August 23, 2025 • 26 mins
Broadcasting from the breathtaking heights of Tower Butte in Page, Arizona, this episode takes listeners on an extraordinary journey through the American Southwest and beyond. Mark shares his firsthand experience on the Canyon Country Tour by Globus, revealing why guided tours can transform familiar landscapes into fresh discoveries through expert storytelling and exclusive access opportunities.
The helicopter ride to Tower Butte serves as the perfect backdrop for discussing the surprising benefits of domestic guided tours. As Mark explains, "When I told people I was taking a tour from Phoenix to Las Vegas, going to the Grand Canyon and Zion, they're like 'why would you take a tour to that?'" The answer lies in the rich context provided by knowledgeable guides who transform a scenic drive into a narrative journey through changing ecosystems and geological wonders.
We dive into exciting cruise developments with Princess Cruises' ambitious 2027 Alaska deployment featuring eight ships operating from five homeports. Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas makes its grand debut with surprisingly accessible pricing, while MSC Cruises continues its strategic expansion in the American market with incredible value propositions. Our exclusive offer includes 30% off all MSC cruises with kids sailing free – bringing seven-day Caribbean adventures to less than $100 per day per person.
Travel enthusiasts will appreciate our discussion of the world's best airports (with Salt Lake City ranking an impressive eighth globally), along with practical insights about booking windows and strategic travel planning. Whether you're drawn to geological wonders of the American Southwest or dreaming of your next ocean adventure, this episode delivers valuable insights to transform your travel aspirations into reality. Ready to experience these adventures yourself? Connect with our travel experts today to unlock exclusive savings on your next journey.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
It is the weekend, which means it is time
to talk travel.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast, a radio show
Coming up.
On today's show we will betalking about Mark's helicopter
ride to Tower Butte in Page,Arizona, the Canyon Country Tour
.
We're also going to help yousave up to $1,000 on Globus
tours worldwide.
And, good news 30% off all MSCcruises and kids sail free.
(00:26):
Let's start the show.
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 (00:49):
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 (01:32):
Hiya Top Tower Butte in Page, Arizona.
He's actually doing the showfrom there right now, courtesy
of Starlink.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast, a radio show.
Hello there, I am PatrickWiscombe, and the entire purpose
of this show is to help youplan and book your next vacation
, or give you ideas of where youwould want to consider going
next time you're on vacation,and we are presented by
(01:54):
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
The best travel deals in theworld come from Blue Planet
Vacations, and a sincere thankyou for taking the time to stop
and listen.
This week we are talking aboutMark's helicopter ride to Tower
Butte in Page, Arizona.
That is where Mark is.
We are connected via Starlinkand you have got a whale of a
(02:19):
view.
I wish you could show peoplewhat you are looking at right
now, mark.
Mark Faldmo (02:23):
It's pretty beautiful, yeah, being in Page,
Arizona, looking at the desertscenery.
It's just amazing with BlakePowell in the background.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:32):
You have to have shade because it's so hot
down there and I'm afraid atsome point the radio equipment
is going to just conk outbecause of the heat, so we
better get to the show here.
We're also going to help yousave up to a thousand dollars on
Globus tours worldwide,wherever they go.
We're going to help you save upto a thousand bucks.
And good news 30% off all MSCcruises and kids sail free.
(02:56):
So that is on the rundown.
But let's first get to thetravel news headlines.
High atop tower Butte inArizona, let's talk about the
best airports in the world, mark.
Mark Faldmo (03:06):
This is a survey from AirHelp.
First I'll go over theirmethodology.
So 60% of the score comes fromon-time performance.
The other 40% comes fromcustomer feedback.
They interviewed travelers frommore than 58 countries,
gathered over 20,000 uniqueairport ratings, and so they
ranked the airport, staff, waittimes, accessibility,
(03:29):
cleanliness, the accessibilityto food and shopping.
The US only had one airport inthe top 10, and that was Salt
Lake City.
There we go.
That was our airport, salt LakeCity.
Oh wow.
So the number one airport inthe world was Cape Town, south
Africa, followed by Doha andQatar, and then Riyadh and Saudi
(03:52):
Arabia, then Panama City inPanama, and then number eight of
that was Salt Lake City.
All right, well done Salt Lake.
A lot of people said, yeah,until you have to walk.
So people always complain aboutthat walk, but as far as
airport facilities, on timearrival, salt Lake is one of the
(04:13):
best airports in the world andif you compare it to other large
international airports likeAtlanta or JFK, the walk is not
that bad.
If you're complaining about thewalk.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:22):
you're soft, You're soft.
It's not that bad If you'recomplaining about the walk.
You're soft, You're soft.
Spirit Airlines is issuing a.
I'll call it a warning aboutits future, because it is a
little uncertain.
What details do we have?
Mark Faldmo (04:40):
Spirit just put out a warning that its finances are
in need help of some infusionand investors it was just a
little small release.
That's also kind of cautionaryfor travelers, nothing like
showing up for the airport whenthe airline goes out of business
or quits operating.
So not that we're saying that'sgoing to happen with spirit,
but they are running low onfinances they have been saying
(05:03):
that for a while now.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:04):
Travel at your own risk.
How far out is their schedulegenerally?
Is it about six months out ordo they go even closer?
Mark Faldmo (05:10):
in.
They're about six months out ontheir schedules and they've
made lots of changes, cutbacksand a few additions.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:16):
There is greater interest in US-based
tours.
What kind of tours are peoplebooking right now?
Mark Faldmo (05:22):
Mark, that's what I'm on right now I'm on a Globus
tour that goes between Phoenixand Las Vegas.
I've noticed a lot of increasein these kind of closer to home
tours but a lot of the operatorslike Globus have noticed 20%
booking year over year but a 50%spike in the last quarter.
Just an interest in thesecloser to home tours.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:44):
Okay, so you're on one of them and I know
that we're going to get to it,but you're on the Canyon Country
Tour with Globus right now.
That's where you're doing theshow from atop Tower Butte in
Page, Arizona.
That's that famous monument.
It's a big rock in the middleof the desert.
When you see it, it's one ofthose rocks that you see and go
oh, that's really pretty.
Mark Faldmo (06:02):
It's a butte, you know, like you'd see in Monument
Valley.
So we're just top of one ofthose buttes.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:07):
There's some people who don't know what
Globus is.
They're a company that providestravel services tours around
the country so why are you downthere and what's the interest in
this particular tour?
Mark Faldmo (06:19):
When I told people I was taking a tour from Phoenix
to Las Vegas, going to theGrand Canyon and Zion, they're
like why would you take a tourto that?
It's so close, you can just doit by yourself.
The reason why one is you get alot of access to things you
wouldn't normally do, and theother thing is knowledge or with
a guide that has stories.
(06:41):
I've driven between NorthernArizona and Phoenix several
times but this is the first timewhere someone said we're
starting here down in a saguarocactus forest and we're moving
up to the juniper forest andwe'll soon be in the ponderosa
pines up in the Grand Canyon,and they explained the whole,
the different steps that we'reon the geology.
(07:03):
It was just fascinating to takethat drive up from Phoenix to
the Grand Canyon, with a stop inSedona on the way.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:10):
You're on top of Tower Butte right now.
Tell us how you got up thereand then tell us the people that
are walking around you rightnow.
Mark Faldmo (07:18):
This is a helicopter tour that is part of
this Globus tour.
It's an optional add-on, butit's about an hour-long
helicopter tour normally, butwe're up here for an extended
amount of time because thehelicopter company there's
actually an event for Ferrari, Ibelieve that they're ferrying
people back and forth to come upfor a lunch they're having up
(07:39):
on this butte.
So we're here for a while whilethey're doing that.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:45):
We just thought we'd do the radio while
while they're doing that.
We just thought we'd do theradio show while you're on top.
Mark Faldmo (07:49):
Yeah, and it's been a great tour.
We were in the Grand Canyon fortwo nights previous to this and
then we're two nights here inPage, then we're going to move
on to Bryce Canyon Zion and thenend in Las Vegas.
A lot of these places areplaces I visited in the past,
but just the knowledge and beinghere with a guide really makes
(08:10):
it fascinating.
And that's the thing I likeabout these escorted, hosted
tours that Globus does and theydo them all over the world.
They're known for doing thesein Europe, but I'm just going to
give some of the names of these.
There's classic fall foliage,which is in the Northeast US and
Canada.
Lost canyons of the Southwestcoastal California with Napa,
(08:32):
and they have Alaska's Iditarod,where you go in March but you
track the Iditarod trail there.
They have America's nationalparks, which is Yellowstone Zion
.
It's basically all of the Utah,Montana, Idaho, Wyoming
national parks.
They have Pacific CoastAdventure, where you drive the
(08:53):
Pacific Coast Highway, canyonCountry Adventure, which is what
I'm on now.
They have a winter tour ofYellowstone, which you go to
Jackson, spend a few nights andthen you take snow coaches and
then actually stay in the parkYellowstone Park in the winter.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:08):
So you don't take snowmobiles, they're just
kind of a snowmobile bus.
Mark Faldmo (09:12):
Correct.
Yeah yeah, it's a snow coach.
Holds about eight to ten peopleand they snow coach you in.
It's like a tracked vehiclethat you go into the lodge.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:23):
Nikki and I on our honeymoon we went to
Yellowstone but we tooksnowmobiles.
We just went around the park,which was an absolute blast.
Just do it.
Mark Faldmo (09:36):
And that's only a sampling of what they have.
There are about 30 or 40different tours that are in the
US and Canada.
So if you're looking forsomething close to home, a
little bit easier, with lots ofaccess and lots of knowledge
from the guide, this is a greatway to go.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:50):
Let's make this the travel deal of the week
.
Mark Faldmo (09:56):
That's great.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:59):
So travel deal of the week is Mark's Canyon
Country Tour, the tour thatyou're on right now and you're
also with Globus.
The promotion that we have forour listeners is to help them
save up to $1,000 on tours.
Now, this isn't just for theCanyon Country Tour, this is for
tours worldwide.
Mark Faldmo (10:17):
Obviously, we're focused on the US tours in this
segment, but if you want to goto Europe, we've talked about
their escape tours, which arethe off season in the winter
time.
Now it's just a great time toplan your vacation.
This Canyon Country tour I'm onit's just been fantastic.
We're halfway through.
Spent a night in Phoenix at theHilton Tapatio Cliffs, which is
(10:38):
one of my favorite hotels inPhoenix.
It's kind of on the northernedge of Phoenix, and then we
drove up to the Grand Canyon,spent two nights there, with a
stop in Sedona, which I've neverbeen to Sedona, and I've
actually never been to the southrim of the Grand Canyon either.
So it was fascinating just tosee the Grand Canyon.
I've seen it many times flyingover it.
(11:00):
I've been to the Grand CanyonWest, which is closer to Las
Vegas, but that South Rim isquite amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:07):
Where did you stay?
At Grand Canyon?
What lodge?
Mark Faldmo (11:11):
We stayed at the Yapavai Lodge, which is not one
that's right on the rim, but youcan walk about a quarter mile
out to the rim and it is on thebus system that does go around
the Grand Canyon.
From here we go to Bryce Canyonand Zion and then down to Las
Vegas, after paid to Arizonahere.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:28):
Have you ever been to Zion Canyon?
Mark Faldmo (11:31):
Not since I was really young.
I don't remember much of Zion.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:35):
You're in for a treat Before you even get to
the canyon.
It's incredible.
Yes, anyway, I'm excited foryou, I'm looking forward to it,
and you can book any of theGlobus World Tours right.
I can yep.
Mark Faldmo (11:47):
All right, I have their whole catalog.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:50):
Take advantage of that.
Save up to $1,000 on all tours.
That's the travel deal of theweek.
Take advantage of it.
Call Mark at the break.
Just get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(12:11):
And you can also find thisinformation on
blueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back, it is timefor the infamous Just Cruising
segment.
This is the segment of the showthat has made us famous
worldwide.
We'll be talking about.
Princess Cruises has unveiledtheir 2027 Alaska season.
(12:32):
Star of the Seas is out, by theway.
That ship is unbelievable.
Icon of the Seas, part two,with some refinement.
Beautiful, beautiful ship.
And we're going to talk aboutMSC's deal 30% off on all
cruises and kids sail free.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast radio show
(12:52):
continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,alongside Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (13:01):
Helping you get out and see the world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors.
Book your vacation now888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(13:24):
888-718-7717.
The show will continue afterthis.
Ad Voice (13:39):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Anna.
Waterways, from castles andcapitals to vistas and villages
visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities To
set out on your own river cruisejourney.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (14:06):
Helping you plan your next vacation.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors.
Call us now 801-649-3700.
(14:36):
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:43):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Ahoy, mateys, ahoy.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,alongside Mark Faldmo as he
(15:04):
broadcasts live from atop TowerButte in beautiful Page, Arizona
, took a helicopter ride to getto the top and he's got a whole
bunch of what?
Ferrari employees walkingaround you.
You've got a nice blue canopyabout you.
Mark Faldmo (15:24):
It's got to be hot up there right now it is.
It's fairly hot, but it's niceviews.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:30):
I wish people could see what we're looking at.
He's just in the middle of thisrock, in the middle of the
desert, and he's got 360 degreeviews of is it, the Sonoran
Desert?
Is that right?
Yes, yeah, amazing.
Coming up in this segment ofthe show, we have got the cruise
deal of the week.
This is the segment of the showthat we are famous for around
(15:52):
the country and around the world.
But let's first get to thecruise news headlines.
Princess Cruises has unveiledtheir 2027 Alaska season.
How many ships are they puttingup there?
Is it just one or two?
Mark Faldmo (16:05):
They're putting a total of eight ships.
So they'll have eight ships with187 departures, 17 unique
itineraries from five home ports, which will be Seattle,
Vancouver, Whittier which isAnchorage area San Francisco and
Los Angeles.
Oh, wow, okay, I think this isprobably the third show in a row
(16:28):
, maybe the fourth show, wherewe've announced a cruise line
launching itinerary.
So, as we've said, the lastcouple of weeks, the best time
to book.
So if you're looking to go toAlaska in 2027, now is a great
time to book and Princess, Ithink, is the best cruise line
to sail to Alaska on.
On occasion.
(16:49):
Cruise lines and Princess havedabbled in putting a ship in San
Francisco.
I have not looked at it, butI'm interested to see what the
Los Angeles sailing does Ontheir voyage of the glaciers,
which is their north and southbound.
Every cruise visits Glacier Bay, which a lot of other cruise
lines can't say that.
So if you want to see GlacierBay although I think on that
(17:10):
itinerary the better port isCollege Fjord, which is another
glacier area Glacier Bay is justamazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:18):
Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas.
Now they have so many names fortheir ships, but this is icon
of the seas.
This is the big, huge, giganticship.
It is so mind-boggling largethat it's kind of hard to
comprehend when you see it.
Mark Faldmo (17:34):
It is.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:35):
This is version two of this ship.
It's called Star of the Seas.
Its first sailing happens onAugust 23rd, which is today, but
the first inaugural sailing isa week from now, which is August
31st.
Mark Faldmo (17:51):
The first passenger sailing is August 31st, so the
official launch will be nextweek, august 31st.
I've been looking for wheresome good prices are.
You know, as we've talked aboutbefore, some of these Royal
Caribbean ships it's harder tofind good prices on.
But I did find some okay pricesin October To go on the Star of
(18:15):
the Seas.
A Western Caribbean leaves fromPort Canaveral goes to Perfect
Day at Coco Cay, Cozumel, costaMaya and Roatan.
An inside cabin starts at$1,469 per person and a balcony
cabin starts at $1,759 perperson.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:34):
That's incredible For a new ship on
Royal.
That's astonishingly cheap.
Ship on Royal, that'sastonishingly cheap.
So Icon of the Seas will stayin Miami and then Star of the
Seas will go out of FortLauderdale Port Canaveral, port
Canaveral Excuse me, Orlando,yeah, okay.
Mark Faldmo (18:52):
So they'll have those two big ships there, based
in Florida and both doing somepretty good itineraries.
They have both eastern andwestern itineraries that are
awesome.
We've talked about Perfect Dayat Coco Cay, which is just an
amazing private islandexperience.
But then Costa Maya and Roatan.
I love Costa Maya and Roatan, Ilove Costa Maya.
(19:12):
There's an excursion there thatI love to do, where you take a
bus inland about 45 minutes,then you take a speedboat up a
river for about an hour and ahalf.
You come to a Mayan ruin that'sonly accessible by boat.
You can have a picnic lunchthere, walk around these ruins
and then you take the speedboatand bus back to the ship Just
(19:35):
amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:36):
MSC Seascape is set to debut new family
entertainment on their Galvestonstalings.
So Seascape used to come out ofMiami, if memory serves, and so
they're moving it over to Texas.
Mark Faldmo (19:49):
Yeah, they're moving it to Texas and their
goal and actually they have beenawarded by a few things, as the
best cruise ship for families,the MSC Seascape.
They have almost an 8,000,Guinness World Record family
quiz.
MSC has a lot to do withFormula One and so they have the
Formula One simulators.
(20:09):
They have a tournament for the.
This family-friendly just agreat family experience for a
cruise.
And Galveston is easy to get tofor most people.
(20:41):
Don't you fly into Houston?
I think you do.
Yeah, you fly into Houston.
I always recommend the nightbefore, so fly in the day before
the cruise into Houston, spendthe night there and then take
the 45 minutes or so transferdown to Galveston.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:57):
The two cruise ships this is my perception
that MSC and Royal Caribbean andI realize that there's some
recency bias on this, but itfeels like they're really kind
of starting to hit their strideright now.
Mark Faldmo (21:10):
Yeah, I think they are.
And MSC, as we've talked abouta few times, kind of really had
a hard time breaking into theAmerican cruise market and
Americans they were primarilyEuropean several years ago and
then about 15 years ago theydecided to base some ships in
the US and they've slowly grown.
But now they have several ships.
(21:31):
They're in New York, Miami,port Canaveral, Galveston.
They have a ship in Alaska nextyear.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:37):
Is that their first time in Alaska starting
next year?
That?
Mark Faldmo (21:40):
is.
That is their first time inAlaska.
Now, going back to Galveston,this itinerary they have is
seven days.
It goes to Cozumel, costa Mayaand Roatan.
So similar to what we justtalked about with Royal
Caribbean.
But the pricing on this Ilooked in February.
This is a February 8th date$489 per person for an inside
(22:03):
cabin or $709 per person for abalcony cabin.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:09):
That is so cheap.
Think about $100 per day perperson, basically, or less if
you go inside.
Mark Faldmo (22:18):
If you go inside.
Yeah, and this is a reason whyI like working with MSC.
They're still a privately heldcompany.
A lot of the other cruise linesthat are publicly held have
stockholders and that's whytheir pricing is a little bit
more, because they have toreport good earnings.
Msc I've been with several oftheir upper management and they
(22:41):
don't feel all of thosepressures from investors.
The family that owns it justwants to provide the best cruise
experience they can provide,and they do it all for a very
good price.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:51):
And MSC's offerings have come a long way
in what the last five yearsMight have been less than that.
Mark Faldmo (22:59):
Yeah, in the last two or three years they've come
a long way since they first puta ship here in the US.
I think it was about 15 yearsago.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:07):
Nikki and I were on MSC's World America.
That is the icon of theseas-esque kind of that size
ship.
That was an amazing ship.
That leads into the cruise dealof the week, which is MSC, and
we're going to help you save 30%off on all cruises.
This is an exclusive to ourradio show and podcast.
30% off on all cruises and kidssail free.
(23:29):
That is the promotion.
Is this all cruises or is thisjust cruises from Galveston?
Mark Faldmo (23:36):
This is on all cruises, so this is their
promotion for any ship worldwide.
Now, those prices that we wentover from Galveston do already
include this.
One thing on the kids sail free.
They do have to pay thegovernment taxes and fees, so
they do pay, depending on thecruise, anywhere from $50 to $80
(23:56):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:56):
Right, because there are port fees per person.
Take advantage of the offersthat we have made in the last
half hour.
Call Mark in his office, getthe conversation started.
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(24:16):
And Mark will also post all ofthis on blueplanetvacations.
com.
And I know that you're going tobe on top of Tower Butte in
Page, Arizona, when does thehelicopter come back for you?
Mark Faldmo (24:32):
About 15 minutes we'll have to go back.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:34):
Oh, so you got to hurry and tear everything
down then.
Mark Faldmo (24:41):
Yeah, we have to leave before the lunch starts
for.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:43):
Ferrari.
I'm sorry, I'm in the middle ofthe desert and I'm having lunch
on top of Tower Butte.
Yeah, you know, that's a storyjust right there.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, Sunday,
at 11 am, right here on thisvery radio station that you're
(25:03):
listening to right now, and youcan stream, download and
subscribe to the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
We've got links onInsideTravelTalk.
com, but are on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
We've got links onInsideTravelTalk.
com, but if you just want to doa search, just do Inside Travel
Talk and you'll see a globe withtwo hands.
That's us.
(25:25):
Well, now it's your turn to getout and explore the world while
you can, because you never knowwhat curveball's life is going
to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
Live life the way you want tolive it.
Thank you so much for listening.
We don't have a business and wedon't have a show without you.
A sincere thank you for takingthe time to listen, and we will
(25:46):
talk to you again next week.
Show Voice (25:51):
That's it.
That's the end of the show.
You've been listening to theInside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show with Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(26:12):
Thanks for listening.
Ad Voice (26:27):
Have a great week to Cancun's Riviera Maya with
authentic all-inclusive luxuryat an El Dorado spa resort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
It is the weekend, which means it is time
to talk travel.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast, a radio show
Coming up.
On today's show we will betalking about Mark's helicopter
ride to Tower Butte in Page,Arizona, the Canyon Country Tour
.
We're also going to help yousave up to $1,000 on Globus
tours worldwide.
And, good news 30% off all MSCcruises and kids sail free.
(00:26):
Let's start the show.
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 (00:49):
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 (01:32):
Hiya Top Tower Butte in Page, Arizona.
He's actually doing the showfrom there right now, courtesy
of Starlink.
Welcome to the Inside TravelTalk podcast, a radio show.
Hello there, I am PatrickWiscombe, and the entire purpose
of this show is to help youplan and book your next vacation
, or give you ideas of where youwould want to consider going
next time you're on vacation,and we are presented by
(01:54):
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
The best travel deals in theworld come from Blue Planet
Vacations, and a sincere thankyou for taking the time to stop
and listen.
This week we are talking aboutMark's helicopter ride to Tower
Butte in Page, Arizona.
That is where Mark is.
We are connected via Starlinkand you have got a whale of a
(02:19):
view.
I wish you could show peoplewhat you are looking at right
now, mark.
Mark Faldmo (02:23):
It's pretty beautiful, yeah, being in Page,
Arizona, looking at the desertscenery.
It's just amazing with BlakePowell in the background.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:32):
You have to have shade because it's so hot
down there and I'm afraid atsome point the radio equipment
is going to just conk outbecause of the heat, so we
better get to the show here.
We're also going to help yousave up to a thousand dollars on
Globus tours worldwide,wherever they go.
We're going to help you save upto a thousand bucks.
And good news 30% off all MSCcruises and kids sail free.
(02:56):
So that is on the rundown.
But let's first get to thetravel news headlines.
High atop tower Butte inArizona, let's talk about the
best airports in the world, mark.
Mark Faldmo (03:06):
This is a survey from AirHelp.
First I'll go over theirmethodology.
So 60% of the score comes fromon-time performance.
The other 40% comes fromcustomer feedback.
They interviewed travelers frommore than 58 countries,
gathered over 20,000 uniqueairport ratings, and so they
ranked the airport, staff, waittimes, accessibility,
(03:29):
cleanliness, the accessibilityto food and shopping.
The US only had one airport inthe top 10, and that was Salt
Lake City.
There we go.
That was our airport, salt LakeCity.
Oh wow.
So the number one airport inthe world was Cape Town, south
Africa, followed by Doha andQatar, and then Riyadh and Saudi
(03:52):
Arabia, then Panama City inPanama, and then number eight of
that was Salt Lake City.
All right, well done Salt Lake.
A lot of people said, yeah,until you have to walk.
So people always complain aboutthat walk, but as far as
airport facilities, on timearrival, salt Lake is one of the
(04:13):
best airports in the world andif you compare it to other large
international airports likeAtlanta or JFK, the walk is not
that bad.
If you're complaining about thewalk.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:22):
you're soft, You're soft.
It's not that bad If you'recomplaining about the walk.
You're soft, You're soft.
Spirit Airlines is issuing a.
I'll call it a warning aboutits future, because it is a
little uncertain.
What details do we have?
Mark Faldmo (04:40):
Spirit just put out a warning that its finances are
in need help of some infusionand investors it was just a
little small release.
That's also kind of cautionaryfor travelers, nothing like
showing up for the airport whenthe airline goes out of business
or quits operating.
So not that we're saying that'sgoing to happen with spirit,
but they are running low onfinances they have been saying
(05:03):
that for a while now.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:04):
Travel at your own risk.
How far out is their schedulegenerally?
Is it about six months out ordo they go even closer?
Mark Faldmo (05:10):
in.
They're about six months out ontheir schedules and they've
made lots of changes, cutbacksand a few additions.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:16):
There is greater interest in US-based
tours.
What kind of tours are peoplebooking right now?
Mark Faldmo (05:22):
Mark, that's what I'm on right now I'm on a Globus
tour that goes between Phoenixand Las Vegas.
I've noticed a lot of increasein these kind of closer to home
tours but a lot of the operatorslike Globus have noticed 20%
booking year over year but a 50%spike in the last quarter.
Just an interest in thesecloser to home tours.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:44):
Okay, so you're on one of them and I know
that we're going to get to it,but you're on the Canyon Country
Tour with Globus right now.
That's where you're doing theshow from atop Tower Butte in
Page, Arizona.
That's that famous monument.
It's a big rock in the middleof the desert.
When you see it, it's one ofthose rocks that you see and go
oh, that's really pretty.
Mark Faldmo (06:02):
It's a butte, you know, like you'd see in Monument
Valley.
So we're just top of one ofthose buttes.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:07):
There's some people who don't know what
Globus is.
They're a company that providestravel services tours around
the country so why are you downthere and what's the interest in
this particular tour?
Mark Faldmo (06:19):
When I told people I was taking a tour from Phoenix
to Las Vegas, going to theGrand Canyon and Zion, they're
like why would you take a tourto that?
It's so close, you can just doit by yourself.
The reason why one is you get alot of access to things you
wouldn't normally do, and theother thing is knowledge or with
a guide that has stories.
(06:41):
I've driven between NorthernArizona and Phoenix several
times but this is the first timewhere someone said we're
starting here down in a saguarocactus forest and we're moving
up to the juniper forest andwe'll soon be in the ponderosa
pines up in the Grand Canyon,and they explained the whole,
the different steps that we'reon the geology.
(07:03):
It was just fascinating to takethat drive up from Phoenix to
the Grand Canyon, with a stop inSedona on the way.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:10):
You're on top of Tower Butte right now.
Tell us how you got up thereand then tell us the people that
are walking around you rightnow.
Mark Faldmo (07:18):
This is a helicopter tour that is part of
this Globus tour.
It's an optional add-on, butit's about an hour-long
helicopter tour normally, butwe're up here for an extended
amount of time because thehelicopter company there's
actually an event for Ferrari, Ibelieve that they're ferrying
people back and forth to come upfor a lunch they're having up
(07:39):
on this butte.
So we're here for a while whilethey're doing that.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:45):
We just thought we'd do the radio while
while they're doing that.
We just thought we'd do theradio show while you're on top.
Mark Faldmo (07:49):
Yeah, and it's been a great tour.
We were in the Grand Canyon fortwo nights previous to this and
then we're two nights here inPage, then we're going to move
on to Bryce Canyon Zion and thenend in Las Vegas.
A lot of these places areplaces I visited in the past,
but just the knowledge and beinghere with a guide really makes
(08:10):
it fascinating.
And that's the thing I likeabout these escorted, hosted
tours that Globus does and theydo them all over the world.
They're known for doing thesein Europe, but I'm just going to
give some of the names of these.
There's classic fall foliage,which is in the Northeast US and
Canada.
Lost canyons of the Southwestcoastal California with Napa,
(08:32):
and they have Alaska's Iditarod,where you go in March but you
track the Iditarod trail there.
They have America's nationalparks, which is Yellowstone Zion
.
It's basically all of the Utah,Montana, Idaho, Wyoming
national parks.
They have Pacific CoastAdventure, where you drive the
(08:53):
Pacific Coast Highway, canyonCountry Adventure, which is what
I'm on now.
They have a winter tour ofYellowstone, which you go to
Jackson, spend a few nights andthen you take snow coaches and
then actually stay in the parkYellowstone Park in the winter.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:08):
So you don't take snowmobiles, they're just
kind of a snowmobile bus.
Mark Faldmo (09:12):
Correct.
Yeah yeah, it's a snow coach.
Holds about eight to ten peopleand they snow coach you in.
It's like a tracked vehiclethat you go into the lodge.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:23):
Nikki and I on our honeymoon we went to
Yellowstone but we tooksnowmobiles.
We just went around the park,which was an absolute blast.
Just do it.
Mark Faldmo (09:36):
And that's only a sampling of what they have.
There are about 30 or 40different tours that are in the
US and Canada.
So if you're looking forsomething close to home, a
little bit easier, with lots ofaccess and lots of knowledge
from the guide, this is a greatway to go.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:50):
Let's make this the travel deal of the week
.
Mark Faldmo (09:56):
That's great.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:59):
So travel deal of the week is Mark's Canyon
Country Tour, the tour thatyou're on right now and you're
also with Globus.
The promotion that we have forour listeners is to help them
save up to $1,000 on tours.
Now, this isn't just for theCanyon Country Tour, this is for
tours worldwide.
Mark Faldmo (10:17):
Obviously, we're focused on the US tours in this
segment, but if you want to goto Europe, we've talked about
their escape tours, which arethe off season in the winter
time.
Now it's just a great time toplan your vacation.
This Canyon Country tour I'm onit's just been fantastic.
We're halfway through.
Spent a night in Phoenix at theHilton Tapatio Cliffs, which is
(10:38):
one of my favorite hotels inPhoenix.
It's kind of on the northernedge of Phoenix, and then we
drove up to the Grand Canyon,spent two nights there, with a
stop in Sedona, which I've neverbeen to Sedona, and I've
actually never been to the southrim of the Grand Canyon either.
So it was fascinating just tosee the Grand Canyon.
I've seen it many times flyingover it.
(11:00):
I've been to the Grand CanyonWest, which is closer to Las
Vegas, but that South Rim isquite amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:07):
Where did you stay?
At Grand Canyon?
What lodge?
Mark Faldmo (11:11):
We stayed at the Yapavai Lodge, which is not one
that's right on the rim, but youcan walk about a quarter mile
out to the rim and it is on thebus system that does go around
the Grand Canyon.
From here we go to Bryce Canyonand Zion and then down to Las
Vegas, after paid to Arizonahere.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:28):
Have you ever been to Zion Canyon?
Mark Faldmo (11:31):
Not since I was really young.
I don't remember much of Zion.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:35):
You're in for a treat Before you even get to
the canyon.
It's incredible.
Yes, anyway, I'm excited foryou, I'm looking forward to it,
and you can book any of theGlobus World Tours right.
I can yep.
Mark Faldmo (11:47):
All right, I have their whole catalog.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:50):
Take advantage of that.
Save up to $1,000 on all tours.
That's the travel deal of theweek.
Take advantage of it.
Call Mark at the break.
Just get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(12:11):
And you can also find thisinformation on
blueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back, it is timefor the infamous Just Cruising
segment.
This is the segment of the showthat has made us famous
worldwide.
We'll be talking about.
Princess Cruises has unveiledtheir 2027 Alaska season.
(12:32):
Star of the Seas is out, by theway.
That ship is unbelievable.
Icon of the Seas, part two,with some refinement.
Beautiful, beautiful ship.
And we're going to talk aboutMSC's deal 30% off on all
cruises and kids sail free.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast radio show
(12:52):
continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,alongside Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (13:01):
Helping you get out and see the world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors.
Book your vacation now888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
(13:24):
888-718-7717.
The show will continue afterthis.
Ad Voice (13:39):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Anna.
Waterways, from castles andcapitals to vistas and villages
visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities To
set out on your own river cruisejourney.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (14:06):
Helping you plan your next vacation.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors.
Call us now 801-649-3700.
(14:36):
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:43):
Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Ahoy, mateys, ahoy.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,alongside Mark Faldmo as he
(15:04):
broadcasts live from atop TowerButte in beautiful Page, Arizona
, took a helicopter ride to getto the top and he's got a whole
bunch of what?
Ferrari employees walkingaround you.
You've got a nice blue canopyabout you.
Mark Faldmo (15:24):
It's got to be hot up there right now it is.
It's fairly hot, but it's niceviews.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:30):
I wish people could see what we're looking at.
He's just in the middle of thisrock, in the middle of the
desert, and he's got 360 degreeviews of is it, the Sonoran
Desert?
Is that right?
Yes, yeah, amazing.
Coming up in this segment ofthe show, we have got the cruise
deal of the week.
This is the segment of the showthat we are famous for around
(15:52):
the country and around the world.
But let's first get to thecruise news headlines.
Princess Cruises has unveiledtheir 2027 Alaska season.
How many ships are they puttingup there?
Is it just one or two?
Mark Faldmo (16:05):
They're putting a total of eight ships.
So they'll have eight ships with187 departures, 17 unique
itineraries from five home ports, which will be Seattle,
Vancouver, Whittier which isAnchorage area San Francisco and
Los Angeles.
Oh, wow, okay, I think this isprobably the third show in a row
(16:28):
, maybe the fourth show, wherewe've announced a cruise line
launching itinerary.
So, as we've said, the lastcouple of weeks, the best time
to book.
So if you're looking to go toAlaska in 2027, now is a great
time to book and Princess, Ithink, is the best cruise line
to sail to Alaska on.
On occasion.
(16:49):
Cruise lines and Princess havedabbled in putting a ship in San
Francisco.
I have not looked at it, butI'm interested to see what the
Los Angeles sailing does Ontheir voyage of the glaciers,
which is their north and southbound.
Every cruise visits Glacier Bay, which a lot of other cruise
lines can't say that.
So if you want to see GlacierBay although I think on that
(17:10):
itinerary the better port isCollege Fjord, which is another
glacier area Glacier Bay is justamazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:18):
Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas.
Now they have so many names fortheir ships, but this is icon
of the seas.
This is the big, huge, giganticship.
It is so mind-boggling largethat it's kind of hard to
comprehend when you see it.
Mark Faldmo (17:34):
It is.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:35):
This is version two of this ship.
It's called Star of the Seas.
Its first sailing happens onAugust 23rd, which is today, but
the first inaugural sailing isa week from now, which is August
31st.
Mark Faldmo (17:51):
The first passenger sailing is August 31st, so the
official launch will be nextweek, august 31st.
I've been looking for wheresome good prices are.
You know, as we've talked aboutbefore, some of these Royal
Caribbean ships it's harder tofind good prices on.
But I did find some okay pricesin October To go on the Star of
(18:15):
the Seas.
A Western Caribbean leaves fromPort Canaveral goes to Perfect
Day at Coco Cay, Cozumel, costaMaya and Roatan.
An inside cabin starts at$1,469 per person and a balcony
cabin starts at $1,759 perperson.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:34):
That's incredible For a new ship on
Royal.
That's astonishingly cheap.
Ship on Royal, that'sastonishingly cheap.
So Icon of the Seas will stayin Miami and then Star of the
Seas will go out of FortLauderdale Port Canaveral, port
Canaveral Excuse me, Orlando,yeah, okay.
Mark Faldmo (18:52):
So they'll have those two big ships there, based
in Florida and both doing somepretty good itineraries.
They have both eastern andwestern itineraries that are
awesome.
We've talked about Perfect Dayat Coco Cay, which is just an
amazing private islandexperience.
But then Costa Maya and Roatan.
I love Costa Maya and Roatan, Ilove Costa Maya.
(19:12):
There's an excursion there thatI love to do, where you take a
bus inland about 45 minutes,then you take a speedboat up a
river for about an hour and ahalf.
You come to a Mayan ruin that'sonly accessible by boat.
You can have a picnic lunchthere, walk around these ruins
and then you take the speedboatand bus back to the ship Just
(19:35):
amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:36):
MSC Seascape is set to debut new family
entertainment on their Galvestonstalings.
So Seascape used to come out ofMiami, if memory serves, and so
they're moving it over to Texas.
Mark Faldmo (19:49):
Yeah, they're moving it to Texas and their
goal and actually they have beenawarded by a few things, as the
best cruise ship for families,the MSC Seascape.
They have almost an 8,000,Guinness World Record family
quiz.
MSC has a lot to do withFormula One and so they have the
Formula One simulators.
(20:09):
They have a tournament for the.
This family-friendly just agreat family experience for a
cruise.
And Galveston is easy to get tofor most people.
(20:41):
Don't you fly into Houston?
I think you do.
Yeah, you fly into Houston.
I always recommend the nightbefore, so fly in the day before
the cruise into Houston, spendthe night there and then take
the 45 minutes or so transferdown to Galveston.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:57):
The two cruise ships this is my perception
that MSC and Royal Caribbean andI realize that there's some
recency bias on this, but itfeels like they're really kind
of starting to hit their strideright now.
Mark Faldmo (21:10):
Yeah, I think they are.
And MSC, as we've talked abouta few times, kind of really had
a hard time breaking into theAmerican cruise market and
Americans they were primarilyEuropean several years ago and
then about 15 years ago theydecided to base some ships in
the US and they've slowly grown.
But now they have several ships.
(21:31):
They're in New York, Miami,port Canaveral, Galveston.
They have a ship in Alaska nextyear.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:37):
Is that their first time in Alaska starting
next year?
That?
Mark Faldmo (21:40):
is.
That is their first time inAlaska.
Now, going back to Galveston,this itinerary they have is
seven days.
It goes to Cozumel, costa Mayaand Roatan.
So similar to what we justtalked about with Royal
Caribbean.
But the pricing on this Ilooked in February.
This is a February 8th date$489 per person for an inside
(22:03):
cabin or $709 per person for abalcony cabin.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:09):
That is so cheap.
Think about $100 per day perperson, basically, or less if
you go inside.
Mark Faldmo (22:18):
If you go inside.
Yeah, and this is a reason whyI like working with MSC.
They're still a privately heldcompany.
A lot of the other cruise linesthat are publicly held have
stockholders and that's whytheir pricing is a little bit
more, because they have toreport good earnings.
Msc I've been with several oftheir upper management and they
(22:41):
don't feel all of thosepressures from investors.
The family that owns it justwants to provide the best cruise
experience they can provide,and they do it all for a very
good price.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:51):
And MSC's offerings have come a long way
in what the last five yearsMight have been less than that.
Mark Faldmo (22:59):
Yeah, in the last two or three years they've come
a long way since they first puta ship here in the US.
I think it was about 15 yearsago.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:07):
Nikki and I were on MSC's World America.
That is the icon of theseas-esque kind of that size
ship.
That was an amazing ship.
That leads into the cruise dealof the week, which is MSC, and
we're going to help you save 30%off on all cruises.
This is an exclusive to ourradio show and podcast.
30% off on all cruises and kidssail free.
(23:29):
That is the promotion.
Is this all cruises or is thisjust cruises from Galveston?
Mark Faldmo (23:36):
This is on all cruises, so this is their
promotion for any ship worldwide.
Now, those prices that we wentover from Galveston do already
include this.
One thing on the kids sail free.
They do have to pay thegovernment taxes and fees, so
they do pay, depending on thecruise, anywhere from $50 to $80
(23:56):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:56):
Right, because there are port fees per person.
Take advantage of the offersthat we have made in the last
half hour.
Call Mark in his office, getthe conversation started.
888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(24:16):
And Mark will also post all ofthis on blueplanetvacations.
com.
And I know that you're going tobe on top of Tower Butte in
Page, Arizona, when does thehelicopter come back for you?
Mark Faldmo (24:32):
About 15 minutes we'll have to go back.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:34):
Oh, so you got to hurry and tear everything
down then.
Mark Faldmo (24:41):
Yeah, we have to leave before the lunch starts
for.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:43):
Ferrari.
I'm sorry, I'm in the middle ofthe desert and I'm having lunch
on top of Tower Butte.
Yeah, you know, that's a storyjust right there.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, Sunday,
at 11 am, right here on thisvery radio station that you're
(25:03):
listening to right now, and youcan stream, download and
subscribe to the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
We've got links onInsideTravelTalk.
com, but are on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
We've got links onInsideTravelTalk.
com, but if you just want to doa search, just do Inside Travel
Talk and you'll see a globe withtwo hands.
That's us.
(25:25):
Well, now it's your turn to getout and explore the world while
you can, because you never knowwhat curveball's life is going
to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life deliberately.
Live your life intentionally.
Live life the way you want tolive it.
Thank you so much for listening.
We don't have a business and wedon't have a show without you.
A sincere thank you for takingthe time to listen, and we will
(25:46):
talk to you again next week.
Show Voice (25:51):
That's it.
That's the end of the show.
You've been listening to theInside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show with Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(26:12):
Thanks for listening.
Ad Voice (26:27):
Have a great week to Cancun's Riviera Maya with
authentic all-inclusive luxuryat an El Dorado spa resort.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Cardiac Cowboys
The heart was always off-limits to surgeons. Cutting into it spelled instant death for the patient. That is, until a ragtag group of doctors scattered across the Midwest and Texas decided to throw out the rule book. Working in makeshift laboratories and home garages, using medical devices made from scavenged machine parts and beer tubes, these men and women invented the field of open heart surgery. Odds are, someone you know is alive because of them. So why has history left them behind? Presented by Chris Pine, CARDIAC COWBOYS tells the gripping true story behind the birth of heart surgery, and the young, Greatest Generation doctors who made it happen. For years, they competed and feuded, racing to be the first, the best, and the most prolific. Some appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, operated on kings and advised presidents. Others ended up disgraced, penniless, and convicted of felonies. Together, they ignited a revolution in medicine, and changed the world.