October 25, 2025 • 27 mins
Ready to turn daydreams into booked trips? We bring you a crisp, practical guide to traveling smarter—starting with big news in the skies and landing with real savings on land and sea. Delta’s fast, free Wi‑Fi expansion transforms long-haul flights from offline zones into connected time savers. Then we shift to solo travel with a game-changing offer: Cosmos waives single supplements on select 2026 European coach tours, removing one of the biggest cost hurdles for travelers going it alone. We spotlight standout multi-country routes that pack culture, cuisine, and convenience into one seamless plan.
The heart of the episode takes us to Jamaica with guest insights from the Jamaica Tourist Board. Think warm water, gentle sloping beaches, and more than 150 attractions that make it worth leaving the all-inclusive for a day—or three. From climbing Dunn’s River Falls to bamboo rafting with a local guide, we walk through experiences that reveal the island’s spirit. We also break down flight logistics, including widespread nonstop options to Montego Bay, Kingston, and the newly served Ian Fleming International near Ocho Rios. If the island calls your name, note the current offer: save up to $550 when you pay in full for qualifying dates.
Cruise fans get a forward look at Carnival’s 2027–2028 deployments, including a dedicated 14-day Hawaii program from Long Beach and expanded Mexican Riviera and Norfolk departures. Europe river lovers can geek out over a new paddle wheeler arriving on the Seine—a unique way to glide through France’s countryside with intimate capacity. Then we go deep on the Panama Canal with a clear playbook: when to sail for value, why full transits outshine partials, which side of the ship gets better views by direction, and how ship size determines whether you pass through the historic or new locks. We finish with two sharp full-transit repositioning deals for April 2026, including a Holland America itinerary averaging about $100 per day and a Norwegian balcony rate that undercuts similar sailings.
If you enjoyed the insights and want more timely deals and practical tips, follow the show, share it with a traveler who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Your next great trip starts here.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mark Faldmo (00:00):
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and
Radio Show.
On today's show, we're going tobe talking about solo or single
travelers, offers and deals,Jamaica and Panama Canal
cruises.
Let's start the show.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:12):
The Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio
Show presented byBluePlanetVacations.com contains
travel deals, promotions, andoffers 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 (00:38):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel TalkPodcast and Radio Show.
Presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com.
Call or text the show now.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInside TravelTalk.com.
And now, here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark
(01:02):
Faldmo.
Mark Faldmo (01:06):
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and
Radio Show.
My name is Mark Faldmo.
The entire purpose of this showis to help you plan and book
your next vacation or give youideas of where you want to
vacation next.
We're presented by Blue PlanetVacations, and thank you for
taking the time to stop andlisten to our show.
This week we'll excuse Patrickas he is out.
(01:27):
We have pre-recorded a fewsegments which we'll play, but
right now, let's start with thetravel news.
First, Delta brings fast freeWi-Fi to the world.
This is very good news.
Delta is expanding their freeWi-Fi to their international and
regional flights.
This is gradually rolling outover the next few months, and
(01:49):
that's an exciting developmentto be able to have Wi-Fi,
especially on those longinternational flights.
And next, this is kind of atravel deal, but also news
Cosmos Vacations, uh, which isan escorted bus tour in Europe.
They have several departures in2026 where they've waived the
single supplement.
(02:09):
So that means if you'retraveling as a single traveler,
um, you no longer have to paythe 150 or 200% fare.
You'll get to pay just the ratebased on double occupancy.
That's one of the things we'vehad a lot of requests for is
single travelers for bothcruises and traveling to Europe.
So this is a good development.
Uh, this one you do have tobook by the end of the year.
(02:31):
And just to highlight a few ofthe deals uh that Cosmos has,
one of my favorites is it'scalled Seven Countries with
Venice and Paris.
This itinerary starts inLondon, goes to Belgium, then
goes to Germany, goes toInnsbruck, Austria, goes to
Venice, Switzerland, Dijon inFrance, and ends in Paris.
(02:54):
That's a pretty amazingitinerary.
And another itinerary that Ireally like that Globus has is
called Europe's Highlights.
And Europe's Highlights startsin Amsterdam, goes down to
Germany, goes to Austria,Venice, Rome, goes to the
Florence area, and then up intoSwitzerland, Lake Cuomo,
(03:16):
Lucerne, Luzon in Switzerland,and ends in Paris.
So these are some you knowpretty good options for solo
travelers in Europe, as well asanyone who wants to go to
Europe.
These are some pretty goodhighlights.
And now earlier this week,Patrick and I uh were able to
record a segment about Jamaicauh with Diane Holland from the
(03:38):
Jamaica Tourist Board.
Uh let's listen to thatinterview.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:41):
Let's do something really pleasant as I
sit here with the Hawaiianbreeze blowing through my hair.
It is so glorious here.
Let me introduce Diane Holland.
She's with the Jamaica TourismBoard.
It is so great to see you,Diane.
Diane Holland (03:55):
Thank you so much, Patrick.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:57):
What's your favorite thing about Jamaica?
Diane Holland (03:59):
It's people.
And uh yes, we're beautiful, wehave beautiful beaches, it's
warm year-round, the scenery islovely.
However, it's the people thatmakes Jamaica what it is.
And it's our blend of folksfrom all over the world that
settled and never left afterslavery.
(04:20):
And when we needed people towork the plantations, and they
came and did not leave.
That's what makes Jamaica whatit is.
Just the unique blend ofcultures that we have.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:34):
How many people live on Jamaica?
Diane Holland (04:36):
It's just a bit over three million.
It's that big.
We're about the size ofConnecticut.
We're about what that basicallymeans by the way the bird
flies.
We're about 145 miles long, andat its widest wind, we're about
55 miles.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:57):
When is the best time to go to Jamaica?
Diane Holland (05:00):
Jamaica is warm year-round.
We're in the tropics, so we donot have specific seasons.
It's always warm.
Of course, we get a little bitcooler.
Well, we average 85 year round.
We get a wee bit cooler, andcold in Jamaica is when it gets
to around 75 degrees.
(05:21):
It's cold.
Everyone is grabbing forsweaters.
And it's when most of NorthAmerica is experiencing their
winter.
Then we do get a little bit ofthat cool breeze that flows down
the Caribbean.
We're located just south ofCuba, south of Florida.
(05:45):
So we're in close proximity tothe US.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:48):
What I'm hearing you say is there's not
really a bad time to go.
Diane Holland (05:52):
Whenever you are ready, Jamaica is ready for you.
What do you like doing when yougo there when I go to Jamaica
because I'm going back home?
I love to relax.
I was born and built up inJamaica, so I'm going back home.
So I go there.
I personally go there to relax.
But then there's just so muchto do outside of the hotel that
(06:19):
people going there may go intoan all-inclusive setting and
feel okay and be paying for allof this.
I mean, as well as stay here.
We have so many attractions,over 150 attractions.
(06:41):
Get out and explore, get outand see what's outside of the
hotels.
If you've seen the hotels,you're only seeing about 10% of
the island.
So you need to get out andexperience.
One of our main attractions isthe Duns River Falls.
It's a natural waterfall thatcascades about 600 feet and it's
(07:06):
tiered like a wedding cake.
You actually start at sea leveland take your time and go up.
You can go with a guide or byyourself.
But it's beautiful, it'srefreshing.
That's one.
There's also rafting on theriver, which is actually a
(07:27):
bamboo raft that is bamboo allspliced together and with two
seats, and you have a raftsmanthat takes you down the river
while he's taking you down, he'staking telling you everything
about the flora and fauna.
So it's not only relaxing, butyou're learning a lot about the
(07:49):
island, including the raftsmantelling you about his life story
as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:55):
How many people can be on a raft?
Obviously, it's the you knowwhoever the guide is, plus is a
bamboo raft built for two.
And how long does the that kindof a tour last?
Diane Holland (08:07):
It varies.
Um, you have anywhere from 45minutes to two hours.
There's one in the eastern partof the island in the Rio
Grande.
That is two and a half hours.
So it takes a while.
Beautiful, relaxing.
When I go to Jamaica most ofthe time, not only to see family
(08:31):
and to relax, but to taketravel advisors to show them, to
have them experience thedestination as well.
So we like to give them a goodfeel of the island and things
they can do, their plans can dowhen they get to Jamaica.
And so we take them out to seeall the hotels and to experience
(08:56):
some of the attractions aswell, so they get a good feel of
the island.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:01):
What else do you like to do when you go
there?
Diane Holland (09:04):
Jamaica is so beautiful, the scenery.
Um, it's so picturesque.
The water that surrounds us,the Caribbean Sea.
It's just so beautiful, thedifferent variations of blue and
turquoise, and our water iswarm.
So the Caribbean Sea is only acouple of degrees lower than the
(09:29):
air temperature, and that's anattraction within itself because
it's very warm.
Our beaches, we don't haveshelves.
I don't know if you understandwhen I say shelf.
Um, a lot of places you go,you're walking on the sand, and
then it drops.
The water gradually goes fromthe shore and gradually gets
(09:52):
deeper and deeper, but for themost part, it's shallow to the
shore.
So that I love to do just enjoythe water.
But I love to drive through theinterior of the island.
Well, to get to my hometown,which is my center of the
(10:12):
island.
I just turn my windows down andjust let the breeze come in.
You smell all the earth, allthe smells of outdoor cooking,
and just all those differentsmells coming together.
It's very relaxing for me.
I love the simple things oflife.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:35):
Where should visitors stay?
Diane Holland (10:39):
Getting to Jamaica is fairly easy.
From the eastern part of theUnited States, almost all the
major cities have non-stopflights.
They have non-stop flights allthe way to Colorado.
Actually, Denver, which is thefarthest west where there is a
non-stop flight.
(11:00):
United flights from Denver toJamaica non-stop.
But farther west, it requires aconnection.
So connect whatever's easy andeasier for whomever is going,
whether they like an overnightflight or whatever they like,
they can always find anitinerary that would get them to
(11:24):
Jamaica.
But just keep in mind cheap canbe expensive.
Because sometimes people arelooking at the cheapest fares.
Then when you look at it, thelayovers, they don't realize
that layovers are costing you aswell.
So look at the best itinerarieswith the shortest connections
(11:45):
if you're coming from theWestern USA.
But there are non-stop flightsfrom the major cities: Atlanta,
Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando,New York, all the eastern
states and cities, then youwould go into likely there are
three international airports inJamaica.
(12:07):
There's the Norman Manley inKingston, the Samster
International in Montegue B,where most of our passengers
going for tourism go into.
But starting just this pastweekend, February 24th, American
Airlines started nonstopservice into our newest
(12:30):
international airport, the IanFleming International Airport,
just outside of Olteros.
I think it's two times weekly.
Wait, did you see Ian Fleming?
As in 007?
James Bond.
Yeah, James Bond.
You know, all his novels werewritten while he was retired in
(12:53):
Jamaica.
They were all written inJamaica, so yes.
And actually the Ian FlemingInternational Airport is close
to where he lived at Goldeneye.
Okay, so so uh naturally.
Yes.
Yes, yes.
(13:14):
And it's also a hotel isattached.
The villa is for rent, and alsothere is uh there they there
are rooms that are attached aswell.
Ian Fleming gainedinternational status a little on
10 years ago.
So it used to service privateplanes until this past weekend
(13:39):
on Saturday when they had theirfirst international flight.
American started service there.
But to answer your questionabout all-inclusive hotels,
Jamaica does have a number ofall-inclusive hotels.
And you name it once forcouples, once for families, ones
(14:01):
that cater to more singlesfund, but we also have other
hotels as well.
So anything, any taste orbudget, we have it in Jamaica.
Cottages, villas, they arethere.
There is something for everytaste and budget where
accommodation is concerned.
Mark Faldmo (14:23):
And that just makes me want to go to Jamaica.
Uh, right now, our offers toJamaica save up to $550 uh when
you pay your vacation in full.
Um, that is for uh travel thefirst part of next year, uh, so
January through May.
And you do have to book yourvacation by the end of October
(14:43):
in order to get that $550 off.
And that'll do it for our firstsegment of Inside Travel Talk.
We'll be right back in just amoment.
Show Voice (14:59):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk Podcastand Radio Show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.com.
America's best travel advisor.
Call or text the show now.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
(15:20):
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(16:14):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Mark Faldmo (16:23):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and
Radio Show.
We're excited to be here today.
It's now time for the JustCruising segment.
This is a segment that isdedicated to all things
cruising.
In this segment, we're going totalk about Carnival Cruise
Line's new deployments, a paddlewheeler on the rivers of Europe
and the Panama Canal.
We'll start out with the travelnews where we're going to talk
(16:46):
about Carnival Cruise Lines 27and 28 updated deployments,
where they've announced someadditional details, which also
includes an exciting dedicatedHawaii cruise program.
So uh starting in October of2027 through April of 2028, the
Carnival Legend will repositionto Long Beach, uh, where it will
(17:10):
do 14-day Hawaii cruises.
It'll visit Honolulu, Kauai,Maui, Hilo, and Kona, plus its
required international stop,which will be in Ensenada,
Mexico.
And the ship will also offer uhsix and eight-day Mexican
Riviera cruises, uh, where it'llvisit ports like Puerto
Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo SanLucas, La Paz, and Ensenada.
(17:33):
Carnival announced that they'regoing to transfer a ship from
Florida to Norfolk, Virginia inMay of 2027.
And this ship is the CarnivalFreedom, and it will do six-day
Bahamas cruises, which will goto Celebration Key, Nassau
Bahamas, and Bimini as well.
It will do six-day Bermudacruises with two days in the
(17:56):
islands of Bermuda.
So that's the new cruises thatCarnival has announced.
And Patrick and I have oftentalked.
We, you know, talk about thesenew deployments, which are
pretty far out, you know, May of2027, all the way through 2028.
When the cruise lines announcethese deployments, it is the
best time to purchase thecruises.
(18:16):
Uh, you'll get the mostamenities, and generally you'll
get the best price.
So if you're looking for any ofthese, you know, particularly
exciting is that series of uh14-day Hawaii cruises.
Our next story is interesting.
Uh, it's about a company calledCroissy, which is a river
cruise company in Europe, andthey are introducing a paddle
(18:37):
wheeler on the Seine River inFrance.
And this paddle wheel ship is asmaller ship, it's 81 guess.
It doesn't look like the paddlewheelers on the Mississippi,
um, but it does have a paddlewheel propulsion system.
Uh, the ship still does have togo through canals and under
bridges, so it has to meetcertain height, width, and
length requirements for that.
(18:59):
But it would be an interestinguh way to see the countryside in
France.
And we had a caller ask aquestion, and Patrick and I were
able to uh pre-record a segmenton the Panama Canal.
Uh so we'll listen to theanswers to this caller's
questions, and then I'll be backwith some deals on the Panama
(19:20):
Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:20):
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 totext your question.
Diane is texting the show andshe is asking about Panama Canal
cruises.
This is a client question fromyour client, but she texted you.
(19:43):
Yep.
Mark Faldmo (19:44):
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'vedone the Panama Canal a few
times.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:58):
Diane's first question is when is the best
time to go see the Panama Canalon a cruise?
Mark Faldmo (20:03):
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 whenthey're trying to position ships
(20:25):
from the Caribbean to go toAlaska, or vice versa, ships
from Alaska going to theCaribbean for the winter season.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:33):
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 (20:43):
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'drecommend a full transit.
So this is one that goes fromthe Pacific to the Atlantic, or
vice versa.
So you'd start on the EastCoast, end in the West Coast, or
(21:06):
vice versa on that.
If you do the partial transit,you miss the co-toon cut.
You miss what is the PanamaCanal.
You will experience goingthrough the locks, but you'll
miss what is the Panama Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:21):
All right, so full transit is what you're
saying here.
Mark Faldmo (21:23):
Yeah, full transit.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:24):
Diane is also asking, should I get a balcony
if I'm going to do a PanamaCanal cruise?
Mark Faldmo (21:31):
I would say yes, because when you're going
through the canal, you can goexperience it on the front of
the ship, you can experience iton deck.
But watching from your balcony,you get just as good of views
of all of 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?
Patrick Wiscombe (21:51):
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (21:52):
It really doesn't matter, but if you're one place
where it may matter is whenyou're going, we'll just take
going from Pacific to Atlantic.
You'd want to be on the rightside of the ship because that's
the side where Panama City ison.
So starboard side.
Starboard side.
Yep.
If you're going the otherdirection, then you would want
(22:13):
to be on the left or port sideof the ship.
But it it really doesn't matteron 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?
It's a full-day process.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:27):
So oh, it is.
I think sometimes when they saycanal, you know, I always think
of like these small wateringditches.
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (22:36):
I that's not what this is.
No, no.
This is it's a big ordeal toactually get through the canal
early in the morning.
All the ships are going fromPacific to Atlantic, and then
they meet up in Gatoon Lake.
Now, what's it called?
It's Gatun Lake.
It's a man-made lake, andthat's kind of what drives the
(23:00):
canal because it's allgravity-driven.
All the water is filled bygravity and the locks.
And so it all comes, it flowsfrom the mountains of Panama
into the lake.
And so they only do traffic inone direction now.
And then in the evening itopens up to go the other
direction.
Oh, interesting.
I've only done Panama Canalfrom Pacific side to Atlantic
(23:22):
side.
So in that, we started throughthe canal at about 5 a.m.
is when the process startsgoing through the canal.
And then so it's kind of anAMP.
Yes.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:34):
So west to east is a.m.
And then of course the oppositein the evening or the
afternoon.
Mark Faldmo (23:40):
Yeah.
Yeah, because there's the Gatuncut where the ships go through.
There's not room for two-waytraffic.
Well, there might be, but it'spretty narrow.
So it's safer just to go allone direction.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:53):
One of the uh last questions that Diane had
was should she go through thenew locks or the old locks?
Well, I have not been throughthe new locks.
Mark Faldmo (24:01):
I think I would prefer the old locks.
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, which I think
that's where a lot of thescenery is at, is in the old
(24:22):
locks, you'll want to go on asmaller ship through the Panama
Canal.
Okay, that's all really goodinformation about the Panama
Canal.
And I've chose two Panama Canalcruise deals.
These are full transits andthey are uh repositioning
cruises in April of 2026.
The first one I chose becauseit has the best overall price.
(24:44):
Um, it's on Holland, America,and it leaves on April 5th of
2026.
And the ports, it leaves fromFort Lauderdale, goes to
Cartagena, Colombia, thencruises through the Panama
Canal, goes to Puntarenas, whichis in Costa Rica, goes to
Acajute, uh, which is in ElSalvador, goes to Porto Quetzal
(25:08):
in Guatemala, and then as itheads up to its final port in
San Diego, it will visit PortaVallarta and Cabo San Lucas.
This cruise has a pretty goodprice for a 15-day cruise.
Starts at $15.54 per person.
So that's right, about $100 aday.
The next cruise is also a15-day cruise.
(25:29):
It's on Norwegian cruise line.
It goes from Miami.
Um, this one leaves April 25thof 26.
It visits uh Cartagenian,Colombia, Cologne, uh, which is
in Panama, then the next day itcruises through the Panama
Canal, goes to uh Porto Caldera,uh, which is in Costa Rica,
Porto Quetzal in Guatemala, andthen cruises up, visits Porto
(25:52):
Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, andLos Angeles.
And the reason why I chose thiscruise is for the balcony
cabins.
It has a great rate on balconycabins, which starts at $28.99
for a 15-day cruise.
That's about $300 or $400 lowerthan other balcony cabins I
found during this time.
(26:13):
And so if you're interested inany of these, you can give us a
call at Blue Planet Vacations.
And that will do it for theshow today.
Thanks for listening.
Show Voice (26:24):
That's it.
That's the end of the show.
You've been listening to theInside Travel Talk Podcast and
Radio Show with Patrick Whiskeyand Mark Balbo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(26:45):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (26:55):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's RivieraMayer with authentic,
all-inclusive luxury at an ElDorado Spa Resort.
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Vacations at 888-718-7717 orBluePlanetVacations.com.
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and
Radio Show.
On today's show, we're going tobe talking about solo or single
travelers, offers and deals,Jamaica and Panama Canal
cruises.
Let's start the show.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:12):
The Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio
Show presented byBluePlanetVacations.com contains
travel deals, promotions, andoffers 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 (00:38):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel TalkPodcast and Radio Show.
Presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com.
Call or text the show now.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInside TravelTalk.com.
And now, here are your hosts,Patrick Wiscombe and Mark
(01:02):
Faldmo.
Mark Faldmo (01:06):
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and
Radio Show.
My name is Mark Faldmo.
The entire purpose of this showis to help you plan and book
your next vacation or give youideas of where you want to
vacation next.
We're presented by Blue PlanetVacations, and thank you for
taking the time to stop andlisten to our show.
This week we'll excuse Patrickas he is out.
(01:27):
We have pre-recorded a fewsegments which we'll play, but
right now, let's start with thetravel news.
First, Delta brings fast freeWi-Fi to the world.
This is very good news.
Delta is expanding their freeWi-Fi to their international and
regional flights.
This is gradually rolling outover the next few months, and
(01:49):
that's an exciting developmentto be able to have Wi-Fi,
especially on those longinternational flights.
And next, this is kind of atravel deal, but also news
Cosmos Vacations, uh, which isan escorted bus tour in Europe.
They have several departures in2026 where they've waived the
single supplement.
(02:09):
So that means if you'retraveling as a single traveler,
um, you no longer have to paythe 150 or 200% fare.
You'll get to pay just the ratebased on double occupancy.
That's one of the things we'vehad a lot of requests for is
single travelers for bothcruises and traveling to Europe.
So this is a good development.
Uh, this one you do have tobook by the end of the year.
(02:31):
And just to highlight a few ofthe deals uh that Cosmos has,
one of my favorites is it'scalled Seven Countries with
Venice and Paris.
This itinerary starts inLondon, goes to Belgium, then
goes to Germany, goes toInnsbruck, Austria, goes to
Venice, Switzerland, Dijon inFrance, and ends in Paris.
(02:54):
That's a pretty amazingitinerary.
And another itinerary that Ireally like that Globus has is
called Europe's Highlights.
And Europe's Highlights startsin Amsterdam, goes down to
Germany, goes to Austria,Venice, Rome, goes to the
Florence area, and then up intoSwitzerland, Lake Cuomo,
(03:16):
Lucerne, Luzon in Switzerland,and ends in Paris.
So these are some you knowpretty good options for solo
travelers in Europe, as well asanyone who wants to go to
Europe.
These are some pretty goodhighlights.
And now earlier this week,Patrick and I uh were able to
record a segment about Jamaicauh with Diane Holland from the
(03:38):
Jamaica Tourist Board.
Uh let's listen to thatinterview.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:41):
Let's do something really pleasant as I
sit here with the Hawaiianbreeze blowing through my hair.
It is so glorious here.
Let me introduce Diane Holland.
She's with the Jamaica TourismBoard.
It is so great to see you,Diane.
Diane Holland (03:55):
Thank you so much, Patrick.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:57):
What's your favorite thing about Jamaica?
Diane Holland (03:59):
It's people.
And uh yes, we're beautiful, wehave beautiful beaches, it's
warm year-round, the scenery islovely.
However, it's the people thatmakes Jamaica what it is.
And it's our blend of folksfrom all over the world that
settled and never left afterslavery.
(04:20):
And when we needed people towork the plantations, and they
came and did not leave.
That's what makes Jamaica whatit is.
Just the unique blend ofcultures that we have.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:34):
How many people live on Jamaica?
Diane Holland (04:36):
It's just a bit over three million.
It's that big.
We're about the size ofConnecticut.
We're about what that basicallymeans by the way the bird
flies.
We're about 145 miles long, andat its widest wind, we're about
55 miles.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:57):
When is the best time to go to Jamaica?
Diane Holland (05:00):
Jamaica is warm year-round.
We're in the tropics, so we donot have specific seasons.
It's always warm.
Of course, we get a little bitcooler.
Well, we average 85 year round.
We get a wee bit cooler, andcold in Jamaica is when it gets
to around 75 degrees.
(05:21):
It's cold.
Everyone is grabbing forsweaters.
And it's when most of NorthAmerica is experiencing their
winter.
Then we do get a little bit ofthat cool breeze that flows down
the Caribbean.
We're located just south ofCuba, south of Florida.
(05:45):
So we're in close proximity tothe US.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:48):
What I'm hearing you say is there's not
really a bad time to go.
Diane Holland (05:52):
Whenever you are ready, Jamaica is ready for you.
What do you like doing when yougo there when I go to Jamaica
because I'm going back home?
I love to relax.
I was born and built up inJamaica, so I'm going back home.
So I go there.
I personally go there to relax.
But then there's just so muchto do outside of the hotel that
(06:19):
people going there may go intoan all-inclusive setting and
feel okay and be paying for allof this.
I mean, as well as stay here.
We have so many attractions,over 150 attractions.
(06:41):
Get out and explore, get outand see what's outside of the
hotels.
If you've seen the hotels,you're only seeing about 10% of
the island.
So you need to get out andexperience.
One of our main attractions isthe Duns River Falls.
It's a natural waterfall thatcascades about 600 feet and it's
(07:06):
tiered like a wedding cake.
You actually start at sea leveland take your time and go up.
You can go with a guide or byyourself.
But it's beautiful, it'srefreshing.
That's one.
There's also rafting on theriver, which is actually a
(07:27):
bamboo raft that is bamboo allspliced together and with two
seats, and you have a raftsmanthat takes you down the river
while he's taking you down, he'staking telling you everything
about the flora and fauna.
So it's not only relaxing, butyou're learning a lot about the
(07:49):
island, including the raftsmantelling you about his life story
as well.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:55):
How many people can be on a raft?
Obviously, it's the you knowwhoever the guide is, plus is a
bamboo raft built for two.
And how long does the that kindof a tour last?
Diane Holland (08:07):
It varies.
Um, you have anywhere from 45minutes to two hours.
There's one in the eastern partof the island in the Rio
Grande.
That is two and a half hours.
So it takes a while.
Beautiful, relaxing.
When I go to Jamaica most ofthe time, not only to see family
(08:31):
and to relax, but to taketravel advisors to show them, to
have them experience thedestination as well.
So we like to give them a goodfeel of the island and things
they can do, their plans can dowhen they get to Jamaica.
And so we take them out to seeall the hotels and to experience
(08:56):
some of the attractions aswell, so they get a good feel of
the island.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:01):
What else do you like to do when you go
there?
Diane Holland (09:04):
Jamaica is so beautiful, the scenery.
Um, it's so picturesque.
The water that surrounds us,the Caribbean Sea.
It's just so beautiful, thedifferent variations of blue and
turquoise, and our water iswarm.
So the Caribbean Sea is only acouple of degrees lower than the
(09:29):
air temperature, and that's anattraction within itself because
it's very warm.
Our beaches, we don't haveshelves.
I don't know if you understandwhen I say shelf.
Um, a lot of places you go,you're walking on the sand, and
then it drops.
The water gradually goes fromthe shore and gradually gets
(09:52):
deeper and deeper, but for themost part, it's shallow to the
shore.
So that I love to do just enjoythe water.
But I love to drive through theinterior of the island.
Well, to get to my hometown,which is my center of the
(10:12):
island.
I just turn my windows down andjust let the breeze come in.
You smell all the earth, allthe smells of outdoor cooking,
and just all those differentsmells coming together.
It's very relaxing for me.
I love the simple things oflife.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:35):
Where should visitors stay?
Diane Holland (10:39):
Getting to Jamaica is fairly easy.
From the eastern part of theUnited States, almost all the
major cities have non-stopflights.
They have non-stop flights allthe way to Colorado.
Actually, Denver, which is thefarthest west where there is a
non-stop flight.
(11:00):
United flights from Denver toJamaica non-stop.
But farther west, it requires aconnection.
So connect whatever's easy andeasier for whomever is going,
whether they like an overnightflight or whatever they like,
they can always find anitinerary that would get them to
(11:24):
Jamaica.
But just keep in mind cheap canbe expensive.
Because sometimes people arelooking at the cheapest fares.
Then when you look at it, thelayovers, they don't realize
that layovers are costing you aswell.
So look at the best itinerarieswith the shortest connections
(11:45):
if you're coming from theWestern USA.
But there are non-stop flightsfrom the major cities: Atlanta,
Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando,New York, all the eastern
states and cities, then youwould go into likely there are
three international airports inJamaica.
(12:07):
There's the Norman Manley inKingston, the Samster
International in Montegue B,where most of our passengers
going for tourism go into.
But starting just this pastweekend, February 24th, American
Airlines started nonstopservice into our newest
(12:30):
international airport, the IanFleming International Airport,
just outside of Olteros.
I think it's two times weekly.
Wait, did you see Ian Fleming?
As in 007?
James Bond.
Yeah, James Bond.
You know, all his novels werewritten while he was retired in
(12:53):
Jamaica.
They were all written inJamaica, so yes.
And actually the Ian FlemingInternational Airport is close
to where he lived at Goldeneye.
Okay, so so uh naturally.
Yes.
Yes, yes.
(13:14):
And it's also a hotel isattached.
The villa is for rent, and alsothere is uh there they there
are rooms that are attached aswell.
Ian Fleming gainedinternational status a little on
10 years ago.
So it used to service privateplanes until this past weekend
(13:39):
on Saturday when they had theirfirst international flight.
American started service there.
But to answer your questionabout all-inclusive hotels,
Jamaica does have a number ofall-inclusive hotels.
And you name it once forcouples, once for families, ones
(14:01):
that cater to more singlesfund, but we also have other
hotels as well.
So anything, any taste orbudget, we have it in Jamaica.
Cottages, villas, they arethere.
There is something for everytaste and budget where
accommodation is concerned.
Mark Faldmo (14:23):
And that just makes me want to go to Jamaica.
Uh, right now, our offers toJamaica save up to $550 uh when
you pay your vacation in full.
Um, that is for uh travel thefirst part of next year, uh, so
January through May.
And you do have to book yourvacation by the end of October
(14:43):
in order to get that $550 off.
And that'll do it for our firstsegment of Inside Travel Talk.
We'll be right back in just amoment.
Show Voice (14:59):
Taking you to destinations around the world.
The Inside Travel Talk Podcastand Radio Show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.com.
America's best travel advisor.
Call or text the show now.
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
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(15:20):
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Show Voice (15:54):
This is the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio
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Call us now.
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And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.com.
(16:14):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Mark Faldmo (16:23):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and
Radio Show.
We're excited to be here today.
It's now time for the JustCruising segment.
This is a segment that isdedicated to all things
cruising.
In this segment, we're going totalk about Carnival Cruise
Line's new deployments, a paddlewheeler on the rivers of Europe
and the Panama Canal.
We'll start out with the travelnews where we're going to talk
(16:46):
about Carnival Cruise Lines 27and 28 updated deployments,
where they've announced someadditional details, which also
includes an exciting dedicatedHawaii cruise program.
So uh starting in October of2027 through April of 2028, the
Carnival Legend will repositionto Long Beach, uh, where it will
(17:10):
do 14-day Hawaii cruises.
It'll visit Honolulu, Kauai,Maui, Hilo, and Kona, plus its
required international stop,which will be in Ensenada,
Mexico.
And the ship will also offer uhsix and eight-day Mexican
Riviera cruises, uh, where it'llvisit ports like Puerto
Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo SanLucas, La Paz, and Ensenada.
(17:33):
Carnival announced that they'regoing to transfer a ship from
Florida to Norfolk, Virginia inMay of 2027.
And this ship is the CarnivalFreedom, and it will do six-day
Bahamas cruises, which will goto Celebration Key, Nassau
Bahamas, and Bimini as well.
It will do six-day Bermudacruises with two days in the
(17:56):
islands of Bermuda.
So that's the new cruises thatCarnival has announced.
And Patrick and I have oftentalked.
We, you know, talk about thesenew deployments, which are
pretty far out, you know, May of2027, all the way through 2028.
When the cruise lines announcethese deployments, it is the
best time to purchase thecruises.
(18:16):
Uh, you'll get the mostamenities, and generally you'll
get the best price.
So if you're looking for any ofthese, you know, particularly
exciting is that series of uh14-day Hawaii cruises.
Our next story is interesting.
Uh, it's about a company calledCroissy, which is a river
cruise company in Europe, andthey are introducing a paddle
(18:37):
wheeler on the Seine River inFrance.
And this paddle wheel ship is asmaller ship, it's 81 guess.
It doesn't look like the paddlewheelers on the Mississippi,
um, but it does have a paddlewheel propulsion system.
Uh, the ship still does have togo through canals and under
bridges, so it has to meetcertain height, width, and
length requirements for that.
(18:59):
But it would be an interestinguh way to see the countryside in
France.
And we had a caller ask aquestion, and Patrick and I were
able to uh pre-record a segmenton the Panama Canal.
Uh so we'll listen to theanswers to this caller's
questions, and then I'll be backwith some deals on the Panama
(19:20):
Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:20):
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 totext your question.
Diane is texting the show andshe is asking about Panama Canal
cruises.
This is a client question fromyour client, but she texted you.
(19:43):
Yep.
Mark Faldmo (19:44):
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'vedone the Panama Canal a few
times.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:58):
Diane's first question is when is the best
time to go see the Panama Canalon a cruise?
Mark Faldmo (20:03):
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 whenthey're trying to position ships
(20:25):
from the Caribbean to go toAlaska, or vice versa, ships
from Alaska going to theCaribbean for the winter season.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:33):
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 (20:43):
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'drecommend a full transit.
So this is one that goes fromthe Pacific to the Atlantic, or
vice versa.
So you'd start on the EastCoast, end in the West Coast, or
(21:06):
vice versa on that.
If you do the partial transit,you miss the co-toon cut.
You miss what is the PanamaCanal.
You will experience goingthrough the locks, but you'll
miss what is the Panama Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:21):
All right, so full transit is what you're
saying here.
Mark Faldmo (21:23):
Yeah, full transit.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:24):
Diane is also asking, should I get a balcony
if I'm going to do a PanamaCanal cruise?
Mark Faldmo (21:31):
I would say yes, because when you're going
through the canal, you can goexperience it on the front of
the ship, you can experience iton deck.
But watching from your balcony,you get just as good of views
of all of 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?
Patrick Wiscombe (21:51):
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (21:52):
It really doesn't matter, but if you're one place
where it may matter is whenyou're going, we'll just take
going from Pacific to Atlantic.
You'd want to be on the rightside of the ship because that's
the side where Panama City ison.
So starboard side.
Starboard side.
Yep.
If you're going the otherdirection, then you would want
(22:13):
to be on the left or port sideof the ship.
But it it really doesn't matteron 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?
It's a full-day process.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:27):
So oh, it is.
I think sometimes when they saycanal, you know, I always think
of like these small wateringditches.
Yeah.
Mark Faldmo (22:36):
I that's not what this is.
No, no.
This is it's a big ordeal toactually get through the canal
early in the morning.
All the ships are going fromPacific to Atlantic, and then
they meet up in Gatoon Lake.
Now, what's it called?
It's Gatun Lake.
It's a man-made lake, andthat's kind of what drives the
(23:00):
canal because it's allgravity-driven.
All the water is filled bygravity and the locks.
And so it all comes, it flowsfrom the mountains of Panama
into the lake.
And so they only do traffic inone direction now.
And then in the evening itopens up to go the other
direction.
Oh, interesting.
I've only done Panama Canalfrom Pacific side to Atlantic
(23:22):
side.
So in that, we started throughthe canal at about 5 a.m.
is when the process startsgoing through the canal.
And then so it's kind of anAMP.
Yes.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:34):
So west to east is a.m.
And then of course the oppositein the evening or the
afternoon.
Mark Faldmo (23:40):
Yeah.
Yeah, because there's the Gatuncut where the ships go through.
There's not room for two-waytraffic.
Well, there might be, but it'spretty narrow.
So it's safer just to go allone direction.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:53):
One of the uh last questions that Diane had
was should she go through thenew locks or the old locks?
Well, I have not been throughthe new locks.
Mark Faldmo (24:01):
I think I would prefer the old locks.
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, which I think
that's where a lot of thescenery is at, is in the old
(24:22):
locks, you'll want to go on asmaller ship through the Panama
Canal.
Okay, that's all really goodinformation about the Panama
Canal.
And I've chose two Panama Canalcruise deals.
These are full transits andthey are uh repositioning
cruises in April of 2026.
The first one I chose becauseit has the best overall price.
(24:44):
Um, it's on Holland, America,and it leaves on April 5th of
2026.
And the ports, it leaves fromFort Lauderdale, goes to
Cartagena, Colombia, thencruises through the Panama
Canal, goes to Puntarenas, whichis in Costa Rica, goes to
Acajute, uh, which is in ElSalvador, goes to Porto Quetzal
(25:08):
in Guatemala, and then as itheads up to its final port in
San Diego, it will visit PortaVallarta and Cabo San Lucas.
This cruise has a pretty goodprice for a 15-day cruise.
Starts at $15.54 per person.
So that's right, about $100 aday.
The next cruise is also a15-day cruise.
(25:29):
It's on Norwegian cruise line.
It goes from Miami.
Um, this one leaves April 25thof 26.
It visits uh Cartagenian,Colombia, Cologne, uh, which is
in Panama, then the next day itcruises through the Panama
Canal, goes to uh Porto Caldera,uh, which is in Costa Rica,
Porto Quetzal in Guatemala, andthen cruises up, visits Porto
(25:52):
Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, andLos Angeles.
And the reason why I chose thiscruise is for the balcony
cabins.
It has a great rate on balconycabins, which starts at $28.99
for a 15-day cruise.
That's about $300 or $400 lowerthan other balcony cabins I
found during this time.
(26:13):
And so if you're interested inany of these, you can give us a
call at Blue Planet Vacations.
And that will do it for theshow today.
Thanks for listening.
Show Voice (26:24):
That's it.
That's the end of the show.
You've been listening to theInside Travel Talk Podcast and
Radio Show with Patrick Whiskeyand Mark Balbo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(26:45):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Ad Voice (26:55):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's RivieraMayer with authentic,
all-inclusive luxury at an ElDorado Spa Resort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orBluePlanetVacations.com.
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