Show Open And What’s Ahead

Todd Carlson 0:25

Helping you plan your next vacation. This is the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Call us now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at Insidetravel Talk.com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscombe 1:07

Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast, a radio show. Hello there. I am Patrick Wiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo. He will be here in just a moment. The entire purpose of this radio show and podcast is to help you plan and book your next vacation or just give you ideas of where you may want to consider going on vacation next. And we are presented by Mark's company, BluePlanet Vacations.com. And a sincere thank you for taking your time to stop and listen. And this week we are talking about amazing Black Friday deals from MSc cruises. Anything that having to do with Black Friday and travel. This is the show that you always want to hear. And of course, we're going to get to Mark's short getaway where he was in Playa Mujeres in Cancun and uh freshly tanned. It's more of a red. It's more like a cherry red. How you doing, Mark? Hi. I'm doing good. Yep.

Mark Faldmo 2:11

It's nice to be in the sun last week.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:15

If people could see a cherry tomato in human form, it would be Mark Faldbaugh Jr. right now. Are you peeling yet?

Speaker 1 2:24

Not yet. We'll see. We'll get it. If that happens.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:29

So how many gallons of aloe vera were applied in the last 72 hours? Quite a bit with lidocaine.

Playa Mujeres Resort Area Breakdown

Patrick Wiscombe 2:40

Let's just start with your trip. In Cancun, you just got back. When was it? Was it I guess it was a little bit earlier this week. You went to Playa Mujeres in Cancun. I just want to hear about your experience down there.

Mark Faldmo 2:53

Usually when we talk about Cancun, we talk about either the hotel zone, which is kind of the main area there, or we talk about the Riviera Maya, which is the area south of Cancun. That's where most of the resorts and hotels are. A little over 15 years ago, they started developing this new area called Playa Mu Harris, and it is north of Cancun's hotel zone. So it's kind of close to everything, but far enough to feel like it's private and exclusive. It's a wonderful place. I'll just go over a few of the high points there and then a little bit of the hotel that I stayed at, which was the SLS Playa Muharris. And it's really been the last five to eight years where a lot of hotels have opened there, but it's still a relatively low number of hotels. And so Playa Muharris is a gated master planned community. It has its own marina, surrounded by jungle, and of course the ocean. Its actual purpose is to be a quiet area as compared to the Cancun's main hotel strips. It's really more spa focused or luxury focused when you look at the hotels that are there, upscale but modern, don't have the crowds. One thing that I really liked, particularly at the hotel I stayed at, is the beach. Wide, soft, it's swimmable, and the resorts in this area tend to be more spacious with larger rooms and higher levels of service. One of the top day trips to do in Mexico is go to Islamu Harris. And that just sat right out in front of the hotel that I stayed at. And the marina, of course, was right next door. So you can go to Isla Muharis very easy as compared to if you're in the hotel zone or in the Riviera Maya.

Patrick Wiscombe 4:41

How far away is it from the hotel zone? I mean, I'm assuming you can get there fairly easily.

Mark Faldmo 4:47

If you could get to the hotel zone, we actually did we went to the Hard Rock Hotel for dinner one night, and that took about 25 minutes. Oh, okay.

Patrick Wiscombe 4:55

So it's it's a little ways away. It's a little ways away. Okay.

Mark Faldmo 4:59

Yeah.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:00

So you've got the women's beach and then you've got the women's island. Because my Spanish is correct.

Mark Faldmo 5:06

Yeah. I'm not a golfer, but there is a Greg Norman designed golf course in this community. I've driven it a few times. I've had a few golf clients that want to do groups there and do golf groups. It is one of the few places in the Mexican Caribbean that actually has waterfront hole. So they do have a waterfront hole as part of this golf course. They actually do a lot of destination weddings and romance groups in this area. And there are a few hotels that really focus on kind of multi-generational family groups. So things for all ages to do. So if you want to get away and almost feel like your hotel is on a private beach, that's what our hotel felt like. There was no one around at the SLS Playa Muharis. The beach was uncrowded. It was just the hotel guests. One thing that Cancun is kind of known for on the beaches is the sargasm, the seaweed. What's it called? Sargasm. Oh, I've never even heard of it. Uh is the the seaweed. And it can be a problem certain times of the year. But where Playa Muharris is located with the Islamu Harris in front of it, that kind of protects that area. So you don't have the seaweed problem that you do have in other parts. Now it can show up depending on the tides and all of that, but it's not as prevalent as other areas of Cancun.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:32

Let me go back to activities because you were talking about golf. You were talking about, you know, sailing, you're talking about spa stuff. I'm assuming that they would probably offer deep sea fishing or some kind of charters.

Mark Faldmo 6:44

Yeah, from the marina, you can do deep sea fishing. And another thing from that area, they have the well shark tourists May through September, which is on a lot of people's bucket list. I think there are three areas in the world where you can swim with the well sharks. Um, and that is one area.

Patrick Wiscombe 7:04

Well, that's one way to put it. Yeah. You know, that's one of those things that I've always wanted to do. Just jump in the water, get in a cage, and watch the sharks come by. But the thing that always made me nervous is I'd probably have some recalled Chinese cage where the bottom drops out, and I'm like, better not.

Mark Faldmo 7:23

Well, with the whale sharks, you're in no cage, no anything. Oh, you're just they're very docile. So you're right in the water with them.

Patrick Wiscombe 7:31

Come here, sharky, sharky. How many times have you been to Playa Mujeres?

Mark Faldmo 7:35

This would be my third time to Playa Mujeres.

Patrick Wiscombe 7:40

You've been there a few times, so you kind of knew what to expect. But what kind of were your first impressions? What was the whole vibe of the place?

Mark Faldmo 7:47

A really relaxed atmosphere, not the hustle and bustle you get in the hotel zone. You get a little bit of hustle and bustle sometimes in the Riviera Maya, especially if you're in the Playa del Carmen area. But this is just relaxed beach front, but you're still close enough you can do all of the tours.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:06

So basically not a huge mega resort. Thousands of people crawling around.

Mark Faldmo 8:10

Yeah. And the SLS Playa Muharas is kind of ultra modern, luxurious, and it kind of has that almost Miami Beach or Dubai style hotel. Uh, you know, they kind of are really going for that. In fact, the buildings are kind of not U-shaped, but they're curved buildings. And just how the hotel fits together, it's very interesting. It's larger, but almost feels like a boutique resort. Tell me about your room. The rooms are very spacious, they have huge balconies. There's a a couch out there, really, plus table and chairs. I love to go sit out on the balcony. We weren't on the beach side, we were on the other side of the hotel, which was the is the hotel's private marina. That's a good view. And so it still had a good view. The one thing, the food. I'm all about food when I travel. And they really did have kind of high-end, all-inclusive fill. They have their steakhouse, they have an Italian restaurant. We went to a place every day for lunch and had nachos and fajitas. One thing we noticed is they didn't have tacos on the menu anywhere. And we were like, you know, that's interesting. So we asked them, they said, Oh, yeah, what do you want? And they brought us little street tacos. So you love your street tacos. Made them off menu for us. Very attentive staff.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:33

Those are the best places because they just take care of you.

Mark Faldmo 9:36

The pool. There were two different pools at the hotel, never chaotic. They had beach cabanas, they had pool cabanas. It was the perfect resort. It's probably in my top five of the whole Cancun area. It might even be close to two on that. But it's, you know, very nice.

Delta Vacations Black Friday Savings

Patrick Wiscombe 9:57

But this is the annual Black Friday edition of the show. This is where you get the best deals. Let's talk about the uh Black Friday deal to SLS Playa Mujeres.

Mark Faldmo 10:08

This will be a similar one to what we talked about last week, but it's the Delta Vacations uh Black Friday Friday sale. So it's save up to $250 off the total cost of your trip, plus get up to 10,000 bonus sky miles. Okay. So that's a really good offer. That's good to anywhere in Mexico, Hawaii, but it does apply also to this area.

Top Deals On Tours And Fiji Airfare

Patrick Wiscombe 10:34

Let's get to the actual travel deal of the week. This is a whole bunch of Black Friday deals. And I don't know where you want to start here because we've got a fair number.

Mark Faldmo 10:47

There's quite a bit. Well, I'll just hit two or three here, and just of the the very best ones.

Patrick Wiscombe 10:53

Okay.

Mark Faldmo 10:53

The first one I want to talk about is G Adventures. What? Uh we G Adventures. G Adventures. Yeah, that's the name. They're a tour company. They're kind of an adventure company. So what they're offering is for their small group adventure tours, they're offering up to 30% off over 400 trips with departures through April 30th of 2026. And then up to 10% off May through August trips.

Patrick Wiscombe 11:21

When you said 400 trips, I'm like, man, you have to rack up some serious trips before you get a discount there. No. All right. So to 400 separate destinations.

Mark Faldmo 11:32

To 400 separate departures, trip departures. Okay, there we go. G Adventures is a really unique company because they really do kind of out-of-the-way local stuff. They, their founder, his name is Bruce Pontip, I believe is how you say it. He did a documentary called The Last Tourist. I think it's on Netflix. That's a really good documentary about his views on tourism and how he really makes tourism work to benefit local communities. That's one of the best offers I've seen from them. And they're also fairly affordable. So this extra 30% will give quite a good discount.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:12

What's our next travel deal of the week?

Mark Faldmo 12:15

And the next one is Globus. And I think we talked about this a little bit last week, but they've enhanced their offering kind of if we get closer to Black Friday. So this week will be their best offer. Now until December 10th, save up to $1,000 per couple on Globus tours worldwide. Whoa. As well as 30% off select 2026 and 2027 Escape Europe tours. Now the escape tours are the kind of the off-season tours. Those you can get eight-day tours for like $600 a person plus airfare in some cases. So that's you know a really good offer from Globus.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:55

Yeah, that is a great offer.

Mark Faldmo 12:57

And then a few weeks ago, we talked about Fiji Airways and their airfare. They now have a Black Friday offer from Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Dallas to Fiji. $698 round trip per person. So and that one's a very short time. That one goes through, I believe, the 29th or 30th. So about a week here to get that if you're interested in that.

Patrick Wiscombe 13:27

Wow. Take advantage of that. That is amazing. Man, you came locked and loaded today. Oh my goodness. Yes. Call Mark in the office. Just get the conversation started. No obligation, but take advantage of this offer because these won't stick around very long. If there's one thing I know about about Black Friday, they will not stick around. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And Mark will also post all of these on BluePlanetVacations.com. When we come back, more even more Black Friday deals, specifically from MSC cruises. We're going to be talking about cruises from $199 per person. Yeah. Up to $1,000 onboard spending credit and kids sale free. That is next. When the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show continues. It's the infamous Just Cruising segment. That's next. Laura Okonowski is going to make a special guest appearance alongside Mark Foldwell. I am Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back.

Todd Carlson 14:42

Explore your world. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. We'll be right back.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Get us up right now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at Inside Travel Talk.com. Here's Patrick and Mark.

MSC Cruise Segment And Guest Intro

Patrick Wiscombe 16:06

This is the infamous Just Cruising segment. The segment of the show that has made us famous around the country and around the world, and to all boarding the radio show right now and podcast Ahoy Mateys. Ahoy. Coming up in this segment, we've got the Black Friday MSC Cruises deal of the week. And we've got a special guest appearance from Laura Okanowski of MSc Cruises. And what else are we talking about, Mark? I think we're well, of course, we've got the Black Friday deal. Yeah, let's just do Laura's interview. Okay, so a little bit earlier today, we talked with Laura Okanowski. She is the business development manager for MSc Cruises, and uh we were just talking about Black Friday. What have you been up to, Laura?

Speaker 16:54

Wow, what have I been up to? Where to begin?

MSC Seascape Goes Texas In Galveston

Speaker 16:58

Well, we launched the amazing MSC seascape out of Galveston last week.

Patrick Wiscombe 17:07

So it moved. Oh finally.

Laura Okonowski 17:09

Yes, it finally did. It relocated from Miami over to Galveston, Texas. And that ship received a bit of a taxification, let's call it. Um where we know that 62% of the guests that take cruises out of Galveston are Texas residents. And we also know that Texas residents love certain things. I was told time and time again, well, you better have a lot of Dr. Pepper on board that ship because Texans love Dr. Pepper to drink. And they also love barbecue and ribs and pulled pork and brisket. So we are texifying some of the buffet items and introducing, you know, some of those things. So there will be some creature comforts on board for those who are from Texas who will be traveling with us. Included in those creature comforts is cornbread.

Patrick Wiscombe 18:04

Oh, I love cornbread.

Laura Okonowski 18:07

Now, some say pecan. I say pecan, so pecan, pecan, potato, potato. So we will have pecan pie, pecan pie also. There's a few nuances. We also have our very own lone star band, an MSc band that will play country music in the atrium for our guests in the evening and our board social team, you know, the ones who get people up and dancing. Of course, there will be Texas country line dancing as well. So lots of kind of fun fare just to kind of, you know, make everyone feel at home, but still not losing our European heritage of touches and you know, a lot of the other things that we're known for on board MSC Cruises, such as our incredible pizza. I know Patrick. Oh my goodness.

Patrick Wiscombe 18:59

I know, I love MSC pizza.

Laura Okonowski 19:02

Yes, yes. It's had it really has developed into its own cult following, believe it or not. Truly. And then, of course, you know, at MSc Cruises, we do make our own gelato and ice cream on board. We are not provisioning breads and croissants and desserts. We're actually provisioning the flour and the sugar and the eggs to make all of that because we do all of those things by scratch, hand done, including the pastas. So, you know, some of these things are absolutely remaining. We're just adding these few extra Texified touches.

Patrick Wiscombe 19:38

Nikki loves the pasta, best pasta.

Laura Okonowski 19:41

If you've ever had fresh pasta, it just melts in your mouth as soon as that fork arrives, right? It just is unlike anything packaged you could ever buy. So makes a big difference. In terms of the feedback we've received, it has just been so embracing. People were very, very excited, travel advisors and consumers alike, for a bit of a change to the port of Galveston. So MSC Seascape will be traveling every Sunday, seven-night round trip voyages through the entire course of 2026.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:17

What are the ports?

Laura Okonowski 20:18

Uh yeah, there's visits to Roatan.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:21

One of Mark's favorites.

Laura Okonowski 20:22

Uh yeah, Costa Maya as well as Cozumel. So this then gives way to three sea days speckled in between those various ports for guests who enjoy all the beautiful amenities of the ship.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:34

Uh Seascape is a beautiful ship.

Laura Okonowski 20:37

Uh one of my favorites. Built in 2022, wind full tilt capacity carries just about 5,800 guests. You never feel that.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:46

No, you don't, I have to say.

Laura Okonowski 20:47

Yeah. Because everyone is never congregated all in the same area. Everyone always is doing, you know, their own thing. If you felt, oh, well, there's going to be a ton of people at the pool. You know, the peop the pool will be happening. It will be uh an energy vibing place, but there's just as many guests who are doing afternoon bingo or who are doing a wine tasting session or who are working out in the gym or at the spa facilities. So again, I I really think that these larger ships do lend themselves to great spaces on board, and you never feel like everyone is all in that one exact same space.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:23

When you made the switch from Miami, did you do any kind of a refurbishment before going over to Galveston? I don't think you did.

Laura Okonowski 21:29

We did not need to because the ship was still so new. Built in 2022, and of course, there's always ongoing, constant mini refurbs that take place, right? Like the treatments of the carpets or cleaning that happens or ancillary painting that is going on. So those types of, you know, mini refurbs are always underway on any given voyage, but there was nothing major that needed to happen. And we still have, of course, those iconic Swarovski crystal staircases. It has been quite a year for our company and one that has certainly been very fun to be part of.

New Galveston Terminal And Drive Market

Patrick Wiscombe 22:07

Didn't MSC build their own port in Galveston?

Laura Okonowski 22:12

Yeah, so what's unique about the port of Galveston is we partnered with the city of Galveston and we took an existing Pier. It was Pier 16. And there was a big refurbishment, reconstruction that was underway about August of last year. And at that time, they determined that this pier was going to have essentially a facelift, right? They were going to redo it and add a five-tier parking structure next to it. And so that happened. That was all on track and it was completed with the launch of the ship last week. So wonderful to see, you know, all of this come together, the big master plan. So from what I understand historically of Pier 16, that used to be considered the old Del Monte terminal back when it was in its heyday with the importing and exporting of pineapples and bananas. And then over the years, you know, it just became defunct. But then MSC Cruises came in along with the city of Galveston and showed it a lot of love and attention. And boom, we have this amazing state-of-the-art facility that I walked through last week with the five-tier parking structure attached. So for those guests who are driving to the Pierport for their Galveston voyage, because you know Mark and Patrick, this is very popular. I understand that many people will drive to Galveston. It is considered a drive market, and they will drive anywhere from four, six, eight plus hours, jump in the car from their home city and state, drive to Galveston, park that vehicle, go on a seven-night cruise, jump back in the vehicle and then drive back home. And I tell you, with what was going on with this shutdown and the airlines and all types of stuff.

Patrick Wiscombe 24:02

Oh, yeah. Oh my word, yeah.

Laura Okonowski 24:04

45 days or so. I was ready to jump in a car and just drive.

Patrick Wiscombe 24:10

Galveston's sneaky, great city. Right there on the coast is some of those houses that you can Airbnb out. That's just something that I did. Amazing. And they had golf carts we could drive. It was awesome. Galveston's a great place. I'm glad you guys are there.

Laura Okonowski 24:25

Yeah, yeah. We are just so excited and feeling the embrace from the Texans and the love and everyone in the surrounding state. So whoever's listening, you know, check out our Black Friday voyage promos. Check how you can literally get yourself booked by working with Blue Planet Vacations on an incredible Galveston departure. Maybe sometime this year. There's still some space available for December. And of course, well into 2026.

MSC Black Friday Pricing And Onboard Credit

Patrick Wiscombe 24:57

Let's talk about the Black Friday promotions for our listeners.

Laura Okonowski 25:01

So this is uh, you know, kind of been coined as the best time of year to book your trip for future based on best value, best promotions, all the goodies. So this is really when the cruise lines bring out their shiniest, best promotions and put it in the marketplace. And you know, over the years, this this Black Friday sale, if you will, has now turned into a Cyber Monday and now this nuance of travel Tuesday. So the fun continues, you know, just when you think that that promo will end, wait, just wait, just wait because there's something else. And I really think that all of us as consumers, I mean, if you're going to purchase a new car, a new blender, a toaster, get some, you know, new curtains for your house, whatever it may be, or some trips and travels, everybody seems to want to let's wait and see what the Black Friday sale will bring. And so MSC Cruises recognizes this, and we did not disappoint. So you will see in the marketplace, starting actually started today, a wonderful promotion where voyages as low, oh my goodness, I can't even I shudder at saying this. Voyages as low as $199 per person. Yes, yes, yes, with possible onboard credits and kids sailing for free. So some of this is dependent on the number of days you're traveling because we have mini voyages offering three and four night cruises. We have seven night voyages, we even have grand voyages, which are just that, you know, grand time onboard ship, meaning longer. Let's linger longer. So, with all of these different styles of opportunities, you know, come different promotions, come various onboard credits. And one might wonder, well, what can I do with an onboard credit? Well, you could utilize it in the spa, maybe book a massage or a facial. You could take it right to the gift store and just purchase some MSc logo merch. Or if you're like my husband, you'll take that onboard credit and try to parlay it into more at the casino.

Patrick Wiscombe 27:09

Oh, I didn't even think about that angle.

Laura Okonowski 27:11

You're right. Yes, yes, yes. I know a lot of my personal friends and family also like to utilize it towards shore excursions, but there's an endless array of opportunities in how you could utilize that.

Patrick Wiscombe 27:22

Phenomenal deal.

How To Book Fast Before Deals End

Patrick Wiscombe 27:23

Take advantage of the MSc cruises deal. Mark, what else?

Mark Faldmo 27:27

That is a good deal. We talked a lot about Houston, but I just want to say that deal is for any MSc cruise.

Patrick Wiscombe 27:33

Also, it's not just Galveston.

Mark Faldmo 27:35

It's not just Galveston, that's for anywhere in the world that MSc sales, and that onboard credit is a great thing to take advantage of.

Patrick Wiscombe 27:43

Yeah. Take advantage of that. I like what Laura said. Most places bring out their best offer during this time of the year. Take advantage of it. You will never go wrong going on a cruise with your family. Call Mark in the office. Just get the conversation started. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And he'll also post all of this on Blue Planet Vacations.com. You can listen to this podcast radio show each Saturday and Sunday morning right here on the radio station that you're listening to right now, and all radio stations around the country starting at 11 a.m. local time. And you can also stream the show, listen to the show, and subscribe to the show at insidetraveltalk.com. And we have all the podcast platform links for this show at inside travel talk.com. Black Friday, warm up the credit card. We've done our job. Now it's your turn to get out and 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. Make it a great week. We'll talk to you next weekend.

Todd Carlson 29:05

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.