Show Open And How To Join

Todd Carlson 0:15

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.

Patrick Wiscombe 0:49

It is the weekend. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and radio show. Hello there. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Mark Faldmo will be here in the studio here in just a moment. And if you're brand new to this show, or if you're a longtime listener, the entire purpose of this radio show and podcast is to help you plan and book your next vacation, or just give you ideas of where you would want to consider vacationing next. And we are presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com. And just a sincere thank you for taking the time to stop and listen.

Ovation Of The Seas Highlights

Patrick Wiscombe 1:23

Coming up in this section of the show, you are back from Los Angeles. You just spent three days on Royal Caribbean's ovation of the seas. This is the second of two ships that are now on the West Coast. Do they both come out of Los Angeles? They do.

Mark Faldmo 1:40

Okay. Yeah. So this event I was on was to celebrate Royal Caribbean adding the second ship to West Coast, particularly Los Angeles.

Patrick Wiscombe 1:48

I thought the funniest part of that particular ship, when you sent pictures of the robot bartenders mixing drinks, talk about replacing humans with robots. That's probably the ideal job. The rolling ship piano. Explain to listeners why the piano was in the elevator. Talk about an intimate concert.

Mark Faldmo 2:10

On this ship, Royal Caribbean just had a rolling piano, and you'd see this guy through various parts of the ship. But one evening he spent all evening in the elevators. So he just played for people when they got on the elevators. It was a pretty cool thing to watch and experience. That was a short concert.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:29

Yes. Going from deck six to deck 12 or whatever decks you were going to.

Delta Adds Holiday Puerto Vallarta Flights

Patrick Wiscombe 2:33

Yes. Well, let's get to the travel news headlines. Delta is adding a second flight from Salt Lake City International to Puerto Vallarta for the holidays.

Mark Faldmo 2:44

This winter, Delta is adding lots of Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America flights throughout their route system. And one that's of particular interest to us is Puerto Vallarta from Salt Lake. Now this is just for the holidays, so it starts December 20th and runs through January 5th. So it's just a short run. It's just that two-week time frame. But they also announced they're adding two new destinations in the Caribbean, St. Vincent and Grenada. So daily flights from Atlanta. And they've added extra flights to Cancun from all of their hubs: Detroit, JFK, Los Angeles, Boston, Nashville, and then other cities like Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Austin. They've added Punta Cana, an extra stop from Atlanta. There's several other cities in Mexico and Central America that they are adding flights to. And these all start pretty much December 20th. Some go through that first part of January, and some of them go all the way through mid-April.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:45

I know that the holidays make a lot of sense to go on vacation. That's the busy and probably the most expensive time of the year. I would argue if you can go the week after or the day or a couple days after the new year, that is the best time to go. Probably price-wise as well.

Mark Faldmo 4:01

In that kind of peak of winter travel, probably January 3rd, once you're done with New Year's travel, you can get some pretty good deals.

United Moves Domestic Check-In Earlier

Patrick Wiscombe 4:09

United Airlines is moving up check-in time for domestic travelers. How much are they moving it up?

Mark Faldmo 4:16

This is only for domestic. Now, if you don't have checked bags, you have to check in for your flight at least 45 minutes prior, or they'll cancel your flight. Previously, it was 30 minutes, but that doesn't give the gate agents enough time to process upgrades, process standbys, process all of that. So they've moved it up to 45 minutes prior to the flight for domestic travel.

Amsterdam Crowds And Respectful Travel

Patrick Wiscombe 4:42

It's official. I'm surprised about this one. And the city. So and the city.

Mark Faldmo 4:54

This is kind of a story about being a respectful traveler. There is a famous fry shop in Amsterdam. That's what Amsterdam is known for, is their French fries.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:04

I have never heard that.

Mark Faldmo 5:05

It is so famous on TikTok. It's right in the historic center of Amsterdam. And it has lines out the door. People don't use the trash bins. They're loud and they kind of make it miserable for the locals that live in the area. That's the problem here. Over tourism is kind of a buzzword in travel. I don't know that Amsterdam really has an over-tourism problem, but there are certain spots that really get out of control with tourists.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:37

I guess it's not the end of the story then. We'll probably have a few follow-ups.

Mark Faldmo 5:40

Yeah, we'll see what happens there. Let's see what happens to this fry shop. They have two other locations, and it's just this one in the historic city center that is having issues.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:50

Let me invite all of our listeners right now. If you have a travel-related question, we want to hear from you. This is the studio and the text number 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. If you have a travel related question, and we did receive a text from Jason, and this is our destination of the week, always in the opening segment of the show.

Biking Europe With Cruises Or Backroads

Patrick Wiscombe 6:15

His question is pretty simple. He wants to go biking in Europe. He's asking, is that possible? And the answer is yes, it is possible.

Mark Faldmo 6:25

Definitely yes. There are a few ways you can do this. In the past when we've talked about river cruises, Avalon and AMA Waterways, which are my two favorite river cruise companies, they all have 20 or so bikes on board. So each day in port, you can choose to do a bike tour and then just kind of have your hotel follow you along. Do a 10 to 20 mile bike ride each day. And then while you're doing that, the cruise ship goes to the next port and meets you there. And the other way, if you really want to get into biking, there's a company called Backroads, and they specialize in bicycle tours throughout the world. They started in Europe, but they have them here in the US, they have them in Africa, they have them in South America. So they do bicycle tours throughout the world. They have three different types of tours. One is biking, one is walking and hiking, and one they call multi-adventure, which combines biking, hiking, and walking. It's a really good way to see Europe. They do have some of the bike tours that do have e-bikes. Oh, there we go.

Patrick Wiscombe 7:29

To help out with that. So I have an e-bike, and I don't think I've told you this, but I have 6,384 miles on my bike. Those are original miles from me. That's a lot of biking. So I'm all over this idea. I didn't even know it was an option, so I'm actually glad that Jason is asking this question.

Mark Faldmo 7:47

You know, I've sold a few of these, and people have really enjoyed these biking tours. I chose three different itineraries in Europe. They have different levels of hotels, premier, which are higher end deluxe, and then classic. So depending on which level of accommodation you want to stay at. And then they have five different activity levels from easy to hard. So and you can choose each day. So like on each day, it says today we offer level one through three, or we offer level two through five. And you can choose what you want to do each day. You don't have to do the full biking. So whatever you're comfortable with is what they'll let you do.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:26

My only criteria would be biking for sure. Absolutely. Jason, uh, this is a great idea. I just require a hot tub. So I at the end of the day. That's that's it. That's my only requirement.

Mark Faldmo 8:38

I'll just briefly go over what the the levels are. So level one is 18 to 22 miles per day with a thousand feet max elevation gain. Level two is 18 to 32 with a max of 2200 feet elevation gain.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:54

Wow.

Mark Faldmo 8:55

Level three, 26 to 42 miles with a 3400 elevation level, level four, 36 to 54 miles, 4400 elevation, and then level five is 48 to 70 plus miles. Wow. So I haven't seen very many level five options on the tours I've looked through, but they do have those different options each day. So depending on how aggressive you want to be or how comfortable you are, they will have that.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:24

What a unique way to see Europe. But by the way, that's a lot of elevation. Holy cow.

Mark Faldmo 9:28

Yes.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:29

Are there certain uh countries where this is offered?

Mark Faldmo 9:32

Almost every country in Europe they have tours in. I chose three that I think were pretty interesting. One is Scotland and England. So this one, you bike from Edinburgh to Yorkshire in England. So it's through two countries. It's a five-night tour. You stop at castles and tour castles, you have all sorts of cultural experiences. You know, just a wonderful tour. The other one that I looked at was Berlin to Prague. Oh, wow. And this one was a again a five-night tour, Berlin to Prague. Some of this you're not bicycling, they transport you through certain spots of this, but you can choose each day how many miles you want to bike. And this one you bike along the Danube River for a while. Wow. You know, explore Germany, Czech Republic. And then the last one that I looked at was Tuscany Bike Tour. This was a six-day from Florence to Arazio, and just those hillsides, those hilltop towns there in Tuscany, just biking from one little village to another. An amazing experience there. And you've booked a few of these before? I haven't booked any of their bike tours, but I've booked some of their hiking and walking tours.

Patrick Wiscombe 10:48

How is it that we've been doing this show for a year and a half and I've never heard this before? I don't know.

Mark Faldmo 10:54

I blame you. Blame it on me. I know you like, I know you like biking. So I do. Um we we should have brought this up before. Um you know, just had that request this week and thought that that's something to talk about. Oh, a lot of people like that kind of active adventure.

Patrick Wiscombe 11:12

Okay, let me just give out the studio and text number. We want to answer your travel-related questions. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. Jason, call Mark in his office. I might even be calling you in the office. I'm so glad that you brought this up. But I guess my thanks has to go to Jason for bringing up biking through Europe. Yeah you know, I've heard of going through trains in Europe. I've never heard of biking. This is a gr this is an awesome idea. Jason, call Mark. Get the conversation started during the break. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And you can also call Mark. The phone number is also on blueplanetvacations.com. When we come back, man, that first segment went very, very quickly. It's time for the hot travel deal of the week. We are taking more of your calls and texts. And with this time, we're going to Panama. We can help you save up to $200. Going to Panama, we've got five nights airfare from Salt Lake City. We'll give you the details 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 back in about two minutes.

Todd Carlson 12:34

Taking you to destinations around the world. The Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show is presented by Blue Planet Vacations.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. This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El Dorado Spa Resorts. Escape to Cancomb's Riviera Mayer with authentic, all-inclusive luxury at an El Dorado Spa Resort. To book your romantic beach getaway, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or Blue Planet Vacations.com. Now, back to the Insight Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by Blue Planet Vacations.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 13:57

It

United And JetBlue Team Up

Patrick Wiscombe 13:57

is the weekend, which means that it's time for the Inside Travel Talk Podcast Radio Show. Mark and I hope that you are having a terrific weekend, whether you're listening to us on Saturday or if you're listening to us on Sunday or around the country at 11 o'clock on whatever radio station that you are listening to right now. We want you to be part of the show. We want to answer your travel-related texts. Call us now while we're in the studio. 801 area code 649-3700. So we can answer your travel-related texts and questions. And we will be getting to, I forgot who it was. Uh this was a question from one of our listeners. I forgot who it was. Anyway, Julie. Yeah, Julie. Okay. Julie wants to go to Panama. We'll get to her question here in just a second. But let's get back to the travel news headlines. And there was a little bit of what do we call this? A blockbuster partnership between United Airlines and JetBlue to team up.

Mark Faldmo 15:03

Yeah, and so this comes two years after a federal judge blocked JetBlue and Americans Northeast Alliance. JetBlue has always been trying to find ways to strengthen their network on the East Coast. And they've just struck a new alliance with United Airlines, which they're calling the Blue Sky Alliance. This allows frequent flyer members of both airlines to earn and redeem miles on each of the airlines. It gives the elite members status benefits when flying on the other airline. And so it's a really good alliance, I think, for both of these airlines, where United has a pretty big global reach and JetBlue has a good kind of leisure network there on the Northeast. It'll feed into both airlines, particularly in the New York area, where United has a big hub in Newark, New Jersey, and JetBlue has their main operations there out of JFK Airport.

Patrick Wiscombe 16:19

Southwest is officially entering a new era with bag fees and other policy changes coming. We talked about

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Patrick Wiscombe 16:27

this, what, about a month

(Cont.) United And JetBlue Team Up

Patrick Wiscombe 16:28

and a half ago, maybe two months ago. They, meaning Southwest, really created some headaches, not only for themselves, but I'm curious to track this for the next year to see if it's going to sink the airline or boost the airline, or if it's just going to remain kind of uh nothing.

Mark Faldmo 16:46

Starting last week, Southwest is now charging bag fees. Kind of the cornerstone of the brand was bags fly free. That is no longer the case. So any ticket purchased starting June 1st and after, you will now have a $35 bag fee for the first check bag and 45 for the second check bag, matching what most other airlines have. I'm curious, like you, to see what happens with Southwest. Other airlines are already courting Southwest flyers with promotions, some with temporary bags fly free to get them to switch. And it'll be very interesting to see how this all pans out. But it effectively makes Southwest just like everybody else.

Patrick Wiscombe 17:30

Viking River Cruises or Viking Cruising, I should say, says that their cruising season, 2025,

Viking Cruises Nearly Sold Out

Patrick Wiscombe 17:38

is effectively sold out.

Mark Faldmo 17:41

Inventory as of May 11th. This is about a month old now, this information. They're 95% sold out for 2025. There's not much availability if you're looking to go on a river or ocean cruise on Viking in 2025. And that actually holds true for a lot of the river cruise companies. It's so popular these days that they're already selling Q3 and 4 of 2026, is what they're focusing on now.

Patrick Wiscombe 18:10

Just a couple days ago, I received a little booklet of Viking River Cruises for 2026-2027. No mention of for the balance of this year. I know this isn't the infamous just cruising segment, but they had some interesting offers where it was basically $2,000 a person and $25 deposits, and they had some really impressive destinations. And it's no wonder that they're sold out. Honestly, I thought that after COVID, I thought cruising was going to be dead. Instead, it's coming back stronger than it ever has been before.

Mark Faldmo 18:44

Both river and ocean are so strong. In fact, that we'll talk about in the just cruising segment. I was on that cruise with Royal Caribbean with some of their executives, and they they did make that point.

Patrick Wiscombe 18:55

Oh, they did.

Mark Faldmo 18:56

That financially they're stronger than they've ever been, despite all of the loans and Royal Caribbean gave travel agencies loans to keep them afloat during COVID.

Patrick Wiscombe 19:07

Oh, wow.

Mark Faldmo 19:08

Despite all of that, it's all paid back now, and they're in a very strong position financially.

Patrick Wiscombe 19:14

Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week, which is always in this second segment of the show. And again, let me invite all listeners,

Panama Hotel Picks And What To Do

Patrick Wiscombe 19:23

whether you're listening to us live on the radio or if you're podcasting us a little bit later, call or text the show. We want to answer your travel related questions. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And we received a text from Julie who is asking, I want to go to Panama in October. Where do you recommend staying?

Mark Faldmo 19:50

Panama, there's three different areas that you can stay. One is Panama City, the other is beach area, and then you can also stay in the jungle. For a vacationer, I'd recommend in the beach or jungle area. Panama City is just a big city. It's pretty amazing when you're there. I've been to Panama City a few times, but I'd rather stay in the beach or jungle area. Right now, we have save up to $200 anywhere in kind of Latin America there, so Central America and Mexico, save up to $200. And I looked for October 8th for five nights. This is airfare from Salt Lake City, Five Nights Hotel. Now, this does not include transfers, those are an additional cost. And then also kind of our standard disclaimer: most of our radio listeners are in Salt Lake City. That's why we use that. But we can look at this from other cities all across the U.S. So the hotels I looked at, Ryu Playa Blanca, which is in the beach area. It's a four-star hotel. It started at $11.49 per person based on double occupancy. And then one of my favorite hotels is the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve. This one is in the jungle. It's a four-star hotel. It starts at $1169 per person. Now, unlike the the Ryu and the next hotel we'll talk about, that price is not all inclusive, but they do have an option that you can upgrade to an all-inclusive plan. The reason why I like this hotel when the U.S. controlled the Panama Canal Zone, this was the officers club for the military. And so, you know, it has a golf course, it's right there on Gatun Lake, just a really nice location. Then the next hotel, again, back to an all-inclusive, is the Dreams Playa Bonita. This one is considered a city hotel, but you have to go on a bridge across the Panama Canal, and it is actually on a beach. So it's considered city, but on a beach. I've stayed at this hotel before and really enjoyed it. That price starts at $13.69 per person.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:54

Is that a five-star?

Mark Faldmo 21:55

That is a five-star resort. Yeah.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:57

Okay.

Mark Faldmo 21:58

Dreams, part of that high inclusive family of brands, does a great job. Five-star on a good beach. And the dreams is probably the one I would choose because you're kind of close to everything. And you can also get into the jungle to do a lot of those activities. Did being in the jungle bother you? Was it noisy? No, it didn't bother me. It's quite a good setting, right? There on the lake. There's monkeys around, there's all sorts of wildlife around. It's a really interesting place to stay as well.

Patrick Wiscombe 22:29

Okay, what about things to do when you stay at one of those three hotels?

Mark Faldmo 22:34

All of these. Oh, that'd be fun. You can also go to the Panama Canal Museum, which is a museum about the canal, but then they also have an observation deck where you can just sit there and watch ships go through the Panama Canal.

Patrick Wiscombe 22:59

Have you done that? I mean, I know that you've actually gone through the Panama Canal, but you're on a ship, but but just observing. Have you done that?

Mark Faldmo 23:05

Yeah, I've I've done it both ways. And I really like that canal museum. It's it's fascinating both when you're on the ship and at the museum to watch how they get ships through the Panama Canal. Then there's other things like zip lines. One of the more fascinating things to do is to take a tour out to a local village. There's still indigenous tribes living pretty much how they lived a hundred years ago. Oh wow. They take you out on the kind of their dugout canoes and take you to their village and kind of really show you their culture, how they live.

Patrick Wiscombe 23:43

How many times have you been to Panama, Mark?

Mark Faldmo 23:47

Uh two by land, three by sea.

Patrick Wiscombe 23:50

That sounds like uh something in the two of my land, three by sea. Yeah. Little American backwards American history. Yeah. Julie, call Mark in his office. Get the conversation started, no obligation. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And he'll also put this information on BluePlanetVacations.com. When we come back at the bottom of the hour, it is time for the infamous Just Cruising segment where it's only about cruise news, and we've got the cruise deal of the week. We are talking Royal Caribbean. Mark is back from Ovation of the Seas. We'll talk about his experience in Mexico and what he was doing in Mexico. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk Podcast, a radio show, continues, and we'll have the exclusive offers that we have just for our listeners. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be right back. Give us about two minutes.

Todd Carlson 24:56

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. Call or text the show now. 801 649 3700. That's 801 649 3700. And check out the podcast at Inside Travel Talk.com. We'll be right back.