November 23, 2024 • 51 mins
What if you could navigate the Thanksgiving travel frenzy like a pro? Learn the secrets to a stress-free journey as we unpack the chaos expected at airports, particularly in Salt Lake City. Delve into the record-breaking travel trends, with coveted destinations like Florida and Cancun taking the spotlight. Plus, stay informed on Spirit Airlines' bankruptcy and how to safeguard your travel plans with insurance. We've got the inside scoop on which airports to avoid and special perks that could make all the difference, including a parking promotion in Salt Lake City.
Switching from the hustle of travel to the splendor of luxury, we explore the rising interest in Fiji and how Florence is tackling over-tourism. Discover exclusive deals like Rocky Mountaineer's Black Friday discounts on scenic rail adventures across North America. Hear about my recent visit to the El Dorado Royale in Cancun, and engage in a discussion on what defines luxury travel for you. From budget-friendly tips to maximize your high-end experiences to the most extraordinary journeys that won't break the bank, we've got ideas to inspire your next indulgent getaway.
Set sail on an Alaskan adventure with small ship cruises, where UnCruise, American Cruise Lines, and National Geographic Expeditions offer unforgettable experiences. Navigate through icy waters, explore charming fishing villages, and learn from onboard scientists as we lay out what each cruise line has to offer. Concluding with essential travel tips, we expose TSA PreCheck scams, outline new European travel requirements, and introduce Uber's latest airport options. Don't miss our advice on keeping your luggage safe with Apple AirTags, ensuring every part of your journey is as smooth as possible.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show.
On today's show we're going totalk about vacations to Fiji,
Alaska's small ship cruising andlet the Thanksgiving madness
begin.
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacation s.
com, contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
(00:23):
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (00:38):
Helping you plan your next vacation.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call us now 801-649-3700,801-649-3700, and check out the
podcast at InsideTravelTalk.
(00:58):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:16):
Let the Thanksgiving travel madness
begin.
We will just simply say packyour patience, because it is
going to be fairly chaotic asyou travel out of Salt Lake City
and regardless of where you'reflying into, it is going to be
complete madness.
Thank you so much for allowingMark and I to be part of your
(01:39):
Saturday and Sunday mornings.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark will be here in just asecond as he's running in to the
studio.
I want to thank you for takingthe time to stop and listen and,
if you're brand new to the show, the entire purpose of this
radio show and podcast is tohelp you plan and book your next
(02:02):
vacation and to help you creatememories, not only for yourself
but for your friends, yourfamily.
And if you have no idea whereyou would like to go, then our
job is really, really simple andthat is to give you ideas about
where to go on vacation andgreat destinations to consider
at a great price and a greatvalue.
(02:23):
You can get the podcast of thisshow at insidetraveltalk.
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts, and if you're in the
Salt Lake City area, we're alsoon the air every Saturday and
Sunday morning at 11 am MountainTime on 860 KKAT, and we are
presented by Blue PlanetVacations Mark.
(02:45):
It is time for the Thanksgivingtravel madness to begin.
Mark Faldmo (02:50):
It is.
We've got some interestingstories about Thanksgiving
travel coming up.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:54):
You just got back from Cancun, literally last
night.
How are things going fromCancun into Salt Lake?
Mark Faldmo (03:02):
Well, when I got in Salt Lake it actually was the
easiest it's ever been.
So of course it was.
I was lucky I had been upgradedto first class.
I was one of the first off theairplane, so when I went through
customs it literally took metwo minutes to get once I
stepped off the airplane to getto the curb to catch a shuttle
(03:22):
to the rental car company.
But that's also the convenienceof global entry.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:27):
Two minutes that's amazing From plane to
curbside.
This isn't on the rundown, butonly because you're mentioning
two minutes from airplane tocurbside to pick up Park Jet.
Let's talk about the specialoffer we have for listeners who
park at Park Jet.
Mark Faldmo (03:43):
So if you're in the Salt Lake City area which we
have the radio and a lot ofpodcast listeners in the Salt
Lake area, we do have a specialpromotion Get 20% off parking at
Park and Jet, which I think isthe easiest and best offsite
parking for the Salt LakeAirport.
There's a coupon onblueplanetvacations.
com.
(04:03):
Just down at the bottom there'sa Park n Jet logo.
Click on that and it'll takeyou to all of that information
to get 20% off the regularparking rates.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:12):
Let's get to the travel dues headlines.
Probably the biggest story ofthe week is Spirit Airlines
filing for bankruptcy.
Mark Faldmo (04:21):
We've been hinting at this for the past year.
You could have seen these signsthere.
Frontier made a bid to buySpirit, got outbid by JetBlue
and then that was denied by thegovernment.
Since 2020, Spirit Airlines haslost $2.5 billion or nothing
(04:46):
new.
Probably every airline outthere has filed for bankruptcy
one, two, three, maybe fourtimes.
It's fairly common.
Spirit is going to continue tooperate as normal.
They've cut back, depending onthe market.
Some markets up to 20% offlights, but what this means for
the traveler you know.
We always recommend gettingtravel insurance.
So if you purchased travelinsurance before they declared
(05:07):
bankruptcy, then anythingrelated to the insurance and the
airline is covered.
But now, since it's a knownissue, travel insurance will not
cover.
Say, Spirit did decide just toquit operating.
Travel insurance would notcover that if you purchase
insurance now.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:23):
This year's Thanksgiving travel is expected
to break US records.
That's why we're saying at thevery top of the show just pack
your patience if you're flyingor driving really.
Mark Faldmo (05:33):
AAA puts out its annual Thanksgiving projection
report and they project thisyear nearly 80 million travelers
are expected to hit the roadsand the skies between November
26th and Monday, December 2nd.
Compared to last year, that's1.7 million more than traveled
last year.
In terms of the busiestdomestic routes, Orlando, Miami,
(05:59):
fort Lauderdale, Tampa are thetop four, followed by Los
Angeles and New York, so a lotof people wanting to go to
Florida.
Internationally, Budapest hashad the highest demand over
Thanksgiving.
After Budapest, you have SanJuan, Cancun and Punta Cana.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:14):
In the Dominican Republic, All I'm
hearing is warm weather, warmweather.
Let's get out of here.
Yes, what were the airportswith the highest Thanksgiving
wait times?
Mark Faldmo (06:24):
last year.
The airport with the longestwait time last year was Miami
Airport.
That had 54 minutes of averagewait over the Thanksgiving
holidays.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:34):
Now when you say wait, wait, from what?
Going through security to thegate, oh, security.
Mark Faldmo (06:39):
To get through security.
And then Los Angeles was numbertwo at 53.
New York was also right around53.
And then Seattle and FortLauderdale.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:50):
Miami I get, but Fort Lauderdale I'm
surprised how much traffic theyget.
Mark Faldmo (06:53):
They do.
Some of those terminals are alittle bit of a bottleneck so
that can cause quite the wait,especially if you're there on a
cruise day.
Fort Lauderdale and Orlando hadthe most flight delays of any
airport over Thanksgiving.
Both of them, at or above 20%of the flights, were delayed out
of those two airports overThanksgiving last year.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:15):
Always in segment one of the show, we talk
about the destination of theweek, and let's talk about more
warm weather and the top fourreasons to visit Fiji.
Mark Faldmo (07:25):
The first is exploration or for the explorer.
Fiji has been chosen for lotsof shows and films you know,
like Survivor and Castaway havebeen filmed there.
For the explorer, there's lotsof unspoiled rainforest.
We've previously talked aboutthe Sigatoka River, where you
can take a jet boat up the river.
(07:46):
Visit traditional Fijianvillage.
There's jungle hikes, riverrafting including.
You can visit the extinctvolcano which is in the middle
of the main island of Viti Levu.
The second reason you'd visitis, if you're a water lover,
beautiful beaches in Fiji.
It's also known as the softcoral reef of the world.
(08:07):
So snorkeling and scuba, youknow you can dive with bull
sharks.
They have a floating bar that'sjust floating out in the middle
of the ocean.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:17):
On my virgin pina colada, please, yes, so
tasty.
Mark Faldmo (08:22):
The next reason is for the romantics out there.
Probably some of the bestsunsets I've seen have been in
Fiji.
Just the relaxed beachlifestyle of Fiji if you want a
romantic vacation.
And the next is if you're adreamer Again, as we've talked
about sitting back on a beachreading a book, you just want to
(08:46):
relax, stay on a de-stress.
You can certainly find that inFiji.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:52):
So let's talk about special airfare promotion
To go from Los Angeles or SanFrancisco to Fiji.
How much is it?
Mark Faldmo (09:01):
$799 per person round trip.
How much is it?
$799 per person round trip?
I found actually some lastminute like traveling in
December that are lower thanthat, but their official
advertised price is $799.
And I found that in April andMay when I was looking earlier
today.
Wow, you know.
So if you want to go to Fiji,great airfare, my favorite hotel
(09:23):
there Well, I have lots offavorite hotels there, but I
like the Outrigger on the CoralCoast which is on the main
island.
Or if you want to kind ofescape and get away off the main
island, there's an islandcalled Castaway Island in the
Mamanuka Islands which is asmall, I think 50 room kind of
boutique hotel just out on anisland.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:45):
By itself, wonderful stay warm up the
credit card, Patrick.
Here you go, mark.
The card number is call Mark inhis office if you want to go to
Fiji.
799 airfare from Los Angeles orSan Francisco to Nandi, Fiji.
(10:07):
And when is that?
Did you say it was for April orMay?
April or May.
Book it.
Now, call him as we get off theair here in this first segment
888-718 7717, 888-718-771-7888.
718-771-7.
Coming up in the next segment,we're going to have the hot
(10:31):
travel deal of the week.
We're going to be talking aboutCancun, because Mark just got
back from there and we have somespecial promotions that we want
to share with listeners, andwe're also going to talk about
the top five travel trends for2025.
That is coming up when theInside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show continues.
(10:51):
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your morning.
Show Voice (10:58):
We will be right back If you have travel
questions, they have the answers.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700.
(11:20):
801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (11:31):
We'll be right back Inside.
Travel Talk is brought to youby Ammo Waterways.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages, visit some
of Europe's most remarkablesites and cities.
The award-winning andfamily-owned river cruise line
Emma Waterways offers a widevariety of unforgettable
itineraries along Europe'siconic rivers, perfectly suited
(11:54):
to every traveler's interests.
Whether you are passionateabout music, history,
architecture or enjoy the finerthings in a Europe, river cruise
on Emma Waterways is the giftthat keeps on giving.
To set out on your own rivercruise journey, contact Blue
Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717or blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (12:28):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and
check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:54):
Serving travelers around the world.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
We have some of the best traveladvisors including Mark, who is
the owner ofBluePlanetVacations.
com that you will ever have,that you will get the assistance
(13:17):
that you need planning andbooking a vacation.
Call him in his office888-718-7717, 888-718-7717,
888-718-7717.
And, if you are just joiningthe show, the entire purpose of
this show is to help you planand book your next vacation.
And if you don't know where togo, our job is really very, very
(13:40):
simple just give you ideas ofwhere to go.
Last segment, we talked aboutgoing to Fiji out of Los Angeles
or San Francisco in April orMay for $799 per person.
That's just the airfare to getthere, which is a phenomenal
deal.
I've never heard 800 bucks toFiji ever.
(14:01):
Okay, let's get to the travelnews headlines.
Let's start with the top fivetravel trends for 2025.
Mark Faldmo (14:09):
This is kind of a compilation of different travel
vendors and what they're seeingin their own internal reports.
The number one that popped upbaby boomers are spending the
most money on travel.
Trend number two is big changesin air seats will impact air
fares.
Several companies are reportingthey're seeing air fares drop
(14:31):
for flights between the EastCoast, US and European
destinations, especially thehubs like Paris, London,
Amsterdam.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:40):
Number three solo travel is becoming more
mainstream, especially on cruiseships if you're just joining us
, we're talking about the topfive travel trends for next year
, 2025.
Mark Faldmo (14:54):
Number four is new and notable travel products.
So a lot of companies areintroducing new and unique types
of trips.
The main one is culinary, sofood tours on cruise ships and
on land, different types ofsafari camps.
I just read the other day thatin the Columbia River Gorge in
(15:16):
Washington there's a tent hotelthat's opening next year.
What's number five?
It's that Europe and Japan arestill the hottest destinations
out there.
Really, interest in Japan hasreally increased.
There's been a high demand forJapan.
In my whole travel careerprobably sold six or seven
things to Japan this year alone.
(15:37):
I've sold that many.
Oh wow.
So lots of interest in Japan,yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:44):
And Florence in Italy is banning key boxes
and tour guide loudspeakers.
The loudspeakers I get the keyboxes probably have something to
do with Airbnb and themcracking down on it.
Mark Faldmo (15:58):
Yeah, as we talked about in the previous segment,
Europe is a hot destination.
Italy is amongst the hottestdestinations in Europe, and
cities like Florence are justhaving a hard time with
over-tourism.
They've put some bans onshort-term rentals and now
they're banning the key boxesthat a lot of Airbnb owners use
(16:21):
to get their tenants into thosehouses.
They've had problems with thosebeing taped and glued shut,
vandalized and cut off, and sothey are just banning those.
And then, as you mentioned,loudspeakers I've seen those on
occasion, but most tour groupshave switched over to the
whisper headsets, where you justhave a little transmitting
(16:43):
device that you wear in yourpiece and hear your tour guide
talking.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:46):
I love New York City.
Times Square is loud by default, and so when those tour buses
come through and they have theloudspeakers, now look over to
the left and that's where theball drops.
I'm just like whoa, whoa man.
It's already loud here and Ican hear your tour.
Mark Faldmo (17:03):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:04):
One of the things that you did.
I think it was late August,September timeframe.
Rocky Mountaineer has justreleased that they're a train
company.
They've released their BlackFriday deal.
What are they promoting, so?
Mark Faldmo (17:16):
their Black Friday deal is $2,000 off a six-night
or longer Canadian route or offfive-plus nights on the US route
, the Rockies to Red Rocks route.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:29):
Wait, hold on.
You can actually go five nightson that thing.
Mark Faldmo (17:32):
Or are they taking it a little bit further, east
and west too, those, all includea rail segment which is either
two or three days long, okay,and the others are a hotel type,
or that they do so, like theone, the Red Rock to the Rockies
, which is between Denver andMoab, Utah, has a two day train
(17:53):
ride and then they have a tourlike in Moab.
That will you stay in Moab stay?
a little bit there, and thenthey take you to Salt Lake or
Las Vegas, then the same thingin the Canadian route.
So again, up to $2,000 off,which is a pretty good offer for
Rocky Mountaineer.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:13):
I want to spell something out that's
really important.
You do not sleep on the train,correct?
So when you pull into a city,you actually get off the train
and usually it's very, veryclose.
Sometimes it's right across thetracks where you stay in an
actual hotel, not a motel, but ahotel, a hotel, that's nice.
(18:33):
So if you're having visions ofsleeping on a train, don't.
It's much better.
You get to enjoy the trainduring the day.
Mark Faldmo (18:42):
So it leaves you time in the evening to explore
the town that you're in.
They usually end by dinnertime,and so you have.
You know you have dinner in theintermediate city and then your
hotel.
It is a very nice experience.
Yeah, you loved it, absolutelyloved it.
Yeah, I just need to go try theCanadian Rocky route now too.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:02):
So me too, because then we could do that
and then we could jump on acruise ship with our wives.
I think that would be terrific.
That would be All right.
Let's get to the hot traveldeal of the week Mark is just
getting back from Cancunliterally last night and let's
talk about the types of tripsthat our listeners can take if
they go to Cancun.
Mark Faldmo (19:23):
So I went and stayed at one of my favorite
hotels, the Eldorado Royale, andit was with a group of travel
agents and there was a lot oftalk about what is luxury.
Why is this considered luxury?
Some agents had differentopinions.
Luxury is subjective, and so doyou really have to do your
research or again rely on atrusted travel advisor, because
(19:48):
I consider the El Dorado Royalea luxury property.
There were a few traveladvisors there that said I don't
think this is luxury and so youreally have to look at that.
There are some hotels that havea lot of bells and whistles,
kind of sleek.
What I like about the El DoradoRoyale, and why I consider it
(20:10):
luxury, is it's kind ofauthentic luxury.
It does have amenities of aluxury hotel, but it also has
laid back atmosphere.
There are different types ofluxury.
When you see a hotel that saythis is a luxury product, really
look in or ask the questionswhat makes it luxury and does it
conform to what I think luxuryis?
(20:32):
In Cancun there are severalluxury hotels that probably are
nicer than what the El DoradoRoyale is, but I love the El
Dorado Royale because it's soauthentic in its culture and its
grounds and how it's designedGreat view, great landscaping.
(20:54):
What is the deal of the week?
This is again the El DoradoResorts, and we've talked about
this before, but I think it's agreat thing.
More inclusive, which is theirconcept.
So with this more inclusiveconcept, you get free
transportation between theairport and the hotel.
You get free activities,included snorkeling at Maroma
(21:14):
Beach.
They have a ranch.
You can go to an animal rescueplace that they have at a ranch,
with mainly horses, and thenjust their great food and
atmosphere they have.
So the more inclusive conceptat El Dorado is the travel deal
of the week, this week.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:33):
If you've always wanted to go to Cancun
and didn't know where to stay,mark is your man.
How many times have you beenthere?
If you had to guess A coupledozen, probably close to 40.
All right, so almost four dozentimes you really do love it
there, I do.
Yeah, to book a Cancun vacation.
(21:57):
This is the hot travel deal ofthe week.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717.
888-718-7717 and you can alsogo to blueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back we've gotmore travel news that we need to
get to, but it is the infamousJust Cruising segment.
(22:19):
It's only about cruising andwe've got some amazing prices
and values to talk about.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thanks for listening.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (22:41):
They've literally traveled millions of miles to
answer your travel relatedquestions.
Yeah, they really have.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show Presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors,Patrick and Mark, will be back
after these messages.
Ad Voice (23:09):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
authentic tall ship sailingexperiences featuring creative
itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
Central America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(23:30):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:32):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast, a radio show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes, markand I will be talking about
cruises to Alaska, not yourtypical cruises, a new Disney
cruise out of Port Canaveral andyet another Black Friday sale
of up to 50% off.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(23:56):
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 (24:20):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Hit us up right now,801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(24:40):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:50):
All aboard for segment number three of the
Inside Travel Talk podcast, aradio show.
This is the infamous justcruising segment of the show
where we talk about only aboutcruises.
That's coming up here in just acouple of moments, but before
(25:14):
we do we need to get to thecruise news headlines of the
week, and I saw mark that portCanaveral is welcoming a brand
new Disney ship into port.
I think it's called the Disneytreasure, is that right?
Yeah, it's the, the DisneyTreasure.
Mark Faldmo (25:28):
Is that right?
Yeah, it's the Disney Treasure.
It arrived earlier this monthinto Port Canaveral.
Right now it's just doing sometesting, some different things.
It's maiden voyage out of PortCanaveral will be December 21st.
It's going to sell seven-daycruises out of Port Canaveral.
The maiden voyage is an EasternCaribbean and I'm not sure if
(25:50):
this ship is going to alternateEastern Western.
This will be the third shipthere, so they have one ship
doing the shorter three and fourday and probably two ships
doing seven day cruises.
So, but I'm not sure if theships alternate Eastern Western.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:06):
HX has a Black Friday sale of up to 50% off
all-inclusive expeditionsailings.
This is more of the adventuroustype sailing.
Let's tell listeners whatthey're offering.
Mark Faldmo (26:18):
Yeah, it is.
So their Black Friday sale, asyou mentioned, is 50% off
all-inclusive expeditionsailings.
This could be to the Arctic, tothe Antarctic sailings.
This could be to the Arctic, tothe Antarctic.
Hurtigruten is probably myfavorite expedition cruise.
There's also their sistercompany.
They're now two separate.
So there is Hurtigruten, whichdoes Norwegian coastal voyages,
(26:41):
and then here we're talkingabout HX, which stands for
Hurtigruten Expeditions.
If you're looking to go on oneof those kind of adventurous
explorations, look at some ofthe things that HX has to offer,
especially with this 50% offexpedition sailings, the one
thing I like, especially ontheir Antarctica.
(27:02):
There are some cruise linesthat say they go to Antarctica
and they go cruise around for aday or two.
With Hertig ruten you actuallyget to well, weather permitting,
I should say you get to stepfoot on Antarctica.
There we go, take the ExoDxover, then you get to do that.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:20):
I would do that in a second.
Mark Faldmo (27:22):
It would be amazing .
Patrick Wiscombe (27:23):
I would make the argument that maybe people
listening to the show don't evenknow.
Most people think of cruising,as you know, just to hop on a
big boat, but there areadventure cruises and that's
what we're talking about here.
So if you have a streak ofdoing what most people don't
want to do, or don't do it all,HX is your company.
Mark Faldmo (27:41):
They are.
They also have some NorthernLights Expedition Cruises
Iceland, Greenland, northernNorway so they have lots of good
options out there forinteresting itineraries.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:54):
And if you've never seen the Northern Lights,
it is worth seeing, andespecially from a ship.
That's where I saw them on thecruise to Alaska.
It was spectacular.
So you had the blackness of thesea, so obviously it's night
and you just see these orangeand green lights overhead.
It was spectacular.
So you had the blackness of thesea, so obviously it's night
and you just see these orangeand green lights overhead.
It was spectacular.
Just do it One of those thingsyou would go.
(28:15):
I'm so glad we did that.
Yes, I've always wanted to askthis question and since this is
the Just Cruising segment, letme just ask it here If there are
itinerary changes on a cruise,what are cruise passengers owed
for those itinerary changes?
Mark Faldmo (28:33):
This depends on the cruise line's terms and
conditions.
Most cruise lines technicallysay that if they change a port
time like I've got a lot ofthese changing from departing
port at 5 pm moving up to 4 pm.
Some have changed the order ofthe ports.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:50):
Generally speaking, that's usually for
weather-related reasons.
Mark Faldmo (28:54):
For weather-related or Safety or safety or just
berths.
You know, sometimes ships doget double booked and so they do
change ports around.
To accommodate that.
If this happens while you'resailing, even though they don't
(29:14):
technically owe money back perthe terms and conditions, a lot
of cruise lines will give you anextra onboard credit.
They will give you a partialrefund of the day.
In some cases they might giveyou a future cruise credit and
they for sure, if you miss aport, they'll give you back the
government taxes and fees thatwere paid.
(29:36):
They didn't have to pay becausethey didn't go to that port.
Oh, interesting.
Now you know, I've had severalports like private islands in
the Bahamas, for instance.
I've had a lot of thosecanceled due to high winds.
They just can't get in to thoseports.
It's just not safe to visitthose ports.
I've also had, for instance, inCabo.
The seas were just too rough.
(29:57):
It's a tender port and itwasn't safe to operate the
tender boat.
So things like that can happenand the cruise lines do try and
compensate you in some way, eventhough they're not obligated to
.
And then you know, for instance, there are some things like a
Princess ship the end of October, 1st of November, had an engine
(30:20):
issue and they actually had tocancel three weeks worth of
cruises.
Oh wow, because they couldn'tget the engine issue resolved as
they had hoped.
And so in that case people gota full refund plus a 50% future
cruise credit.
So they basically got 150%worth of funds to purchase
(30:43):
another cruise on that.
But this case that we'retalking about here, this is
another reason to purchasetravel insurance or travel
protection.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:51):
Who do you like to use for travel?
Mark Faldmo (30:52):
insurance.
Personally, I like TravelEx.
A lot of people might purchasethe cruise lines insurance in
this case, which would coverthis.
However, it wouldn't havecovered any airfare.
If you're on one of these threesailings canceled, your cruise
is covered, but what about theairfare that you have?
That's non-refundable.
That's a great point.
You would get most airlines,depending on how you booked, you
(31:17):
probably will get to reusethose funds at a future point,
but insurance would cover any ofthat that you can't reuse.
I recommend travel insurance onevery trip.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:28):
Because this is the infamous just cruising
segment.
Let's get to the cruise deal ofthe week, and you received a
text a little bit earlier thisweek.
Let me just give the textnumber it's 801-649-3700.
That's how you get in touchwith the show to ask your travel
related questions.
Mary wants to sail to Alaska,but sail on a small ship, not a
(31:50):
big mega ship, she says.
Is that an option?
The answer is yes.
Let's give her some choiceshere.
Mark Faldmo (31:57):
Yeah, so there are a couple of cruise lines that I
think do a very good job inAlaska that are smaller ships.
They all have kind of differentunique flavors and fills of
kind of what they're all about.
You know, kind of like when wewere talking earlier about the
luxury, you know there's peopleconceive luxury as different, so
(32:19):
these small ships have theirown unique brand.
For small ships, my favorite isUnCruise.
They have several smaller shipsthat sail in Alaska.
They range from 36 to 84 guests.
Oh, small ships, they're verysmall ships.
These are kind of like theexpedition ships that we were
(32:40):
just talking about previous withHertig ruten.
I would characterize UnCruiseas an adventure cruise.
They have several itinerariesthat range.
Most of them are round tripJuneau, Alaska, but I think one
of the unique cruises that theyoffer.
They have an itinerary thatit's a seven night cruise but it
(33:02):
spends two full days insideexploring Glacier Bay.
Oh, two days, Two daysexploring Glacier Bay.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:10):
Okay, hold on just a second, so can you get
off the ship there.
Mark Faldmo (33:14):
I believe you can.
I believe they have some placeswhere you can get off and do a
few things in that Glacier Bayarea.
That's incredible.
They have some hikes to theglacier some different things,
some hikes to the glaciers somedifferent things.
So just looking at thisitinerary, they do have prices
starting at about $4,700 perperson.
(33:36):
These are a little bit more onthe expensive side, but what you
get with them and where you getto go are very much worth it.
Oh yeah, that would have beenfun to get off in Glacier Bay to
go hike around.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:45):
And again, this one, two full days in
Glacier Bay, is very unique.
Oh, oh yeah, that would havebeen fun to get off in Glacier
Bay to go hike around.
Mark Faldmo (33:48):
And again.
This one, two full days inGlacier Bay, is very unique.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:52):
Oh yeah, most cruise ships are there.
What?
Three to four hours?
That might even be a little bitlong.
Mark Faldmo (33:59):
Yeah, the big cruise ships are usually there.
Well, they're in Glacier Bayfor about six hours, but really,
the heart of Glacier Bay,you're only there for an hour or
so.
Yeah, yep To see.
And then the next cruise lineis American Cruise Lines.
They're a little bit larger.
Their ships are right about 170guests.
(34:22):
So you know about the size ofyour average river cruise ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:26):
How many Did you say?
Mark Faldmo (34:27):
170 guests.
170 guests, okay, yeah, andthey have.
You know, I just pulled out oneof their itineraries that I
thought was unique, which wasRound Trip Juneau, and it was
eight nights.
One of the thing about thesesmall ships are some of the
places that they get to go.
For instance, this one that Ilook goes to a place called
(34:50):
Petersburg, Alaska, and it'skind of a Norwegian fisherman's
type village.
It retains the authentic charmof a Norwegian fishing village
and so you do get to go to someof these places that the big
ships just can't go to.
Their deal actually is reallygood.
(35:10):
It's free airfare plus up to$2,000 off per person on select
cruises this eight-day cruiseand again this one's a little
bit more expensive than thatUnCruise, but again a different
kind of feeling of what you get.
So their cruises start at justabout $6,000 per person, but
(35:32):
again that includes free airfareand that also includes the up
to $2,000 off.
Depending on the sailing, itreally ranged from $1,000,
$1,500, or 2,000 off on theirBlack Friday sale.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:47):
This one interests me just because
National Geographic is involved.
Their ship sizes accommodatehow many guests, generally
speaking?
Mark Faldmo (35:56):
They are 62 to 138.
So still very small, yeah.
And so this is NationalGeographic Expedition.
This would be kind of similarto the UnCruise product, but
with that National Geographicflair.
On these ships they havescientists on board.
It's kind of run like if youwould watch a show on National
(36:17):
Geographic about Alaska.
So for mid-season, this is Juneand July departures.
So for mid-season, this is Juneand July departures.
So this just goes off to someof those small islands in Juneau
Ketchikan type area and youexplore these small islands and
it starts at $7,800 per person.
But those are for June and Julydates.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:40):
So peak season ?
Yeah, that is way peak season.
Mark Faldmo (36:43):
I've actually had several customers go on the
National Geographic expeditionand they've booked it every year
or every other year.
They love the Alaska cruise onNational Geographic.
Those are my three picks forsmall ship cruising in Alaska.
They all do a great job.
They all have a little bitdifferent flavor depending on
(37:04):
what type of trip you're lookingfor.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:06):
You just can't go wrong with Alaska period.
Whether you go big ship, smallship, that's a decision that
you're going to have to make,but Mark can help you with it
because he's been there so manytimes, literally dozens of times
, literally dozens of times.
Call him in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(37:38):
When we come back final segmentof the show we're going to talk
about the TSA warning aboutpre-check enrollment scams oh
man, don't get caught up in oneof those and we're also going to
talk about going to Vietnam,and Mark is going to talk about
a site called Sherpa.
We'll tell you why.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
(38:00):
We will be right back.
Show Voice (38:04):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (38:47):
We'll be right back paid rate.
Show Voice (38:49):
Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com for more information.
They'll help you plan and bookyour next vacation.
Yeah, really, you're listeningto the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show presentedby BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(39:16):
And now here's Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:26):
Helping you get out and explore the world.
That's the entire purpose ofour radio show and podcast.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,mark Faldmo.
He's running back into thestudio again.
He had to just print some stuffoff for listeners.
(39:47):
We're going to be talking aboutgoing to Vietnam using a
website called Sherpa.
We'll tell you why that's soimportant, but we also want to
give you Mark's travel tips andtalk about a new scam that TSA
is warning travelers about.
(40:08):
In fact, let's just go aheadand start there, mark.
I guess I shouldn't.
Just you shouldn't be runningin from the printer.
I'll give you a second to catchyour breath here.
I'm good Because I'm motioningto you through the glass.
Hey, get in here.
We're starting.
Here we go.
TSA is warning about apre-check TSA pre, I'm assuming
(40:31):
uh enrollment and renewal scam.
If you are part of TSA pre, uh,listen up.
Or you want to become part ofit?
Mark Faldmo (40:38):
listen up yeah, so they're just warning.
There are several scams outthere and fake websites.
So TSA just wants everyone toknow these three things about
TSA PreCheck and how to spot ascam.
First-time applicants you canonly pay for TSA at an
enrollment center.
You cannot get TSA PreCheckonline for the first time.
(41:00):
You actually have to physicallygo to an enrollment center.
Oh, so if there's any site outthere saying apply for the first
time and pay us.
It's a scam.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:10):
Oh, so it just really is that simple.
Yeah, okay, so.
I didn't have to do that.
Now I did global entry, whichincludes TSA pre-check.
Is TSA pre-check easier to get,generally speaking, than global
entry?
Mark Faldmo (41:23):
It is yeah, yeah, it's easier to get.
You don't have to go throughquite as many hoops as global
entry.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:30):
Yeah, there was a lot of hoops for global
entry, but now that I have it,it's like oh good.
Mark Faldmo (41:35):
Yeah, yeah.
And then you know another scamis renewing.
You can pay online and they arejust warning that a lot of
scammers create fake websites tomimic the official TSA webpage.
So you know, make sure ifyou're paying that renewal, I'm
global entry, I'm not TSA, but Ibelieve there's a login.
(41:56):
So you should just log intoyour account and pay that
renewal.
Don't pay it through a fakesite.
And then also they're saying alot of the scammers use pressure
tactics.
TSA will never pressure you tocomplete your enrollment or
renew quickly.
So any communications likeright away, last chance,
(42:20):
anything like that, it is a scamsite.
Don't feel pressured intocompleting your enrollment or
renewal.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:27):
Let's talk about what to know about
Europe's new travelauthorizations.
There's a whole bunch ofacronyms here.
Mark Faldmo (42:34):
There's three that we're mainly concerned with now.
One is EES, which is EuropeanUnion's Entry and Exit System.
The other one is ETIAS, whichis the European's entry
authorization system, which ispre-travel.
And then the United Kingdomalso has an ETA, which is
(42:54):
electronic travel authorization.
This is a lot to unpack.
The EES, the entry and exitsystem, is one.
A few weeks ago we talked aboutthat.
They're delaying implementingthat and it was going to be the
foundation of their ETIAS system.
Sorry about all of theseacronyms, it's interesting but
(43:18):
they're so.
Both of those programs forEuropean Union are kind of on
hold until they can get itfigured out and worked out.
But the United Kingdom, theirelectronic authorization starts
January 8th.
So if you're traveling to theUnited Kingdom after January 8th
, you do need to go on to theirsite, fill out an application,
(43:39):
pay the small fee.
Fill out an application, paythe small fee.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:43):
I think it's about $10, equivalent of about
$10, and they will approve youto enter the United Kingdom and
you can help listeners with allof this right, we can help
listeners with this.
Mark Faldmo (43:55):
And then it's a lot , and I wish travel wasn't so
complicated.
There are things like this thatjust seem to make things more
complicated.
Yeah, but we can help walk youthrough all of that.
What is needed to enter?
In fact, that's what we'regoing to talk about a little bit
later in this segment.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:18):
Let's get to the new Uber options for people
traveling from their house orwherever they are to the airport
.
One of my favorite options isthe Uber XXL and the budget ride
.
I guess it depends on what yourneeds are From certain airports
.
Mark Faldmo (44:28):
Currently, there are 60 airports worldwide and 40
in the US that have this XXLoption, which is a vehicle that
will hold more luggage.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:38):
Yeah, it's basically think of like suburban
size.
Mark Faldmo (44:42):
Yeah, of like suburban size.
Yeah, and you know I've I'vegotten an Uber with just one
suitcase and sometimes itdoesn't fit in that little car
that showed up to pick me up, so, um.
So it's good to know that youcan order a car that hopefully
will hold all of your luggage.
And the other new option is theUberX Share, which is where you
(45:04):
can share a ride from certainairports, which again, I think
is a good option.
It's currently available at 10airports worldwide Austin,
Denver, Newark, Washington,Dulles, Miami, New Orleans, San
Francisco, Phoenix and Madridairport.
(45:25):
So I guess there's, they say,worldwide, but there's only one
airport, I guess technicallyoutside of the U?
Patrick Wiscombe (45:31):
S.
One of the favorite things thatI have is now.
I'm a huge Apple fan.
One of the best products thatthey have is their Apple air
tags, and so I want to talkabout some of the best ways not
to lose luggage.
Mark Faldmo (45:48):
Right now on Amazon you can get a pack of four
Apple AirTags for about $70.
Oh, that is a discount.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:55):
That's like 30% off.
Mark Faldmo (45:57):
That is a 30% discount from the regular price.
An Apple AirTag or a similardevice.
I think is well worth it.
I actually have some practicalexperience in Cancun.
This wasn't the trip that Ijust took, but had some clients
on a trip.
They arrived at the airport asa big group, so they're all
(46:17):
getting on a bus.
Outside of airports can bepretty hectic.
They got to the hotel and theirbags weren't on the bus.
Oh boy.
Luckily they had air tags andwere able to follow that baggage
to where it was at.
Sometimes those bags are justput somewhere and there's no
outreach trying to find theowner of that bag.
(46:38):
Having something like an Appleair tag is a great way to keep
tabs on your luggage.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:49):
It's funny you were talking about this because
just this morning I got a lowbattery alert for my luggage,
and so I know where the luggageis, I know where the AirTag is,
but this is the sound that youcan trigger, anyway, so I've got
to change the battery in it,and it also shows you on a map,
if you're not familiar, rightwhere you're since we're talking
about luggage it tells youright where it is which is a
great feature.
Mark Faldmo (47:09):
Good little travel tip there to keep track of bags.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:11):
Yes, you received.
Was this a text or an email?
I think it was an email.
This was an email.
Okay, jason is going to Vietnamand wants to know what is
needed to enter the country.
Well, I know that some of theseresources are on
blueplanetvacations.
com, your website.
Mark Faldmo (47:28):
Yeah, so if you go to blueplanetvacations.
com, down in the bottom footerthere's a link to travel
resources and one of those linksis to travel requirements.
It actually says country entryrequirements and this will take
you to a site called Sherpa,which I really like.
You can go in and put in whereyou're departing, from, where
(47:52):
you're going to, where you'reconnecting through, put in the
dates of travel, and it willtell you all of the entry
requirements for that country.
Oh, wow, very helpful.
He specifically asked aboutVietnam.
So this tells you you need avisa for Vietnam, gives you the
(48:13):
choice of a single entry or amultiple entry visa, and then
gives you links to the officialgovernment website where you can
apply for those.
It also tells you passportrequirements.
Vietnam does require yourpassport be valid at least six
months from the time of entry,and then it'll tell you any
health risks or requirements andany additional information
(48:36):
about entering that country.
And so this is a great resourceand website to just go country
by country and it'll walk youthrough the steps.
It'll link you to officialgovernment pages.
We were just talking earlierabout the scams for TSA PreCheck
.
There are a lot of visa scamsout there you want to make sure
(48:59):
you go to an approved vendor ordirectly to the country's
website to get your visaprocessed.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:08):
That's some really helpful information.
Mark BluePlanetVacations.
com, Did you say it was down inthe footer?
Mark Faldmo (49:15):
In the footer and travel resources.
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:18):
Okay, Sherpa, very, very helpful.
Blueplanetvacations.
com Just go right there If youwant to take advantage of all of
the deals that we've talkedabout, or some of them.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717, $799
(49:40):
per person airfare from LosAngeles or San Francisco to Fiji
Go to Fiji.
We've got the hot travel dealof the week.
Mark has been there 40 times toCancun and, of course, we've
got the cruise deal of the week.
Again, just call him in hisoffice, 888-718-7717,
(50:03):
888-718-7717.
You can listen to us againtomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11
am, right here on 860 KKAT, andif you want or need to listen to
the show again, you candownload and subscribe to the
podcast at InsideTravelTalk.
com.
Well, now it's your turn.
(50:28):
Get out and explore the worldwhile you can, because you never
know what curveballs life isgoing to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
remember what you're notchanging you are choosing.
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
We'll talk to you next Saturdayand Sunday mornings.
Show Voice (50:48):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(51:09):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show.
On today's show we're going totalk about vacations to Fiji,
Alaska's small ship cruising andlet the Thanksgiving madness
begin.
Let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacation s.
com, contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
(00:23):
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice.
Show Voice (00:38):
Helping you plan your next vacation.
This is the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call us now 801-649-3700,801-649-3700, and check out the
podcast at InsideTravelTalk.
(00:58):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:16):
Let the Thanksgiving travel madness
begin.
We will just simply say packyour patience, because it is
going to be fairly chaotic asyou travel out of Salt Lake City
and regardless of where you'reflying into, it is going to be
complete madness.
Thank you so much for allowingMark and I to be part of your
(01:39):
Saturday and Sunday mornings.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark will be here in just asecond as he's running in to the
studio.
I want to thank you for takingthe time to stop and listen and,
if you're brand new to the show, the entire purpose of this
radio show and podcast is tohelp you plan and book your next
(02:02):
vacation and to help you creatememories, not only for yourself
but for your friends, yourfamily.
And if you have no idea whereyou would like to go, then our
job is really, really simple andthat is to give you ideas about
where to go on vacation andgreat destinations to consider
at a great price and a greatvalue.
(02:23):
You can get the podcast of thisshow at insidetraveltalk.
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts, and if you're in the
Salt Lake City area, we're alsoon the air every Saturday and
Sunday morning at 11 am MountainTime on 860 KKAT, and we are
presented by Blue PlanetVacations Mark.
(02:45):
It is time for the Thanksgivingtravel madness to begin.
Mark Faldmo (02:50):
It is.
We've got some interestingstories about Thanksgiving
travel coming up.
Patrick Wiscombe (02:54):
You just got back from Cancun, literally last
night.
How are things going fromCancun into Salt Lake?
Mark Faldmo (03:02):
Well, when I got in Salt Lake it actually was the
easiest it's ever been.
So of course it was.
I was lucky I had been upgradedto first class.
I was one of the first off theairplane, so when I went through
customs it literally took metwo minutes to get once I
stepped off the airplane to getto the curb to catch a shuttle
(03:22):
to the rental car company.
But that's also the convenienceof global entry.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:27):
Two minutes that's amazing From plane to
curbside.
This isn't on the rundown, butonly because you're mentioning
two minutes from airplane tocurbside to pick up Park Jet.
Let's talk about the specialoffer we have for listeners who
park at Park Jet.
Mark Faldmo (03:43):
So if you're in the Salt Lake City area which we
have the radio and a lot ofpodcast listeners in the Salt
Lake area, we do have a specialpromotion Get 20% off parking at
Park and Jet, which I think isthe easiest and best offsite
parking for the Salt LakeAirport.
There's a coupon onblueplanetvacations.
com.
(04:03):
Just down at the bottom there'sa Park n Jet logo.
Click on that and it'll takeyou to all of that information
to get 20% off the regularparking rates.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:12):
Let's get to the travel dues headlines.
Probably the biggest story ofthe week is Spirit Airlines
filing for bankruptcy.
Mark Faldmo (04:21):
We've been hinting at this for the past year.
You could have seen these signsthere.
Frontier made a bid to buySpirit, got outbid by JetBlue
and then that was denied by thegovernment.
Since 2020, Spirit Airlines haslost $2.5 billion or nothing
(04:46):
new.
Probably every airline outthere has filed for bankruptcy
one, two, three, maybe fourtimes.
It's fairly common.
Spirit is going to continue tooperate as normal.
They've cut back, depending onthe market.
Some markets up to 20% offlights, but what this means for
the traveler you know.
We always recommend gettingtravel insurance.
So if you purchased travelinsurance before they declared
(05:07):
bankruptcy, then anythingrelated to the insurance and the
airline is covered.
But now, since it's a knownissue, travel insurance will not
cover.
Say, Spirit did decide just toquit operating.
Travel insurance would notcover that if you purchase
insurance now.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:23):
This year's Thanksgiving travel is expected
to break US records.
That's why we're saying at thevery top of the show just pack
your patience if you're flyingor driving really.
Mark Faldmo (05:33):
AAA puts out its annual Thanksgiving projection
report and they project thisyear nearly 80 million travelers
are expected to hit the roadsand the skies between November
26th and Monday, December 2nd.
Compared to last year, that's1.7 million more than traveled
last year.
In terms of the busiestdomestic routes, Orlando, Miami,
(05:59):
fort Lauderdale, Tampa are thetop four, followed by Los
Angeles and New York, so a lotof people wanting to go to
Florida.
Internationally, Budapest hashad the highest demand over
Thanksgiving.
After Budapest, you have SanJuan, Cancun and Punta Cana.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:14):
In the Dominican Republic, All I'm
hearing is warm weather, warmweather.
Let's get out of here.
Yes, what were the airportswith the highest Thanksgiving
wait times?
Mark Faldmo (06:24):
last year.
The airport with the longestwait time last year was Miami
Airport.
That had 54 minutes of averagewait over the Thanksgiving
holidays.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:34):
Now when you say wait, wait, from what?
Going through security to thegate, oh, security.
Mark Faldmo (06:39):
To get through security.
And then Los Angeles was numbertwo at 53.
New York was also right around53.
And then Seattle and FortLauderdale.
Patrick Wiscombe (06:50):
Miami I get, but Fort Lauderdale I'm
surprised how much traffic theyget.
Mark Faldmo (06:53):
They do.
Some of those terminals are alittle bit of a bottleneck so
that can cause quite the wait,especially if you're there on a
cruise day.
Fort Lauderdale and Orlando hadthe most flight delays of any
airport over Thanksgiving.
Both of them, at or above 20%of the flights, were delayed out
of those two airports overThanksgiving last year.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:15):
Always in segment one of the show, we talk
about the destination of theweek, and let's talk about more
warm weather and the top fourreasons to visit Fiji.
Mark Faldmo (07:25):
The first is exploration or for the explorer.
Fiji has been chosen for lotsof shows and films you know,
like Survivor and Castaway havebeen filmed there.
For the explorer, there's lotsof unspoiled rainforest.
We've previously talked aboutthe Sigatoka River, where you
can take a jet boat up the river.
(07:46):
Visit traditional Fijianvillage.
There's jungle hikes, riverrafting including.
You can visit the extinctvolcano which is in the middle
of the main island of Viti Levu.
The second reason you'd visitis, if you're a water lover,
beautiful beaches in Fiji.
It's also known as the softcoral reef of the world.
(08:07):
So snorkeling and scuba, youknow you can dive with bull
sharks.
They have a floating bar that'sjust floating out in the middle
of the ocean.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:17):
On my virgin pina colada, please, yes, so
tasty.
Mark Faldmo (08:22):
The next reason is for the romantics out there.
Probably some of the bestsunsets I've seen have been in
Fiji.
Just the relaxed beachlifestyle of Fiji if you want a
romantic vacation.
And the next is if you're adreamer Again, as we've talked
about sitting back on a beachreading a book, you just want to
(08:46):
relax, stay on a de-stress.
You can certainly find that inFiji.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:52):
So let's talk about special airfare promotion
To go from Los Angeles or SanFrancisco to Fiji.
How much is it?
Mark Faldmo (09:01):
$799 per person round trip.
How much is it?
$799 per person round trip?
I found actually some lastminute like traveling in
December that are lower thanthat, but their official
advertised price is $799.
And I found that in April andMay when I was looking earlier
today.
Wow, you know.
So if you want to go to Fiji,great airfare, my favorite hotel
(09:23):
there Well, I have lots offavorite hotels there, but I
like the Outrigger on the CoralCoast which is on the main
island.
Or if you want to kind ofescape and get away off the main
island, there's an islandcalled Castaway Island in the
Mamanuka Islands which is asmall, I think 50 room kind of
boutique hotel just out on anisland.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:45):
By itself, wonderful stay warm up the
credit card, Patrick.
Here you go, mark.
The card number is call Mark inhis office if you want to go to
Fiji.
799 airfare from Los Angeles orSan Francisco to Nandi, Fiji.
(10:07):
And when is that?
Did you say it was for April orMay?
April or May.
Book it.
Now, call him as we get off theair here in this first segment
888-718 7717, 888-718-771-7888.
718-771-7.
Coming up in the next segment,we're going to have the hot
(10:31):
travel deal of the week.
We're going to be talking aboutCancun, because Mark just got
back from there and we have somespecial promotions that we want
to share with listeners, andwe're also going to talk about
the top five travel trends for2025.
That is coming up when theInside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show continues.
(10:51):
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your morning.
Show Voice (10:58):
We will be right back If you have travel
questions, they have the answers.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700.
(11:20):
801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (11:31):
We'll be right back Inside.
Travel Talk is brought to youby Ammo Waterways.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages, visit some
of Europe's most remarkablesites and cities.
The award-winning andfamily-owned river cruise line
Emma Waterways offers a widevariety of unforgettable
itineraries along Europe'siconic rivers, perfectly suited
(11:54):
to every traveler's interests.
Whether you are passionateabout music, history,
architecture or enjoy the finerthings in a Europe, river cruise
on Emma Waterways is the giftthat keeps on giving.
To set out on your own rivercruise journey, contact Blue
Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717or blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (12:28):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and
check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:54):
Serving travelers around the world.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
We have some of the best traveladvisors including Mark, who is
the owner ofBluePlanetVacations.
com that you will ever have,that you will get the assistance
(13:17):
that you need planning andbooking a vacation.
Call him in his office888-718-7717, 888-718-7717,
888-718-7717.
And, if you are just joiningthe show, the entire purpose of
this show is to help you planand book your next vacation.
And if you don't know where togo, our job is really very, very
(13:40):
simple just give you ideas ofwhere to go.
Last segment, we talked aboutgoing to Fiji out of Los Angeles
or San Francisco in April orMay for $799 per person.
That's just the airfare to getthere, which is a phenomenal
deal.
I've never heard 800 bucks toFiji ever.
(14:01):
Okay, let's get to the travelnews headlines.
Let's start with the top fivetravel trends for 2025.
Mark Faldmo (14:09):
This is kind of a compilation of different travel
vendors and what they're seeingin their own internal reports.
The number one that popped upbaby boomers are spending the
most money on travel.
Trend number two is big changesin air seats will impact air
fares.
Several companies are reportingthey're seeing air fares drop
(14:31):
for flights between the EastCoast, US and European
destinations, especially thehubs like Paris, London,
Amsterdam.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:40):
Number three solo travel is becoming more
mainstream, especially on cruiseships if you're just joining us
, we're talking about the topfive travel trends for next year
, 2025.
Mark Faldmo (14:54):
Number four is new and notable travel products.
So a lot of companies areintroducing new and unique types
of trips.
The main one is culinary, sofood tours on cruise ships and
on land, different types ofsafari camps.
I just read the other day thatin the Columbia River Gorge in
(15:16):
Washington there's a tent hotelthat's opening next year.
What's number five?
It's that Europe and Japan arestill the hottest destinations
out there.
Really, interest in Japan hasreally increased.
There's been a high demand forJapan.
In my whole travel careerprobably sold six or seven
things to Japan this year alone.
(15:37):
I've sold that many.
Oh wow.
So lots of interest in Japan,yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:44):
And Florence in Italy is banning key boxes
and tour guide loudspeakers.
The loudspeakers I get the keyboxes probably have something to
do with Airbnb and themcracking down on it.
Mark Faldmo (15:58):
Yeah, as we talked about in the previous segment,
Europe is a hot destination.
Italy is amongst the hottestdestinations in Europe, and
cities like Florence are justhaving a hard time with
over-tourism.
They've put some bans onshort-term rentals and now
they're banning the key boxesthat a lot of Airbnb owners use
(16:21):
to get their tenants into thosehouses.
They've had problems with thosebeing taped and glued shut,
vandalized and cut off, and sothey are just banning those.
And then, as you mentioned,loudspeakers I've seen those on
occasion, but most tour groupshave switched over to the
whisper headsets, where you justhave a little transmitting
(16:43):
device that you wear in yourpiece and hear your tour guide
talking.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:46):
I love New York City.
Times Square is loud by default, and so when those tour buses
come through and they have theloudspeakers, now look over to
the left and that's where theball drops.
I'm just like whoa, whoa man.
It's already loud here and Ican hear your tour.
Mark Faldmo (17:03):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:04):
One of the things that you did.
I think it was late August,September timeframe.
Rocky Mountaineer has justreleased that they're a train
company.
They've released their BlackFriday deal.
What are they promoting, so?
Mark Faldmo (17:16):
their Black Friday deal is $2,000 off a six-night
or longer Canadian route or offfive-plus nights on the US route
, the Rockies to Red Rocks route.
Patrick Wiscombe (17:29):
Wait, hold on.
You can actually go five nightson that thing.
Mark Faldmo (17:32):
Or are they taking it a little bit further, east
and west too, those, all includea rail segment which is either
two or three days long, okay,and the others are a hotel type,
or that they do so, like theone, the Red Rock to the Rockies
, which is between Denver andMoab, Utah, has a two day train
(17:53):
ride and then they have a tourlike in Moab.
That will you stay in Moab stay?
a little bit there, and thenthey take you to Salt Lake or
Las Vegas, then the same thingin the Canadian route.
So again, up to $2,000 off,which is a pretty good offer for
Rocky Mountaineer.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:13):
I want to spell something out that's
really important.
You do not sleep on the train,correct?
So when you pull into a city,you actually get off the train
and usually it's very, veryclose.
Sometimes it's right across thetracks where you stay in an
actual hotel, not a motel, but ahotel, a hotel, that's nice.
(18:33):
So if you're having visions ofsleeping on a train, don't.
It's much better.
You get to enjoy the trainduring the day.
Mark Faldmo (18:42):
So it leaves you time in the evening to explore
the town that you're in.
They usually end by dinnertime,and so you have.
You know you have dinner in theintermediate city and then your
hotel.
It is a very nice experience.
Yeah, you loved it, absolutelyloved it.
Yeah, I just need to go try theCanadian Rocky route now too.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:02):
So me too, because then we could do that
and then we could jump on acruise ship with our wives.
I think that would be terrific.
That would be All right.
Let's get to the hot traveldeal of the week Mark is just
getting back from Cancunliterally last night and let's
talk about the types of tripsthat our listeners can take if
they go to Cancun.
Mark Faldmo (19:23):
So I went and stayed at one of my favorite
hotels, the Eldorado Royale, andit was with a group of travel
agents and there was a lot oftalk about what is luxury.
Why is this considered luxury?
Some agents had differentopinions.
Luxury is subjective, and so doyou really have to do your
research or again rely on atrusted travel advisor, because
(19:48):
I consider the El Dorado Royalea luxury property.
There were a few traveladvisors there that said I don't
think this is luxury and so youreally have to look at that.
There are some hotels that havea lot of bells and whistles,
kind of sleek.
What I like about the El DoradoRoyale, and why I consider it
(20:10):
luxury, is it's kind ofauthentic luxury.
It does have amenities of aluxury hotel, but it also has
laid back atmosphere.
There are different types ofluxury.
When you see a hotel that saythis is a luxury product, really
look in or ask the questionswhat makes it luxury and does it
conform to what I think luxuryis?
(20:32):
In Cancun there are severalluxury hotels that probably are
nicer than what the El DoradoRoyale is, but I love the El
Dorado Royale because it's soauthentic in its culture and its
grounds and how it's designedGreat view, great landscaping.
(20:54):
What is the deal of the week?
This is again the El DoradoResorts, and we've talked about
this before, but I think it's agreat thing.
More inclusive, which is theirconcept.
So with this more inclusiveconcept, you get free
transportation between theairport and the hotel.
You get free activities,included snorkeling at Maroma
(21:14):
Beach.
They have a ranch.
You can go to an animal rescueplace that they have at a ranch,
with mainly horses, and thenjust their great food and
atmosphere they have.
So the more inclusive conceptat El Dorado is the travel deal
of the week, this week.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:33):
If you've always wanted to go to Cancun
and didn't know where to stay,mark is your man.
How many times have you beenthere?
If you had to guess A coupledozen, probably close to 40.
All right, so almost four dozentimes you really do love it
there, I do.
Yeah, to book a Cancun vacation.
(21:57):
This is the hot travel deal ofthe week.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717.
888-718-7717 and you can alsogo to blueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back we've gotmore travel news that we need to
get to, but it is the infamousJust Cruising segment.
(22:19):
It's only about cruising andwe've got some amazing prices
and values to talk about.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thanks for listening.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (22:41):
They've literally traveled millions of miles to
answer your travel relatedquestions.
Yeah, they really have.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show Presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
America's best travel advisors,Patrick and Mark, will be back
after these messages.
Ad Voice (23:09):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
For over 30 years, starClippers has offered unique,
authentic tall ship sailingexperiences featuring creative
itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
Central America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(23:30):
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:32):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast, a radio show Coming up.
In the next 30 minutes, markand I will be talking about
cruises to Alaska, not yourtypical cruises, a new Disney
cruise out of Port Canaveral andyet another Black Friday sale
of up to 50% off.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(23:56):
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 (24:20):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Hit us up right now,801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
(24:40):
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:50):
All aboard for segment number three of the
Inside Travel Talk podcast, aradio show.
This is the infamous justcruising segment of the show
where we talk about only aboutcruises.
That's coming up here in just acouple of moments, but before
(25:14):
we do we need to get to thecruise news headlines of the
week, and I saw mark that portCanaveral is welcoming a brand
new Disney ship into port.
I think it's called the Disneytreasure, is that right?
Yeah, it's the, the DisneyTreasure.
Mark Faldmo (25:28):
Is that right?
Yeah, it's the Disney Treasure.
It arrived earlier this monthinto Port Canaveral.
Right now it's just doing sometesting, some different things.
It's maiden voyage out of PortCanaveral will be December 21st.
It's going to sell seven-daycruises out of Port Canaveral.
The maiden voyage is an EasternCaribbean and I'm not sure if
(25:50):
this ship is going to alternateEastern Western.
This will be the third shipthere, so they have one ship
doing the shorter three and fourday and probably two ships
doing seven day cruises.
So, but I'm not sure if theships alternate Eastern Western.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:06):
HX has a Black Friday sale of up to 50% off
all-inclusive expeditionsailings.
This is more of the adventuroustype sailing.
Let's tell listeners whatthey're offering.
Mark Faldmo (26:18):
Yeah, it is.
So their Black Friday sale, asyou mentioned, is 50% off
all-inclusive expeditionsailings.
This could be to the Arctic, tothe Antarctic sailings.
This could be to the Arctic, tothe Antarctic.
Hurtigruten is probably myfavorite expedition cruise.
There's also their sistercompany.
They're now two separate.
So there is Hurtigruten, whichdoes Norwegian coastal voyages,
(26:41):
and then here we're talkingabout HX, which stands for
Hurtigruten Expeditions.
If you're looking to go on oneof those kind of adventurous
explorations, look at some ofthe things that HX has to offer,
especially with this 50% offexpedition sailings, the one
thing I like, especially ontheir Antarctica.
(27:02):
There are some cruise linesthat say they go to Antarctica
and they go cruise around for aday or two.
With Hertig ruten you actuallyget to well, weather permitting,
I should say you get to stepfoot on Antarctica.
There we go, take the ExoDxover, then you get to do that.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:20):
I would do that in a second.
Mark Faldmo (27:22):
It would be amazing .
Patrick Wiscombe (27:23):
I would make the argument that maybe people
listening to the show don't evenknow.
Most people think of cruising,as you know, just to hop on a
big boat, but there areadventure cruises and that's
what we're talking about here.
So if you have a streak ofdoing what most people don't
want to do, or don't do it all,HX is your company.
Mark Faldmo (27:41):
They are.
They also have some NorthernLights Expedition Cruises
Iceland, Greenland, northernNorway so they have lots of good
options out there forinteresting itineraries.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:54):
And if you've never seen the Northern Lights,
it is worth seeing, andespecially from a ship.
That's where I saw them on thecruise to Alaska.
It was spectacular.
So you had the blackness of thesea, so obviously it's night
and you just see these orangeand green lights overhead.
It was spectacular.
So you had the blackness of thesea, so obviously it's night
and you just see these orangeand green lights overhead.
It was spectacular.
Just do it One of those thingsyou would go.
(28:15):
I'm so glad we did that.
Yes, I've always wanted to askthis question and since this is
the Just Cruising segment, letme just ask it here If there are
itinerary changes on a cruise,what are cruise passengers owed
for those itinerary changes?
Mark Faldmo (28:33):
This depends on the cruise line's terms and
conditions.
Most cruise lines technicallysay that if they change a port
time like I've got a lot ofthese changing from departing
port at 5 pm moving up to 4 pm.
Some have changed the order ofthe ports.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:50):
Generally speaking, that's usually for
weather-related reasons.
Mark Faldmo (28:54):
For weather-related or Safety or safety or just
berths.
You know, sometimes ships doget double booked and so they do
change ports around.
To accommodate that.
If this happens while you'resailing, even though they don't
(29:14):
technically owe money back perthe terms and conditions, a lot
of cruise lines will give you anextra onboard credit.
They will give you a partialrefund of the day.
In some cases they might giveyou a future cruise credit and
they for sure, if you miss aport, they'll give you back the
government taxes and fees thatwere paid.
(29:36):
They didn't have to pay becausethey didn't go to that port.
Oh, interesting.
Now you know, I've had severalports like private islands in
the Bahamas, for instance.
I've had a lot of thosecanceled due to high winds.
They just can't get in to thoseports.
It's just not safe to visitthose ports.
I've also had, for instance, inCabo.
The seas were just too rough.
(29:57):
It's a tender port and itwasn't safe to operate the
tender boat.
So things like that can happenand the cruise lines do try and
compensate you in some way, eventhough they're not obligated to
.
And then you know, for instance, there are some things like a
Princess ship the end of October, 1st of November, had an engine
(30:20):
issue and they actually had tocancel three weeks worth of
cruises.
Oh wow, because they couldn'tget the engine issue resolved as
they had hoped.
And so in that case people gota full refund plus a 50% future
cruise credit.
So they basically got 150%worth of funds to purchase
(30:43):
another cruise on that.
But this case that we'retalking about here, this is
another reason to purchasetravel insurance or travel
protection.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:51):
Who do you like to use for travel?
Mark Faldmo (30:52):
insurance.
Personally, I like TravelEx.
A lot of people might purchasethe cruise lines insurance in
this case, which would coverthis.
However, it wouldn't havecovered any airfare.
If you're on one of these threesailings canceled, your cruise
is covered, but what about theairfare that you have?
That's non-refundable.
That's a great point.
You would get most airlines,depending on how you booked, you
(31:17):
probably will get to reusethose funds at a future point,
but insurance would cover any ofthat that you can't reuse.
I recommend travel insurance onevery trip.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:28):
Because this is the infamous just cruising
segment.
Let's get to the cruise deal ofthe week, and you received a
text a little bit earlier thisweek.
Let me just give the textnumber it's 801-649-3700.
That's how you get in touchwith the show to ask your travel
related questions.
Mary wants to sail to Alaska,but sail on a small ship, not a
(31:50):
big mega ship, she says.
Is that an option?
The answer is yes.
Let's give her some choiceshere.
Mark Faldmo (31:57):
Yeah, so there are a couple of cruise lines that I
think do a very good job inAlaska that are smaller ships.
They all have kind of differentunique flavors and fills of
kind of what they're all about.
You know, kind of like when wewere talking earlier about the
luxury, you know there's peopleconceive luxury as different, so
(32:19):
these small ships have theirown unique brand.
For small ships, my favorite isUnCruise.
They have several smaller shipsthat sail in Alaska.
They range from 36 to 84 guests.
Oh, small ships, they're verysmall ships.
These are kind of like theexpedition ships that we were
(32:40):
just talking about previous withHertig ruten.
I would characterize UnCruiseas an adventure cruise.
They have several itinerariesthat range.
Most of them are round tripJuneau, Alaska, but I think one
of the unique cruises that theyoffer.
They have an itinerary thatit's a seven night cruise but it
(33:02):
spends two full days insideexploring Glacier Bay.
Oh, two days, Two daysexploring Glacier Bay.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:10):
Okay, hold on just a second, so can you get
off the ship there.
Mark Faldmo (33:14):
I believe you can.
I believe they have some placeswhere you can get off and do a
few things in that Glacier Bayarea.
That's incredible.
They have some hikes to theglacier some different things,
some hikes to the glaciers somedifferent things.
So just looking at thisitinerary, they do have prices
starting at about $4,700 perperson.
(33:36):
These are a little bit more onthe expensive side, but what you
get with them and where you getto go are very much worth it.
Oh yeah, that would have beenfun to get off in Glacier Bay to
go hike around.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:45):
And again, this one, two full days in
Glacier Bay, is very unique.
Oh, oh yeah, that would havebeen fun to get off in Glacier
Bay to go hike around.
Mark Faldmo (33:48):
And again.
This one, two full days inGlacier Bay, is very unique.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:52):
Oh yeah, most cruise ships are there.
What?
Three to four hours?
That might even be a little bitlong.
Mark Faldmo (33:59):
Yeah, the big cruise ships are usually there.
Well, they're in Glacier Bayfor about six hours, but really,
the heart of Glacier Bay,you're only there for an hour or
so.
Yeah, yep To see.
And then the next cruise lineis American Cruise Lines.
They're a little bit larger.
Their ships are right about 170guests.
(34:22):
So you know about the size ofyour average river cruise ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:26):
How many Did you say?
Mark Faldmo (34:27):
170 guests.
170 guests, okay, yeah, andthey have.
You know, I just pulled out oneof their itineraries that I
thought was unique, which wasRound Trip Juneau, and it was
eight nights.
One of the thing about thesesmall ships are some of the
places that they get to go.
For instance, this one that Ilook goes to a place called
(34:50):
Petersburg, Alaska, and it'skind of a Norwegian fisherman's
type village.
It retains the authentic charmof a Norwegian fishing village
and so you do get to go to someof these places that the big
ships just can't go to.
Their deal actually is reallygood.
(35:10):
It's free airfare plus up to$2,000 off per person on select
cruises this eight-day cruiseand again this one's a little
bit more expensive than thatUnCruise, but again a different
kind of feeling of what you get.
So their cruises start at justabout $6,000 per person, but
(35:32):
again that includes free airfareand that also includes the up
to $2,000 off.
Depending on the sailing, itreally ranged from $1,000,
$1,500, or 2,000 off on theirBlack Friday sale.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:47):
This one interests me just because
National Geographic is involved.
Their ship sizes accommodatehow many guests, generally
speaking?
Mark Faldmo (35:56):
They are 62 to 138.
So still very small, yeah.
And so this is NationalGeographic Expedition.
This would be kind of similarto the UnCruise product, but
with that National Geographicflair.
On these ships they havescientists on board.
It's kind of run like if youwould watch a show on National
(36:17):
Geographic about Alaska.
So for mid-season, this is Juneand July departures.
So for mid-season, this is Juneand July departures.
So this just goes off to someof those small islands in Juneau
Ketchikan type area and youexplore these small islands and
it starts at $7,800 per person.
But those are for June and Julydates.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:40):
So peak season ?
Yeah, that is way peak season.
Mark Faldmo (36:43):
I've actually had several customers go on the
National Geographic expeditionand they've booked it every year
or every other year.
They love the Alaska cruise onNational Geographic.
Those are my three picks forsmall ship cruising in Alaska.
They all do a great job.
They all have a little bitdifferent flavor depending on
(37:04):
what type of trip you're lookingfor.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:06):
You just can't go wrong with Alaska period.
Whether you go big ship, smallship, that's a decision that
you're going to have to make,but Mark can help you with it
because he's been there so manytimes, literally dozens of times
, literally dozens of times.
Call him in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(37:38):
When we come back final segmentof the show we're going to talk
about the TSA warning aboutpre-check enrollment scams oh
man, don't get caught up in oneof those and we're also going to
talk about going to Vietnam,and Mark is going to talk about
a site called Sherpa.
We'll tell you why.
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
(38:00):
We will be right back.
Show Voice (38:04):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (38:47):
We'll be right back paid rate.
Show Voice (38:49):
Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com for more information.
They'll help you plan and bookyour next vacation.
Yeah, really, you're listeningto the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show presentedby BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(39:16):
And now here's Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:26):
Helping you get out and explore the world.
That's the entire purpose ofour radio show and podcast.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe,mark Faldmo.
He's running back into thestudio again.
He had to just print some stuffoff for listeners.
(39:47):
We're going to be talking aboutgoing to Vietnam using a
website called Sherpa.
We'll tell you why that's soimportant, but we also want to
give you Mark's travel tips andtalk about a new scam that TSA
is warning travelers about.
(40:08):
In fact, let's just go aheadand start there, mark.
I guess I shouldn't.
Just you shouldn't be runningin from the printer.
I'll give you a second to catchyour breath here.
I'm good Because I'm motioningto you through the glass.
Hey, get in here.
We're starting.
Here we go.
TSA is warning about apre-check TSA pre, I'm assuming
(40:31):
uh enrollment and renewal scam.
If you are part of TSA pre, uh,listen up.
Or you want to become part ofit?
Mark Faldmo (40:38):
listen up yeah, so they're just warning.
There are several scams outthere and fake websites.
So TSA just wants everyone toknow these three things about
TSA PreCheck and how to spot ascam.
First-time applicants you canonly pay for TSA at an
enrollment center.
You cannot get TSA PreCheckonline for the first time.
(41:00):
You actually have to physicallygo to an enrollment center.
Oh, so if there's any site outthere saying apply for the first
time and pay us.
It's a scam.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:10):
Oh, so it just really is that simple.
Yeah, okay, so.
I didn't have to do that.
Now I did global entry, whichincludes TSA pre-check.
Is TSA pre-check easier to get,generally speaking, than global
entry?
Mark Faldmo (41:23):
It is yeah, yeah, it's easier to get.
You don't have to go throughquite as many hoops as global
entry.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:30):
Yeah, there was a lot of hoops for global
entry, but now that I have it,it's like oh good.
Mark Faldmo (41:35):
Yeah, yeah.
And then you know another scamis renewing.
You can pay online and they arejust warning that a lot of
scammers create fake websites tomimic the official TSA webpage.
So you know, make sure ifyou're paying that renewal, I'm
global entry, I'm not TSA, but Ibelieve there's a login.
(41:56):
So you should just log intoyour account and pay that
renewal.
Don't pay it through a fakesite.
And then also they're saying alot of the scammers use pressure
tactics.
TSA will never pressure you tocomplete your enrollment or
renew quickly.
So any communications likeright away, last chance,
(42:20):
anything like that, it is a scamsite.
Don't feel pressured intocompleting your enrollment or
renewal.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:27):
Let's talk about what to know about
Europe's new travelauthorizations.
There's a whole bunch ofacronyms here.
Mark Faldmo (42:34):
There's three that we're mainly concerned with now.
One is EES, which is EuropeanUnion's Entry and Exit System.
The other one is ETIAS, whichis the European's entry
authorization system, which ispre-travel.
And then the United Kingdomalso has an ETA, which is
(42:54):
electronic travel authorization.
This is a lot to unpack.
The EES, the entry and exitsystem, is one.
A few weeks ago we talked aboutthat.
They're delaying implementingthat and it was going to be the
foundation of their ETIAS system.
Sorry about all of theseacronyms, it's interesting but
(43:18):
they're so.
Both of those programs forEuropean Union are kind of on
hold until they can get itfigured out and worked out.
But the United Kingdom, theirelectronic authorization starts
January 8th.
So if you're traveling to theUnited Kingdom after January 8th
, you do need to go on to theirsite, fill out an application,
(43:39):
pay the small fee.
Fill out an application, paythe small fee.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:43):
I think it's about $10, equivalent of about
$10, and they will approve youto enter the United Kingdom and
you can help listeners with allof this right, we can help
listeners with this.
Mark Faldmo (43:55):
And then it's a lot , and I wish travel wasn't so
complicated.
There are things like this thatjust seem to make things more
complicated.
Yeah, but we can help walk youthrough all of that.
What is needed to enter?
In fact, that's what we'regoing to talk about a little bit
later in this segment.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:18):
Let's get to the new Uber options for people
traveling from their house orwherever they are to the airport
.
One of my favorite options isthe Uber XXL and the budget ride
.
I guess it depends on what yourneeds are From certain airports
.
Mark Faldmo (44:28):
Currently, there are 60 airports worldwide and 40
in the US that have this XXLoption, which is a vehicle that
will hold more luggage.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:38):
Yeah, it's basically think of like suburban
size.
Mark Faldmo (44:42):
Yeah, of like suburban size.
Yeah, and you know I've I'vegotten an Uber with just one
suitcase and sometimes itdoesn't fit in that little car
that showed up to pick me up, so, um.
So it's good to know that youcan order a car that hopefully
will hold all of your luggage.
And the other new option is theUberX Share, which is where you
(45:04):
can share a ride from certainairports, which again, I think
is a good option.
It's currently available at 10airports worldwide Austin,
Denver, Newark, Washington,Dulles, Miami, New Orleans, San
Francisco, Phoenix and Madridairport.
(45:25):
So I guess there's, they say,worldwide, but there's only one
airport, I guess technicallyoutside of the U?
Patrick Wiscombe (45:31):
S.
One of the favorite things thatI have is now.
I'm a huge Apple fan.
One of the best products thatthey have is their Apple air
tags, and so I want to talkabout some of the best ways not
to lose luggage.
Mark Faldmo (45:48):
Right now on Amazon you can get a pack of four
Apple AirTags for about $70.
Oh, that is a discount.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:55):
That's like 30% off.
Mark Faldmo (45:57):
That is a 30% discount from the regular price.
An Apple AirTag or a similardevice.
I think is well worth it.
I actually have some practicalexperience in Cancun.
This wasn't the trip that Ijust took, but had some clients
on a trip.
They arrived at the airport asa big group, so they're all
(46:17):
getting on a bus.
Outside of airports can bepretty hectic.
They got to the hotel and theirbags weren't on the bus.
Oh boy.
Luckily they had air tags andwere able to follow that baggage
to where it was at.
Sometimes those bags are justput somewhere and there's no
outreach trying to find theowner of that bag.
(46:38):
Having something like an Appleair tag is a great way to keep
tabs on your luggage.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:49):
It's funny you were talking about this because
just this morning I got a lowbattery alert for my luggage,
and so I know where the luggageis, I know where the AirTag is,
but this is the sound that youcan trigger, anyway, so I've got
to change the battery in it,and it also shows you on a map,
if you're not familiar, rightwhere you're since we're talking
about luggage it tells youright where it is which is a
great feature.
Mark Faldmo (47:09):
Good little travel tip there to keep track of bags.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:11):
Yes, you received.
Was this a text or an email?
I think it was an email.
This was an email.
Okay, jason is going to Vietnamand wants to know what is
needed to enter the country.
Well, I know that some of theseresources are on
blueplanetvacations.
com, your website.
Mark Faldmo (47:28):
Yeah, so if you go to blueplanetvacations.
com, down in the bottom footerthere's a link to travel
resources and one of those linksis to travel requirements.
It actually says country entryrequirements and this will take
you to a site called Sherpa,which I really like.
You can go in and put in whereyou're departing, from, where
(47:52):
you're going to, where you'reconnecting through, put in the
dates of travel, and it willtell you all of the entry
requirements for that country.
Oh, wow, very helpful.
He specifically asked aboutVietnam.
So this tells you you need avisa for Vietnam, gives you the
(48:13):
choice of a single entry or amultiple entry visa, and then
gives you links to the officialgovernment website where you can
apply for those.
It also tells you passportrequirements.
Vietnam does require yourpassport be valid at least six
months from the time of entry,and then it'll tell you any
health risks or requirements andany additional information
(48:36):
about entering that country.
And so this is a great resourceand website to just go country
by country and it'll walk youthrough the steps.
It'll link you to officialgovernment pages.
We were just talking earlierabout the scams for TSA PreCheck
.
There are a lot of visa scamsout there you want to make sure
(48:59):
you go to an approved vendor ordirectly to the country's
website to get your visaprocessed.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:08):
That's some really helpful information.
Mark BluePlanetVacations.
com, Did you say it was down inthe footer?
Mark Faldmo (49:15):
In the footer and travel resources.
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:18):
Okay, Sherpa, very, very helpful.
Blueplanetvacations.
com Just go right there If youwant to take advantage of all of
the deals that we've talkedabout, or some of them.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717, $799
(49:40):
per person airfare from LosAngeles or San Francisco to Fiji
Go to Fiji.
We've got the hot travel dealof the week.
Mark has been there 40 times toCancun and, of course, we've
got the cruise deal of the week.
Again, just call him in hisoffice, 888-718-7717,
(50:03):
888-718-7717.
You can listen to us againtomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11
am, right here on 860 KKAT, andif you want or need to listen to
the show again, you candownload and subscribe to the
podcast at InsideTravelTalk.
com.
Well, now it's your turn.
(50:28):
Get out and explore the worldwhile you can, because you never
know what curveballs life isgoing to throw at you.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
remember what you're notchanging you are choosing.
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
We'll talk to you next Saturdayand Sunday mornings.
Show Voice (50:48):
That's it.
That's the end of the showYou've been listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast andradio show with Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Faldmo, presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(51:09):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
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!
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.