The Travel Show: Hawaii & Mexico Air/Hotel specials; Puerto Vallarta

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the Travel show. I'm Larry Gelwick's Nay get
Away Guru, back from the wilds of Africa just two
days ago. You know, do I have the greatest job
in the world or do I have the greatest job
in the world. I spent the last month visiting England, Scotland, Ireland,
Northern Ireland. Let's see what France and Africa and the Netherlands.

(00:31):
I'd like to welcome to the show today Donnie Rasmussen,
one of our extraordinary travel advisors at Morris Columbus Travel. Donnie,
I should say, welcome back to the show.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Thank you. You know I love to talk travel with
you now, you.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Know that's what we do. We talk travel, dream, sleep
and eat travel. We're gonna be talking about some of
the highlights of Africa. Also, what are people looking for
now and travel? The trends have been changing? And why
did a passenger call nine to one one whilst they

(01:09):
were on a flight that was on the tarmac. Well,
that's an interesting one. Questions to ask before you book
a safari. I'm going to take you to my hometown
San Francisco with some fun facts and where can you
find the ultimate San Francisco sourdough Bread, the business development

(01:29):
manager from Princess Cruises will be with us today, and
of course Hawaii and Mexico specialist. And I think we'll
round it out with cruise cabins you want to avoid, okay,
and why doing that? Well, Donnie, it's good to have
you back on the show.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
And you have a very special cruise tour coming up
that we'll talk about later. This is a mega Megas surprise. Well,
as I mentioned, Donnie, I just got back. Do you
know anyone who has a crazier schedule than I?

Speaker 2 (02:03):
I think you're insane. I mean, I love to travel,
but you barely sleep in.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Your own bed, That's correct.

Speaker 3 (02:09):
You know.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
I got home, Kathy called the police. There's an intruder
in the house. You know. Anyway, So I left July
the fourth, all right, how appropriate? I fly to London
on Independence Day where we told the Brits we'll have
our own country. I had the most wonderful group of people.

(02:31):
We spent three days in London and a statement attributed
to Winston Churchill which he didn't make, but it was
made by Samuel Johnson, perhaps Britain's legendary man of letters,
you know, a scholar, a theologian, a politician. Everything he said,

(02:52):
and I would add woman in here. He said, when
a man or a woman. When a man is tired
of London, he is tired of.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Life absolutely here here.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
You know. I have a store that my family and
I always visit when we go to London, always called
Lily Whites right there, and I go to the rugby
gear section. All of my grandkids are outfitted in rugby
gear from around the world because they have good prices

(03:25):
on that. But so after three days in London, we
board a two week cruise with Princess Cruises, the Love Boat,
and we visit England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland. By the way,
Northern Ireland and Ireland are separate. Ireland is a sovereign nation,

(03:47):
remember the EU. Northern Ireland is part of the UK.

Speaker 4 (03:53):
And I think travels picking up. I'm hearing people wanting
to go to Northern Ireland.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
From Yeah, yeah, they're on the Belfast.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Scotten's Safe and people really want to see that.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
And then we went to France to lahav and visited Normandy.
You talk about a moving experience anyway, So then I
put the group on the plane to come home and
we have a NonStop flight with Delta Airlines from Salt
Lake to London. They go home and what do I do?
I fly to Africa. I mean it's like, what do

(04:24):
you want to do?

Speaker 5 (04:24):
Oh?

Speaker 1 (04:25):
I think I'll go to Africa and met an incredibly
wonderful group of people there for an African safari, unlike
anything that you could even imagine. So then I got
home just two days ago on Thursday. Now this month August,
I will be leaving for Scotland and we have a

(04:47):
tour group in Scotland, Wales and England. It's a land
tour including the Tattoo Festival. No, that is not a
body art. I'll not be having Moronai tattooed on my
back all right. Tattoo is the largest bagpipe and drum
corps festival in the world.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
I have people going with you and there.

Speaker 1 (05:10):
And it's right there at the Edinburgh Castle where I
was just a few weeks ago, and they got the
stadium chairs lined up. Tattoo dates back to the sixteenth century,
where the sergeant at arms or the town crier, often
with a drummer, would visit each of the pubs and

(05:30):
yell tattoo tattoo, which meant to the innkeeper, turn the
turn the taps off, send the soldiers to the barracks
and send them in back to their wives, children at home,
stumbling along the way, stop by, And so over four
hundred years tattoo tattoo became tattoo.

Speaker 4 (05:53):
You know what I love is because England was covered
the whole world at one point. Those they're not just
English people there.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
Own tattoo, No, it's it's all around the world anyway.
So I've got that in Alaska, Cruz. I'll be back
to Norway. Got an exciting, exciting time. Well, as I mentioned,
just got back from Africa. Now I have been all
over Africa more times than I can count. I love Africa,

(06:22):
and I love the people there. They're genuine, they're good people.
And if you want an animal safari, you know you're
gonna shoot them with your camera, not your hot six.
You're gonna have a great experience anywhere you go in Africa.

(06:43):
But there is nothing, nothing that even comes close to
the Great Migration, which is a migration, and it's only
in the months of July, August, and September. One date
is not necessarily better than the other. We caught it
at the peak. But it's like saying, when is the
peak of fall fool as well. I don't know, could

(07:05):
be early to mid September till late October. You're in Utah,
that's right now. You're gonna see animals wherever you go.
But it is overwhelming, the number of animals, you know.
I read accounts of the Western Migration where people coming
across the pioneers across the plains, and they would talk

(07:29):
in their journals about seeing a mountain, seeing a valley
black with buffalo. I intellectually understood that. I didn't emotionally
get it until my first trip to Africa, which was
many years ago. And I will see during the Great Migration,
a valley, a hillside black with wilderbeasts. It's over It

(07:54):
is overwhelming. And you know, we had Laurna. I know
you're listing out there. I love you. Laurna. She is
eighty eight years old, travels with me on my tours
all the time. This is what she just got back
with her sister, and this is the second time that
she has gone to Africa with me on the Great Migration,

(08:17):
and we're talking about my favorite animal. The lions. Now
for my wife Kathy, it's the wart hogs. Don't ask
me why. You know. Wart hogs and wil de debese
are dumb. They in fact make a car bumper look smart.
But that's another story for another day. And we saw

(08:41):
lions every day. We saw prides of lions. Wow, every day.
Laura made mentioned to me that she had gone on
an Africa Safari to South Africa, which is a wonderful destination,
and she was at Kruger National Park. I've been there
several times. Great park. They never saw a lion. And

(09:04):
the problem with Krueger is that the vehicles have to
stay on paved roads only, and the animals have not
learned to only walk on paved roads.

Speaker 4 (09:16):
You know what people need to realize there's a difference
in safaris. You think Safari safari, but it's not. The
vehicles make a huge difference. If you've got a Safari vehicle,
you don't get stuck in the mud, right get you
can go off road and you're not pushing your own
vehicle out of a rut.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
That's right. In fact, later in the show, I'll give
you a list of questions to ask before you book
your Safari. Well, it was an incredible experience. Coming up.
One of our tour members, Judy is going to be
joining us. Hey, here's a good reminder. Always wear a
seat belt. On July thirtieth of this past week, which

(09:54):
was Wednesday, Salt Lake to Amsterdam NonStop with Delta Airlines,
I love that flight. They hit some unexpended, unexpected turbulence
and people were hitting the ceiling. They had to land
in Minneapolis. Have some people checked out? The flight attendant

(10:15):
on my flight Amsterdam Salt Lake on Thursday of this
past week July thirty first mentioned that she had a
flight attendant friend who hit the ceiling. So a reminder,
unless you're up walking going to the restroom where your
seat belt. I just put it kind of loosely attached there. Well, listen,

(10:37):
when we come back, Judy, who joined us on the
Great Migration, is going to get her perspective of this
once in a lifetime except for lorna trip to Africa.

(10:58):
You're listening to the travel show I'm where we Gilwick's
The Getaway and Guru. The travel show is sponsored by
Morris Columbus Travel where you always travel More and pay Less.
I'm joined today in studio. But my friend and colleague,
Donnie Rasmussen.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
I'm happy to be here.

Speaker 1 (11:15):
It's good to have you here. It's good to have
you here. Well, I know that you've booked some folks
on our great migration.

Speaker 2 (11:23):
I did.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
And what do they say when you come back?

Speaker 4 (11:28):
You know what's so interesting is there's a preconceived notion
of what a safari is, and that's mainly right, but
there's so much more to it. And they come back
and when I say how did it go? What could
I have done to improve things? They just rave.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
I mean they rave about the camps, the food.

Speaker 1 (11:45):
The vehicles, everything about it. You know. The comment that
I hear most often is actually an overused phrase, so
you'll wonder how authentic it is. But everyone, including my
wife Kathy, the first time she went, said it is
a life changer, and it really is. I'd like to
welcome to the show Judy, who was with me on

(12:08):
these recent safari with her husband Dwayne. Judy, Welcome to
the Travel show.

Speaker 6 (12:15):
Hi, thank you, Larry. I'm excited to be here with
you today.

Speaker 1 (12:18):
Well, it's so good to have you and you made
it home safely. What time zone are you in right now?

Speaker 3 (12:26):
I think I'm just I really don't know what day
or time it is, but we're in mountain time now.

Speaker 1 (12:32):
I find that, you know, I travel so much, Judy,
I think my body's permanently jet lagged. So you and
Joanne joined me and a wonderful group of travel show
listeners on the Great Migration Safari. What was your overall
impression of the Great Migration Safari.

Speaker 6 (12:53):
I would say that I had high expectations of what
this trip was going to be like, and it actually
exceeded all of my greatest expectations.

Speaker 7 (13:03):
It was just it was just.

Speaker 6 (13:05):
A phenomenal event that I never could have imagined what
it would be like before I left it. It was phenomenal.
I felt like I was going to witness or look
at the Great Migration, but I felt more a part
of it. I think that's kind of a takeaway I
have from it.

Speaker 1 (13:23):
So how did this Safari experience you said that exceeded
your expectation? How did it affect you as a person?
Emotionally A positive experience? Intellectually a positive experience.

Speaker 6 (13:38):
I think that it made me really grateful for what
I have. For one thing, it also kind of made
a connection to just the world and different people, and
just the beauty that's everywhere that we don't ever get
to see. I think it changed me as a person
in seeing so many aspects of family. I've been thinking

(13:59):
about that a lot lately since.

Speaker 7 (14:01):
I've been home.

Speaker 6 (14:02):
Just how animals work together in the unit, how our
guides worked together as a units, as the people that
came together that we didn't know worked together as a unit,
and you just saw that aspect of family and community
all around you.

Speaker 7 (14:18):
I loved that part of it.

Speaker 1 (14:19):
You mentioned the guides in the whole experience. Could you
comment on the quality of your safari guides, the game trackers,
the lodges, and the vehicles.

Speaker 6 (14:33):
Okay, the lodges were amazing. It's like luxury in the wild,
for sure.

Speaker 7 (14:38):
It's like all I felt.

Speaker 6 (14:39):
Like they were really authentic accommodations for a safari experience,
but with all the luxury included in it. They were phenomenal, beautiful, beautiful,
but yet you could still hear the sounds of the
outdoors inside of your I don't even want to call
them tense because they were just so beautiful. So they
were phenomenal. Also, before we left, one of the comments

(15:01):
that you made was that we were going to be
in these vehicles and you only allowed four people in them,
and I didn't realize the impact that that would have
on our trip. Because we were able to see from
all sides, we were able to stand up and move
around in the vehicles. And as I saw that and
experienced it and compared it to some of the other

(15:21):
vehicles that were out on safari from other tour groups,
they were just jam packed in there, and if you
saw something on the left and you happened to be
sitting on the right, you wouldn't be able to see
what happened. But we saw everything, and I felt like
they were very well cared for, very well taken care of.
I also cannot comment enough on the quality of your guides.

Speaker 2 (15:43):
We had.

Speaker 6 (15:44):
Big Jack was our guide, and every morning we woke
up and there he was you ready this, Judy for
a great day and opened the door for you, and
the cars were cleaned and stocked with cold water, and
off we went. It was really impressive.

Speaker 1 (15:58):
And it really is quite experience. I'll comment on the vehicles, Judy.
We use the and the relatively new the Toyota land Cruiser.
It seats eight people plus the driver and we don't
put more than four. You know, the animals have not
learned to only come to your side. Now, as you mentioned,

(16:19):
you can go right or left, forwards or backwards. We
saw vehicles that were packed, and what's interesting is some
of the vehicles, quite a few were passenger vans, some
with a pop up top, some with not. But you
remember every seat was taken in a passenger van, which

(16:41):
sometimes gets stuck with that.

Speaker 6 (16:44):
I noticed that as well, Larry, like a couple of
the vans got stuck out there, which I can't think
of a worse place to be stuck, to be honest.
So ours were very well cared for and very immaculately clean,
and you could tell that we were in a very
safe vehicle. Gave you a sense of comfort.

Speaker 1 (17:01):
It was good. We're speaking with Judy who she and
her husband Dwayne were with me in Africa. We just
got back Thursday. We have about one minute left. Judy,
I got to ask you this. Did you have a
favorite animal that you kind of bonded with?

Speaker 3 (17:18):
Oh, I'm telling you, I love the lions and the elephants,
and we I think we had a couple of experiences
where we were so close with them that those two.

Speaker 6 (17:29):
Really stuck out to me as a favorite, and I
really enjoyed that. I think if I had to sum
it up with my very most impactful experience, it was
when we went to the Somboro village and we saw
how the villagers live and the children and just the
joy that they had.

Speaker 7 (17:48):
I was very touched by that. Did it surprise emotional experience?

Speaker 1 (17:54):
Did it surprise you how close we get to animals? Yes?

Speaker 7 (17:59):
Every day. It's not just once.

Speaker 6 (18:01):
I didn't just see a lion one time or an
elephant one time. It was every single day, and every
day was just seemed like it was better than the
day before and better than the day before.

Speaker 7 (18:11):
It was so awesome.

Speaker 6 (18:12):
I would highly recommend it. It would be a complicated
trip to take on your own, but when it's put
together in the package that it is, it's just simple.
You just wake up in the morning and off the shot.

Speaker 1 (18:24):
Well, thank you, Judy. We do have twenty twenty six
Safari dates available. I'll give those later in the show.
Judy back from Safari more when we come back, Yorana,

(18:46):
and welcome to the travel show. I'm Larry Gelwicks. They
get Away Guru. I will explain what I just said
Yurana in the Tahitian language. During this segment, of course
they get away Guru fluent in Tahitian and all languages. Yeah, yes,
I got my PhD and BS. Thank you very much.

(19:09):
I'm joined today by Donnie Rasmus and my friend and
colleague at Morris Columbus Travel. If you'd like to speak
directly with Donnie eight oh one four eight three sixty
five sixty three. That's eight oh one four eight three
sixty five sixty three. Donnie, you're on the front line

(19:30):
as a travel advisors. How many years have you been
in the industry?

Speaker 2 (19:34):
About seven?

Speaker 1 (19:35):
About seven years. That's a long time, a lot of experience.
You often talk about experience that there are things in
life and including travel, that you can only learn through
time and experience in life, in business, in families, there's

(19:57):
no book learning for this stuff. And that is so
true in travel and what you've learned on a wonderful
career at Morris Columbus Travel. So you know, what are
people calling about now? What are they looking for?

Speaker 4 (20:15):
You know, I traveled extensively before I started. That's why
I wanted to work at Morris Columbus, and the more
you travel, the more you realize there's places beyond, beyond
the big name locations. It's like somebody coming to the
US and saying, well, we went to la in New York.
We've seen it, you know. And I think what I'm
being asked is I want something that's more real, that's

(20:38):
more authentic. I want to make my own perfume in
the south of France. I want to cook with some
old grandma in Tuscany. I want something off the beaten path,
especially if you've already been to Rome or Paris. I'm
not minimizing those. You should go, but then get out
of there. And I'm having people ask me I think
the world has shrunk due to media and people feel

(21:00):
like I've always wanted to go to the Galapagos.

Speaker 2 (21:03):
I think I'm going to do that.

Speaker 1 (21:05):
Let's play a game here. You didn't know we're going
to play this game.

Speaker 2 (21:09):
Oh I didn't.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
All right, I'm going to ask you two questions, and
this is front of mind awareness. First thing comes out.
You have two seconds, okay to answer the question. Just
two seconds.

Speaker 2 (21:22):
Put me on the spot, all right.

Speaker 1 (21:24):
Tell me a Christmas gift you got three years ago.

Speaker 3 (21:29):
All.

Speaker 1 (21:30):
You can't do it. No really, Now, in two seconds,
I want you to reach back to your childhood, which
would have been twenty five years ago. Thank you very much.
You'll reach back to your childhood. Tell me the destination
of a family trip or vacation, not just where you went,
not all the details.

Speaker 4 (21:51):
Go San Antonio, Texas. Say is fair sixty eight? I
mean nineteen sixty eight. I remember that was a that
that was a long terms.

Speaker 1 (22:01):
That was my first year in college was nineteen sixty Oh,
I was a child, Thank you very much. So here's
what's interesting, Donnie, is for Christmas. This doesn't diminish Christmas gifts.
But they're things, and they're you know, a basketball, a

(22:22):
new dress, a bicycle, a bowling ball, a book, a sweater,
a necktie. There.

Speaker 4 (22:29):
Things now give people a memory and experience. If you
want something under the tree, wrap up a pair of
flip flops and some sunscreen and say we're going on.

Speaker 1 (22:38):
A cruise preferably Oli. Yeah. Yeah, that's what I'm wearing
right now. Thank you very much. Dale, Dale is listing.
I know what you know what I'm saying, But anyway,
you know, this doesn't diminish Christmas.

Speaker 4 (22:52):
Gifts Christmas fun and still give a memory that creates
bonding with you.

Speaker 1 (23:00):
So you know, we can't immediately identify a gift, but
immediately you reached back into your childhood and you could
relate and relive and experience. Surveys all the time find
that travel is the greatest gift. Now, this is assuming

(23:20):
that you have enough food on the table, you can
pay your mortgage. You know, if you can't pay your bills,
nothing's more important than money. But you give someone money,
as wonderful as that is, it goes in the bank account.
It's kind of forgotten. It pays bills well.

Speaker 4 (23:34):
And Judy mentioned in her segment that she came home
with a real appreciation for what she had. I think
travel is the best way to come home and realize
there are people all over the world that do things
differently than we do.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
They don't envy the way we do things.

Speaker 4 (23:49):
They love the way they do things, and we can
come back and say we like our way.

Speaker 1 (23:53):
I've been in the travel industry forty seven years. I've
been a travel junkie my whole life. My first trip
to Hawaii was in nineteen sixty six. I was sixteen
years old and I went to Hawaii for a week
and I went surfing. I was an little surfer boy.
I had the surfer jams that I'd wear, the hair

(24:15):
like the beach boys down in my eyes. I've got
some great pictures of me at sixteen, a time in
my life where I looked so good in a bathing suit.
That was decades ago. Now I go to the beach
and they asked me to put a shirt back on.
But those are great memory. And you know, I hitchhiked
to Mexico as a kid. I was a different era,

(24:37):
you know, and we'd grab the car and we'd take off.
I remember, as a teenager, my brother and I who
was younger than me, we just took the family's old
Ford Falcon station wagon and went down Highway one on
the coast, sleeping in the car because it was you know,
we just kind of put the seats down, those type

(25:00):
of things. So people are looking for experiences.

Speaker 4 (25:04):
But don't you think it changes your outlook too. I
think people are less judgmental. When you've traveled. You're more
open minded, You're forgiving, you're welcoming and accepting. You talked
about the people in Africa, how genuine they are people
call me and they want to.

Speaker 2 (25:19):
Have something that isn't artificial.

Speaker 4 (25:21):
They don't want to see a fake Paris in Las Vegas.
They want to see real people who work there.

Speaker 2 (25:28):
And do something.

Speaker 4 (25:29):
And I think what I'm getting calls for is COVID
taught us we may not be able to do everything
we wanted to do. So let's do the things that
are really high on our bucket list. And that's something
that's authentic. Let's go, Let's go do something you can't just.

Speaker 1 (25:43):
Package, you know. Let me ask you this question about
experiences and that whole emotional element of travel. What is
it about the South Seas, the South Pacific Polynesia? Valija.

Speaker 4 (26:00):
I was just gonna see, you're gonna show my age
because I grew up with Roger and Hammerstein and it
made it look so exotic, Okay, And everything you see,
whether you read James Mitchner or whatever it is, there's
something Paul Gogan. I mean, you look at that and
you say it's so perfect. It looks so Garden of Edenish,

(26:23):
you know, and we want to experience that.

Speaker 2 (26:25):
We want to see it before it's ruined.

Speaker 1 (26:27):
Well, in that beautiful rendition of Bally High, that I
just sun course, that's from the nineteen fifty eight movie
South Pacific. I'm going to watch that end right out
of my hair with Mitzi Gaynor, which based upon the
nineteen forty nine Rogers and Hamberstein musical South Pacific, which
in turn is loosely based on James Mischner's you know

(26:51):
he wrote Hawaii Right, nineteen forty seven short story collection.
My wife says that I'm white on the outside and
brown on the inside because I identify with Polynesia. I've
spent so a good part of my life down there,
so many friends in the different islands, but there is

(27:16):
a romantic it's warm, tropical weather, the sunrises and sunsets.
The people are so friendly, and they love to sing
and dance and play with fire, you know, fire dances.
There is scenery that absolutely explodes the senses. And the
thing I always tell people is you'll go home with

(27:38):
your photos of Polynesia and people will say, oh, that's
so beautiful, and you're going no, no, even these Yeah,
it's unspoiled, uncrowded beaches. It really is a world apart.

Speaker 4 (27:54):
And that crystal clear water doesn't everybody want to jump
in and snorkel in?

Speaker 7 (27:59):
That.

Speaker 1 (27:59):
Yeah, one of my favorite things to do in Polynesia,
I said, I've been everywhere and spent extended periods of
time in Polynesia. Is I like sundays walking in Samoa
or Tonga or Fiji or any of the islands. And
you know, they're in Samoa where they have the most

(28:19):
traditional lifestyle. Most people live in an open sided folly.
They cook over an open fire of coconut husks. There's
no plumbing. They live an old lifestyle. But everybody goes
to church, everybody and they're the umu ovens. You can

(28:40):
just see the smoke from the different.

Speaker 2 (28:42):
Houses in the films on musical, Have you noticed.

Speaker 1 (28:44):
They all sing in harmony?

Speaker 4 (28:46):
Sure?

Speaker 2 (28:46):
Yes, they're so musical.

Speaker 4 (28:48):
They're so talented, and I can't figure out why they
can do it and Americans can't seem to master.

Speaker 1 (28:53):
Well, I'd love to take you to Polynesia the South Seas.
One of the most popular Morris Columbus tours that we have,
and I'm fortunate to be your host and guide, is
next year. The dates are May fifteen to twenty seven.

(29:14):
We are going to sail from Tahiti to Hawaii. Now,
the distance on that is two thousand six hundred and
fourteen miles, which is just about the same as La
to Honolulu. What's nice about Tahiti's at the same time zone.

(29:35):
So we'll we'll be visiting the islands of Tahiti Moorea,
right Yetea Bora Bora, which James Mister said was the
most beautiful island in the world. We'll visit the Society Islands,
cruised through the Tuamotu Archipelago of islands, sailing north across
the equator it sounds then and to Hawaii and visit

(29:58):
the islands of Hawaii. What's really nice about this is
we have a free air promotion.

Speaker 2 (30:05):
Oh my gosh, this is a great deal there.

Speaker 4 (30:08):
If you are willing to take the air they assign you,
you can't pass this up. It's by the buy airfare
for the first person in your stateroom.

Speaker 2 (30:17):
The second person flies free. No catch is free.

Speaker 4 (30:20):
So if if you're willing to let them assign you
your flight, you can't beat this steam.

Speaker 1 (30:26):
What we mean by that is if you're going to
get a free ticket. This is with Norwegian Cruise Line.
They will pick the airline. It could be Delta, could
be United, could be but.

Speaker 4 (30:36):
It's always the major airline. You're not flying on some
rattle track.

Speaker 1 (30:40):
Jimbo two air. No, it's a major, certified airline. And
I always do that because I find that the first
person is paying a heavily discounted airfare, usually less than
what you could buy it.

Speaker 4 (30:55):
You're not up to the price on that first person
to compensate for the second. It's truly a free flight
for the second person.

Speaker 1 (31:02):
So the dates from May fifteen to twenty seven will
be doing our own shore excursions on board activities. Remember
that cruise prices are not static. They don't stay the
same as the ship fills up. The prices go up.
As an airline fills up, the price is up. Give
Morris Columbus Travel a call or Tahiti to Hawaii, May

(31:26):
fifteen to twenty seven next year. Welcome back to the
travel show. I'm Larry Gelwick's they can get away groom
fresh back less than forty eight hours from the wilds

(31:48):
of Africa. I'm joined today in studio with Donnie Rasmussen,
one of our Morris Columbus Travel advisors. If you'd like
to talk to Donnie direct, call her on money eighth
one four eight three sixty five sixty three, and we'd
love to have you join us here on the air
on the Travel Show. Your questions, comments, your recommendations, your experiences,

(32:13):
with a very special invitation to any of you folks
that joined me and Judy who was just on the
air joined us on our recent African safari with a
brief comment on how it affected you, what you loved
about it, and all of that. You can give us
a call here on the Travel Show at triple eight

(32:37):
five seven oh eighth one. Oh that's triple eight five
seventy eighty ten. Donnie, Have you ever called nine to
one one for something?

Speaker 2 (32:50):
No, it better be an emergency.

Speaker 1 (32:53):
So I have a few times, but not because I
was in distress. But I witnessed something, you know, and
I called nine one one and reported the incident that
I saw, Well, very interesting. On a recent American Airlines flight,
a first class entitled passenger was perturbed because his flight

(33:21):
was delayed. It was just sitting there on the tarmac
and for whatever reason, it was delayed, and he called
nine one one and asked them to force American Airlines
to take off. Well, he was overheard saying the police

(33:41):
was saying, well, we can't do this, said this is
a police matter, and then started arguing with him, Well,
things didn't turn out, arguing with the flight attendants, demanding
that the flight take off. He's got nine to one
one on the line. Well, the least did come, but
it didn't turn out exactly the way he thought. Policeman,

(34:07):
it goes back to the gate. Seven policemen arrest him
and haul him off the flight.

Speaker 2 (34:13):
Probably couldn't happen to a nicer person.

Speaker 1 (34:15):
Yes, so yeah, okay, I'm hold. Do you know what
this is?

Speaker 2 (34:21):
Liquid energy?

Speaker 1 (34:22):
I think it is. I have a Saturday morning routine.
I go to McDonald's, get a diet coke, the official
drink of the state of Utah, and an egg McMuffin.
It's a Saturday routine and it's my caffeine hit, you know.
And my daughter Emily has said, Dad, I can tell

(34:42):
on the radio show when you haven't had your diet coke.
And I said, how can you do that? This is
exactly what she said, word for word. When you've had
a diet coke and you're on the radio, you're more peppy.

Speaker 2 (34:56):
Oh well, we want you to peppy, So.

Speaker 1 (34:58):
I guess that I'm peppy. Well, everybody talks about and
it's true, the McDonald coke or diet coke actually tastes better.
I've had people in the in the food and hospitality
business say that's absolutely true.

Speaker 2 (35:13):
We were talking about that. Do you know why it
tastes better?

Speaker 1 (35:16):
Because I don't four scientific reasons, and you know if
people keep coming back for the McDonald's coke, and for
years people said it tastes differently, Well, finally the kimono
has been open, and here are the four scientific reasons.
Number one, the syrup ratio. Now, for a soda, you
gotta have an ice cold, so people fill it with ice.

(35:39):
McDonald's have allowed for this, knowing that ice dilutes the drink, okay,
and so they adjust the syrup up a bit, assuming
that you're going to take ice. They add more syrup
so that when the ice is melting, it is not

(36:00):
diluting it. It just adds a lot more flavor. Number
two is the temperature. Turns out that McDonald's put the
work to make sure that the temperature is just right,
the food chain ensures it's kept cool, and every step
in the process. Now, way before your coke or diet

(36:22):
coke reaches the soda fountain, McDonald's is making sure it's cold,
and part of this is using stainless steel to store
the syrup, and then they chill it, so you have
chilled water, chilled syrup coming mixing together from stainless steel.
Then there's the filtration. They filter the water. You know,

(36:45):
water all over the country tastes different. It does Hanford, California.
When I was a man of the cloth for three
years as the mission leader down there, Hanford water was
rated the worst water the country.

Speaker 2 (37:01):
I don't know, I've had some bad water in.

Speaker 1 (37:02):
Nobody would drink it out of you always had bottled
water anyway. So what they do is they filter the
water and fourth the straws, they make them a little
bit wider, so you get more a little more volume
in your sip and the flavor that is exploding and

(37:23):
dancing around your tongue. So the four reasons that McDonald's
tastes better are the syrup ratio, the temperature, water filtration,
and straws.

Speaker 4 (37:36):
So I have to tell you a funny call. I
got all inclusive resort. They wanted to know if they
served pepsi or coke because they were definitely fans.

Speaker 1 (37:45):
That's a fair question. And NCL has switched from Pepsi
to coke.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
Good for them.

Speaker 1 (37:51):
Hey, listen when we come back in our number two,
are you thinking about a safari We've been talking about that.
I will give you the questions to ask before you go.
And I'm taking into my hometown, San Francisco and where
to find the best sourdough on the planet. Here in
our number two of the Travel Show. You're listening to

(38:17):
the Travel Show, Our number two, the best two hours
in radio. I'm Larry Gelwicks, that get away Guru. The
Travel show is sponsored by Morris Columbus Travel, where you
always travel more and pay less. Check out their website
at Morriscolumbus dot com. That's Morriscolumbus dot com. And if
you want to look at any of the Morris Columbus

(38:40):
group escorted tours, and there's a wide variety, simply go
to the homepage of Morriscolumbus dot com. Scroll down. I
think it's the third item down and it says Morris
Murdoch Escorted Tours. That's the brand name for Morris Columbus
Tours is Morris Murdock. That's a long story. I've explained

(39:02):
before we won't re explain it anyway. And then you
click on a geographic destination. If it's a cruise, simply
click on cruises. Then you'll see them listed for twenty
twenty five, twenty twenty six, and I think twenty twenty
seven is going to be coming out pretty darn quick.
And for land tours you can click on Africa, Asia, Europe,

(39:24):
Holy Land on things like that. By the way, next
week we'll be getting an insider's update on the Holy Land.
What's happening and when we can expect tours to go back.
That'll be next week August the ninth. I'm joined today
in studio by our friend and colleague Donnie Rasmussen, one

(39:45):
of the travel experts at Morris Columbus Travel. And if
you'd like to talk to Danny direct eight oh one
four eight three sixty five sixty three eight oh one
four eight three sixty five sixty three. Well, Donnie, welcome
back to the show.

Speaker 2 (40:04):
Thank you, happy to be here a second hour.

Speaker 1 (40:07):
You know, I was really sad to see Southwest Airlines change.

Speaker 2 (40:11):
That was their big selling feature.

Speaker 1 (40:13):
And the selling feature was no assigned seatings. You get
in line by the order that you checked in including
checking in online, and then you could buy a position.

Speaker 2 (40:27):
And I don't think fighting for a seat was a
selling feature.

Speaker 1 (40:29):
I was life bags, yeah, which can save you usually
about eighty dollars per person each way if you take
to check bags. Well, there was an investment group that
bought in two billion dollars worth of Southwest stock wanted
to restructure the company. Many people think they really just

(40:50):
wanted to blow the company up with profits and then
sell it. You know, they're not looking at That's what
a lot of reports have said. Well, one of the
big changes is Southwest began taking assigned seats now, which
you have to pay for which most airlines charge unless
you have a preferred status, a select credit card, a

(41:15):
medallion status with them, And so for flights starting in
January of twenty twenty six that you're booking now you
can get assigned seats and on the free bags. If
you bought your ticket before May twenty eighth, you still

(41:36):
have the two free bags, but for tickets issued on
or after May twenty eighth of this year for the
first bag, thirty five bucks.

Speaker 2 (41:47):
You've trude a standard. But see, people aren't used to
paying now.

Speaker 1 (41:50):
With some second bag forty five bucks each way. Now
there are some exceptions business Select Fair, a List, Preferred
Man and Select credit cards, things like that, which other
airlines have too. We'll see it. There has been an
uproar from because it was almost a cult, and I

(42:13):
say that in a very positive way. People love they did,
and there has been an outrage. You can get all
the details at Southwest dot Comsouthwest dot com. Yeah, and
on their basic fare it's like Basic Economy sale in Delta.
You get your seat assignment at check in. You can't

(42:36):
book it in advance. And one of the things that
I always caution people about you're booking Basic Economy they
call it different names by different airlines, is when you're
going to book a family, you will most likely be
split up. And then you're asking people to change. And

(42:58):
sometimes I will change if it's an even exchange on
my seat. But you know what, a couple of weeks ago,
we talked about a woman who she was in business class,
her husband was in coach, asked another business class passenger
to swap and go back to coach. He said no.

(43:18):
She was outraged. Just crazy, crazy times. Okay, you've got
people in Africa right now on our Great Migration Safari. Now,
by the way, if you want to see the primates,
the silver backs, you want to go to Uganda or Rwanda.
But for most people, an African safari will be a

(43:43):
once in a lifetime experience. So you want to do
it right. And we talked about with Judy, who just
got back two days ago from Africa. She was with
me and my group there in Africa. You want to
do it right. The Great Migration is the ultimate. I
can't even begin to tell you the sheer abundance of animals.

(44:08):
By day three. We always give you a booklet with
color photos and a description of I don't know seventy animals,
sixty five to seven animal species that you're likely to see.
By day three you will have checked off, in most
cases about fifty species, not including the birds. We saw

(44:29):
lions every day. We saw every animal possible. We saw
the Great Migration, the migration of the wilderbeast and animals, animal,
the crossings of the river. I mean, it just is
so overwhelming you cannot get it now. The Great Migration
is only in the months of July, August and September.

(44:52):
Something in the instinct of these animals drives them on
a nine hundred mile round trip.

Speaker 2 (45:00):
They following where.

Speaker 4 (45:02):
There's grass and food, right, and it changes and drives out,
so they move.

Speaker 1 (45:06):
And it only takes place in Kenya and Tanzania. And
for a long list of excuse me, long list of
reasons Kenya is the better choice. Judy talked about the
vehicles that we only put forward. Here's some questions that
you should ask whether you book with Morris Columbus Travel

(45:27):
or XYZ Safari companies, And most Safari companies don't have
their own vehicles or full time guides. And there's nothing
inherently wrong with that, but it's luck of the draw
where they say, Okay, we've got six people coming, we
got to rent a vehicle and find a guide. You know,

(45:48):
That's what happens in most cases with Discovery Expeditions which
we partner with, the guides are full time, year round.
Most of them have been there fifteen to twenty years.
So here are the questions. Number one, how long has
the Safari company been in business? Now? I'd like to

(46:10):
read reviews, but I know that reviews can be biased
and skewed. Someone has a bad experience and they just
trash a company. Now, maybe they deserve it, maybe they don't.
So one is how long has this safari company been
doing business? Number two, tell me about the type of
vehicle and how many does it seat? And how many

(46:33):
do you put in the vehicle? As Judy mentioned and
I commented on in the last hour, I see every
seat taken in most vehicles. Why because it's more economical.
So you have eight people, I could put them all
in one vehicle and profit wise, cost wise, that's fantastic.

(46:56):
But we put them in two vehicles. That means two vehicles,
two guides. But that is your experience.

Speaker 2 (47:02):
Ask if it's a four wheel drive.

Speaker 4 (47:04):
It never occurred to me that they wouldn't drive four
wheel drives until I heard horror stories of people getting stuck.

Speaker 1 (47:10):
I was there and we helped pull a vehicle out.

Speaker 2 (47:15):
Oh that's a luxury vacation. Is your own vehicle out?

Speaker 1 (47:19):
With that? What is the location of the lodge? For example,
up on the Serengetti also known by the Massai dribe
as the Mara, which means spotted plane as spotted green,
we're right on the bend of the river. There are
wonderful lodges. There's some junkie ones too, but There are

(47:39):
incredible lodges, but they're an hour to two hour drive
each way to get where we are up on the Serengetti.
Once you're in your vehicle, within fifteen seconds you're outside
the gate and all these lodges are surrounded by the
big electric fence. You're looking for animals? What type of

(48:01):
lodging is it? Number five is what wildlife parks will
you be visiting? There's fifty five parks there. I consider
four as must see. They're scattered about. We see three
of the four Samburu, O, Pajetta and the Serengetti. The
other one, I'm Basselli, is nice, but you're not gonna

(48:22):
see anything there that we don't see. It's on the
other side of the country. And number six, what are
the guide or drivers experience? How long have they been
doing this? Well? Our twenty twenty six dates are available.
These are the USA departure and return dates twenty twenty six,
July twenty nine to August ninth and August eighteen to

(48:46):
twenty nine, both at the peak of the Great Migration.
When we come back. Dana McCullough, business development manager for
Princess Cruise, is the love boat we will be joining
us here the Travel Show. You're listening to the Travel Show.

(49:09):
I'm Larry Yelwicks, the Getaway Guru, joined in studio today
by the lovely intelligent Donnie Rasmussen, who is one of
the Morris Columbus Travel advisors in the Salt Lake office.
If you'd like to talk to Donnie direct eight oh
one four eight three sixty five sixty three. That's eight
oh one four eight three sixty five sixty three, Donnie.

(49:35):
I think if any cruise line has established a market
position or a slogan, nobody beats Princess Cruz as the
love Boat.

Speaker 4 (49:47):
You know, everybody knows that I've got a better one,
come back New. Who doesn't want that's their slogan? Who
doesn't want to go on a trip and come back new?

Speaker 2 (49:57):
Me?

Speaker 1 (49:57):
Me, me me. Well, we'd like to welcome become to
the Travel Show our dear friend, Dana McCullough, business development
manager with Princess Cruises the Love Boat Data, welcome back
to the Travel Show.

Speaker 7 (50:11):
Thank you so much, good morning, and I love that
come Back New and the love Boat. Yeah, we're pretty
much known everywhere, so I agree with both of you.

Speaker 1 (50:20):
Yes, well, Dana thank you for joining us today. I'm
excited to talk to you about a new Princess ship.
Give us the details.

Speaker 7 (50:31):
So it's the sister ship to the Sun Princess, which
came out last year. It's called the Star Princess, and
she is in the Steer class, which is a totally
new class of ship for us. She's our largest, so
she's forty three hundred guests, as is the Son. The
difference between those two ships is we have all the
wonderful things that Princess has on the rest of our fleet,

(50:51):
but we also have something now called the Sanctuary Collection,
which is offered on both of those ships, which is
a very nice premium cabin category that you you our
most all inclusive package and it applicable to suites, a
couple of mini suites, deluxe balcony staterooms. Do you get
our premium package which includes our beverage package and Wi
Fi and the tipping. It's just setting us apart. We

(51:14):
already want awards on this Son Princess, and I know
the Star is going to do exactly the same one
she comes out, and that is.

Speaker 1 (51:19):
Called the Sanctuary Collection. Now I will be leaving with
a group of Travel Show listeners to Alaska, Vancouver to Anchorage.
The ship departs Vancouver with Princess Cruises on August twenty third.
Then we've got our group extending in Denali. Alaska is

(51:46):
so popular, Donnie, you book a lot of people to Alaska.
It's been one of our best sellers at Morris Columbus.
And I know, Donnie, you book a lot of people
on the love boat Princess Cruises straight talk. What do
you about Princess Cruises and their experience in Alaska?

Speaker 4 (52:05):
Well, I feel like when they call, they expect me
to be able to give them information they wouldn't get otherwise.

Speaker 2 (52:10):
And my take on.

Speaker 4 (52:12):
It is, if you're going to Alaska, book Princess because
they were there first, they have the best docking places.
You're not going to get busted in from out of town.
You can walk off the ship and you're there. I mean,
it makes a world of difference as far as convenience
and experience.

Speaker 1 (52:30):
You know, I think Dana of Juno, and no disrespect
to any other cruise line there. There's so many good
choices out there, but I think of Juna, where I'll
be in just a couple of weeks with our group
of travel show listeners. Princess docs right there at the
Mount Roberts tram the center of town. Other ships have

(52:51):
to either drop anchor and tender in, or some are
at satellite ports. Again, no disrespect to anyone, but you
guys do Alaska different. Now. Twenty twenty six has been
selling like crazy, Dana, but I believe that twenty twenty
seven is going to open next week.

Speaker 7 (53:14):
It opens on Tuesday, on the fifth of August, and
one of the biggest things in that announcement, obviously will
be our part of our fleet that will be in
that market. But we will also have the Star Princess,
who in twenty twenty six, the new ship will be
sailing around trip Seattle. We were just told that she
will be doing the same in twenty twenty seven, so

(53:35):
two seasons in a row we will have the Star
Princess up there, which again offers all of those different
options that the rest of our fleet doesn't have. And
I agree with you with Juno. Every time I go,
it's wonderful to just run off the ship, do what
I need to do, and then run back on the ship.
It is so unbelievably convenient for us to have that
I think it's the first spot docking first or second.

Speaker 1 (53:57):
Usually it's right in the middle of town. We're speaking
with Dana McCullough, business development manager with Princess Cruises, and
we have about three minutes left. I want to ask
you a couple of personal questions right here on the
travel show now straight talk, Dana. Princess Cruises sales all
around the world and there's no right or wrong. Everybody's

(54:20):
choices are different. Do you, Dana, have a favorite cruise
destination or itinerary?

Speaker 7 (54:30):
Well, Alaska has always been my favorite. I've been there
thirteen times thirteen cruises, and then I've done three times
on the land. I still have to do the connoisseur one.
So you should reach out to the Morris Travel Agents
if you want to talk about that one, because that's
our really best one. Alaska. For me, I see something
different every time I go, and I'm always so surprised

(54:52):
that I go, Wow, I've been here so many times,
How did I not see that? The beauty always just
absolutely amazes me. It just never gets old. It's a
destination that I truly adore. It is my top top one.

Speaker 1 (55:04):
You know, I gotta do. Data is I got to
figure out a twenty twenty seven Alaska itinerary on Monday
and get that request in for group space on Tuesday.

Speaker 2 (55:18):
Dana, will you talk about Asia?

Speaker 4 (55:20):
I had somebody just come back with two teenagers and
they sailed Princess around Japan and it is the best
value way to see a quite expensive country. And those
teenagers said they had so much fun on that ship
with scavenger hunts and contests. And Asia's hot right now?

Speaker 1 (55:36):
Was that on the Diamond Princess. I believe it was
because I sailed with a group of travel show listeners
in May. Fabulous itinerary.

Speaker 7 (55:44):
Go ahead, Dana, Yeah, And that particular ship was built
for that market. So I was in Japan two years
ago when it was right before the ship got there,
So I did not get to see the vessel, but
I did get to experience Japan, and I can't rave
about it enough. I think every time I go into
a travel agency, I say, have you thought about Japan?
You need to look at Japan. Not only is the

(56:05):
ship a destination in itself where it's bringing a lot
of Japan on board, but the country itself is absolutely beautiful.
The people are wonderful, the food is phenomenal and there's
stuff for every age. I was amazed at how many
people travel advisors really telling me I had this family
come back.

Speaker 1 (56:22):
They loved it.

Speaker 7 (56:23):
I had a family reunion, do it, and they're raving
about it to all their friends. Asia is super hot
and Japan in particular is white light hot.

Speaker 1 (56:30):
Right now, data, we got about fifteen seconds left. In fact,
we don't have fifteen seconds left. Thank you for joining
us on the Travel Show. Look forward to having you
back again here all the travels. Thanks Dana, Bye bye,
Welcome back to the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwick's the

(56:52):
Getaway Guru, joined in studio by Donnie Rasmussen, one of
our expert travel advisors that more Columbus travel. If you'd
like to speak to Donnie direct, call her on her
direct line eight oh one four eight three sixty five
sixty three eight oh one four eight three sixty five
sixty three. Do check out the Morris Columbus website. It

(57:16):
is so good Morriscolumbus dot com. That's Morris Columbus dot
com and you can see the different offerings and specials
right there, how to contact people and if you want
one of the Morris Columbus Escorted Programs. We brand it
under the name Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours and just go

(57:41):
down on the homepage a third item down, click on
Morris Murdoch Escorted Tours. Then you'll have a menu to
choose from. No, it won't be a cheeseburger, I wish
it was. But you can pick cruises or a land tour,
be Asia, Europe, South Pacific, you know in America, LDS,

(58:02):
Church History Tourist, Holy Land. A wide variety of options
right there for you. Now, if you don't have a
Morris Columbus Travel advisor, you can call this number and
it is a kind of a geo routing to the

(58:22):
nearest office that we have. One eight hundred triple nine
forty six forty six. One eight hundred triple nine forty
six forty six. Well, I'd like to welcome to the
show a special guest, Al rounds. Now. He and I
were talking, and Al's going to tell you a bit

(58:44):
about his career in an exciting, exciting program, the Masterpieces
of the Meniterranean, that will be hosted by Al and
by Donnie. But Al, welcome to the Travel show. Thank you. Now,
He and I were talking, and it turns out we
went to the same high school in California, but we

(59:08):
were four years apart, so we may not have been there.
You may come in as a freshman the year after
I graduated. Believe it or not, Donnie, I did graduate
from high school. It took a number of bribes, but
I made it out there. And yeah, Al, it's good
to have you here now. Al Rounds is a well

(59:30):
known and respective artist specializing in watercolors correct and his
work can be found at the LDS Rome Temple Visitors Center, churches, temples,
and homes around the world. He's best known for painting
rural scenes and historic vistas, a lot of them with

(59:53):
sentimental significance for people of faith. In fact, Al, I
believe the LDS Church COMMISSI send you to paint for
the Rome LDS Temple Visitors Center, and you spent a
few months looking there for inspiration. Now you have a
great story. They asked for one painting, but they ended
up with two. Tell us about that.

Speaker 5 (01:00:14):
Yes, Well, I was in Preston meeting a gazillion years
ago and we were studying about Lorenzo Snow and there
was a section where it talked about him in eighteen
fifty dedicating the land for proselyting in northern Italy, and
he was living up in the mountains with the Waldensians.

(01:00:36):
And I remember thinking at the time, Ah, I've got
to get there someday, and there's a painting to do.
So fast forward when the Missionary Department asked me to
do these paintings for the visitor center. One was of
the temple and a natural setting of the Rome Temple.
Of the Rome Temple because you can't see I mean,

(01:00:56):
there's an ikea across the street and you can't see
the temple by itself. There's so many buildings on Temple Square.
So and that's right up my alley, you know, seeing
something in a natural setting. And then I said to him,
you know, there's another painting. We need to look at that,
one of Lorenzo Snow. And of course at the time

(01:01:17):
they said, oh no, we're just going to do the one,
but later they called me in and then it was
their ideas. So I was happy I got to do it,
and so I did both.

Speaker 1 (01:01:27):
Peenings and those are in the visitors Center. Yes, you know,
I love that visitor center. Not only do they have
cool fountains of water that you can drink, clean restrooms,
but the statues of the twelve Apostles. Now, Donnie, you
and Al have put together, I think one of the

(01:01:49):
most incredible cruise and tour programs called Masterpieces of the Mediterranean,
which will include a stay in Rome and then a
one week cruise from Rome as in chivy Kvekia, which
is the port city for Rome to Barcelona.

Speaker 4 (01:02:06):
I am so excited to do this because we have
a lot of people call they want to go, but
you know, to get We were talking earlier in the
show about something that's authentic, that's real, that you don't
get all the time. So when I ran into Al
a few months ago, I said, would you be willing
to do this? And he graciously agreed to And I
know he has a huge following. There's a lot of
people familiar with his artwork. You've seen it on the

(01:02:29):
covers of magazines and bookstores and all kinds of things,
so he's got a real background in doing this, And
I said, would you be willing to host this? So
we're going to spend three days in Rome. Al's going
to take us through the visitor center, tell us how
those paintings came to be, and then he's graciously agreed
to also do a seminar at sea for us where
he's going to give a talk. Al, do you want

(01:02:50):
to tell us a little bit about that.

Speaker 5 (01:02:51):
Yes, I'm going to do a painting and I'll be
able to answer questions and everything to everyone while I'm
doing the painting and talk about watercolor and how it's
done and the nature of it, because I'll literally be
doing a watercolor on the ship live for everyone to

(01:03:12):
see and talking to them at the same time.

Speaker 4 (01:03:15):
Well, and I think a lot of people want to
go to Italy because of the art.

Speaker 2 (01:03:18):
I mean, it is a huge art.

Speaker 4 (01:03:20):
Mecca, and seeing it through your eyes is going to
be a little bit more unique than something I.

Speaker 2 (01:03:26):
Would get with a different tour guide.

Speaker 4 (01:03:28):
So I'm excited to hear your take on not just
your paintings, but we're going to twist your arm a
little and have you talked about some of the other
art that we may encounter to Yes, So.

Speaker 5 (01:03:37):
That was you know, the as an artist growing up.
I mean Rome is everything, all the artists and all
the artwork that's there that has such an influence on
your life. And so that was what was so interesting
about When I got there to do the painting of
the temple, I was afraid I wasn't going to get

(01:03:58):
to see any of these beautiful things that I've you know,
I've dreamed about my whole life scene. And so I
had a tour guide that was taking me around, and
I said, I actually got up on the roof of
the temple and took pictures looking all the way around
at the land because I wanted to make sure. I

(01:04:21):
didn't know what I was going to paint yet, but
I wanted to make sure that if it was an antiquity,
that I would do it right. So I wasn't going
to paint some building that wasn't important to the Italians, Okay.
And so as I was taking those pictures, I came
down to my tour guide and I said, you've got
to take me to all these places, but you can't

(01:04:42):
take me to any of the neat places, because I've
got to find this painting.

Speaker 1 (01:04:47):
And so and.

Speaker 5 (01:04:48):
He he was an enthusiastic friend, but he couldn't do it.
Everywhere we went, Tod say look at this and look
at that, and I would have to continually remind him
that I didn't time. I needed to find my painting.
And one night I just literally got out of the
car and started running to try to find a place

(01:05:10):
to see a sunset, and I came across the painting
I needed to and then he came to find me.
And when he came up to me, I put my
arms on his shoulders and I said, listen, something terrible's
gonna happen to you if you don't get me to
these places. And he's just big white eyes and he said,
no problem, no problem. So eventually we got to all

(01:05:34):
those places. I found my painting that I needed to
do of the temple, and then the very last day
he got to take me around see some of these
wonderful I think.

Speaker 4 (01:05:43):
It's so interesting you talk about I found my painting,
so it's not just you were assigned something. You had
to look for the inspiration. And that's what I want
our people who come on this cruise to hear about.
I want it to be an experience through an artist size,
because art is everywhere long the Mediterranean.

Speaker 5 (01:06:01):
It would be great fun talking to everybody about the
things that I know about these things.

Speaker 4 (01:06:06):
We're really looking forward to it. Three days in Rome,
and of course we'll include your hotels. We have a
tour bus that's going to take you, of course to
the Vatican, the Assistine Chapel, the Coliseum, all the places
everybody wants to see. But I think for most of us,
the highlight will be going to that Rome Temple visitor Center.
And then we're going to get on. We cruise down
along the Amalfi Coast. We're going to go to Sicily,

(01:06:27):
we'll stop in southern France and we'll see Nice and
Provence and we'll eventually end up in Barcelona.

Speaker 2 (01:06:33):
They're fabulous Destiny.

Speaker 1 (01:06:34):
You mentioned that you'll be at the LDS Visitors Center.
I want to emphasize this cruise tour is not just
for ELDS people. I mean, we'll be visiting the Vatican
in Rome.

Speaker 2 (01:06:47):
You can't miss that.

Speaker 1 (01:06:48):
Yeah, you'll see that. So it's kind of a ecumenical. Yes,
we want to visit the Vatican, which is course Catholicism.
The LDS visitors and there's so many people from this
area would like to get a it's just a photostop
and a clean restroom stop too. On the drive to

(01:07:08):
Chivy Tevekia. What cruise line are you sailing on.

Speaker 4 (01:07:11):
We're sailing on the Norwegian Cruise Line on the Epic,
which I think is appropriate.

Speaker 2 (01:07:15):
This is going to be an epic trip.

Speaker 1 (01:07:16):
You know what's interesting about the Epic is there are
no ocean view cabins. There's own that have inside through
balcony suites and then the Haven, which is like the
ultimate penthouse suites.

Speaker 4 (01:07:31):
And you know what, because we got group pricing, we
can do this for a wonderful value for people.

Speaker 1 (01:07:37):
Now, do you have the NCL free airfare offer? We
do review that again.

Speaker 4 (01:07:42):
Well, the catch is if you want to go in
three days early, they'll only let you go in two.
That's right, So if you want to come in three
days early with us, you can't take advantage of it,
but we're happy to help you out. And if the
Eldest Temple isn't your cup of tea, I can certainly
set up a tour for you to go see something
else in Rome that afternoon.

Speaker 2 (01:08:02):
You know, we're going to be.

Speaker 4 (01:08:03):
There for three days, and I do believe that there
are a lot of people who may want to extend
in Barcelona at the end of it, and we can
certainly talk about that because there's so much art and
fun things to see there.

Speaker 1 (01:08:13):
If I had to recommend two things to do on
a brief visit in Barcelona, I would recommend La Rambla,
which is about a mile plus pedestrian walkway that leads
right down to the waterfront, very close to where many
cruise ships dock, and then the Gothic Quarter. You talk
about architecture, and one of the fun things to do

(01:08:36):
is to eat in Barcelona. The Spanish cuisine tapis ta pas.
It's like small dishes and they just keep coming, one
after another after another. You can pick which small dishes
that you want. It's a wonderful meal. Well, we have
Masterpieces of the Mediterranean departing October eighth, twenty twenty six,

(01:08:59):
that is for the three nights pre cruise and then
a seven night cruise with NCL on the epic Great
ship I've sailed many times from Rome to Barcelona. October nineteenth.

Speaker 4 (01:09:12):
Al's got a quick announcement and I'm bena asking he's
got something in the works that I think you'll be
interested in.

Speaker 5 (01:09:17):
Yes, I'm gonna have a new painting of the Rome
Temple available at that time.

Speaker 1 (01:09:23):
And check out Al's website. Al rounds a l r
o u nds dot com. That's al Rounds dot com.
Thanks Al for joining us on the Travel Show. Welcome

(01:09:45):
back to the Travel Show. I'm Larry Gelwick Say get
Away Guru joins today by Donnie Rastussen, one of our
expert travel advisors at Morris Columbus Travel. Be you're gonna
check out the Morris Columbus Travel website Morris Columbus dot com.
That's Morriscolumbus dot com. If you'd like to speak to
Donnie direct eight oh one four eight three sixty five

(01:10:08):
sixty three, you can give her a call, or if
you don't have a personal Morris Columbus Travel advisors, here's
how you find one one eight hundred triple nine forty
six forty six. That's one eight hundred triple nine forty six.
And if you have the direct line already of one
of our advisors, we'll stay with that person and here

(01:10:30):
she'll take good care of you. Well, Donnie, that was
a fascinating interview with Al Rounds.

Speaker 4 (01:10:38):
I think they view things differently. I think artists see
the world differently than the rest of us. So I'm excited.

Speaker 1 (01:10:45):
You know, I'm one of the luckiest guys in the
world because I get to travel. I'm a hopeless travel
junk in. You know, Kathy and I have this philosophy
of life. We raised five children, they're all married, they're
all doing well, thirteen wonderful grandchildren. But it's just Kathy
and I now, and so we get to travel the

(01:11:06):
world with travel show listeners, and it is so much fun.
I love cruising, by the way, because I pack and
unpacked one time. But what I find is at home
I maybe eat one and a half meals a day.
I eat thirty five meals a day on a cruise ship.
You know that's true because I walk on the ship

(01:11:28):
as a passenger and I exits as cargo in a
big a frame lift. No not. Actually, the nice thing
about is you can eat very, very healthy. And I
told Kathy that my cheeseburger was healthy. It's got it's
got protein, it's got dairy, it's got lettuce and tomato onion. No,

(01:11:52):
and it's got grains the bun and And I remember
I took my son, Keaton, he's their youngest son, and
one we had a group going to Alaska, and I
took Keaton and one of his sisters, older sisters, and
Kathy was all over me, saying, now make sure he
eats some vegetables and have fruit, because she knows I'll

(01:12:14):
lead him eat ice cream and pizza and cheeseburgers all day.
And so we called after that first day. We hadn't
left yet, but we'd had lunch. We're still in Seattle,
and she asked me about what Keaton had eating. Did
he have vegetables? And I said, well, of course he did.
You asked me to. She pressed me on it.

Speaker 2 (01:12:34):
Yeah, whoops, she knows you.

Speaker 1 (01:12:36):
What was the vegetable French fries? Well, it is a
vegetable tom tomato paste, or he wouldn't eat tomatoes. Yes,
in the ketchup, in the ketchup for that. Well, I
love cruising, but there are some cabins that you ought
to avoid. You know. It doesn't mean it's going to
ruin your trip, but just cabins. You might want to

(01:12:57):
think again about what cabins would you tend to avoid?

Speaker 3 (01:13:03):
You know?

Speaker 4 (01:13:03):
I ask people, are you a light sleeper? Because for
some people the convenience of being near the elevator's worth it.
For other people that ding ding ding ding is enough
to keep them awake all night.

Speaker 1 (01:13:13):
You need to be aware, you know. I like that
because there's kind of a little four year by the
elevator and there's cabins right off. I want to be
near the elevator. I don't want to get my ten
thousand steps and every time I have to go from
my cabin to the elevator, I like to be down
three or four cabins where it's ideal that's very close,

(01:13:36):
but it doesn't open to the four year area.

Speaker 2 (01:13:40):
Well, and look and see.

Speaker 4 (01:13:41):
You don't want the night club above you either, because
they're open to who knows how long.

Speaker 1 (01:13:45):
And I mean, unless, of course, you know you want
a standing ovation at midnight to wake you up and
congratulate you for whatever. So cabins above the nightclub also
cabins above the casino that can get a little bit noisy.
Now here's an interesting one. I tend to avoid cabins

(01:14:07):
right below the pool deck. No, it's not going to
break open the ceiling. No, it's not going to be
Noah's Arc number two. But it can get very noisy
up there on a crowded day. That's one thing nice
about if you're traveling and it's kind of off season

(01:14:27):
and the crowd tends to be a little older. You
never have to fight for a deck chair out in
the sun.

Speaker 4 (01:14:35):
I encourage people to travel shoulder seasons for or fall.
The pricing is usually better and there's fewer crowds.

Speaker 1 (01:14:41):
I like to avoid cabins close to the very very
front of the ship. If the water gets rough, you'll
get more movement at the front, and I like to
stay away from that area where the anchor is go
to time. Here it comes down. Remember that you have

(01:15:03):
generally four types of cabins. An inside or interior no windows.
The smallest of the cabins, you have an ocean view,
which will have a window or porthole, a balcony or
veranda where the whole outside wall is a sliding glass
doors with a private balcony. Then you have sweets, many sweets, penthouses,

(01:15:27):
things like that. Here's what you want to know. If
you're going to get a balcony or ocean view, find
out if your view is obstructed, partially obstructed, or no
obstruction of your view. You can get a balcony cabin
and see thee the orange side of a lifeboat. Same

(01:15:48):
with a ocean view. Now it's a lower price, but
you just want to be know what you're going, so
and again, if you're traveling with a family, if you
want an adjoining cabin, book it early. Well, that wraps
it up, Donnie for another additional travel show. Will get
back next week right here at this time, this station

(01:16:12):
on the Travel Show. Have a good week, all the best,