Welcome And How To Reach Us

Todd Carlson 0:16

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 InsightTravel Talk.com. And now, here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Big Themes And Deals Preview

Patrick Wiscombe 0:56

Hello there. I am Patrick Wiscombe, co-host of this award-nominated Podcaster Radio Show. And the entire purpose of this radio show is to help you plan and book your next vacation with us and give you ideas of where you may want to consider going on vacation next. And we are presented, proudly presented by my good friends, company BluePlanetVacations.com. And just a sincere thank you for taking the time to stop and listen. And this week we are talking about five-star hotels. Are they really worth it? I guess it depends on the hotel. We're going to tell our listeners how you can save up to $550 when you book a Hawaii or Mexico vacation. We'll give you the details here in this opening segment. There's no secret that Mark and I are fans of MSC cruises, and we have a repositioning cruise designed to help our listeners specifically save up to $1,300. Plus, we're going to help you get a $200 onboard credit and the latest craze in cruising, Mark Faldmo, as you make your way into the studio pull-to-pole cruises. I like this idea. Yeah, this is a pretty interesting itinerary. I'm excited to talk about it. But first, before we get to the hot travel deal of the week, which is Hawaii and Mexico and helping our listeners save up to $550, let's start with the travel news headlines.

Rail Travel Surges And New Trains

Patrick Wiscombe 2:29

We love traveling by train. Demand for rail travel is picking up steam, no pun intended.

Mark Faldmo 2:36

Yeah, this is quite a big jump year to year. So companies that put together rail packages have seen a 35% jump year over year for 2025 bookings. I've actually had more rail this year than ever. So really I have seen this demand as well. And then, you know, looking into 2026, there's been a 51% increase in demand for rail bookings. Looking here, kind of just locally in the US, Amtrak vacations reported a 15% increase in the Amtrak vacation bookings. So there is a huge demand. This way of slow travel is a great way to see the world. Last week I told you about someone I was booking to Scandinavia, and they opted to get from Stockholm to Oslo by train, which is six hours, and then Oslo to Bergen, which is seven hours. And they could have flown that, even with all the airport experience, in like three hours. He said, no, we just want to watch the world go by. We've talked about my experience on the Rocky Mountaineer from Denver to Moab, which was fantastic. And with this demand, there's a whole bunch of new rail products opening.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:47

What kind of rail products are now available?

Mark Faldmo 3:50

Just this year, because of the demand, the Orient Express added their Dosce Vita Orient Express. Oh, that's right. We talked about that last week's show. This is a train in Italy between Venice, Portofino, and Rome. It's a two-night luxury train. Another one that we've talked about in the past is the Britannic Explorer train, which is southern England and Wales. And this one is also a luxury train like the Orient Express. And then there's a company out there called Golden Eagle. They do trains all over the world, but they've had such demand for Asia. They've introduced a new train called the Golden Eagle, Silk Road Express. And they have itineraries like from Ho Chi Minh City to Shanghai, which is 14 days, again on a luxury train. They have the Grand Silk Road, which is Beijing, clear up into Mongolia, which is 22 days. They have Imperial China, which is Xi'an, to Hong Kong, which is 12 days. So they've added these new Asia routes, which as I look at these itineraries, I someday want to be able to go on those. I'd I'd love to go on that 22-day Grand Silk Road.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:02

Oh, yeah.

Mark Faldmo 5:02

Because it goes in to countries that people wouldn't even think about. It goes into Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. It's clear from Beijing all the way over into that area.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:14

Oh, yeah, I would do that in a second. I didn't even know that that was available. So I'm glad you're bringing it up.

Mark Faldmo 5:20

Yeah. So rail journeys, whether short or long, whether they're the sight scene trains like the Rocky Mountaineer, which overnight in hotels, rather the sleeper trains, I think that slower mode of travel, just to sit back, relax, and enjoy the world as it goes by is a great way to travel.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:37

I would have never thought of going to Tajikistan ever. That block of Islamic countries, not necessarily on my to-do list, but if I can jump on a train and go, oh yeah, and get off it stops and go, absolutely I'm doing it.

Mark Faldmo 5:50

Yeah, just the route this takes is quite interesting.

Airport Tech That Cuts Security Stress

Patrick Wiscombe 5:54

I saw a story that airport technology is saving or will save travelers up to 30 minutes and could reduce stress. I know that you and I have TSA pre-check, we have global entry, but I tell you, the most chaotic part of going to the airport is just going through security. If you are not ready for it and if you don't have your stuff ready to go, that can be a very, very stressful situation for anybody.

Mark Faldmo 6:20

Yeah, it is. So with this technology, airports are making that a lot easier. So this survey, I'm not sure who did this survey, but they asked 12,000 travelers about airport technology. 44% of US travelers said that the new airport technology has reduced their travel stress levels. 78% rate fast track security is the best airport technology improvement, followed by the digital boarding pass. I didn't even think about that one. Yeah, you're right. I saw a story the other day from the TSA that they are at some airports, they're rolling out the touchless security, which is what we experience with the pre-check to where you just walk up and it takes a picture of you, compares your photo with your ID that pops up on the screen, and then you just go through security. And they said this saves an extra 15 seconds per person. Oh, well, that adds so that that adds up. So it it it takes it all the way down to eight seconds once you step in front of the TSA person to get through. And before that, it was almost 30 seconds, and they are starting to roll that out into the general security lines as well. This is where the real ID comes in, the gold star. That's how the system is all connected together.

When Five-Star Hotels Aren’t Worth It

Patrick Wiscombe 7:38

I have a question for you. Are five-star hotels worth it? I think they are, but you found something or at least six reasons that they might not be worth the extra cost.

Mark Faldmo 7:51

I get asked this question a lot. The places like Hawaii, Mexico, I really only now recommend four stars and above. Right. But then I've always prefaced that with, you know, sometimes there's a really good three-star, three and a half star that I really like that I will recommend. It kind of works the same way, four to five star. In order to get the five stars, a lot of the main differences are the size of the hotel, the number of pools, the size of the spa. In order to get up to that five-star rating, you could have a four-star hotel that has just as nice rooms, but has one pool and doesn't have 15 pools like some of the five-star hotels. Most of these I agree with. One is quality over quantity, and we kind of just talked about that. Yep. You can get some four-stars that are much less expensive that have the same quality. They may not just have the quantity of things. Reason number two, and I think this one is big personally with the way I travel, is is it a boutique? A lot of boutique hotels don't get that five-star rating because they're small and they just can't offer all the services that a lot of the professional reviewers need to get that five-star. Right. Personally, I would choose a four-star or even a three-star boutique hotel in most cases over most five-star resorts. I like the small boutique hotels personally. I do too. Another thing, and we've also talked about this, there's not a premium price tag. So the five stars charge more, but then the four stars don't offer as many amenities, so they can have lower room rates. And so again, quality might be similar or the same to a five-star. And this is one I really agree with. Five star versus four star in big cities. So let's look at San Francisco or New York. In those cities, are you going to go to swim in the pool that they have? Probably not. A lot of those things they've added to get their five star, most people don't even use in big cities like New York or San Francisco. So again, you might want to save the money because you're not even going to use those amenities.

Hawaii And Mexico Packages Up To $550

Patrick Wiscombe 9:58

Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week. And this week we are going to Hawaii and Mexico, and we are going to help our listeners save up to $550 on Hawaii and Mexico vacation packages. What have you put together for listeners this week?

Mark Faldmo 10:13

First of all, this save up to $550. In order to get this, you have to travel after January 1st of 2026 and pay in full at the time of reservation. And it's a tiered discount based on the total cost of the trip. The lower the cost, the lower the discount. And then there still is a tier of this. If you want to travel in 2025, it's not quite as big of a discount. It's $200 off. So if you want that larger discount, it's travel after January 1st of 2026. For this, I did look for November dates. And so it's using that lower discount. Yeah, the 200. Because fall dates are pricing out better than January dates right now. So so this is using the smaller discount, but I mainly wanted to point out for the first time since the Maui fires, I found a vacation in Maui for under a thousand dollars per person. Wow. Including round trip airfare and five nights hotel from Salt Lake City. So where are we still in Aston, Connopoli Shores Hotel on the beach? It's it's a great location. Oh yeah, it is. And that price starts at $9.79 per person. Including airfare? Including airfare from Salt Lake City. So Maui has been so expensive, but it it's come down in price. Oh, it sure has. All the other hotels are or all the other islands are similar in price. Honolulu is below a thousand dollars.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:01

So Hawaii basically just put it at a thousand dollars per person, five nights hotel, and that includes the airfare. Phenomenal, especially Maui. Let's go to Mexico. What about Puerto Vallarta?

unknown 12:13

Yep.

Mark Faldmo 12:13

So in Puerto Vallarta, staying at the four-star Villa del Palmer, which is an all-inclusive resort. That one starts at $9.29 per person. Again, for airfare, all inclusive hotel for five nights, and your transfers between the airport and the hotel. Wow. There's some really good prices out there with this promotion. So that's western Mexico. What about Cancun, Eastern Mexico? In Cancun, the prices are a little bit more. The Blue Bay Gran Esmeralda, again, five nights hotel, round trip airfare, and transfers between the airport and hotel starts at $11.19 per person. Hawaii and Puerto Villarta are the two best bets as far as price goes. Oh, yeah. For travel the first two weeks of November of this year.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:57

Save up to $200 for the remaining 2025 season, meaning between now, August 16th through the end of the year. And then what if people want to take advantage of that higher tiered saving that save up to $550 on Hawaiian Mexico, but they want to travel after the first year? Should they just call you to do that?

Mark Faldmo 13:17

Just call me and we can get those prices. Especially during winter. Especially during winter.

Patrick Wiscombe 13:26

Yeah. It's just kind of hard to think about winter when it's when it's been so hot. Yes. So you have to remember that it is going to get cold at some point. Yeah. Call Mark in his office. Get the conversation started. No obligation. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And of course, you can get all of his contact information and this information on his website, blueplanetvacations.com. When we come back, it is time for the infamous Just Cruising segment. This is the segment of the show that has made us famous around the United States and around the world. We'll be talking about Viking already opening the 2027-2028 Ocean and Expedition Voyages. And we're going to talk about pole-to-pole cruises. I love this idea. And we're going to help you save up to $1,300 off cruises and up to $200 in onboard credit on MSC ships. 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 right back.

Todd Carlson 14:47

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.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. 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 16:09

You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast, a radio show. Hello there. I am Patrick Wiscombe alongside Mark Faldmo.

Just Cruising Segment Kicks Off

Patrick Wiscombe 16:19

It is time to talk cruising. This is the infamous Just Cruising segment, this segment of the show that has made us popular here in the United States and around the world, where we only talk about the cruise news and we talk about the cruise deals that we have for our listeners, and these are only available to our listeners. You ready to do this, Mark? Let's go. Let's get to the cruise news headlines. Royal Caribbean. This sounds like something that Hulk Hogan rest in peace. That he would have been part of. Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Drink Package Crackdown

Patrick Wiscombe 17:00

is enforcing sounds like something from WWE, enforcing the drink package rule. You can only have one margarita.

Mark Faldmo 17:07

Yep. No. So this is actually something a little bit different on the the rule. So what Royal Caribbean's policy is, every adult of legal age, if one person buys the deluxe beverage package, then everyone has to buy the deluxe beverage package. That is in that cabin. That is in that cabin. Yes. And so I get it. They used to give an exception if you had a medical exception. Because there are a lot of times medically, some people can't drink alcohol and they would just get the lower cost soda package. Right. But now people, like I guess stupid people do, took advantage of that and posted online, said I just called and got a medical exception. Oh I I I don't have a medical exception, but they gave it to me, so now we don't have to do that. And so let me guess they were drunk when they called. Probably, yeah. And posted something. Royal Caribbean just saw too many posts about how to skip out on having to have everybody purchase that. And so they just said it's being taken advantage of, so we are changing our policy. So now we're holding everybody to that, whether you drink or not.

Patrick Wiscombe 18:18

Viking is opening bookings. This is crazy to me. For the 2027-2028 ocean and expedition voyages.

Viking Opens 2027-2028 Voyages

Patrick Wiscombe 18:27

That's a long time from now. But when you look at Viking, everything or almost everything is sold out, even for 2026.

Mark Faldmo 18:35

It's getting tight for 2026. So best time to book a cruise is when they first launch the itinerary. So now's that time, or at least in Vikings case. Yeah, at least for Viking. A lot of times, if the price goes down, you can book it, but most of the time the prices are creeping up. Now is the best time. In this deployment, Viking has introduced a new expedition cruise, and this one is in the Arctic Circle. This cruise, expedition cruise, offers a rare opportunity to cross the 66 degree south latitude and actually go into the Arctic Circle. So that's something that's a little bit unique that Viking is releasing within this deployment.

Patrick Wiscombe 19:18

Sounds like I'd have to break out my merino wool pants for this one. Yes. Yeah. How fun. Wouldn't you do that? I would. I would do that. Yeah. That's awesome. Along the same lines, Mark. Let's tell our listeners how to go pole to pole with Seaborne over 94 days. This would

Seabourn Pole-To-Pole Grand Expedition

Patrick Wiscombe 19:38

be so interesting. North Pole, South Pole, a lot of fun.

Mark Faldmo 19:42

This is north to south, and it's on Seaborne, which is luxury yacht. They're smaller ships. They hold, oh, about 200 people or so. I'd have to look at this ship exactly, but they have introduced a 94-day pole-to-pole grand expedition. This starts in Greenland and ends in Ushuaia in Argentina. From Greenland, it goes all the way up into the Northwest Passage Territory to Cambridge Bay in northern Canada. And then it comes down, does a couple east coast US, some Caribbean islands, and then down the east coast of South America, and then down into Antarctica before going back up and ending in Buenos Aires.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:27

I forget how far south the South Pole is. I always kind of think that the world ends in Argentina. I forget that there's a whole other world below that. Yeah.

Mark Faldmo 20:36

This ship does have a submarine on it. So they do take some shallow submarine dives in these different ecosystems. So yeah.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:46

And OceanGate is not the provider on that one. Correct, yeah.

Mark Faldmo 20:52

They have kayaks on board. By going on this, you did get a customized polar jacket as one of the perks to go on this. Although you will be crossing the equator in some warm territories, but you also get stuff to keep you warm when you're in the the colder areas.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:06

Talk about packing for all weather situations in the span of three months.

Mark Faldmo 21:12

Yes.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:12

You go from freezing cold to just melting hot back to cold.

Mark Faldmo 21:17

Yeah. By the way, is August 18th of 2027 for the 94 day? You can do a shortened version 82-day sailing, which I think that one just doesn't do the northwest passage part of that. However, that would be the part I would want to go for. Exactly.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:36

You're cutting your vacation short by 12 days. 94 to 82. Yeah. Just go for the 94. Yeah. It is time for the cruise deal of the week, part of the infamous just cruising segment. This is MSC's Grand Voyage sale, and we are helping

MSC Repositioning Deals And Onboard Credit

Patrick Wiscombe 21:53

you, our listeners, to save up to $1,300 off cruises and up to a $200 onboard credit.

Mark Faldmo 22:02

So they're all repositioning cruises when they're trying to move their ships into new areas. I've come up with three of these grand voyages that I think are fabulous and they're all at a great price. The first cruise is from Genoa in Italy to Miami. It has stops in Marseille, Barcelona, Las Palmas, San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Miami. And I'm sorry, this one actually ends in Port Canaveral. So 17 days departing this year, November 19th. So you'll be on the cruise ship over Thanksgiving. An inside cabin starts at $615 per person for 17 days. Balcony cabin. Wow. Yeah. And a balcony cabin starts at 1,015 per person.

Patrick Wiscombe 22:49

What ship is this on? MSC. This is on the grandiosa. So we have your built-in excuse right here on the show. Sorry, can't make it, family. I'll be in Italy and I'll be crossing the ocean. Yeah. What was a balcony on that again? 1,015. For 17 days?

Mark Faldmo 23:08

Wow. Okay, all right. Let's go on to the next one. The next one is again the same date, November 19th. And this is Rotterdam in the Netherlands, cruising to Martinique in the Caribbean. Because MSC does have a ship for a lot of their European guests that begins and ends in Martinique. This one sails Rotterdam to Southampton in England, La Havre in France, Ponta Delgata, Bridgetown Barbados, Antigua, Rousseau, and then ends in Fort France in Martinique. That's a lot of port days for a repositioning crews. And this one is not quite as well priced, but it's still a good price. So an inside cabin for 17 days starts at $814, and a balcony cabin starts at $1,294 per person.

Patrick Wiscombe 23:54

So MSC, what ship is that one? That is on the MSC Virtuosa.

Mark Faldmo 23:59

Okay. And then the last one. Is this a how long is this last one? This is a longer cruise. This one is 21 days, and this is South America to Europe. So it starts in Santos, Brazil, and ends in Venice, Italy. Okay, so we're going kind of south to northeast. South to north, yep. So this one you'll cross the equator on ship, which is usually always a production. It's a get a certificate saying that you cross the equator. And its ports you stop in Mendelo, which is a small island kind of off the coast of Morocco. And then it goes to Las Palmas, and then it goes to Tangier, which is an interesting stop. And then Barcelona, Rome, Messina in Sicily, Valletta, Malta, one of my favorite stops. Split in Croatia, and then ends in Venice. Ooh, that's a good one, too. This is March 15th of 2026. The inside price starts at $16.03 per person, and the balcony is $2343 per person. Okay, this is MSC Cruises. What ship is this one on? This is on the MSC Armonia. On these sailings, you'll get the up to $1,300 off and the onboard credit of up to $200. And that onboard credit, and the discount is based on the which cabin category you choose. So it's lower for insides, higher for balconies and suites.

Patrick Wiscombe 25:28

So that is phenomenal. Take advantage of those offers. Wow. Cruise deals

How To Book And Final Takeaways

Patrick Wiscombe 25:36

of the week from MSC Cruises. Save up to $1,300 off on these repositioning cruises. Call Mark for the details. Just get the conversation started. Call him in his office. No obligation. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And he'll also post this on Blue Planet Vacations.com. You can listen to this award-nominated show again tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. right here on whatever radio station you're listening to this very moment. And you can stream, download, and subscribe to the podcast at inside travel talk.com. We are on all of the major podcast platforms. It is now your turn to get out and explore the world while you can because you never know what curveballs life is going to throw at you. We say it every week. Live your life deliberately and live your life intentionally. Thank you so much for listening. Really, thank you. We don't have a show, we don't have a business without you. Thank you for taking the time to listen. We'll talk to you again next week.

Todd Carlson 26:51

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.