Show Open And What’s Ahead

Todd Carlson 0:26

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 Inside Traveltalk.com. And now, here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscombe 1:02

Your attention, please. Your attention, please. We are officially less than three weeks away from Christmas. Prepare your credit card to get warmed up, and we're gonna help you spend some of that money on travel. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast Radio Show. Hi there, I'm Patrick Wiscombe. The entire purpose of this radio show and podcast is to help you plan and book your next vacation or just give you some ideas of where you may want to consider going on vacation next. And we are presented, proudly presented, by BluePlanetVacations.com, Mark's company. And just a sincere thank you for taking the time to stop and listen. This week we are talking about Disney's dynamic price change coming to all of its theme parks or most of its theme parks. I don't know how I feel about this, Mark. We're gonna talk about traveling to Hawaii, Alaska cruises in 2026. Plus, we're gonna help you save up to $650 on Hawaii and Mexico vacations. It's good to have my co-host here. How are you doing, Mark? I haven't talked to you all week.

Mark Faldmo 2:10

I I'm actually in Cancun this week, so I'm on a nice, warm, sunny beach right now.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:15

So you I forgot that you were down there. Well, no wonder I haven't talked to you all week. Not that they don't have phone service down there. I just I forgot that you were going down.

Mark Faldmo 2:26

Yeah, yeah. I'm at El Dorado Resort. So one of my favorite places to stay. I'm at their uh annual meeting and award ceremony. Are you getting a major award? I am getting a major award.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:39

You know what I'm talking about, right?

Mark Faldmo 2:41

I do. I uh you know, I'm actually planning a trip that is gonna go to the Christmas Story House in Cleveland. Oh, awesome. This summer. So a baseball and uh sports trip, but part of it involves Cleveland, and we're gonna go to the Christmas story house.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:56

Well, let's

Disney Moves To Dynamic Pricing

Patrick Wiscombe 2:56

get right into the travel news headlines. Let's start with probably the biggest announcement of the week, which was Disney is announcing major dynamic pricing changes coming to its theme parks. Basically, if I've got it right, if it's more busy, they're gonna charge more, and if it's less busy, they'll charge less.

Mark Faldmo 3:14

That's correct. You know, one of the biggest complaints over the last few years is Disney has become too expensive. Oh, well, it is. Um it is very expensive. Last April, Bob Iger addressed the issue saying demand is high, and then at the same time he announced they did a survey in the park. 2,000 participants showed that 24% of those visiting the park went into debt. So Disney is high and people are willing to go into debt to go. One thing Disney is gonna try and fix that, and it's still gonna be expensive, but if you're flexible, you might be able to find better deals on different days. So they are gonna switch to dynamic pricing, which means one day you might go in and it might be a hundred dollars, the next day it might be eighty dollars, the following day it might be a hundred and sixty dollars. Just depends on the demand for the park and also what other competing parks are doing. You know, right now Disney has set pricing and it can't change once they announce that. So they just have three seasons low season, shoulder season, high season, and then each day within that is priced at a different price.

Patrick Wiscombe 4:28

So in holiday season.

Mark Faldmo 4:30

Yep. So Friday, Saturday, Sunday are priced more than Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Yep. But now it's just gonna all go into a dynamic pricing, and it'll be what it is on the day you choose to purchase.

Patrick Wiscombe 4:42

This feels like wheels of fortune. All right, let's spin the wheel. And it's just expensive. Yeah, yeah.

Mark Faldmo 4:49

Bankrupt. Bankrupt. It'll be expensive no matter what, but airlines have been doing this for a few years. A couple hotels have gone to dynamic pricing. It does kind of help even out park attendance. So there will be people that switch to different days. It'll help that flow, I guess. We'll we'll see how that works.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:09

Yeah, we'll keep an eye on this story because I have a feeling that this is not the end of the story.

Mark Faldmo 5:14

Yes. Yeah.

Real ID Workaround Fees And Tips

Patrick Wiscombe 5:15

The TSA is planning a real ID workaround. What are the details on this?

Mark Faldmo 5:21

We've talked about real ID on the show several times. It was recently implemented, but those without real ID are causing issues at the airport.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:31

Okay, so real ID is basically your driver's license with that that yellow star, basically.

Mark Faldmo 5:37

The the yellow star or passport. So if you do not have a real ID, this first started out as you would have to pay $18 and go through a registration, hopefully, before you get to the airport. If you don't have that receipt, you'll have to go out of line, fill that out, pay the real ID compliant. It's called the modernization alternative ID verification program. So you'll you'll have to do that.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:06

Say that again. What's it called?

Mark Faldmo 6:09

Modernized alternative identity verification program. Oh boy. You know, it's the government making things complicated. Um when they first announced this about 10 days ago, it was $18. I just saw a story yesterday that when it goes in, it's gonna be $45 per person. Oh, so they're you're gonna get hammered then. Yeah, and that is only good for 10 days. So every 10 days you'll have to renew that if you don't have a non-real ID driver's license. All right. So make sure your driver's license is compliant or travel with a passport to avoid paying that fee.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:49

Okay. Well, they've been saying get real ID for a while now, so for 20 years.

Mark Faldmo 6:55

It took them 20 years to implement that program.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:58

Yeah. It it sounds like the government.

Choosing A Hawaii Island Beyond Oahu

Patrick Wiscombe 7:00

We have a caller question from Darren, and he got a hold of the show, and you can too, by texting or calling the studio 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700 is how you get a hold of the show, so we can answer your travel-related question. Darren is asking, I want to go to Hawaii, Mark. Well, I do too, but Darren does. I've been to Waikiki, or as Siri says Waikiki, and wants to go to a different island. Which island should I go to? I know what you're gonna say, probably. You're gonna say Kawaii. Well, you're gonna say all of them, but Kauai is probably your first choice.

Mark Faldmo 7:42

Yeah, good. So the other choice is Kauai, Maui, Big Island, all good. Kauai is good no matter which island you choose, I think. Yeah, but Kauai is known as the Garden Island, unmatched natural scenery. Yeah, it's the most lush and dramatic of the islands. You know, the Nepali coast on the south side of the island is amazing. Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:06

By the way, underrated. That was quite a ride getting up there. That you know, that two-lane road that goes up. Spectacular. Just on the way, well, on the way up and the way down, but just yeah, it's it was awesome.

Mark Faldmo 8:19

It's amazing. And Kauai has the most waterfalls of any of the islands. Laid back, uncrowded, perfect for travelers that want a slower pace, fewer high rises. In fact, there's not a real tall building on the island.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:33

Now that you say that, yeah.

Mark Faldmo 8:34

So it's you know, kind of an outdoor paradise. My favorite thing there, there's a river kayaking. You go up through the set of Jurassic Park, you can get secluded beaches, you can go hike around one side, get to some secluded beaches.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:49

By the way, the latest installment of Jurassic Park called Jurassic World, pretty good. I would rank it maybe number two behind the original, maybe somewhere between two and three.

Mark Faldmo 9:00

I actually watched that on the plane down to Cancun.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:03

Oh, did you really?

Mark Faldmo 9:05

After Kawaii, what would be your choice? Maui. So Maui is kind of you know known for luxury beaches and romance. It's probably the best all-around experience. Beautiful beaches, lots of upscale resorts in both Wileya and Kanapali. You know, one of my favorite hotels in all of Hawaii is the Grand Wileia.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:27

Yeah. Isn't that east of Lahaina?

Mark Faldmo 9:31

It is.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:32

I don't know my directions, but it felt east.

Mark Faldmo 9:34

It's kind of on the south shore, but it's on the other side of the island. So Maui has some of the iconic adventures, the road to Hana, Haliacala, which is great for sunrise and a bike ride, right, Patrick?

Patrick Wiscombe 9:48

Well, we went in an electric car up to Aliakala. It was spectacular. You're above the clouds. I was genuinely blown away at how much elevation there was on Maui.

Mark Faldmo 10:00

Yes.

Patrick Wiscombe 10:00

It you just go up, up, up, up, up, and it just keeps going. Amazing.

Mark Faldmo 10:04

Haleakala is a little over 10,000 feet. Which is you know the size of our mountains here in Salt Lake, but it goes clear down to sea level, so you're getting an extra 4,000 feet to that.

Patrick Wiscombe 10:18

So it's worth going there just for that.

Mark Faldmo 10:21

The last island, the big island. This is probably my favorite island. I would have a hard time choosing between Kauai and the Big Island, but the Big Island has the most diverse landscape. Oh, yeah. You have lava fields, rainforests, black sand beaches, green sand beaches, waterfalls, you know, one of my favorite waterfalls, Akaka Falls there. And you can even get snow on Mauna Kia. I I've been there. It's really interesting to be sitting on the beach and it's 80 degrees and look up to Mauna Kia and it's topped with snow. Volcanoes National Park on the big island is probably one of my favorite things to do in all of Hawaii, probably other than the Polynesian Cultural Center. But I love Volcanoes National Park.

Patrick Wiscombe 11:07

Yeah, and it's uh it's going off right now, too.

Mark Faldmo 11:10

It is. I actually keep seeing those stories like, let's just go over there for a day and see the volcano.

Patrick Wiscombe 11:16

Watch it probably turn to steam when we land.

Mark Faldmo 11:21

You know, like Hawaii, the big island's a little bit less crowded, but it can be more affordable, and it's great for explorers if you want to just get out, drive around, and explore. There's lots of places you can explore on the big island.

Patrick Wiscombe 11:35

Darren, call Mark in the office. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. Now

2026 Hawaii And Mexico Package Savings

Patrick Wiscombe 11:44

let's get to the actual travel deal of the week, and we're going to help you save up to 650 bucks. So it's save up to $650 on Hawaiian Mexico vacation packages in 2026 when paying in full with a credit card and travels between February 1st, 2026, and December 14th, 2026.

Mark Faldmo 12:10

And so, you know, this is something Darren can use as well. One thing this does have to be booked by December 14th. So we're we've got about a week left of this. Hawaii and Mexico vacation packages. Just travel anytime in 2026, as long as it's after February 1st.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:27

Take advantage of it. Call Mark in the office. Here's the phone number again, 888-718-7717-888-718-7717 is how you get a hold of Mark. He'll also post this on BluePlanetvacations.com. And of course, there's no obligation. Just get the conversation started, but get out and travel while you can. Coming up in the next segment, it is time, it is time, it is time for the infamous Just Cruising segment, the segment of the show that has made us famous around the country and around the world. We'll be talking about Rocket Man. Not Little Rocket Man, just the Rocket Man. AMA Waterways is set to unveil some new adventures in Africa. And we'll also be talking about Alaska cruises from Vancouver 7 in 10 days at the height of the season for a killer deal. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk Podcast or radio show continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, I am Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be back in about 60 seconds.

Todd Carlson 13:31

Taking you to destinations around the world.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.

Patrick Wiscombe 15:16

And

Just Cruising Returns And New Shows

Patrick Wiscombe 15:16

ahoy, Matees. Ahoy. Coming up in this segment, we'll be talking about Rocket Man on Norwegians Luna. We'll give you the details here in just a moment. And we've got special travel promotions, cruise deal of the week, which is Alaska Cruises from Vancouver. We've got a seven-day deal and a 10-day deal that you'll want to listen up for. But let's quickly jump back into the cruise news of the week. And let's start with uh Rocket Man, Elton John. Norwegian cruise line is going to debut the Rocket Man, a celebration of Elton John on Norwegian Luna.

Mark Faldmo 15:55

They've always had one of these music performers on board. Some of the other ships, they have Revolution, a celebration of Prince. But this ship, they are doing Elton John Rocketman, and they're also adding another show called Haiku, along with this, which is a sci-fi show that blends uh cirque artistry with mixed reality visuals. So new entertainment options on the brand new Norwegian Luna.

Patrick Wiscombe 16:23

By the way, just a shout out to the piano man, not Elton John, but the guy who sings lots of Elton John, a guy named Scott Gurney, who was on Norwegian Bliss. I'm not sure which ship he's on right now, but got to know him when we were in Alaska. And man, dude can sing and he can play Elton John very, very well. We

Vancouver Pre-Cruise Guide And Hotels

Patrick Wiscombe 16:41

have another caller question. If you have travel related questions, get a hold of the show. Here's the phone number. You can call us while we're on the air or just during the week if you have travel related questions. So we can get your question on the air. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And this is from Angie. She is booking or booked. I think she booked a cruise departing from Vancouver. She wants to know if this was the call that you got earlier this week. That's right. Yeah. She wants to know if she should go early, meaning to Vancouver. Is Vancouver a good city to sp to spend time in prior to a cruise? The answer, Angie, is yes. Vancouver is amazing. Absolutely no.

Mark Faldmo 17:30

And as far as cities that you can spend in pre-cruise, Vancouver is one of my favorites. San Juan is also up there. But I love going to Vancouver early. Lots of things to do there. Some of my favorite is to walk or bike the seawall in Stanley Park. I love Stanley Park, and just outside the park, there's a bicycle rental where you can just go ride through the park, and that seawall is quite amazing. Granville Island Public Market, great place for breakfast and lunch. Dozens of little shops, food places, waterfront patios, just a great place to visit. And then my two favorite things to do there Capolano Suspension Bridge Park. You can go over the bridge, and there's little things to do, trails and different things to do on the other side of the bridge. It's funny, I like to sit at one side of it. People walk about 10 feet and turn around and can't go across the bridge because it's it's see-through all the way down and to walk across that and it moves a little bit. And then I like going to the uh Grouse Mountain sky ride in gondola, yeah, um, where you take it up. It's a ski resort, but in the summertime you can go up to the top of that. Hiking trails lookouts, they have a lumberjack show, they have a grizzly bear rescue that is up there, there's zip line and rope course, and also restaurants with great views up there on top of Grouse Mountain. And it's just a nice city. I've always liked Pacific Northwest City and Phil, and Vancouver is certainly a great city for that. There's also really good food there. One of my favorites, actually, both of these that I'm gonna give are in Gas Town, which is the old gas-lit area, and it's kind of a throwback uh to the early 1900s. One of my favorite restaurants there, it's called the Flying Pig. Um, and it's local comfort food, where my favorite thing there is pulled pork poutine. You know, you have to get poutine when you're in Canada. Of course, yeah. They also have, I'm a big creamed corn fan.

Patrick Wiscombe 19:35

You know what I am too?

Mark Faldmo 19:36

They have really good creamed corn. Otherwise, it's a lot of fish and some steaks and pork troughs, a little bit of a higher-end restaurant, but very good. And then when I say this, people are gonna laugh. No, but there's a reason why it's the old spaghetti factory.

Patrick Wiscombe 19:52

You know what? Old spaghetti factory is still one of my favorites.

Mark Faldmo 19:55

I love it. And 1970 is when old spaghetti factory first opened in Vancouver, and that's the original old spaghetti factory.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:07

I'll have the uh creamy pesto and the meat sauce, please. Yeah, that's what I go for every time.

Mark Faldmo 20:14

So I always go there.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:15

Whenever Nikki and I travel, we always try and find an old spaghetti factory.

Mark Faldmo 20:20

Yeah, you're gonna have to go to Vancouver and go to the very first one. If you're going for a pre-cruise, there's some hotels that I'd recommend. The first one is the Pan Pacific in Vancouver. It is literally across the street from Canada Place or adjacent to Canada Place, not even across the street, it's on the same side of the street. You could walk from your room to the terminal in two minutes. Oh, so it's real close. So it's real close.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:47

Oh, wait, so you could pick up the cruise there if I understood that right.

Mark Faldmo 20:50

Yeah, if you're doing the cruise, you just go right there.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:53

Oh, good idea.

Mark Faldmo 20:54

The other one is the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, and it is across the street. It is a luxury hotel, so it'll be a little bit more expensive, but it is a very nice, well-located hotel. And then just about a block and a half away from the cruise terminal, it's the Auburge Vancouver Hotel, and it's a boutique style hotel. It's a little bit more cozy, not a big resort, and it's a little bit less expensive than the other two. So you're not spending kind of that upscale luxury money, but still a very good location.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:28

And she's already booked her cruise, if I've got that correct.

Mark Faldmo 21:31

Correct.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:32

Okay,

Alaska Cruise Deals 7 And 10 Days

Patrick Wiscombe 21:32

so for everyone else listening, this is now the cruise deal of the week, and we've got seven and ten-day tours of Alaska from Vancouver. Let's start with the Princess Cruise. Let's do the seven-day first.

Mark Faldmo 21:45

So this is a round trip Vancouver cruise. The best date is June 30th, but they're similar pricing through most of June.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:55

And that's the height of the season, too.

Mark Faldmo 21:57

And that is, yeah. June 9th is another date that has the best pricing. But you know, June 30th is the one I would choose. Again, round trip Vancouver goes to Ketchikan, Juno, Skagway, and Endicott Arm. So a fairly typical Alaska cruise, but for a June date, this is where it gets good. Inside prices $699 per person. That's so good. Balcony cabin. $1,219 per person. Wow. For a summer date to find anything less than about $1,800 is quite good. Yeah. And this one is $1219 for a June 30th departure date. Wow. Um, and that is on the Emerald Princess. Is that what Angie booked? No, she booked a north and southbound cruise. Um so she's just starting in Vancouver.

Patrick Wiscombe 22:47

Okay. Let's go to the 10-day northbound cruise. When is this and what cruise line is it on?

Mark Faldmo 22:53

So this is a June 1st date and it's on Asmara Cruise Line. Some people may not be familiar with Asmara Cruise Line. So just a quick overview of Asmara. Asmara is a boutique cruise line. They have four ships. They're kind of mid-sized ship. They each carry about 700 guests. So it's a smaller ship designed to be more like a hotel at sea rather than kind of that mega ship experience. The main thing they like to offer is destination immersion, longer port stays, overnight calls, visits to smaller, lesser known ports that the big ships can't visit.

Patrick Wiscombe 23:31

Yeah, because they're just too big.

Mark Faldmo 23:32

They're too big. And so, you know, they really focus on service, but kind of relaxed and elegant. I chose this one purely because of the itinerary. And it is a northbound cruise. So it leaves Vancouver, has a day at sea, and then Ketchikan, and then it goes to a place called Clawak. I think I'm saying that correctly, which is on Prince of Wales Island, which is an island that's across from Ketchikan. And then it goes to Sidka, Skagway, Icy Strait, Haynes, Hubbard Glacier, Valdez, and then ends in Whittier. So there are two ports on that that most Alaska cruises don't go to. And I like that it combines both Sidka and Skagway.

Patrick Wiscombe 24:18

Yeah.

Mark Faldmo 24:19

There's really only one day at sea.

Patrick Wiscombe 24:22

Oh wow. It is port intensive then.

Mark Faldmo 24:24

Yeah, plus Hubbard Glacier is also a day at sea, but you're in Hubbard Glacier for most of that day. So and that one, an inside cabin starts at 1849, while a balcony starts at 2859 per person. A smaller ship, a little bit more upscale, but an amazing itinerary for that 10 days.

Patrick Wiscombe 24:45

Oh yeah. Especially for June. That's incredible.

Final Travel Push And Booking Info

Patrick Wiscombe 24:50

Take advantage of those offers. Call Mark in the office, just get the conversation started. 888-718-7717. What a great time to be alive, to go travel the world. Just get out and do it. Get out and see the world. Call Mark, 888-718-7717. You can listen to this award-nominated radio show and podcast, but never winning. Each Saturday and Sunday morning right here on the very radio station you're listening to right now. And this show airs around the country on all radio stations starting at 11 a.m. local time. And if you want an encore presentation of the show, you can subscribe to the podcast at inside traveltalk.com and stream the show right there as well, inside traveltalk.com. And we have all the podcast platform links for the show can be found also at inside traveltalk.com. Well, we've done our job. Now it's your turn to get out and see the world, travel the world while you can, because you never know what curveballs life is going to throw at you. Live your life deliberately, live your life intentionally, and a sincere thank you for taking the time to stop and listen. Really, we don't have a show, we don't have a business, we don't have anything without you. So thank you for taking the time to do this. Make it a great week. We'll talk to you next weekend.

Todd Carlson 26:20

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.com. Book your adventure right now. Call 888-718-7717. That's 888-718-7717. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.