Welcome And What’s Ahead

Patrick Wiscombe 0:21

It is the Inside Travel Talk Podcast radio show. Coming up on today's show, we will be talking about the triumphant return of Fresca to Delta Flights. Embracing stopover flight itineraries. This is kind of a cool idea. Vacationing in Rome, a caller question about New Orleans, and it wouldn't be a show if we didn't talk about Tabasco sauce. And of course, we have the cruise deal of the week to celebrate America's birthday. Let's start the show.

British Girl 0:49

The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetvacations.com contains travel deals, promotions, and offers that may be time sensitive. All offers and information were accurate when the show aired. Travel deals and offers change constantly and are capacity controlled and subject to change without notice.

Todd Carlson 1:13

Explore your world. It's the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsightTravelTalk.com. And now, here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscombe 1:52

Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Hello there, I am Patrick Wiscombe alongside Mark Faldmo. He will be here in studio here in just a moment. As we broadcast from Salt Lake City at the Wiscomb Faldmo Radio Studios. Coming up on today's show, we will be talking about the return of Fresca, and we're talking about the beverage to Delta Flights. It's a good thing. Embracing stopover flight itineraries, vacationing in Rome, we've also got a color question about going to New Orleans, Tabasco sauce, and of course we've got the cruise deal of the week for America's 250th birthday. I love this country. If you're a longtime listener of the show or brand new, thank you for listening, or just welcome and thanks for listening. And the entire purpose of this radio show and podcast is to help you plan and book your next vacation, or we are just gonna simply give you ideas of where you might want to go on vacation next, and we are presented by Mark Faldmo's Company, Blue Planet Vacations.com. It's good to see you. I haven't talked to you in quite a while just because I've been off doing other business ventures, but it it's great to be back. It's and it's good to see you too. Especially uh, we got to see each other yesterday.

Mark Faldmo 3:22

We did, yeah. I'm excited to be doing the show together again.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:26

Let's get to the travel news headline, shall we, Mark? Let's go.

Fresca Returns To Delta Flights

Patrick Wiscombe 3:29

Okay, so when I saw you yesterday, you put a smile on my face when you said that fresca, the beverage, is returning to Delta Airlines. How cool is that?

Mark Faldmo 3:41

Yeah, so a few weeks ago I did a segment on why ginger ale. There's some science behind why ginger ale tastes so good on flights. It's because of the uh drier air and the air pressure. But I think fresca is the same thing. Starting this week, so it was actually on July 1st. Delta brought back fresca, and can't believe how many people I hear. Do you have fresca yet? Do you have fresca yet? Almost every flight I'm on. Someone is asking if they have fresca back. So I don't drink a lot of soda anymore, but fresca is my go-to soda when I need it. So I'm excited for that as far as flights go. Welcome back, Fresca. We've missed you. Yep.

Patrick Wiscombe 4:22

I thought

Stopovers That Add A Bonus Trip

Patrick Wiscombe 4:22

this was kind of a cool idea, Mark, that airlines are, I don't know if encouraging is the right word, but they're at least embracing stopover itineraries in Hawaii, which I completely get, and Panama and a few other places.

Mark Faldmo 4:36

I guess we should explain what a stopover is. So a stopover is typically any stop that's longer than four hours. Most airlines, if you stay longer than four hours, they charge more. There are a few airlines that are really embracing stopovers with free stopovers. Fly part way, stay in a destination before you actually get to your final destination. Okay, so that's different than a layover.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:03

Well, maybe I should ask the question what's the difference between a stopover and a layover? Is it I guess you would probably just stay in the airport.

Mark Faldmo 5:10

Yeah, so I I guess technically a layover would be anything less than four hours, and a stopover would be anything longer than four hours. Oh, okay, all right. That's really generic, but that's about it. Iceland Air is one that's really been doing this for several years. They've really embraced the stopover. If you fly an Iceland air between the US and Europe, you have to stop in Reykjavik, Iceland, and they allow you to stay up to seven days in Iceland in between your flights with no additional charge. And all of these airlines we're talking about kind of have the similar thing. They're all free stopover, so they don't charge any additional for this. Another airline is Copa Airlines. Is that South America? That's South American. Okay. They have a big hub in Panama and a few other places. So you could fly to Central or South America with a stopover in Panama. One that I think is really interesting is Emirates Air. So their hub is Dubai. Yeah. Yeah. So if you're flying there, but they're really trying to get people re-engaged to travel to the area. Their stopovers include up to two free nights at the JW Marriott Marquee in Dubai. Okay, and that's a nice hotel too. Yep. So not only you don't have to pay extra, but you get two free nights hotel. Fiji Airways, and this is one that I really like. I love flying Fiji Airways. So they allow up to four nights in Fiji. On Fiji, you can get a lot of destinations in the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and then Alaskan and Hawaiian are really leaning into this. And similar to Fiji Airways, it would be Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Cook Islands, and Japan. But they'll allow you to stay in Honolulu for up to seven days on a free stopover.

Patrick Wiscombe 7:03

Oh, see, I like this idea because it feels like you always want to get to your destination as quickly as possible without added expense. And I think that's kind of the hook there.

Mark Faldmo 7:14

Yeah, it is. You know, for a lot of groups or a lot of people going, let's just take Australia, for instance. Fiji Airways usually has the best price. And then, you know, we say that's such a long flight. Why don't you just stay for two or three nights in Fiji on the way there or on the way home? So that you don't have quite such long flights. And they don't charge you extra for the flight. No, you'll have other expenses like hotel and food, but you do get that free stopover.

Patrick Wiscombe 7:43

Oh, see, that's a great idea, especially if it's included.

Mark Faldmo 7:46

Yeah, not a lot of airlines, Delta United, they all charge for stopovers. So it's just a select few airlines that don't, but they are becoming much more popular.

Rome Hotel Spotlight Near Vatican

Patrick Wiscombe 7:57

Let's move on to the hotel spotlight. This is where we just spotlight a hotel, something that we would stay in and that we would encourage you to stay in. This week, we're going to Rome, and I think it's the Grand Malaya Vatican.

Mark Faldmo 8:10

It is, yeah. The Grand Malaya Vatican. You know, Italy continues to be one of the most popular vacation spots. It's tops on the list of requests.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:20

You've been busy with that this week.

Mark Faldmo 8:22

I have. Yeah. Many of our listeners might recognize the Malaya brand. They're a Spanish brand, but they have a lot of all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and throughout the Caribbean. But they also in Europe have lots of hotels throughout cities. I thought this hotel, Gran Malaya Vatican, would be a perfect one to highlight because it is the closest hotel to the Vatican. Its location is one of its big selling points. It's just a short walk to St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museum. And also something that's interesting is it feels like a resort, but you're in the middle of Rome. It has big gardens. It's one of the city's rare outdoor swimming pools. Most of the hotels don't have swimming pools or outdoor swimming pools. You're also staying on historic ground that has over 2,000 years of history on it. And they've taken parts of this building and built the hotel around it. But it was the ancient Villa Agrippina, which was home of the mother of the Emperor Nero. And so it has a lot of history to it. And it has just great room, suites, and outdoor spaces. This is one I definitely would stay at. I've had a few groups stay here. Great views of the city. There are several good places to stay in Rome, but I particularly like staying by the Vatican because it's a little quieter, a little bit more relaxed than some of the other places in Rome. I highly recommend the hotel.

New Orleans Must Dos And Food

Patrick Wiscombe 9:51

We are getting a caller question. If you have any questions for the show, there's two ways to get a hold of us. You can just call or text us at 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. Or if you're on the app, if you're listening to us on Apple Podcasts or even uh uh Spotify, whatever platform that you're on, when you go to the show right up at the very is it at the top or at the bottom, Mark, where they can send us a voice mail. Okay. Yeah. So when you go to the episode, there's liter the first thing that you see is send us a voicemail or send us an email. And you can also get a hold of the show that way. But that's within the the podcast app. So we got a uh a question, a text question in this case from Dirk, and he is asking, I am going to New Orleans for a meeting. I have three free days. What are some things that I should do in New Orleans? Now I know I just happen to know because we've been doing the show for a while, that New Orleans is actually one of your favorite places. But what's your top three or four things?

Mark Faldmo 10:53

I have kind of my standard list here. I personally love going to New Orleans. You know, I talk to a lot of people and they say, Oh, I have no care to go to New Orleans. They that kind of makes me feel sad sometimes because New Orleans is such a great city with lots of culture and history. The first thing that I would do is explore the French Quarter, not necessarily Bourbon Street. And that's what a lot of people think when they think of New Orleans. But the French Quarter, I personally actually avoid Bourbon Street, but I love the French Quarter from the river. You can take a steamboat ride on the Mississippi River. I love to do that. It leaves right from Jackson Square. Another thing that I say should be high on everyone's list is to visit Oak Alley and Louisiana's historic plantation homes. There's a whole area around Oak Alley that has five or six of the old plantation homes that you can tour. I love Oak Alley because it has the 300-year-old live oak trees. It's the iconic location from several movies with those oak trees. And it's just a great historic place to learn about the history of the plantations, learn about just the history of that area. Another thing I highly recommend is the National World War II Museum. The reason why they chose New Orleans for the National World War II Museum is because that's where the Higgins landing boat was invented. The guy was from New Orleans. Also, there's a battlefield for the Battle of New Orleans, which was for the War of 1812. Interesting that battle took place after the treaty had been signed, but nobody knew that the treaty had been signed. And it's it's one of the most famous victories for Andrew Jackson. And then there's swamp tours there. Oh, yeah. A lot of people like to do the swamp tours with the alligators and all of that. If you have time, my favorite place is to go to the Tabasco factory on Avery Island. It's about a two and a half hour drive from New Orleans. But it's interesting to see how Tabasco sauce is made. My favorite part is the gift shop and the cafe. So everything is Tabasco. Everything on the menu has Tabasco sauce on it. They have one of the best chili starters. I buy bottles of it and come home with it to use to make chili with it. It's so good. But they have Tabasco root beer, Tabasco chocolate. Everything is Tabasco.

Patrick Wiscombe 13:24

You know what? I wish that I could do kind of spicy stuff. I sweat at ketchup. So I mean, Tabasco sauce, you might as well just invite me to just stay home for the day.

Mark Faldmo 13:37

Well, then don't go into the room where you actually overlook the production line. Because that's like walking walking into a room with pepper spray.

Patrick Wiscombe 13:49

What happened? Love. All I did was go to uh a pepper factory at the the Tabasco factory. You look like you got beat up.

Mark Faldmo 13:58

Yeah. Those are my favorite things to do in New Orleans, but in talking about New Orleans, I think you also have to talk about the food.

Patrick Wiscombe 14:06

Oh yeah.

Mark Faldmo 14:06

Yep. You know, so beignets are the famous thing. Cafe de Monde is the famous place. It's right there on Jackson Square. But there's also another place called Cafe Beignet or Morning Call, places where you won't have to stand in line quite so long to get a good beignet. New Orleans is famous for muffletta sandwiches. The central grocery is the best muffaleta sandwich in town. And then if you're going to New Orleans, you need to get some gumbo or jambalaya. My go-to place there is called the gumbo shop, and it's also right by Jackson Square. And then I'm a big fan of Bananas Foster. You can go to where the dessert was created. Go to Brennan's. You will need to get a reservation at Brennan's. They're usually two to three days out.

Patrick Wiscombe 14:57

Dirk, I think that should cover it. And even if you don't get to the Tabasco factory, go get some beignets. Definitely. What's the travel deal of the week?

Mark Faldmo 15:06

There's

Limited Time Vacation Savings Offer

Mark Faldmo 15:06

a promotion right now that ends July 23rd. So it's save up to $250 on any US domestic vacation that includes at least three nights hotel and airfare. For Hawaii and all other international destinations, you can save up to $400. So that is a tiered based on the cost of the trip, probably starting anywhere from about $40 on up to that $250 or $400.

Patrick Wiscombe 15:33

Take advantage of that offer. Call Mark in the office. Get the conversation started. You take deposits for those, right? I do. Yeah. Okay. Get the conversation started. Quit talking about going on vacation. Just go do it. 888-718-7717-888. How many eights was that? 888-718-7717. And you can also get a lot of this information on BluePlanetVacations.com. When we come back, it is time for the segment that has made us famous around the country and around the world. It is the Just Cursing segment. No, it is not. It's called the Just Cruising segment. We will be talking about travel scams, we'll be talking about Holland America, and we will be talking about travelers are choosing river cruising during Europe's shoulder season. That is next. When the Inside Travel Talk Podcast, a radio show continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe, and thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your week. We will be right back. Thanks for listening.

Todd Carlson 16:42

Taking you to destinations around the world. The Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show is presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. Thanks for listening. We'll be right back.com. America's best travel advisor. Call or text the show right now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsightTravelTalk.com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Fald mo.

Just Cruising Segment

Patrick Wiscombe 18:00

Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast Radio Show. Hello there. I am Patrick Wiscombe alongside Mark Faldmo, owner of Blue Planet Vacations.com. Thank you so much for taking your time to stop and listen to this award nominated, but we haven't won a broadcast award yet. But we're trying. Ahoy, Matees. Ahoy. Alright, Mark. Let us get to the cruise news segment. This is the segment of the show. In case you're brand new to the show, that has made us famous around the country and around the world. Let's start with Holland America bringing back its farewell dinner, and then we'll get to the fake texting scam.

Holland America Brings Back Farewell Dinner

Mark Faldmo 18:55

Cruising goes through lots of evolutions. Used to be a big thing where the last night of the cruise, cruise lines would have a big farewell dinner, parade of nations, big hoorah. And that kind of has gone away. But due to popular demand and requests from guests, Holland America is bringing back that farewell dinner. With the kind of advent of the anytime dining, a lot of cruise lines offer now that kind of went away. It works really well if you're on set dining, but not as much if you're on the anytime dining. But I'm glad they're bringing that back because it was a big last night festival experience and just a really good way to end a cruise.

Travel Text Scams To Avoid

Mark Faldmo 19:42

We put this in the cruise segment because it is happening a lot to cruisers, but it happens in every segment of the travel industry. With the advent of AI and all of the data that's out there, scammers are getting very sophisticated. And they are sending texts with names, reservation numbers. Ooh, and saying we just need to verify your payment. If payment isn't verified, then your reservation will cancel. And they give you a link and steal your credit card that way. Just be very careful. If you ever get a text like that, call the supplier directly. Um don't ever respond to an email or text. This is one of the most sophisticated and detailed scams. Some of those you can spot right off. But where this one has reservation numbers, dates of travel, it's one that a lot of people unfortunately have fallen for. This is why you never should post your travel plans on Facebook or online. I think we covered this maybe six or eight months ago where someone posted their flight reservation online that had the confirmation number and everything, and someone went in there and canceled it. And they showed up to the airport without a reservation. And so don't post confirmations online. Scammers unfortunately do have other ways to get that information, but it makes it really easy if it's posted.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:09

More travelers

Why Europe Shoulder Season Wins

Patrick Wiscombe 21:09

are choosing Europe's shoulder season rather than going when it's just crazy busy. It's a good way to save money too.

Mark Faldmo 21:17

It is. And this is mainly relating to river cruising, but it's also a trend for Europe in general. Europe hasn't changed, but the calendar has. Some of the best vacations are now happening after the summer rush. I believe that. Get out of the crowds. And that's especially true with Europe's river cruises. Shoulder season is almost becoming the new peak season. So April, May, September, October, and early November instead of the busy summer months. If you go in this shoulder season, you have fewer crowds. You spend less time standing in line, experience more popular cities and landmarks, just everything is more accessible. The weather is usually better. Europe can get very hot. In fact, right now it's very hot as we speak in Europe. And even some of the hotels don't believe in air conditioning over there. So in the shoulder season can make a difference, and it also will save you. You money. It's usually 10 to 15% off what the peak summer seasons are, especially for river cruises. The scenery, spring and fall is a great time to go. The first few times I went to Europe was in the spring or fall. So you either get the spring colors or the fall foliage. Then I went in the summer. It's like, why am I coming here in the summer? So why am I doing this right now? Yeah, why am I doing this right now? Also, as far as river cruise lines go, a lot of them during this time add themed cruises, you know, which just adds another level. So they have culinary cruises in Germany. They might have a beer-themed cruise on the Danube. We've talked about Christmas markets before and tulip time cruises, which are the ultimate themed cruises, but they also have other themed cruises. And now there are more choices than ever. Usually October is when cruise lines shut down and they start opening back up in mid-March. And now they're going longer and offer four, five, and six night sailings rather than the traditional seven, ten, or fourteen night sailings.

AMA City Escapes For Slower Travel

Patrick Wiscombe 23:35

While we're talking about river cruises here, let's talk about AMA waterways. I know that they have a promotion. We'll get to that here in just a second.

Mark Faldmo 23:42

Let's kind of keep along the same lines as the kind of shoulder and off season. Okay. They've recently introduced what they call city escapes.

Patrick Wiscombe 23:51

And this is AMA waterways, right?

Mark Faldmo 23:53

And yeah, this is AMA waterways. Okay. These salines are primarily November and December when a lot of the European cities are a lot quieter and feel more authentic. What AMA is trying to do is create that authentic experience with these cruises. Instead of going from port to port, they spend more meaningful time in each port. So they have some itineraries that you'll spend 24 hours or more in cities like Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Strasbourg, Budapest. You can enjoy the evening things, which on some of the peak seasons you can't do. So you can go to evening concerts or just stroll the streets at night.

Patrick Wiscombe 24:36

There is something special about just wandering at night. If you don't have an agenda or you finished your agenda, there's just something about just walking around. It is awesome.

Mark Faldmo 24:47

Yeah, it is. And these city escape cruises with AMA are really designed to encourage travelers to slow down and just enjoy where they're at. It's not really a check all of the things off the list. It's enjoy and experience things at your own pace. It's about quality of experience rather than quantity of sightseeing. They've added some unique smaller group excursions to these cruisings. They've added things like cooking classes, neighborhood walking tours, seasonal markets, things that are difficult to enjoy in the busy summer months. Just sticking kind of on the cruising theme, I've told you about Maya and Heather's experience in Santorini, Greece, which was miserable because it was so I'd love to go back there in the shoulder or off season and just see what it's really like. And so that's kind of what they're trying to get with these city escapes. Coke and olive experience. Correct. If you're like, let's just sit this one out. It was so busy. We just went to a rooftop cafe and spent a few hours in the cafe. I could just see you guys going, Oh, I love being here, but not right now. Yes.

unknown 26:04

Okay.

Mark Faldmo 26:05

Yeah, and I think this is a great idea that AMA Waterways has to spend more time in ports, slow the experience down, really get into where you're visiting rather than check off this site, check off this site, slow it down. And they're really trying to add a lot more all-inclusive experiences where they're adding more to these cruises than you'd get on a typical cruise.

Patrick Wiscombe 26:31

What promotions does AMA Waterways have right now?

AMA Waterways America 250 Deals

Patrick Wiscombe 26:31

Mark Faldmo 26:34

This is one booked by July 14. They've actually got several promotions that are combinable. And this is their America 250 birthday promotion. So it's save up to $2,500 per stateroom. Wow. And that really is good for Europe, Asia, Africa, Egypt, and Colombia cruises. You can also get a $250 onboard credit. You know, a lot of people say, well, isn't everything included in a river cruise? Almost everything's included. But if you want to have a spa treatment or purchase something from the boutique or have a beverage not during meal time, right. Or a special beverage, that credit can go towards that. Is that $250 per person or is that per stateroom? That's per stateroom. So $250 per stateroom. Okay. And then they've also reduced the deposit to only $250 per person.

Patrick Wiscombe 27:31

Take advantage of that.

Mark Faldmo 27:33

That's amazing. Yep. So you can get your cruise on hold now, and final payment is not due until 90 days before departing. So it gives you a lot of freedom to plan. And just the other day, I was on a webinar talking with the sales rep for AMA Waterways. They are actually releasing their 2028 sailings here in the next little bit, two and a half years away. And they've actually upped some of these discounts for 2028. Wow. But I I think the best part of this promotion is their AirPlus offer. Now we've talked about this in the past. They've used had $899 or $999 Airfare. Right. For this, America's $250, again, book before July 14th. Their airfare to Europe is $599 per person from most US and Canadian gateways. I've never heard it that low.

Patrick Wiscombe 28:30

I've heard what $999. What's the lowest you've heard? I've never heard it this low.

Mark Faldmo 28:36

$899. It was $899 last year. Then it bumped up to $999 this year. But for this promotion, they're lowering it to $599 w

Patrick Wiscombe 28:47

So take advantage of that one. That's a phenomenal offer. So $2,500 per stateroom, $250 onboard credit per stateroom, reduced deposits of $250 per person, and then $599 air. And you have to book by July 14th. Did I get that all right? Correct. Yep. Amazing. Call Mark in the office. Just get the conversation started. As soon as you hear this, just get the conversation started. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. Take advantage of that offer and everything else that we've talked about for the last 30 minutes or so.

Final Takeaways And Sign Off

Patrick Wiscombe 29:33

Well, that's it. We're done. Live your life deliberately, live your life intentionally. And thank you so much for listening. We really do appreciate you listening and subscribing to the show. Make it a great week. We will talk to you next week.

Todd Carlson 29:51

That's it. That's the end of the show. You've been listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations dot com. Book your adventure right now. Call eight eight eight seven one eight seventy seven seventeen. That's eight eight eight seven one eight seventy seven seventeen. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.