be more
packed.
Mark Faldmo (40:39):
It is because all of those people from the
Northeast can drive to New Yorkrather than fly to Miami save
them money.
So it actually turned out to bea hit.
So I hope these river cruisesalso turn out to be a hit.
You can actually save somemoney by doing this, because the
prices are significantly lessthan in the regular cruise
season.
And that's one thing wherepeople say who really wants to
(41:00):
go to Europe in the dead ofwinter?
But again, the prices are goodand you'll get to see these
cities with nobody visiting them.
I'm just thinking of, I think,like Dernstein in Austria on the
Danube Other than locals, theonly tourists there.
It'd be wonderful to have thatwhole, that little city to
yourself.
What a unique experience, yep.
(41:21):
And then you know, as Ipreviously mentioned pricing, I
did look at Amo Waterways.
So I compared a seven-dayDanube River cruise in February
and in May, which isn't evenpeak season.
So the river cruise in Februarywas $2,400 per person in
February compared to $4,100 perperson in May.
(41:43):
So what's that?
$1,700 per person Per person?
In Europe most cruise lines areonly on the main rivers, so the
Rhine and Danube in thewintertime, which in my opinion
are the two best rivers.
So if you're looking for a gooddeal, want to see some
interesting parts of Europewithout many people, look at
(42:05):
these winter river cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:07):
If you could only take one Rhine or Danube
what's the one that you're goingto go to first?
Mark Faldmo (42:13):
I'm going to say Danube.
The Danube is by far myfavorite because it involves
Budapest, which is one of myfavorite cities.
There we go.
Okay, a lot of people might saythe Rhine, because of all the
castles.
The scenery on the Rhine isjust amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:27):
So what I'm hearing you say is you really
can't make a mistake.
Mark Faldmo (42:32):
I don't think you can make a mistake on either of
those rivers.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:34):
So it's really just preference.
Yes, I also saw that AlmaWaterways is offering up to 20%
off select sailings.
Did I see that right?
You did.
Mark Faldmo (42:45):
Yeah, Even in these winter months, Alma Waterways
has 20% off select sailings andthey have the fixed rate airfare
starting at $8.99 for 2025cruises or $9.99 for 2026
cruises.
Even in the winter or thespring or summer or fall, now is
(43:05):
a great time to book a rivercruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:08):
How many days, generally speaking, are the
river cruises?
Mark Faldmo (43:12):
a river cruise.
How many days, generallyspeaking, are the river cruises?
There are some that are four orfive nights, but generally
speaking they're seven to 21 dayvoyages, Depending on the
cruise line.
We'll say Grand European Tour,which includes the Rhine, the
Danube, all of the rivers inEurope are connected through
canals and locks and differentthings, so you can go all over
Europe on a river.
You can have these longercruises as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:34):
What's the longest cruise you've been on on
one of those rivers?
Mark Faldmo (43:38):
I've only done a seven day.
It's the longest.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:40):
When you got to the end of the seven days,
did you ever go, yeah, okay, I'mgood.
Or was it like man?
I sure wish I had, you know,another three to seven days.
Mark Faldmo (43:51):
I'm always wanting more.
I'm sorry I'm asking the wrongperson, yeah, and you go to some
of these smaller cities thereare hundreds of them along the
river so you could stop at andsee wonderful sights.
So you can't possibly seeeverything there is to see just
in that week long on the river.
They really try and choose thebest spots.
(44:11):
There are several differentDanube offerings or different
Rhine offerings that all visitslightly different ports to try
and give you an option to seeall of that.
So I would just find anitinerary.
Find two or three places thatyou really want to see.
For me it would be Budapest andsome of those Eastern European
Slovakia, different places likethat, which I really like.
(44:34):
So just find some cities thatinterest you and find an
itinerary that meets that.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:39):
You received a text a little bit earlier this
week from Kate and she sent youthe text to 801-649-3700.
So if you have a specifictravel-related question, text
Mark or I guess you could callit too, but text Mark at that
address.
Kate is asking I've heard youand Patrick talk about cruise
(45:03):
tours before.
She's asking what is a cruisetour?
Okay, let's just start there.
What's a cruise tour?
Mark Faldmo (45:09):
Well, a cruise tour is where you combine a cruise
with a land tour.
There are cruise tours all overthe world.
Most prevalently, you'll seethem in Alaska.
There are some in Europe, thereare some in Asia, there are
some in the South Pacific.
Norwegian offers a cruise tourin Hawaii.
They have their seven-daycruise, but you don't really get
(45:31):
to see Oahu, so they have athree-night cruise tour that
includes the Polynesian CulturalCenter and some different
things like that, and we'll justgo back and focus on Alaska
right here, because that's theirseveral Alaska cruise tours
offered.
A lot of people do want to getinto that interior of Alaska.
They want to see Denali, theywant to see Fairbanks, and so
(45:55):
what a cruise store does is itallows you to see that interior
of Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:01):
It's one thing to see it from the river.
There were times that I wantedto spend more time in port than
going back to the cruise shipearly, and so I would think that
that would be very interestingto a lot of people.
Mark Faldmo (46:14):
It would yeah, and so you know I found a unique
cruise tour this is one thatHolland America has done for
quite a while that I wanted todo.
There are several differentvariations of this.
I just chose the 10-day cruisetour, and this is 10-day Denali
and Yukon.
And so what you do is it leavesfrom Vancouver, you sail to
(46:38):
Skagway, so your ports on thatwould be Ketchikan and Juneau,
and you actually get off theship in Skagway.
You take the White PassRailroad to Whitehorse in Canada
and then you take a bus toDawson City, Canada, and then
from there you take a flight toFairbanks and then from
(46:59):
Fairbanks you come down, spend aday in Denali National Park and
then you take the train Denalidown to Anchorage.
Oh wow, so you're doing five ofthe seven days on the cruise.
You get off part way throughand do that Yukon territory in
Canada, Plus you get to seeDenali National Park.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:20):
Alaska is so great you just can't go wrong.
There's two vacations thateveryone will agree on Hawaii
and Alaska.
Mark Faldmo (47:30):
And that's why's why you know, last week we
talked about small ships inAlaska.
There are so many differentways to do Alaska.
We'll probably do a segment inthe future about if you just
want to do a land tour to Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:43):
There's so much to see and experience in
Alaska you will always be gladthat you went to Alaska.
You'll always be glad that youwent to Alaska.
You'll always be glad that youtraveled the world.
You'll always be glad that youwent to Europe.
Alma waterways go, during thelow season, $2,400 per person to
(48:07):
go sail the Danube.
That's astonishing.
That's a $1,700 savings.
Instead of going in May, go inFebruary, have Europe all to
yourself.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(48:28):
Thank you so much for listening.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, sunday,
at 11 am, right here on 860 KKAThere in Salt Lake City.
And if you want or need tolisten to the show again, you
can also download and subscribeto the podcast version of the
show on InsideTravelTalk.
com and we're on all of themajor podcast platforms.
(48:53):
Well, now it's your turn to getout and explore the world while
you can, because you never knowwhat curveballs life is going
to throw at you.
Make it a choice to live yourlife deliberately and live your
life intentionally.
Thank you so much for listening, really, mark, and I sincerely
appreciate you listening eachand every week.
(49:14):
Have a great week.
We'll talk to you again nextweek.
Thank you.
Show Voice (49:22):
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.
(49:42):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Thank you.
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show Coming up.
On today's show we're going tobe talking about Mark's favorite
Mediterranean cruise ports, howto get bonus Delta SkyMiles,
what Shake Shack and Delta areteaming up.
We'll tell you how, and we'llalso be talking about wintertime
cruises.
Let's get started.
(00:20):
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:51):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
And now here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:20):
I don't know about you, but my stomach has
taken in more food in the lastfew days than I care to admit,
but man, was it tasty.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast and radio show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
(01:42):
This is the hangover the foodhangover edition of the show.
As I was talking about right atthe very beginning of the show,
we're going to be talking aboutShake Shack, as if I want to
talk about more food, shakeShack and Delta are teaming up.
We'll give you the detailscoming up here in just a few
minutes.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to stop and listen to the
(02:04):
show Just a few minutes.
Thank you so much for takingthe time to stop and listen to
the show and the entire purposeof this show is to help you plan
and book your next vacation andhelp you create memories, not
only for yourself, your friends,your family that when you look
back and you're an old man andyou need to take pills, you're
going to go.
Man, I'm glad I went on thatvacation with my family.
(02:26):
If you don't know where to go,then our job is pretty simple to
give you vacation ideas anddestinations for you to consider
.
You can get the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts If you're in the Salt
Lake City area.
We are on the air everySaturday and Sunday morning,
starting at 11 am Mountain Time,and this show is presented by
(02:47):
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Mark Faldmo is the owner ofsaid company.
How are you feeling after allthat food?
Pretty?
Mark Faldmo (02:54):
good, I had a good holiday.
I actually went to PuertoVallarta earlier this week,
loved it.
I came back just in time for agood Thanksgiving meal.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:03):
Oh, that's right, I forgot.
You took off and went downthere.
Mark Faldmo (03:05):
Yeah, we just went for a quick time to Puerto
Vallarta.
This holiday probably wasn'tquite as good as last year, when
we took the whole family toHawaii and ate at Duke's, but it
was still a great ThanksgivingLots of good food.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:19):
Generally speaking, everything is a
downgrade when you're not inHawaii and you're not sitting at
Duke's Looking at I can't thinkof the volcano, but Diamond
Head, diamond Head, oh that view, and the beach and the ocean,
looking at Diamond Head is thatis some next level awesome.
Yes, yeah, let's start here,since it's really starting to
(03:41):
get pretty cold outside.
What are the five most popularwinter destinations for
Americans?
Mark Faldmo (03:48):
Number five is Paris, France.
It's the only cold weatherdestination that made this list.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:56):
Paris was number five.
What's number four?
So?
Mark Faldmo (03:58):
number four is Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
So in the kind of Riviera Mayathere it's got great beaches
right there by the Mayan ruins.
You know a lot of greatarchaeological sites snorkeling,
the second largest coral reefis just outside of Playa del
Carmen.
There.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:17):
I always think of the Mayan ruins, but I don't
think of great beaches nextdoor.
Mark Faldmo (04:21):
Tulum has one of the best beaches in the area.
I think you have to take alittle pathway of stairs down to
it and it's just a great beach.
What's number three on thislist?
Cabo San Lucas, another Mexicodestination, this time on the
west coast of Mexico.
Cabo is one of the sunniestdestinations year-round, great
(04:44):
for golf deep-sea fishing.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:46):
And.
Mark Faldmo (04:46):
Sammy Hagar and Sammy Hagar, which, by the way,
did you see?
He continued his residency inLas Vegas.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:53):
Yeah, I did see that I think Patrick will be
taking a trip down to Las Vegasthen, yes, I didn't realize
what a Sammy Hagar fan I was, metoo.
Mark Faldmo (05:02):
So maybe we should take that trip and go see them
together.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:06):
So I agree.
I don't think Heather and Nikkiwould want to come on that one.
Mark Faldmo (05:09):
Probably not.
What's number two?
So number two is Punta Cana inthe Dominican Republic, another
beach destination.
I very much enjoy Punta Cana.
One of my favorite things to dothere is go out on the
countryside and visit a localfarm, kind of a local community,
and they just show you how theylive, show you how to make
(05:31):
chocolate, because DominicanRepublic is a pretty large
producer of chocolate.
It's a beach destination, but agood one.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:39):
And then the number one destination for
winter.
Mark Faldmo (05:43):
I would consider this the same as number four.
They say number one is Cancun,Mexico.
So to get to Playa del Carmenyou have to fly into Cancun
anyway, and they're about 40miles apart.
For the same reasons.
Good beaches, good food.
You know, when I was there it'sbeen about 10 days ago in
Cancun Lots of good tacos.
(06:04):
One thing I like there at thehotel I like to stay at that we
talked about, which was ElDorado Royale, different
habanero sauce.
I love habanero sauce and inthe morning they have these
rolled tacos.
So taquitos, put some onionsand cilantro on with some sour
cream, habanero sauce, and thenI'll eat a taquito and then
drink some Mexican hot chocolatewith the cinnamon.
(06:25):
Makes that burn really good.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:30):
I wish that I could indulge in the pleasures
of food I sweat at ketchup, sowhat you just described just
sounds like a day of me sittingin the hotel room.
There's other good, more mellowfood.
Give me a good corn tortilla ora flour tortilla.
Give me a Diet Coke.
I saw a news item that ShakeShack Burgers and Delta Airlines
(06:54):
are teaming up, or at leastkind of teaming up, to feed the
burgers to some of itspassengers.
What are the details, though?
Mark Faldmo (07:03):
This will be for those in first class, where you
get a choice of meal.
So one of the meals is going tobe a Shake Shack cheeseburger.
There we go.
Right now this is onlyavailable from flights departing
Boston, but they are going toroll it out to other airports.
I don't think I recall everseeing an airline team up with a
restaurant for onboard food.
(07:24):
Yeah, that's a first.
And if it's consistent withShake Shack, I thought this was
kind of interesting.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:30):
while we're talking about Punta Cana, Rafael
Nadal, the tennis player, andMalia Hotel Brands are teaming
up.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (07:39):
They are opening up a new lifestyle brand hotel.
It's called Xel.
It will be opening in PuntaCana, expected to open on
December 12th.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:50):
Oh, so coming up real quick.
Mark Faldmo (07:52):
It's a smaller, 190 room hotel.
It's going to be all inclusive,so that means it's going to
have, you know, the typical allinclusive information.
It's going to have multiplerestaurants and, of course, with
Rafael Nadal, it's going tohave seven tennis courts.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:08):
Of course it is.
I thought that they would haveplayed on his name.
The name of the place would becalled Backhand.
Yeah, all right, let's get tothe destination of the week.
Was this a text or an emailthat you got?
Destination of the week.
Was this a text or an emailthat you got?
This was a text.
Okay, dave wants to go on aMediterranean cruise, but wants
(08:30):
unique ports.
And what ports should heconsider?
Mark Faldmo (08:33):
So my favorite two ports, which are also unique in
the Mediterranean I think, isValletta in Malta and Kotor in
Montenegro.
A few years ago it was rated asEurope's cultural heritage
center.
It's like walking around anopen-air museum.
It has some Arab influence, ithas Greek influence, it has
(08:57):
Roman influence.
It's an island in the kind ofsouthern Mediterranean and it
actually was basically foundedby the Hospitaller Knights
during the Crusades and it was ahospital island, so I guess
that's where they'd evacuate allof the injured Crusaders to
Malta.
Sailing into Valletta and Maltais spectacular.
(09:21):
It's got high cliffs with theyellow stone buildings, colorful
balconies.
It is, I think, my favoriteplace in all of the
Mediterranean to visit.
And the other one, Kotor inMontenegro, in the Aegean Sea.
And sailing to there it'ssailing up what they call
Europe's southern fjord.
(09:42):
So you sail in the morning.
It's a scenic cruise, like kindof sailing through a fjord in
Alaska or Norway, and then youget to the end of it and there
is the city of Kotor, which is asmall walled city, lots of
history, kind of a uniquesituation there in Kotor.
And if you're like to shop forChristmas stuff, there's a
(10:03):
Christmas shop there that mywife loves to go in.
I can't tell you how manyhundreds of dollars we've spent
in there buying nutcrackers andRussian nesting dolls and St
Nicholas and there's all sortsof amazing Christmas stuff in
that Christmas shop in CoutureMontenegro.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:23):
We're a little bit short on time, so let's
continue this conversation onthe other side of the break.
We'll give you the itineraries.
For what Was it?
Couture or Malta?
Or yes to both?
Mark Faldmo (10:35):
To both.
I have one itinerary thatincludes each of those stops,
okay, great.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:40):
We'll continue the conversation and if you
have questions that you want toask us while we're on the air,
text us right now 801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Dave, we will continue talkingabout your Mediterranean cruise
and the unique ports that'scoming up next, and we also give
(11:04):
you the hot travel deal of theweek in the next segment.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday
and Sunday mornings.
Mark and I will be right back.
Show Voice (11:18):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
Ad Voice (11:57):
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
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(12:23):
blueplanetvacations.
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Show Voice (12:23):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalkcom.
(12:44):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmoe.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:53):
Mark, I was just thinking about the Shake
Shack burger, the cheeseburgerthat we were talking about in
the first segment.
Shake Shack teaming up withDelta Airlines bringing their
burgers to the service If you'rein first class.
I haven't eaten yet, so thatsounds amazing.
Mark Faldmo (13:13):
I think that's where I'm going to go today for
lunch.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:16):
Should we just go there after the show?
Yes, All right, that sounds sogood right now.
Welcome back to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe, dreaming of
Shake Shack Burgers Coming up.
In this segment of the show wehave the destination of the week
(13:37):
.
We're going to continue theconversation.
Dave sent a text that he wantsto go on a Mediterranean cruise
but wants unique ports and theports that he should consider.
And we've also got the travelnews headlines.
And, of course, always in thissecond segment, we've got the
hot travel deal of the week andwe're going to tell you how to
get some bonus sky miles ifyou're a Delta flyer.
(14:00):
But let's first get to thetravel news headlines.
You know this doesn't surpriseme at all that weather is a
concern and is increasinglybeing factored into travel
decisions for US travelers.
Mark Faldmo (14:15):
This is interesting in that this has become more
pronounced the last year or two,where people are making travel
decisions based on possibleweather, so avoiding certain
destinations prone to hurricanesor blizzards or large storms.
They are making traveldecisions based on potential
(14:36):
weather.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:37):
It's a little tough to time the weather,
honestly.
You just need to know thathurricane season is between,
what is it?
June through November.
June 1st through the end ofNovember.
Okay, so we're stilltechnically in that right now,
yeah, but today's the last day.
Mark Faldmo (14:54):
Yes, and when I was in Cancun about 10 days ago
there was a hurricane that hitin Belize and we saw some
effects of that A little bitwindy.
One thing is we've talked aboutin the past you also can get
some pretty good deals whenconsidering traveling in some of
these off seasons.
So hurricane season in Mexicoand the Caribbean, for instance,
(15:16):
looking at Costa Rica, if yougo during what they call the
green season, which is the rainyseason, you can get some good
deals on that.
I guess pros and cons, but moreand more people are opting to
try and avoid these if they can.
But again, it's hard, likehurricane season that takes out
six months out of the year thatyou can travel, so it's almost
(15:39):
advantageous to travel when theweather is going to be kind of
rough because of the dealsavailable.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:46):
But the flip side of that is you can't be
upset if something goes wrong.
Mark Faldmo (15:50):
Yes, side note, I did a honeymoon for a friend to
Costa Rica about two weeks agoand they got there.
The operator said well, we hadto cancel their zip line because
it was rainy.
They got it rescheduled.
Then they had to cancel thenational park because the
government closed all thenational parks due to rain, and
(16:10):
they said it's just unusuallyrainy here.
And then when I talked to myfriend he's like oh, that was
one of the best trips that we'vehad.
So you've got to figure out howto make the best out of your
situation.
For that situation in CostaRica they do call it the green
season because it makes thejungle absolutely amazing.
(16:31):
Humid, yes.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:35):
Southwest Airlines is making bold changes
to its drinks and travelers.
Well, they seem to be split.
Mark Faldmo (16:43):
They're trying to do away with plastics on board,
so they are now serving drinksin bamboo cups.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:52):
Please no paper straws.
Yes, I draw the line at paperstraws.
Mark Faldmo (16:58):
Yes they just fall apart.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:01):
I said that we would continue the conversation
and, if you're just joining us,one of our listeners his name
is Dave he sent a text to ushere in the studio 801-649-3700,
801-649-3700 to get your travelquestions answered.
He wanted to go on aMediterranean cruise, but wanted
(17:21):
unique ports, and what portsshould he consider?
That was the question Insegment one.
We started answering thatquestion, but we wanted to give
him a more detailed answer.
So let's talk about the CoutureMontenegro itinerary and then
let's give him the Maltaitinerary.
Mark Faldmo (17:39):
Yeah, so I've chosen two itineraries.
So one includes Kotor, oneincludes Malta.
The first one is RoyalCaribbean.
This is the one that includesKotor.
It's a May 24th 2025 departure.
It's an Adriatic sea cruising.
It leaves from Venice.
It goes to Kotor, which is theunique port, also goes to Athens
(18:02):
, Santorini and Split in Croatia, before returning back to
Venice.
That's a great itinerary.
You get a little bit of theGreek Isles, you get some
Croatia, which is another Ialmost put Croatia on this list
because it's pretty unique aswell, but I think Kotor, out of
(18:24):
all of these, is the most unique.
But then you get Athens, thehistory of Athens, amazing
Santorini, beautiful landscapesin Santorini.
And then, of course, startingand ending in Venice is always a
plus.
I think two weeks ago we talkedabout Venice as one of the
(18:46):
unique places in the world tovisit.
So this cruise again May 24thinside cabins start at $857 per
person and a balcony cabinstarts at $1437 per person.
That is a phenomenal deal.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:00):
That is that's a great price for a med cruise
deal that is, that's a greatprice for uh, mad cruz Dave,
call mark in his office, book itwith him or, if you have
additional questions, his officenumber, 888-718-7717.
One more time, 888-718-7717.
What was the price on thatagain?
Mark Faldmo (19:24):
That one started at $857 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:27):
And what cruise line is that?
That was on Royal Caribbean.
That's a really good one.
Let's talk about the Maltaitinerary.
Mark Faldmo (19:34):
This one is on MSC Cruises.
It goes round trip Barcelonagoes to Marseille, France, genoa
, Italy, Naples in Italy,Messina on Sicily, and then the
port we're focusing on isValletta, in Malta, and back to
Barcelona.
This is on the MSC World Europa.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:54):
That's a pretty new ship, if memory
serves their new large ship.
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (19:59):
This was a May 2nd departure Starts at $1019 per
person for an inside or $1319for a balcony, so a lower price
balcony than that other cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:10):
Did you say what the dates were for Dave on
the Couture and Valletta Malta?
Mark Faldmo (20:16):
Yes, that one was May 24th.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:18):
All right, hot travel deal of the week.
Let's go with the email thatboth of us got a little bit
earlier directly from Deltatalking about bonus sky miles.
So if you're a Delta person,listen up.
Mark Faldmo (20:31):
Delta has an offer with Delta Vacations.
They're one of my preferredsuppliers.
I book a lot of vacationsthrough Delta Vacations and this
is a way to get SkyMiles onyour whole vacation.
You get your miles on flights,hotel car, any activities.
Plus you get those additionalmedallion qualifying dollars.
(20:55):
So you can get up to 10,000bonus SkyMiles for booking a
Delta vacations package.
So how it works is the leadperson on the reservation, so
the main person will get thosebonus SkyMiles and the points
for the hotel car activities,all of that and the bonus
(21:17):
medallion qualification miles,but everyone else will still
earn their flight miles on that.
So you know booking with DeltaVacations is a great way to help
build up and earn SkyMiles.
And then also you know, ifyou're looking to get status
with Delta where you earn thosemedallion qualifying dollars,
(21:39):
it'll really help.
I've looked at a couple ofinstances for the medallion
qualifying miles just to seewhat you could get.
A six-night trip to Cancun onaverage is about $6,000
medallion qualifying dollars.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:54):
Won't that get you to gold status?
Mark Faldmo (21:57):
That'll jump you pretty quick, and that was in
Delta Comfort six-night hotel,the four-and-a-half five-star
hotel, with some activitiesadded in to that.
It's a great way to earn thosemedallion qualifying miles and
also just get your regularSkyMiles up for redemption.
And also they do have apromotion that's going on right
(22:20):
now If you are a medallionmember with Delta, you can get
up to another $250 off yourvacation price.
Also, don't forget, if you havea Delta SkyMiles credit card,
you also can get two to threemiles on top of everything you
spend, because you get the bonusmiles with using a Delta
(22:41):
American Express card as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:44):
Yeah, right here, I've got the reserve card.
By the way, one of the thingsthat I love most about this
thing is getting into the SkyClub.
Salt Lake Sky Club is amazing.
Mark Faldmo (22:54):
Awesome, it is, yeah, and there's.
If you travel a lot and mosttravelers probably do know this
that travel a lot I'd get theDelta Reserve Card, so you do
get that included access intothe Sky Club.
It's a lot less expensive topay the annual fee on the
reserve card than to justoutright buy a Sky Club
membership.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:14):
Yeah, agreed, I think it's $650 a year to have
this card.
Yes, if you travel a lot, moneywell spent, Dave, I hope that
answers your question.
Call Mark in his office to book.
Dave, I hope that answers yourquestion.
Call Mark in his office to book888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(23:36):
The number's also good if youhave follow-up questions for
your Mediterranean crews.
And then, of course, the MSCtheir itinerary.
By the way, MSC does have greatships, very modern, and Royal
Caribbean does a great job inthat part of the world as well.
You just really you just can'tgo wrong.
(23:56):
Call Mark 888-718-7717.
And you can also go toblueplanetvacations.
com when we come back.
It is the infamous JustCruising segment.
Nothing but cruise news andcruise deals.
You're going to get more cruisedeals, even though we've
already kind of hinted at thecruises in this segment.
(24:17):
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe, heis Mark Faldmo.
We'll be back after the break.
Thanks for listening is.
Show Voice (24:28):
Patrick Wiscombe.
He is Mark Faldmo.
We'll be back after the break.
Thanks for listening.
Taking you to destinationsaround the world, the Inside
Travel Talk podcast and radioshow is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(24:49):
Thanks for listening.
Ad Voice (25:02):
We'll be right back.
Visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities.
To set out on your own rivercruise journey, contact Blue
Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717or blueplanetvacations.
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Patrick Wiscombe (25:15):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes, markand I will be talking about 10
disastrous mistakes cruisepassengers make winter river
cruising and we're going toanswer the question that we get
frequently what is a cruise tour?
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(25:37):
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 (26:01):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:18):
and now here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe
and mark all aboard for theinfamous just cruising segment,
part of the inside travel talkpodcast, a radio show airing
(26:43):
each and every Saturday andSunday right here and on
InsideTravelTalk.
com, where you can pick up theshow.
Coming up in this segment, theinfamous just cruising segment,
we've got 10 disastrous it's abig word mark disastrous
mistakes that cruise shippassengers make.
(27:06):
We'll talk about that.
That cruise ship passengersmake.
We'll talk about that.
We'll also be talking aboutViking and Disney dominating the
US as the best cruise lines andwe'll be talking about Royal
Caribbean is confirming theirdeal to buy Mexico's port of
Costa Maya.
I did not know that.
Really, that's a pretty bigdevelopment.
Mark Faldmo (27:27):
Mark, yeah, that is .
That'll be interesting when weget to it.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:38):
And we've also got the cruise deal of the week
.
We are talking about winterriver cruises on Ama Waterways.
That is all coming up here injust this segment of the show.
But let's get to the travelnews headlines.
Where do you want to start?
Should we go Royal Caribbean ordo you want to talk about the
10 disastrous mistakes?
Let's start off with themistake 10 disastrous mistakes
that cruise ship passengers make.
Let's fly through these.
(27:58):
Let's go 10 to one here.
Mark Faldmo (28:01):
Most of these can be avoided if you book with a
professional travel advisor.
A lot of people make thesemistakes, just not knowing.
Number one is scheduling aflight on the same day as
embarkation.
Oh yeah, yeah, that's a bad one.
There are some ports you can dothat in, but I still don't even
recommend that.
I say always fly in a daybefore.
(28:23):
You never know if a flight'sgonna get delayed or canceled.
You wanna have plenty ofoptions to make it to your
cruise.
Cruise is a big investment.
You don't want to miss it.
No, all right.
Number two.
Number two and this is a bigone I think this is now three
shows in a row that we'vementioned this, but failing to
purchase travel insurance.
(28:44):
What a good travel insuranceplan will do?
It helps you out if you'redelayed or your flights are
canceled.
It also covers lost luggage andalso health reasons when you're
traveling.
So, on every trip, I highlyrecommend purchasing travel
insurance.
There's lots of good companiesout there.
(29:04):
I particularly like Travel XInsurance, but there's other
ones Travel Guard, travelInsured all do a good job and
you should purchase travelinsurance for any vacation, not
just a cruise.
Number three Is showing up tothe port without correct
documents.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:22):
Now, the documents that you're talking
about, generally speaking, areyour passport or the birth
certificate and, I guess, id.
Mark Faldmo (29:31):
And ID, yeah, and in some cases a visa Number.
Four is confusing real ID withenhanced driver's license or an
EDL.
An EDL it functions like apassport card, so it's not a
passport, but an enhanceddriver's license is proof of
citizenship.
So you can take a what's calleda closed loop cruise, so a
(29:55):
cruise that departs and ends atthe same port on an EDL, without
your passport, without yourbirth certificate, and people
are confusing the enhanceddriver's license with real ID.
So real ID is one that has thegold star in it and you for sure
need your birth certificatewith that one.
But I would just make it easyIf you're going on a cruise, get
(30:18):
a passport.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:19):
Yeah, really Take the time, Just get it done.
Mark Faldmo (30:22):
Number five Overlooking the 24-week
pregnancy rule.
I've had many clients that havetried to show up with the port
within that 24 weeks and beendenied boarding, even though
we've advised against it.
They all think they can do it.
You do need a doctor's note toboard if you're pregnant, saying
(30:42):
that you're not within that24-week rule.
This is also going back to thegetting travel protection,
because sometimes you book acruise way in advance.
So if you've purchased travelinsurance and then become
pregnant, travel insurance wouldcover if you're not able to go
but you can't be pregnant andthen purchase the travel
(31:03):
insurance, you have to havepurchased it before for travel
insurance to cover it in thatsituation.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:10):
Number seven.
Mark Faldmo (31:12):
Attempting to bring a baby under six months of age.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:14):
Not a good idea.
Mark Faldmo (31:15):
Anyway, most cruise lines are either six months or
12 months, so the child has tobe older than that.
So just check with your cruiseline.
Cruise lines do have prettygood medical facilities on board
, but they're not equipped tohelp with infant medical issues
as much, so they've all madethis rule just for the safety of
the infant.
(31:36):
It's the right call, yes, numbereight is failing to put your
mobile device in airplane mode.
That's a really good one.
I've had people come back witha thousand dollar phone bill
because they did not put theirphone in airplane mode.
Ships have a cell tower on andthen you'll pay the ship's rate
(31:57):
for mobile data at sea, which isvery expensive.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:01):
Yes, you will.
Mark Faldmo (32:02):
And then if you get calls and texts, luckily
there's, you know, a lot oftimes you can get internet on
board and a lot of the chat apps.
You know a lot of times you canget internet on board and a lot
of the chat apps you know.
Whatsapp and Apple's messagesand Google messages all let you
send text messages via Wi-Ficonnection now.
So there are lots of ways thatyou can avoid that and still
communicate with the outsideworld.
(32:22):
Number nine not checking theyalla board times on port days.
There's some really funnyYouTube videos about there,
about pier runners.
As the ship's pulling out,they're running down the pier.
So just make sure you know whatthe all aboard time is.
The all aboard time is usually60, 45 or 30 minutes prior.
(32:45):
Read the cruise contract.
All cruise lines have a cruisecontract that you agree to when
you purchase a cruise.
These documents can be quitelengthy, but it does contain
valuable information.
You can get those on the cruiseline website.
Most confirmations will comewith a link to that.
I think it was in last week'sshow.
What are the cruiser'sresponsibilities when they
(33:06):
change ports or they cancel aport?
That's all in the cruisecontract.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:11):
When Nikki and I were on MSC Seashore MSC
Cruises Seashore the ship wewere in port in Costa Maya and I
think Icon of the Seas was inport.
You and I have been together inMiami when Icon of the Seas is
in.
That ship is so enormous Ididn't even know a ship could be
that big.
Royal Caribbean just confirmedthat they're buying Mexico's
(33:35):
port of Costa Maya and that'swhere I saw, in addition to
being with you.
Mark Faldmo (33:40):
I saw the Icon of the Seas in port there and I was
like good grief and I wascloser to it this time, my point
being they're buying that portA few weeks ago they mentioned
the perfect day Mexico, whichwas in that Costa Maya port, and
they did recently confirm thatthey've purchased land adjacent
to the port in Costa Maya, andthis is where their perfect day
(34:03):
Mexico will go.
Now other cruise lines willstill call on Costa Maya, but
their Perfect Day Mexico willhave a separate entrance to the
port.
They're going to kind of bringin their beach club concept in
with this as well.
Oh good, so it'll be a privateport there in Costa Maya or
Royal Caribbean.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:22):
The private islands.
If you've never been to one,get to one.
They are that spectacular Justto go on that alone, regardless
of the other ports, the privateports where the ships pull up
and you can have an entire beachday worth every penny to get on
a cruise ship yes.
Really.
Yeah, I made a mistake, mark.
(34:43):
I started talking about the 10disastrous mistakes that cruise
ship passengers make, and wewent way too long.
Mark Faldmo (34:51):
We did, but that was a great segment.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:52):
Yeah, it really was Okay.
So what we'll do when we cameback, this will be I mentioned
that it was the cruise deal ofthe week.
What we're going to do is we'rejust literally going to move it
down to the next segment.
We'll get to the Winter RiverCruises, we'll talk about Ama
Waterways offering a 20% off onselect sailings and we'll give
(35:14):
you the additional deal that wehave.
That was my mistake, my bad.
More of the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show when Mark
and I come back.
Thank you so much for listening.
We'll be right back.
Show Voice (35:29):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (36:04):
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Show Voice (36:59):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call the show right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:23):
Final segment of this week's Inside Travel
Talk podcast, a radio showalongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
I made the mistake of notgetting to the cruise deal of
the week because I went a littlebit too long on the travel news
, so thanks for hanging out.
I promise we will get to theinfamous cruise deal of the week
(37:46):
coming up in this segment as wecome back from break.
We've got one piece of travelnews that we need to talk about.
That traveler frustration isreal, obviously, but let's talk
about the technology, how it'shelping travelers.
Mark, let's start there.
Mark Faldmo (38:08):
This is a study that was done by Amadeus, which
is a GDS Global DistributionSystem for Travel.
It's what the airlines use andtravel agents use.
So in their study it was halfof travelers found that the most
frustrating part of travel isfinding the correct routes and
(38:29):
schedule.
Interestingly enough, that ishigher among younger travelers
and lower among older travelers,but it came out to about 50%.
And also, what they findfrustrating is when a flight is
delayed or changed, and so thisis where technology really can
come in, especially with theairline's mobile apps and other
(38:51):
mobile apps to help you justreschedule a flight right on a
Monday of travel withnotifications.
Digital bag tracking One thingthat's nice.
A lot of airlines do this.
I like on Delta, where it saysyour bag is loaded onto the
plane yes, I do like that.
Or your bag is coming out oncarousel five when it's coming
out.
So now there are a lot ofthings that technology can do to
(39:13):
help alleviate stress, and youknow things that we've talked
about before as well, such asTSA, precheck, global ID, real
ID all of these new technologythings are wonderful and
hopefully will help reduce someof the stress of travel.
Interestingly enough, in thisreport, they did find that of
leisure travelers, about 50% forall of these categories
(39:36):
actually wanted humanintervention at the security
checks, border control, whenthey check in for flights, when
they check in for a cruise.
There still is that need forthe human intervention in that.
Oh how interesting.
But there is technology thatcan help with a lot of this
stuff.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:54):
Let's get to the cruise deal of the week,
delayed from segment three tothis segment.
Let's talk about winter rivercruises.
Your favorite river cruise lineis Ama Waterways.
What deal do we have forlisteners this week?
I think?
Mark Faldmo (40:07):
we talked a few weeks ago about some river
cruise lines adding wintercruises and now more and more
are adding them.
It'll be an interestingexperiment to see if this works.
Just going back to ocean cruiselines, I remember years ago
Norwegian Cruise Lines said itwas going to do round-trip
Caribbean cruises from New Yorkand everyone said those will
(40:29):
never work out of New York inthe winter months.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:31):
I would argue that it would actually be more
packed.
Mark Faldmo (40:39):
It is because all of those people from the
Northeast can drive to New Yorkrather than fly to Miami save
them money.
So it actually turned out to bea hit.
So I hope these river cruisesalso turn out to be a hit.
You can actually save somemoney by doing this, because the
prices are significantly lessthan in the regular cruise
season.
And that's one thing wherepeople say who really wants to
(41:00):
go to Europe in the dead ofwinter?
But again, the prices are goodand you'll get to see these
cities with nobody visiting them.
I'm just thinking of, I think,like Dernstein in Austria on the
Danube Other than locals, theonly tourists there.
It'd be wonderful to have thatwhole, that little city to
yourself.
What a unique experience, yep.
(41:21):
And then you know, as Ipreviously mentioned pricing, I
did look at Amo Waterways.
So I compared a seven-dayDanube River cruise in February
and in May, which isn't evenpeak season.
So the river cruise in Februarywas $2,400 per person in
February compared to $4,100 perperson in May.
(41:43):
So what's that?
$1,700 per person Per person?
In Europe most cruise lines areonly on the main rivers, so the
Rhine and Danube in thewintertime, which in my opinion
are the two best rivers.
So if you're looking for a gooddeal, want to see some
interesting parts of Europewithout many people, look at
(42:05):
these winter river cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:07):
If you could only take one Rhine or Danube
what's the one that you're goingto go to first?
Mark Faldmo (42:13):
I'm going to say Danube.
The Danube is by far myfavorite because it involves
Budapest, which is one of myfavorite cities.
There we go.
Okay, a lot of people might saythe Rhine, because of all the
castles.
The scenery on the Rhine isjust amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:27):
So what I'm hearing you say is you really
can't make a mistake.
Mark Faldmo (42:32):
I don't think you can make a mistake on either of
those rivers.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:34):
So it's really just preference.
Yes, I also saw that AlmaWaterways is offering up to 20%
off select sailings.
Did I see that right?
You did.
Mark Faldmo (42:45):
Yeah, Even in these winter months, Alma Waterways
has 20% off select sailings andthey have the fixed rate airfare
starting at $8.99 for 2025cruises or $9.99 for 2026
cruises.
Even in the winter or thespring or summer or fall, now is
(43:05):
a great time to book a rivercruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:08):
How many days, generally speaking, are the
river cruises?
Mark Faldmo (43:12):
a river cruise.
How many days, generallyspeaking, are the river cruises?
There are some that are four orfive nights, but generally
speaking they're seven to 21 dayvoyages, Depending on the
cruise line.
We'll say Grand European Tour,which includes the Rhine, the
Danube, all of the rivers inEurope are connected through
canals and locks and differentthings, so you can go all over
Europe on a river.
You can have these longercruises as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:34):
What's the longest cruise you've been on on
one of those rivers?
Mark Faldmo (43:38):
I've only done a seven day.
It's the longest.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:40):
When you got to the end of the seven days,
did you ever go, yeah, okay, I'mgood.
Or was it like man?
I sure wish I had, you know,another three to seven days.
Mark Faldmo (43:51):
I'm always wanting more.
I'm sorry I'm asking the wrongperson, yeah, and you go to some
of these smaller cities thereare hundreds of them along the
river so you could stop at andsee wonderful sights.
So you can't possibly seeeverything there is to see just
in that week long on the river.
They really try and choose thebest spots.
(44:11):
There are several differentDanube offerings or different
Rhine offerings that all visitslightly different ports to try
and give you an option to seeall of that.
So I would just find anitinerary.
Find two or three places thatyou really want to see.
For me it would be Budapest andsome of those Eastern European
Slovakia, different places likethat, which I really like.
(44:34):
So just find some cities thatinterest you and find an
itinerary that meets that.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:39):
You received a text a little bit earlier this
week from Kate and she sent youthe text to 801-649-3700.
So if you have a specifictravel-related question, text
Mark or I guess you could callit too, but text Mark at that
address.
Kate is asking I've heard youand Patrick talk about cruise
(45:03):
tours before.
She's asking what is a cruisetour?
Okay, let's just start there.
What's a cruise tour?
Mark Faldmo (45:09):
Well, a cruise tour is where you combine a cruise
with a land tour.
There are cruise tours all overthe world.
Most prevalently, you'll seethem in Alaska.
There are some in Europe, thereare some in Asia, there are
some in the South Pacific.
Norwegian offers a cruise tourin Hawaii.
They have their seven-daycruise, but you don't really get
(45:31):
to see Oahu, so they have athree-night cruise tour that
includes the Polynesian CulturalCenter and some different
things like that, and we'll justgo back and focus on Alaska
right here, because that's theirseveral Alaska cruise tours
offered.
A lot of people do want to getinto that interior of Alaska.
They want to see Denali, theywant to see Fairbanks, and so
(45:55):
what a cruise store does is itallows you to see that interior
of Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:01):
It's one thing to see it from the river.
There were times that I wantedto spend more time in port than
going back to the cruise shipearly, and so I would think that
that would be very interestingto a lot of people.
Mark Faldmo (46:14):
It would yeah, and so you know I found a unique
cruise tour this is one thatHolland America has done for
quite a while that I wanted todo.
There are several differentvariations of this.
I just chose the 10-day cruisetour, and this is 10-day Denali
and Yukon.
And so what you do is it leavesfrom Vancouver, you sail to
(46:38):
Skagway, so your ports on thatwould be Ketchikan and Juneau,
and you actually get off theship in Skagway.
You take the White PassRailroad to Whitehorse in Canada
and then you take a bus toDawson City, Canada, and then
from there you take a flight toFairbanks and then from
(46:59):
Fairbanks you come down, spend aday in Denali National Park and
then you take the train Denalidown to Anchorage.
Oh wow, so you're doing five ofthe seven days on the cruise.
You get off part way throughand do that Yukon territory in
Canada, Plus you get to seeDenali National Park.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:20):
Alaska is so great you just can't go wrong.
There's two vacations thateveryone will agree on Hawaii
and Alaska.
Mark Faldmo (47:30):
And that's why's why you know, last week we
talked about small ships inAlaska.
There are so many differentways to do Alaska.
We'll probably do a segment inthe future about if you just
want to do a land tour to Alaska.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:43):
There's so much to see and experience in
Alaska you will always be gladthat you went to Alaska.
You'll always be glad that youwent to Alaska.
You'll always be glad that youtraveled the world.
You'll always be glad that youwent to Europe.
Alma waterways go, during thelow season, $2,400 per person to
(48:07):
go sail the Danube.
That's astonishing.
That's a $1,700 savings.
Instead of going in May, go inFebruary, have Europe all to
yourself.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(48:28):
Thank you so much for listening.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, sunday,
at 11 am, right here on 860 KKAThere in Salt Lake City.
And if you want or need tolisten to the show again, you
can also download and subscribeto the podcast version of the
show on InsideTravelTalk.
com and we're on all of themajor podcast platforms.
(48:53):
Well, now it's your turn to getout and explore the world while
you can, because you never knowwhat curveballs life is going
to throw at you.
Make it a choice to live yourlife deliberately and live your
life intentionally.
Thank you so much for listening, really, mark, and I sincerely
appreciate you listening eachand every week.
(49:14):
Have a great week.
We'll talk to you again nextweek.
Thank you.
Show Voice (49:22):
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.
(49:42):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Thank you.
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