Welcome And Travel Topics 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 Insidetraveltalk.com. And now, here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscombe 1:04

It is the weekend, which means it is time to talk travel. Buckle up. We've got some awesome things that we'll be talking about on this week's show. For example, we'll be talking about 12 rays that you can ruin, or someone else can ruin your experience on long haul flights. I don't know that we're gonna talk about all 12, but we'll certainly give the top four or five mark. Yeah, we'll give the top four. Catacomb tours in New York City. This feels like the perfect place to have kind of a creep out moment, I guess. Universal's new theme park just for kids. And we'll be talking about the Canyon Spirit. We're not talking about alcohol, we're talking about trains, and not just any train. Canyon Spirit is a two or three-day adventure going from Salt Lake City to Denver, or Denver to Salt Lake City, vice versa. And uh we spent a little time with Erin Schwertfeger, who's the business development manager for Canyon Spirit and Rocky Mountaineer. We'll bring her on here in just a little bit. If you're new to the show, the entire purpose of this award-nominated radio show and podcast is to help you book and plan your vacation. Or we're just going to give you some ideas of where you may want to go next on your next holiday. And we are presented by Mark Faldmo's Company, Blue Planet Vacations.com. Let's get right to the travel news, shall we? Let's go. Twelve ways passengers or other passengers can ruin their long haul flights. Let me just start with kind of a basic question. From a time perspective, what is considered a long haul flight?

Long-Haul Flight Mistakes To Avoid

Mark Faldmo 2:56

I would say flights longer than seven or eight hours. So basically flights to Europe, flights to Asia, probably not transcontinental. So I guess they are technically long haul flights, but let's say flights where you're changing multiple time zones.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:12

Okay. Two time zones is bad enough. Going from mountain time zone to eastern. Yeah. I can mess with you a little bit. Not like Europe, but let's get to the 12 ways, or I guess we'll say just four to five ways. Passengers or other passengers can ruin their experience on long-haul flights. Number one.

Mark Faldmo 3:31

Walking around the plane without shoes or socks isn't the best idea. That's just frequently. It is. From the flight attendance perspective, we're looking at it as a sanitary thing. But if you don't have shoes on and you hit turbulence, it can be slippery, and that can be a danger because you don't have firm footing.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:55

I've actually seen one person when we were flying to Hawaii that walked bare feet into the bathroom. I was like, Oh, that's disgusting.

Mark Faldmo 4:05

Yeah, that is. So that's one way you or others around you can ruin a long haul flight. Another one, not testing out your neck pillows before packing for a flight.

Patrick Wiscombe 4:18

Yeah, I can buy that.

Mark Faldmo 4:19

I have bought neck pillows in airports before, and then it turns out to be the most uncomfortable thing. Make sure you try them out before you buy them or before you bring them, because otherwise it's just a piece of wasted space that you're bringing on board.

Patrick Wiscombe 4:34

Have you ever worn them backwards? Like literally put your neck into the U. Have you ever done that?

Mark Faldmo 4:40

That's actually how I wear them. Oh I either wear them to the front or wear them to the side. I don't wear them how they're supposed to be worn. And the next one is be careful experimenting with sleep aids. It leads to grogginess and other side effects. So when you land, it just makes that arrival experience not fun. Because you're so tired. But for me, when I was younger, my parents decided to give us some like NyQuil or something to help us sleep on the airplane.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:11

Oh boy.

Mark Faldmo 5:12

NyQuil has the opposite effect for me. So I was hyper the whole time. Really? And it was something that the doctor said, well, just do a little bit of this and it'll be okay. But I was running around the airplane, jumping off the walls, driving everybody crazy. I I was like four or five years old. I don't know.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:30

I was gonna say that was last year.

Mark Faldmo 5:32

Yeah. So so again, be careful with that. And that's mainly because when you arrive, you're just so groggy after you take a sleep aid, it makes it hard to get on with that next day. And along the same lines, it's relying on watching TV shows and movies the entire flight. Yeah. Try and get some sleep so that you can help control your jet lag. And the last thing we'll talk about is stay hydrated. Most travelers don't drink enough water. We arrived at your destination, dehydrated. And that's also something along the lines of jet lag. Stay hydrated, it can help you recover from jet lag.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:12

This was an interesting news story about visiting New York City, which I love, but it was at Catacombs by Candlelight Tour?

Mark Faldmo 6:19

Yeah, so there's a tour, Catacombs by Candlelight, and this is at the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, which is in Greenwich Village in New York. Oh, this is

Catacombs By Candlelight In NYC

Mark Faldmo 6:31

old wood, not the one in Minton. This is not to be confused with the St. Patrick's on Fifth Avenue. Yeah.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:39

57th and 5th, I think.

Mark Faldmo 6:41

Yeah. And so you know, you go to Europe. A lot of those cathedrals have the catacombs tours. Some people don't like to do them because there's actual skeletons down in there. This New York tour does not have that, but they do have a large collection of underground burial vaults, and you actually see the whole thing by candlelight. And so that's just an interesting tour that you probably wouldn't think of that's available in New York.

Patrick Wiscombe 7:11

You can just go to the Bronx for that and just walk on the streets. Yeah. I'm kidding. Universal is building a new theme park. That part's not new, but a theme park built just for younger children. So this feels like an answer to Legoland a little bit.

Mark Faldmo 7:31

They're looking to expand these. Their first one is in Frisco, Texas, which is just north of Dallas. A lot of people like to go, but also at the same time don't like to go to the big, huge theme parks because they're so busy and crowded. So this is uh a theme park that's mainly for kids. It is family-friendly. There is a hotel there. They have kid-sized roller coasters, interactive play areas, splash zones, live entertainment, you know, with all of the universal themes like Shrek, Jurassic World, SpongeBob, minions. I love the minions. Yes, I do too.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:11

They're so great.

Mark Faldmo 8:12

It's something they're trying out, probably similar to Legoland,

Universal’s New Park For Kids

Mark Faldmo 8:16

mainly for the smaller kids, but still family friendly on a much smaller scale than the big gigantic parks.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:24

Do they give an idea of how much single-day admission starts?

Mark Faldmo 8:28

Single-day admission starts at about $55. And then they also have cheaper. Multiple day and annual passes are available as well.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:37

Okay. So Mark and I, we connected up in Salt Lake last week. If you've been listening to this podcast for any amount of time in the last three years, you know that we like trains. But this one was unique. I don't know that I'm a big Amtrak fan. I just don't like sleeping on trains.

Canyon Spirit Train Route Overview

Patrick Wiscombe 8:56

But this one I thought was interesting. We've talked about Rocky Mountaineer, and they have train tours that happen in Canada. And they also have a train down here in Denver or Salt Lake, depending on where you start your journey. But basically, Canyon Spirit takes you from Salt Lake, since we're based in Salt Lake, goes down to Moab, you stay overnight in a hotel there. You don't sleep on the train. And then from Moab, you go to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Stay there overnight. And then from Glenwood Springs, Colorado, you go into Denver. So these are either two-day trips or three-day trips. That's basically what it boils down to. And a little bit earlier this week, we were talking with Erin Schwertfeger, who is the business development manager. Basically, she's a sales rep for Mark and uh this area of the country. And we were talking about Canyon Spirits and why people should consider going on Canyon Spirit. Normally, when people think of trains, they think of sleeping on the trains, and that is one thing that you stay away from explicitly. So when you take off from Salt Lake, you go all the way down to Moab and you will get off the train, I guess De -train, and then you'll stay in a hotel or hotels around that area, correct?

Erin Schwertfeger 10:15

That's correct. So guests are getting the best of that scenery, not missing any of it because we're traveling during the during the daylight hours. And then also getting that warm, comfortable bed with a non-moving shower, you know, before heading back on day two.

Patrick Wiscombe 10:28

So we go from Moab and then we go up

Moab And Glenwood Springs Overnights

Patrick Wiscombe 10:31

to, I guess technically north or northeast, if my uh geography is right, and then we stay in Glenwood Springs. And then tell us a little bit about Glenwood Springs and where you stay there and what there is to do there.

Erin Schwertfeger 10:43

Glenwood Springs is actually one of my favorite little cities. I've been there prior to working with Rocky Mountaineer and Canyon Spirit. Uh, but it's a just a cute little town. It's very clean. They have a non-smoking from 10 to 10 in the downtown area. So uh just a clean environment. And no worries for those that are smokers. There are designated areas, but being able to soak in that fresh mountain air is something to me. But there's the hot springs there. It's the largest natural hot spring people really like to take advantage of. We used Glenwood Springs as an intentional overnight, but we do not have them scheduled for anything to do. So that is a destination where they get to explore themselves. They can go to the hot springs that are local, right across from the train station, or they can go to the Iron Mountain where they've got some additional hot springs that take a different spin on it. Um, they also have a roller coaster up there and some other things to do, but we're only there overnight. So we're not there too long. So we want guests to be able to explore that city on their own. And that's usually the top things that people like to do when overnight there. We do work with a couple of properties. I don't like to get into too much detail on them because they're not the highlight of our journeys and they could change from time to time. But we work with the Hotel Colorado, right across from the train station, which is where I stayed at. I just mentioned that one because it's a very older property, very clean and welcoming, but it's a really neat property if you're in history. Yeah, if you're into history and that kind of thing.

Patrick Wiscombe 11:58

So this is a three-day journey. We're going from Salt Lake to Moab, Moab to Glenwood Springs, and then the final home stretch, Glenwood Springs, Colorado, all the way to Denver. And then you finally just get off. So that's the three-day journey, correct?

Erin Schwertfeger 12:13

I skipped over Moab a bit. So with Glenwood, that was what we do there. And then in Moab, we do I think guests like to do canyon the Canyon Lands and/or Arches National Park Tours. So we do those in nine passengers or less with sprinter vans. So guests are able to get in and out of the national parks. Unless they have a larger group, we do still have the motor coaches available as well, but we do like to use those smaller intimate trips.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:35

Let's talk about the levels of service.

Erin Schwertfeger 12:38

If you're familiar with our Rocky Mountaineer train, our service levels there, we've got Silver Leaf and Gold Leaf. Silver Leaf is our single-level dome, which is the train car that we brought over to the States. So that is known. Yeah, perfect. So that's known as our signature train car here in the US with our upgrade option to premiere. Signature is still where

Service Levels And Viewing Areas

Erin Schwertfeger 12:56

guests will be seated with their assigned seating. However, they have access to an additional lounge car, which is very cozy and comfortable. Uh, they do different honey and cheese activations and additional bartenders and things like that. So you also have four additional vestivals where the train cars open up where you border and disembark so that you can have those open windows for some viewing space and some fresh uh mountain air breeze as you're going through as well.

Patrick Wiscombe 13:20

By the way, one of the things that I thought was very interesting was the outdoor viewing area where you can literally just, I won't say hang out of the train, but it is pretty awesome. Get up out of your seat and actually get some fresh air.

Erin Schwertfeger 13:32

Yes, that's one of my favorite things too. I just it's awesome to be able to get some pictures without any chance of your reflection in the background as well.

Patrick Wiscombe 13:39

I want to talk about the train cars. So we saw you, I guess technically when this airs last week, and no disrespect to Amtrak, but you know, gotta have a comparison that people know, right? Yeah. So these train cars are spectacular. You only travel during the day, and these are domed cars where you can see everything. So instead of just looking at a little picture window, the entire sides of both sides of this train car have I won't say it floor to ceiling windows, but it's pretty close.

Erin Schwertfeger 14:15

It is very close, and they keep them so clean, and I very much appreciate that. Also, one thing to note, too, with our seating is it's very spacious. So when somebody reclines into it, you know, you're not in the lap of the person behind you because we have the bucket seating, so that's always a positive.

Patrick Wiscombe 14:31

Which, by the way, let's talk about that for a second, because there's someone who is carrying a few extra pounds, and the first thing they're gonna think is, Well, I can't go. We saw some people on the train the night that we met you in Salt Lake City, and there were some big dudes there, and they got in there easily, they had room. So if you're carrying a few extra pounds, or if you're worried about uh not being able to fit in the seat, you're gonna do fine.

Erin Schwertfeger 14:57

Yes, these are not comparable to an airline seat for sure.

Patrick Wiscombe 15:01

No, plenty of leg room. It truly is a spectacular experience.

Erin Schwertfeger 15:05

Yeah, I like to joke that I don't need the extra leg room, but I do appreciate it. Uh, and some of my colleagues are on, you know, the six foot four end, and they are just as just comfortable as I am.

Patrick Wiscombe 15:15

Let me go back to Moab for a second, Aaron. The big five national parks in Moab. So we get off the train, we stay in a hotel in Moab. You can go to the national parks there.

Erin Schwertfeger 15:26

We were really just exploring with it at first, and it's taken off. You know, people love the national parks, and what better way to get there without having to worry about the logistics of it? So it's wonderful scenery along the way, and then we do have an option to travel all the way to Las Vegas or even starting in Las Vegas and then ending with our train journey, which stops at all five of the national parks in Utah. So we call those the mighty five. Well, we don't, everybody does. But being able to also stay overnight in Bryce Canyon, so we do stay in actually one of the national parks, but seeing Zion, Capital Reef, Canyon Lands Arches, and then of course Bryce, since we'll be staying there overnight. So this is done over over the course of multiple days, of course. And then again, it can be started or ending in Las Vegas.

Patrick Wiscombe 16:08

How do you get from Vegas to Moab?

Erin Schwertfeger 16:10

Good question. So that is done via motor coach or sprinter vans, depending on the group size, and that's where we'll stop along the ways to see those different national parks. Um, there's not the best rail system set up over there or scenic. So that's uh the best way that we have been able to combine, you know, being able to get there quickly and uh also be able to explore the parks as much as possible. And then once once in Vegas, we do pick up at the MGM and we don't provide hotels, but lovely advisors, you guys yourselves can do that for your guests. We do them everywhere else, just not Vegas, because some people, everybody has their own idea of Vegas, right? Some people don't want to stay there even.

Patrick Wiscombe 16:46

So we let that be up to you guys. One thing that I wanted to talk about is you get to Salt Lake and you guys take care of everything luggage, transportation, etc. Correct?

Erin Schwertfeger 17:00

Correct. Thank you for reminding me of that. One of my favorite things is actually our luggage handling, but absolutely once you get to that first hotel, we are all hands-on wanting you to enjoy every step of the experience from here on out. We do take care of your, as I mentioned, luggage handling

Spacious Seats And Accessibility Options

Erin Schwertfeger 17:16

is my favorite. So you will have your bags ready, take a backpack with you or whatever you might need during the daytime. But your bag will go on a truck and get to your hotel, your midway hotel over for your overnight accommodation while you're on the train. So before you get off the train, you'll get your key card and you don't even have to go to the front desk to give a credit card or anything like that. Go straight to your room. Your luggage is in there in the morning. You leave your luggage right there, and they'll take it to the next hotel for you. So very seamless process. Also, drinks are included on board as well as alcoholic beverages. They do lovely mocktails with color-changing drinks, and it's just a great experience, as well as your dining. So, meals, whether it's breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner, depending on the route that we're on or day that we are on, will also be included. So, really all inclusive on board. Anyone that gets off the train hungry is 100% on them because we get lots of snacks and lots of meals, and like I said, even the cheese and honey activation. And even if you're not in the premiere upgrade, though I recommend it to Adam, you'll still be well fed and well taken care of. And then something next to the scenery that, you know, of course, people are interested in in traveling with us for the scenery. But what our guests really rave about is our hosts. So our hosts on board are very passionate about what they do. They're not there just to serve you your drinks and your meals, though they do that well and they remember what kind of coffee, how you like your coffee and things like that, but they also are there to tell you stories. So they bring that scenery to life. They talk about the wildlife that might be coming up by communicating with the front of the train. They talk about the different history that we're passing through, things like the Moffat Tunnel and how that came about. So it's a very inclusive experience. And then socializing, I would say, is probably the one other thing to touch on for traveling with us.

Patrick Wiscombe 18:57

When we saw you last week, we were talking about accessibility, Canyon Spirit, Rocky Mountaineer, they're pretty accessible friendly.

Erin Schwertfeger 19:06

We are, and we we are proud of that because it's not easy to be accessible on trains always. And so we're very, very accommodating. We do have a lift to get on the train. And even in for

Luggage Handling And All-Inclusive Dining

Erin Schwertfeger 19:16

our guests that need to stay in their seat, we do have the option to keep them in their seats, but most of our guests are able to be moved from their seat and appreciate being able to get a different seat anyway. So if they're able to do that, we'll we'll accommodate that. But yes, very friendly for wheelchairs and scooters or walkers, and even on our tours, we make sure that that's something that we get up the information from our advisors and our guests so that we are putting you in appropriate hotels and appropriate tours that are going to be accommodating.

Patrick Wiscombe 19:43

Our thanks to Erin Schwertfeger with Canyon Spirit and Rocky Mountaineer. She gave us some exclusive offers for our radio and podcast listeners. And so let's share that with our listeners right now, Mark.

Mark Faldmo 19:56

This is specifically for our listeners in Utah and Colorado. You know, since we're based in Utah, we've got lots of listeners in Colorado. But for Utah and Colorado residents, off of any price and promotion, you can save an additional $150 off on Canyon Spirit packages. So any train that leaves in

Hosts, Storytelling, And Social Time

Mark Faldmo 20:16

2026. Now they go through mid-November of 2026. So that includes the two-day between Denver and Moab, or the three-day between Denver and Salt Lake, or vice versa.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:29

The trains genuinely are very, very nice. Truly. When you see them, it's like, okay, now I get it. So if you've traveled by train and traveled by rail before and you're like never gonna do that again, I need you to just listen, think about this one again, because it is a completely different experience. It is. Take advantage of that offer. Canyon Spirit, how fun. Genuinely fun. Call Mark in the office. He can help you with this one. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717 is how you get a hold of him. He'll also post this on blueplanetvacations.com. When we come back, it is time for the Just Cruising segment, the segment of the show that has made us famous around the country and around the world. This week we are talking about the Florida Gulf Coast and Keys, one of my favorite areas. I know I speak for Mark when I say that. We've got the cruise

Listener Savings And How To Book

Patrick Wiscombe 21:31

deal of the week with America Cruise Line, and we'll also be talking about Royal Caribbean's brand new Discovery class ships. Because they fit through the Panama Canal. Why is that significant? That's called a professional tease. Stay here. We'll continue the Inside Travel Talk Podcast or radio show. Thank you so much for listening. I am Patrick Wiscombe. He is Mark Faldmo. We will be right back. Give us about 60 seconds.

Todd Carlson 21:59

Helping you get out and see the world. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Book your vacation now. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7777. 17. The show will continue after this. Now, back to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.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 InsightTravel Talk.com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscombe 23:17

There is no better sound than to hear the horn as you take off out of port. Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Hello there. I am Patrick Wiscombe alongside Mark Faldmo. He is printing off the cruise

Just Cruising Segment Begins

Patrick Wiscombe 23:36

deal of the week, which is coming up in this segment. And to all those boarding the show this very moment, ahoy batees. Ahoy. Thank you for making this part of your weekend each and every week. Coming up in this segment, we're going to be talking about Star Clippers, and we're going to be talking about Royal Caribbean's brand new ships. You always think of those monstrosities, the icon class ships. Well, they have a new class of ships called Discovery. We'll tell you why that's significant. We've got Mark's Best of British Isles cruise. And of course, as I've already alluded to, the cruise deal of the week. And are we headed to I think we're staying here in America, are we not? For the uh cruise deal of the week? Okay. Cruise deal of the week, yeah. All right, let's get to the cruise news. This segment's only about cruise news and cruise deals. Let's start with Star Clippers, one of your favorite types of ships. First of all, what is Star Clippers? I know it's a company, but tell our listeners if they're not familiar with Star Clippers.

Mark Faldmo 24:41

Star Clippers is a sailing ship. They've got two of them that sail in Europe, the Caribbean, and then also Costa Rica and Panama. Star Clippers, one of my favorite, but I'll say it's in my top three cruise

Star Clippers Adds More Inclusions

Mark Faldmo 24:56

experiences. When you're out on these ships and they bring up the sails and you're sailing under wind power, there's nothing like that. They go to places that the big ships don't go to. You know, they might go to just a small secluded beach and then take the ship's tenders in. And so you can sit on a beach with no one else there other than the cruise ship passengers. They have really good food. Just a great experience, especially in the Caribbean. I've only done the Caribbean on Star Clippers. In Europe, they have a little bit larger ship. And then in Costa Rica, they use that smaller ship as well. They're trying to make their product a little bit more all inclusive. What they're adding is two free shore excursions per sailing. This is just included now. So this is just included now.

Patrick Wiscombe 25:46

Wow.

Mark Faldmo 25:46

Okay, that is the change. They're adding a Wi-Fi package. Now it is limited by data. They're still using the older system. And so it is limited with how much internet you can have, but they are adding a Wi-Fi package, and then they have some really good pricing as well for a smaller ship on the Royal Clipper. The Grenadines in the Caribbean starts at $2,600 per person. In Costa Rica, it's two thousand dollars per person. And the Leeward Islands, again in Caribbean, starts at two thousand dollars per person on these sailing ships. Have they improved their pricing?

Patrick Wiscombe 26:29

That sounds better than what I remember.

Mark Faldmo 26:31

That is a little bit better than it has been in the past. They're reaching out, they're trying to reach new customers, and so lowered the pricing a little bit. Once you go on an experience like this, you'll probably come back several times because it's such a unique experience.

Patrick Wiscombe 26:47

Let's talk about Royal Caribbean's new what they're calling discovery class ships. Why is that significant?

Mark Faldmo 26:55

Royal Caribbean has decided their next class of ship is going to be this slightly smaller. They're still pretty large ships, but they are small enough that they can go through the Panama Canal. And

Royal Caribbean Discovery Class Explained

Mark Faldmo 27:06

that's significant because they can easily and efficiently get their ships between Alaska and the Caribbean. Right now they couldn't move one of the Icon class ships to Alaska if they wanted to. Well, they could, but it'd be a long voyage around South America. Yeah. And so now they're building this new class, slightly smaller, mainly for the Panama Canal, but it also does make it easy for ships to make it from the Caribbean to Asia and then also some places in Europe. Calling them the Discovery class, because they are designed to go to some of these more exotic type ports.

Patrick Wiscombe 27:45

I don't know that this is necessarily a news item, but I did see that you were publishing a best of British Isles cruise for is it 2027?

Mark Faldmo 27:56

Yeah, for 2027. This is a cruise that I'm hosting. Yeah, taking groups on. It's a 12-day British Isles cruise. And it's got some pretty interesting ports. So it leaves from Southampton, the port closest to London, goes to Falmouth, uh, which is in the far southwest of England, and then it goes to Cork, uh, where you can go to the Blarney Castle, and then to Dublin, and then it goes back over to England, goes to Liverpool, so you can get your Beatles in. I would totally do that. Yeah, and then from Liverpool goes to Belfast, then it goes to Glasgow, the port closest to Glasgow, and then up in the very north of Scotland goes to Inver Gordon, and then to Edinburgh. And then one place that I like is after that, it's going to go down to Le Havre, then Paris, yeah, which is a port closest to Paris, but it's also where you would do the Normandy D-Day beaches.

Patrick Wiscombe 29:03

Oh, yeah.

Mark Faldmo 29:04

So we have a pre-cruise in London

Hosted British Isles Cruise For 2027

Mark Faldmo 29:06

that's available for this. You just call Blue Planet Vacations if you're interested in joining us. We already have about 20 cabins registered for this, and it's gonna be great price. The cruise date is May 13th of 2027. So kind of that late spring, yeah. Uh that we're going, which is a great time to go over there. And then again, I mentioned the two-day pre-cruise, which you'd leave the US on the 10th for that.

Patrick Wiscombe 29:37

What cruise line is this on?

Mark Faldmo 29:39

This is on Princess Cruise Lines, it's on the Majestic Princess, which is one of their newer ships, about four years old or so. One thing I like about this cruise is the price. So inside cabins start at 21.39 and balcony cabins start at 2739 per person.

Patrick Wiscombe 29:58

Wow, that's a good price. Yeah. For 12 days?

Mark Faldmo 30:01

Did you say for 12 days, yeah.

Patrick Wiscombe 30:02

Plus the uh two days before.

Mark Faldmo 30:04

Plus the two days before and airfare. But one thing that's really good about this right now, if you were to go to princess.com and price this out, our group rate, depending on the category, is anywhere from five to seven hundred dollars per person lower than what you can get by going directly to the cruise line.

Patrick Wiscombe 30:24

I thought that would have been the cruise deal of the week, but we actually have a cruise deal of the week that is in the southeast of the United States on America Cruise Line. What are the details?

Mark Faldmo 30:36

This is for late fall dates. This is where they actually have some space left that they need to sell. So on American Cruise Lines is free airfare, plus save up to twelve hundred dollars per person. And actually on some salines, it's save up to sixteen hundred dollars per person. So it's just gonna depend on what sailing. What saline, yeah. And the one I like that I kind of wanted to feature is uh Florida Gulf Coast and Keys. Oh yeah. And so this one is round trip from St. Petersburg, Florida, features Key West.

Patrick Wiscombe 31:15

Oh love.

Mark Faldmo 31:17

The dry Tortugas, yeah, the dry tortugas. And these are November and December dates. Um November 27th, December 4th, 6th, 8th, 11th, and 15th is when this promotion is uh valid. And of this year, not next year. Of this year. Okay, yeah, another saline.

Cruise Deal Florida And Southeast Routes

Mark Faldmo 31:36

And I think this one is interesting too. It's Charleston, South Carolina to Amelia Island in Florida. Similar dates to the other one, and it's save free airfare and save up to twelve hundred dollars per person. That one goes from Charleston to Amelia Island, visits historic ports like Savannah. Cruise ships can't go to Savannah anymore. We're talking Savannah, Georgia. Yeah, okay. Savannah. Savannah. Yeah, and so this ship is small enough that it can still visit ports like Savannah, Jekyll Island, ending in Amelia Island, and then another one, and I'm kind of excited for this one. It's called the Great Rivers of Florida. It's a round trip from Jacksonville, but it visits places like St. Augustine, the first settlement on the North American continent. And also, since these are late November and December dates, St. Augustine has some of the best Christmas lights that you can see. Again, all of these feature free airfare and save between 1200 and 1,600 dollars per person. It's a different cruise experience. You know, all of these are smaller ships holding roughly 200 people. They're the larger for American cruise lines, kind of the catamaran big ships that they have.

Patrick Wiscombe 32:55

Yeah.

Mark Faldmo 32:55

Uh well, not big ships, but catamaran. And so a really interesting vacation, something different.

Patrick Wiscombe 33:02

You don't see American cruise lines discount stuff very often.

Mark Faldmo 33:06

No, they don't. I they have free airfare on a lot of their cruise lines, but these discounts are pretty good.

Patrick Wiscombe 33:13

Take advantage of these unique offers. America cruise lines save up to $1,600 per person on select departures. The one that has piqued my interest, Mark, is your Princess Cruise, the best of the British Isles cruise. Again, what's the date on that?

Mark Faldmo 33:32

Uh the cruise date is May 13th, and the pre-cruise uh would be depart of the U.S. on May 10th of 2027.

Patrick Wiscombe 33:41

Take advantage of that, especially if you can get it less, uh what, what'd you say, up to $700 less than if you priced it by yourself by going through okay?

Mark Faldmo 33:49

Yeah, yeah, our group rate's pretty good.

Patrick Wiscombe 33:52

Yeah. Take advantage of that. Get the conversation started, get your deposit down. Phone number 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And I'm going to assume that you've already posted this on blueplanetvacations.com, right? Yes, I have. Yep. That is a great idea, especially if you want to go see the best of the British Isles. Well, that's gonna do it. Our job is done. Now it's your turn to get out and see the world while you can because you never know what curveballs

Final Takeaways And Subscribe Reminder

Patrick Wiscombe 34:27

life is gonna throw at you. We say it every week, but we mean it. Live your life deliberately and live your life intentionally. And a genuine, sincere thank you for being a subscriber to the show and listening to the show every single week. And by the way, if I could just remind everyone, go subscribe to the show and leave us a uh review if you would. Really does help the show. Thank you so much for listening. We will talk to you next weekend.

Todd Carlson 34:54

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.