Welcome And What We Cover

Todd Carlson 0:15

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 0:52

It is just after 11 o'clock. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast Radio Show. Hello there, I'm Patrick Wiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop and listen to this awesome podcast or radio show about travel and travel ideas. And if you have no idea where you want to go on your next vacation, we are going to give you ideas of where to consider next. And this show is presented by BluePlanetVacations.com. Coming up on today's show, we will be talking about 40% off all MST cruises. I didn't say some, I said all MSC cruises. And they're introducing some specialty dining packages that are fixed price. We'll get to that in the infamous just cruising segment. And if you've always wanted to go to Australia, we're going to tell you how to do it by train and some place that was really unexpectedly pleasant. The Dominican Republic. We were there in April, and it was such a beautiful place to visit. If you've always thought about going there, whether it be by air or by cruise, do it. It's a great place to go. Hello, Mark Faldmo. Hey, Patrick. Let's get right to the travel headlines.

Holiday Travel Surge And Airline News

Patrick Wiscombe 2:10

July 4th, obviously coming up, and a record number of Americans are expected to travel for the July 4th holiday.

Mark Faldmo 2:19

This is an annual report that AAA releases every 4th of July. And they are expecting just over 72 million people to travel at least 50 miles from their home by any mode of transportation. The vast majority of that is by car, but almost six million Americans will fly this year over the 4th of July, which is up about 10% compared to last year. So there'll be busy skies this week.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:44

Are you going anywhere this weekend?

Mark Faldmo 2:47

I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to Fort Lauderdale the following week. So got it. What's going on in Fort Lauderdale? Anything listeners would be interested in? Not really. It's a travel meeting. Oh Global Travel Market Place. And that's just to go meet with suppliers worldwide, learn about their products, get some travel ideas.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:06

Well, you can't go wrong going to Fort Lauderdale. So beautiful down there. Yeah. I love that area. Southwest may be planning transatlantic flights. When is that going to take place?

Mark Faldmo 3:18

So they are just looking at it. The speculation is they are going to fly to Reykjavik, Iceland, because that's as far as their planes can make it. So they couldn't make it all the way to Europe, but from their hubs, like in Baltimore, they could fly to Reykjavik. And with their recently signed partnership with Iceland Air, that is a pretty good fit for them. So they can fly their mainland service to Reykjavik and then passengers connect onward from there. So could open up Europe to a lot of Southwest markets.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:49

Both you and I got an email this past week that uh Delta has some kind of promotion. It's actually pretty easy to book this promotion. If you're traveling on Delta, listen up.

Mark Faldmo 4:01

For their 100th year anniversary, they're giving people the opportunity to earn up to a hundred dollar e-certificate on Delta. So how you do this is you sign in to your SkyMiles account. When you're in your profile, there is a link for promotions, and you can just click register. It's just a one click and you're registered. And for every flight that you fly in uh Delta Comfort between now and November 20th, you'll get $25 per flight up to $100.

Patrick Wiscombe 4:31

And all you have to do is just go to the Delta app and basically enroll. And if you fly, then you get the credit.

Mark Faldmo 4:38

You fly, then you get the credit. So on all the programs I'm part of, I always enroll in every promotion, whether I'm going to use it or not, because you never know. In your case, yes. Yeah. Yeah. You know, Marriott has a lot of promotions as well. I enroll in all of those, and I end up getting three or four free nights at Marriott throughout the year just by enrolling in their promotions.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:00

So it is worthwhile, even though you may not take advantage of it, it could, if something happens, you would be automatically enrolled in it. Correct.

Seeing Australia By Luxury Train

Patrick Wiscombe 5:10

Always in the opening segment of the show, we've got the destination of the week. And this week we're going to Australia. But instead of, I mean, obviously we have to get over to Australia, you have to fly there. But instead of doing the traditional touristy things, the reason we're going here is because you received a call in your office, blueplanetvacations.com from Ginger, who wanted to go to Australia. And you guys had a fairly lengthy conversation about how to go see Australia by train. So let's share that with our listeners.

Mark Faldmo 5:42

I've never had a request for Australia by train until this past week. When doing the research, there's four different kinds of tourist lines that are in Australia. So I'll just go over those different four routes that they have. The first line is called the Indian Pacific, and it goes from Sydney to Perth. There are stops in the Blue Mountains, Adelaide, and then across to Perth with a few other stops. And that's probably the most popular train. But the train that you know really piqued my interest is called the Gann train. And it goes from Adelaide, which is in the south, to Darwin in the north. And so it goes right through the center of Australia. One of the stops there is Alice Springs, which is anyone that I've ever sold to Australia wants to try and figure out how to get to Alice Springs. That's the train that would get you to Alice Springs, and you'd get to see, you know, that whole interior of the country.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:46

You mentioned traveling from Adelaide to Alice Springs. If someone doesn't know what's in Alice Springs, Australia, what is there?

Mark Faldmo 6:54

The thing that everyone likes to see that's in that area of Australia is Air's Rock, the big rock that's just out in the middle of the kind of outback there. And so from that area is where you would get off to see Air's Rock. That's why everyone wants to go to Alice Springs. There's lots of other interesting things to do and see in Alice Springs. And what's the last train? The next train is a train between Brisbane and Adelaide. So it kind of goes down the southeast coast of Australia. And so those are the tourist trains that you can experience in Australia.

Patrick Wiscombe 7:35

You just rattled off the four trains. Are these sleeper trains, or is this uh like Rocky Mountaineer where you travel during the day and then you go in a hotel at night?

Mark Faldmo 7:45

Australia is a pretty big country, and so these are all sleeper trains. They do have different service levels that you can get all the way to full suites, which is a full train car. They do have you know your dining cars, your sleeping cars, and it's five-star service on the whole adventure. You can do just a one-night trip, but the average train is three to six nights that you can go and experience Australia.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:14

Price-wise, what are listeners looking at if they want to travel by train in Australia?

Mark Faldmo 8:19

That depends on the length of the train travel, but they do have right now save up to fourteen hundred dollars per couple. That's on their package deals, which includes some off-train experiences. It is a great way to see parts of Australia that you probably wouldn't see otherwise, just because Australia is so sparsely populated and the interior, there's not a lot of civilization there in the in the interior or the outback.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:51

Big spiders too. Yes, enormous spiders. Yes. Patrick does not like spiders. Ginger, I'm certain you're gonna have some additional questions. Call Mark at his office to continue, in your case, the conversation. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And you can also find his number on BluePlanetvacations.com. When we come back, time for the hot travel deal of the week, and we are going to the Dominican Republic. We're going to talk about what the main tourist areas are, what there is to do in Punta Cana. That is next. When the Inside Travel Talk Podcast or radio show continues, alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be right back.

Todd Carlson 9:45

If you have travel questions, they have the answers. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. Call or text the show right now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. We'll be right back. This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by Starkippers. For over 30 years, Star Kippers has offered unique, authentic tollship saving experiences featuring creative itineraries throughout the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Central America. To book your unique Star Clippers sailing adventure, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or Blue Planet Vacations.com. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsightTravelTalk.com. Here's Patrick and Mark.

Dominican Republic Teaser And More Headlines

Patrick Wiscombe 11:29

Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast, a radio show. Alongside Mark Fulvo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. You are listening to the best and most informative travel show on the radio and in podcast form. Coming up in this segment of the show, always in this segment is the hot travel deal of the week, and we are going to the Dominican Republic. Nikki and I were there in April, and it is awesome. It is a beautiful, beautiful island. Mark, I think it's completely underrated, Dominican Republic.

Mark Faldmo 12:04

I love the Dominican Republic. Some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen have been in the Dominican Republic.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:10

Let's get back to the travel news headlines. I saw this news story that Test Track, one of the rides at Epcot Center in Orlando, is coming off a tune-up and it's set to reopen. What are the details?

Mark Faldmo 12:23

It's actually probably one of my favorite things to do at Epcot. It's is going to reopen July 22nd with new music. I like Test Track because it's kind of like a supposedly a you know race car going around course. It's one of the more adventuresome rides at Epcot. Growing up, I always thought Epcot was kind of boring, but as an adult, I love Epcot. Thank you. Um, you know, but but this is you know one of the things that gives you a little bit of adventure and speed.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:52

Because you and I travel a lot on Delta. I saw this news story that they're expanding service to the Caribbean.

Mark Faldmo 12:59

Starting December 20th, is adding two new Caribbean destinations, both from Atlanta. They're adding Saint Vincent and Grenada. So these are two brand new destinations for Delta. Some of these Caribbean islands in that eastern or southern Caribbean are just so beautiful and interesting to visit. If you're looking to kind of get away to a more relaxed, less touristy area in the Caribbean, these are probably two really good options. Have you been to Grenada? I have, and I've been to Saint Vincent as well. Now, the one thing I really like about these is their colonial history. Saint Vincent has been owned by both France and Britain. So you get a little bit of that culture there. Grenada is French. One of my favorite stories there is we had a group and it came with lunch and they had salads with French dressing, and it tasted so good. And I'm like, that's probably because I'm in in a French territory that this French dressing tastes so good. And then I look behind the curtain and it was craft and French dressing. So and and I know French dressing doesn't necessarily really come from France, but that that that's my food story for the day. That it was such a good salad and such good French dressing, but and then it ended up being craft. Delta also has announced additional expanded service to other places. Cancun, Punta Cana, which we'll talk about in a little bit. A few weeks ago we talked about the Puerto Vallarta from Salt Lake, that they are adding a seasonal extra flight to Porta Vallarta over the holidays. But they really are kind of going all into that Caribbean, Latin America, Central America destinations.

Patrick Wiscombe 14:55

Tracy, who is one of our listeners, wants to go to the Dominican Republic. She called your office. Let me just give the number out. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. Or if you don't remember the number, just go to blueplanetvacations.com. Tracy is asking, I want to go to the Dominican Republic. What advice do you have for me?

Mark Faldmo 15:20

First of all, there are three main areas, tourist areas of Dominican Republic. There are a few more than this, but these are

Choosing Punta Cana La Romana

Mark Faldmo 15:29

kind of the main ones. So the first one is Punta Cana. That's the one where most people fly into for a vacation. Punta Cana is on the very eastern tip of the uh island. And then the next area is La Ramana. This one you actually fly into Punta Cana, and it's about an hour or so drive. La Ramana is on the south side of the island, kind of in between Santo Domingo and Punta Cana. And then the other area is Porto Plata, which is on the north side of the island. And it does have its own airport that's serviced by Delta American United Jet Blue Frontier, I believe, also flies to Porto Plata. So those are the three kinds of areas that you would fly into. Of those three areas, what's your favorite area? My favorite of those is La Romana. I like it because it's a little bit quieter, but you're still close enough to a lot of the activities where you're only an hour or so away from the activities in Punta Cana, you can still get to those fairly easily. But I like La Romana because it's quieter.

Patrick Wiscombe 16:41

Since Punta Cana is kind of the main area there, what are some of the activities to do there? The first thing in Punta Cana is the beach.

Mark Faldmo 16:51

Punta Cana and Dominican Republic has some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever visited. The way the palm trees sit on the beach, the water, the white sand. But if you're interested in culture or a little bit more adventure, Punta Cana also has plenty of things to do. My favorite thing to do is visit a local family farm. And on this activity, you go up into the mountains and they show you all of the different plants that they grow on the farm. For me, the most interesting one is chocolate. So they take you through the whole process of making chocolate from picking it to roasting it to, you know, everything it takes to make chocolate. And then you do get to drink kind of some hot chocolate, I guess, but it's basically fresh made right there. That's probably one of my favorite things to do because it does get you some of the culture. You get to see how the people live. They invite you into their home and you have a meal there, and it you know, just a really good activity to learn about Dominican Republic. And again, to learn about chocolate, which is great. I every time I go to Dominican Republic, I come back with a brick of chocolate, and you just shred it into some hot water, and it makes really good hot chocolate. So the next thing to do in the area is Sayona Island, which is an island just off of Punta Cana, and it's known for its crystal clear waters, white sand beaches, but it's a nature reserve, and so just with its natural beauty and its marine life there, and you can snorkel, relax on the beach. It's just a a nice little getaway, and it's about an hour and a half boat ride from Punta Cana.

Patrick Wiscombe 18:40

Isn't Monkey Land there as well? Or is it am I thinking of a different area?

Mark Faldmo 18:44

Monkey Land is one of the activities where you get to go and interact with the different monkeys that live on the island. It's kind of reserve uh where they have monkeys that can't really be in the wild because they've been domesticated. So you know they take these monkeys in that you know they they might have been injured or something, and they rehab them, but they all stay there and you get to really interact with the monkeys. You know, something that people always ask me about in destinations like this are zip lines.

Patrick Wiscombe 19:13

Oh yeah.

Mark Faldmo 19:14

You know, zip lines are that's kind of a staple. It it is a staple in a lot of places, and behind the one that we've talked about a few times in Porto Vallarta, I think this one in Punta Cana is a very close second place to that awesome one in Porto Vallarta. And that's by a company called Runners Adventures. I think by far it's the best. It has 12 zipplines, it's way up in the mountains, and you know, it includes lunch and just the views from when you're eating lunch are amazing. Oh, absolutely. The one thing that I thought was interesting there that I learned there that I hadn't heard before in these tropical destinations, there's trees in the morning, they were green, but by the time we were leaving, the leaves have kind of rolled in on themselves and it was silver. And the guy says, Those are our rain predictors. When those leaves roll up and you see silver, that means rain is coming within 24 hours. And it was accurate. I always find it interesting to find those kind of little gems of destinations, just how things work in the world that are pretty interesting.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:17

You know what I thought was interesting, my knee works the same way.

Mark Faldmo 20:20

Yes. Both of my knees work that way too.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:25

So I want to get your opinion on visiting Dominican Republic.

Mark Faldmo 20:29

You know, for us in the Western United States, it can be a little bit harder to get to. You generally have to take an overnight flight or fly somewhere, stay in a hotel and take a morning flight out. That is kind of one drawback. But I always tell people, you know, you go to Hawaii and you take an overnight flight back from Hawaii. So you're just adding the overnight flight on the front end of your trip instead of the back end of your trip. So that really shouldn't be much of a hindrance for people uh on the west to go to Dominican Republic. You know, as far as the resorts go, everywhere I've stayed has been great. I pretty much would recommend four-star higher. There are some destinations where if it's a three-star, there's some pretty good three-stars out there. But in Dominican Republic, I would stick with the four or five-star hotels. Food for the most part has always been pretty good in Dominican Republic. A lot of those hotels rely on buffets, and I'm not a buffet fan. So if there's a hotel that is just buffet, I'm not as happy. The food for the most part has been good.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:34

There's been rice and beans.

Mark Faldmo 21:36

So good. Rice and beans, just have rice and beans. Yeah.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:38

And uh botanos. Oh my goodness. So good.

Mark Faldmo 21:41

Yeah, you know, that that's one thing to look out for when you're choosing a hotel. If you're not a buffet fan, I mean there are some people that love buffets, so that might be good. I I do think you get better food in just the a la carte restaurants than you do in the buffet.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:56

What deal do you have for listeners this week going to Dominican Republic?

Mark Faldmo 22:01

This is a deal that it's good for most of the Caribbean. So that deal is save up to $250, plus get

Resort Advice And Package Deal

Mark Faldmo 22:10

bonus Delta Sky Miles. This is a package uh with Delta Vacations that um we can help with uh blue planet vacations. Um, I did look for September dates. So this is September 19th, and this package includes round trip airfare from Salt Lake City, five nights hotel, the total. Length of the trip is six nights because you have that overnight flight in there and transfers from the airport to the hotel. The the very kind of first hotel is an adults only hotel, and it's the Bahia Principe Grand Aquamarine. Again, four-star adults only starting at $12.49 per person. The next one, and this is one of my favorite hotel brands in the Caribbean, it's called Royalton. Oh, yeah. Royalton, Punta Cana, a four-star starts at $12.99. And Royalton does have some adults only and some family friendly. And their family-friendly hotels are great. They have lots to do for the kids. So if you're interested in a family vacation, the Royalton is one to look at. And then if you want to go step up to a five-star hotel, my favorite in the area is the Secrets Capcana. Five-star hotel from $17.49 per person. When I think of that Secrets Capcana, I did a hard hat tour of it before it opened. You know, we wa all the buildings were under construction, but when we walked out to their beach, I was just amazed. That is probably one of the most beautiful beaches you'll see in all of the Caribbean where the Secrets Capcana sits.

Patrick Wiscombe 23:44

I'm just looking at it online right now. You're right. You are not wrong. That is a beautiful property. It is, yeah. Wow. Okay, Tracy, if you have any further questions, and I'm sure you probably have some follow-up questions, call Mark in his office. Take advantage of those offers. Save up to $250. Plus, you get the Delta Sky Miles. Call Mark in his office during the break. Just get the conversation started. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And you can also go to BluePlanetVacations.com. When we come back, it is time for the infamous Just Cruising segment where it's only about the cruise news and it's only about cruise deals, and we got some really good ones this week. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk Podcast or radio show continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back.

Todd Carlson 24:46

They've literally traveled millions of miles to answer your travel-related questions. Yeah, they really have. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Patrick and Mark will be back after these messages. Now, back to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Get us up right now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-30700. And check out the podcast at Insight Travel Talk.com. Here's Patrick and Mark.

Patrick Wiscombe 25:51

MSC Sale And Best Itinerary

Mark Faldmo 27:07

Act quickly. They may extend it, but you don't want to risk that. No, no, no.

Patrick Wiscombe 27:11

Their promotion that they're making for our listeners is say 40% off all cruises. Now that's a big deal because sometimes with select cruises or slower times of the year, this is 40% off on all cruises plus kids sail free. And Nikki and I, as I mentioned, we were on MSc's World America in April. Beautiful ship, by the way. Just take my word for it. It is beautiful, definitely worth going. What would be your cruise pick, Mark?

Mark Faldmo 27:39

So to take advantage of this sale, my cruise pick would be Caribbean cruise from Galveston. And the reason why is probably purely because of the price. If you're looking for a great cruise deal, this is the itinerary for you. So it's Western Caribbean, goes from Galveston, which is close to Houston, goes to Costa Maya, Roatan in Honduras, and Casumel in Mexico, and then back to Galveston. Is that a seven-day cruise?

Patrick Wiscombe 28:05

That is a seven-day cruise. That feels fairly port intensive for seven days. It is, yeah.

Mark Faldmo 28:11

Three ports in the seven days with three days at sea. Okay, yeah. All right. On that. And I think the best part of this is the price. So this is January 4th. So right when it's cold here, but an inside cabin starts at $475 per person. That is so balcony cabin starts at $699 per person. Oh wow. Now let's throw in the kids sell free part of that. That first lead-in inside category does not accommodate two people. So you have to go to a higher cabin category price. But right now, when I look at it, a cabin for four, the total price with two adults, two kids, and all taxes and fees is $13.89 total for the whole family.

Patrick Wiscombe 29:01

Okay, so hold on. The lead-in category does not accommodate two people. That's what you said? Does not accommodate four people. Okay, got it. Okay. I was like, it's a small cabin if it can't accommodate two people.

Mark Faldmo 29:12

If I misspoke, I apologize. It can only accommodate two people. Okay. Cannot accommodate four. So you do have to go up to a higher cabin category to get the uh kid cell-free.

Patrick Wiscombe 29:24

That's a good promotion. Do we know what ship that one's on? Which MSc ship that is? Yeah, that's on the MSc Seascape. Oh.

Mark Faldmo 29:31

Oh, so they're moving Seascape to Galveston now. To Galveston, yeah. Oh, and then again, that was January 4th. They do have similar deals later in January, but you're $50 to $80 more per person on later dates in January.

Patrick Wiscombe 29:48

By the way, if you can go after the holidays, if your schedule allows you to do that, go after the holidays. You will save a boatload of money, no pun intended. Yeah. MSC Cruises is changing to a fixed fee specialty dining plan and is also introducing dining packages.

Cruise Dining Changes And Mega Suites

Patrick Wiscombe 30:09

I think this is a good move on their part. It is.

Mark Faldmo 30:12

Their specialty restaurants right now, it's all a la carte pricing. So you're like a restaurant, if you're getting a restaurant on land, go to the restaurant, your appetizer's eight dollars, your main courses eighteen dollars, whatever. And now they're just going to a fixed rate on those. So if you want to go to the steakhouse, you'll pay whatever that fixed rate is, whether it's $25, $35, and you'll get an appetizer or a starter, a main course, and a dessert for that. And so you you'll have access to the full menu without that a la carte pricing. By doing that, it then allows them to do the dining packages. So you can just buy a dining package for the full week that might include three specialty restaurants. So that helps them price that a little bit better if you do want to buy that upgraded specialty meal package.

Patrick Wiscombe 31:06

Regent seven Cs, which is a very top level cruise line. Who's that owned by? Region is owned by who? Norwegian corporation. Okay. They've announced that they are introducing a new level of service. Let's tell listeners about that.

Mark Faldmo 31:24

I could never afford this suite on their new ship, but it's interesting to talk about. On their newest ship, it will have a two-level suite that measures 8,800 square feet. It is two levels. It's called the Skyview Suite, located on front of the ship. Has two bedrooms, two and a half baths, a private sauna, and a private gym for that cabin. Hold on, did you say 8,800 square feet? 8,800 square feet. Yeah. I don't even know what to do with that much room. Yeah. Well, and only two bedrooms. So well, and and part of that 8,800 square feet is the private balcony that's 3,800 square feet. There you go. Twice the size of my house. But just just the balcony. It has a private bar, it has a private dining area that will seat 12 people, and only that suite gets that private dining venue. That will debut on the Regent Seven Seas Prestige, which is the name of the ship, in December of 2026.

Patrick Wiscombe 32:30

You know that I do real estate investment for a living. I love big, beautiful houses. That's the most amount of square footage I've ever heard on a ship.

Mark Faldmo 32:38

So your average inside cabin is about 200 square feet. That's a lot more than the average cabin on a cruise ship. What is that, 40 times more? Yeah.

Patrick Wiscombe 32:50

Royal Caribbean is expected to open their brand new South Pacific destinations in early 2027. This feels like something out of a movie.

Mark Faldmo 33:01

This is another private destination, private island that they are going to open. It will be on Lalepa, which is an island in the Vanuatu archipelago. And so it's going to be like perfect day at Coco Kay. It looks like it's going to be more of along the lines of their beach clubs. They haven't set a name for it yet, but they've purchased the island and they've started building this private destination, which is about a thousand miles west of Australia. Whoa. So really out there. Really out there. Yeah. And by looking at the artist renderings, looks like it's going to be an amazing beach destination. Oh, yeah. So look forward to that. Royal Caribbean's long line of private destinations, whether it's islands or beach clubs, this will be someplace no other cruise line in the world has a private destination.

Patrick Wiscombe 33:56

They're taking investor money right now. I think they're really putting it to good use right now. Yeah. Here in the infamous Just Cruising segment, we always have the cruise deal of the week. And that is where we are right now. Who is the cruise deal of the week and what promotions do we have for listeners this week? This is on American Cruise Lines.

Mark Faldmo 34:15

They sail the American rivers. So the main ones being Mississippi and Columbia,

American River Cruises Deal Breakdown

Mark Faldmo 34:21

but they sell some others. They also have products in the Great Lakes, products that are a little bit more ocean going that sell the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. It's a great way to experience the American rivers. On the Mississippi and on the Columbia, I believe they have some paddlewheel boats, but they also have some more traditional river cruise lines. Their promotion right now is free airfare plus save up to $1,000 on voyages. But I did want to just kind of go over a profile of American cruise lines because a lot of our listeners may have heard the name American Cruise Line, but not really known what they're about. So their ships carry anywhere from 90 to 150 guests. On the Columbia River, they're smaller. Those are around 90 to 100 guests. On the Mississippi, uh, they're a little bit larger. But one thing I like about American Cruise Line is it is truly an all-inclusive experience. So all meals and all drinks, 24-7, are included on American Cruise Lines. Onshore excursions in each port, they'll include at least one excursion. But in certain ports, they might have some additional optional excursions that are an additional cost. They also have do really good with their guest speakers and nightly entertainment. For instance, on the Mississippi, they have Civil War guides come on and do enrichment talks about the different places you'll see on the Mississippi. Same on the Columbia River. With most itineraries, they do include a pre-cruise stay and the transportation to the ship. So you're not paying for that if a pre-cruise hotel is needed. And then also all tips, gratuities, port charges are all included. So really the price you see with American Cruise Line is the price you pay.

Patrick Wiscombe 36:16

Yeah, that is nice.

Mark Faldmo 36:17

Uh a lot of the other ocean cruise lines and some of the other river cruise lines, gratuities would be additional, pre-cruise hotel would be additional. So they really do include everything. What are some of the cruise itineraries? Well, first start out on the West Coast, the Columbia River and Snake Rivers. With this free airfare plus save up to $100, they have an eight-night cruise which goes from Portland to Clarkston, Washington. And that price is $4,700 per person. And that is with the $1,000 savings. That's with a $1,000 savings and the free airfare. Oh, okay. Again, Portland, Oregon. It kind of goes a little bit backwards for a bit, but Astoria and then comes up. They have an activity to Mount St. Helens, Molotna Falls, Mount Hood, Pendleton, and then to Clarkston. I love that area of the country, especially on the Columbia River. That Columbia River Gorge is just beautiful. And then they do have a shorter six-night cruise, which is just round trip Portland. And it does, it's basically the Columbia River Gorge. And that one starts at $3,500 per person again with the free airfare. And that one is actually save up to $1,200 per person, a little bit more than their standard offer. And then moving to the Mississippi, which is something I want to figure out how to do this. The cruise that I think is most interesting is the Lower Mississippi. Sells between Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans. And it starts at $37.95 per person. Again, free airfare and the extra discount. But it does from Memphis, it's Vicksburg, which I love. Vicksburg, Natchez, Baton Rouge. It does stop right in front of Oak Alley Plantation. So you get off the ship and you're right at Oak Alley. For those that don't know Oak Alley, it's on a whole bunch of movies and TV shows, and it's the plantation house with the big row of live oaks that you walk down. It's one of my favorite places to visit in all of the U.S. I love Oak Alley. And then ending in New Orleans. You love New Orleans. I love New Orleans. I I hate the French Quarter, but Oh, you do? I love New Orleans. Well, I love the French Quarter. I should say I hate Bourbon Street. Okay, there we go. Avoid Bourbon Street. The rest of the French Quarter is nice. So and then just some other quick things they have, Mark Twain themed cruises, the Upper Mississippi, St. Louis, to St. Paul, Minnesota. So they really immerse you into that. That Southern culture, that river culture, some Mark Twain, that Civil War, and some other interesting themed cruises.

Patrick Wiscombe 39:17

They don't trick you into painting the boat white. I hope not.

unknown 39:22

So yeah.

Patrick Wiscombe 39:25

Take advantage of those offers. Call Mark at his office. Get the conversation started. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. He'll also have this posted on BluePlanet Vacations.com. When we come back, we've got more travel news headlines that we need to get to. We've got Mark's travel tips. And we've got a TikTok trend that just needs to go away. Anything TikTok, trend, anything that has those three words, just stay away from it. Not good. We'll talk about that next when the Inside Travel Talk Podcast or radio show continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back.

Todd Carlson 40:13

Explore your world. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com. America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. We'll be right back. Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Anna Waterways. From castles and capitals to vistas and villages, visit some of Europe's most remarkable sites and cities to set out on your own river cruise journey. Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or Blue Planet Vacations.com. They'll help you plan and book your next vacation. Yeah, really. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show, presented by BluePlanet Vacations.com. America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-30700. And now, here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscombe 41:32

We really do want to help you plan to book your next vacation and give you ideas where to go. The way you get a hold of the show during the week is 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. Every time I give out that phone number, I almost give out my cell number every time because the last four digits of my cell number are 7717. Yeah. All right, let's get back to the travel news headlines as we wrap up for this week. I saw this on the news that a bunch of European over-tourism backlash, basically a bunch of hippies, are protesting in Europe

Overtourism Louvre Changes And Airline Tech

Patrick Wiscombe 42:13

because they're tired of American over-tourism or just over-tourism in general. Yeah, just over-tourism in general.

Mark Faldmo 42:20

And we talked about this last year in Barcelona, but similar story. They went out to tourist sites and squirted tourists with water guns. Of course they did. Just to try and make their trip a little bit measurable. Yeah, but something else that's interesting, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the workers have gone on strike in the morning time. I'm just kind of protest, saying the Louvre can't handle the foot traffic. It gets day in and day out. Now they have announced the Louvre is going to get an overhaul. Most notably, they're going to move the Mona Lisa to its own room and establish time tickets. So, you know, right now, if you want to see the Mona Lisa, you just stand in a line and go through till you see it. But now you'll have to have a time ticket to see the Mona Lisa, which will help out in that museum.

Patrick Wiscombe 43:06

It's kind of bad. You see the line and you're just like that's a small painting for for that much waiting.

Mark Faldmo 43:14

Yeah, one of the themes we've had in this show is just be respectful when you travel. If you're walking through a neighborhood, don't be loud. People do live where you're visiting. So be respectful and courteous to those people.

Patrick Wiscombe 43:26

This is kind of a funny thought that I had earlier this week. That I wouldn't want to go to any of the demonstrations because they probably smell, they probably don't wear deodorant. Yeah. American Airlines is launching their first touchless ID lanes. Sounds very sanitary. Sounds very COVID-like.

Mark Faldmo 43:46

Yeah, it is. So, and this is actually like the digital ID that we've talked about with Delta. Yeah. And so it'll be where you don't have to pull out your ID or your boarding pass. There's just a camera, takes your picture and it lets you through security. American has announced they're going to have these lanes in Atlanta, LaGuardia, Salt Lake, Dallas, Fort Ward, Chicago, O'Hare, and Miami. Atlanta, Salt Lake, and LaGuardia are not a hub for American, but they're going to have them as well. So they're probably piggybacking on what Delta's already put in place in those three cities.

Patrick Wiscombe 44:25

It feels like there's some real separation between. Delta and other airlines.

Mark Faldmo 44:30

Yes.

Patrick Wiscombe 44:31

And the other airlines are trying to catch up.

Mark Faldmo 44:33

Delta's been kind of one of the innovators in that space and been able to really separate themselves as a premium airline. Alaska Airlines is launching their first ever flights to Europe. In about eight months, they are going to start flying Seattle to Rome. For us here in Salt Lake, flying to Seattle might seem backwards, but since you fly north from Seattle, it's actually not that much further and about the same distance. So this just adds an extra option for us to get to Rome. And Rome has been so popular. I think we needed that extra flight to be added.

Patrick Wiscombe 45:12

Doesn't Salt Lake International have a flight from Salt Lake to Rome, a direct no, we don't. Oh, okay. Oh, I'm thinking of Paris.

Mark Faldmo 45:20

Yeah, we have Paris, Amsterdam, and London. And just last week we started Sol Korea.

Patrick Wiscombe 45:28

Oh, that's right. Okay. This was part of that merger where they had the 787s, the Dreamliners, that they have finally decided their long haul will be from Seattle to Rome, or at least one of them.

Mark Faldmo 45:40

One of them, yeah. So they have those Hawaiian Airlines flights that can now make that. So they're using it for international purposes.

Patrick Wiscombe 45:46

I've only flown Alaska Airlines once, but I really enjoyed the service on that particular airline.

Mark Faldmo 45:52

Yeah, Alaska does a good job, and they still kind of operate like a hometown airline.

Patrick Wiscombe 45:57

Yeah.

Mark Faldmo 45:57

Even though their hometown is Seattle. But they you know, they still kind of operate in that good service. I've only flown on Alaska twice, but it was a good experience.

Patrick Wiscombe 46:08

Yeah, I agree. I thought it was interesting that Southwest Airlines is exploring a partnership with China Airlines.

Mark Faldmo 46:15

I actually, in looking at it, think it makes a lot of sense. So China Airlines is based in Taiwan, so Taipei, Taiwan, but from Taipei, they fly to Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, JFK, and Ontario, California. All of those, with the exception of probably JFK, are heavy Southwest markets. So it's a partnership that would make sense. We talked a few months ago about Southwest started an agreement with Iceland Air for Europe connections. And now if this comes through, they'll have an Asia connection with China Airlines.

Patrick Wiscombe 46:54

Don't do this as a baggage hack. Where do you find this story?

Mark Faldmo 46:59

So this is a TikTok hack that's going around.

TikTok Baggage Hack Warning

Mark Faldmo 47:02

Oh I I do not know why people would do this with all of the TikTok trends we've talked about. I don't know why anyone would do any of them. But, you know, as everyone knows, you're a lot of airlines now actually do weigh carry-on bags. Um and they have to know that in the size wise, especially a lot of international carriers will weigh your carry-on bag. What this person says arrive early, have another little bag, take all your heavy stuff out and just leave it on a seat or something, and then go check in. Get your tag and then put your heavy stuff back in in the bag. Oh boy. So, first of all, you're kind of cheating the system there. They have those bag limits for a reason for weight and balance of the plane. They don't want too many people do something stupid like this and cause the plane to be out of balance. But the next thing is why would anyone say leave a bag somewhere unattended in an airport? Exactly. We all know where that goes. Oh my heavens. So there's been a lot of problems at international airports with this bag hack with unattended bags. And then some airlines have started reweighing stuff when people get on the airplane and find that it's 10 pounds overweight. Don't do it. Don't do any trend you see on TikTok.

Patrick Wiscombe 48:15

There are two things that are certain in life. Don't make decisions when you're intoxicated. I've never heard anyone say, I made the best decision in my life while I was intoxicated. And the second one TikTok trends. Yeah. They just don't end well ever. They don't. Well, that's gonna do it. If you want to take advantage of any of the specials that we have talked about during this episode of the show, call Mark

Best Deals Recap And Closing

Patrick Wiscombe 48:42

in his office, 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And you can also visit him on BluePlanetVacations.com. Take advantage of that MSC 4th of July sale. 40% off all cruises plus kids sale free, and they're introducing their fixed fee specialty dining and dining packages. Definitely worth taking advantage of those. You can listen to this show again tomorrow morning at Sunday at just a little bit after 11 o'clock, right here on this radio station and around the country. And you can stream, download, and subscribe to the podcast at inside traveltalk.com. And we're on all of the major podcast platforms. Plus, if you don't like subscribing to podcasts, or you're not a podcaster, you can just stream the show at inside traveltalk.com. Well, now it's 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. Live your life deliberately, live your life intentionally. And thanks for listening. Really, thank you. We don't have a show, we don't have a business without you. Thank you for allowing this to be part of your weekly listening habits. Have a terrific week. We'll talk to you next week.

Todd Carlson 50:06

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.