Welcome And Mark In Fiji

Todd Carlson 0:34

To fact to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast Radio Show presented by Blue Planet Vacations.com, America's Best Travel Advisors. Get us up right now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsideTravel Talk.com. Here's Patrick and Mark.

Patrick Wiscombe 1:27

This morning, a very early morning. By the way, what time did you get up this morning? It's 6. What is it? 6 30 in uh Fiji right now?

Mark Faldmo 1:36

I got up at about 4 45 a.m. to start preparing for the show.

Patrick Wiscombe 1:42

You've got to be so tired right now. He's so tired. He's rendered speechless.

Speaker 1 1:51

Yes.

Patrick Wiscombe 1:53

Coming up in this segment of the show, we have got to be talking about Norwegians' upgrades on their private island. Great Stirrup Key. Nikki and I were there about three weeks ago. Awesome, awesome private island. How many times have you been there? I've been there probably 15 or so. Oh, okay.

Mark Faldmo 2:12

All right. So you know how nice it is there. Yeah. First time I went there, it was just a beach and beach chairs and a little palapa where they served lunch.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:20

It is not that anymore. Let's get to the travel news headlines and then we'll get to the cruise deal of the week.

Sound Of Music Danube Cruise

Patrick Wiscombe 2:26

Sound of music fans, the hills are alive with the sound of music. Take note.

Mark Faldmo 2:31

This is an interesting cruise, one which I would love to go on. I actually didn't watch the sound of music until recently, and I really like it. This is a river cruise on Amadeus River Cruises. They're an Austrian river cruise company on their July 24th Danube Itinerary, which travels between Passau and Budapest, visits Salzburg, Vienna, Bratislava, and Slovakia. Their stop in Salzburg, they're gonna have a special tour guide. That tour guide's name is Elizabeth von Trapp. She is the granddaughter of George and Maria, will be the tour guide. Do a walking tour of Salzburg, sound of music themed. See, that would be a lot of fun. So right now, Amadeus is offering a $500 per person discount for suites or $250 per person discount on other staterooms for travelers who book through the end of May. This is July 24th, sailing. If you're a Sound of Music fan, this might be the perfect vacation for you to take.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:32

My stepdad loves Sound of Music. I can't tell you the number of times I walked into his office and he was watching the Sound of Music. That's really where my fondness for the movie came from. And by the way, I finally just decided to watch it like you because of him. No wonder it won so many Oscars.

Mark Faldmo 3:49

I have a funny Sound of Music story. So New Year's Eve, I get to pick a movie, and Heather gets to pick a movie. She picked Sound of Music, and I picked Wolverine. That night, I had a dream with Wolverine ripping his shirt off in the Swiss Alps singing the hills are alive with music.

Patrick Wiscombe 4:09

That's pretty funny. The thing is, is now with huge Ackman in the Music Man or whatever movie he was in, it it's completely conceivable. Yes. Yeah.

Great Stirrup Key Gets Bigger

Patrick Wiscombe 4:19

Norwegian cruise lines. Nikki and I were on the Norwegian Aqua, brand new ship about three weeks ago. And they just announced that they're going to be making some upgrades to their private island called Great Stirrup Key with a what was it, a pier, which by the way, we did see under construction while we were there. A pool, and I love this idea about the beach club. Oh, which by the way, just quickly, I was mentioning in Bimini Island how they had a beach club. They had the ocean front stuff that they had the beach club. I didn't tell you why we ended up going there. So I went to go get in the ocean because I was starting to get hot. The second I got in the water, I saw hundreds of jellyfish, but they were just kind of like the size of small mushrooms. And I'm like, you know what? I think I'll pass on getting in the water because I didn't want a chance getting stung by hundreds of jellyfish. So I'm like, you know what? How about if I just go to the beach club? And that's why I'm such a fan of beach clubs if something is going on in the water. Yeah. Anyway, so let's talk about the upgrades coming to Great Stirrup Key.

Mark Faldmo 5:24

So the main one you talked about, and we've talked about before, is they are putting in a pier. As I've mentioned, I've been to the island several times. The first time I went, you didn't even go by regular pier, you went by beach landing craft. So they had boats that would beach themselves, and the front of the boat would slide down, would come down, and you'd walk off the bow of the boat onto the island. It's like World War II. Yeah. So it was beach landing craft for several years. And then they did make it so they could use their tender vessels and have that little marina where the tenders come into, but now they are building a pier which will make it easier to get to the island.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:04

Which was kind of funny because as we were taking the tender to go to Great Stirrup Key, man, the ocean was rocking that day. I don't get motion sick. Nikki does. She just put her head down. I have a picture of her just with her hands in her head going, Oh boy, wow, it is really rolling. The point of the story is I think they need a pier.

Mark Faldmo 6:24

Yeah, yeah, and they've you know missed the island several times because the seas were too rough. A pier will help that.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:31

Great Stirrup Key is Norwegian's Island, and then Perfect Day at Coco Key. Coco Kay is Royal Caribbean's island, and it is lit you can literally see their island in the distance, and it's not that far.

Mark Faldmo 6:45

Yeah, it's right next to her. You could actually from island to island you could swim. It's it's about a hundred yards. Lifeguards don't let you do that, and it's constantly patrolled, so you can't switch up islands. Norwegian was the first cruise line with a private island. They actually purchased that island in 1977, and then in the mid-90s is when it started becoming a regular stop on Norwegian's cruises. So they've kind of pioneered that. Royal Caribbean got way ahead of everyone with what they did to perfect day at Coco Kay. And now the other cruise lines are, you know, kind of catching up. With these additions at Great Stirrup Key, they're adding a huge pool, which is 28,000 square feet. They'll have two swim-up bars, a family splash pad, uh, pool cabanas, and more. And so they're also enhancing their adults-only beach club, which is relatively new to that island.

Patrick Wiscombe 7:40

You can tell that Great Stirrup Key has been around for a long time because the vegetation is so it's beautiful. You can tell that it's grown, you can tell that it's been decades, and it is a beautiful presentation from the time you get off the tender all the way in. It is a truly spectacular entrance.

Mark Faldmo 7:59

Yeah, with these additions, it's interesting. With the pier, they'll be able to have two ships there in 2026. They're expecting more than one million passengers. Wow. Which is up from 400,000 in 2024. That's more than doubling in two years' time. And so that you know, they need all of these new enhancements to accommodate that many guests. Ever since Royal Caribbean started enhancing their island, everyone else is

Future Cruise Credits Explained

Mark Faldmo 8:25

doing the same.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:25

Yep. I have a question. What is a future cruise credit? I actually texted you from the ship if a future cruise credit was worth it. So that's a question from Patrick, who happens to just be the co-host of the show.

Mark Faldmo 8:39

Future cruise credits are very much worth it. What happens when you get on board? They have a future cruise consultant. Every cruise line has them. And if you put down a future cruise credit, and this is just in general, cruise lines operate these a little bit differently, but you know, fairly similar. If you put down a future cruise credit, you don't even have to have a ship and sailing. You can just buy a credit, buy a $500 future cruise credit. They will give you an onboard credit. So I I think, Patrick, what you asked me about was if you put down a future cruise credit, Norwegian was offering you $200 onboard credit to use on your current cruise. Yeah. So that's like getting $200 free spending money on your current cruise, and then you have a future cruise credit to use towards another cruise. And that just goes into your account. As a travel agent, I really enjoy these. When a customer puts down a future cruise credit, I get notified that they've put down a future cruise credit, and then they notify me every few months. Hey, these customers have future cruise credits, so I help manage those future cruise credits for customers. It is a good way to really get some extra money on your current cruise.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:56

We didn't have a drink pack just because Patrick is off the Diet Coke. No, actually, he's on the Diet Coke bandwagon. And he didn't want to fall off the wagon. Yeah. But we could have used that for specialty dining. It was a little bit late, the cruise. I think we only had like a day left, maybe a day and a half left. And I'm like, oh man. My first thought, well, let's go to the steakhouse. That was some spectacular steak. I was blown away at how good that was.

Mark Faldmo 10:25

It's very good. That steakhouse does a great job. I think the top steakhouse at sea.

Patrick Wiscombe 10:31

I didn't know that meat could be that tender. I won't say it cotton candy that just dissolves in your mouth, but it was kind of in that range where it's like, well, this is effortless chewing here. It's like a vacation for my teeth. Before we go to break here, we've got to get to the cruise

Panama Canal Cruise Deal

Patrick Wiscombe 10:46

deal of the week. I know that you've received a number of calls for Panama Canal. Let's give our listeners the cruise deal, or I guess in this case, cruise deals of the week.

Mark Faldmo 10:56

There are a couple ways you can do Panama Canal. I think the best time and best price to do the Panama Canal is when cruise lines are moving their ships from the Caribbean to Alaska or vice versa, Alaska to the Caribbean. Princess, I think, has the best itineraries through the Panama Canal. So at the end of the Alaska season is the saline I'll look at. But first, Princess is offering up to $400 instant savings, plus up to 40% off free room upgrades and $99 deposits. So that's on all salines in general.

Patrick Wiscombe 11:34

Oh, so that's not even for Alaska to the Caribbean. This is just a promotion that's going on.

Mark Faldmo 11:39

It's it's a promotion that's just going on. Oh that's a good so this Panama Canal cruise that I'll give does include that. As I mentioned, I think Princess does Panama Canal the best. They have more ports, some cruise lines have a few ports with lots of days at sea. I think Princess has more ports than anybody, at least this year when I was looking. Now you can do this from Seattle as a ship comes out of Alaska, but I'm just taking the portion of it from Los Angeles. So this is Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale. It is a 16-day cruise. Inside cabins start at $12.29 per person, and balcony cabins start at $19.89 per person. For 16 days. And that's

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Mark Faldmo 12:48

for 16 days. The ports on that, Porto Vallarta, Watuco, which I love Watuco. Yes, you do. Chiapas, Costa Rica. Which you love also. Which I love as well. And then it has a stop in Panama City. And then you go through the Panama Canal the next day.

Patrick Wiscombe 13:08

Is that a full day experience to go through the canal, or is it you know like half a day, three quarters of a day?

Mark Faldmo 13:15

It's a full day. When you go through the canal, you'll go through early in the morning. So the canal crossing will start probably 5 a.m. or so. And Panama Canal

(Cont.) Panama Canal Cruise Deal

Mark Faldmo 13:24

traffic only goes one way. So they go north to south in the morning, south to north in the evening. And so what happens is they'll go through the canal and then you'll stop in Gatun Lake, let some other ships come in, and then you'll go out in the evening out into the Atlantic Ocean. And then it also stops in Aruba before a few days at sea, ending in Fort Lauderdale.

Patrick Wiscombe 13:47

Wow. So 16 days. What was the price on that again? Starts at $12.29 per person. So that's the inside cabin.

Mark Faldmo 13:54

Balcony cabin was how much? Starts at $19.89 per person.

Patrick Wiscombe 13:58

Now, could you pick that up all the way from Alaska, meaning turn that into uh what a 21 days? I'm guessing. Or is it longer than that?

Mark Faldmo 14:06

There is an option that starts in Seattle. So you could do a round trip Alaska cruise and then do the Pacific Coastal. That'd probably be more like 25 or 28 days. So you could do that. Sign me up. What was the departure date? I don't think you gave that. I didn't. Yeah. So the departure date is October 28th of this year. So just after that Alaska season. Again, sailing through the Panama Canal, starting in Los Angeles and ending in Fort Lauderdale.

Patrick Wiscombe 14:35

Oh man, take advantage of that. That's a great itinerary. Call Mark at his office. Get the conversation started during the break. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And he'll also post this on BluePlanetVacations.com. When we come back, man, it's already time to wrap up the show. Mark's travel tips, we're going to be talking about TSA pre-check scams and airline customer service scams. I'm going to help you out on how to avoid being scammed. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk Podcast or radio show continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. We will be right back.

Todd Carlson 15:25

Explore your world. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show, presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com. America's Best Travel Advisors. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. We'll be right back.com, America's Best Travel Advisors. Call or text the show now, 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And now, here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscombe 16:46

Coming to you live from Fiji, at least Mark Faldmo is. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast or radio

TSA PreCheck And Airline Scams

Patrick Wiscombe 16:55

show. Coming up in this final segment of the show, we've got Mark's travel tips. And we're going to tell you how to avoid being scammed. Not that the TSA is going to scam you, but there are TSA pre-check scams out there. And we are also going to talk about airline customer service scams. There was an article from who was this? The uh the points guy? The points guy. Yeah. Yeah. He says that there are five common and very expensive travel scams. And so let's just talk about the TSA pre-check scam first.

Mark Faldmo 17:34

This one is when you're applying for TSA pre-check for the first time. One thing to know is there are fraudulent websites posing as official pre-check application processing providers. And they look legitimate. They do. And they steal your personal information, they steal your application fee. One thing to look for any government website will end in.gov. So that's one key to look at. When you apply for TSA pre-check the first time, you need to show up at an enrollment center. They will not ask for payment until you show up at the enrollment center. So that is when you will actually pay for TSA pre-check.

Patrick Wiscombe 18:16

TSA.gov is what we're talking about specifically in this case.

Mark Faldmo 18:20

Yeah. That little tip kind of goes on to our next story, the airline customer service scam. When you're flying, things don't always go right. Flight cancellations, flight delays. A common thing for people to do is to just call the airline and try and fix their flight. When you do a search, make sure that it's the official airline website. There are a lot of sites out there that look very official. Delta Customer Service. If you do a search for Delta Customer Service, you'll find one legitimate website and probably 20 or 30 fake websites. People will call those fake websites and they'll rebook them on a flight. They'll take their card and charge it. And you won't be rebooked and you'll have lost your credit card fee. So use the app, download the official app. You can communicate that way through chat with customer service. If you do know the actual number to the airline, call it, but make sure that it is the legitimate airline number.

Patrick Wiscombe 19:22

I'm a big fan of Airbnb. Nikki and I have stayed in a few just recently, just because we've been on the road. And rental home scams. This is also from the points guy. What do we need to be aware of there?

Mark Faldmo 19:34

So we talked about this a little bit last week where hosts call at the last minute and say your home is not available.

Rental Homes And Cruise Port Hustles

Mark Faldmo 19:43

I want to switch you to another home. Or they ask you to pay offline and not use the app, Airbnb or whatnot. They ask you to go offline and pay for it. So there are lots of rental home scams. So the rule there is if it sounds fishy, it probably is fishy.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:02

I was not indicting Airbnb on that. That was just rental home scams. There's a few of them out there. Not scams, but just sites.

Mark Faldmo 20:10

Sites, yeah. So there are legitimate ones, and there are within those organizations a few homeowners that are not legitimate, but for the most part they are. And you just have to be careful about what you're getting into. What about cruise port scams? Did he mention anything about that? Yeah, you know, there's a couple of cruise port scams out there. One is the free gift. You know, you'll you'll leave and someone will be offering you a free gift uh to come inside. That person is to get you inside, and then you will be handed off to a professional salesperson that sees thousands of cruise passengers a week. Oh, yeah. And if you try and leave that place with that free gift, they won't let you. You either have to give the free gift back or buy something. Oh boy. So that's one of the most common scams. The other one is a discount excursion scam if you don't have anything pre-booked.

Patrick Wiscombe 21:07

By the way, I was astonished at the number of people in San Juan, old San Juan port that uh were selling tours. So hop on this bus, pay 30 bucks or whatever it was to hop on. But I was surprised how many hustlers there were out there. That was interesting. But not that I'm saying Puerto Rico, you know, the old San Juan was full of a bunch of fraudsters. I just I've never been accosted like that before. Hey, you know, come with us. And and they'll they'll put the pressure on you too.

Mark Faldmo 21:36

Yes, they will. Yeah. The last cruise scam, someone will come up and ask you to hold something for them. In a lot of ports in the Caribbean, it's like a giant conch shell or something like that. Um, and they do this to confuse you while pickpocketers or can get to you, or they just say you use it as a photo opportunity and they'll hound you until you pay them money. Yeah. I see that one in the cont shell. And so so there are lots of scams to look out for. Go through trusted sources for short excursions. Either use the cruise line. I have a really good third-party short excursion group that I use. So those are the best ways to not get scammed in a cruise port. Those are some really, really helpful tips.

Patrick Wiscombe 22:22

How many cruises have you been on?

Mark Faldmo 22:24

I stopped counting at 150. So that's so much. And how many miles have you flown? I'm a two million miler on Delta, a million miler on American. So I'm probably close to four million. I don't have a track with other airlines, but I'm probably close to that four million mile mark.

Patrick Wiscombe 22:43

And you take off tonight at nine o'clock Tahiti time. Fiji time. I'm sorry, Fiji time. Fiji time. Well, enjoy your enjoy your time off. You've had a a lot of meetings down there. Yes. Had some rough sledding in Fiji. Call Mark in his office. If you want to book any of the cruise deal of the week, Panama, Alaska to the Caribbean, Los

How To Book And Final Takeaway

Patrick Wiscombe 23:10

Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, the Fiji itineraries and the places that we mentioned in the first section of the show. Call Mark in his office 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And of course, you can go to Blue Planet Vacations.com to get all of the information. You can listen to us all over again tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. on Sunday, right here on this radio station, and you can stream, download, and subscribe to the podcast at inside travel talk.com. You can just listen to the show, and you can subscribe to the show because we're on all of the major podcast platforms. 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, live the life that you want to live. Thank you so much for listening. We don't have a business, we don't have a show without you. Thank you for being part of the show. We'll talk to you again next week. Have a great week.

Todd Carlson 24:23

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.