June 21, 2025 • 52 mins
Ready to snag a $399 roundtrip flight to Hawaii this fall? That's not a typo – it's just one of the extraordinary travel deals we're unveiling in this episode. We're taking you on a journey through affordable paradise destinations while revealing how to maximize your travel budget without sacrificing experiences.
The tropical adventures start with our exploration of Tahiti and its islands. While many travelers dream of Bora Bora's overwater bungalows, we reveal why Moorea might be the smarter choice – offering similar beauty at more accessible prices just a 30-minute ferry ride from Papeete. From swimming with sharks and rays to enjoying private motu beach experiences, we share firsthand recommendations from multiple visits to these Polynesian gems.
Dreaming of secluded Hawaiian beaches? We unveil which resorts offer the quietest stretches of sand on Kauai and the Big Island. The Grand Hyatt Kauai sits perfectly positioned at the end of Poipu Beach, minimizing foot traffic for a more exclusive experience, while the Westin Hapuna Beach on the Big Island provides a similar oasis. Combined with our $399 airfare deal and additional package savings, Hawaii has never been more attainable.
For those considering European river cruises, we provide a comprehensive comparison between Viking, Avalon Waterways, and AmaWaterways. From cabin sizes (ranging from 135 to 210 square feet) to included amenities and current promotions saving you up to $2,000 per cabin, we break down what makes each line unique. Our discussion goes beyond marketing materials to share personal experiences from more than a dozen river cruises, helping you choose the perfect itinerary and cruise line for your travel style.
The episode wraps with practical travel wisdom you won't find in guidebooks – like why traveling with an apple could result in an $800 fine, why chocolate fudge in your carry-on might trigger extra security screening (hint: it resembles explosives on X-ray machines), and why your Costco "Gold Star" membership card isn't a valid replacement for Real ID at airports.
Ready to transform these travel insights into your next adventure? Connect with us at 888-718-7717 or visit BluePlanetVacations.com to start planning with experienced advisors who can navigate the complexities that AI travel planning simply can't handle.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Wiscombe (00:00):
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show Coming up.
On today's show, we will betalking about round-trip
airfares to Hawaii for $399.
No, I'm not making that up.
Saving up to $2,000 on aEuropean river cruise, the
world's southernmost hotel,vacations in Tahiti, private
(00:20):
beaches in Hawaii, and howtraveling with an Apple will get
you an $800.
Fine, let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
(00:41):
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice has
changed constantly and arecapacity controlled and subject
to change without notice.
Show Voice (00:54):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and
check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:08):
And now here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Falkner it is theweekend, which means it is
finally time to talk travel.
Hello, there, I'm PatrickWiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo.
(01:30):
You are listening to the bestradio show and podcast for
travel information Coming up.
In this edition of the show, weare going to talk about
airfares to and from Hawaii.
This is Roundtrip Airfare for$399.
And no, I'm not making that up.
That's coming up here in just afew minutes.
(01:52):
We're going to tell you how tosave up to $2,000 on European
river cruises, the world'ssouthernmost hotel called the
Cormorant If you're theadventuresome kind, you're going
to want to stick around forthis particular story Vacations
in Tahiti, private beaches inHawaii, and how traveling with
an Apple and I don't mean anApple device will get you an
(02:13):
$800.
Fine, the entire purpose ofthis show is to help you book
and plan your next vacation orgive you ideas of where you
should consider vacationing next, and we are presented by
blueplanetvacations.
com.
And just a sincere thank youfor taking the time to stop and
listen.
Mark Faldmo, you are back fromyour travels.
(02:34):
Where were you this past week?
Mark Faldmo (02:36):
Las Vegas most recently.
How was it?
It was good, I was at aconference the whole time, so I
spent four days in Caesar'sPalace, didn't leave the hotel.
It was nice, except for the $8soda that I had to get.
And food is so expensive in LasVegas these days.
That's amazing, do you?
Patrick Wiscombe (02:55):
remember when food was just cheap, it was the
loss leader to get you into thecasinos, into the casino, yeah.
So it really is that expensivenow, and now the casinos get you
to the food, really.
Mark Faldmo (03:05):
Yeah, I went to Starbucks and got a chocolate
croissant and a bottle of sodaand it cost $21.
Holy cow, very expensive.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:15):
Yes, wow, but always in the first segment of
the show we've got thedestination of the week and one
of our listeners, Gina, wants togo to Tahiti.
We'll get to that here in thissegment, but let's start the
show first with the travel newsheadlines.
This feels like an adventurestory to me.
We saw the press release or thenews story that was introducing
the world's southernmost hotelcalled the Cormorant at 55 South
(03:41):
.
This has Patrick written allover it.
Mark Faldmo (03:43):
This is actually a hotel that was built by Silver
Sea Cruise Line, which is asmall ship, luxury cruise line,
but they do have two expeditionships, so this hotel is purpose
built for their Antarcticexpeditions.
Oh, how fun is that.
And all of the cruise lines goout of Ushuaia, Argentina.
(04:05):
But Silversea wanted to dosomething different.
So last year maybe the yearbefore they moved where their
Antarctic sailings depart fromand they moved it to Porto
Williams in Chile, which isabout 30 miles away.
But what they've done with this?
They have a really interestingand unique way to see Antarctica
.
So you do all the cruisingaround there.
(04:26):
But for those that don't wantto do the Drake Passage,
Silversea is the cruise line foryou.
They have an airstrip next tothe hotel, and so the Antarctica
proportion is they fly you tothe research station on
Antarctica.
So you see Antarctica by flyingthere and you skip the two days
of cruising the Drake Passage,which sometimes can be like a
(04:48):
lake and sometimes can be likethe raging ocean.
That it is Not good, yeah.
So that's why they've builtthis hotel, to build that
component in for Antarctica.
So instead of cruising there,you fly there, but then you do
all the other cruising thingsyou would do by the expedition
cruise ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:07):
Minus the violent waves of the Drake
Passage, correct, okay.
So while everyone is buildingbeach clubs, talk about a
completely different cruiseexperience.
Yes, magic Kingdom's newnighttime parade.
They've announced a date thatit will start on July 20th
parade.
Mark Faldmo (05:24):
They've announced a date that it will start on July
20th.
The brand new nighttime parade,which is inspired after the
original Main Street ElectricalParade.
They have some similar things,but with a lot more technology.
That parade starts on July 20th.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:39):
Always in the first segment of the show we've
got the destination of the week.
So this is actually from one ofour listeners.
Her name is Gina.
She wants to go to Tahiti.
But before I get to herquestion, let me give the studio
in the text line so you can askyour travel related questions.
801 area code 649-3700.
801-649-3700.
(06:00):
Gina is asking where should Istay and what is there to do?
I know what your favoritethings to do, or at least a
couple of the places Papeete andMorea.
Mark Faldmo (06:12):
That's exactly where I'm going.
When people think of Tahiti orFrench Polynesia, they all want
Bora Bora.
Until they see the price.
See the price.
Bora Bora is amazing, but itcan also be pretty pricey.
So our alternate to Bora Borais Morea.
It's a lot easier to get to.
(06:33):
It's a short 30 minute ferryride from Papetee, Tahiti.
They do have some high end,high priced hotels.
They also have some prettyreasonably priced hotels If
you're looking for that not theisland of Tahiti, but one of the
outer islands, if you want togo to Bora Bora and it seems too
expensive, try Morea.
(06:55):
I thought we would start andjust go over some of my
recommended hotels that are inPapetee, on that main island of
Tahiti, and all of these hotelsthat we're going to talk about
today.
I've stayed at and I enjoyedall of them In Papua New Guinea.
The two that I would recommendone is the Manava Suites.
It's a four-star hotel.
You actually look across thebay to Morea you can see it
(07:19):
there because Morea is so closeand the other is the
Intercontinental.
It's a five-star, again, alittle bit more pricey, but it's
a different experience.
One thing that Heather and Idid that I loved.
We just ran out of car anddrove all the way around the
island.
There's so many waterfalls onone side of the island that it's
(07:39):
amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:40):
How long did it take for you to get around
the island?
Mark Faldmo (07:43):
Amazing, how long did it take for you to get
around the island.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:46):
You can do it in a full day.
Mark Faldmo (07:47):
Oh it's that big Well with stops and there's some
little offshoots where you cango explore different things.
There's not as much to do onthe main island.
There's a really neat culturalmuseum, a couple of nice
restaurants on the other side ofthe island.
One thing that I really like inPapeete is they have their
market, which is just a marketlike you find in Europe with
(08:08):
everything there, kind of anopen air market.
It's well, it's in a building,but really interesting souvenirs
Plus.
I also sell the food and fish.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:16):
What hotels do you recommend?
Mark Faldmo (08:18):
on Morea so in Morea and it's probably my
favorite island Morea is where Iwould go and stay and it's
probably my favorite islandMorea is where I would go and
stay.
I would do it even over BoraBora, just because I think
there's a little bit more to doin Morea.
Now.
All of these hotels have gardenrooms, beach rooms and
overwater bungalows.
So you have three differentchoices.
(08:39):
One is Manava Beach it's kindof the lead-in hotel, and then
my favorite hotel there is theSofitel Kiaava Beach it's kind
of the lead-in hotel, and thenmy favorite hotel there is the
Sofitel Kia Ora Beach.
That's where I've stayed themost when I go there.
I was lucky enough during COVID, when it wasn't busy, they put
me in an overwater bungalow andit was amazing.
(08:59):
And then just the next step upfrom there is the Hilton Morea
Lagoon and that's when I use alot for groups.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:09):
What are some of the things that you like to
do when you are in?
Mark Faldmo (09:12):
Morea.
They have like open airroadsters and so just a little
two or four passenger roadstersthat you drive around the island
.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:21):
Wait, are we talking Teslas Roadsters?
No, oh.
Mark Faldmo (09:25):
No, no, tesla Like a dune buggy.
Oh, okay, there we go.
So, yeah, to drive all the wayaround.
Morea is 40 miles, so you coulddo it like five times in a day
if you wanted, but it's fun todrive around.
Go up to Belvedere Point, whichis a nice overlook where you
can look down both on Cook's Bayand Oponohu Bay.
You can stop in both of thosebays.
(09:46):
Nice beaches, water activities.
My favorite thing there is swimwith the sharks and rays.
So you go out and swim with thesharks and feed the sharks and
rays, and then also a Motu beachexperience.
So Motu, they're the smallislands that surround the French
Polynesia, so you can go outjust with a small group, usually
(10:10):
10 to 30 people, and just havethis whole Motu island to
yourself.
They're usually out on thereefs.
You just go spend the day onthe island.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:19):
Well, that sounds delightful.
Gina, call Mark in his office,just get the conversation
started.
No obligation, of course.
His office number is888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And you can also find some ofthis information on
blueplanetvacations.
com.
(10:41):
When we come back, it is timefor the hot travel deal of the
week, which is Hawaii, and weare talking about airfares to
Hawaii from $399 starting thisfall.
And no, I'm not making that up,that is the real price.
We'll talk about that next whenthe Inside Travel Talk podcast
(11:01):
or radio show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be back in about twominutes.
Show Voice (11:17):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show with PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo,
presented by BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(11:38):
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (11:44):
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.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700,.
Show Voice (12:09):
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(12:29):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:39):
Your attention , please.
Your attention, please.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
That's not the attention,please part.
I want you to listen to thispart.
I want you to listen to RoundTrip Airfare from Hawaii for
$399 out of Salt Lake Citystarting this fall.
(13:00):
No, I'm not joking.
So if you've wanted to go toHawaii, we're going to give you
the dates.
We're going to give Mark'srecommendations of things to do
and where to stay.
That's coming up here in just afew minutes, right here on the
Inside Travel Talk podcast, aradio show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, I amPatrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
(13:23):
Let's get back to the travelnews headlines.
You were at a conference in LasVegas this past week and you
were able to.
I was going to say you wereable to talk to Richard Branson.
That's not true.
You were in a conference whereRichard Branson, who founded
Virgin Airlines and VirginVoyages, and he was talking to
(13:44):
your group.
Tell us what happened.
Mark Faldmo (13:46):
One of the questions that he was asked was
how did he get in travel and howdid he get the idea for the
airline so Virgin AtlanticAirways?
He was in San Juan trying toget to the British Virgin
Islands, so he was meeting hisgirlfriend there and the airline
canceled his flight to theBritish Virgin Islands.
They said you're going to haveto spend the night and we'll
(14:09):
come back in the morning andwe'll see if we can get you
there.
We'll see.
And so so Richard Branson said,told everyone in the terminal
to hold on for just a minute,and this is when he was running,
by this time, Virgin Records.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:23):
I forgot about Virgin Records.
I didn't know he was the ownerof that, but I guess it would
make sense, yeah he was.
Mark Faldmo (14:28):
So he told everybody to stay and he went
out and he found an airplane tocharter.
He said I hope my credit cardwas going to work.
But he went back and he got achalkboard and wrote Virgin Air
$35 tickets to British VirginIslands.
Oh wow.
And so after that experience hesaid well, that wasn't too hard
(14:49):
.
And so he called Boeing.
He didn't know anyone at Boeing, he just called the main number
and says I want to talk towhoever can help me rent or buy
a used 747.
And it went from there.
Oh wow.
I've never heard that VirginAtlantic is a great airline.
Virgin Voyages that we'vetalked about quite a bit on this
show.
I love Virgin Voyages.
(15:10):
They're unique.
When they started VirginVoyages and he said this is what
he does with all of hiscompanies.
He says he likes to cruise andhe's not mocking any cruise
lines when he does this.
But he sat down with his teamand they said we need to come up
with 30 things we don't likeabout cruising and we need to
change that.
And so they had their list of30 things and they built Virgin
(15:32):
Voyages around those 30 things.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:35):
I would imagine that one of those things
was we need to change how shipslook, because I think Virgin
Voyages has some of the mostunique, looking well beautiful,
frankly ships that I've everseen.
They do.
Mark Faldmo (15:48):
Yeah, they do.
It's a great product and theydo things different, like their
dining.
They have five differentrestaurants and you just rotate
through all the restaurants eachnight.
On other cruise lines there arespecialty restaurants you can't
get in or there's an extracharge.
They just rotate you throughall the restaurants so you eat
at every restaurant on yourvoyage.
Does Virgin Voyages have abuffet Sort of?
(16:09):
It's more like food trucks, soit's a food hall and it's all
cooked to order.
When you order it, you order atthe play station and they'll
bring it out to your table whereyou're at in the food hall.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:23):
So they were the originator of ordering from
I'll just call them iPads, andthere's multiple restaurants but
, to use your term, food truckson a ship.
So if you want something Asianand then you want something
Mexican, you can go to the iPadand, hey, I want Asian and
Mexican, and then they justbring it to your table.
(16:44):
They started that.
Mark Faldmo (16:45):
They started that and a few other Norwegian in
particular has also now startedthat where they have kind of a
food hall where you just orderfrom a variety of different
menus.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:56):
Yeah, Norwegian Aqua.
I forgot the name of the foodhall.
The food was good and itarrived within just minutes of
tapping the iPad.
It was a really greatexperience.
Yes, it is a great experience.
We want you to be part of theshow and while we were at break,
we received a text from.
Who was this?
This is Amy, isn't it?
She texted the show801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(17:23):
She's asking about Hawaii.
Her question is are there anyprivate beaches in Hawaii,
because I want a quiet beach.
What are the options?
Mark Faldmo (17:32):
All the beaches in Hawaii are public, so you can't
block access to get to a beach.
But in Hawaii there are someplaces, some islands, that are
better than others.
If you want a quieter beach,the first place I would say is
the island of Kauai, because thehotels are fairly well spread
out and, with a few exceptions,you could stay at any hotel and
(17:55):
get a relatively quiet beachexperience.
Yeah, agreed.
So the hotels on Kauai that Iwould recommend are the
Outrigger Waipuli Beach, whichhas a really nice beach and
there's not a lot around it, andso you can have a little bit
quieter beach there.
Same thing with a hotel calledthe Kiahana Plantation, and then
probably my favorite hotel onthe island, and this is actually
(18:19):
my father's favorite hotelprobably in all the world.
He loves this hotel which isthe Grand Hyatt.
Ad Voice (18:27):
Hotel in.
Mark Faldmo (18:27):
Kauai.
Yeah, great choice it is.
It's kind of right at the endof Poipu Beach.
The hotels might be spread outbut you still might get people
that walk down the beach.
But since this is at the end ofPoipu Beach, you don't get a
lot of that cross traffic, soyou get kind of a little bit
more secluded beach.
Even though there is a parkinglot with public access to the
(18:49):
beach at the hotel, I've neverfound it to be too terribly
crowded.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:53):
So that's on Kauai.
What do you recommend for,let's say, the Big Island?
Mark Faldmo (18:59):
The Big Island is the next place I'd recommend.
You know, on the other islandseverything's a little bit too
close and you get a lot ofcross-mixing of people walking
up and down the beach.
So on the Big Island there aretwo hotels.
One is the Westin Hapuna Beach.
Hapuna Beach there is a publicside of that and then there's
(19:20):
kind of a little cove that thehotel is on.
It does not get too crowded.
And the Mauna Kea Resort isalso on kind of its own little
cove.
Actually it's quite close tothe Hapuna Beach as well, but
those two hotels kind of have alittle bit quieter beaches on
the Big Island.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:39):
Amy.
There you go.
If you have any follow-upquestions, call Mark in his
office, 888-718-7717,888-718-7717.
Always in segment number two ofthe show, we've got the hot
travel deal of the week andwe've been talking about it
since the top of the showAirfare to Hawaii.
(19:59):
Round-trip airfare to Hawaii$399 starting this fall.
Let's give listeners anopportunity to book this deal,
and what promotions do we havefor listeners?
Mark Faldmo (20:13):
Yeah.
So there's the good airfareplus a promotion on top of that.
So first of all, salt Lake Cityto Hawaii, to Honolulu in
particular.
I've found several dates thathave $399 airfare.
Now that is in basic economy,but that's still a great price
to fly to Hawaii.
(20:33):
Add about another $75 to thatfor the main cabin if you want a
seat assignment, but that's aslow as I've seen Hawaii airfares
in a while.
There's a little bit less liftto Hawaii a little bit less
demand for Hawaii, and so it'sinteresting because the airfares
(20:55):
are coming down but the hotelsare going up slightly, but great
airfare to Hawaii.
And then on top of that, if youadd a hotel, so if you do an
air and hotel package, there's apromotion to get an additional
200, up to an additional $250off the package.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:15):
Where are we staying on those?
Mark Faldmo (21:16):
I'll just go over Now, since in that previous
segment we talked about Kauaiand the Big Island.
Yeah, we'll go over those, sowe'll start in Kauai and the Big
Island.
Yeah, we'll go over those, sowe'll start in Kauai.
This is a September 4thdeparture and this is actually
very close to that $399 airfare.
It's a little bit higher thanthat to Kauai, but the lead-in
hotel is the Hilton Garden InnWailua Bay, which is also on a
(21:40):
good stretch of beach.
It's $1129 per person.
And then one of the hotels thatwe talked about, the Outrigger
Waipuli Beach, starts at $1299per person for an airfare five
nights hotel.
I didn't get the price at theGrand Hyatt, but then we'll go
just one other, the OutriggerKauai Beach Resort, starts at
(22:02):
$1359.
And all of those are four-starhotels.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:06):
Outrigger has some great properties.
Mark Faldmo (22:09):
They do.
I love Outrigger and they'revery Hawaiian, so you really get
kind of immersed into theculture when you're at those
properties.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:20):
I was surprised how green Kauai was.
Truly, I cannot believe howmuch different each of the
islands are.
You wouldn't think they'd bethat different, but they really
are.
Mark Faldmo (22:30):
But they really are ?
Patrick Wiscombe (22:31):
Yeah, they are , and so now we can move from
Kauai the garden island becauseit's so green all over to the
big island where, when you landat the airport, you'll think you
landed in Wendover.
That's not really a greatendorsement.
Well, I know what you'retalking about, though.
Mark Faldmo (22:49):
Yeah.
So, it's all lava and grass.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:53):
Yeah, it's interesting.
Yeah, it's interesting.
Mark Faldmo (22:55):
Yeah, it's interesting.
So same date, September 4th,one of my favorite hotels, the
Royal Kona, which is a three anda half star hotel, starts at
$1149 per person.
Great sunsets, great sunsetsthere.
I like that Royal Kona justbecause of its location.
I like that Royal Kona justbecause of its location.
(23:17):
It's kind of right at the endof the main shopping street
there in Kilauea Kona, rightnext to my favorite restaurant.
It is an older hotel butthey've recently renovated it.
The rooms are great.
And then the other hotel thatI'll just mention here is the
Hilton Grand Vacation ClubWaikoloa Village.
This is part of the HiltonWaikoloa Village complex.
It's one of the towers but it'sa four and a half star and it
(23:38):
starts at $1219 per person forairfare and five nights Pretty
good price.
And with that $399 airfare andup to $250 off, you can get a
pretty good rate to Hawaii.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:53):
If you decide to go to the big island,
hopefully you'll be lucky enoughto still see the volcano
shooting lava up to a thousandfeet at Volcano National Park.
It's still going on, mark, yeah, and that's still on my bucket
list.
Mark Faldmo (24:07):
Maybe I'll just make a trip this weekend to get
over there.
You know what?
Patrick Wiscombe (24:11):
That's not a terrible idea.
Yeah, I've always wanted to seea live volcano.
Obviously from a distance.
I don't want to be in the path,obviously.
Yeah, but that just soundsawesome.
Yeah, all right, we'll uh,we'll meet on the what uh?
Terminal a?
Mark Faldmo (24:27):
yeah, I guess we'll coordinate later go to hawaii
for a day just to see thevolcano.
I would do that.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:33):
Amy, I hope that answers your questions.
You will probably havefollow-up questions.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And he will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com, coming up at the bottom ofthe hour.
It is time for the infamousJust Cruising segment.
(24:54):
We will be comparing cabins onriver cruise ships for each
major cruise line and we've gota promotion from Ama Waterways
of saving up to $2,000 per cabinwhen we return at the bottom of
the hour news break.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Show Voice (25:16):
He is Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back, takingyou to destinations around the
world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (25:43):
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
We'll be right back Inside.
Travel Talk is brought to youby Anna Waterways.
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of Europe's most remarkablesites and cities to set out on
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Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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Patrick Wiscombe (26:00):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast, a radio show Coming upin the next 30 minutes.
We will be talking about savingyou up to $2,000 per cabin with
Ama Waterways, getting fined$800 for having an Apple.
We're also gonna tell you howto get free airfare if you
cruise with Avalon Waterways and, for heaven's sakes, would you
(26:24):
please quit using your Costco IDas your real ID.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
(26:44):
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:54):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(27:16):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:39):
Oh, the beautiful ship horn of
Norwegian's brand new ship, aqua.
Nikki and I were on it in Apriland it was an absolutely
beautiful ship, honestly one ofthe most beautiful ships I've
ever been on.
This is the Inside Travel talkpodcast and radio show and it is
(28:00):
time always at the bottom ofthe hour, the infamous just
cruising segment, where it'sonly about the cruise news and
it's only about cruise deals.
So if you are a cruise person,this is going to be your
favorite part of the show eachand every week at this time.
But let's first get to thecruise news headlines.
I saw this news story that wascomparing cabins on river cruise
(28:22):
ships for each of the majorcruise lines.
What were the conclusions ofthe article mark?
Mark Faldmo (28:28):
there are several really good river cruise lines
out there.
This article mentioned sevenriver cruise lines that are out
there, but I wanted to narrowdown kind of on the three most
that were are probably mostfamiliar to people and the first
one is Viking.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:45):
Yeah, man, they've been marketing hard
lately.
Mark Faldmo (28:48):
They have Yep, and so I guess I'll take a step back
.
All of the river cruise shipshave to go through the locks on
the rivers, so all of the rivercruise ships can only be a
maximum length and width, sothey're all essentially the same
size.
They also have to fit underbridges, so they all have those
(29:10):
length, width and heightparameters.
With that in mind, Viking isthe first one we'll talk about.
A typical Viking ship hasbetween 190 and 230 passengers
and their kind of lead-inbalcony stateroom is 135 square
feet.
Now there is one lower categorythan this which doesn't have a
(29:32):
balcony because it's actuallybelow the water.
So there's a window that'sabove the water, but for purpose
of this story we'll just stickwith kind of the apples to
apples story.
So their lead in 135 squarefeet.
And then the next cruise linewe'll talk about is Avalon
Waterways, which is tied for myfavorite with Ama Waterways,
Avalon Waterways for thecomparable ship.
(29:55):
They have about 160 passengerson board their ships and a
little bit larger room.
So for room, similar locationto Viking.
Their cabin space is 172 squarefeet and we talked about with
TJ a few weeks ago.
The thing I like about Avalonis their beds face the water.
(30:17):
Yeah, that's a big deal.
They don't have any like realbalcony space.
Your whole wall just opens up,and so that's why it gives you
that extra.
What is that?
50 square feet inside the roombecause there's they're not
taking space from your room forthe balcony, but then your whole
wall opens up to turn yourwhole cabin into a balcony.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:39):
So basically, it's kind of the infinite
veranda where half the wallcomes down and you just hang out
at the foot of your bed,basically, yes, I know that you
like balconies, but honestly,the infinite veranda makes the
room larger and you still getthe fresh air.
Yeah, and they also providechairs.
You mentioned Ama Waterways.
(31:00):
How did they come in?
Mark Faldmo (31:01):
Ama Waterways, again on ships about the same
size.
They have 150, 160 guests onboard and their cabins start at
210 square feet, so larger thanboth of those Whoa.
The interesting thing about Amais they have both.
They have a balcony and aFrench balcony in the cabin, so
(31:25):
they have the bed and close tothe bed they have a balcony with
chairs where you can go outclose the door.
Where you can go out close thedoor, or the other half of the
room is a French balcony wherethe door opens and you can sit
in nice comfy chairs and lookout the window.
So they kind of have it divided.
So half balcony and half Frenchbalcony, which is interesting,
but they do give you biggerrooms for that.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:48):
All right.
So this naturally begs thequestion what questions should
our listeners ask you whenplanning a river cruise?
Mark Faldmo (31:56):
So when planning a river cruise.
It is a different experiencethan an ocean cruise.
Oh yeah, and so here are the sixquestions or things to consider
.
The first thing is whatdestinations and rivers does the
cruise cover and what uniqueexperiences do each offer?
And so you really have to lookat your objectives are for the
(32:19):
cruise.
For instance, the Rhine Riveris a scenic cruise where you see
castles.
You do get culture in there,but you're really immersed in
castles on the Rhine River.
The Danube is more history, andso you see more historical
sites, while all of the rivercrews kind of cross mingle.
(32:40):
This.
That's kind of what each riveris known for, and they do
provide unique experiences.
You know, like on the Danube,in Melk, going to the monastery
in Melk is probably one of myfavorite experiences in all the
river cruising I've done.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:56):
One of the questions that comes to my mind
what type of accommodations areavailable and how do stateroom
sizes and amenities vary fromriver cruise company to river
cruise company?
Mark Faldmo (33:07):
You might want the very best overall price on.
The size of cabin Doesn'tmatter Right, which in some
cases that's a great thing to do, because what you see on the
river cruises are amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:18):
It's a completely different experience
than ocean cruising, Completelydifferent.
Another question that I'veasked of you what's included
with the cruise price Meals,excursions, drinks, Wi-Fi, etc.
Mark Faldmo (33:32):
There are several.
There are probably nine or tenriver cruise companies out there
, but you do have to look atthat price and really quantify
what it includes.
Generally, all the meals areincluded, but depending on the
cruise line.
I was looking at a cruise linefor someone the other day.
It was a European cruise line.
They wanted to go on somethinglike that, but the excursions
(33:54):
were not included and they wereadditional.
So on Viking, Ama and Avalonthat we just talked about,
excursions are included.
Now, some of those cruise linesdo offer extra experience or
additional excursions that youcan purchase, but the main
excursions are included.
Also, drinks is one.
Are drinks included all thetime?
(34:14):
A lot of cruise lines are justincluded at mealtime and then if
you go not at a mealtime, youthen pay per drink.
That's something to ask soyou're not stuck with a bill
that you weren't expecting atthe end of the cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:30):
Another frequently asked question that
you get is what is the typicaldaily itinerary and is there
much free time to just exploreon your own?
Mark Faldmo (34:41):
That's a really good question and it's good for
people to know how river cruisesoperate.
Now I'm just going to speakfrom my experience on Viking,
Avalon and Ama Waterways.
Typically, what they do is day.
They'll try and get a goodnumber of what activities you
want to go on, because you doget your choice of a few
different activities and alsodifferent activity levels.
(35:04):
You know.
So, as we've talked aboutPatrick, the bikes on the boat.
So some people want to go on thebus, some people want to take
the bike tour.
That's what they'll do thenight before each day and then
(35:26):
you'll go on your activitiesthat day.
Typically it'll be a morningactivity back for lunch and then
free time in the afternoon, oran optional additional cost
activity in the afternoon andthen back in time for dinner and
then again before dinner you'llhave that same pre-dinner
cocktail hour where they'll goover the next day's activities.
(35:49):
And on these tours they do giveplenty of time for shopping, to
explore the destination on yourown.
If you don't want to do thetours, you just let the guide
know and you can go explore thewhole day independently.
Okay, the last river cruise Iwas on since I'd been to I just
mentioned Milk, since I'd beenthere a couple of times, heather
(36:10):
and I just went off and shoppedand explored the little village
, rather than take theprearranged tour by the cruise
line.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:17):
So there is the flexibility.
Basically is what we're seeing.
We've already kind of talkedabout shore excursions, if
they're included or not oroptional, but I do want to talk
about what kinds of activities,and maybe some cultural
experiences can listeners expect?
Mark Faldmo (36:34):
They really do try and get you immersed in these
little villages and some of myfavorite things on river cruises
they'll do kind of like localfavorite things.
One thing is we went to thishunting castle right on the
Danube River.
There's a small group of 20 ofus and the owner actually still
lived in it.
He lived in the guest quartersand we went and walked through
(36:58):
how the kitchen works and it setup like it was back in medieval
times.
We kind of went through all thehouses of this hunting lodge
and then had a local performanceby a local quartet.
So you do get specialexperiences like that that the
average traveler is not going toget.
And river cruises is where I'vehad the most of these
(37:19):
experiences.
They're just little specialthings either included or at an
additional cost that you can get.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:26):
What is the average group size?
The demographic of rivercruisers.
Mark Faldmo (37:30):
River cruising.
Typically, average age is older55 to 65.
Although since COVID that agehas really come down.
A lot of younger people areopting to do that, just because
river cruises are so unique andyou get to go to places that you
normally wouldn't go.
Your excursion groups are goingto be between 20 and 30
(37:53):
passengers.
So not big groups much smallerand you know a lot of those
places, cause they're going tosmaller villages.
They do want to break you up soyou're not overwhelming the
villages, and so there are someplaces where you can only go in
in groups of 10 or 12.
And so they'll break you upinto smaller groups, like that.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:12):
That leads us to the cruise deal of the week,
always in this segment of theshow, and I talked about it at
the top of the hour.
I've talked about it at thebottom of the hour.
Let's help our listeners savequite a bit of money.
Let's do it.
Let's start with Alma Waterways.
Mark Faldmo (38:28):
Alma Waterways right now has a promotion of up
to $2,000 off river cruises,that is, on select cruises.
It says this fall, but there'sa limited availability this fall
, so next spring, so spring of2026 and spring of 2026, up to
$2,000 off and this is for anyof their destinations.
(38:50):
We've mainly talked to Europehere, but it's also good for
Vietnam and Cambodia and alsothe Nile in Egypt.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:57):
And how much can you save per cabin?
That was the $2,000, right,that's up to $2,000.
Wow, okay.
What about Avalon Waterways?
What's their promotion?
Mark Faldmo (39:07):
And then Avalon Waterways is a free airfare, or
you can opt to save up to $1,500per person.
So it's your choice, so it'syour choice.
So if you had frequent flyermiles to use over there, you
could opt for the $1,500 perperson.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:22):
What is your favorite river cruise and what
itinerary would you recommendfor a first time cruiser For a
first time cruiser I would saythe Danube River, the upper
Danube River, is perfect.
Mark Faldmo (39:35):
That's Budapest sells between Budapest and
Germany.
My favorite river cruise thatI've done is the lower Danube
sailing between Budapest andRomania.
You're sailing through all theformer communist countries and
getting that perspective of whatit was like to live behind the
Iron Curtain Although some ofthe guides are younger these
(39:57):
days so they don't know thatexperience.
But if you're lucky enough toget an older guide, it's very
interesting.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:03):
That's always been fascinating to me, not from
a good standpoint, but justwhat was it like?
It's not that I don't want theyounger guides.
I want probably an older one onthat one.
Tell us what your daily lifewas like.
What was their experience?
I don't want that experience tobe lost to history.
Mark Faldmo (40:21):
Yeah, yeah, and so that's why that itinerary was so
fascinating to me Absolutelyfascinating Sailing on a
European river cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:31):
How many times have you done it, Mark?
Mark Faldmo (40:34):
About 12 times I've been on a river cruise, jeez.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:37):
If you are interested in river cruising,
call Mark in his office at thebreak.
Just get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
And you can also go toblueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back we've gotMark's travel tips and we're
(40:58):
going to tell you how one personreceived an $800 fine for
traveling with an apple.
We're not joking.
Fine for traveling with anapple we're not joking.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
The radio show continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe, heis Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (41:15):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (41:41):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
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To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(42:02):
blueplanetvacations.
com or blueplanetvacations.
(42:29):
com.
Show Voice (42:30):
Travel advisors, call the show right now
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:36):
Faldmo, each and every weekend, we get to
spend our time with you, and asincere thank you to just
allowing us to be part of yourweekend.
Wherever you are listening tothe show, whether it's in the
gym, in the car, however, youconsume radio and podcast
content.
Thank you coming up.
(42:58):
In this final segment of theshow, we have mark's travel tips
.
We've also got the this storyabout an $800 fine if you're
traveling with an apple, andwe're talking about the fruit
and we're going to talk aboutdon't do this as a baggage hack.
(43:19):
And people, for heaven's sakes,please quit using your Costco
card as a sufficient replacementfor real ID if you're headed to
the airport.
I don't know why I find that sofunny, but I guess if you have
a Costco card and it's got yourpicture on it and it says your
name, I can see why people aredoing it, but that's not real ID
(43:40):
.
All right, mark, let's get backto the travel news headlines.
As we wrap up this week's show,there was a plane passenger who
was stopped by TSA and receivedan almost $800 fine for
traveling with a piece of fruitand apple.
And no, it's not the techcompany.
Mark Faldmo (43:56):
This story says TSA , but I think it's actually
customs.
Oh, okay.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:00):
That would make more sense.
Mark Faldmo (44:01):
That did it sense?
That did it?
So when you're coming back fromany country to the US and going
to any country, you're notallowed to bring fruit into that
country, and so this travelerclaimed she forgot it was there.
But there's a place when youwalk into the baggage claim area
, there's usually a little binto throw all your fruit into,
and sometimes they call it.
(44:22):
The amnesty area, the amnestyarea, yep, and then past that
there's a customs officer with acanine that smelled her apple
and pulled her out and said it'san $800 fine and you could be
banned from traveling.
Oh boy, luckily they were niceand didn't actually pass on that
fine.
But just be aware there arecertain things you can't travel
(44:45):
with.
Also something interesting kindof unrelated note if you're
traveling with chocolate orfudge, pack that in your checked
bags.
The other day, coming back fromLos Angeles, I had a thing of
fudge and I only carried withcarry-ons.
But fudge to an x-ray machinelooks a lot like C4.
And so anytime you're travelingwith something that dense they
(45:09):
are going to need to check it.
So it costs me an extra fiveminutes at the TSA security
checkpoint for traveling withfudge in a carry-on.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:20):
I'm sorry, but that makes me laugh.
It looks an awful lot like that.
That's what they said.
They're like hey, yeah, we haveto check.
You know, can you imagine beingon the other side of the
screening going?
We have a potential securityissue.
Mark Faldmo is carrying C4fudge.
Mark Faldmo (45:36):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:36):
Oh my word.
And see, you're the kind ofperson who prides himself on
getting through customs quicklyand easily.
Basically look at the cameraturns green, you go.
Mark Faldmo (45:47):
Yeah, I've also been stopped.
Coming back from a previousmeeting in Las Vegas, one of the
pillow gifts was a thing ofcasino chips in a bag, and those
are dense as well, and so theyknew what it was.
They rolled their eyes and sayswe still have to check it.
So just be careful of some ofthose things if you want to get
(46:08):
through quickly.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:09):
The last travel news headline for this
week is TSA is urging people tostop using their Costco card as
a real ID replacement.
I get it, but just stop it.
Just go get a real ID.
Mark Faldmo (46:27):
Well, I just pulled out my Costco card to see how
people could mistake this and Isee right off the bat why people
say because it says Costcowholesale gold star member.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:39):
Oh my word, I didn't even think about it, yeah
.
Mark Faldmo (46:42):
So we've been saying your ID has to have the
gold star on it, and so thiscame from.
Let's see where was thisChicago that they're getting a
significant number of passengerstrying to get through security
using their Costco card as theirreal ID because it has a gold
star on it.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:00):
Oh my word, I didn't even think about that
angle.
Yeah Okay, all right, I standcorrected.
I'm sorry I've been chast aboutthat angle.
Yeah Okay, all right, I standcorrected.
I'm sorry I've been chastisingpeople this entire hour.
Yeah yeah, I get it.
Mark Faldmo (47:11):
It's an artificial government ID so it won't work.
But it does have all therequirements, at least outwardly
, that you need for a real ID.
But it won't work.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:22):
Go get a real ID from your Department, your
department of motor vehicles,dmv.
Yes, by the way, I heard DMVdepartment of motor vehicles,
but I've also heard MVD motorvehicle department.
Mark Faldmo (47:34):
I've heard it both ways yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:35):
Yeah, okay, all right.
One last story before we takeoff for this week.
I want to talk about the limitsof artificial intelligence AI
when planning travel.
This just makes me laugh.
I want to talk about the limitsof artificial intelligence AI
when planning travel.
This just makes me laugh.
I love AI, but there are somereal limitations when it comes
to travel.
Mark Faldmo (47:54):
This last conference I was at, I said it
shouldn't be called AI becauseit's not really intelligence.
He said when you start typingin, like chat GPT, that computer
starts analyzing everykeystroke and everything and
getting millions and millions ofoptions to spit out what it
thinks you need.
It says it's amazing technologybut has severe limits when it
(48:16):
comes to travel planning.
I'll just say this as adisclaimer I am a travel advisor
.
I wholly believe that the humantouch, human connection, is the
best way to plan a vacation.
Agreed, yes, there are somethings you can do online or on
your own, but with a traveladvisor that does it every day,
day in and day out, hasconnections to all sorts of
(48:39):
places, you won't run into theseissues that AI travel planning
does.
So this was a New York Timestravel columnist that put AI to
the test for a trip to New York,found that chat GPT messed up
walking times, recommendedBroadway shows that didn't exist
.
When planning a more complexitinerary that involved flights,
(49:01):
hotels it recommended a hoteland said just take a taxi at a
time when there were no taxisaround, when traditionally
there's no taxis around, andsaid it left them in the snow
walking to the hotel for 20minutes because chat GPT just
messed up on travel planning.
(49:21):
So AI has some great tools, butagain I would just say stick
with a real person, call atravel advisor Hopefully it's me
, but if it's not me, there'shundreds of great travel
advisors around that you can useto plan your trip.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:35):
So I face the same thing so professionally.
During the week I do realestate investing and there is
nothing in this includes travel.
So I'm tying travel and realestate investing together here.
Artificial intelligence awesome, but it does not replace the
human touch.
You nailed it If they havequestions, they want to call
somebody, they want to textsomebody, they just need that
(49:58):
human touch, like you said.
Yes, mandatory when you travel,because sometimes you just
don't know what to do.
Mark Faldmo (50:05):
Yeah, and AI doesn't know what to do either.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:09):
And it's not your friend, but it doesn't yeah
.
I stand corrected on the CostcoID.
I think I may have embarrassedmyself on that one.
The gold star, of course thegold star member.
Mark Faldmo (50:21):
I didn't notice it until I pulled out my Costco
card.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:25):
Yeah, oh, that makes me laugh.
Okay, take advantage ofeverything that we've talked
about.
The airfare round-trip airfareout of Salt Lake for $399.
Hawaii, Tahiti.
Call Mark in his office.
Get the conversation started.
Quit putting your vacation offbecause you never know when life
(50:48):
is going to change on you.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
And just a big thank you forlistening.
Remember, you can listen to theshow again tomorrow morning,
Sunday, at 11 o'clock and aroundthe country, right here on this
radio station, and you canstream, download and subscribe
(51:10):
to the podcast right oninsidetraveltalk.
com.
If you're not a podcaster, youcan literally just press play
and let it stream on your device, or you can subscribe to the
podcast.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
All you have to do is hitsubscribe.
Okay, it's your turn.
(51:30):
Get out and explore the worldwhile you can, because you never
know what Curveball's life isgoing to throw at you.
You just never know.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
thank you so much for listeningTruly, thank you.
We don't have a business.
We don't have a show.
Thank you so much for listening, truly.
Thank you.
We don't have a business, wedon't have a show.
We don't have anything withoutyou.
If you have travel relatedquestions, call Mark
888-718-7717.
(51:53):
Have a terrific week.
We'll talk to you next Saturdayand Sunday.
Show Voice (52:00):
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.
(52:20):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week for listening.
Ad Voice (52:33):
Have a great week.
Inside Travel Talk is broughtto you by Travelex Insurance
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Travelex is known for theiraward-winning customer service
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Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
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Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and
radio show Coming up.
On today's show, we will betalking about round-trip
airfares to Hawaii for $399.
No, I'm not making that up.
Saving up to $2,000 on aEuropean river cruise, the
world's southernmost hotel,vacations in Tahiti, private
(00:20):
beaches in Hawaii, and howtraveling with an Apple will get
you an $800.
Fine, let's start the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show, presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time-sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are
(00:41):
capacity-controlled and subjectto change without notice has
changed constantly and arecapacity controlled and subject
to change without notice.
Show Voice (00:54):
Explore your world.
It's the Inside Travel Talkpodcast and radio show presented
by BluePlanetVacations.
com.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and
check out the podcast atinsidetraveltalk.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (01:08):
And now here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe
and Mark Falkner it is theweekend, which means it is
finally time to talk travel.
Hello, there, I'm PatrickWiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo.
(01:30):
You are listening to the bestradio show and podcast for
travel information Coming up.
In this edition of the show, weare going to talk about
airfares to and from Hawaii.
This is Roundtrip Airfare for$399.
And no, I'm not making that up.
That's coming up here in just afew minutes.
(01:52):
We're going to tell you how tosave up to $2,000 on European
river cruises, the world'ssouthernmost hotel called the
Cormorant If you're theadventuresome kind, you're going
to want to stick around forthis particular story Vacations
in Tahiti, private beaches inHawaii, and how traveling with
an Apple and I don't mean anApple device will get you an
(02:13):
$800.
Fine, the entire purpose ofthis show is to help you book
and plan your next vacation orgive you ideas of where you
should consider vacationing next, and we are presented by
blueplanetvacations.
com.
And just a sincere thank youfor taking the time to stop and
listen.
Mark Faldmo, you are back fromyour travels.
(02:34):
Where were you this past week?
Mark Faldmo (02:36):
Las Vegas most recently.
How was it?
It was good, I was at aconference the whole time, so I
spent four days in Caesar'sPalace, didn't leave the hotel.
It was nice, except for the $8soda that I had to get.
And food is so expensive in LasVegas these days.
That's amazing, do you?
Patrick Wiscombe (02:55):
remember when food was just cheap, it was the
loss leader to get you into thecasinos, into the casino, yeah.
So it really is that expensivenow, and now the casinos get you
to the food, really.
Mark Faldmo (03:05):
Yeah, I went to Starbucks and got a chocolate
croissant and a bottle of sodaand it cost $21.
Holy cow, very expensive.
Patrick Wiscombe (03:15):
Yes, wow, but always in the first segment of
the show we've got thedestination of the week and one
of our listeners, Gina, wants togo to Tahiti.
We'll get to that here in thissegment, but let's start the
show first with the travel newsheadlines.
This feels like an adventurestory to me.
We saw the press release or thenews story that was introducing
the world's southernmost hotelcalled the Cormorant at 55 South
(03:41):
.
This has Patrick written allover it.
Mark Faldmo (03:43):
This is actually a hotel that was built by Silver
Sea Cruise Line, which is asmall ship, luxury cruise line,
but they do have two expeditionships, so this hotel is purpose
built for their Antarcticexpeditions.
Oh, how fun is that.
And all of the cruise lines goout of Ushuaia, Argentina.
(04:05):
But Silversea wanted to dosomething different.
So last year maybe the yearbefore they moved where their
Antarctic sailings depart fromand they moved it to Porto
Williams in Chile, which isabout 30 miles away.
But what they've done with this?
They have a really interestingand unique way to see Antarctica
.
So you do all the cruisingaround there.
(04:26):
But for those that don't wantto do the Drake Passage,
Silversea is the cruise line foryou.
They have an airstrip next tothe hotel, and so the Antarctica
proportion is they fly you tothe research station on
Antarctica.
So you see Antarctica by flyingthere and you skip the two days
of cruising the Drake Passage,which sometimes can be like a
(04:48):
lake and sometimes can be likethe raging ocean.
That it is Not good, yeah.
So that's why they've builtthis hotel, to build that
component in for Antarctica.
So instead of cruising there,you fly there, but then you do
all the other cruising thingsyou would do by the expedition
cruise ship.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:07):
Minus the violent waves of the Drake
Passage, correct, okay.
So while everyone is buildingbeach clubs, talk about a
completely different cruiseexperience.
Yes, magic Kingdom's newnighttime parade.
They've announced a date thatit will start on July 20th
parade.
Mark Faldmo (05:24):
They've announced a date that it will start on July
20th.
The brand new nighttime parade,which is inspired after the
original Main Street ElectricalParade.
They have some similar things,but with a lot more technology.
That parade starts on July 20th.
Patrick Wiscombe (05:39):
Always in the first segment of the show we've
got the destination of the week.
So this is actually from one ofour listeners.
Her name is Gina.
She wants to go to Tahiti.
But before I get to herquestion, let me give the studio
in the text line so you can askyour travel related questions.
801 area code 649-3700.
801-649-3700.
(06:00):
Gina is asking where should Istay and what is there to do?
I know what your favoritethings to do, or at least a
couple of the places Papeete andMorea.
Mark Faldmo (06:12):
That's exactly where I'm going.
When people think of Tahiti orFrench Polynesia, they all want
Bora Bora.
Until they see the price.
See the price.
Bora Bora is amazing, but itcan also be pretty pricey.
So our alternate to Bora Borais Morea.
It's a lot easier to get to.
(06:33):
It's a short 30 minute ferryride from Papetee, Tahiti.
They do have some high end,high priced hotels.
They also have some prettyreasonably priced hotels If
you're looking for that not theisland of Tahiti, but one of the
outer islands, if you want togo to Bora Bora and it seems too
expensive, try Morea.
(06:55):
I thought we would start andjust go over some of my
recommended hotels that are inPapetee, on that main island of
Tahiti, and all of these hotelsthat we're going to talk about
today.
I've stayed at and I enjoyedall of them In Papua New Guinea.
The two that I would recommendone is the Manava Suites.
It's a four-star hotel.
You actually look across thebay to Morea you can see it
(07:19):
there because Morea is so closeand the other is the
Intercontinental.
It's a five-star, again, alittle bit more pricey, but it's
a different experience.
One thing that Heather and Idid that I loved.
We just ran out of car anddrove all the way around the
island.
There's so many waterfalls onone side of the island that it's
(07:39):
amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:40):
How long did it take for you to get around
the island?
Mark Faldmo (07:43):
Amazing, how long did it take for you to get
around the island.
Patrick Wiscombe (07:46):
You can do it in a full day.
Mark Faldmo (07:47):
Oh it's that big Well with stops and there's some
little offshoots where you cango explore different things.
There's not as much to do onthe main island.
There's a really neat culturalmuseum, a couple of nice
restaurants on the other side ofthe island.
One thing that I really like inPapeete is they have their
market, which is just a marketlike you find in Europe with
(08:08):
everything there, kind of anopen air market.
It's well, it's in a building,but really interesting souvenirs
Plus.
I also sell the food and fish.
Patrick Wiscombe (08:16):
What hotels do you recommend?
Mark Faldmo (08:18):
on Morea so in Morea and it's probably my
favorite island Morea is where Iwould go and stay and it's
probably my favorite islandMorea is where I would go and
stay.
I would do it even over BoraBora, just because I think
there's a little bit more to doin Morea.
Now.
All of these hotels have gardenrooms, beach rooms and
overwater bungalows.
So you have three differentchoices.
(08:39):
One is Manava Beach it's kindof the lead-in hotel, and then
my favorite hotel there is theSofitel Kiaava Beach it's kind
of the lead-in hotel, and thenmy favorite hotel there is the
Sofitel Kia Ora Beach.
That's where I've stayed themost when I go there.
I was lucky enough during COVID, when it wasn't busy, they put
me in an overwater bungalow andit was amazing.
(08:59):
And then just the next step upfrom there is the Hilton Morea
Lagoon and that's when I use alot for groups.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:09):
What are some of the things that you like to
do when you are in?
Mark Faldmo (09:12):
Morea.
They have like open airroadsters and so just a little
two or four passenger roadstersthat you drive around the island
.
Patrick Wiscombe (09:21):
Wait, are we talking Teslas Roadsters?
No, oh.
Mark Faldmo (09:25):
No, no, tesla Like a dune buggy.
Oh, okay, there we go.
So, yeah, to drive all the wayaround.
Morea is 40 miles, so you coulddo it like five times in a day
if you wanted, but it's fun todrive around.
Go up to Belvedere Point, whichis a nice overlook where you
can look down both on Cook's Bayand Oponohu Bay.
You can stop in both of thosebays.
(09:46):
Nice beaches, water activities.
My favorite thing there is swimwith the sharks and rays.
So you go out and swim with thesharks and feed the sharks and
rays, and then also a Motu beachexperience.
So Motu, they're the smallislands that surround the French
Polynesia, so you can go outjust with a small group, usually
(10:10):
10 to 30 people, and just havethis whole Motu island to
yourself.
They're usually out on thereefs.
You just go spend the day onthe island.
Patrick Wiscombe (10:19):
Well, that sounds delightful.
Gina, call Mark in his office,just get the conversation
started.
No obligation, of course.
His office number is888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And you can also find some ofthis information on
blueplanetvacations.
com.
(10:41):
When we come back, it is timefor the hot travel deal of the
week, which is Hawaii, and weare talking about airfares to
Hawaii from $399 starting thisfall.
And no, I'm not making that up,that is the real price.
We'll talk about that next whenthe Inside Travel Talk podcast
(11:01):
or radio show continues.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, my nameis Patrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
We will be back in about twominutes.
Show Voice (11:17):
You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast
and radio show with PatrickWiscombe and Mark Faldmo,
presented by BluePlanetVacations.
com America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(11:38):
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (11:44):
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.
To book your romantic beachgetaway, contact Blue Planet
Vacations at 888-718-7717 orblueplanetvacations.
com.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700,.
Show Voice (12:09):
801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
(12:29):
com.
Here's Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe (12:39):
Your attention , please.
Your attention, please.
You are listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast, a radio
show.
That's not the attention,please part.
I want you to listen to thispart.
I want you to listen to RoundTrip Airfare from Hawaii for
$399 out of Salt Lake Citystarting this fall.
(13:00):
No, I'm not joking.
So if you've wanted to go toHawaii, we're going to give you
the dates.
We're going to give Mark'srecommendations of things to do
and where to stay.
That's coming up here in just afew minutes, right here on the
Inside Travel Talk podcast, aradio show.
Alongside Mark Faldmo, I amPatrick Wiscombe.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
(13:23):
Let's get back to the travelnews headlines.
You were at a conference in LasVegas this past week and you
were able to.
I was going to say you wereable to talk to Richard Branson.
That's not true.
You were in a conference whereRichard Branson, who founded
Virgin Airlines and VirginVoyages, and he was talking to
(13:44):
your group.
Tell us what happened.
Mark Faldmo (13:46):
One of the questions that he was asked was
how did he get in travel and howdid he get the idea for the
airline so Virgin AtlanticAirways?
He was in San Juan trying toget to the British Virgin
Islands, so he was meeting hisgirlfriend there and the airline
canceled his flight to theBritish Virgin Islands.
They said you're going to haveto spend the night and we'll
(14:09):
come back in the morning andwe'll see if we can get you
there.
We'll see.
And so so Richard Branson said,told everyone in the terminal
to hold on for just a minute,and this is when he was running,
by this time, Virgin Records.
Patrick Wiscombe (14:23):
I forgot about Virgin Records.
I didn't know he was the ownerof that, but I guess it would
make sense, yeah he was.
Mark Faldmo (14:28):
So he told everybody to stay and he went
out and he found an airplane tocharter.
He said I hope my credit cardwas going to work.
But he went back and he got achalkboard and wrote Virgin Air
$35 tickets to British VirginIslands.
Oh wow.
And so after that experience hesaid well, that wasn't too hard
(14:49):
.
And so he called Boeing.
He didn't know anyone at Boeing, he just called the main number
and says I want to talk towhoever can help me rent or buy
a used 747.
And it went from there.
Oh wow.
I've never heard that VirginAtlantic is a great airline.
Virgin Voyages that we'vetalked about quite a bit on this
show.
I love Virgin Voyages.
(15:10):
They're unique.
When they started VirginVoyages and he said this is what
he does with all of hiscompanies.
He says he likes to cruise andhe's not mocking any cruise
lines when he does this.
But he sat down with his teamand they said we need to come up
with 30 things we don't likeabout cruising and we need to
change that.
And so they had their list of30 things and they built Virgin
(15:32):
Voyages around those 30 things.
Patrick Wiscombe (15:35):
I would imagine that one of those things
was we need to change how shipslook, because I think Virgin
Voyages has some of the mostunique, looking well beautiful,
frankly ships that I've everseen.
They do.
Mark Faldmo (15:48):
Yeah, they do.
It's a great product and theydo things different, like their
dining.
They have five differentrestaurants and you just rotate
through all the restaurants eachnight.
On other cruise lines there arespecialty restaurants you can't
get in or there's an extracharge.
They just rotate you throughall the restaurants so you eat
at every restaurant on yourvoyage.
Does Virgin Voyages have abuffet Sort of?
(16:09):
It's more like food trucks, soit's a food hall and it's all
cooked to order.
When you order it, you order atthe play station and they'll
bring it out to your table whereyou're at in the food hall.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:23):
So they were the originator of ordering from
I'll just call them iPads, andthere's multiple restaurants but
, to use your term, food truckson a ship.
So if you want something Asianand then you want something
Mexican, you can go to the iPadand, hey, I want Asian and
Mexican, and then they justbring it to your table.
(16:44):
They started that.
Mark Faldmo (16:45):
They started that and a few other Norwegian in
particular has also now startedthat where they have kind of a
food hall where you just orderfrom a variety of different
menus.
Patrick Wiscombe (16:56):
Yeah, Norwegian Aqua.
I forgot the name of the foodhall.
The food was good and itarrived within just minutes of
tapping the iPad.
It was a really greatexperience.
Yes, it is a great experience.
We want you to be part of theshow and while we were at break,
we received a text from.
Who was this?
This is Amy, isn't it?
She texted the show801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
(17:23):
She's asking about Hawaii.
Her question is are there anyprivate beaches in Hawaii,
because I want a quiet beach.
What are the options?
Mark Faldmo (17:32):
All the beaches in Hawaii are public, so you can't
block access to get to a beach.
But in Hawaii there are someplaces, some islands, that are
better than others.
If you want a quieter beach,the first place I would say is
the island of Kauai, because thehotels are fairly well spread
out and, with a few exceptions,you could stay at any hotel and
(17:55):
get a relatively quiet beachexperience.
Yeah, agreed.
So the hotels on Kauai that Iwould recommend are the
Outrigger Waipuli Beach, whichhas a really nice beach and
there's not a lot around it, andso you can have a little bit
quieter beach there.
Same thing with a hotel calledthe Kiahana Plantation, and then
probably my favorite hotel onthe island, and this is actually
(18:19):
my father's favorite hotelprobably in all the world.
He loves this hotel which isthe Grand Hyatt.
Ad Voice (18:27):
Hotel in.
Mark Faldmo (18:27):
Kauai.
Yeah, great choice it is.
It's kind of right at the endof Poipu Beach.
The hotels might be spread outbut you still might get people
that walk down the beach.
But since this is at the end ofPoipu Beach, you don't get a
lot of that cross traffic, soyou get kind of a little bit
more secluded beach.
Even though there is a parkinglot with public access to the
(18:49):
beach at the hotel, I've neverfound it to be too terribly
crowded.
Patrick Wiscombe (18:53):
So that's on Kauai.
What do you recommend for,let's say, the Big Island?
Mark Faldmo (18:59):
The Big Island is the next place I'd recommend.
You know, on the other islandseverything's a little bit too
close and you get a lot ofcross-mixing of people walking
up and down the beach.
So on the Big Island there aretwo hotels.
One is the Westin Hapuna Beach.
Hapuna Beach there is a publicside of that and then there's
(19:20):
kind of a little cove that thehotel is on.
It does not get too crowded.
And the Mauna Kea Resort isalso on kind of its own little
cove.
Actually it's quite close tothe Hapuna Beach as well, but
those two hotels kind of have alittle bit quieter beaches on
the Big Island.
Patrick Wiscombe (19:39):
Amy.
There you go.
If you have any follow-upquestions, call Mark in his
office, 888-718-7717,888-718-7717.
Always in segment number two ofthe show, we've got the hot
travel deal of the week andwe've been talking about it
since the top of the showAirfare to Hawaii.
(19:59):
Round-trip airfare to Hawaii$399 starting this fall.
Let's give listeners anopportunity to book this deal,
and what promotions do we havefor listeners?
Mark Faldmo (20:13):
Yeah.
So there's the good airfareplus a promotion on top of that.
So first of all, salt Lake Cityto Hawaii, to Honolulu in
particular.
I've found several dates thathave $399 airfare.
Now that is in basic economy,but that's still a great price
to fly to Hawaii.
(20:33):
Add about another $75 to thatfor the main cabin if you want a
seat assignment, but that's aslow as I've seen Hawaii airfares
in a while.
There's a little bit less liftto Hawaii a little bit less
demand for Hawaii, and so it'sinteresting because the airfares
(20:55):
are coming down but the hotelsare going up slightly, but great
airfare to Hawaii.
And then on top of that, if youadd a hotel, so if you do an
air and hotel package, there's apromotion to get an additional
200, up to an additional $250off the package.
Patrick Wiscombe (21:15):
Where are we staying on those?
Mark Faldmo (21:16):
I'll just go over Now, since in that previous
segment we talked about Kauaiand the Big Island.
Yeah, we'll go over those, sowe'll start in Kauai and the Big
Island.
Yeah, we'll go over those, sowe'll start in Kauai.
This is a September 4thdeparture and this is actually
very close to that $399 airfare.
It's a little bit higher thanthat to Kauai, but the lead-in
hotel is the Hilton Garden InnWailua Bay, which is also on a
(21:40):
good stretch of beach.
It's $1129 per person.
And then one of the hotels thatwe talked about, the Outrigger
Waipuli Beach, starts at $1299per person for an airfare five
nights hotel.
I didn't get the price at theGrand Hyatt, but then we'll go
just one other, the OutriggerKauai Beach Resort, starts at
(22:02):
$1359.
And all of those are four-starhotels.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:06):
Outrigger has some great properties.
Mark Faldmo (22:09):
They do.
I love Outrigger and they'revery Hawaiian, so you really get
kind of immersed into theculture when you're at those
properties.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:20):
I was surprised how green Kauai was.
Truly, I cannot believe howmuch different each of the
islands are.
You wouldn't think they'd bethat different, but they really
are.
Mark Faldmo (22:30):
But they really are ?
Patrick Wiscombe (22:31):
Yeah, they are , and so now we can move from
Kauai the garden island becauseit's so green all over to the
big island where, when you landat the airport, you'll think you
landed in Wendover.
That's not really a greatendorsement.
Well, I know what you'retalking about, though.
Mark Faldmo (22:49):
Yeah.
So, it's all lava and grass.
Patrick Wiscombe (22:53):
Yeah, it's interesting.
Yeah, it's interesting.
Mark Faldmo (22:55):
Yeah, it's interesting.
So same date, September 4th,one of my favorite hotels, the
Royal Kona, which is a three anda half star hotel, starts at
$1149 per person.
Great sunsets, great sunsetsthere.
I like that Royal Kona justbecause of its location.
I like that Royal Kona justbecause of its location.
(23:17):
It's kind of right at the endof the main shopping street
there in Kilauea Kona, rightnext to my favorite restaurant.
It is an older hotel butthey've recently renovated it.
The rooms are great.
And then the other hotel thatI'll just mention here is the
Hilton Grand Vacation ClubWaikoloa Village.
This is part of the HiltonWaikoloa Village complex.
It's one of the towers but it'sa four and a half star and it
(23:38):
starts at $1219 per person forairfare and five nights Pretty
good price.
And with that $399 airfare andup to $250 off, you can get a
pretty good rate to Hawaii.
Patrick Wiscombe (23:53):
If you decide to go to the big island,
hopefully you'll be lucky enoughto still see the volcano
shooting lava up to a thousandfeet at Volcano National Park.
It's still going on, mark, yeah, and that's still on my bucket
list.
Mark Faldmo (24:07):
Maybe I'll just make a trip this weekend to get
over there.
You know what?
Patrick Wiscombe (24:11):
That's not a terrible idea.
Yeah, I've always wanted to seea live volcano.
Obviously from a distance.
I don't want to be in the path,obviously.
Yeah, but that just soundsawesome.
Yeah, all right, we'll uh,we'll meet on the what uh?
Terminal a?
Mark Faldmo (24:27):
yeah, I guess we'll coordinate later go to hawaii
for a day just to see thevolcano.
I would do that.
Patrick Wiscombe (24:33):
Amy, I hope that answers your questions.
You will probably havefollow-up questions.
Call Mark in his office,888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
And he will also post this onblueplanetvacations.
com, coming up at the bottom ofthe hour.
It is time for the infamousJust Cruising segment.
(24:54):
We will be comparing cabins onriver cruise ships for each
major cruise line and we've gota promotion from Ama Waterways
of saving up to $2,000 per cabinwhen we return at the bottom of
the hour news break.
Thank you so much for allowingus to be part of your weekend.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Show Voice (25:16):
He is Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back, takingyou to destinations around the
world.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show is presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show now.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
Ad Voice (25:43):
801-649-3700.
Thanks for listening.
We'll be right back Inside.
Travel Talk is brought to youby Anna Waterways.
From castles and capitals tovistas and villages visit some
of Europe's most remarkablesites and cities to set out on
your own river cruise journey.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com.
Patrick Wiscombe (26:00):
Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk
podcast, a radio show Coming upin the next 30 minutes.
We will be talking about savingyou up to $2,000 per cabin with
Ama Waterways, getting fined$800 for having an Apple.
We're also gonna tell you howto get free airfare if you
cruise with Avalon Waterways and, for heaven's sakes, would you
(26:24):
please quit using your Costco IDas your real ID.
Let's get back to the show.
The Inside Travel Talk podcastand radio show presented by
BluePlanetVacations.
com contains travel deals,promotions and offers that may
be time sensitive.
All offers and information wereaccurate when the show aired.
Travel deals and offers changeconstantly and are capacity
(26:44):
controlled and subject to changewithout notice.
Show Voice (26:54):
This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio
show presented byBluePlanetVacations.
com, America's best traveladvisors.
Call or text the show right now801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now here are your hostsPatrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo
(27:16):
.
Patrick Wiscombe (27:39):
Oh, the beautiful ship horn of
Norwegian's brand new ship, aqua.
Nikki and I were on it in Apriland it was an absolutely
beautiful ship, honestly one ofthe most beautiful ships I've
ever been on.
This is the Inside Travel talkpodcast and radio show and it is
(28:00):
time always at the bottom ofthe hour, the infamous just
cruising segment, where it'sonly about the cruise news and
it's only about cruise deals.
So if you are a cruise person,this is going to be your
favorite part of the show eachand every week at this time.
But let's first get to thecruise news headlines.
I saw this news story that wascomparing cabins on river cruise
(28:22):
ships for each of the majorcruise lines.
What were the conclusions ofthe article mark?
Mark Faldmo (28:28):
there are several really good river cruise lines
out there.
This article mentioned sevenriver cruise lines that are out
there, but I wanted to narrowdown kind of on the three most
that were are probably mostfamiliar to people and the first
one is Viking.
Patrick Wiscombe (28:45):
Yeah, man, they've been marketing hard
lately.
Mark Faldmo (28:48):
They have Yep, and so I guess I'll take a step back
.
All of the river cruise shipshave to go through the locks on
the rivers, so all of the rivercruise ships can only be a
maximum length and width, sothey're all essentially the same
size.
They also have to fit underbridges, so they all have those
(29:10):
length, width and heightparameters.
With that in mind, Viking isthe first one we'll talk about.
A typical Viking ship hasbetween 190 and 230 passengers
and their kind of lead-inbalcony stateroom is 135 square
feet.
Now there is one lower categorythan this which doesn't have a
(29:32):
balcony because it's actuallybelow the water.
So there's a window that'sabove the water, but for purpose
of this story we'll just stickwith kind of the apples to
apples story.
So their lead in 135 squarefeet.
And then the next cruise linewe'll talk about is Avalon
Waterways, which is tied for myfavorite with Ama Waterways,
Avalon Waterways for thecomparable ship.
(29:55):
They have about 160 passengerson board their ships and a
little bit larger room.
So for room, similar locationto Viking.
Their cabin space is 172 squarefeet and we talked about with
TJ a few weeks ago.
The thing I like about Avalonis their beds face the water.
(30:17):
Yeah, that's a big deal.
They don't have any like realbalcony space.
Your whole wall just opens up,and so that's why it gives you
that extra.
What is that?
50 square feet inside the roombecause there's they're not
taking space from your room forthe balcony, but then your whole
wall opens up to turn yourwhole cabin into a balcony.
Patrick Wiscombe (30:39):
So basically, it's kind of the infinite
veranda where half the wallcomes down and you just hang out
at the foot of your bed,basically, yes, I know that you
like balconies, but honestly,the infinite veranda makes the
room larger and you still getthe fresh air.
Yeah, and they also providechairs.
You mentioned Ama Waterways.
(31:00):
How did they come in?
Mark Faldmo (31:01):
Ama Waterways, again on ships about the same
size.
They have 150, 160 guests onboard and their cabins start at
210 square feet, so larger thanboth of those Whoa.
The interesting thing about Amais they have both.
They have a balcony and aFrench balcony in the cabin, so
(31:25):
they have the bed and close tothe bed they have a balcony with
chairs where you can go outclose the door.
Where you can go out close thedoor, or the other half of the
room is a French balcony wherethe door opens and you can sit
in nice comfy chairs and lookout the window.
So they kind of have it divided.
So half balcony and half Frenchbalcony, which is interesting,
but they do give you biggerrooms for that.
Patrick Wiscombe (31:48):
All right.
So this naturally begs thequestion what questions should
our listeners ask you whenplanning a river cruise?
Mark Faldmo (31:56):
So when planning a river cruise.
It is a different experiencethan an ocean cruise.
Oh yeah, and so here are the sixquestions or things to consider
.
The first thing is whatdestinations and rivers does the
cruise cover and what uniqueexperiences do each offer?
And so you really have to lookat your objectives are for the
(32:19):
cruise.
For instance, the Rhine Riveris a scenic cruise where you see
castles.
You do get culture in there,but you're really immersed in
castles on the Rhine River.
The Danube is more history, andso you see more historical
sites, while all of the rivercrews kind of cross mingle.
(32:40):
This.
That's kind of what each riveris known for, and they do
provide unique experiences.
You know, like on the Danube,in Melk, going to the monastery
in Melk is probably one of myfavorite experiences in all the
river cruising I've done.
Patrick Wiscombe (32:56):
One of the questions that comes to my mind
what type of accommodations areavailable and how do stateroom
sizes and amenities vary fromriver cruise company to river
cruise company?
Mark Faldmo (33:07):
You might want the very best overall price on.
The size of cabin Doesn'tmatter Right, which in some
cases that's a great thing to do, because what you see on the
river cruises are amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe (33:18):
It's a completely different experience
than ocean cruising, Completelydifferent.
Another question that I'veasked of you what's included
with the cruise price Meals,excursions, drinks, Wi-Fi, etc.
Mark Faldmo (33:32):
There are several.
There are probably nine or tenriver cruise companies out there
, but you do have to look atthat price and really quantify
what it includes.
Generally, all the meals areincluded, but depending on the
cruise line.
I was looking at a cruise linefor someone the other day.
It was a European cruise line.
They wanted to go on somethinglike that, but the excursions
(33:54):
were not included and they wereadditional.
So on Viking, Ama and Avalonthat we just talked about,
excursions are included.
Now, some of those cruise linesdo offer extra experience or
additional excursions that youcan purchase, but the main
excursions are included.
Also, drinks is one.
Are drinks included all thetime?
(34:14):
A lot of cruise lines are justincluded at mealtime and then if
you go not at a mealtime, youthen pay per drink.
That's something to ask soyou're not stuck with a bill
that you weren't expecting atthe end of the cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (34:30):
Another frequently asked question that
you get is what is the typicaldaily itinerary and is there
much free time to just exploreon your own?
Mark Faldmo (34:41):
That's a really good question and it's good for
people to know how river cruisesoperate.
Now I'm just going to speakfrom my experience on Viking,
Avalon and Ama Waterways.
Typically, what they do is day.
They'll try and get a goodnumber of what activities you
want to go on, because you doget your choice of a few
different activities and alsodifferent activity levels.
(35:04):
You know.
So, as we've talked aboutPatrick, the bikes on the boat.
So some people want to go on thebus, some people want to take
the bike tour.
That's what they'll do thenight before each day and then
(35:26):
you'll go on your activitiesthat day.
Typically it'll be a morningactivity back for lunch and then
free time in the afternoon, oran optional additional cost
activity in the afternoon andthen back in time for dinner and
then again before dinner you'llhave that same pre-dinner
cocktail hour where they'll goover the next day's activities.
(35:49):
And on these tours they do giveplenty of time for shopping, to
explore the destination on yourown.
If you don't want to do thetours, you just let the guide
know and you can go explore thewhole day independently.
Okay, the last river cruise Iwas on since I'd been to I just
mentioned Milk, since I'd beenthere a couple of times, heather
(36:10):
and I just went off and shoppedand explored the little village
, rather than take theprearranged tour by the cruise
line.
Patrick Wiscombe (36:17):
So there is the flexibility.
Basically is what we're seeing.
We've already kind of talkedabout shore excursions, if
they're included or not oroptional, but I do want to talk
about what kinds of activities,and maybe some cultural
experiences can listeners expect?
Mark Faldmo (36:34):
They really do try and get you immersed in these
little villages and some of myfavorite things on river cruises
they'll do kind of like localfavorite things.
One thing is we went to thishunting castle right on the
Danube River.
There's a small group of 20 ofus and the owner actually still
lived in it.
He lived in the guest quartersand we went and walked through
(36:58):
how the kitchen works and it setup like it was back in medieval
times.
We kind of went through all thehouses of this hunting lodge
and then had a local performanceby a local quartet.
So you do get specialexperiences like that that the
average traveler is not going toget.
And river cruises is where I'vehad the most of these
(37:19):
experiences.
They're just little specialthings either included or at an
additional cost that you can get.
Patrick Wiscombe (37:26):
What is the average group size?
The demographic of rivercruisers.
Mark Faldmo (37:30):
River cruising.
Typically, average age is older55 to 65.
Although since COVID that agehas really come down.
A lot of younger people areopting to do that, just because
river cruises are so unique andyou get to go to places that you
normally wouldn't go.
Your excursion groups are goingto be between 20 and 30
(37:53):
passengers.
So not big groups much smallerand you know a lot of those
places, cause they're going tosmaller villages.
They do want to break you up soyou're not overwhelming the
villages, and so there are someplaces where you can only go in
in groups of 10 or 12.
And so they'll break you upinto smaller groups, like that.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:12):
That leads us to the cruise deal of the week,
always in this segment of theshow, and I talked about it at
the top of the hour.
I've talked about it at thebottom of the hour.
Let's help our listeners savequite a bit of money.
Let's do it.
Let's start with Alma Waterways.
Mark Faldmo (38:28):
Alma Waterways right now has a promotion of up
to $2,000 off river cruises,that is, on select cruises.
It says this fall, but there'sa limited availability this fall
, so next spring, so spring of2026 and spring of 2026, up to
$2,000 off and this is for anyof their destinations.
(38:50):
We've mainly talked to Europehere, but it's also good for
Vietnam and Cambodia and alsothe Nile in Egypt.
Patrick Wiscombe (38:57):
And how much can you save per cabin?
That was the $2,000, right,that's up to $2,000.
Wow, okay.
What about Avalon Waterways?
What's their promotion?
Mark Faldmo (39:07):
And then Avalon Waterways is a free airfare, or
you can opt to save up to $1,500per person.
So it's your choice, so it'syour choice.
So if you had frequent flyermiles to use over there, you
could opt for the $1,500 perperson.
Patrick Wiscombe (39:22):
What is your favorite river cruise and what
itinerary would you recommendfor a first time cruiser For a
first time cruiser I would saythe Danube River, the upper
Danube River, is perfect.
Mark Faldmo (39:35):
That's Budapest sells between Budapest and
Germany.
My favorite river cruise thatI've done is the lower Danube
sailing between Budapest andRomania.
You're sailing through all theformer communist countries and
getting that perspective of whatit was like to live behind the
Iron Curtain Although some ofthe guides are younger these
(39:57):
days so they don't know thatexperience.
But if you're lucky enough toget an older guide, it's very
interesting.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:03):
That's always been fascinating to me, not from
a good standpoint, but justwhat was it like?
It's not that I don't want theyounger guides.
I want probably an older one onthat one.
Tell us what your daily lifewas like.
What was their experience?
I don't want that experience tobe lost to history.
Mark Faldmo (40:21):
Yeah, yeah, and so that's why that itinerary was so
fascinating to me Absolutelyfascinating Sailing on a
European river cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:31):
How many times have you done it, Mark?
Mark Faldmo (40:34):
About 12 times I've been on a river cruise, jeez.
Patrick Wiscombe (40:37):
If you are interested in river cruising,
call Mark in his office at thebreak.
Just get the conversationstarted 888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
And you can also go toblueplanetvacations.
com.
When we come back we've gotMark's travel tips and we're
(40:58):
going to tell you how one personreceived an $800 fine for
traveling with an apple.
We're not joking.
Fine for traveling with anapple we're not joking.
That is next with the InsideTravel Talk podcast.
The radio show continues.
My name is Patrick Wiscombe, heis Mark Faldmo.
We will be right back.
Show Voice (41:15):
Explore your world.
You're listening to the InsideTravel Talk podcast and radio
show with Patrick Wiscombe andMark Faldmo.
Call or text the show now801-649-3700.
That's 801-649-3700.
And check out the podcast atInsideTravelTalk.
com.
We'll be right back.
Ad Voice (41:41):
This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by
Star Clippers.
For over 30 years, StarClippers has offered unique
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itineraries throughout theMediterranean Caribbean and
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To book your unique StarClipper sailing adventure,
contact Blue Planet Vacations at888-718-7717 or
(42:02):
blueplanetvacations.
com or blueplanetvacations.
(42:29):
com.
Show Voice (42:30):
Travel advisors, call the show right now
801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
And now your hosts, PatrickWiscombe and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe (42:36):
Faldmo, each and every weekend, we get to
spend our time with you, and asincere thank you to just
allowing us to be part of yourweekend.
Wherever you are listening tothe show, whether it's in the
gym, in the car, however, youconsume radio and podcast
content.
Thank you coming up.
(42:58):
In this final segment of theshow, we have mark's travel tips
.
We've also got the this storyabout an $800 fine if you're
traveling with an apple, andwe're talking about the fruit
and we're going to talk aboutdon't do this as a baggage hack.
(43:19):
And people, for heaven's sakes,please quit using your Costco
card as a sufficient replacementfor real ID if you're headed to
the airport.
I don't know why I find that sofunny, but I guess if you have
a Costco card and it's got yourpicture on it and it says your
name, I can see why people aredoing it, but that's not real ID
(43:40):
.
All right, mark, let's get backto the travel news headlines.
As we wrap up this week's show,there was a plane passenger who
was stopped by TSA and receivedan almost $800 fine for
traveling with a piece of fruitand apple.
And no, it's not the techcompany.
Mark Faldmo (43:56):
This story says TSA , but I think it's actually
customs.
Oh, okay.
Patrick Wiscombe (44:00):
That would make more sense.
Mark Faldmo (44:01):
That did it sense?
That did it?
So when you're coming back fromany country to the US and going
to any country, you're notallowed to bring fruit into that
country, and so this travelerclaimed she forgot it was there.
But there's a place when youwalk into the baggage claim area
, there's usually a little binto throw all your fruit into,
and sometimes they call it.
(44:22):
The amnesty area, the amnestyarea, yep, and then past that
there's a customs officer with acanine that smelled her apple
and pulled her out and said it'san $800 fine and you could be
banned from traveling.
Oh boy, luckily they were niceand didn't actually pass on that
fine.
But just be aware there arecertain things you can't travel
(44:45):
with.
Also something interesting kindof unrelated note if you're
traveling with chocolate orfudge, pack that in your checked
bags.
The other day, coming back fromLos Angeles, I had a thing of
fudge and I only carried withcarry-ons.
But fudge to an x-ray machinelooks a lot like C4.
And so anytime you're travelingwith something that dense they
(45:09):
are going to need to check it.
So it costs me an extra fiveminutes at the TSA security
checkpoint for traveling withfudge in a carry-on.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:20):
I'm sorry, but that makes me laugh.
It looks an awful lot like that.
That's what they said.
They're like hey, yeah, we haveto check.
You know, can you imagine beingon the other side of the
screening going?
We have a potential securityissue.
Mark Faldmo is carrying C4fudge.
Mark Faldmo (45:36):
Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (45:36):
Oh my word.
And see, you're the kind ofperson who prides himself on
getting through customs quicklyand easily.
Basically look at the cameraturns green, you go.
Mark Faldmo (45:47):
Yeah, I've also been stopped.
Coming back from a previousmeeting in Las Vegas, one of the
pillow gifts was a thing ofcasino chips in a bag, and those
are dense as well, and so theyknew what it was.
They rolled their eyes and sayswe still have to check it.
So just be careful of some ofthose things if you want to get
(46:08):
through quickly.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:09):
The last travel news headline for this
week is TSA is urging people tostop using their Costco card as
a real ID replacement.
I get it, but just stop it.
Just go get a real ID.
Mark Faldmo (46:27):
Well, I just pulled out my Costco card to see how
people could mistake this and Isee right off the bat why people
say because it says Costcowholesale gold star member.
Patrick Wiscombe (46:39):
Oh my word, I didn't even think about it, yeah
.
Mark Faldmo (46:42):
So we've been saying your ID has to have the
gold star on it, and so thiscame from.
Let's see where was thisChicago that they're getting a
significant number of passengerstrying to get through security
using their Costco card as theirreal ID because it has a gold
star on it.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:00):
Oh my word, I didn't even think about that
angle.
Yeah Okay, all right, I standcorrected.
I'm sorry I've been chast aboutthat angle.
Yeah Okay, all right, I standcorrected.
I'm sorry I've been chastisingpeople this entire hour.
Yeah yeah, I get it.
Mark Faldmo (47:11):
It's an artificial government ID so it won't work.
But it does have all therequirements, at least outwardly
, that you need for a real ID.
But it won't work.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:22):
Go get a real ID from your Department, your
department of motor vehicles,dmv.
Yes, by the way, I heard DMVdepartment of motor vehicles,
but I've also heard MVD motorvehicle department.
Mark Faldmo (47:34):
I've heard it both ways yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe (47:35):
Yeah, okay, all right.
One last story before we takeoff for this week.
I want to talk about the limitsof artificial intelligence AI
when planning travel.
This just makes me laugh.
I want to talk about the limitsof artificial intelligence AI
when planning travel.
This just makes me laugh.
I love AI, but there are somereal limitations when it comes
to travel.
Mark Faldmo (47:54):
This last conference I was at, I said it
shouldn't be called AI becauseit's not really intelligence.
He said when you start typingin, like chat GPT, that computer
starts analyzing everykeystroke and everything and
getting millions and millions ofoptions to spit out what it
thinks you need.
It says it's amazing technologybut has severe limits when it
(48:16):
comes to travel planning.
I'll just say this as adisclaimer I am a travel advisor
.
I wholly believe that the humantouch, human connection, is the
best way to plan a vacation.
Agreed, yes, there are somethings you can do online or on
your own, but with a traveladvisor that does it every day,
day in and day out, hasconnections to all sorts of
(48:39):
places, you won't run into theseissues that AI travel planning
does.
So this was a New York Timestravel columnist that put AI to
the test for a trip to New York,found that chat GPT messed up
walking times, recommendedBroadway shows that didn't exist
.
When planning a more complexitinerary that involved flights,
(49:01):
hotels it recommended a hoteland said just take a taxi at a
time when there were no taxisaround, when traditionally
there's no taxis around, andsaid it left them in the snow
walking to the hotel for 20minutes because chat GPT just
messed up on travel planning.
(49:21):
So AI has some great tools, butagain I would just say stick
with a real person, call atravel advisor Hopefully it's me
, but if it's not me, there'shundreds of great travel
advisors around that you can useto plan your trip.
Patrick Wiscombe (49:35):
So I face the same thing so professionally.
During the week I do realestate investing and there is
nothing in this includes travel.
So I'm tying travel and realestate investing together here.
Artificial intelligence awesome, but it does not replace the
human touch.
You nailed it If they havequestions, they want to call
somebody, they want to textsomebody, they just need that
(49:58):
human touch, like you said.
Yes, mandatory when you travel,because sometimes you just
don't know what to do.
Mark Faldmo (50:05):
Yeah, and AI doesn't know what to do either.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:09):
And it's not your friend, but it doesn't yeah
.
I stand corrected on the CostcoID.
I think I may have embarrassedmyself on that one.
The gold star, of course thegold star member.
Mark Faldmo (50:21):
I didn't notice it until I pulled out my Costco
card.
Patrick Wiscombe (50:25):
Yeah, oh, that makes me laugh.
Okay, take advantage ofeverything that we've talked
about.
The airfare round-trip airfareout of Salt Lake for $399.
Hawaii, Tahiti.
Call Mark in his office.
Get the conversation started.
Quit putting your vacation offbecause you never know when life
(50:48):
is going to change on you.
888-718-7717.
888-718-7717.
And just a big thank you forlistening.
Remember, you can listen to theshow again tomorrow morning,
Sunday, at 11 o'clock and aroundthe country, right here on this
radio station, and you canstream, download and subscribe
(51:10):
to the podcast right oninsidetraveltalk.
com.
If you're not a podcaster, youcan literally just press play
and let it stream on your device, or you can subscribe to the
podcast.
We are on all of the majorpodcast platforms.
All you have to do is hitsubscribe.
Okay, it's your turn.
(51:30):
Get out and explore the worldwhile you can, because you never
know what Curveball's life isgoing to throw at you.
You just never know.
Live your life deliberately,live your life intentionally and
thank you so much for listeningTruly, thank you.
We don't have a business.
We don't have a show.
Thank you so much for listening, truly.
Thank you.
We don't have a business, wedon't have a show.
We don't have anything withoutyou.
If you have travel relatedquestions, call Mark
888-718-7717.
(51:53):
Have a terrific week.
We'll talk to you next Saturdayand Sunday.
Show Voice (52:00):
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.
(52:20):
Thanks for listening.
Have a great week for listening.
Ad Voice (52:33):
Have a great week.
Inside Travel Talk is broughtto you by Travelex Insurance
Services.
Their travel insurance planscan help protect you and your
vacation.
Travelex is known for theiraward-winning customer service
and high claims paid rate.
Contact Blue Planet Vacationsat 888-718-7717 or
blueplanetvacations.
com for more information.
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