The Travel Show: International Travel Advice; Taiwan Highlights; Disney Update

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And welcome to the Travel show. I'm Larry Gelwicks. The
Getaway Guru. Nihow is Mandarin Chinese, of course, the Getaway
Guru fluent in Chinese and all languages. I just got
back from Taiwan, going in between shows. I was gone
five days for some meetings in Taiwan. I'll tell you

(00:21):
about that later on in the show. We got a
wonderful show lined up today, a new onboard credit offer
on your next cruise. International travel advice. I'll give you
some Taiwan highlights. Hawaii and Mexico is back on sale.
Pluto the Disney Dog is here to give us a

(00:42):
Disney update. And why are airline terminals getting so much bigger?
The walks are so much longer. It's actually a strategy
behind it. And the ongoing saga of Southwest Airlines when
they canceled the free angry customers are still going crazy

(01:03):
and now Southwest is pushing back. I'll tell you all
about that. And Jenny two Jay, strategic account manager with
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, will be a special guest here
on the show. I'd like to welcome I should say
welcome back my friend and colleague John Potter, one of
the expert travel advisors at Morris Columbus Travel who sponsors

(01:27):
the show. At Morris Columbus Travel, you always travel more
and pay less. John, welcome back.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Thank you. It's always great to be here.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
I thought you'd give us a bark because your nickname
is Pluto. There we have a very manly bark from Pluto.
You still have your Pluto hat.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
I do, And in fact, I've bought a Pluto shirt,
of course you have. And I went to a hockey
game the other night and I found a hockey jersey
that's the Pluto canines and so I wore that. So yes,
I've got a lot of Pluto stuff.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
You're going to get some Pluto shorts. Something in you
need to turn into a furry on us.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Dodds are loved by everyone.

Speaker 3 (02:07):
You know.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
At the next luncheon, I'll get you like a doggie
bowl or something that you can eat a Hey, listen, John,
you're on the front line agent there at the bountiful
office of Morris Columbus Travel. Morris Columbus Travel is the
largest seller of cruises in the entire Inner Mountain area

(02:28):
and with some cruise lines, the largest seller of cruises
in the entire Western United States true fact. As a result,
there are often special deals, exclusive promotions not available even
directly from the cruise line. Norwegian Cruise Line and Morris

(02:50):
Columbus Travel have teamed up for a special exclusive OBC
on board credits like free money that you spend on
your cruise.

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Yeah, and why.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Don't you give us the details? Because you cannot get
this directly from Norwegian Cruise Line. You can't get it
from anyone else. It is a Norwegian Cruise Line Morris
Columbus Travel exclusive.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
Yes, the sale actually starts this coming Wednesday, April the sixteenth,
and goes through May the seventh. It's on most sailings,
not every sailing, but most sailings. You get up to
a two hundred dollars per cabin on board credit. This
is for cabins that are balcony or above, So your balconies,

(03:37):
your mini sweets, your sweets or the havens are included
in this onboard credit offer.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
Now there you know there's terms and conditions. For example,
this is for sailings starting August I and forward seven nights.
So long you mentioned most of the ships, I know,
what have they got like twenty five or thirty ships
in the fleet. It applies to every ship except the
Luna and the Aqua.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Yeah, the two brand new ones, the two brand new ones.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
The reservations have to be made at least one hundred
and twenty days in advance. Now that's no problem if
you're booking it now, right, and it is applicable to
NCL Miami. Yes, and you can you know. You know
what's interesting about that You can't get it directly from
Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
No, you cannot.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
It is you know later on the show, I've got
some cruise specials that Morris Columbus Travel has at a
lower rate for the cruise than booking it direct with
the cruise line. Yes, so we're talking about cruising, which
I consider the number one best travel value.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
Why is cruising such a good value? John?

Speaker 2 (04:54):
What I like about it is all your food is included,
all of your entertainment is included included. You aren't having
to pay for everything. Plus you're in different destinations pretty
much every day, but you're not packing and unpacking and
living out of the suitcase. And so I love the
sailing aspect of it.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
You know, you and I were talking before we went
on the air about some of our favorite cruises. Of course,
your number one is Disney CRUs and you're doing two
back to back Disney cruise.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Yeah, what is that?

Speaker 1 (05:26):
One's going to be British Isles. Then the same ship,
same cabin of Norwegian Fjords. Can I jump in your suitcase? No, no,
I'm too big anyway. We also talked about what you
said was one of the greatest experiences of your life.
We had a large group and you were one of

(05:47):
the tour hosts as we're Kathy and I and it
was Tahiti to Hawaii. What was it about that cruise
and what is it about the allure of the South
Pacific Polynesia sailing the South seas.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
I think it's the beauty. It is absolutely the most
beautiful cruise you will ever go on. And the whole
Polynesian spirit, the Aloha spirit, just calls to you and
you just want to go back. The smells. I think
everybody hears about morea they want to go there. What

(06:23):
an opportunity to go there, And a cruise is much
less expensive than going and staying there because of the
food is so much more expensive. Polynesia, Oh my gosh,
and it's included with your cruise.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
You know, you get a ocean front room or something
at one of these resorts. You literally will pay seven
or eight hundred dollars a night per room, and.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
You're lucky if you can get a meal for less
than forty dollars a person.

Speaker 1 (06:49):
I tell people, when you stay at a nice hotel
in Tahiti, Morea Bora Bora budget at least one hundred
dollars a day per person for food. And they say, oh, no,
that's not I say, that's very possible. Yeah, you know,
we're gonna be doing this one again. Cathy and I
will be leading a Tahiti to Hawaii cruise next year.

(07:11):
Perfect dates, it's the best weather dates May fifteen to
twenty seven, and catch this itinerary. We start in Tahiti. Now,
you know, one of the misnombers is the Tahitian Islands
or the islands that there is no such thing. No,
Tahiti is one island of the Society Islands of French Polynesia.

(07:34):
So we will cruise Tahiti, the Society Islands Morea properly
pronounced Moorea and Bora Bora right Eeta will then cruise
through the Tuomotu Archipelago of islands, and then headed north,
crossing the Equator. And you know, I found I've crossed
the Equator several times by ship. The water looks the

(07:58):
same on both sides.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
It really does. But you know what they do, and
you don't notice the difference in the weather either from
one season to the Now it's the Northern Pacific.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
But you know what's interesting is all of my crossings
of the Equator on a cruise ship have been during
the daylight hours, and they always announced it almost with
a countdown in five minutes, in one minute, in third
and then we're just cross the equator. So I have
Kathy go to the front of the ship. I go

(08:26):
to the back of the ship, and for that moment,
we're in different hemispheres.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
Uh huh.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
You know, we published a photo of that once and
she was in the northern hemisphere. I was in the
southern hemisphere. And on social media, the comments was, is
this also indicative of your marriage in separate hemispheres?

Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yeah. And the funny thing too, is she was in spring,
he was in fall.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
That's right, and most of my life I've been falling.
But then we hit Hawaii, the Big Island, Heilo, Kona,
the Volcano National Park, onto Kawai. I absolutely love Kawaii, Oahu,
and then Honolulu. Of course. You was interesting about this

(09:14):
is how do I put it? You're on a ship.
It is the greatest value now for this particular cruise,
which is fourteen days, thirteen nine, so it's a two
week cruise. Rates started just nineteen fifty nine plus tax.

(09:35):
Excuse me, including tax nineteen fifty nine. Now here's here's
one of the misnombers about cruise prices, and the same
things with hotels or airlines, is that prices are static
or they remain the same. They don't last week. Now
it's nineteen fifty nine. Last week it was eighteen eighty nine,

(09:56):
the week before, eighteen seventy nine. As the ship fills up,
as the plane fills up, as the hotel fills up,
the prices go up.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
Yeah, simple economics.

Speaker 4 (10:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:07):
Now, hey, if the budget works, I go for a
balcony cabin sailing the South Pacific with some leisurely days
at sea. You really don't want to miss this one. Now.
The exciting thing is there's a air promotion buy one,
get one free. Yeah, so it's a free air Promotion

(10:30):
Cole Morris Columbus for the details. That's May fifteen to
twenty seven, twenty twenty six. Fulfill your dreams of the
South Pacific. We're headed to Ireland when we come back.
You're listening to the Travel show. I'm Larry Gowicks, the

(10:53):
Getaway Guru, joined for their special guest Insteadio the day,
John Potter. You know the show is sponsored by Morris
Columbus Travel. As you said, John and Mollis, Columbus came
about by a merger of Morris Murdoch Travel and Columbus Travel,
the two largest and best travel companies in the Inner

(11:17):
Mountain area, hence Morris Columbus now pre merger, You'll remember
that both Columbus Travel and Morris Murdoch had a travel
expo in January separate, but Columbus also had one around
Columbus Day October in October. Well, now with the merge,

(11:39):
we have one larger, better January travel expo, but we
haven't done the October one, but that is coming back
this year. There will be a travel expo at the
Davis County Convention Center Saturday, October eighteenth. It won't be
Friday Saturday, it'll be just Saturday, and this is great

(12:01):
for northern Utah and southern Idaho. Mark that on your
calendar October eighteenth this year at the Davis County Travel
Convention Center. More details as we get closer. Well, we're
going to turn our sites from Tahiti to Ireland. I
was able to capture a leprechaun. Oh, we have him

(12:26):
tied up and we're gonna talk. All right, I gotta stop. Yeah.
Mark Folmo, my dear, dear friend and business partner for
decades and one of the owners of Morris Columbus Travel. Mark,
Top of the morning to you, Top morning to you, Larry.

Speaker 2 (12:44):
Don't you just love that phrase?

Speaker 3 (12:46):
Top of the morning. It reflects Ireland, reflectses people positive, happy,
So top of the morning to you.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
You know, here's the way I describe Mark Foldmo. First
of all, I have said, seriously, he's like Nathaniel of
Hold a Man in whom there's ogile. But Mark feels
about Ireland the way John Potter feels about all things Disney,
and the way Larry feels about Thailand.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
That's true.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
So Mark, you are a leprechaun. Although you're about a
six foot.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
It's a little tall for a.

Speaker 5 (13:19):
Yeah, but you can be at heart, you know, yeah, Mark,
I know what is it about Ireland that has just
captures your heart?

Speaker 3 (13:32):
You know?

Speaker 1 (13:33):
It's interesting.

Speaker 3 (13:34):
People often ask you and me and John, so where's
your favorite destination? And I love your answer. It's well,
it depends what you're looking for. And let me just
mention three things about Ireland. If you're looking for a
destination where the people are warm, friendly, happy and welcoming
and are delighted to have you there, Ireland checks that box.

(13:56):
It's a destination full of natural beauty. Ireland's is the
Emerald Isle. It's just green and beautiful. And an interesting
phenomena is that the Gulf Stream comes up the America's
west coast, shoots across the Atlantic and surround the island
and keeps it warm. Oh, it never gets very hot,
it never gets very cold. It rains a lot, it's

(14:17):
got great So it is green and delightfully beautiful, and
it's a destination full of fascinating history. Ireland has over
twenty thousand castles that have been built since the eight hundreds.
Now most of them are shambles, but there are still
castles around. In fact, we stay at a castle, we

(14:38):
visit several castles, and Ireland just has a fascinating, fascinating history.

Speaker 1 (14:43):
So those are three of the reasons that I like
it so well. You know, you mentioned it green. It
literally is green year round, and you said it rains
a lot. It does, but it's not like a monsoon
or rarely rains all day. You mentioned the castles. Now
I got to tell you something. One of my favorite

(15:06):
castles is Dromoland, and we're going to introduce a Castles
of Ireland tour, which is much more than castles. But
what I love about Dromolan Castle it's a real sixteenth
century castle. Where many of the castles throughout the UK
and Ireland. It's like Lord Fufu's manor, and they call

(15:28):
it a it's not a castle, it's a manor. And
you know, to be a castle you have to have
a moat and a torture chamber and all of these things.
Introduce your Castles of Ireland tour and then give us
some details on Dromolan Castle, a real castle that you'll
be staying in. Well, this is a great tour, you know.

Speaker 3 (15:49):
We the highlight is Dromolan Castle and as you pointed out,
it's a real castle. I like taking people there walking
in the front of it, and their jaws drop and
they say, this.

Speaker 1 (15:59):
Is real castle.

Speaker 2 (16:01):
It is.

Speaker 3 (16:02):
It's beautiful. It's surrounded by acres of forest. To have
the opportunity to rent a jaunting cart that's a horse
drawn cart through the forest, rented a golf cart. It's
got a wonderful golf course. It's got falconry, the ancient
art of falconies explained and demonstrated. It's got shooting. Is
just a great place to be and it's the highlight

(16:23):
of the tour. But the tour has much more. We
start in Dublin and see the highlights of Dublin and
you know, interestingly enough, Dublin has a family history library,
not like the the LDS Church. This is because so
many people come from Ireland. One in ten people in
the United States is of Irish ancestry, and you can

(16:44):
go there and you learn about your family history and
so forth. But anyway, we see Dublin, it's highlights. Then
we shoot across Ireland. You can drive across Ireland in
a day, and we do, and we stop along the way,
first at at Glarney Castle, and you love Blarney Castline,

(17:04):
Oval area because you've spent much time on the dead yeah,
making making out the Blarney Stone. The gift of gab
is what you get from. And it's also a wonderful
place to shop, the Blarney woolen mills those who love
to shop.

Speaker 1 (17:20):
Is a great opportunity.

Speaker 3 (17:22):
And we also see the Rock of Castle. You know,
Irish history and Christianity have a very interesting history and
much of us started at the Rock of Castle. It's
a foreboding castle on top of the hill with a
fascinating history. And then we go to Killarney. Killarney to
me is the most Irish of all Irish towns, Cobblestone

(17:43):
Street pubs, and it's fun to be there for the day.

Speaker 1 (17:48):
Wild Mark. We've got less than a minute left, okay.

Speaker 3 (17:53):
Then we'll continue along the wild Atlantic coast up to
the Cliffs of More, the Cliffs of Insanity, then over
to at Dromolin Castle. It is just a great experience,
a wonderful travel experience. And this is I counted this morning.
All I'm approaching my twenty fifth tour group to go
to Ireland.

Speaker 1 (18:15):
This is the Castle of Ireland mark off of September
twenty six. To get all the details at Morriscolumbus dot com.
Thanks Mark More Tourist Bureau and Eva Airlines, which is
a five star, over the top fantastic airline. To come

(18:36):
to Taiwan, I met with some government officials, some tour officers.
They're trying to increase their tourism to the to Taiwan,
and as I explained to them, outside of the ethnic
market which will go there for weeks and weeks for
most of our clientele, right now, Taiwan is not a

(19:00):
standalone destination. Would you agree with that?

Speaker 2 (19:03):
I would agree with that yet.

Speaker 1 (19:04):
But it is a wonderful, fascinating, exciting, good value stopover,
you know, to and from Asia, Singapore, Bangkok, of Vietnam,
wherever that you may be, Hong Kong. And so you
know what was really nice. They pay all the expenses.
That the best part, that car and driver and all

(19:28):
my meals were included. And you came back and yeah,
I came back. But you know, it's very interesting. There's
two countries that call themselves China. There's the Republic of China,
which is the island. No it is the island of
Taiwan formerly known as Formosa. Taiwan is the home of

(19:54):
to the descendant home today to the descendants of the
Chinese nationalists with chen Kaishek who fled Mount Situng's communist
troops in nineteen forty nine that were purging the country.
So it's interesting. Oh, the other I should say, the
second China is the People's Republic of China sometimes called

(20:18):
the PRC or Mainland China or Communist China. And that's
that's the big China. Beijing, Shanghai, guangdo these particular areas.
But it's interesting. The PRC Mainland China claims that Taiwan
is part of their country, and you know they want

(20:41):
it back. But that island formerly known as Formosa, has
never even for one moment been part of the PRC.
They just want it why to control the South China Sea. Well,
and I'll tell you, Taiwan is one of the safest
places on earth. Women feel comfortable walking at night. It's

(21:05):
just you know, crime is is just so rare over there.

Speaker 6 (21:10):
Uh.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
You know, it's really interesting. There is a Taiwanese cuisine
that is similar but slightly different than Chinese cuisine. Okay,
some of it. It tends to be a slightly sweeter
in the sauces. Why, because they have sugar factories. They
also the soy sauce and rice wine they use is

(21:34):
Japanese recipes rather than Chinese recipes, and they are different.
But Taiwanese food is basically Chinese food, very similar to
the fo Fujian province, Guangdong, guang Zhoe and those areas.
It's very similar to Cantonese, but slightly. It's not sicky sweet,

(21:59):
just slight. You can tell the difference in the soy
sauce and the inn some of the sauces. Now, if
you had to identify a national food for America, what
would what would you call?

Speaker 3 (22:11):
That?

Speaker 2 (22:11):
Probably either a cheeseburger or apple pie or pizza.

Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, but no, I think a cheeseburger or hot dog
and French fries that's probably the national uh yeah, molaise
out of Mexico and guacamole, well the national food. The
most common and love food in Taiwan is beef noodle

(22:35):
soup and it's like fa which is not. Let me
give you a lesson here you see Vietnamese restaurants advertising
a dish spelled pho, and how does so many people
pronounce that? John Pooh yeah, no, it's pronounced fa and

(22:56):
that is a noodle soup with vegetables and meat. It's
a delicious or think of Robin in Japan, but this
noodle soup has slurpable noodles, beef in a very savory broth,
and they can add some I absolutely go crazy over this. Anyway,
I had a great time in Taiwan. I've actually had

(23:18):
some groups previously that were coming back from Southeast Asia.
We stopped for several days. I think I'm going to
add that to some future Asian tours, stopping over maybe
three days in Taiwan. You can check it off the
list of a new country that you have visited. Anyway,
it was absolutely wonderful. I've been to Taiwan a number

(23:41):
of times a lot of times. I just it was great. Okay,
best best choice Hawaii or Mexico. Yes, please, thank you both.
I love them both. I've been to both of them
many many times. I think my Hawaii would be my
favorite for the beauty, the spirit.

Speaker 2 (24:03):
You feel Hawaii. It's a different feeling, yeah, it really is.
But the better value is definitely in Mexico because of
the all inclusives.

Speaker 1 (24:11):
And I love going to Mexico. I love going to Hawaii.
I agree with your assessment. They have a different feel.
But as far as value, check this out now. Keep
in mind all rates and promotions are subject to change
and availability at the time of booking. I'm looking at
six days, five hotel nights. You can certainly add to
that and then the price would be adjusted. Let's first

(24:33):
go to Hawaii. You know we're coming up on summertime,
where it gets the prices go up, it gets more crowded.
So I'm looking at September, early September, kids are back
in school.

Speaker 2 (24:46):
Oh, that's a great time.

Speaker 1 (24:47):
It is at the Ohio Waikiki Studio Suites, five star Deluxe.
I'm looking at my dates with September fourth to the ninth.
And what's nice is you usually take that night flight home,
so you get a full day there. Way yeah, one
thy thirteen. That is your airfare, your hotel, your taxes.

(25:09):
It does not include the resort fee, which can only
be paid on site. On site, Let's go to Mexico.
Can Kun first class all inclusive, the Catalonia Yucatan Beach.
I've actually been to this one. It's a lovely property.
I'm looking at before the summer crowds go in May,

(25:29):
early May May eighth, the thirteenth. I mean, sit down
for this one, John, tell me what's in all inclusive.

Speaker 2 (25:38):
That would be all of your food, your drinks, both
alcoholic and nonpat and not let it and those you know,
for those that don't drink, you get the virgin drinks
that are really good, the mocktails. It includes your non
motorized water sports, all of your gratuities, your round trip
transportation between the airport and the hotel.

Speaker 1 (26:00):
Tell and two more things, your your round trip area
here and your resort. Yeah. So I mean all inclusive
means all inclusive. So I'm looking at six days, nine
hundred and fifty one bucks one person, double occupancy. That
is pure insanity, as in really good port of Arta.

(26:21):
Let's go after the summer crowds. I'm looking at early September,
the fourth of the ninth at the Sunscape, Porto Arta.
I love Porto Yarta, h twenty twenty four anyway called
Morris Columbus Travel. Those are special arrangements there. Now there's
only two hundred and fifty seven days till Christmas.

Speaker 2 (26:44):
Saint John, Okay, so I better get going on my
Christmas shop here.

Speaker 1 (26:48):
You'll want to get out looking of what you're going
to buy for me as a present on Christmas. Not
a box of coal. Thank you you gave me this
last Christmas and the switches. Yeah. Do you have a
Christmas tradition you personally do or you grew up in
your family?

Speaker 2 (27:05):
We have always gotten together as a family on Christmas Eve.
We started it with my grandparents and then after they passed,
we continued it on with our own family. And three
weeks ago we lost my father and so it'll be
a little different this year, but my mother's still with
us and we're still gonna get together as a family.

Speaker 1 (27:25):
Great memories from your childhood.

Speaker 2 (27:27):
And it really does, man, it does, Yes, absolutely, I
look forward to that every year.

Speaker 1 (27:31):
You know, we have many Christmas traditions in the Gelwick's family,
but the one that is the most meaningful to me
is I give my kids an orange every Christmas and
tell them a story. They already know the story, but
on Christmas Eve I had each one personally had an
orange too. And it goes back to my own mother.

(27:53):
She grew up in southern Alberta. They were poor, I mean,
and one Christmas all she wanted was a Shirley Temple doll.
That was it. And she was eight or nine years old.
But the things were rough at that time and during

(28:16):
the Great Depression. The only gift that each of the
children got was one orange. That's all that. That was it.
And of course they didn't have year round fruits and vegetables.
That was a nice gift, you know, but just very touching.
We have so much and we look at Christmas and

(28:40):
I think about the people that don't have so much.
You know. As kids, we always we always would wrap
gifts and go to the local juvenile hall, detention centered
like Juvie we called it. And the orphanage. Yeah, there
were orphan and those kids had no Christmas gifts except

(29:04):
what people gave and sometimes all week. We weren't we
weren't poor growing up in California, but we didn't have
a lot of money. Things were tight. My dad would
go out fishing. We lived on the coast there, and
if he caught fish, we had dinner. If he didn't,
Mom would boil some rice, you know, something like that. Yeah,

(29:29):
but if we wanted a proper dinner, dad had to
catch something, you know. Anyway, but we would take wrap gifts,
a comb, a brush and take it out to juvie.
Christmas is a wonderful time and I have found a
Christmas experience that is like none other, and that's the

(29:50):
Christmas Markets of Europe. It's a six hundred year tradition
where every town, hamlet, big city, small city, complete loses
their mind at Christmas. And we have book next year
December third to the tenth, twenty twenty six Christmas Markets
on the Rhine with Almah Waterways and Ultra Deluxe Cruise Company.

(30:14):
We will sail from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam move visiting Switzerland, Germany,
France and the Netherlands. Now you see all the sight
seeing that you'd see anytime of the year, but you
add the Christmas markets. When we come back. I'm going
to tell you some more later in the show about
the Christmas markets along the Rhine. I'd love to have

(30:37):
you Jordan Payne. Pluto is going to nod his hat
in our next segment. Welcome back to the travel show.
I'm Larry Gelwicks that Getaway Gourlu joined today in studio
by one of the Morris Columbus travel and experts, John Potter.

(31:02):
Ata Pruto although I give him an ant a goofye
and that's another story or another day. Welcome to the
travel show, John, Thank you. You know you are a
Disney file. You are a self diagnosed Disney file. Fair statement.
Along with my daughter Jenny.

Speaker 2 (31:19):
I've got that dreaded Disney disease.

Speaker 1 (31:21):
I have the Disney gene and you what is it
about Disney that captures your heart? And when did you
really finally come out as a Disney file?

Speaker 2 (31:34):
That would have been in nineteen ninety four, I had
some of my I met these people that had a
booth nice to me at the State Fair and they
turned out to be my very dearest friends. Absolutely adore them.
We still hang out together a lot. And they invited
me to go with them to Disneyland.

Speaker 1 (31:51):
What time.

Speaker 2 (31:51):
I thought they was crazy? Had you ever been there before?
I've been there once when I was a child. I
was seven and I liked it, but it was okay.
But I went with them as adults, and before we left,
I purchased an annual pass and the rest is history.

Speaker 1 (32:08):
Didn't Disneyland, California open in nineteen fifty five fifty five.
My first visit there was in nineteen fifty eight. We
have photos of it. I was eight years old, nineteen,
long before you even thought of So, what's going on
with Disney? What's your Disney update, Pluto.

Speaker 2 (32:27):
Well, this year, starting in May, is the seventieth anniversary
of Disneyland. It's hard to believe it's seventy years old.
That they are going to do some really fun things.
Their motto is going to be Celebrate Happy, and so
everything is going to be focused around that. They've come
up with a theme song that's going to be called

(32:47):
Celebrate Happy that's performed by the Jonas Brothers. Really yes,
they brought in some big guys on Jas brother They're
really good. Yeah, And so they're going to have the
at the calf in the Adventure Park. World of Color
is going to be called World of Color Happiness, and
it's gonna the main stars of It's going to be

(33:07):
the film from the inside out characters and so they're
gonna be doing a show. It looks like it's amazing.
They've also got us. These are gonna be amazing. Boys
to Man are going to lead a song, the Rainbow Connection.
It's hard to imagine that without Kermit the Frog, but

(33:28):
Boys to Man will be performing Rainbow Connection in that
song or in that show, and it just looks really cool.
They're bringing back over in Disneyland the paint and the
Knight Parade and some fun projections on the castle and
small Worlds to go with this celebration, and so it's
going to be a lot of fun. And of course,

(33:50):
what's a celebration without some discounts, And you don't see
a lot of discounts with Disney, but they've got some
theme park ticket offers for May sixteenth through August fourteenth.
To visit the park at those times, you can get
a four day Disney Park pass for one hundred dollars

(34:10):
per day per person.

Speaker 7 (34:12):
You know.

Speaker 1 (34:13):
The reason that's such a good deal is, listen, face it,
Disney has gotten expensive.

Speaker 2 (34:19):
They really have. I just wanted to see how the
comparison went. I just pulled up a random date, June
twenty first. A one day pass on June twenty first
is one hundred and ninety six dollars, so you're getting
it for one hundred. So that's a pretty good deal there.
So well, you know, I know that you're a Pirates
of the Caribbean. You like to sail in cruise, you

(34:39):
will be leading as the tour host one of my
favorite cruise itineraries on the Senn River August of next year, Yes,
August twenty sixth through September fifth of twenty twenty six
it's going to be a river cruise down the sand.
Of course, we're going to start and end in the
romantic city of Paris. And and those that would like

(35:00):
to go early to Paris can go early for two days,
that's what I'm wanting, or stay late or both.

Speaker 1 (35:07):
What's the itinerary highlights?

Speaker 2 (35:08):
Okay, we leave out of Paris, we go to uh
Los Angeles, which is Lahavra uh. And then from Lahavor
we're going down to Normandy and visit the US landing
beaches and the cemetery there see the cliffs that those

(35:29):
brave soldiers climbed in their attack.

Speaker 1 (35:34):
Uh you know one of my favorite stops along the
Sine River. Yes, that is. It's still a medieval city
with the architecture and the cobblestone streets. It was also
the site where Joan of Arc was tried Yes, yes,
and burned. Yeah, so right up.

Speaker 2 (35:57):
Yes, and so it's going to be a fun trip,
and of course, those that would like to join me.
At the end of the cruise, we are going to
go to Disneyland Paris. You have to you're there. I've
been there, Yes, I have to, and it is an
optional post cruise option, but we're going to have that
as well again August twenty sixth through September the fifth

(36:20):
and great starting at forty eight ninety nine. We're sitting
on Alma like he was mentioning on the River cruise
you're doing.

Speaker 1 (36:27):
For the Christmas Market Culture Deluxe. Yeah, it is so good.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
Is so good, so good, and it's going to be
an amazing experience. So please join with me and come
and we'll have a great time in Paris.

Speaker 1 (36:37):
You mentioned Disneyland Paris. I have been to all the
Disney theme parks except one. Do you know which one
I haven't been to?

Speaker 2 (36:48):
I would guess their newest Shanghai.

Speaker 1 (36:50):
Shanghai. Very good, very good. Yeah, been to Hong Kong, California, Orlando,
and Paris.

Speaker 2 (36:56):
I can't say that. Your way ahead of me.

Speaker 1 (36:58):
Well, thank you very much.

Speaker 2 (37:00):
All.

Speaker 1 (37:00):
I am the getaway guru.

Speaker 2 (37:02):
How many Disney cruises have you been on?

Speaker 6 (37:04):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (37:04):
Okay, coming back in the second, Yeah, you got me
there I do. And you're going back to back there
to give you a gold plaque. Hey listen, uh when
we come back at our number two, why are airline
terminal locks getting longer and longer? And what about Southwest Airlines?

(37:34):
Welcome back to our number two of the Travel Show.
I'm Larry Gelwick's the Getaway Guru, and the Travel Show
is sponsored by Morris Columbus Travel, where you always travel
more and pay less. Check out their website Morriscolumbus dot com.
That's Morriscolumbus dot com. And if you're looking at one
of the many escorted tours, go to the homepage Morris

(37:59):
Columbus dot com. Croll down. I think it's the third
item that says Morris Murdoch escorted Tourist. Click on that
and then click on the geographic destination. But if it's
a cruise, click on cruises. Now why Morris Murdoch escorted tourist.
Morris Columbus Travel, It's kind of that's the brand name

(38:20):
of the Morris Columbus escortur It's like General Motors and Chevrolet.
I like to welcome back to the Travel Show. John
Potter one of the travel experts, and there are many
at Morris Columbus Travel. John, if people want to get
a hold of you, what is your number?

Speaker 2 (38:39):
Eight oh one four eight three fifty two fourteen.

Speaker 1 (38:45):
That's eight oh one four eight three fifty two fourteen. Now,
if you have a travel advisor, every travel advisor at
Morris Columbus Travel has a direct line. You can skip
the AI, you can skip the automated greeting, uh, and
just go directly to their line. Again, John is eight
oh one four eight three fifty two fourteen. But if

(39:07):
you don't have advisor, here's a real easy eight hundred
number to remember. Eight hundred triple nine forty six forty six. John,
that's pretty easy. That's pretty easy. Eight hundred triple nine
forty six forty six. Well, have you noticed something about airports?
I seem to live in airports. I should take up

(39:32):
residency or something. Actually, a couple times I've I've slept
overnight several times with canceled flights.

Speaker 2 (39:40):
Uh huh.

Speaker 1 (39:41):
You know there was one in Nairobi where on our
great migration Safari, which is spectacular, I go every year.
It's only happened once. And once you pass through the
passport control at the Nairobi Airport, in Africa, they check
you guys having left the country even though the plane

(40:02):
hasn't taken off. Well, you go there on a single
entry visa. So I had a flight on Kenya Airways
to Paris and the flight was canceled and it was
going to leave the next morning, and then the the
people at the gate just said, will uh just go out,

(40:24):
you get a hotel room, get some And I said,
wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, We've
been checked out of Kenya. If we leave, we don't
have a visa. We can't get back in because you
have to They would show us as an illegal immigrant. Yeah,
or undocumented immigrant to Kenya. So we slept on the floor.

Speaker 2 (40:49):
Oh that sounds crazy, Yeah, but.

Speaker 1 (40:51):
Have you it does. Have you noticed that airline walks
from gate to gate, terminal to terminal are getting longer
and longer and longer, and people are asking why. Well,
the reason is actually simple economics. You have to be
aware of the details of how terminals are financed and

(41:13):
how airport revenue agreements work. When an airport authority brings
in private companies to finance construction, one of the primary
ways to do this is with concessions. You know, let
me tell you one thing. This is true in particularly
Asian and European airports. It's like high end shopping Gucci,

(41:41):
all of these high end who goes to the airport
to buy a five thousand dollars perse yes you know
or closed yeah, my clothe there is in Terminal B
at the Charles de Gaul Airport anyway. But they're you know,
these these finance options are going to rent out space
in terminals to retail shops. Long walks are frequently designed

(42:07):
on purpose to accommodate more shopping, more retail space in
the terminal, and airports do not want you to skip
the shops anyway. It's kind of an interesting approach. Now,
the Salt Lake Airport, I give great kudos to them.

(42:28):
It's well managed, it is. It's a beautiful airport. But
have you noticed that it's one of the few major
airports with no McDonald's.

Speaker 2 (42:39):
Yes, I have noticed that. Do you know why I
remember hearing it that I've forgotten? Well, here I am
the getaway guru. So Salt Lake and a few other
airports have a policy called street pricing. So, for example,
they have it. There's a Cafe Rio at the Salt
Lake Airport. Yeah, there's a Burger King at the salt

(43:02):
Lake Airport. There's a Brewphub, all of these things. What
you pay for food at the airport has to be
the same as if you were in downtown.

Speaker 1 (43:10):
Salt Lake City.

Speaker 2 (43:11):
Yes, I love that.

Speaker 1 (43:12):
It's fantastic. Many airports cap the increase to ten to fifteen,
some eighteen percent above the street price. Salt Lake doesn't
do that. So when Salt Lake Airport accepted bids for
retailers and food concessions at the Salt Lake Airport, McDonald's,

(43:35):
as I understand it, made an application, but it was
turned down because they specifically said in the form you say,
will you observe street They said, no, we can't do that.
There is no McDonald's there. And i'd love their diet
coke by the way, you know that is my routine
every Saturday morning before coming here, I go to McDonald's

(43:58):
near our house. I have an egg muffin and a
diet coke with a free refill. My daughter Emily actually
said to me, she said, Dad, I can tell listening
to the show when you do not have your diet
coke right before the show. You know, it's just a
caffeine overload because I get the free refill and I said, well,

(44:20):
how to do that? He says, well, when you have
these are her words. When you have the diet coke
before the show, you're more peppy. So if you folks
think I'm peppy, which I am today, I had Sometimes
I just take the caffeine by an ivy the diet coke.
I just have an iv in it for that. But anyway,
here's some of the longest walks right now. This is

(44:45):
from one gate, not check in, but you're through TSA
one gate to the furthest Gate or the two you
know the polls. So it likes a half mile. Now
think about that. That's two laps around the football field.
Here's some here's some great ones. Beijing two miles, two miles,

(45:11):
it's walking la Is one and a quarter miles, Chicago
one mile. I love this one. Denver a mile and
a half. You know they call it Denver International Airport DA.
I refer to it as WIA Wyoming International Airport. It

(45:31):
is so far north of town. I remember in the
old age, you remember Texas International Airlines, I do. And
good old Stapleton Airport, Yes, Stapleton, Well, once they that
was right downtown when they opened up DA or WIA
they had the old peanut fairs. I could fly to

(45:51):
Denver cheaper than the cab right in town.

Speaker 2 (45:54):
Yes, I believe it. Yes, it's way out.

Speaker 1 (45:57):
Yeah. Hong Kong four fifths of a mile, Seattle two
thirds of a mile, just lax, I mentioned one and
a quarter mile. Some pretty Oh, George Bush Intercontinental down
to Houston one and a half miles, Washington Dulles one
and a half miles.

Speaker 2 (46:17):
I see the most walking I ever done at airport,
I swear as Amsterdam shipple. Oh my goodness, that's a
long That is a long one.

Speaker 1 (46:24):
Well, you know, Southwest Airlines is getting some real pushback.
They made a decision. There was an investment group that
bought two billion dollars worth of Southwest stop got board
seats and wanted to change. You know, Southwest was unique
free backs two bags. Yeah, and that you know for

(46:49):
most airlines domestically, that's thirty five dollars for the first
back thirty five or forty depending on the airline. Second
bag is fifty bucks. So you're pushing ninety bucks each
way if you take two bags, one hundred and eighty
bucks round trip per person. Yeah, well they but Southwest
had that and I always said when you're pricing out

(47:09):
your trip, consider your luggage cost in your final costs. There. Yeah,
well they made some other changes. They put expiration dates
on their rewards program, and they are getting blistered in
social media. Here's one guy, Bob Jordan, by the way,

(47:31):
Southwest CEO says, you guys are killing all loyalty to
Southwest by killing what was unique about your airline. Bob
Jordan sucks is what he wrote. The airline's response, we
don't take making changes to our policies lightly and these
decisions were made with careful considerations. You're right. Nevertheless, we

(47:53):
hear you and understand you are disappointed. Well, anyway, I've
got a whole list. Customers are still going crazy. Time
will tell if this was a good move or the water.
Speaking of water move, I've got a great story about
Naplonia here on the travel John Potter, one of the

(48:22):
travel experts at Morris Goopa's Travel where you always travel
more and pay less. John, we were talking in between
the break there and where did I say literally that
I'd love I just love this destination. Coka Okay.

Speaker 2 (48:45):
Yes, a perfect day, perfect day at coche.

Speaker 1 (48:48):
We were talking about places that we just enjoy and love,
and I mentioned a perfect day in Cocokae, which is
the private island owned and operated by Royal Care Caribbean Cruises.
Yeah and one a segue to another special guest, our
dear friend Jenny two Jay, strategic account manager with a

(49:10):
perfect day in Cocoka or Royal Caribbean. Jenny, welcome back
to the travel show.

Speaker 4 (49:17):
Thank you for having me Ary.

Speaker 2 (49:18):
Hello to both of you, and hello you have to
you will agree.

Speaker 1 (49:23):
I'm sure that a perfect day in Cocoka is fantastic.
Why did you explain to our listeners what that is?

Speaker 4 (49:33):
So it is what it is, Perfect day at coc Okay,
So it's something for everyone.

Speaker 7 (49:39):
You can walk off to the off the ship. We
dok right there at perfect Day Coco Okay located in
the Bahamas, and you could go to the left to
Chill Island and chill, maybe do some snorkeling, maybe venture
off to Oasis Lagoon, the largest freshwater pool in the Caribbean.

Speaker 4 (49:58):
Also has a swim up if you'd like.

Speaker 2 (50:00):
And some.

Speaker 4 (50:03):
Music during the afternoon. As such, if you want to.

Speaker 7 (50:07):
Elevate your experience.

Speaker 4 (50:08):
Maybe you'll venture over to thrill water parks.

Speaker 2 (50:11):
Those water slides are amazing.

Speaker 4 (50:13):
We have wave pools of water slide.

Speaker 1 (50:15):
Oh my gosh, and I say insane as a compliment. Hey, no,
we're coming up to summer, just a few days away.
We're in spring now. There are some last minute vacation
ideas with Royal Caribbean for vacations this summer and holiday
travel twenty twenty five. What have you got on the docket?

Speaker 4 (50:36):
Well, we have these A new ship coming to the
West Coast. As you know, the Ovation of the Seas
arrives the first week of June, so we will have
two ships sailing out of Los Angeles. For example, if
you want to go June seventeenth, great Tuesday through Friday
vacation in an ocean deew balcony for a family four

(51:00):
starting at four fifty three per person. You almost can't
stay home for that.

Speaker 7 (51:06):
That balcony price is lower than an ocean view. Maybe
you want to get away July first for just a
few days and interior with a virtual balcony is starting
at three sixty five.

Speaker 4 (51:19):
So usually pricing during the summertime is just so expensive.
But in this case, even the Navigator has some great prices.

Speaker 1 (51:28):
You know, I love the Navigator. I love the sail
on it three or four times. In fact, we have
a group booked on spring break next year, which is
April sixth to the tenth for most Utah school districts,
not all, but most. It's a five day cruise includes

(51:51):
leisurely days at sea, Catalina stop in Mexico. Catch this, Wendy, Wendy,
excuse that's our group department answer Jim for a five
day cruise, five day, four nights. This is April sixth
to the tenth, twenty twenty six on the Navigator of
the Seas a family of four. The lead price is

(52:11):
three hundred and seventy three dollars per person quad occupancy
including taxes for just two people the lead price, we
have a group rate of three ninety nine. Now, Jenny,
come on five day cruise for three hundred and seventy
three dollars. It is the perfect family vacation. Now, one

(52:31):
of the things I love about Royal Caribbean is the buffet.
I actually have had my my bed moved up into
the buffet area and I kind of sleep there. But
you have a wonderful buffet. But you have a buffet
of sailings out of LA with three, four, five, six

(52:52):
and seven night cruises. John Potter, that's I mean, that
would fit anybody's needs.

Speaker 2 (52:58):
It really would. And those two ships, I've been on
both of those ships. The ovation is just amazing. I
love the bumper cars on the ovation.

Speaker 1 (53:06):
That you do.

Speaker 2 (53:07):
But yeah, you can't go wrong with either option. Royal
Caribbean is definitely the way to go.

Speaker 1 (53:11):
We're speaking with Jenny two Jay, Strategic Accountant, Manager Sales
Department with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. We have about two
and a half minutes left. I don't know where the
time goes uea week and which is when the Utah
Education Association has their their weekend or their convention. Uh

(53:36):
this October it'll be Thursday, Friday, October sixteen and seventeen
with three to seven night cruises. Jenny, it's a great
time for a quick.

Speaker 7 (53:47):
Getaway and kids twelve and under sale free with Royal
Caribbean during that time. You could take a six night
cruise leaving October sixteenth and it's three hundred and forty
three dollars per person in an virtual balcony interior room.

Speaker 1 (54:04):
Yeah, you know that kids sail free. I always think
that's going to be a big hit in Colorado City,
but that's another story for child. Oh okay, okay, okay,
we've got about two minutes left. Talk to us quickly
about multi generational family vacations. And you have a fantastic
April promotion.

Speaker 6 (54:27):
We do.

Speaker 7 (54:28):
We have sixty percent off second guests, thirty percent off
third and fourth guests and beyond, and kids twelve and
under sail free on select ships and sailings.

Speaker 1 (54:40):
So we have a.

Speaker 4 (54:41):
Great promotion going. And Morris Clumbus Travel always has the
best pricing in town.

Speaker 1 (54:46):
But thank you very much. Now I want to put
you on the spot. You didn't know I was going
to ask you this question. As far as a destination,
you know that is everybody's personal favorite, you know, and
you know that I love Southeast Asian. We have a
wonderful sailing sold out for next spring. Uh we call

(55:08):
it the Pearls of Asia, Singapore to Tokyo. Do you
have a personal favorite Royal Caribbean cruise destination?

Speaker 6 (55:18):
You know, Well, we've.

Speaker 4 (55:19):
Already talked about Perfect Day Cocoa, but you know I
love Alaska time and time again. But just to relax
with my my family, all the kids and parents and everyone.
We love the Caribbean, but get yeah Jenny to.

Speaker 1 (55:38):
Jay Royal Caribbean. Jenny, thank you for joining us on
the Travel Show.

Speaker 4 (55:45):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (56:00):
Welcome back to the Travel Show. I'm y yellows. They
get away at Google. Joined the studio by our special guest,
John Potter. You want to talk to John direct. His
line is eight oh one four eight three fifty two
fourteen eight oh one four eight three fifty two eighteen.
Don't forget that he's taking that cruise next August on

(56:22):
the sind River. And if you've ever wanted.

Speaker 2 (56:24):
To trouble with a dog, Pluto, Oh that will make
everybody want to sign up.

Speaker 4 (56:31):
But you're a.

Speaker 1 (56:32):
Friendly dog because you're going to Paris Disneyland. Yes, hey John.
How long have you been in the travel industry? Total?

Speaker 2 (56:41):
Twenty seven years? Oh my gosh, I'm getting old. Not
as old as you, but I'm.

Speaker 1 (56:46):
Getting a few people are as old as me. You know,
I've been in the travel business now forty seven years.
I remember the days where all airline tickets were handwritten,
no computer reservations.

Speaker 2 (56:59):
You had to call oh wow at.

Speaker 1 (57:01):
Airline and their reservation was like a big round table
with a lazy Susan and they had cards for the
flights before computerized reservations. That's that's crazy. What would you
you know, what are some of your best travel tips
and advice? Over what do you say? Twenty seven seven years?

Speaker 2 (57:26):
I would say probably the most important is get to
the airport early. Do not risk being late for a flight.

Speaker 1 (57:35):
You know that's especially true anyone flying home from Honolulu
right now. They're experiencing untold delays. There's construction they have,
there's some agriculture inspection issues. You want to get there
double the time at the Honolulu airport. What else? What

(57:56):
are the travel advice?

Speaker 2 (57:58):
Don't overpack? You can get I on fewer things than
you think. You don't need fourteen pairs of shoes for
a four day trip.

Speaker 1 (58:06):
No, you've heard my advice. Tonight before you go, put
your empty suitcase on the bed and all your money
and all your clothes. Cut the clothes in half and
double the money and you're in good shape. Yeah, you know.
One of the things I would say, and this is
a philosophy of life that Kathy, my lovely wife and
I have. Whatever it is you want to do in life,

(58:28):
be it travel, family, education, health, fitness, business, church, whatever
it is you want to do, do it while you can. True.
You know, we all know people. It may be that person,
their spouse or partner or children, or business or finance whatever.

(58:50):
We all know people. There's been a life altering event,
not a bad day, a life changing event, and suddenly
all these things they wanted to do they can't do now.
To you, listeners, several names have come to your mind,
haven't they? A family or friends or stories that you've

(59:12):
heard about where something has happened.

Speaker 3 (59:16):
You know.

Speaker 1 (59:16):
A survey, a massive survey was conducted with people sixty
five years of age and older, and they asked about
regrets that they had, and one of the very top
regrets was they wish they had traveled more when they could. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (59:37):
I believe that.

Speaker 1 (59:37):
Yeah. So my advice is go while you can and
do it while you can. And one other thing, the
first flight of the day, if it works for you,
is less likely to be delayed or canceled.

Speaker 2 (59:52):
That's true. I always try to do that myself when
I go Okay, you know, we haven't done with you
in a while. What's that play stump the dummy? Oh yeah, yeah,
I love this game, Dummy.

Speaker 1 (01:00:05):
I love this game. Okay, Dumbo, I'm going to ask
you are mister Disney, I'm gonna stump you. I did
stump you once when you had you had a a
senior moment, if we can call that, when I asked
you what does I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself.
This is the one time I've known John for over

(01:00:28):
twenty years, the one time I've stumped him on something Disney. Okay,
what does the word EPCOT stand for? And you blinked out?

Speaker 2 (01:00:37):
I blanked out? What does I stand for? Experimental Prototype
Community of Tomorrow? I will never forget that again. And
I will never and you'll never let me, will never
let you down. Okay, how about this? What is the
marching song of the Seven Dwarfs?

Speaker 3 (01:00:54):
Hi?

Speaker 2 (01:00:54):
Ho hei ho It's off to work we go?

Speaker 1 (01:00:57):
Do you sing that when you come to Morris Columbus travel?
All right? This is maybe this is you? What is
the only Disney lead character never to speak a word
in the movie Dumbo? Thank you? Dumbo's Can I call
you that?

Speaker 3 (01:01:11):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:01:11):
Your Pluto? Your Pluto? Okay, who's the only dwarf not
to have a beard. Oh that's an easy one. All right,
let's see here one more, one more. Okay, when Bambi
encounters as skunk for the first time, what does Bambi

(01:01:35):
call the scump skunk?

Speaker 2 (01:01:36):
That's easy, Flower. Ugh, give me some tough ones, Larry.

Speaker 1 (01:01:44):
I'll have to think of them, because you're smarter than
I am. You know I talked earlier about that Christmas
Market cruise. This will be December third to the tenth
with Alma Waterways in twenty twenty six. Hey, you know,
if any of you have been on the Christmas Market
cruise with me and are brave enough to call in,

(01:02:07):
I would love for you to call in and give
your take on a Christmas market cruise. Triple eight five
seven oh eighth one oh eight eight eight five seventy
eighty ten. If you've been on a Christmas market cruise,
would you please call in. I know you're hesitant to
do it, but just give us your take on this. Sharon,

(01:02:30):
I know you're listening.

Speaker 2 (01:02:32):
If not, Luke can call in, that's right, Luke.

Speaker 1 (01:02:36):
Not Luke, it's Lou, Lou. You were hesitant to go. Sharon,
I'm calling you out. Because I love you on this
Christmas right, you finally went You're the You're the biggest
spokesperson I have for that right now, triple eight five
seven oh eight oh one. Oh but John, there's a
magic about Christmas time in Europe. What's also very in

(01:03:00):
interesting is most of the displays that I see in
department stores center around this, you know, Frosty the Snowman,
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, and elves. Where in Europe, yes,
you see some of that, but you see an abundance

(01:03:20):
of Nativity scenes. Now, the Christmas markets are not department
store stuff. Sure, the department stores have got their decorations
up and windows, but they these Christmas markets are outdoor festivals.
There are wooden kiosks, little hamlets that they build, be
decked with evergreens. And it's food, it's drink, it's entertainment,

(01:03:42):
it's it's dancing, it's music. And shopping. Shopping, shopping. Now,
I'm not a shopper. Are you a shopper? No? I
hate shopping. I don't even like to shop for socks.
I really don't, thank you very very much. But the
first time I did the Christmas markets, I had to
go buy a suitcase. I lost my mind and it

(01:04:05):
was all grandkids stuff. I don't buy anything for myself,
but for Kathy, my children and grandchildren. I had to
buy a suitcase. And now I take an extra suitcase
with me so I don't have to buy one. But
there's a festive atmosphere unlike anything in the United States.

(01:04:26):
So anyway, if if one of you wants to call
in the waning moments of the show Triple eight, five, seven,
eighth one to oh about the Christmas market, I would.

Speaker 2 (01:04:35):
Love Now there's a there's a Hallmark movie that this
Christmas in Heidelberg sent around the Christmas markets, and that's
one of the stops you'll be going to, is Heidelberg.

Speaker 1 (01:04:46):
Oh and it's a long strass Or street right nexst
to the big church and oh my gosh it is
you can see Heidelberg Castle. I love Strasburg.

Speaker 2 (01:04:58):
I do too.

Speaker 1 (01:04:59):
In fact, we had a guest, my guest, my friend
Mark was on a few weeks ago who lived in
Strasbourg for a number of years and talked about, you know,
an insider's key to Strasburg. I think we touched on
that also. Anyway, I'd love to have you join me
December third to the tenth. We'll be sailing through Switzerland, Germany,

(01:05:22):
France and the Netherlands. And you know, we'll start in Basel, Switzerland,
fly home from Amsterdam. Come on your home two well,
fifteen days before Christmas. Plenty of time to do it.
But we have NonStop flights home from Amsterdam.

Speaker 2 (01:05:39):
Yeah, you're home around one to two in the afternoon.

Speaker 1 (01:05:42):
It really does well. You know another cruise that I
am anxious to participate in, and I've done it before.
It's also with Almah Waterways. It is the richest of
the may Kong. Now. You know, I feel about Southeast
Asia the way you feel about Disney. That's true, the

(01:06:04):
way Mark feels about Ireland and how my wife Kathy
feels about all things in the UK. Yeah, all right,
we start in Sian Reap. Cambody. This is Cambodia and Vietnam.
And we just had a caller, Richard. Is he still

(01:06:25):
with us? Richard? Are you there? Richard's calling from Springville. Richard.
Welcome to the travel show.

Speaker 6 (01:06:35):
Oh yeah, so I've been listening to you, to you
guys for years.

Speaker 1 (01:06:37):
I just love it.

Speaker 6 (01:06:38):
I love it all.

Speaker 1 (01:06:39):
Thank you.

Speaker 6 (01:06:41):
I don't have a question about about Europe, but over
on Taiwan, with all the activity that the Communist Chinese
are doing, uh, I guess that doesn't impact or affect Taiwan.
I mean as far as safety, and I mean our
people's kind of on you're.

Speaker 1 (01:07:00):
There, Richard, that's a great question, because I asked tour operators,
government people, you know, Jishi Ping, the premiere of the
PRC People's Republic of China or Communist China as some
refer to it, is they're doing a lot of saber rattling,

(01:07:22):
you know, frankly knowing in Taiwan feels threatened. I asked
them that and they went through a long list of
reasons why they don't feel threatened. They don't see it.
Nobody equates it to Russia and the Ukraine. Could something happen, Yes,
I suppose it could, but right now it's with the

(01:07:45):
people that I spoke to. They're not concerned. It's just
not something they talk about. I think our media, Richard,
like they do most things, blow this up. Do you
remember the when was it thirty years ago? In the
floods in Salt Lake City? Do you remember that? Richard?
If you watch if you want, there was some sandbags

(01:08:06):
down State Street with a water coming down, a trickle
of water, you know, maybe a half inch deep. But
if you watch the national media, the whole state was washing,
washing away. Well that's what I find in Taiwan. We're
coming to a break, Richard. Thank you so much for
your call. I felt perfectly safe into one. I feel

(01:08:28):
safer there, seriously than I do in Salt Lake City.
Thank you for listening to the Travel show, Richard, all
the best two. When we come back, I want to
talk about the richest of the main.

Speaker 2 (01:08:40):
Cone here, the travel.

Speaker 1 (01:08:54):
Thirty seventh year posting this show. Do you believe that, Jiao,
thirty seven years, that's almost as old as you. Yes. Hey,
a couple of things, John, you and I were talking that.
You know, Alaska for this summer has been virtually sold out,
but in the last few weeks, notably with Princess and

(01:09:16):
Holland America, space has suddenly opened up. What's going on.

Speaker 2 (01:09:22):
Well, the Canadians are boycotting the US. They're upset with
President Trump's tariffs, and so they're saying, we do not
want to travel to the United States, and so they've
been canceling their Alaska cruises. And I didn't realize so
many of them like to cruise Alaska. But that's opened
up a lot of Alaska they can share.

Speaker 1 (01:09:41):
They can pick the ship up in vancoumcouver and sail down,
sail to to Anchorage, or pick it up Alaska and
get off in Vancouver. Yeah, they are very upset with
Trump's reciprocal teriffs, but they weren't upset with the Canadian
tariffs on the US. Yeah, you know, that was not
a problem, but the reciprocal tariffs were. So there is

(01:10:05):
some space available. Give Morris Columbus Travel a call something else.
You know that Morris Columbus Travel is the largest seller,
the biggest seller of Viking cruises of any agency in
the entire Western United States. And here's you know, there's
always promotions. But if you have booked your Viking cruise

(01:10:30):
within the last sixty days, if you call Morris Columbus
Travel within that window with rare exception, we can take
over the management of that and add you an onboard credit.
Now that's a current promotion. For those who already booked,
you have a promotion that you took advantage of. So

(01:10:53):
it's not treating anyone. But if you booked it on
your own to take that booking call Morris Columbus Travel
within sixty days of when you booked it, not sixty day.
Major deposit, major deposit, thank you, and with rare exception.
We can add something to it for you.

Speaker 2 (01:11:11):
Yes, yes, and it's not going to cost you anymore.

Speaker 1 (01:11:14):
Actually it's going to cost you less when you add
in whatever. Man, you know, it's like this. You buy
one pencil at the office supply, you pay a price.
You buy a case of pencils, you pay a different price.
And that's what it is. Again, not the Pat Morris
Columbus on the back, but maybe I am as the

(01:11:35):
largest seller of travel. There are deals. We talked about
that NCL deal exclusive exclusive for the up to two
hundred dollars on board credit on new bookings starting August
first and afterward. You can't get that directly from Norwegian Cruise.

Speaker 2 (01:11:55):
Line, No or another travel agency.

Speaker 1 (01:11:57):
You can't. It's an exclusive. Well, we were talking about
the riches of the Maekong. Why is it that I
love Southeast Daysia so much? I think it's the culture.

Speaker 2 (01:12:06):
I just I think, even though it's not showing in
your blood, that's your relatives are all from that area.
It's just you love it.

Speaker 1 (01:12:15):
I do. I have Asian grandchildren's Asian family members. There's
something different. I feel different, especially in Thailand. Well, next
year November ninth to the sixteenth, with who else, But
I'm a lot of ways, we're going to sail the
Maykong through Cambodia and Vietnam. We will offer a pre

(01:12:37):
cruise option in Thailand three days in Bangkok, and then
we have a pre cruise option to Sean Reap, which
is Anchor What Anchor Tom, I mean, you've got those
are wonders of the world. Yeah. Now, the cruise itself

(01:13:00):
leaves from Kampong Chom, which is about a three and
a half hour drive from cn Reap. So if you
just do the cruise, you fly into s and Reap
and take the bus straight down, you don't see anything
of Anchor Watt. So again, we'll have a pre cruise
Thailand three days, a pre cruise Anchor Wat three days
with a ton of stuff, and then we disembark the

(01:13:23):
ship about an hour's drive from Saigon now known as
hoche In City and you can go straight to the
airport and fly home, or we'll have a two day
post cruise to see the Makong Delta, the Kuchi Tunnels, Saigon,
the history of that whole area. Love to have you

(01:13:43):
join me. It's already selling well. November ninth to the sixtieh.
Here's the deal. We chartered half the ship. It's ours.
The prices that you will pay range anywhere from several
hundred dollars below buying the very same date, very same
cruise from Ama to over one thousand dollars per person

(01:14:07):
less than buying it direct Yes. Why because we bought
half the ship and you can't get these prices directly
from Alma waterways now. And you know there's so many
things PanAm Penn crossing into Vietnam, some of the out
of the way villages, and that that lifestyle on the

(01:14:28):
may Cong. Love to have you join me. November ninth
to the sixteenth, twenty twenty six. For all the details,
contact Morris Columbus Travel. That's morriscolumbustravel dot com or call
John direct at eight oh one four eight three fifty
two fourteen quickly a reminder on your send cruise.

Speaker 2 (01:14:47):
Yeah my sin cruise with me August twenty sixth through
September fifth, next year, twenty twenty six rates starting at
just twenty five no, no, fIF I've lost forty eight,
forty yeah, forty eight, I've got the wrong page, forty
eight something. Yeah, but if you call my knee, other
details and mud heavy joint, hey got to you next week,

(01:15:09):
right here on the travel ship god Bush