The Travel Show: Disney; Exotic Destinations

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the Travel Show.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
I'm Larry Gelowicks, that get away guru, and we have
a blockbuster show planned for you today. A couple of
questions we're gonna answer. If you lose your photo ID,
can you still fly on an airplane here in the
United States? The strategic accounts manager for Norwegian Cruise Line
will be joining us. Are there really secret airfares? John

(00:31):
Potter will be giving us some Disney updates? And what
do you do with a seat swapper? Yes, someone who
sits in your seat on an airplane and refuses to move?
And what about these hop on, hop off buses?

Speaker 1 (00:45):
What are they really?

Speaker 2 (00:46):
And I've got a twenty percent discount coupon for you
just for the printing and the asking at the Salt
Lake International Airport. Well, here we are the first I
guess fall is a US the first show in September.
I don't know where the summer is gone. I'm well
please to welcome back to the Travel Show. John Potter

(01:09):
aka aka Pluto or Goofy or Dumbo or Sleepy or Sneezy.
Which do you take today?

Speaker 1 (01:17):
John?

Speaker 2 (01:17):
All of the above, all of anything to get you
to Disneylands.

Speaker 3 (01:21):
Long?

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Does this clean?

Speaker 4 (01:22):
All answer.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Now, you you have not been to the Disneys in Asia?

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Have you?

Speaker 4 (01:26):
I have not. I really want to go. I've been
changed planes in Tokyo, but I didn't get to the
park and it killed me that I was that.

Speaker 1 (01:34):
You feel a voice drawing you to the park?

Speaker 4 (01:37):
Did I did?

Speaker 2 (01:39):
John's one of our excellent travel advisors. If you want
to talk to John Direct eight oh one four eight
three fifty two fourteen. Now, if you don't have a
travel advisor of your own, call this toll free number
eight hundred triple nine forty six forty six, eight hundred
triple nine forty six forty six. The Travel Show is

(02:02):
sponsored by Morris Columbus Travel, where you always travel more
and pay less. Check out their website at Morriscolumbus dot com.
Speaking of traveling more and paying less, John tell us
about the Fall Travel Expo next month.

Speaker 4 (02:20):
Yes, it's gonna be October eighteenth, so just a little
over a month away. It's going to be at the
Davis Conference Center in Leyton, very good location. We're going
to have several vendors, airlines, Twitter, operator companies suffer.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
You know, there's gonna be over fifty now only fifty
because that's all we can fit in the conference center.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
Yeah, so, but it's gonna be a great time. So
for those that miss having it up in the Davis
County area, now is your time.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
I always enjoyed going up there.

Speaker 4 (02:53):
I do too, because it's only five minutes from my house. Hey,
your convenience now.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Of course, the January Mega Expo in Salt Lake with
over a hundred travel vendors because we can fit them
in the Mountain America Expo Center, and also the expo
at the Hilton Garden Inn in Saint George is still
planned for January. What's really nice about this is there

(03:19):
are hourly prize giveaways airline tickets, free cruises, hotel stays.
And I just have a question, John, if I clip
a twenty dollars bill to my entry, is that going
to help me.

Speaker 4 (03:35):
I don't think it would. I think if you won,
there would be an uproar.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
Well, I mean, it's the luck of the draw. Okay,
here's a question we're often asked. You have to have
a government issued, government approved valid photo ID to fly
here in the United States. What if you lose it?
What if it's stolen? Can you still fly?

Speaker 4 (04:00):
Absolutely? You can, you have to jump through several hoops.
I would suggest getting to the airport early because it's
going to take much longer to clear uh the TSA checkpoint.
But yes, you would be able to travel well.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
I think that's the traveler's worst nightmare is losing the ID.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
The good news is you still may.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
Maybe not definitely may be allowed to fly even if
you lose or forgets your ID. What will happen and
you good advice there, John, You want to get to
the airport early. The TSA officer will ask you to
complete an identity verification process to confirm your identity and

(04:43):
allow you to enter the screening area. So what they're
gonna do is ask for other forms of ID that
have a photo or maybe credit cards, and then your
information that they have in their data bank. They will
ask you about out that family members where you live.

(05:03):
What you want to do is show them something with
your name on it, maybe a credit card or a
work ID badge, cell phone copies, cell phone photo copies.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
Help.

Speaker 2 (05:17):
I have saved and there is some security risk on this,
I suppose, but I have saved in my gallery.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
It's kind of hidden.

Speaker 2 (05:26):
You got to get into it with a password, a
copy of my passport, and a copy of my driver's license.
So what you want to do is notify that TSA
officer as soon as you realize you don't have the idea.
And that's again one of several reasons of arriving earlier.

(05:47):
So don't panic. You can still do it.

Speaker 4 (05:50):
I'm a little bit paranoid. So even when I'm traveling,
don't you want to be talking about that? When I
travel domestically, I always have my passport with me. I
always have my driver's license with me, and I always
have my Global Entry ID with me. That way, I've
got three IDs that will work.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
Do you know I have two passports, you know, that
Canadian passport and a US passport. I was born and
raised in San Francisco, but my mother is a Canadian citizen,
so I have birthright citizenship for that kind of a
funny story. When I exercised my Canadian citizenship, I filled

(06:28):
out all the PaperWorks, submitted all the documents, and had
to go to Los Angeles to the Consulate General's office
in LA to complete the paperwork. And so part of it,
because Canada is part of the Commonwealth, is they went
through this and then the guy handed me a script

(06:52):
of I was pledging allegiance to the Queen and the
Crown and all of this are part of the British
Empire Commonwealth. And I looked at that and I said,
I can't say this stuff. He said, well you have to.
I can't pledge allegiance to the Queen. I just want
my Canadian passport, you know. And he says, well, oh

(07:18):
my goodness, I've never had anyone refuse it. I don't
know what we're going to do, because we have to
do this. I said, I'll tell you what, and I
literally did this. Why don't you say it and look
at me and I'll just kind of nod my head,
but I won't say anything. And he said okay, So
he read it with my name on it. He looked
at me. I just gave a slight nod like that.

(07:40):
He said, good done, and handed me my passport. You
know kind of the background story on that.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
Why.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
First of all, I wanted to I'm very proud of
my Canadian heritage. I got family all over southern Alberta.
My Kathy and I were in at the Frankfurt Bnholf
or the train station. Oh this must have been thirty
forty years ago, and it was summertime, and a guy

(08:09):
who kind of looked like Denny, our engineer, walks out
and he has this white T shirt on and it
has a target, you know, red circles, and it said
at the top, don't shoot. Underneath it said I'm Canadian.
Well I think the bad folks now go after anyone.

(08:32):
But Danny doesn't wear that. But you know, they kind
of look alike. Maybe it was Denny, maybe it was
his dad or something. Hey, listen about passports. It's kind
of a pain in the backside to renew your passport.
We covered this a few weeks ago but got a

(08:55):
request to repeat the information. What news is the State
Department has fully rolled out its online passport renewal system,
allowing you to apply for the documents really from the
comfort of your home.

Speaker 1 (09:11):
Now.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
They did this as a pilot program John in twenty
twenty two. Now it's fully up and running. So here's
the deal. If you have a passport, you have to
be an adult at least twenty five years of age.
No problem with either one of us. It doesn't apply
to kids. You have to be currently living in the
United States in a state or territory Puerto Rico, American

(09:36):
Samoa and others. Your expired passport or your passport that
is about to expire must have been issued between nine
and fifteen years ago, and you have to have the
old passport. It can't be lost now. The applicants must
not have any plans to change their name, gender, date

(09:58):
of birth, or place of How do you change the
place of birth?

Speaker 4 (10:03):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (10:04):
Maybe there's a long labor in a car and you
cross state lines.

Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah, right. Anyway, typically take.

Speaker 2 (10:12):
About eight weeks, so don't plan any last minute travel.

Speaker 1 (10:16):
Here's what you do.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Go to the State Department travel website travel dot State
dot gov. That's travel dot State dot gov, and then
click on get a US Passport and then click on
I'm an adult renewing online and follow the instructions. Listen

(10:37):
when we come back, Lisa Presley, Norwegian Cruise Line Strategic
Accounts Manager, will be giving us the latest and greatest
of what's happening on the Seven Seas.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
You're listening to the travel show. I'm Larry Gelwicks.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
That get away joined today in studio by John Potter
aka Pluto, although I call him Goofy. Who will be
he's gonna give us all the latest on Disney updates.

Speaker 1 (11:12):
Where to cruise around the world.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
John, we have one of our favorite people in the
travel industry, Lisa Pressley, Regional key accounts manager with Norwegian
Cruise Line. Lisa, welcome back to the Travel Show.

Speaker 3 (11:27):
Thank you, Larry. It's always a pleasure to be here
with you and John. I am excited to share all
the great things happening at Norwegian Cruise Line with your listeners.

Speaker 4 (11:37):
Great, Lisa. As I work with customers, what they like
the most about Norwegian Cruise Lines are two things, the
more at C and the kids sail free. Could you
tell us a little bit about those?

Speaker 1 (11:49):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (11:49):
Absolutely, the kids sale free. Everybody loves this one. But
you know what, John, what's great about that is you
don't have to be a kid to sail free. It
just needs to be the third and the fourth guest
within the same state room. So that's what makes that
such a great value. And are More at C This
is a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the unlimited open bar,

(12:15):
specialty dining, We offer Wi Fi packages and we have
short excursion credits, so it's a huge value for consumers
when they sail with us and they purchase the more
at sea package.

Speaker 1 (12:28):
You know, Lisa.

Speaker 2 (12:29):
One of the features that I love about Norwegian Cruise
Line and take advantage of myself personally for Kathy and
I is the free airfare, which is really a bogo
bo geo buy one get one. Would you introduce that
to us?

Speaker 3 (12:46):
Absolutely? The buy one, get one free airfare is available
on all of our sailings and this is where the
guests pay for only the first guests to fly, and
then that second guest is able to enjoy that flight
for free. One thing to keep in mind about our
buy one, get one free airfare is that it is
such a great value. Think about if you're going to Europe,

(13:09):
or think about if you're going to Alaska or maybe
Australia or Fiji or wherever you may be going, what
a savings that will be.

Speaker 1 (13:17):
You know.

Speaker 2 (13:17):
I have found that the first guest the airfare is
typically what one could buy on their own, in other words,
the best price in the market or lower than the
best fiit airline ticket. We see some of these promotions
where they jack up the first price but they give
you the second free. Norwegian has not done that. Another

(13:42):
program that I really love is the Crew's First program,
which you really double your money.

Speaker 1 (13:49):
Give us the highlights, Oh, the Crew's First Credits.

Speaker 3 (13:52):
I do this myself and I'm an employee at NCL.
This is where I can pay or anybody can pay
one hundred and fifty dollars and they receive a certificate
valued at three hundred dollars and that three hundred dollars
certificate can be used as the deposit for the crews
that they booked. But the one thing to keep in

(14:14):
mind is these certificates do have to be purchased before
the cruise is booked, and it must be where that sailing,
that vacation that you're going to be enjoying is at
least one hundred and twenty one days from the date
that you purchase that Cruise First certificate. And you know what, Larry,
I'm going to give you at a little insider knowledge.

Speaker 1 (14:36):
Okay, we like.

Speaker 4 (14:38):
Insider knowledge, don't we?

Speaker 1 (14:39):
Yep, we do.

Speaker 4 (14:41):
Every now and then.

Speaker 3 (14:42):
We offer a special with Cruise First Certificates where the
client can pay two hundred and fifty dollars and get
a five hundred dollars certificate.

Speaker 1 (14:50):
How to do that?

Speaker 3 (14:51):
They're going to need to speak to their travel agent.

Speaker 2 (14:54):
Well, how do we know when it's two fifty which
becomes five hundred, how do we know in that special
comes up?

Speaker 3 (15:01):
That is where Norwegian Cruise Line is going to reach
out to Morris Columbus Travel and we're going to let
you know that this promotion is coming soon. So we're
going to give you a heads up on it so
you'll be ready to share that with your client.

Speaker 2 (15:14):
And can I share that on the radio you can?
Would you make sure in addition to all the Morris
Columbus advisors, would you please send that to me. Also,
we're speaking with Lisa Pressley, Regional key accounts manager for
Norwegian Cruise Line. You know, typically when we think of
the Caribbean, we think of Miami sailing out of Miami,

(15:38):
but a great port is Galveston. Introduce us to NCL
in the Caribbean sailing out of Galveston.

Speaker 3 (15:48):
I love the Galveston part myself because there's just so
much to do if you go into Galveston the day
prior to your cruise. But it's a super easy port
to get in and out of. We are only in
Galveston's seasonally, which means that we come in in December
and then we leave again in April. But my favorite
thing about this cruise is is on a seven night sailing,

(16:10):
we offer four different ports. So you're sailing out of Galveston,
you're visiting Cazamel, You're going to Rowatan, Harvest Kay which
is our private island, and then you're visiting Castamaya.

Speaker 4 (16:22):
But it gets better, Larry.

Speaker 3 (16:24):
We have two fourteen day cruises out of Galveston that
are your clients or your listeners can enjoy. And these
are including visiting both of our private islands.

Speaker 4 (16:36):
That's what makes it so cool.

Speaker 3 (16:38):
And you also get to visit Tortola, Saint John's, Saint Martin,
San Juan, the Dominican Public Grant, Cayman, and Cazamel.

Speaker 1 (16:47):
How's Zacher? And I tell you said?

Speaker 2 (16:49):
You know, Lisa, I'm sure you're telling me the truth.
I don't want to doubt you, but to really verify this,
I think John, I should probably go on the fourteen
day cruise and they give a report.

Speaker 1 (17:03):
What do you think?

Speaker 4 (17:03):
Oh? Absolutely? And I think you need somebody to go
with you other than your wife. Maybe I could go
with you.

Speaker 2 (17:08):
Done deal, done, deal with that, Lisa, I want to
ask a couple of personal questions. You sail all over
the world with Norwegian Cruise Line. Do you have a
personal There's no right or wrong answer to this, but
do you have a personal favorite itinerary?

Speaker 4 (17:25):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (17:25):
I do, and it's not the Caribbean, and believe it
or not, it's Alaska.

Speaker 2 (17:29):
I get that. Oh I get that. Yeah, Why what
is it about Alaska?

Speaker 3 (17:35):
I've been there fourteen times and every time I go there,
I do something different. I liked the mountain bike. I
like to fish, believe it or not. I learned how
to fly fish in the river up in Icy Straight
and there was a bear a couple hundred yards down
from us. So we were standing in the river and
I kind of panicked and looked at my guide and
he said, you know what, Lisa, that bear is catching
more fish than you ever will, so he doesn't care

(17:56):
understanding that, So I'm like, Okay.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
There we go.

Speaker 2 (17:59):
Lisa, Regional key account manager with Norwegian Cruise Line, thank
you for joining us. You can get all of these specials,
including the Larry Gelwicks fourteen day Caribbean sailing out of Galveston.
Give Morris Columbus Travel a call talk to any of
our expert advisors. Lisa, thank you for joining us here

(18:22):
on the Travel Show. When we come back, I'm going
to talk about free airfare to Tahiti. You're listening to

(18:45):
the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwicks, that get away guru,
so glad to have you here. And you know, we
have a lot of fun, lot of laughs and jokes,
but on a very serious note, I never lose the
perspective of how grateful I am that you spend part
of your weekend with us here on the Travel Show.
And yeah, I just look forward to these shows so much.

(19:09):
I'm pleased to have John Potter, one of our really
good travel advisors. He works out of the Bountiful office
with me today. John's nice to have you here.

Speaker 4 (19:18):
It's always great to be here.

Speaker 1 (19:20):
If you'd like to.

Speaker 2 (19:20):
Talk to John for travel information and bookings and cruises
and what are Disney I mean, the guys like World's
Famous Disney file. Jenny Gelwick's is number two. She's pretty good.

Speaker 4 (19:35):
She's good.

Speaker 1 (19:36):
She's not in your league anyway.

Speaker 2 (19:38):
Give John a call on his direct line eight oh
one four eight three fifty two fourteen. That's eight oh
one four eight three fifty two fourteen. If you don't
already have a favorite travel advisor, call this number. Eight
hundred triple nine forty six forty six. John, How easy
is that to remember? That's very eight hundred triple nine

(20:00):
forty six forty six. John again eight oh one four
eight three fifty two to fourteen. Well, that was fun
talking to Lisa Presley with Norwegian Cruise Line. She is
such a deer. Yeah, and it's just a great cruise company,
very innovative in their new ships and where they sail.

(20:21):
So you're on the front line of travel, John, Let's
talk about cruising, which is absolutely positively the best travel value,
hands down. Nothing comes close to the value that you
get with all your meals at entertainment included. You pack
and unpack one time whilst visiting exciting ports of call.

(20:45):
And by the way, we always recommend that you travel
with a passport, but there are some cruises that sail
round trip out of the United States to the Caribbeane
in Mexico and Canada that you don't have to have
a pass even though we recommend it.

Speaker 1 (21:01):
You do have to have what.

Speaker 4 (21:03):
A certified birth certificate or proof of US citizenship.

Speaker 2 (21:07):
You can also use your original birth certificate. Yeah, and
a government issued photo ID that goes along with it.
So frontline, let's stay away right for now, away from Alaska, Caribbean,
Mexican rivie, I love those. Let's go international to let's
say exotic destination is what is the hot cellar right now?

Speaker 1 (21:31):
What's the most popular?

Speaker 4 (21:32):
Oh, that's easy, the most popular and my favorite is
Tahiti to Hawaii.

Speaker 2 (21:39):
What is it about the South Seas, the Polynesia, the
South Pacific that just grabs us and pulls us in.

Speaker 4 (21:47):
I think it's two things. I think it's the beauty,
and I think it's the people. The people, the Polynesian
people are just the most loving, caring people anywhere.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
May I slightly disagree with Okay, see you haven't played rugby,
that's true, I have not. I will agree they are
the friendless people on earth. But once you get some
of those polly's on the rugby field, as I did
in my rugby career. I played three years for BYU
on the varsity rugby team and then on a men's

(22:20):
competition team. This is where I learned to run very
very fast because I had these monster samoas and tongans
and Fijians chasing me and if they ever caught me,
they would just stomp me into the ground.

Speaker 4 (22:35):
Okay, So the exception of the rugby players, they are
the best people they are.

Speaker 2 (22:40):
And you know, my wife says, I'm I'm white on
the outside and brown on the inside. Because I have
such a love for Polynesia. I can struggle conversationally in
Tongan and get by even to conducted business said church
prayers in Tongan. Have a great love for Samo. I've

(23:00):
spent so much time in Samoa. Of course, we have
American Samoa pongol Pongo, which is a territory of the US,
and then Western Samoa as sovereign nation, the main islands
of Upolu and Savati. Of course, the Getaway Guru has
been there many many times.

Speaker 4 (23:18):
So.

Speaker 2 (23:20):
It has a draw I I not you. This is
one of the benefits of ownership. I get to pick
the groups that I will host. Let me give you
an example for twenty twenty six. So John and I
are in a meeting and I say, John, we have
some groups that need to be hosted. There is a

(23:41):
Tahiti to Hawaii Cruz next May May fifteen to twenty
seven of next year, twenty twenty six, I think I'll
take that one. And John, we have a junior high
band concert in Lizard Knows, North Dakota in the middle
of January.

Speaker 1 (24:01):
John, You're gonna love it.

Speaker 2 (24:03):
Yes, that's how it always works. There is no democracy
with that anyway. Run through the itinerary, and now we
have a Morris Columbus travel group that I the Getaway Guru,
will be personally hosting with onboard activities, private shore excursions,
doing some exciting things perfectly safe that NCL doesn't even do,

(24:26):
which also reminds us we have the free airfare offer.

Speaker 1 (24:29):
So first the itinerary.

Speaker 4 (24:31):
Sure is going to start in Papeete, Tahiti, the island
of Tahiti. We're going to go to the island of Moria, Bora, Bora, Riotea,
and then we're gonna have four funfilled days sailing the ocean,
crossing the equators. You actually are going to go from

(24:52):
spring to fall, excuse me, the other way around, fall
to spring.

Speaker 2 (24:56):
And from the southern Hemisphere to the northern Hemisphere. Now,
I have sailed many times across the equator, and do
you know what I have noticed about the water at
the moment that you cross it in the southern hemisphere
northern hemisphere.

Speaker 1 (25:10):
You don't have noticed.

Speaker 4 (25:10):
It looks the same.

Speaker 1 (25:11):
It's no difference. It looks the same. Okay. Then we
sail north to Hawaii.

Speaker 4 (25:16):
North to Hawaii. We're going to stop on the big
Island of Hawaii into Hilo, going to visit Kawaii, and
then we're going to end on the island of o
Wahu in Honolulu.

Speaker 2 (25:28):
And by the way, you can extend your visit if
you do the NCL Buy one, get one free. That
is a steal of the century, because tickets to the
South Pacific are expensive.

Speaker 1 (25:38):
Yes, and it's a it's a good deal.

Speaker 2 (25:41):
The second person sails free, a couple of lives free,
flies free. That's right, that's thank you very much. I
wish it was sale free. Yes. Let me tell you
about in Moorea now. James Mishner said that the island
of Bora Bora, which we talked about, I think it
was two weeks ago. It's dominated by Mount Otomanu. He

(26:04):
described it as the most beautiful island on Earth, and
it probably is.

Speaker 4 (26:08):
It is beautiful.

Speaker 2 (26:10):
However, for me, the single most beautiful spot on Earth,
other than the rugby field is Open no Hubay on
the island of Moorea. Now, there are two big bays there.
There's Cook's Bay and Open Nohu Bay. The first European
was Captain James Cook. On one of his three Pacific

(26:32):
Coast voyages in the late seventeen hundreds. He dropped anchor
in Open Nohu Bay. But they named the other bay
after him. I never figured that one out. Yeah. Now
I want you to think back to the nineteen fifty
eight movie South Pacific with Mitzi Gainer. I'm going to
wash that man right out of my hair. And you

(26:54):
remember the legendary island of Bali High. Oh, yes, you
know Baliha. You know you're wondering what I did with
the money my mother gave me for singing lessons.

Speaker 1 (27:04):
Oh that's another story. Anyway.

Speaker 2 (27:07):
The island, you remember the shape of it, almost like
a tall cone. Yeah, that's right right there at Openahubey.
On the backside, on the land side is the Balley
High Mountain that was used as the inspiration for the movie.

(27:28):
Now in the movie, it's an island. In real life,
it's in a mountain on an island of Moorea, and
then it's surrounded on two sides by these thousand foot
walls that explode straight up. The fourth side opens up
to the open ocean. It is so much fun. We'll
be visiting that and one of the activities that NCAL

(27:51):
does not do and has turned out to be the
single most wonderful, enjoyed excursion that we take. Because we
do our excursions no offense to cruise lines, but their
tours are planned for the nearly dead, and we seem
to have a little bit more activity that's applicable to
people of all ages, and that is the swim with

(28:12):
the sharks, rays and private island. Now, don't be concerned.
We have been doing this for thirty years. We've never
had an incident. But you're in waist deep water, beautiful
sandy bottom and they have some you know, like four
foot gray tips reef sharks, though they're more afraid of

(28:35):
you than you of them. And I've had people say, oh,
I can't get in the water, and said, well, don't,
just stay on the boat. Then eventually they all get
in the water. You have the stingrays and we have
local guides in the water with you and you just
stand there. They're swimming around you hold you can kiss
the sting ray. Kathy said it was better than kissing me,
but that's another story. And then we go to a

(28:57):
private island, think Gilligan's Island, where we have a barbecue.
Some of the locals come and entertain us with song
and dance and go back to the ship. Trust me this,
trust Larry time. This is the number one most popular
tour that we offer, and the ship does not offer it.

Speaker 4 (29:17):
It's a great tour. I've done it twice now and
you can't.

Speaker 1 (29:20):
Did you ever feel in danger? Never?

Speaker 4 (29:23):
No, those sharks I don't think they could even eat
your big toe. They're just little guys they are. But
it's a great thing to send back to your family members.
I swam with the sharks. Yes.

Speaker 2 (29:34):
Then of course we head north. One of my favorite
stops is at right Eeta. Now that just made the
news for those members of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter day Saints. A temple, yeah, is announced there.
But that is the site of an ancient temple that
I've been to, and the name of that temple and

(29:55):
the foundations and some of the temple still remains over
a thousand years old. The name of the temple was
Hawaiki and the ocean going voyages would come to the
temple of Hawaiki, be blessed by the priests, and then
set out into the vast reaches of the Pacific, most

(30:19):
never to return. They navigated by the wind, the stars,
the temperature of the water, the fish they would catch,
the birds. Incredible seamanship. And we believe that the first
settlers in the islands of Hawaii came from the Marquesas
Islands and from Raiatea and what's now called the Society Islands,

(30:42):
but from Hawaiki. Doesn't it make sense that's where the
name HAWAIII came from. From the ancient temple. We'll be
talking about all of these things. The dates May fifteenth
to the twenty seventh. Next year, twenty twenty six. This
one is selling quickly. Remember, like anything, as the ship

(31:02):
fills up, the prices go up. There's still some great deals.
I'll be your personal host and tour guide. You can
give John or any of our Morris Columbus advisors a call.
This is one you don't want to miss.

Speaker 1 (31:16):
Well. When we come back, we're.

Speaker 2 (31:18):
Gonna be talking about hidden hotel fees, resort fees. Beware
of third party booking sites and how one guest got
hit with thirteen hundred dollars hidden your runna And Welcome
to the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwicks to get Away

(31:39):
Guru joined in studio by none other than John Potter
aka Pluto. John, Where did you get the nickname? Who
gave you the nickname Pluto? Did you award that to yourself?

Speaker 3 (31:50):
No?

Speaker 4 (31:50):
That was many years ago on this travel show. Don
Schaefer gave me that name. He asked me who my
favorite Disney character was, and I said Pluto. From that
day on, I was well.

Speaker 1 (32:00):
Thirty four years ago.

Speaker 2 (32:02):
I started the travels show from day one with Don Shaeffer,
who's great guy has since retired. He gave me the
nickname of the Getaway Guru and I didn't like it,
and I said, that is so cheesy. Don't call me that.
He just kept calling me that, and now it has
become a term of endearment and affection. Even my kids

(32:23):
will say, oh, it's the Getaway Guru.

Speaker 1 (32:25):
Yes, talk to.

Speaker 4 (32:26):
Your kids, and kids saying that, I'll talk to your
kids and we'll say the Guru said that's right, and
not Dad said.

Speaker 2 (32:33):
People will call you client yes and say well, the
guru said this, Yes, oh my goodness, gracious, okay, John.
There are several ways you can book a cruise, an
airline ticket, a hotel, a car rental.

Speaker 1 (32:50):
You can do it yourself.

Speaker 2 (32:53):
You can book with a licensed, bonded travel agency such
as Morris Columbus Track or there are third party sites
usual and they're online on the web. What is the
you know, what is the problem with booking with an
unknown source, a third party?

Speaker 4 (33:15):
With an unknown source, a third party. It might be
a legitimate company and you're going to get an deal,
and it might be you know, Bob who's trying to
earn money without having a job, and I'm going to
sell travel and you may have a seat on the airplane.
You may not have a seat. They will have your
credit card information. He's going to dinner with his family tonight.

(33:36):
So you want to be careful who you are booking with.
Make sure it's legitimate company. Now there are third parties Expedia, Travelocity,
those are also third parties. Yes, they are safe to
book with their license. They're safe, They're not a scam,
but beware, especially if it says discount airfare.

Speaker 2 (33:56):
Well, I told the story several months ago of They
were advertised using a Salt Lake to Bangkok airfare. That
caught my attention and it was like three hundred and
fifty dollars or something.

Speaker 1 (34:08):
Well, I know there's no airfare for that. I talked
to them.

Speaker 2 (34:13):
Turns out they are and this is true in Ubekistan.
Now that was all sorts of red flight. They kept
asking me for my credit card. There are so many
travel scams out there. What are the problems if you
booked let's say it's a legit company xyz Travel. What's
the problems with booking with a third party other than

(34:34):
a major like Expediors and even there's some problems.

Speaker 4 (34:38):
Yeah, it's hard to get a hold of them. Usually
you have to email or send a chat and they
might not be working at that time. Also, they collect
your money. You aren't paying Delta Airlines, you're paying Bob's
Travel Service. And when the refund comes back for a
missed flight or something that's eligible for refund, it will

(34:58):
go back to Bob's Travel Service.

Speaker 2 (35:00):
Not to you. I see this and hear about this
all the time because you have to click I agree
to the terms and conditions, and for example, if your
flight is canceled, you are legally entitled to a full refund,
but people aren't getting that there. And the other problem,
there's so many travel scams out there now. One of

(35:21):
the real irritations in travel is the prevalence of resort fees.
I call them evil resort fee, their destiny destination fees,
hidden fees. What is a resort fee? Resort fee is
what the hotel will charge you. It's usually per night.
It could be anywhere from eight dollars to one hundred
dollars a night.

Speaker 4 (35:40):
On top of the rental cut of the rental. And
they say, what it is is it's being able to
use the pool, it's being able to use their WiFi,
it's able to all these things that are normally free.
Even if you're not going to be using the pool,
you still have to pay that resort fee.

Speaker 1 (35:56):
I call it a legal scam.

Speaker 2 (35:59):
Yes, And in fact, the DOJ Department of Justice has
gone They went after Marriott a few years back because
they felt the there was inadequate disclosure, and they settled
up with some of the state's attorneys general. Here's a
story of a couple that booked a five nights stay
at the Ambassador Hotel on the Gold Coast in Australia

(36:22):
through a third party service the tickets at work. It
resulted in a nine hundred and thirty one dollars and
sixty cent charge on their credit card, and the resort
said there'd be an additional fee of one hundred and
thirty eight bucks a night. But when they called to

(36:44):
confirm the you know, the extra fee resort fees, that's
going to be about seven hundred bucks, the actual additional
cost was one thousand, three hundred and sixty nine dollars
and ninety six and they just said, well, they're additional fees.
The additional fees were the third party. We're tacking this on.

(37:05):
They hired an attorney and we're requesting reimbursement hidden fees
and deceptive conduct.

Speaker 1 (37:15):
They got nothing.

Speaker 4 (37:17):
Oh boy, horrible.

Speaker 2 (37:20):
By the way, President Biden said that he was going
to do away with all he called him junk fees.
I guess he forgot because they didn't on the resort fees.

Speaker 1 (37:31):
They all do it.

Speaker 2 (37:32):
I don't know of a way to get around it,
but I wish President Trump. I don't think Trump will
do it because he owns hotels, yes, and they probably
collect resort fees.

Speaker 1 (37:43):
I don't think.

Speaker 2 (37:45):
Maybe in twenty twenty eight we'll get a dem or
a Republican that'll do something about it. Hey, listen, when
we come back on our number two, we've got some
exciting things in travel to share with you. Exciting cruises
and tours and how to always travel more and pay
less right here on the Travel Show. Welcome to our

(38:15):
number two of the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwiz, the
Getaway Guru. The Travel Show is sponsored by your friends
at Morris Columbus Travel, where you always travel.

Speaker 1 (38:24):
More and pay less.

Speaker 2 (38:27):
Take a look at their website Morriscolumbus dot com. That's
Morriscolumbus dot com for travel updates, promotions, how to see
the world and sail the Seven Seas. If you're looking
at a Morris Columbus Escorted tour, scroll down on the
homepage to Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours. That's the brand name

(38:51):
for the Morris Columbus tours. John, Why is it Morris
Murdoch Escorted Tours but the company name is Morris Columbus.

Speaker 4 (38:58):
Well, we merged. Columbus Travel merged with Morris Murdoch Travel
a few years ago, several years ago, actually, and they
had been well established doing the chores, especially church history tours,
and they wanted to keep the name, which makes complete sense,
Yeah it does, And so the tour division is Morris
Murdoch Pluto.

Speaker 2 (39:18):
There is talking. That's John Potter, one of our travel
experts who works out of the Battleful Office. You can
talk to John eight oh one four eight three fifty
two fourteen or send him an email the letter J
Potter pott Er at Morriscolumbus dot com. The letter J

(39:41):
Potter pott Er at Morriscolumbus dot com. Now you've heard
me say, John, if it weren't for the kids and grandkids.

Speaker 1 (39:50):
Where would I live?

Speaker 4 (39:51):
Thailand?

Speaker 2 (39:52):
I love Southeast Asia and I love Almah Waterways, the
ultimate deluxe river crew company. They sail of course in Europe,
in Africa, both in South Africa. And what I've done
is on the Nile in Egypt and Southeast Asia on
the Mighty Maykong. And I hosted a group on the Maykong.

(40:16):
What a couple of years ago. Oh my gosh, people
are still talking about it. Kathy and I will be
your personal hosts on the Mighty Maykong. We call riches
of the Maykong next year twenty twenty six, November ninth
to the sixteenth. Now we sail Cambodi and Vietnam. We
have an option to come with me to Thailand for

(40:38):
a few days before the cruise. Also an option to
see Anchor Watt in Cambodia.

Speaker 1 (40:46):
Now we sail.

Speaker 2 (40:48):
The actual where we board is about three and a
half hours drive from Reap. Now Cian Reap is the
city closest to Anchor. One of the great wonders of
the world. You know, it dates back to the twelfth
and fourteenth century, where it was the most enlightened educated

(41:10):
city in the world, with over a million population in
the city. But it has been in continuous use since
the twelfth century, hence it's never fallen into disrepair. But
we will be sailing in the backwaters of Cambodia and Vietnam.

Speaker 1 (41:28):
A couple of highlights. We'll visit PanAm Pin.

Speaker 2 (41:33):
And I got to tell you I had a group
there before, and one of the really fun things we
did on this group is we took a ride through
old town PanAm Pen. Now it's French architecture. The French
were the colonists of Cambodia and you still see a
lot of French influence there and even French spoken. And

(41:55):
we're in We're going to go through the old town
where it's French architecture, tree lined streets, cafes, will go
to the royal palace also, and John I had arranged
for a v I call it a vehicle, a ride
called cyclo, and it's it's kind of like a rickshaw.

(42:15):
It's one wheel in front, two wheels in the back
and with a local who pedals you through and it's
just a leisurely drive. I've done this several times well,
on this particular the very first time, I said to him,
because there's a seating area, I said, is it good
for one or two persons? He looked at me, looked

(42:39):
at our group, looked at the silos, looked back at me,
took a long look at our group, took a long
look at the cyclothes and said, two Cambodians, one American.
I will just leave the explanation of that and where
it is. Another favorite area of mine is Tanchau in Vietnam.

(43:04):
And this is a small Maykong rivertown, unspoiled by tourism.
You are stepping back in time plowing with water, buffalo,
hand decrafts, everything about it. And we're going to be
treated to a very authentic experience on the they call

(43:24):
it the Trishaw. I guess it will be two Vietnamese,
one America. As we ride around town, will stop at
silt making and rattan matt workshops. We also on this
trip will have a private visit at a Buddhist temple
and have a blessing from the Buddhist priest. Well, this

(43:46):
is Cambodia and Vietnam. We start outside of si En Reap, Cambodia.
That's where Anchorwat is and you've got to come with
the pre cruise to see Anchorwok, Anchor Tom, the floating city,
all of these things. Then we disembark in Sadek, Vietnam,

(44:07):
which is about an hour from the city.

Speaker 1 (44:09):
Now you can go straight to the airport.

Speaker 2 (44:11):
They're in Saigon, which the Vietnamese now call Ho Chi
Minh City named after Uncle Hoe, and back we'll be
seeing Uncle Hoe up in Hanoi. They've got him in
a case like the Lenin in Moscow. And you can,
and I mean this with with no disrespect, you can

(44:32):
they call him Uncle Hoe and we'll pay our respects
at the mausoleum there up in Hanoi. But they call
that era Saigon Ho Chi Mi in city now. But
we have a two night option afterwards. And you'll see
the Maykong Delta, the Kuchi tunnels. Those are the Vietcong

(44:56):
tunnels that they would crawl. You guys should get into
one if you they've widened them for Americans and Westerners.

Speaker 1 (45:05):
They really have.

Speaker 3 (45:06):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (45:07):
There's here's another shameless family joke. I said, you know,
I went down in Nam, and my kids said, you
didn't serve in Vietnam. I said, didn't, say I served
there in the military. I said, I went down on
one of my tours in the Kuchie tunnels. I stumbled
and fell and skinned my knee and was bleeding.

Speaker 1 (45:27):
I bled in Nam.

Speaker 2 (45:29):
I always disclosed that I don't lead anybody on for
stolen valor.

Speaker 4 (45:34):
So you didn't get a purple heart.

Speaker 1 (45:35):
I did not get a purple but I had a
red knee.

Speaker 3 (45:39):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (45:39):
And then you know, we see Saigon is such a
beautiful tree line city.

Speaker 1 (45:44):
I'd love to have you join me. The actual dates
of the.

Speaker 2 (45:47):
Cruise are November ninth to the sixteenth of twenty twenty
six with a Bangkok anchor Watt and Saigon options before
and after that.

Speaker 4 (46:00):
I'm in plenty of time for Thanksgiving.

Speaker 2 (46:01):
That that, oh you will absolutely you won't miss Thanksgiving again.
That's next year, and prices continue to rise as the
ship fills up. Now we have a couple of minutes
to talk about Disney. What's going on in Disney?

Speaker 4 (46:16):
Well, I haven't done this in a will, so I thought,
I'm going to give you my best Disney advice. My
biggest what is go go yes, no, Get to the
park when it opens a lot of people like to
sleep in. You will be surprised how much you can
get done the first two hours the park is open.
And then if you need an APP, you can leave
during the hot afternoon when it's so busy and have

(46:37):
an app and then come back for the evening activities.
But that is the best thing I can suggest. Be
there at park opening. It is wonderful.

Speaker 1 (46:46):
I would love to say Disneyland Anaheim.

Speaker 2 (46:48):
I'd love to stay at the Disneyland Hotel or even
better yet, the Grand Californian, but who can afford those rates?

Speaker 1 (46:56):
There is a best Western thest Western Stova that you.

Speaker 2 (47:00):
Recommended to Jenny. That's the only place she stays. What's
the name of itall right? Walk and they have a
great full breakfast. Yes, very few off for breakfast any longers,
and it's usually a Continental. This is a full breakfast,
like a breakfast burrito or like something similar to an
egg McMuffin. For walking from the stoveall in best western
to let's say the security gate by California City.

Speaker 1 (47:23):
What's the walking time about eight minutes. Yeah, it's not far.

Speaker 2 (47:27):
And you'll save hundreds and hundreds of dollars on that.
Personal preference. Disneyland or disney World in Florida.

Speaker 4 (47:37):
I love them both. At Disneyland, that you know.

Speaker 2 (47:40):
I went there for the first time in nineteen fifty eight.
I was eight years old. It opened in fifty five,
didn't this that's right? And I still have some pictures
of me. One of them is with Goofy. I guess
he's still there.

Speaker 1 (47:54):
He's still there.

Speaker 2 (47:55):
Still, he's aged very well. He has no gray hair
on those flap ears. Best time to visit Disneyland, California.

Speaker 4 (48:03):
Usually the best time, the least crowd is going to
be May Why your past before the summer getaways? Your
past spring break. People are kind of finishing up with
their school work, and so May is the best time
to visit. It is the least expensive. It's fun to

(48:24):
go at Christmas, but that gets really crowded, doesn't It
does get crowded Christmas. You're gonna go Christmas, which is
my favorite time of year. They start Christmas usually around
the twentieth and November. Go then before Thanksgiving or the
very first few weeks of December, and it will be
less crowded.

Speaker 1 (48:39):
When we come back.

Speaker 2 (48:41):
What beach was just named as the number one best
beach in the US. And we're going to talk about
seat swappers, people who get on your airline seat and
refuse to move when we come back on the tracks.

Speaker 1 (49:03):
Welcome back to the Travel Show. We are having so
much fun with you.

Speaker 2 (49:07):
Thank you for joining us every weekend for the Travel Show.
Whether you're an active traveler or an armshare traveler, you're
welcome here at your travel home. I'm joined today by
John Potter from our bountiful office of Morris Columbus Travel.

Speaker 1 (49:23):
I'm Larry Gelwick's the getaway Guru. John. Are you a
beach guy?

Speaker 4 (49:27):
Yes, I love the beach.

Speaker 1 (49:29):
Do you have some favorite beaches I do where other
than the Great Salt Lake.

Speaker 4 (49:35):
I love Connor Poly Beach and Maui.

Speaker 1 (49:38):
You go to Whalers Village there.

Speaker 4 (49:39):
Yes, yes, it's a fun area.

Speaker 1 (49:40):
It's so sad that Lehinah's not.

Speaker 3 (49:43):
Oh.

Speaker 4 (49:43):
I love Leahina and I hope it gets back quickly.
I love that one. I love Clearwater Beach in the
Tampa area as well.

Speaker 1 (49:50):
Well.

Speaker 2 (49:50):
The Travel Advisors twenty twenty five Travelers Choice Awards for
the best beaches in the US and glowobally raided the
Csta Beach in Siesta Key, Florida as the number one
beach in the US and number four globally.

Speaker 1 (50:09):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (50:10):
Csta Beach is It's an eight mile barrier island, famous
for its really powdery white sand, very calm. It's on
the Gulf side, so you're not getting the waves, frequent
dolphin sidings, but it's sea show great for kids. On
sea shows, you don't have the pounding waves. Very very

(50:32):
good for families. And it's big. It's not one of
these narrow, narrow beaches. It's a big beach. That's the
Siesta Beach. Excuse me, yes, cesta Beach in Csta Key.
You know the beaches that I grew up with growing
up in San Francisco. Of course Ocean Beach right there
in San Francisco, but it has an undertow and when

(50:55):
i'd go surfing there, I had to wear a wet suit.
But I really like going down the coast on Highway
One to Santa Cruz. Oh, you have the boardwalk there.
Two things activities there. One we would go surfing at
Steamers Lane. Go ahead and YouTube Steamers Lane and you

(51:15):
can see where I used to surf. And have you
ever been into Felton, California. You have the Roaring Camp.
It's a steam train that goes up into the Redwoods.
It's a round trip. They also have a train that
takes you from the base camp right down to the
boardwalk at Santa Cruz. But what we would do as

(51:36):
a family is there's a stop at the kind of
the highest point there. You're not way up in the mountains,
you're in the coastal range, but there's a camp that
has tables and benches, you can get off, walk around.
He blows the horn, you get back on and finish
the trip, or you stay there and pick up the

(51:56):
next train coming back. So we would always get a
picnic lunch and sit there in the redwoods. You can
smell the redwoods up there. Wow, absolutely gorgeous. Something you
might want to do. It's right outside of Felton, California,
which is near Santa Cruz. Now we've got a problem.

(52:17):
That's I don't know why it's becoming so much in
the news right now.

Speaker 1 (52:21):
John.

Speaker 2 (52:22):
It's called seat swappers. What is a seat swapper on
an airline?

Speaker 4 (52:27):
It means somebody gets onto the plane and decides they
do not want to sit in the seat. They was
a sign they want to sit in this seat instead
your seat. Yes, so they will just sit down there,
and that causes all kind of problems when you come
to sit in your seat.

Speaker 2 (52:41):
You can go on YouTube and see all sorts of problems.

Speaker 1 (52:46):
You know.

Speaker 2 (52:47):
Some some are just belligerent and I want to sit
here and I'm not moving. Others say, well, I wanted
to sit with my boyfriend, or I wanted to sit
with my child. I wanted to sit with a friend,
and I wanted an aisle, not a window. I wanted
a window, not an aisle, whatever it is. And they
are so polite other than the ignorant ones we've already

(53:09):
dealt with them. Yeah, but most are so polite until
you say no, and then they get nasty.

Speaker 1 (53:14):
Yeah. Yeah. So if you run into.

Speaker 2 (53:17):
A seat swapper and you don't want to switch, what
do you do?

Speaker 4 (53:25):
First of all, I think you would want to ask
them politely? Could you please just go to your assigned seat?
Don't be belligerent, don't be mean, No, don't be rude. Yeah,
don't threaten to slap them, and uh, move.

Speaker 1 (53:36):
Your rear into your own seat. I probably didn't say that. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (53:39):
If that doesn't work, then call a flight attendant.

Speaker 1 (53:42):
Yeah. And it's okay to switch if you want to. Yes.

Speaker 2 (53:47):
One of the one of the things that I have
a problem with is you the lowest fares, like on Delta,
it's called basic economy. All the airlines have something similar. Yes,
but you know, oh of the rules, you cannot get
seat assignments until you check in not online at the airport, Yes,

(54:07):
and which means that you'll probably get a lot of
middle seats. You'll probably be split up with your family.
But you're doing that and then hoping to pressure people
to swap with you. Yeah, you know, that just doesn't work.
I think if it's equal to equal, it's okay. I

(54:30):
remember a flight that I was on and I'm sitting
there that actually upgraded me the first class. There was
two seats an aisle, two seats, and I'm sitting in
two C, which is an aisle seat. I always have
to have the aisle seat. And a couple got on chatting,
and she sat next to me in two D and

(54:52):
he sat across the aisle into B. Now they didn't
ask to swap, but I I noticed that and that
they obviously were traveling together John and I said, are
the two of you traveling together? They said yes. I
said would you like to sit next to each other?
And they said, oh, that would be so kind. So

(55:13):
I swapped two C for two B. That was equal
to equal, right, And I also checked out in two A.
There was not some sumo wrestler who hadn't bathed in
a month.

Speaker 1 (55:23):
Yes, it worked out, okay.

Speaker 4 (55:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (55:28):
I know of cases where hey, I'm in twelve C
an aisle seat, would you mind going to forty.

Speaker 1 (55:36):
Two be a middle seat? Yeah?

Speaker 4 (55:39):
No, no, that's not equal to equal. I'm a single
person traveled by myself a lot. Quite often I'll have
the airline ask, hey, would you be willing to change
to this. And if I like the window seat, so
if the window to a window, I have no problem
with it. But I'm not going to go from my
window seat to a middle seat. So the people at
the airport at the gate can help you.

Speaker 2 (55:59):
You ask them, so I would say, proceed with caution.
Never say okay, let's just swap boarding passes right now,
you've given it up and all sorts of problems. So
if you're gonna switch, you know the new seat assignments,
be polite but firm. Never get ignorant, never never use

(56:19):
foul language and call for a backup with the flight attendance.
They will enforce it that people sit in their assigned seats. Hey,
when we come back, we're going to talk about Africa
in a way that we haven't talked about it before.
Right here on the Travel Show. Jumbo and welcome to

(56:48):
the Travel Show. Jambo is the native greeting in East
Africa where I was a month ago. I'm Larry Gelwiz,
the Getaway Guru, joined today in studio by John Potter
with Morris Columbus Travel. You want to talk to John
Direct eight oh one four eight three fifty two fourteen,
and if you don't already have a Morris Columbus travel expert,

(57:10):
call eight hundred triple nine forty six forty six. That's
eight hundred triple nine forty six forty six, and do
check out their website Morriscolumbus dot com. Now, John, I
said jambo, which is the native greeting in East Africa.

(57:31):
Last segment I opened with yurana, and it just dawned
on me. I didn't explain that that is the greeting
in Tahiti. Yeah, yurana like aloha in Hawaii.

Speaker 1 (57:44):
Well.

Speaker 2 (57:45):
I returned with a group of travel show listeners from
East Africa about a month ago July thirty. First, we
returned to the United States for one of the most
incredible experiences of a lifetime. John, there is nothing comparable
to a safari.

Speaker 1 (58:06):
Now.

Speaker 2 (58:06):
I've had safaris all over Africa in many countries, and
I've enjoyed them all. But there is nothing. This is
trust Larry time. There is nothing that even comes close
to what's known as the Great Migration, where you have
up to two million wildebeese on the move, half a
million zebras. You think Noah just emptied his arc of animals,

(58:33):
and it only takes place in the months of July,
August and September, and only in the countries of Kenya
and Tanzania. And for my two cents, for a long
list of reasons, Kenya I believe is the better choice.

Speaker 1 (58:48):
You know, there are fifty.

Speaker 2 (58:49):
Five plus game parks in Kenya, East Africa. There are
four primary ones Amboseli, Samburu, Pagetta, and the mar Or Serengetti.
Our great migration Safari visits three, the latter three Samburu,

(59:10):
oh Pagetta and the Serengetti. The fourth ambaselis on the
other side of the country and it's wonderful, but you
won't see anything there that you don't see in the
other and it's way on the other side of the country.
What's interesting, John, is none of those parks have a
fence enclosure around them. Animals are free to romeo and

(59:33):
that's exciting.

Speaker 1 (59:33):
You know. The animal viewing is so.

Speaker 2 (59:39):
Outrageously cool and abundant that we give you a color
booklet that has sixty seventy pictures of animals and a description.
By day three, invariably you've checked off fifty or more species,
not repeat not including birds, I've told story in the

(01:00:00):
past about.

Speaker 1 (01:00:03):
My safari adventures.

Speaker 2 (01:00:05):
By the way, if you want the primates like the
silver back guerrillas, that's Uganda and Rwanda, which we have
an extension that goes down to see the silverbacks. I
wanted to read to you a letter that I received
not long ago from a couple Bill and Leanne that

(01:00:27):
were with me in Africa, and here's what they wrote, Larry,
I wanted to extend my deepest thanks for the unforgettable
safari experience you provided from the moment we set out,
every detail was thoughtfully arranged, and your passion for the land, wildlife,

(01:00:50):
the people, and conservation was truly inspiring. Each day brought
something new and awe inspiring, from the graceful jury silhouated
against the sunrise to the thrilling moment we spotted up
Pride of Lions. Your knowledge and storytelling brought the landscape

(01:01:11):
to life in a way that made every sighting feel magical.
Beyond the wildlife, I appreciated the warmth and hospitality throughout
the trip. The accommodations were comfortable and welcoming, the meals
were delicious, and the entire team made us feel safe, cared,
for and completely immersed in the experience. Thank you again

(01:01:34):
for sharing your world with us. This safari was more
than just a vacation. It was a journey that left
me with lasting memories and a deeper appreciation for nature.
Warmest regards, Bill and Leanne.

Speaker 1 (01:01:53):
Is that nice?

Speaker 2 (01:01:54):
Yes, you know our safari is different, John, It really
is different. I'll give you a couple examples. One of
the lodges are right in the middle of where you
want to be an example. Up on the Serengeti, we
stay at a lodge on the bend of the Mara River.
It is the epicenter of activity. Now, we typically do

(01:02:17):
three game drives a day. One early in the morning
six fifteen ish, and then we come back for breakfast
because we're right there close, go out about eleven, come
back at one thirty ish for lunch, and then leave
out for the afternoon drive. Then you have a couple
of hours on your own to rest, take a swim

(01:02:38):
in the pool or whatever, and then we go out
about four and come back at dusk. They don't allow
nighttime drives except with special permits that are very hard
to get, so we're back for dinner now. As an example,
up on the Serengeti. There are incredible Marriotte has a
beautiful lodge, and there are other lies. The Mount Kenya

(01:03:00):
Safari Resort one of the most famous. All of these resorts,
or most of these resorts are an hour to two
hour drive each way from the resort, and the resorts
are wonderful to get where you want to be, So
you don't get the early morning drive as the sun

(01:03:23):
is coming up and the animals are coming to life.

Speaker 1 (01:03:28):
You don't get that.

Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
Afternoon can get kind of crowded out there because all
of these other camps are coming in and they fill
the park up. You know, when there's a sighting, it's
like Grand Central Station. And then they have to leave,
oh at three point thirty four to get back and
out of the park before dusk, which is like six

(01:03:52):
six thirty.

Speaker 1 (01:03:53):
You're right on the equator.

Speaker 2 (01:03:54):
You don't have the long Nordic nights there, and so
that is a big difference. Another big difference. And these
lodges are fantastic, as Bill and Leeann said. The dining
is fantastic, the lodge experience. All of them have big
electric fences surrounding them, perfectly safe. I'll give you this

(01:04:16):
one other example. The vehicles we use the Toyota Cruisers
Land Cruisers. Yes, it seats eight people and you d
plus a driver. We don't put more in four. In
that way, you can move side to size, front and back.
And now, by the way, if a family of five

(01:04:38):
or six or seven or eight says we want to
be in the same vehicle, we'll do that, but that's
at your request. We put four in the vehicle. You
can move all around, you can stand up the pop
up top. You will see out there passenger vans, some
of them with a pop up top, some were not
packed to the gills with eight people. And our guests

(01:05:01):
kept commenting on this. I can't believe there is see
for most people, an African safari is a one time event. Yeah,
you know, And you can't move now the end.

Speaker 4 (01:05:14):
If you're tucked in that tight you can't get a
picture of these animals that you're wanting to see.

Speaker 2 (01:05:18):
Here's the problem, John, let me let me put it
out safely to you. The animals have not learned to
only come to your side of the vehicle.

Speaker 4 (01:05:26):
Well, they need to train a bet.

Speaker 1 (01:05:27):
We are working with them. We are training them.

Speaker 2 (01:05:30):
To only go to your side. I mean, that's that's
just the way it is. We had to pull a
vehicle out of a ditch because they did they they
got stuck.

Speaker 1 (01:05:44):
We don't get stuck. We have four wheel drive vehicles.

Speaker 2 (01:05:47):
Now it's not your two ninety nine blue light special.
It's an expensive ticket item. But whenever somebody asks me
about that, I said, let's not have this conversation today.
I want you to go out and find apples to apples,

(01:06:07):
the lodges, the vehicles, everything about it, and then let's
have this conversation. Invariably they come back and say, Okay,
what am I missing? Larry, how can you do it
for this price? Yes, Abercrombie and can't. That's a great
tourk They're wonderful, wonderful. They have the closest and it's
four thousand dollars more than ours, and it's one day less.

Speaker 1 (01:06:31):
That's the closest. Some of the.

Speaker 2 (01:06:32):
Similar lodges and it's four thousand dollars of person more.
Jim Gee, who is the head game tracker and owner
of Discovery Expeditions, He's been here on the travel show
a number of times. He is with all of our groups.
I take one myself and Jim and I do commentary.

(01:06:53):
I'm not in his league, but I'm not bad on
the animals. I've studied them extensively. My favorite the lion.
Kathy's is the wart hog. Now, explain that to me. Yeah,
she married a wart hog. So you know, Oh, ouch ouch,
I think you may be transferred to the Desert Office

(01:07:15):
or something like that.

Speaker 1 (01:07:16):
Anyway, I'd love to have you join me.

Speaker 2 (01:07:18):
These typically sell out, you know, nine to twelve months
in advance. We have and we only go in July,
August and September. Usually about three tours safaris a year.

Speaker 4 (01:07:29):
And it's only what twenty four people per tour. It's
not a big tour twenty eight.

Speaker 2 (01:07:32):
Well, sometimes we'll go to one more vehicle thirty two,
but it's usually that.

Speaker 1 (01:07:37):
Hey, I want to change gears.

Speaker 2 (01:07:39):
By the way, just contact Morris Columbus travel advisor about
our Africa great migration very quickly. Talk to me about
in most major cities for visitors, a hop on, hop
off bus.

Speaker 4 (01:07:53):
Oh, those are wonderful. You can pretty much go anywhere
you want to go. They stop several places around a circuit.
You can one day or multiple days. I used them
a lot when I was in Paris, and I'm going
to be in London and I plan on getting one
for London as well.

Speaker 1 (01:08:08):
You can buy them online.

Speaker 2 (01:08:10):
They have authorized ticket They also have guys in who
have IDs and their jackets. They will sell you the ticket,
and I have found sometimes you can negotiate the price,
not with the ticket bureau, not with the online, but
with the guy. See, they get a commission, they get
a chunk of that ticket, and sometimes they're willing to

(01:08:32):
knock a few bucks or a few British pounds or
euros off it, and you can get a better des
like oh mui caro, which is too expensive in Espanoli,
and what would you will be willing to pay? What
I recommend is they give you a map, they give
you a headset. Yes, and you can get it in

(01:08:53):
about twenty different languages. On the first when you get on,
take the whole circuit without getting off right unless your
time crunch with a reservation. See where you stop, get
the lay of the land, and then continue on the
second round and stop wherever you want. Yeah, gonna be

(01:09:16):
I'm gonna be in Helsiki, Finland later this month, and
That's what I'm gonna do. Yeah, get a hop on,
hop on when we come back, I've got a twenty
percent discount at Salt Lake International Park in right here
on the Travel Show.

Speaker 1 (01:09:35):
Welcome back to the Travel Show.

Speaker 2 (01:09:37):
I'm Larry Gelwicks that get away Google your host with
all things travel for it lay these thirty four years.
I'm joined today by John Potter, and again if you
want to talk to John eight oh one for a
three fifty two fourteen If you're interested in the sind River,
he has a group that he'll be leading in August

(01:09:58):
of next year round trip from Paris that include row
in hand Floor and the beaches of Normandy. Call John
direct eight oh one four eight three fifty two fourteen
for his Alma Waterways August twenty twenty six crews.

Speaker 1 (01:10:15):
John.

Speaker 2 (01:10:16):
A lot of our listeners use the Salt Lake International Airport. Yes,
we like to save money when we park out there. Yes,
you can get a twenty percent discount. There's two, actually
three ways you can do it. The easiest is go
to our website Morriscolumbus dot com. Scroll down to the bottom.
There's a tab that says resources. Click there and it'll
take you to the discount. You can print out the coupon.

Speaker 1 (01:10:39):
Print more than one. Yeah, keep you in your car glovebox.

Speaker 4 (01:10:42):
You can book online at Parkinjet dot com and where
it says discounts or promotions type MCT, it stands for
Morris Columbus Travel that will automatically give you the discount
or if you don't do with that, when you leave
Parkinjet on your return mention you need the discount cade
MCT and they will apply the discount.

Speaker 1 (01:11:04):
Well, very good.

Speaker 2 (01:11:05):
Talk to me about the Fall Travel Expo coming up
next month.

Speaker 4 (01:11:09):
Yes, October eighteenth. It's on Saturday, one day only at
the Davis Conference Center in Leyton. We're going to have
fifty different vendors. We've got some seminars that are going
to be going on. It's a mini vision version of
the one we do in January. But it's going to
be in Davis County, so the Weaver County Boxelder County,

(01:11:30):
Southern Ohio.

Speaker 1 (01:11:31):
That's a great place to kill you in Wyoming.

Speaker 4 (01:11:34):
Yes, and so it's a great place, great option again
October eighteenth, the Davis Conference Center in Layton.

Speaker 2 (01:11:43):
You can get all the details at Utah travelxpo dot com.
That's Utah travelxpo dot com.

Speaker 3 (01:11:51):
You know.

Speaker 2 (01:11:51):
Earlier in the show, we talked about my love of
Southeast Asian exciting Almah Waterways river cruise on the may
Kong through Cambodia and Vietnam with an option to join
me in Bangkok, Thailand. I will show you Bangkok and Thailand.
You've never seen it before. We visit the Grand Palace there.

Speaker 4 (01:12:15):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:12:16):
Now, the Grand Palace.

Speaker 2 (01:12:17):
To me is one of those places that if you
flew all the way to that site and only saw
that one thing, it's worth the trip. And the Grand
Palace overloads the Census. Taj Mahall is another place that
if you went all that way, it would be worth

(01:12:38):
the trip to go to Agra, India where I was
last November and to see the taj Mahall. Love to
have you join me on the riches of the Maykong
November of twenty twenty six. I have another river cruise
with Almah Waterways.

Speaker 4 (01:12:57):
Yes, the Christmas Market Cruise one of my fas.

Speaker 1 (01:13:00):
Oh it's on the Rhine River and I know you
sailed the right.

Speaker 2 (01:13:04):
The Christmas Markets is a six hundred year traditions where
it's not department stores. They build what they call chalets.
It's like a a well, it's a chalet, you know,
it's a wooden like a wooden kiosk. Open their kiosk.
It's bedecked with evergreens. There's music, there's dancing, there's entertainment.

(01:13:29):
There's shopping, shopping, shopping, but not department store stuff. Everything
about Christmas or stuff you could use every year, not
pots and pans. So you see clothing, handicrafts, unique itemsers,
nut crackers. I I'm not a shopper. I've said before.
I don't even like I literally don't even like shopping

(01:13:50):
for socks. The first time I went, I had to
go out and buy a suitcase because it was all
grand kids. The grandkids bankrupt to me. But I'm a
willing participant of that. Oh gotta get this for Oscar,
Gotta get this for mil I gotta get this for Havana,
got to get this for Libby, you know, going through that.

(01:14:12):
But in addition to the Christmas markets, we see all
of the sight seeings that one would see any time
of year on the Rhine. We're going to start in Basel, Switzerland.
We will visit Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands. We
will finish in Amsterdam. You could stay a few days

(01:14:34):
if you want. We'll also have a pre cruise option
in Switzerland and then bord in Basel, Switzerland. You know
what I love about Amsterdam with a lot of things.
I love the city. In fact, I was there earlier
this summer yet again. But we have NonStop flights between

(01:14:54):
Salt Lake and Amsterdam. Yes, that is such a nice
way to come. I try to avoid jf K at
all costs and Paris to Goal. Oh, I don't like change.
If you're going just to Paris, it's a fine airpace. Yes,
changing planes can get a little bit interesting with that.
But so the dates for the cruise itself are December

(01:15:14):
fourth to the eleventh. I'd love to have you join me.
This one is selling very well. Yeah, and here's what
we did on both the Maykong and the Christmas Markets.
On both of those river cruises, May cong November of
next year, Christmas Markets December of next year, we bought
half the ship. And what you will find is you

(01:15:36):
can book a cabin with another company or direct from
Almah Waterways, but our price is But because we bought
the cabins we own them are anywhere from hundreds and
hundreds and hundreds of dollars less to over one thousand
dollars less per person for the very same cabin, very

(01:15:57):
same dates. You can see all the the tales at
Morris Columbus dot com.

Speaker 1 (01:16:03):
Hey, God bless you this week. We'll talk to you
next week right here on the Travel Show