November 16, 2024 • 50 mins
Uncover travel secrets and score unbeatable Black Friday deals as we unlock a treasure trove of vacation opportunities. Experience the allure of Italy with a curated itinerary that ensures you savor every moment, from the historic streets of Rome to the romantic canals of Venice. Plus, witness how airlines are transforming travel with exciting new routes and innovative accessibility features, ensuring every journey is more inclusive and enjoyable.
Join us for a journey through Italy's most captivating cities. We'll guide you through the must-see landmarks and hidden gems of Rome, Florence, and Venice, with tips to enhance your adventure. Whether you're standing in awe at the Colosseum or gliding through Venetian waters, this episode is your ticket to crafting the perfect Italian getaway.
We explore the latest in cruise travel, including the thrilling innovations aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's upcoming Prima Plus ships. Discover why cruising might be the ultimate travel hack, with affordable options rivalling the cost of city living. From adaptive wheelchair seats to single occupancy accommodations, we discuss how the travel industry is evolving to welcome all adventurers. Don't miss our insights into the best airport experiences, passport processing milestones, and more travel news that could shape your next vacation.
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 Black Friday travel
deals.
This is the one time of theyear that you can save huge
amounts of money and have anexceptional vacation, and we've
also got several listenerquestions, so let's start the
show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(00:21):
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:41):
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.
(01:02):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:17):
May I have your attention please?
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will join me herein just a second.
Thank you so much for takingthe time to stop and listen to
(01:37):
the show.
And if you are brand new to theshow, the entire purpose of
this radio and podcast is tohelp you plan and book your next
vacation and help you creatememories for yourself, your
family, your friends, your lovedones, whoever that might be.
And if you don't know where togo, then our job is to give you
(02:00):
vacation ideas and destinationsfor you to consider.
This show is all about fun andit's about creating memories
that you will never forget, thatwhen you are an old man or
woman, you'll look back and go.
You know what?
I'm sure glad that we did that.
That's what we do on this show.
You can get the podcast of thisshow at InsideTravelTalk.
(02:22):
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts.
And if you're listening in theSalt Lake City area, we're on
the air every Saturday andSunday at 11 am right here on
860 KKAT and we are presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com Coming up on this edition ofthe show.
We will be talking about BlackFriday travel deals.
(02:46):
So if you want to save a ton ofmoney, this is the one show
that you've got to listen tofrom start to finish.
Of course, we've got the travelnews headlines, but we've also
got a great option to go toItaly For eight to nine days.
We're going to answer Trisha'squestion.
(03:06):
Let me bring in my co-host andone of my best friends, because
something significant happenedpurely from a vacation
standpoint this past week.
We just want to point people toblueplanetvacations.
com to sign up for the hottravel deals of the week, and
let's start there where peoplecan sign up.
Mark Faldmo (03:23):
This is a service that we offer at Blue Planet
Vacations, where we'll emaillisteners or our customers
whenever a good travel dealbreaks.
We don't want to spam anyone.
We try and keep them to oneemail every seven to 10 days or
so or whenever a great traveldeal breaks, for instance last
week.
Caveat here this deal is nolonger available, but last week
(03:46):
there was a flight from SaltLake City to Honolulu for $441
round trip, which is an amazingdeal to fly Salt Lake City to
Honolulu.
Wow list got the email withthat notification and that deal
was valid for about a day and ahalf before that airfare was
(04:07):
either sold out or justdiscontinued.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:11):
And the only way to get it is to get on the
email list.
So, blueplanetvacations.
com.
Where is it on the website?
Mark Faldmo (04:17):
For the first time to blueplanetvacations.
com.
There'll be a pop-up that willask you if you want to register
for it, or you can just go inthe upper navigation bar.
There is a hot deals tab.
You can just click on that andit'll take you to a registration
form.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:32):
Take advantage of these promotions.
They don't come around a lot,but when you do, it seems like
you always hear it after thefact.
Mark Faldmo (04:39):
So, yes, so we really try and keep people
informed of travel deals andvacation options.
There's so many differentwonderful places in the world to
visit that this email list willgive you good deals, vacation
ideas, just a whole bunch ofoptions to help plan your
vacation.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:57):
Let's do one news story and then let's start
with the Black Friday vacationtravel sale.
Because we live in Salt LakeCity, there are flights
available from Salt Lake City toAsia.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (05:10):
This is on an airline called Starlux and they
have just created a partnershipwith Alaska Airlines connecting
through Seattle.
So your Salt Lake to Seattleportion will be on Alaska
Airlines and then from Seattleon Starlux.
You would fly to their hub inTaipei, Taiwan, and they have
connections to several cities inJapan, several cities in
(05:32):
Southeast Asia, Thailand,Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines
and they have some really goodprices, For instance, Salt Lake
City to Ho Chi Minh City inVietnam for just over $1,000.
Wow, so some really goodpricing.
It is a very nice airline tofly on.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:52):
It's Salt Lake City to Seattle and then you
transfer to Starlux, Correct?
Yes, If you want to get to Asia, call Mark in his office,
888-718-7717.
One more time 888-718-7717.
And I feel like we need to havesome fanfare.
Maybe I could just get thestudio audience to hype this up
(06:12):
for us.
It is now time for the BlackFriday travel sales to begin.
Where do you want to start?
Should we start with Globus,their Black Friday travel deals?
Mark Faldmo (06:28):
Yeah, let's start off with Globus, because it also
goes along with one of thequestions that we have from a
listener.
For those who don't know,Globus is a tour company mainly
in Europe, but they do havetours worldwide.
They have three differentoptions.
They have your traditionalgroup tours and they have small
group tours, which are below 25guests, and they also have
(06:50):
independent tours, which Ireally like because you can they
help out when you arrive to theairport with transfers.
They have a host at the hotelthat can help you out with
travel options and informationin the cities, and then, if
you're doing a multi-city, theyprovide the transportation in
between the cities.
For instance, one I was justlooking at was three days in
(07:11):
Rome, two days in Florence, twodays in Venice, and they
included the train travel inbetween a host at your hotel and
just makes it a really easy wayto have an independent tour but
also have some backup there tohelp you.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:24):
What kind of promotions in terms of dollars
off are they offering?
Mark Faldmo (07:28):
Their Black Friday promotion is $1,000 off select
2025 tours, plus $995 fixedairfare rate.
These offers are mostly validto European destinations, with
departures in the spring andfall, but there are departures
to other areas of the world onthis promotion.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:46):
Let me make sure I got that right.
So $1,000 off select 2025 toursplus $995 fixed airfare rates.
That's correct, that's reallygood.
And then they just book thatthrough you.
Right, they can book thatthrough me.
Well, that kind of ties intothe text that we got earlier
this week from Trish.
So, while we're on the air, youcan send your text to
(08:08):
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Trish wants to take an Italyvacation and has about eight to
nine days.
What do you recommend, mark,and what are your favorite
places to visit?
Mark Faldmo (08:24):
That quarter that we just mentioned on Globus
would be a good one.
What I would recommend if youhad eight to nine days in Italy,
would be three nights in Rome,one night somewhere in Tuscany,
two nights in Florence and threenights in Venice.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:38):
So Rome, Tuscany, Florence, Venice.
Sign me up.
Here's my credit card.
Let's start in Rome.
How many nights there.
Mark Faldmo (08:46):
Yep, so three nights in Rome.
You'll really need that firstday to recover from your
international overnight flightto Rome.
What I recommend people do isto take a hop-on, hop-off tour
that day you arrive.
If you'll arrive in the morning, your hotel won't be ready till
three or four in the afternoon,so you can sit in the hotel
lobby or you can go try and seesite.
(09:06):
I like doing a hop on, hop offtour and then your other days in
the city I would try and gettours or inside visits to the
Colosseum, the Roman Forum andthe Vatican, and then you'll
also want to see some of theother sites like Trevi Fountain,
the Spanish Steps.
Rome is just a wonderful city tovisit.
Three days might not be enough,but you can get the main sights
(09:29):
in in three days.
Where do we go from there?
I would go to Siena, which isin Tuscany.
Siena is a hilltop town alittle bit out of the way as
you're going between Rome andFlorence, but it's well worth
the visit.
Their Piazza del Campo is oneof Italy's most stunning piazzas
.
One thing that's unique to thatis that twice a year it has a
(09:52):
horse race that goes around thepiazza.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:55):
I need to stop you there.
Okay, this is Remedial Piazza.
What is a piazza?
Mark Faldmo (10:00):
So a piazza is like a town square, a central plaza
in cities in Italy.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:08):
I think it'd be fun to see the horse race in
the piazza.
It would, yeah, from Tuscany,where do we go?
Mark Faldmo (10:16):
So go to Florence.
The one thing I like aboutFlorence is it's a
pedestrianized city.
Downtown main area.
There's no cars or very littlecars some delivery vehicles,
maybe some local residents, butit's a pedestrianized city.
The top sites in Florence wouldbe Santa Maria del Fiore
(10:36):
Cathedral Church it's the thirdlargest church in Europe
Wonderful place to visit insideand just walk around.
Then there's the Uffizi Gallery, which is probably one of the
best museums for Renaissance art.
Ooh, Nicki would like that.
I've been to Uffizi twice andreally loved it.
You know I'm not much of an artgallery person, but it's
(10:59):
fascinating to see that and getthe history.
The other one is the AcademiaGallery.
That and get the history.
The other one is the AcademiaGallery, which is where
Michelangelo's David statue isat.
But my favorite part of the cityis Piazza di Santa Croce.
This piazza it's kind of in theleather area of the city, so
there's lots of leather shops.
But the reason why it's myfavorite is food.
(11:22):
It has a place called Vivolli.
It's one of the oldest gelatoplaces in Florence and it is
fantastic.
One of my favorite restaurantsin all of Italy.
It's called Casa Toscana, whichis just off of one of the side
streets there.
Those are the best places toeat anyway.
Yeah, it's awesome and it hassome of the best lasagna.
(11:44):
I love the food at thisrestaurant.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:47):
I probably love lasagna way too much.
That's one of those meals whereI'm just like I know my body's
telling me I'm full, but I don'tcare.
From Florence, where do we go?
Mark Faldmo (11:57):
You go to Venice and my first tip for Venice is
just take in the city,experience the city.
It is such a unique experience,even though it'll cost you a
little bit more.
I would stay on the island ofVenice.
A lot of people try and savemoney and stay at hotels that
are not on the island.
You waste time getting to andfrom the city.
(12:17):
Also, if you're staying in thecity on the island, you don't
have to pay the tourist fee toget into the city.
Venice in the evening isfantastic, busy in the daytime.
In the evening time it's awonderful city.
So the sites to see in VeniceSt Marco Square, which is the
main area of the town, placesthat a lot of people will
recognize, the Grand Canal, takea gondola ride.
(12:40):
The Rialto Bridge, which arefun things to do and great
things to see, and again, justwalk around, find little
alleyways, get lost in Venice.
It's wonderful.
And then outside of the citythere are also two other islands
.
One is an island called Murano,which is famous for
glassblowing.
You can go to a glassblowingdemonstration.
(13:01):
This is passed down generationto generation.
There are some stories thatsome of those glass blowers
can't leave the island becausethey're the secrets that they
have about the practice of glassblowing and how that's done.
And then one of my favoriteislands is Burano Small little
island, colorful buildings, andit's famous for its Venetian
(13:24):
lace.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:24):
How many nights was that that we just
rattled off?
There was five, six, about ninedays.
Nine days?
Oh wow, Trish.
Call Mark in his office If thatis something that is
interesting to you, whichclearly it does, because you
said you want to take a vacationto Italy and you have about
eight to nine days.
We just nailed it.
(13:45):
Call Mark in his office if youwould please.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
And the reason I'm talking slowthere is, you know that someone
is reaching for a piece ofpaper while they're listening to
us.
I'll do it.
Let me do it one more time888-718-7717.
(14:09):
If this has whet your appetitefor what we're going to talk for
the next hour or the next 45minutes, keep listening.
This is just the start of thedeals that we're talking about.
When we come back, we're goingto talk about Hawaii, we're
going to talk about Mexico andwe've got special promotion
codes that you can only use withMark.
(14:30):
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues Alongside MarkFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingthis to be part of your day.
We will be right back.
Thank you so much for allowingthis to be part of your day.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (14:49):
If you have travel questions, they have the answers
.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (15:21):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
Our oceanfront resorts areexclusively for adults and have
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To book your romantic beachgetaway at an El Dorado Spa
Resort, contact Blue PlanetVacations at 888-718-7717 or
(15:46):
blueplanetVacations.
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Show Voice (15:47):
America's best travel advisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700,.
(16:14):
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:30):
Serving up travel deals.
This week and every week youare listening to the Inside
Travel Talk podcast and radioshow.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
He is Mark Faldmo, owner ofBluePlanetVacations.
com, and if you want to sign upfor the hot travel deals, just
go to BluePlanetVacations.
com.
And if you want to sign up forthe hot travel deals, just go to
(16:52):
blue planet vacations.
com so you can take advantage ofall of the deals between each
show and then call Mark in hisoffice to book it 888-718-7717
888-718-7717.
And I just want to say thankyou for allowing us to be part
of your Saturday and Sundaymornings.
We are on 860 KKAT in Salt LakeCity every single Saturday and
(17:17):
Sunday at 11 o'clock MountainTime.
Let's get back to the hottravel deal of the week, which
is going to be in this section,but before we do that, let's get
to the travel news headlines.
I saw that Delta is expandingservice to Alaska.
Did I read that right, yeah?
Mark Faldmo (17:38):
A few weeks ago we talked about the trend of the
coolcation people wanting to goto cooler destinations.
Oh yeah, and this is kind ofplaying on that and it shows
that the demands there.
They have increased capacityfrom Atlanta and Detroit to
Anchorage and they have added anew flight from Salt Lake City
to Fairbanks, Alaska.
Here in the market.
We're getting a new flight toFairbanks, which helps for
(17:59):
people that are doing Alaskacruise tours.
A lot of those cruise tourscruise up to Alaska and a lot of
them start and end in Fairbank,and so this will make it easy
for us here in Salt Lake to geta flight back to Salt Lake City
from Fairbanks.
Now, years ago Delta did have aflight to Fairbanks but they
canceled it, so it's good thatthat service is back for us here
(18:19):
in Salt Lake City.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:21):
There's two places that you will never get
an argument from anybody in yourfamily.
Number one is Hawaii, numbertwo is Alaska.
Yeah, the only argument iswhich one should we go to first,
Hawaii or Alaska.
Yeah, that's about ascontentious as it gets.
Mark Faldmo (18:38):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:39):
Southwest Airlines is leading the way in
increased checked bag fees.
I don't like the way thissounds already.
Mark Faldmo (18:46):
It's not what you think.
Southwest is still on the firstand second bag fly free.
That's been a huge marketingtactic for them.
Yeah, it's been a competitiveadvantage.
Yeah, and it's been part oftheir DNA.
Now there have been some talksthat Southwest might change that
, so we'll look for the future,but they are increasing check
(19:09):
bags fees in some other ways.
One is overweight bags.
If your bag is 51 pounds or more, it's $150 per bag.
If it's 71 pounds or more, it's$200.
So if your first bag is over 51pounds, you have to pay the
$150.
(19:29):
So one thing that I see atairports a lot is people
switching things betweensuitcases to try and get it
under the 51 pounds.
This is significantly more thanwhat other airlines charge and
these fares just increased a fewweeks ago.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:45):
So the first two are still free.
Up to 51 pounds.
Correct 50 pounds.
Up to 50 pounds, Excuse me.
Yeah, up to 50 pounds.
And then a third and howevermany else, then you're going to
pay for it.
Yeah, Delta Airlines and theDepartment of Transportation
have confirmed plans foradaptive wheelchair seats on
(20:07):
future flights.
Mark Faldmo (20:08):
A huge statistic is in the US, between 10,000 and
15,000 wheelchairs and othermobility devices are damaged
each year, which is a hugenumber.
Of that, delta has been workingon a seat which is similar to
like on a bus, where the seatfolds up and you can back your
(20:30):
own wheelchair and stay in yourown wheelchair during the flight
, so you don't have to checkthat.
This is definitely a good thingfor those with mobility
challenges and those in usingwheelchairs.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:42):
Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week,
which seems to be this entireshow.
Funjet has their Black Fridaysale.
Mark Faldmo (20:50):
This is a new offer that's out this week and it's
up to $300 off international andHawaii trips, or $150 off
domestic.
One thing that makes thisunique is this discount is valid
for travel starting right now.
The promo code we talked aboutlast week you had to travel
after February 1st, but this oneyou can travel in December or
(21:14):
January or November if you wantto get in that really last
minute vacation mode.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:20):
That sounds like Patrick and Nikki.
We got a few days, let's go.
Mark Faldmo (21:22):
And I've actually looked at a few of these.
I looked in January and there'ssome great travel deals out
there.
So mostly where you would usethese two would be Hawaii and
Mexico and the Caribbean.
Cancun packages with thisall-inclusive packages start at
$1239 per person for a four-starhotel.
Hawaii continues to be one ofthe hot destinations as far as
(21:46):
price goes.
You can still get a vacationpackage to Hawaii starting at
$899 per person.
Wow.
The Cancun one that we justtalked about and the Hawaii one
are all airfare and five nightshotel.
Puerto Vallarta, one of myfavorite destinations, starts at
$1139 per person and that'sagain an all-inclusive resort.
(22:08):
Now I will say for Cancun andPuerto Vallarta, I generally
start out with the four-star andabove.
There are some three-starhotels that do price out less
than this.
But often, as we've talkedabout, when you're paying money
for a vacation, you want to getthe best value possible and have
the best experience possible.
So a lot of those Mexicoinclusive.
(22:29):
I start out with a four star,but if you do want something a
little bit less expensive, thatoption is out there.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:36):
This is only segment two of the show and
we've already rattled offmultiple Black Friday deals.
Pull Black Friday deals.
If you want to book any ofthese, call Mark in his office,
monday through Friday, standardbusiness hours, 888-718-7717,
888-718-7717.
(23:00):
And, just as a reminder as wego to break, go to
blueplanetvacations.
com and sign up for the hottravel deal of the week when we
come back.
Segment three of the show isthe infamous just cruising
segment.
And yes, we do have BlackFriday sales for cruises On
Virgin Voyages.
We've got Norwegian CruiseLines, MSC it's all coming up.
(23:24):
Cruise Lines, MSC it's allcoming up.
If this is your time of theyear to go on vacation or save
the most money to go on vacation, continue listening, if you
would please.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show, alongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be back in just a fewminutes.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
(23:44):
We will be back in just a fewminutes.
Show Voice (23:49):
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
(24:09):
after these messages.
Ad Voice (24:15):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Amar Waterways
.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages.
Visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities To
set out on your own river cruisejourney.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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Patrick Wiscombe (24:33):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast or radio show Coming upin the next 30 minutes.
We still have more Black Fridayvacation savings.
Let's continue the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
(24:53):
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 (25:11):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Hit us up right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(25:31):
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:41):
Here's Patrick and Mark All aboard, all aboard
, all aboard For the infamousJust Cruising segment.
Right here in segment numberthree, you are listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast, aradio show alongside my good
friend, Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
This week's show is nothing butBlack Friday vacation deals.
(26:05):
We always find the best valueand prices on vacations, but
this week is exceptional and ifyou want to listen to all of the
deals that we are serving up,go get the podcast, if you would
.
Insidetraveltalk.
com.
Insidetraveltalkalk.
(26:28):
com.
Okay, mark, it is time for thecruise deal of the week, coming
up here in just a second.
But first let's get to thetravel news headlines that are
cruise specific.
I saw that NCL has revealeddetails about games and the spa
on their vessel called theNorwegian Aqua Norwegian has
(26:52):
actually introduced two newships.
Mark Faldmo (26:55):
They're in what they call their Prima Plus ships
Norwegian Aqua and NorwegianLuna.
Aqua being launched in 2025,Luna being launched in 2026.
Aqua being launched in 2025,Luna being launched in 2026.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:06):
Oh wait, hold on.
So they've got two new shipscoming.
I knew about the.
Aqua 2025, but the Luna is 2026.
Are they selling that now?
They?
Mark Faldmo (27:15):
are selling that now.
Oh, okay, as the category ofthe ship says Prima Plus.
So this is an upgraded versionof the Prima class ships and
I've sailed on the NorwegianPrima before, one of my favorite
ships to sail on.
It's a big ship.
There are two areas that theyfocused on is their game zone
and their spa.
(27:36):
They have a beefed up versionof miniature golf.
If you've ever been on a cruiseship, most of them have
something that looks like aminiature golf course, but
they're in a small tucked awayarea, part of the ship.
It's not really mini golf as weknow it.
On these two new ships the minigolf area is two and a half
(27:57):
times larger than what was onthe Prima and it's over two
decks.
Years ago, cruise lines wouldlook at these spaces and say
they're not revenue generators,so they'd make them small or
just cut them out.
Over about the last six orseven years, we've seen cruise
ships just really introducingthese game zones.
One thing I do like about theGalaxy Pavilion that's on this
(28:21):
is they have a lot of virtualreality experiences.
They have virtual rollercoasters, virtual games and then
they have retro arcade.
So, if you like Pac-Man, donkeyKong yes, they have space
invaders.
They have a retro arcade onboard, which I'm a fan of that.
I'll spend all my time in thatretro arcade.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:45):
I love Donkey Kong.
I love Pac-Man.
Do you know what game I wouldlove to get in?
There would be Defender.
Do you remember that game,defender?
I do remember Defender, thatwas so good, tell me about the
spa.
Mark Faldmo (28:56):
These ships offer a redesign of their spa and salon
with new services and they havea clay sauna, a clay sauna, a
clay sauna.
So a clay spa is kind of acombination of a mud bath and a
sauna steam room and so you havethe that sounds amazing the
(29:18):
clay treatments while in thesauna.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:20):
That sounds like you're muddy.
And then it what gets caked onyou.
Yes, you have to peel it off.
Mark Faldmo (29:25):
It sounds like you're muddy, and then it what
gets caked on you, yes, you peelit off, yeah, and then you let
the work of the sauna kind ofwork, the benefits of the clay
in.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:33):
Oh, I would do that in a second.
I didn't even know such a thingexisted.
Mark Faldmo (29:38):
Cruise lines are always trying to kind of one-up
and make sure they have the bestfacilities and unique
treatments.
This other thing that we talkedabout, the lasso therapy pool,
it's a therapy pool that usesseawater, marine products,
seaweed, mud, sand, plankton,other things to give some type
(29:58):
of health benefits.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:59):
I'm not a spa person, so All we need now is
some guppies to chew off thedead skin on my feet yes, I'm
sure they have that too, thefish spa.
Mark Faldmo (30:12):
I've never done that.
I don't know if I dare stick myfeet in a water full of fish I
draw the line at piranhas yeah,another thing is their thermal
suite on these ships.
They have twice as many of theheating lounger chairs.
One thing I like is theirthermal suite on these ships.
They have twice as many of theheating lounger chairs.
One thing I like is the thermalsuites in these.
They're usually on the front ofthe ship or the back of the
ship with great views of theocean.
(30:32):
Just sit there and relax.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:35):
The Holland America's 124-day cruise costs
less than living in Manhattan.
Well, I've lived in Manhattan.
Let's talk about that cruise.
Mark Faldmo (30:44):
This is a story that was out in Travel and
Leisure showing the value ofcruising.
While this is probably a littlebit more expensive than most
people would want to spend, it'sa lot less expensive than
living in many areas of thecountry.
So what this story did is theycompared the average rent in
Manhattan, which was about$5,200 per month, or about $168
(31:09):
a day.
The lowest daily rate on thisHolland America world cruise was
about $180 per day, and so nowpeople would look at that and
say, well, that's not lessexpensive.
One thing you have to consideris the cruise rate includes all
of your food and entertainment.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:23):
Yes.
Mark Faldmo (31:24):
Basically, you're eating on.
What's that $12 a daydifference.
So it really is less expensiveto take a 124-day
round-the-world cruise onHolland America than live for
six months in New York City.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:39):
Carol wants to go on a cruise.
She is single.
She says that she's heard thatmost cruise lines charge like
there are two people in a cabin.
So, essentially, is there anyway around this?
And I'm going to say yes,because it seems like cruise
ships they're taking intoaccount solo travelers now.
Mark Faldmo (31:58):
They are, and several years ago when the
Norwegian Epic came out, theyhad their studio lounge, which
was a whole keyed access entryarea that had its own lounge
made exclusively for solo orsingle travelers.
Other cruise lines werenaysayers.
Now there are other cruiselines that have started to add
(32:18):
in these single only cabins intheir ships.
So Norwegian started it.
There are cruise lines that dohave single cabins that don't
charge double.
The cabin price is set based onone person in the room rather
than being based off of double,like most people are
traditionally used to.
Royal Caribbean has some ofthese.
(32:40):
Virgin Voyages also has somesolo cabins for Insider.
And then cruise lines thatdon't have cabins for singles
are starting to offer singlesupplements that are not the
full 100%.
They might be 50% or 25%, butyes, there is a way around that.
But look at some of those.
I particularly like NorwegianCruise Line.
(33:02):
I've sailed in that singlecategory with the Studio Lounge
twice, really enjoyed it.
It's nice to have a keyed accessarea where you kind of have
your own area where no one elsecan get into other than those in
that specific area.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:17):
Carol, call Mark in his office if you need
more details about that,888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
It is time for the cruise dealof the week, always in this
segment of the show, butbasically this is a Black Friday
vacation sale that's in fullswing right now.
(33:38):
Let's talk about the cruisedeals plural of the week.
Let's start with Virgin Voyagesof the week.
Mark Faldmo (33:48):
Let's start with Virgin Voyages.
Their Black Friday sale is 80%off the second sailor or second
guest, plus up to $300 in freedrinks, and if you book a cruise
that's more than 180 days inadvance and paying full, you'll
get an additional 10% discount.
There are several things I likeabout Virgin.
One we've talked about quite abit is how they cater to those
with special dietary needs.
They also are one cruise linethat I feel they don't really
(34:13):
try and nickel and dime you.
So, for instance, in theirbasic cruise, fare includes
Wi-Fi gratuities, water and soda.
All of the dining venues areincluded.
There's no upcharge.
Really.
The only thing that isadditional are alcoholic drinks
or the mixed drinks, and sothat's what this $300 in free
(34:34):
drinks would go to cover for theBlack Friday sale.
So I think Virgin Voyages doesa great job in several areas.
They also have several cruisesstarting at $99 per person per
day.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:47):
Really.
We've been doing this show forover a year and that's the first
time I've heard that.
Mark Faldmo (34:51):
I think this is one of the better deals out there
that I've seen.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:55):
Let's move over to NCL Norwegian Cruise
Lines.
By the way, that is a questionwe get.
What is NCL and what isNorwegian Cruise Lines?
It's the same thing, it's thesame company.
Mark Faldmo (35:05):
It's the same thing .
It's the same company, it's thesame thing.
Yeah, what's?
Patrick Wiscombe (35:06):
their black Friday vacation Norwegians yeah.
Mark Faldmo (35:09):
So Norwegians is 50 off all cruises, plus free
airfare on the second guest, andthis is also combinable with
their more at sea promotion,which is an upcharge.
It includes free drinks,specialty dining, short
excursion credit, free Wi-Fipackage and third and fourth
guest sale free.
Holy cow With that more at sea.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:31):
So the more at sea we've talked about.
But the 50% off all cruisesplus free airfare for the second
guest I've never heard that one.
Mark Faldmo (35:38):
Yeah, that's a great deal that Norwegian is
offering for Black Friday.
Okay, and let's go to MSCCruises about their Black Friday
deal their Black Friday andagain, this is one that's a
preview sale, so thistechnically ends next week, but
they're going to re-up it forofficial Black Friday sale.
(35:58):
But theirs is up to 35% offcruises, plus free drinks and
Wi-Fi and up to a $400 onboardcredit.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:07):
We do this show every week and we always
scour for the best deal, thecruise deal of the week.
They made this effortless foryou and I this week.
Mark Faldmo (36:15):
They did.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:16):
These are phenomenal deals.
Mark Faldmo (36:18):
Lots of great travel deals out there and you
know now is the time to startbooking that winter vacation.
A lot of people book their warmweather vacations starting in
January.
But if you want the real deals,book in the fall time, book now
and take advantage of some ofthese Black Friday deals.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:34):
Absolutely.
Call Mark at his office andcall him now, as we're going to
break.
Just call him 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
Now, this does not obligate youto book anything.
Let's just get the conversationrolling and then you can make a
decision when and where,because obviously you're going
(36:57):
to have to talk with yourfriends and family.
Hey, I'm going on this, let'sall go.
But if you're ready to go, youcould also just call them and
book it.
So, whatever your needs are,call Mark 888-718-7717.
When we come back, more BlackFriday sales.
I kid you not, there's more.
We've also got Mark's traveltips.
(37:17):
I kid you not, there's more.
We've also got Mark's traveltips and, by the way, I received
a lot of feedback about what todo if your passport is lost or
stolen while you're on vacation.
That received a lot of feedback, which was very positive.
We might have to re-air that,just so people can hear that
conversation.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday.
(37:39):
I'm Patrick Wiscombe.
He's Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (37:44):
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 now,801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (38:03):
801-649-3700.
We'll be right back uniqueauthentic tall ship sailing
experiences featuring creativeitineraries throughout the
Mediterranean Caribbean andCentral America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
(38:25):
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (38:41):
They'll help you plan and book your next vacation
.
Yeah, really, you're listeningto the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show presentedby BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(39:02):
And now here's Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:13):
Serving travelers around the world.
Each and every Saturday you arelistening to the Inside Travel
Talk podcast and radio show.
I am Patrick Wiscombe, he isMark Faldmo, owner of
BluePlanetVacations.
com, and as we're coming backfor this final segment, let me
(39:35):
just remind listeners that ifyou need to listen to any of the
segments again because youheard something you like, go to
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
We've had some killer deals.
This is the Black Friday show,the one time of year where the
(39:59):
whole show is just nothing butideas and the best prices and
values to go on vacation,blueplanetvacations.
com, to sign up for the hottravel deal or deals, in this
case, of the week.
Okay, mark, this show has goneby so fast.
This week.
There's been so much to talkabout, so many great deals, so
(40:23):
many values.
We'll recap some of those dealscoming up here in this segment
as we start to wrap up.
But let's get to the quick hittravel news headlines.
I saw that there was an articlefor the best and worst airports
in North America.
I'm curious to see who the bestare and who the worst are.
Mark Faldmo (40:42):
This list is interesting to me, for one, salt
Lake is not on it, and I thinkthey should be on it.
They're not on it in eithercategory.
This was a survey done by JDPower and it was a survey of
26,000 travelers about theexperience at airport.
So the survey included ease oftravel through the airport,
(41:03):
level of trust with the airport,the terminal facilities,
airport staff departure toairport experience, food and
beverage retail and arrival fromthe airport.
They broke it down into megaairports, large airports and
medium airports.
For mega airports, the topthree were Minneapolis, Detroit
(41:25):
and Phoenix.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:27):
Phoenix is considered a mega airport.
Mark Faldmo (41:30):
It is and how they did that was over 33 million
passengers per year.
Okay, all right.
So based on that, so it's basedon passenger volume.
And then large were 10 millionto 32.9 million.
So based on that, so it's basedon passenger volume.
And then large were 10 millionto 32.9 million, and then below
10 million was the other sizeairport.
My experiences with these threeairports I'd probably put
(41:50):
Detroit at the top, butMinneapolis got it and I'd put
Phoenix far down the list.
Yeah, that's why I was surprisedit's one of my least favorite
airports personally, because Idon't think there's very good
food options and if you have totransfer from one terminal to
the other it's a pretty longwalk.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:08):
Well, not to mention the car rental.
You literally almost get todowntown Phoenix to pick up a
car.
Mark Faldmo (42:15):
Yeah, okay.
And then, at the bottom of thelist of the mega airports,
Chicago ranked the worst,Toronto airport was third worst
and then Newark liberty, which Iagree with those.
Moving on to best and worstlarge airports, John Wayne
airport, orange county was thebest, tamp Tampa was second and
(42:39):
Kansas City was third.
I recently just flew intoKansas City and I really enjoyed
it.
It actually reminded me a lotof Salt Lake Airport.
I think there was a lot ofcommonality in the design of
those airports.
And then the bottom threeairports, St Louis, Montreal and
Philadelphia.
So it's interesting that Kansashas Kansas City and St Louis
(43:03):
same state best and worstairport.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:06):
St Louis is a dump, and I'm not even talking
about the airport, I'm justtalking about the city.
That place is a dump.
Mark Faldmo (43:13):
I've never been there, so I don't save your
money.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:16):
I can't say St Louis, where the Cardinals play
downtown.
I just remember walking aroundthere, going.
Why is St Louis so interestingto visit?
So what?
You've got the Cardinals and wegot the arch Big deal, sorry,
wow, okay, back off, Patrick,calm your mind down, everything
is fine.
I saw a news story that morethan 24 million US passports
(43:41):
were processed this year 2024.
Is that right?
Mark Faldmo (43:45):
It's been a record year for passports.
That is nearly 500,000 morethan in 2023.
Even with the more passports,the time to process passports
has been cut by nearly half.
Late 2023, we were tellingpeople you are 12 to 16 weeks to
get a passport.
That's now down to four to fiveweeks and in most cases it's
(44:09):
quicker than that.
I've seen people get a passportback, without expediting fees
back in about two and a halfweeks.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:15):
So I paid the expediting fee and we got it
back in like two, two and a halfweeks, and you're telling me
that's common.
Mark Faldmo (44:20):
now that's common now, wow, okay, and you know,
they've also rolled out a newonline passport renewal system.
I think we briefly talked aboutthis last week, but that's
really helped in speeding up theprocessing time of passports.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:35):
Let's continue the black Friday sale as we've
done through each of the foursegments of the show.
Avalon waterways has theirblack Friday sale.
If you're not familiar withthat, that's European river
cruises.
What's their?
Mark Faldmo (44:50):
promotion, so they have prepaid gratuities on
select sailings.
That's a value of 25 per personper Now.
Gratuities are always optional,but as you've said many times,
Patrick, those people deservethe extra tips that you give
them.
Honestly they really make orbreak a cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:09):
Yeah, they deserve more than that, because
it feels like we're in a tippingculture.
Tip me for just doing your job.
These guys and girls reallywork hard to make or break a
vacation.
They do an amazing job.
Mark Faldmo (45:23):
They have $249 air per person on select river
cruises, so that's $249 airfareto Europe and they have save up
to a thousand dollars per coupleon select river cruises.
Most cases you can combine twoof these and there probably are
a few where you could combineall three of these offers on a
(45:44):
river cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:45):
Before we run out of time, let's recap all of
the offers that we've made forthe past hour and I'll let you
decide where you want to start.
Mark Faldmo (45:54):
Let's go back and talk about Globus, which is the
three different touring options.
They have traditional grouptours, small group tours or
independent tours, mostly inEurope, but they do have them
worldwide.
Their Black Friday offer is$1,000 off select 2025 tours,
plus $9.95 fixed rate airfare.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:14):
Which is just a phenomenal offer $995 to
Europe round trip amazing.
Mark Faldmo (46:18):
Yeah, and then also again some great tour options.
The next deal this is formainly Mexico, all-inclusive and
Hawaii and the Caribbean.
It is valid worldwide, butthat's mostly where you do this
with Funjet Vacations.
So they have up to $300 offinternational and Hawaii trips
and up to $150 off domesticvacations.
(46:39):
To get those deals, you can goto blueplanetvacations.
com.
We have deals posted to eachspecific location Hawaii and
Mexico.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:49):
While we're here, let's recap the
blueplanetvacations.
com, the hot travel deal of theweek, or how to sign up.
So they just get those in theemail.
Mark Faldmo (46:57):
Go to the website.
Pop-up will pop up where youcan enter your information, or
you can just click in thenavigation bar the hot deal
update and that'll take you to apage where you can register for
the email updates.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:09):
What other deals do you want?
Mark Faldmo (47:10):
to recap here let's recap the Virgin Voyages one,
which I think is a great deal.
So Virgin Voyages, one of myfavorite cruise lines.
It's all adults.
They do really good with peoplethat have dietary concerns or
issues, but their deal is 80%off the second guest, $300 off
(47:31):
in free drinks, and if you booka cruise 180 days in advance and
pay in full, you'll get anextra 10% discount, and they
have cruises starting at $99 perperson per day.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:43):
That really is amazing, that is.
Mark Faldmo (47:45):
And then we also did have a Norwegian and an MSC
offer, but in the interest oftime, you can go to
blueplanetvacations.
com and see what those are.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:56):
Every single week we talk about the hot
travel deal of the week, thecruise deal of the week, the
destination spotlight.
This is the one show every yearand really it's going to
continue really for a few weeks,just because we're in the
Christmas buying period.
This is the one time of yearthat you can absolutely save the
(48:17):
most money to go make memorieswith your family, year that you
can absolutely save the mostmoney to go make memories with
your family.
Call Mark in his office to book888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(48:37):
And, as he mentioned, just goto blueplanetvacations.
com to sign up as well.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, Sunday,
at 11 am, right here on 860 KKAThere in Salt Lake.
If you want or need to listento the show again, go to
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms, and can I ask
you to download and subscribeplatforms?
(49:00):
And can I ask you to downloadand subscribe and, while you're
at it, leave us a five-starreview please, because it really
does help us get traction withthe podcast platforms.
So just thank you in advance.
Well, now it's your turn to getout and explore your world
while you can, because you neverknow what curveball's life is
going to throw at you.
You can, because you never knowwhat curveballs life is going
(49:22):
to throw at you.
Today is a good day for a goodday.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
remember what you're notchanging, you're choosing.
Thanks for listening.
Really.
Have a great week, mark, and Iwill talk to you again next
Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Show Voice (49:42):
Have a great week, mark, and I will talk to you
again next Saturday and Sundaymornings.
That's it.
That's the end of the show.
You've been listening to theInside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show with Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(50:03):
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 Black Friday travel
deals.
This is the one time of theyear that you can save huge
amounts of money and have anexceptional vacation, and we've
also got several listenerquestions, so let's start the
show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
(00:21):
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (00:41):
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.
(01:02):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:17):
May I have your attention please?
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Mark Faldmo will join me herein just a second.
Thank you so much for takingthe time to stop and listen to
(01:37):
the show.
And if you are brand new to theshow, the entire purpose of
this radio and podcast is tohelp you plan and book your next
vacation and help you creatememories for yourself, your
family, your friends, your lovedones, whoever that might be.
And if you don't know where togo, then our job is to give you
(02:00):
vacation ideas and destinationsfor you to consider.
This show is all about fun andit's about creating memories
that you will never forget, thatwhen you are an old man or
woman, you'll look back and go.
You know what?
I'm sure glad that we did that.
That's what we do on this show.
You can get the podcast of thisshow at InsideTravelTalk.
(02:22):
com or wherever you get yourpodcasts.
And if you're listening in theSalt Lake City area, we're on
the air every Saturday andSunday at 11 am right here on
860 KKAT and we are presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com Coming up on this edition ofthe show.
We will be talking about BlackFriday travel deals.
(02:46):
So if you want to save a ton ofmoney, this is the one show
that you've got to listen tofrom start to finish.
Of course, we've got the travelnews headlines, but we've also
got a great option to go toItaly For eight to nine days.
We're going to answer Trisha'squestion.
(03:06):
Let me bring in my co-host andone of my best friends, because
something significant happenedpurely from a vacation
standpoint this past week.
We just want to point people toblueplanetvacations.
com to sign up for the hottravel deals of the week, and
let's start there where peoplecan sign up.
Mark Faldmo (03:23):
This is a service that we offer at Blue Planet
Vacations, where we'll emaillisteners or our customers
whenever a good travel dealbreaks.
We don't want to spam anyone.
We try and keep them to oneemail every seven to 10 days or
so or whenever a great traveldeal breaks, for instance last
week.
Caveat here this deal is nolonger available, but last week
(03:46):
there was a flight from SaltLake City to Honolulu for $441
round trip, which is an amazingdeal to fly Salt Lake City to
Honolulu.
Wow list got the email withthat notification and that deal
was valid for about a day and ahalf before that airfare was
(04:07):
either sold out or justdiscontinued.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:11):
And the only way to get it is to get on the
email list.
So, blueplanetvacations.
com.
Where is it on the website?
Mark Faldmo (04:17):
For the first time to blueplanetvacations.
com.
There'll be a pop-up that willask you if you want to register
for it, or you can just go inthe upper navigation bar.
There is a hot deals tab.
You can just click on that andit'll take you to a registration
form.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:32):
Take advantage of these promotions.
They don't come around a lot,but when you do, it seems like
you always hear it after thefact.
Mark Faldmo (04:39):
So, yes, so we really try and keep people
informed of travel deals andvacation options.
There's so many differentwonderful places in the world to
visit that this email list willgive you good deals, vacation
ideas, just a whole bunch ofoptions to help plan your
vacation.
Patrick Wiscombe (04:57):
Let's do one news story and then let's start
with the Black Friday vacationtravel sale.
Because we live in Salt LakeCity, there are flights
available from Salt Lake City toAsia.
What are the details?
Mark Faldmo (05:10):
This is on an airline called Starlux and they
have just created a partnershipwith Alaska Airlines connecting
through Seattle.
So your Salt Lake to Seattleportion will be on Alaska
Airlines and then from Seattleon Starlux.
You would fly to their hub inTaipei, Taiwan, and they have
connections to several cities inJapan, several cities in
(05:32):
Southeast Asia, Thailand,Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines
and they have some really goodprices, For instance, Salt Lake
City to Ho Chi Minh City inVietnam for just over $1,000.
Wow, so some really goodpricing.
It is a very nice airline tofly on.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:52):
It's Salt Lake City to Seattle and then you
transfer to Starlux, Correct?
Yes, If you want to get to Asia, call Mark in his office,
888-718-7717.
One more time 888-718-7717.
And I feel like we need to havesome fanfare.
Maybe I could just get thestudio audience to hype this up
(06:12):
for us.
It is now time for the BlackFriday travel sales to begin.
Where do you want to start?
Should we start with Globus,their Black Friday travel deals?
Mark Faldmo (06:28):
Yeah, let's start off with Globus, because it also
goes along with one of thequestions that we have from a
listener.
For those who don't know,Globus is a tour company mainly
in Europe, but they do havetours worldwide.
They have three differentoptions.
They have your traditionalgroup tours and they have small
group tours, which are below 25guests, and they also have
(06:50):
independent tours, which Ireally like because you can they
help out when you arrive to theairport with transfers.
They have a host at the hotelthat can help you out with
travel options and informationin the cities, and then, if
you're doing a multi-city, theyprovide the transportation in
between the cities.
For instance, one I was justlooking at was three days in
(07:11):
Rome, two days in Florence, twodays in Venice, and they
included the train travel inbetween a host at your hotel and
just makes it a really easy wayto have an independent tour but
also have some backup there tohelp you.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:24):
What kind of promotions in terms of dollars
off are they offering?
Mark Faldmo (07:28):
Their Black Friday promotion is $1,000 off select
2025 tours, plus $995 fixedairfare rate.
These offers are mostly validto European destinations, with
departures in the spring andfall, but there are departures
to other areas of the world onthis promotion.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:46):
Let me make sure I got that right.
So $1,000 off select 2025 toursplus $995 fixed airfare rates.
That's correct, that's reallygood.
And then they just book thatthrough you.
Right, they can book thatthrough me.
Well, that kind of ties intothe text that we got earlier
this week from Trish.
So, while we're on the air, youcan send your text to
(08:08):
801-649-3700.
801-649-3700.
Trish wants to take an Italyvacation and has about eight to
nine days.
What do you recommend, mark,and what are your favorite
places to visit?
Mark Faldmo (08:24):
That quarter that we just mentioned on Globus
would be a good one.
What I would recommend if youhad eight to nine days in Italy,
would be three nights in Rome,one night somewhere in Tuscany,
two nights in Florence and threenights in Venice.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:38):
So Rome, Tuscany, Florence, Venice.
Sign me up.
Here's my credit card.
Let's start in Rome.
How many nights there.
Mark Faldmo (08:46):
Yep, so three nights in Rome.
You'll really need that firstday to recover from your
international overnight flightto Rome.
What I recommend people do isto take a hop-on, hop-off tour
that day you arrive.
If you'll arrive in the morning, your hotel won't be ready till
three or four in the afternoon,so you can sit in the hotel
lobby or you can go try and seesite.
(09:06):
I like doing a hop on, hop offtour and then your other days in
the city I would try and gettours or inside visits to the
Colosseum, the Roman Forum andthe Vatican, and then you'll
also want to see some of theother sites like Trevi Fountain,
the Spanish Steps.
Rome is just a wonderful city tovisit.
Three days might not be enough,but you can get the main sights
(09:29):
in in three days.
Where do we go from there?
I would go to Siena, which isin Tuscany.
Siena is a hilltop town alittle bit out of the way as
you're going between Rome andFlorence, but it's well worth
the visit.
Their Piazza del Campo is oneof Italy's most stunning piazzas
.
One thing that's unique to thatis that twice a year it has a
(09:52):
horse race that goes around thepiazza.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:55):
I need to stop you there.
Okay, this is Remedial Piazza.
What is a piazza?
Mark Faldmo (10:00):
So a piazza is like a town square, a central plaza
in cities in Italy.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:08):
I think it'd be fun to see the horse race in
the piazza.
It would, yeah, from Tuscany,where do we go?
Mark Faldmo (10:16):
So go to Florence.
The one thing I like aboutFlorence is it's a
pedestrianized city.
Downtown main area.
There's no cars or very littlecars some delivery vehicles,
maybe some local residents, butit's a pedestrianized city.
The top sites in Florence wouldbe Santa Maria del Fiore
(10:36):
Cathedral Church it's the thirdlargest church in Europe
Wonderful place to visit insideand just walk around.
Then there's the Uffizi Gallery, which is probably one of the
best museums for Renaissance art.
Ooh, Nicki would like that.
I've been to Uffizi twice andreally loved it.
You know I'm not much of an artgallery person, but it's
(10:59):
fascinating to see that and getthe history.
The other one is the AcademiaGallery.
That and get the history.
The other one is the AcademiaGallery, which is where
Michelangelo's David statue isat.
But my favorite part of the cityis Piazza di Santa Croce.
This piazza it's kind of in theleather area of the city, so
there's lots of leather shops.
But the reason why it's myfavorite is food.
(11:22):
It has a place called Vivolli.
It's one of the oldest gelatoplaces in Florence and it is
fantastic.
One of my favorite restaurantsin all of Italy.
It's called Casa Toscana, whichis just off of one of the side
streets there.
Those are the best places toeat anyway.
Yeah, it's awesome and it hassome of the best lasagna.
(11:44):
I love the food at thisrestaurant.
Patrick Wiscombe (11:47):
I probably love lasagna way too much.
That's one of those meals whereI'm just like I know my body's
telling me I'm full, but I don'tcare.
From Florence, where do we go?
Mark Faldmo (11:57):
You go to Venice and my first tip for Venice is
just take in the city,experience the city.
It is such a unique experience,even though it'll cost you a
little bit more.
I would stay on the island ofVenice.
A lot of people try and savemoney and stay at hotels that
are not on the island.
You waste time getting to andfrom the city.
(12:17):
Also, if you're staying in thecity on the island, you don't
have to pay the tourist fee toget into the city.
Venice in the evening isfantastic, busy in the daytime.
In the evening time it's awonderful city.
So the sites to see in VeniceSt Marco Square, which is the
main area of the town, placesthat a lot of people will
recognize, the Grand Canal, takea gondola ride.
(12:40):
The Rialto Bridge, which arefun things to do and great
things to see, and again, justwalk around, find little
alleyways, get lost in Venice.
It's wonderful.
And then outside of the citythere are also two other islands
.
One is an island called Murano,which is famous for
glassblowing.
You can go to a glassblowingdemonstration.
(13:01):
This is passed down generationto generation.
There are some stories thatsome of those glass blowers
can't leave the island becausethey're the secrets that they
have about the practice of glassblowing and how that's done.
And then one of my favoriteislands is Burano Small little
island, colorful buildings, andit's famous for its Venetian
(13:24):
lace.
Patrick Wiscombe (13:24):
How many nights was that that we just
rattled off?
There was five, six, about ninedays.
Nine days?
Oh wow, Trish.
Call Mark in his office If thatis something that is
interesting to you, whichclearly it does, because you
said you want to take a vacationto Italy and you have about
eight to nine days.
We just nailed it.
(13:45):
Call Mark in his office if youwould please.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
And the reason I'm talking slowthere is, you know that someone
is reaching for a piece ofpaper while they're listening to
us.
I'll do it.
Let me do it one more time888-718-7717.
(14:09):
If this has whet your appetitefor what we're going to talk for
the next hour or the next 45minutes, keep listening.
This is just the start of thedeals that we're talking about.
When we come back, we're goingto talk about Hawaii, we're
going to talk about Mexico andwe've got special promotion
codes that you can only use withMark.
(14:30):
That is next when the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show continues Alongside MarkFaldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingthis to be part of your day.
We will be right back.
Thank you so much for allowingthis to be part of your day.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (14:49):
If you have travel questions, they have the answers
.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (15:21):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El
Dorado Spa Resorts.
Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayawith authentic all-inclusive
luxury at an El Dorado SpaResort.
Our oceanfront resorts areexclusively for adults and have
been voted among the mostromantic resorts in Mexico and
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To book your romantic beachgetaway at an El Dorado Spa
Resort, contact Blue PlanetVacations at 888-718-7717 or
(15:46):
blueplanetVacations.
com.
Show Voice (15:47):
America's best travel advisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700,.
(16:14):
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:30):
Serving up travel deals.
This week and every week youare listening to the Inside
Travel Talk podcast and radioshow.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
He is Mark Faldmo, owner ofBluePlanetVacations.
com, and if you want to sign upfor the hot travel deals, just
go to BluePlanetVacations.
com.
And if you want to sign up forthe hot travel deals, just go to
(16:52):
blue planet vacations.
com so you can take advantage ofall of the deals between each
show and then call Mark in hisoffice to book it 888-718-7717
888-718-7717.
And I just want to say thankyou for allowing us to be part
of your Saturday and Sundaymornings.
We are on 860 KKAT in Salt LakeCity every single Saturday and
(17:17):
Sunday at 11 o'clock MountainTime.
Let's get back to the hottravel deal of the week, which
is going to be in this section,but before we do that, let's get
to the travel news headlines.
I saw that Delta is expandingservice to Alaska.
Did I read that right, yeah?
Mark Faldmo (17:38):
A few weeks ago we talked about the trend of the
coolcation people wanting to goto cooler destinations.
Oh yeah, and this is kind ofplaying on that and it shows
that the demands there.
They have increased capacityfrom Atlanta and Detroit to
Anchorage and they have added anew flight from Salt Lake City
to Fairbanks, Alaska.
Here in the market.
We're getting a new flight toFairbanks, which helps for
(17:59):
people that are doing Alaskacruise tours.
A lot of those cruise tourscruise up to Alaska and a lot of
them start and end in Fairbank,and so this will make it easy
for us here in Salt Lake to geta flight back to Salt Lake City
from Fairbanks.
Now, years ago Delta did have aflight to Fairbanks but they
canceled it, so it's good thatthat service is back for us here
(18:19):
in Salt Lake City.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:21):
There's two places that you will never get
an argument from anybody in yourfamily.
Number one is Hawaii, numbertwo is Alaska.
Yeah, the only argument iswhich one should we go to first,
Hawaii or Alaska.
Yeah, that's about ascontentious as it gets.
Mark Faldmo (18:38):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:39):
Southwest Airlines is leading the way in
increased checked bag fees.
I don't like the way thissounds already.
Mark Faldmo (18:46):
It's not what you think.
Southwest is still on the firstand second bag fly free.
That's been a huge marketingtactic for them.
Yeah, it's been a competitiveadvantage.
Yeah, and it's been part oftheir DNA.
Now there have been some talksthat Southwest might change that
, so we'll look for the future,but they are increasing check
(19:09):
bags fees in some other ways.
One is overweight bags.
If your bag is 51 pounds or more, it's $150 per bag.
If it's 71 pounds or more, it's$200.
So if your first bag is over 51pounds, you have to pay the
$150.
(19:29):
So one thing that I see atairports a lot is people
switching things betweensuitcases to try and get it
under the 51 pounds.
This is significantly more thanwhat other airlines charge and
these fares just increased a fewweeks ago.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:45):
So the first two are still free.
Up to 51 pounds.
Correct 50 pounds.
Up to 50 pounds, Excuse me.
Yeah, up to 50 pounds.
And then a third and howevermany else, then you're going to
pay for it.
Yeah, Delta Airlines and theDepartment of Transportation
have confirmed plans foradaptive wheelchair seats on
(20:07):
future flights.
Mark Faldmo (20:08):
A huge statistic is in the US, between 10,000 and
15,000 wheelchairs and othermobility devices are damaged
each year, which is a hugenumber.
Of that, delta has been workingon a seat which is similar to
like on a bus, where the seatfolds up and you can back your
(20:30):
own wheelchair and stay in yourown wheelchair during the flight
, so you don't have to checkthat.
This is definitely a good thingfor those with mobility
challenges and those in usingwheelchairs.
Patrick Wiscombe (20:42):
Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week,
which seems to be this entireshow.
Funjet has their Black Fridaysale.
Mark Faldmo (20:50):
This is a new offer that's out this week and it's
up to $300 off international andHawaii trips, or $150 off
domestic.
One thing that makes thisunique is this discount is valid
for travel starting right now.
The promo code we talked aboutlast week you had to travel
after February 1st, but this oneyou can travel in December or
(21:14):
January or November if you wantto get in that really last
minute vacation mode.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:20):
That sounds like Patrick and Nikki.
We got a few days, let's go.
Mark Faldmo (21:22):
And I've actually looked at a few of these.
I looked in January and there'ssome great travel deals out
there.
So mostly where you would usethese two would be Hawaii and
Mexico and the Caribbean.
Cancun packages with thisall-inclusive packages start at
$1239 per person for a four-starhotel.
Hawaii continues to be one ofthe hot destinations as far as
(21:46):
price goes.
You can still get a vacationpackage to Hawaii starting at
$899 per person.
Wow.
The Cancun one that we justtalked about and the Hawaii one
are all airfare and five nightshotel.
Puerto Vallarta, one of myfavorite destinations, starts at
$1139 per person and that'sagain an all-inclusive resort.
(22:08):
Now I will say for Cancun andPuerto Vallarta, I generally
start out with the four-star andabove.
There are some three-starhotels that do price out less
than this.
But often, as we've talkedabout, when you're paying money
for a vacation, you want to getthe best value possible and have
the best experience possible.
So a lot of those Mexicoinclusive.
(22:29):
I start out with a four star,but if you do want something a
little bit less expensive, thatoption is out there.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:36):
This is only segment two of the show and
we've already rattled offmultiple Black Friday deals.
Pull Black Friday deals.
If you want to book any ofthese, call Mark in his office,
monday through Friday, standardbusiness hours, 888-718-7717,
888-718-7717.
(23:00):
And, just as a reminder as wego to break, go to
blueplanetvacations.
com and sign up for the hottravel deal of the week when we
come back.
Segment three of the show isthe infamous just cruising
segment.
And yes, we do have BlackFriday sales for cruises On
Virgin Voyages.
We've got Norwegian CruiseLines, MSC it's all coming up.
(23:24):
Cruise Lines, MSC it's allcoming up.
If this is your time of theyear to go on vacation or save
the most money to go on vacation, continue listening, if you
would please.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show, alongside Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
We will be back in just a fewminutes.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for listening.
(23:44):
We will be back in just a fewminutes.
Show Voice (23:49):
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
(24:09):
after these messages.
Ad Voice (24:15):
Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Amar Waterways
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From castles and capitals tovistas and villages.
Visit some of Europe's mostremarkable sites and cities To
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Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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Patrick Wiscombe (24:33):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast or radio show Coming upin the next 30 minutes.
We still have more Black Fridayvacation savings.
Let's continue the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
(24:53):
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 (25:11):
Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Hit us up right now801-649-3700.
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(25:31):
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (25:41):
Here's Patrick and Mark All aboard, all aboard
, all aboard For the infamousJust Cruising segment.
Right here in segment numberthree, you are listening to the
Inside Travel Talk podcast, aradio show alongside my good
friend, Mark Faldmo.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
This week's show is nothing butBlack Friday vacation deals.
(26:05):
We always find the best valueand prices on vacations, but
this week is exceptional and ifyou want to listen to all of the
deals that we are serving up,go get the podcast, if you would
.
Insidetraveltalk.
com.
Insidetraveltalkalk.
(26:28):
com.
Okay, mark, it is time for thecruise deal of the week, coming
up here in just a second.
But first let's get to thetravel news headlines that are
cruise specific.
I saw that NCL has revealeddetails about games and the spa
on their vessel called theNorwegian Aqua Norwegian has
(26:52):
actually introduced two newships.
Mark Faldmo (26:55):
They're in what they call their Prima Plus ships
Norwegian Aqua and NorwegianLuna.
Aqua being launched in 2025,Luna being launched in 2026.
Aqua being launched in 2025,Luna being launched in 2026.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:06):
Oh wait, hold on.
So they've got two new shipscoming.
I knew about the.
Aqua 2025, but the Luna is 2026.
Are they selling that now?
They?
Mark Faldmo (27:15):
are selling that now.
Oh, okay, as the category ofthe ship says Prima Plus.
So this is an upgraded versionof the Prima class ships and
I've sailed on the NorwegianPrima before, one of my favorite
ships to sail on.
It's a big ship.
There are two areas that theyfocused on is their game zone
and their spa.
(27:36):
They have a beefed up versionof miniature golf.
If you've ever been on a cruiseship, most of them have
something that looks like aminiature golf course, but
they're in a small tucked awayarea, part of the ship.
It's not really mini golf as weknow it.
On these two new ships the minigolf area is two and a half
(27:57):
times larger than what was onthe Prima and it's over two
decks.
Years ago, cruise lines wouldlook at these spaces and say
they're not revenue generators,so they'd make them small or
just cut them out.
Over about the last six orseven years, we've seen cruise
ships just really introducingthese game zones.
One thing I do like about theGalaxy Pavilion that's on this
(28:21):
is they have a lot of virtualreality experiences.
They have virtual rollercoasters, virtual games and then
they have retro arcade.
So, if you like Pac-Man, donkeyKong yes, they have space
invaders.
They have a retro arcade onboard, which I'm a fan of that.
I'll spend all my time in thatretro arcade.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:45):
I love Donkey Kong.
I love Pac-Man.
Do you know what game I wouldlove to get in?
There would be Defender.
Do you remember that game,defender?
I do remember Defender, thatwas so good, tell me about the
spa.
Mark Faldmo (28:56):
These ships offer a redesign of their spa and salon
with new services and they havea clay sauna, a clay sauna, a
clay sauna.
So a clay spa is kind of acombination of a mud bath and a
sauna steam room and so you havethe that sounds amazing the
(29:18):
clay treatments while in thesauna.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:20):
That sounds like you're muddy.
And then it what gets caked onyou.
Yes, you have to peel it off.
Mark Faldmo (29:25):
It sounds like you're muddy, and then it what
gets caked on you, yes, you peelit off, yeah, and then you let
the work of the sauna kind ofwork, the benefits of the clay
in.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:33):
Oh, I would do that in a second.
I didn't even know such a thingexisted.
Mark Faldmo (29:38):
Cruise lines are always trying to kind of one-up
and make sure they have the bestfacilities and unique
treatments.
This other thing that we talkedabout, the lasso therapy pool,
it's a therapy pool that usesseawater, marine products,
seaweed, mud, sand, plankton,other things to give some type
(29:58):
of health benefits.
Patrick Wiscombe (29:59):
I'm not a spa person, so All we need now is
some guppies to chew off thedead skin on my feet yes, I'm
sure they have that too, thefish spa.
Mark Faldmo (30:12):
I've never done that.
I don't know if I dare stick myfeet in a water full of fish I
draw the line at piranhas yeah,another thing is their thermal
suite on these ships.
They have twice as many of theheating lounger chairs.
One thing I like is theirthermal suite on these ships.
They have twice as many of theheating lounger chairs.
One thing I like is the thermalsuites in these.
They're usually on the front ofthe ship or the back of the
ship with great views of theocean.
(30:32):
Just sit there and relax.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:35):
The Holland America's 124-day cruise costs
less than living in Manhattan.
Well, I've lived in Manhattan.
Let's talk about that cruise.
Mark Faldmo (30:44):
This is a story that was out in Travel and
Leisure showing the value ofcruising.
While this is probably a littlebit more expensive than most
people would want to spend, it'sa lot less expensive than
living in many areas of thecountry.
So what this story did is theycompared the average rent in
Manhattan, which was about$5,200 per month, or about $168
(31:09):
a day.
The lowest daily rate on thisHolland America world cruise was
about $180 per day, and so nowpeople would look at that and
say, well, that's not lessexpensive.
One thing you have to consideris the cruise rate includes all
of your food and entertainment.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:23):
Yes.
Mark Faldmo (31:24):
Basically, you're eating on.
What's that $12 a daydifference.
So it really is less expensiveto take a 124-day
round-the-world cruise onHolland America than live for
six months in New York City.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:39):
Carol wants to go on a cruise.
She is single.
She says that she's heard thatmost cruise lines charge like
there are two people in a cabin.
So, essentially, is there anyway around this?
And I'm going to say yes,because it seems like cruise
ships they're taking intoaccount solo travelers now.
Mark Faldmo (31:58):
They are, and several years ago when the
Norwegian Epic came out, theyhad their studio lounge, which
was a whole keyed access entryarea that had its own lounge
made exclusively for solo orsingle travelers.
Other cruise lines werenaysayers.
Now there are other cruiselines that have started to add
(32:18):
in these single only cabins intheir ships.
So Norwegian started it.
There are cruise lines that dohave single cabins that don't
charge double.
The cabin price is set based onone person in the room rather
than being based off of double,like most people are
traditionally used to.
Royal Caribbean has some ofthese.
(32:40):
Virgin Voyages also has somesolo cabins for Insider.
And then cruise lines thatdon't have cabins for singles
are starting to offer singlesupplements that are not the
full 100%.
They might be 50% or 25%, butyes, there is a way around that.
But look at some of those.
I particularly like NorwegianCruise Line.
(33:02):
I've sailed in that singlecategory with the Studio Lounge
twice, really enjoyed it.
It's nice to have a keyed accessarea where you kind of have
your own area where no one elsecan get into other than those in
that specific area.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:17):
Carol, call Mark in his office if you need
more details about that,888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
It is time for the cruise dealof the week, always in this
segment of the show, butbasically this is a Black Friday
vacation sale that's in fullswing right now.
(33:38):
Let's talk about the cruisedeals plural of the week.
Let's start with Virgin Voyagesof the week.
Mark Faldmo (33:48):
Let's start with Virgin Voyages.
Their Black Friday sale is 80%off the second sailor or second
guest, plus up to $300 in freedrinks, and if you book a cruise
that's more than 180 days inadvance and paying full, you'll
get an additional 10% discount.
There are several things I likeabout Virgin.
One we've talked about quite abit is how they cater to those
with special dietary needs.
They also are one cruise linethat I feel they don't really
(34:13):
try and nickel and dime you.
So, for instance, in theirbasic cruise, fare includes
Wi-Fi gratuities, water and soda.
All of the dining venues areincluded.
There's no upcharge.
Really.
The only thing that isadditional are alcoholic drinks
or the mixed drinks, and sothat's what this $300 in free
(34:34):
drinks would go to cover for theBlack Friday sale.
So I think Virgin Voyages doesa great job in several areas.
They also have several cruisesstarting at $99 per person per
day.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:47):
Really.
We've been doing this show forover a year and that's the first
time I've heard that.
Mark Faldmo (34:51):
I think this is one of the better deals out there
that I've seen.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:55):
Let's move over to NCL Norwegian Cruise
Lines.
By the way, that is a questionwe get.
What is NCL and what isNorwegian Cruise Lines?
It's the same thing, it's thesame company.
Mark Faldmo (35:05):
It's the same thing .
It's the same company, it's thesame thing.
Yeah, what's?
Patrick Wiscombe (35:06):
their black Friday vacation Norwegians yeah.
Mark Faldmo (35:09):
So Norwegians is 50 off all cruises, plus free
airfare on the second guest, andthis is also combinable with
their more at sea promotion,which is an upcharge.
It includes free drinks,specialty dining, short
excursion credit, free Wi-Fipackage and third and fourth
guest sale free.
Holy cow With that more at sea.
Patrick Wiscombe (35:31):
So the more at sea we've talked about.
But the 50% off all cruisesplus free airfare for the second
guest I've never heard that one.
Mark Faldmo (35:38):
Yeah, that's a great deal that Norwegian is
offering for Black Friday.
Okay, and let's go to MSCCruises about their Black Friday
deal their Black Friday andagain, this is one that's a
preview sale, so thistechnically ends next week, but
they're going to re-up it forofficial Black Friday sale.
(35:58):
But theirs is up to 35% offcruises, plus free drinks and
Wi-Fi and up to a $400 onboardcredit.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:07):
We do this show every week and we always
scour for the best deal, thecruise deal of the week.
They made this effortless foryou and I this week.
Mark Faldmo (36:15):
They did.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:16):
These are phenomenal deals.
Mark Faldmo (36:18):
Lots of great travel deals out there and you
know now is the time to startbooking that winter vacation.
A lot of people book their warmweather vacations starting in
January.
But if you want the real deals,book in the fall time, book now
and take advantage of some ofthese Black Friday deals.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:34):
Absolutely.
Call Mark at his office andcall him now, as we're going to
break.
Just call him 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
Now, this does not obligate youto book anything.
Let's just get the conversationrolling and then you can make a
decision when and where,because obviously you're going
(36:57):
to have to talk with yourfriends and family.
Hey, I'm going on this, let'sall go.
But if you're ready to go, youcould also just call them and
book it.
So, whatever your needs are,call Mark 888-718-7717.
When we come back, more BlackFriday sales.
I kid you not, there's more.
We've also got Mark's traveltips.
(37:17):
I kid you not, there's more.
We've also got Mark's traveltips and, by the way, I received
a lot of feedback about what todo if your passport is lost or
stolen while you're on vacation.
That received a lot of feedback, which was very positive.
We might have to re-air that,just so people can hear that
conversation.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your Saturday.
(37:39):
I'm Patrick Wiscombe.
He's Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (37:44):
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 now,801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (38:03):
801-649-3700.
We'll be right back uniqueauthentic tall ship sailing
experiences featuring creativeitineraries throughout the
Mediterranean Caribbean andCentral America.
To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
(38:25):
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Show Voice (38:41):
They'll help you plan and book your next vacation
.
Yeah, really, you're listeningto the Inside Travel Talk
podcast and radio show presentedby BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(39:02):
And now here's Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:13):
Serving travelers around the world.
Each and every Saturday you arelistening to the Inside Travel
Talk podcast and radio show.
I am Patrick Wiscombe, he isMark Faldmo, owner of
BluePlanetVacations.
com, and as we're coming backfor this final segment, let me
(39:35):
just remind listeners that ifyou need to listen to any of the
segments again because youheard something you like, go to
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
We've had some killer deals.
This is the Black Friday show,the one time of year where the
(39:59):
whole show is just nothing butideas and the best prices and
values to go on vacation,blueplanetvacations.
com, to sign up for the hottravel deal or deals, in this
case, of the week.
Okay, mark, this show has goneby so fast.
This week.
There's been so much to talkabout, so many great deals, so
(40:23):
many values.
We'll recap some of those dealscoming up here in this segment
as we start to wrap up.
But let's get to the quick hittravel news headlines.
I saw that there was an articlefor the best and worst airports
in North America.
I'm curious to see who the bestare and who the worst are.
Mark Faldmo (40:42):
This list is interesting to me, for one, salt
Lake is not on it, and I thinkthey should be on it.
They're not on it in eithercategory.
This was a survey done by JDPower and it was a survey of
26,000 travelers about theexperience at airport.
So the survey included ease oftravel through the airport,
(41:03):
level of trust with the airport,the terminal facilities,
airport staff departure toairport experience, food and
beverage retail and arrival fromthe airport.
They broke it down into megaairports, large airports and
medium airports.
For mega airports, the topthree were Minneapolis, Detroit
(41:25):
and Phoenix.
Patrick Wiscombe (41:27):
Phoenix is considered a mega airport.
Mark Faldmo (41:30):
It is and how they did that was over 33 million
passengers per year.
Okay, all right.
So based on that, so it's basedon passenger volume.
And then large were 10 millionto 32.9 million.
So based on that, so it's basedon passenger volume.
And then large were 10 millionto 32.9 million, and then below
10 million was the other sizeairport.
My experiences with these threeairports I'd probably put
(41:50):
Detroit at the top, butMinneapolis got it and I'd put
Phoenix far down the list.
Yeah, that's why I was surprisedit's one of my least favorite
airports personally, because Idon't think there's very good
food options and if you have totransfer from one terminal to
the other it's a pretty longwalk.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:08):
Well, not to mention the car rental.
You literally almost get todowntown Phoenix to pick up a
car.
Mark Faldmo (42:15):
Yeah, okay.
And then, at the bottom of thelist of the mega airports,
Chicago ranked the worst,Toronto airport was third worst
and then Newark liberty, which Iagree with those.
Moving on to best and worstlarge airports, John Wayne
airport, orange county was thebest, tamp Tampa was second and
(42:39):
Kansas City was third.
I recently just flew intoKansas City and I really enjoyed
it.
It actually reminded me a lotof Salt Lake Airport.
I think there was a lot ofcommonality in the design of
those airports.
And then the bottom threeairports, St Louis, Montreal and
Philadelphia.
So it's interesting that Kansashas Kansas City and St Louis
(43:03):
same state best and worstairport.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:06):
St Louis is a dump, and I'm not even talking
about the airport, I'm justtalking about the city.
That place is a dump.
Mark Faldmo (43:13):
I've never been there, so I don't save your
money.
Patrick Wiscombe (43:16):
I can't say St Louis, where the Cardinals play
downtown.
I just remember walking aroundthere, going.
Why is St Louis so interestingto visit?
So what?
You've got the Cardinals and wegot the arch Big deal, sorry,
wow, okay, back off, Patrick,calm your mind down, everything
is fine.
I saw a news story that morethan 24 million US passports
(43:41):
were processed this year 2024.
Is that right?
Mark Faldmo (43:45):
It's been a record year for passports.
That is nearly 500,000 morethan in 2023.
Even with the more passports,the time to process passports
has been cut by nearly half.
Late 2023, we were tellingpeople you are 12 to 16 weeks to
get a passport.
That's now down to four to fiveweeks and in most cases it's
(44:09):
quicker than that.
I've seen people get a passportback, without expediting fees
back in about two and a halfweeks.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:15):
So I paid the expediting fee and we got it
back in like two, two and a halfweeks, and you're telling me
that's common.
Mark Faldmo (44:20):
now that's common now, wow, okay, and you know,
they've also rolled out a newonline passport renewal system.
I think we briefly talked aboutthis last week, but that's
really helped in speeding up theprocessing time of passports.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:35):
Let's continue the black Friday sale as we've
done through each of the foursegments of the show.
Avalon waterways has theirblack Friday sale.
If you're not familiar withthat, that's European river
cruises.
What's their?
Mark Faldmo (44:50):
promotion, so they have prepaid gratuities on
select sailings.
That's a value of 25 per personper Now.
Gratuities are always optional,but as you've said many times,
Patrick, those people deservethe extra tips that you give
them.
Honestly they really make orbreak a cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:09):
Yeah, they deserve more than that, because
it feels like we're in a tippingculture.
Tip me for just doing your job.
These guys and girls reallywork hard to make or break a
vacation.
They do an amazing job.
Mark Faldmo (45:23):
They have $249 air per person on select river
cruises, so that's $249 airfareto Europe and they have save up
to a thousand dollars per coupleon select river cruises.
Most cases you can combine twoof these and there probably are
a few where you could combineall three of these offers on a
(45:44):
river cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:45):
Before we run out of time, let's recap all of
the offers that we've made forthe past hour and I'll let you
decide where you want to start.
Mark Faldmo (45:54):
Let's go back and talk about Globus, which is the
three different touring options.
They have traditional grouptours, small group tours or
independent tours, mostly inEurope, but they do have them
worldwide.
Their Black Friday offer is$1,000 off select 2025 tours,
plus $9.95 fixed rate airfare.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:14):
Which is just a phenomenal offer $995 to
Europe round trip amazing.
Mark Faldmo (46:18):
Yeah, and then also again some great tour options.
The next deal this is formainly Mexico, all-inclusive and
Hawaii and the Caribbean.
It is valid worldwide, butthat's mostly where you do this
with Funjet Vacations.
So they have up to $300 offinternational and Hawaii trips
and up to $150 off domesticvacations.
(46:39):
To get those deals, you can goto blueplanetvacations.
com.
We have deals posted to eachspecific location Hawaii and
Mexico.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:49):
While we're here, let's recap the
blueplanetvacations.
com, the hot travel deal of theweek, or how to sign up.
So they just get those in theemail.
Mark Faldmo (46:57):
Go to the website.
Pop-up will pop up where youcan enter your information, or
you can just click in thenavigation bar the hot deal
update and that'll take you to apage where you can register for
the email updates.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:09):
What other deals do you want?
Mark Faldmo (47:10):
to recap here let's recap the Virgin Voyages one,
which I think is a great deal.
So Virgin Voyages, one of myfavorite cruise lines.
It's all adults.
They do really good with peoplethat have dietary concerns or
issues, but their deal is 80%off the second guest, $300 off
(47:31):
in free drinks, and if you booka cruise 180 days in advance and
pay in full, you'll get anextra 10% discount, and they
have cruises starting at $99 perperson per day.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:43):
That really is amazing, that is.
Mark Faldmo (47:45):
And then we also did have a Norwegian and an MSC
offer, but in the interest oftime, you can go to
blueplanetvacations.
com and see what those are.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:56):
Every single week we talk about the hot
travel deal of the week, thecruise deal of the week, the
destination spotlight.
This is the one show every yearand really it's going to
continue really for a few weeks,just because we're in the
Christmas buying period.
This is the one time of yearthat you can absolutely save the
(48:17):
most money to go make memorieswith your family, year that you
can absolutely save the mostmoney to go make memories with
your family.
Call Mark in his office to book888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
(48:37):
And, as he mentioned, just goto blueplanetvacations.
com to sign up as well.
You can listen to this showagain tomorrow morning, Sunday,
at 11 am, right here on 860 KKAThere in Salt Lake.
If you want or need to listento the show again, go to
InsideTravelTalk.
com.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms, and can I ask
you to download and subscribeplatforms?
(49:00):
And can I ask you to downloadand subscribe and, while you're
at it, leave us a five-starreview please, because it really
does help us get traction withthe podcast platforms.
So just thank you in advance.
Well, now it's your turn to getout and explore your world
while you can, because you neverknow what curveball's life is
going to throw at you.
You can, because you never knowwhat curveballs life is going
(49:22):
to throw at you.
Today is a good day for a goodday.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
remember what you're notchanging, you're choosing.
Thanks for listening.
Really.
Have a great week, mark, and Iwill talk to you again next
Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Show Voice (49:42):
Have a great week, mark, and I will talk to you
again next Saturday and Sundaymornings.
That's it.
That's the end of the show.
You've been listening to theInside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show with Patrick Wiscombeand Mark Faldmo, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Book your adventure right now.
Call 888-718-7717.
That's 888-718-7717.
(50:03):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week.
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