Welcome And What We Cover

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

Patrick Wiscombe 0:50

Live from Salt Lake City, Utah, this is episode number 150 of the Inside Travel Talk Podcast Radio Show. Hello there, I am Patrick Wiscombe the Vacation Nerd. The entire purpose of this travel podcast and radio show is to help you plan and book your next vacation and to give our listeners the latest travel news as well as the best travel and cruise promotions, which are designed specifically to save our listeners money. So we want you to consider, if you would, please, this show as being your must-listen personal daily travel briefing if you love to travel or if you just want to start traveling. And this show is presented by Blue PlanetVacations.com. And he is raising his hand above his head as he enters the studio with the hot travel deal of the week, and he's also got the cruise deals of the week. Mark Faldmo, it's good to see you, brother. It's good to be here. Well, have a good show planned today. Lots of news. Lots of news. In fact, coming up in this first segment, as I mentioned, we've got the hot travel deal of the week. But let's first start with the most important travel news from this past week.

Royal Caribbean Buys Into Sandals

Patrick Wiscombe 2:09

And just after we got off the air, I think it was last Saturday, Sunday, Saturday or Sunday. This news broke, I guess we could just call this Vacation Giants Unite. Yes. Royal Caribbean Group. Okay, so that's Royal Caribbean as you know them. We really could put this in the just cruising segment, but this news was pretty massive. They are set to acquire a 50% stake in Sandals Resorts, which was a significant development because Royal Caribbean is a cruise company, and all of a sudden they're becoming a kind of a land vacation company as well.

Mark Faldmo 2:50

Royal Caribbean with this seems to be coming more of a just overall vacation brand, not just cruising. Yep. They've dominated cruising, but now they're venturing into that all-inclusive vacation space. There are some potential pros and cons of this. Cruisian resort vacations could become much easier. I've seen some people out there proposing a one-way cruise to Jamaica and then doing a four-night land vacation or doing a cruise to Jamaica, doing a four-night stay, and then a cruise back to Miami. Different things like that. I've been in some meetings with Sandals executives over the past year and a half, and they're looking to double their footprint in resorts. And so that means they are going to need an investor. And it turns out Royal Caribbean happens to be that. What this could mean for the loyalty benefits between both brands, you know, you can probably earn on one and spend on another. And then some potential cons might be Royal Caribbean is moving into a very different business. They know cruises well, but are they going to be able to translate that into resort stays? I think they can. I think they will. Sometimes you can fight off more than you can chew. And hopefully that is not the case. Also, there's a risk of over-integration, losing some things that make Royal Caribbean distinct, some things that make sandals distinct. No, but I think this is a good opportunity for both of those vacation brands. I saw a stat, I think it's something like 80% of all sandals and beaches resorts are within 30 minutes of a port that Royal Caribbean calls at. They're already integrated in the same destinations.

Patrick Wiscombe 4:38

I would love to read that contract. Yes. I think the real winner is on this. I think it's Royal Caribbean in this case. Sandals is kind of forgettable. Like you almost forget that they're there. And Royal Caribbean really puts a spotlight on them now.

Mark Faldmo 4:54

Royal Caribbean was considering purchasing up to 80% state. And so the deal came out and it was 50%, but that could go higher.

Alaska Airlines Points Earning Options

Patrick Wiscombe 5:02

Alaska Airlines, new choose how you earn feature is starting to go live, Mark. What are the details?

Mark Faldmo 5:10

Every time an airline makes a change in how loyalty points are earned, there's always some headaches and some customers that are not happy with the changes. We've seen that with Delta Airlines over the past few years. But Alaska is doing something a little bit different. They're allowing you to choose to earn miles in three different ways. So one is distance. You can earn one point for every mile flown, which is potentially attractive for travelers that take long flights at lower fares.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:40

Yeah.

Mark Faldmo 5:40

You can do price, five points for every eligible dollar spent. Better for travelers that purchase more expensive flights or upgrade someone that flies in the first class or maybe premium economy sections. Or you can do it by segments, 500 points for every flight segment flown. This was a big problem when Delta changed and how they did their flights because they had a lot of people from the Northwest network that were earning points on segments. People flying out of the Detroit hub on short flights really lost some status there because they weren't earning points on the new system. And so now Alaska Airlines lets you choose and you can change how you choose one time each year. Oh. So depending on what your future travel plans are, you just opt into which way you want to earn points each year. I think this makes sense. I kind of wish Delta would go with something like this, you know, because right now they're all on that second option, the points for every dollar spent is what Delta is based on right now.

The Checked Bag Barcode Scam

Patrick Wiscombe 6:40

There's a luggage scam targeting check bags.

Mark Faldmo 6:43

I've kind of always known about, but we've never talked about. The scam is there have been scammers going around looking in trash cans of airports, picking out the barcodes, the the luggage barcodes. Really? That barcode holds all of your information. If it can be figured out how to be read, it can link you to your name, your reservation number, some other personal information. But what the scam is, is they're collecting those and then filing lost luggage claims and collecting money off of that. For years, what I've done, particularly Heather, once our bag comes off the baggage claim, she takes that off and puts it in the suitcase. And then it comes back and goes into our shred bin. And so we sh we shred all of our luggage receipts from the airline. So that's something to be aware of. Don't take them off at the airport and throw them away.

Patrick Wiscombe 7:38

Budget

Budget Airlines Move Upmarket

Patrick Wiscombe 7:39

airlines are warming up to the idea of perhaps having first-class seats and premium upgrades, Mark. I think it's inevitable that they have to go this direction.

Mark Faldmo 7:49

They do, yeah. Yeah, the line between a budget airline and a traditional airline is becoming blurred. This story relates to Frontier. Frontier says it's not abandoning its low fares, but it's recognizing that low price alone may no longer be enough. Because they may not exist. Yes. And so they are looking at, they haven't announced this, but they're looking at just what every other mainstream airline does, having first class, having seats with extra space, having premium upgrades. They're looking at ways to increase their revenue. Southwest, which was a low-cost carrier, I would not put them in that category anymore. No. With the changes they've made. And so we've seen this evolution, first starting with Southwest and now Frontier. Spirit went out of business because they just couldn't compete on low costs alone. It's very interesting to see what those low-cost airlines are doing.

Patrick Wiscombe 8:48

Speaking of Spirit Airlines, I saw this update come across just about an hour before we started doing the show. Spirit Airlines received bankruptcy court approval to sell 27 Airbus aircraft for roughly $668 million. So while we're talking about low-cost carriers, here's an opportunity to pick up a uh Jets for cheap.

Mark Faldmo 9:12

Yes. Yeah. And so they're just through their bankruptcy, they're doing everything they can. They've also sold their Fort Lauderdale headquarters building. Oh, they did. Now they're selling their Airbus aircraft that they own, most of them. They've got to pay off those creditors.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:30

Venice

Venice Raises The Day Trip Fee

Patrick Wiscombe 9:30

is considering another escalation in its fight against over-tourism. So, you know, we've had the beefy bouncers at the Trevi Fountain. City officials are weighing an increase in the day tripper entry fee to as much as 30 euros per person on busy dates.

Mark Faldmo 9:49

This would actually be the second or third increase of this fee. They're just trying to do everything they can to stop those coming in for just day trips. They don't want to stop everyone coming in.

Patrick Wiscombe 10:03

No.

Mark Faldmo 10:03

It's such a pleasant time in the evening. Don't stay outside and come in for the day. It'll first of all cost you money to get in, but stay in a hotel where you can enjoy Venice in the evening. You've been saying that for four years. Yep. Probably one of my favorite European destinations in the evening time.

Patrick Wiscombe 10:20

If you have travel-related questions, you can get in touch with the show. Anytime during the week, you can call or text 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. During the week,

New Orleans Tips Before A Cruise

Patrick Wiscombe 10:33

Mark received a text from Jessica who booked a cruise with Mark departing from New Orleans. And Jessica was asking, Is it worth going to New Orleans two or three days in advance? And what should I do? The answer is yes, because I know Mark, but yes, just go. What are some of the things that Jessica should do?

Mark Faldmo 10:54

First of all, on a cruise, I'd always go in at least one day before. Yeah. New Orleans is one of those places I'd say go in two or three days before, because New Orleans sometimes doesn't have the best reputation out there. No. Agreed. There are things that I personally love to visit New Orleans. I avoid Bourbon Street at all costs. I think I've told the story before where I was so excited. Heather and I got a hotel right on Bourbon Street, and the loudness of the room finally died down about 4 a.m. Oh boy. But then at 5 a.m. the street sweepers came through. So there was like an hour of silence when we were there. And so I rarely venture towards Bourbon Street. But you know, the French Quarter itself and Jackson Square, very pleasant to visit. I like taking the horse-drawn carriages around the French Quarter, take a Mississippi Riverboat cruise. One of my favorite things to do, visit Oak Alley and other Louisiana plantations. Oak Alley has had so many movies filmed there. It's probably the iconic southern plantation home, and there's lots of history there as well. Take a cemetery tour. Go visit the cemeteries in New Orleans. New Orleans has a whole different culture. The French culture, the Creole culture, the Cajun culture, everything that's there just makes New Orleans such an interesting place to visit. Not to mention just the jazz, the music, the live music. Wow. You can't go show without talking about food. You know, that's one of the things gumbo, jambalaya, muffletas, all just wonderful foods there. That's very different from what you get in other destinations. Don't forget the beignets. Yeah, don't forget the beignets. I was gonna say that. So beignets are great. Probably one of the best museums I visited, the National World War II Museum. The guy that invented the beach landing craft for D-Day lived in New Orleans. And so that is why the National World War II Museum is there. And then time permitting, and I love this, going to Avery Island, which is where Tabasco sauce is made. I know. Go get peppered. Yeah. Well, you walk in to the production room and you're behind glass and it's a sealed room, but your eyes still tear up because you can feel the pepper mist coming into the room. But they have a whole museum there in the restaurant. Everything is made with Tabasco sauce. And actually, every time I go there, I come back with a couple of jars of chili starter because it's the best chili made from there. So are you just about out? I haven't had any in a year. I need to go back. Oh. So there's a lot to do in New Orleans, and it is a unique place if you visit it correctly.

Hot Deal Europe Credits And Stacking

Patrick Wiscombe 13:42

Always in the first segment of the show is the hot travel deal of the week presented by Airwolf H V A C. If you're having problems with your air conditioning or heat, call Jason. He'll come out and fix it. And he actually answers his phone. 801-735-3293. 801-735-3293. Or you can schedule online at airwolf.com. That's A-I-R-E wolf.com. Airwolf.com. Hot travel deal of the week. Where are we going?

Mark Faldmo 14:29

We're going to Europe. And so this is a general Europe sale. This is good until the middle of October. What it is is any vacation book to Europe receives a hundred dollar instant credit. Plus, that's combinable with a few other offers out there. We've talked about the Funjet Vacation Promo pay in full. That is saving up to an additional $550. Um, and then it's also combinable with up to a $250 air credit. I looked for a customer using this going to Paris in April, and they ended up saving about $700 in total with everything that's able to be stacked on top of each promotion. And the hotels, so these were hotels on the outskirts of Paris. You probably want to stay something a little bit more central, but for six-night package airfare. This was from Salt Lake City, but this deal's good from anywhere. But from Salt Lake City is about $1,200 a person for airfare and five nights hotel. London was about the same. You probably want to upgrade and stay a little bit more centralized than where these hotels were, even despite the higher costs of airfare. There's some good deals out there, especially the springtime to Europe. When do you have to book by? October 15th. And then travel by when? Travel anytime in 2027. Yes. Well, actually, anytime February 1st to December 15th of 2027. Okay, so it's basically good for the entire year. Next year. Entire year. Yeah. And you have to pay everything up front at the time of booking? To get the most discount off. You can get you can get just the hundred dollars off by paying just a deposit. Um, you can also get the air credit by paying just a deposit, but there's that additional up to $550 off if you pay in full at the time of reservation.

Patrick Wiscombe 16:21

Take advantage of that. Call Mark in the office. We're gonna take a quick break here. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And Mark will also post this on BluePlanet Vacations.com. When we come back, it is time for the Just Cruising segment. The segment of the show that has made us famous around the country and around the world. We'll be talking about HX. So if you want expedition cruising, you're gonna want to stick around for this. And and also we've got uh Greenland and repositioning cruises. So if you've wanted to head to the new U.S. territory-ish, it's a good time to go see it. And we've got two 16-day cruise deals, one from Carnival, one from Princess. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk Podcast or radio show continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe, the Vacation Nerd. Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back. Give us about two minutes.

Todd Carlson 17:24

Taking you to destinations around the world. The Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show is presented by Blue PlanetVacations.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. Now, back 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 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 18:36

All aboard for the Just Cruising segment right here on the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Ahoy

Expedition Cruising With HX Updates

Patrick Wiscombe 18:45

there, Bates. Thanks for listening to the show each and every Saturday and Sunday right here on the very radio station that you're listening to or on our podcast platforms. Just do a search for Inside Travel Talk for Mark. And I've got the podcast on thevacationnerd.co, thevacationerd.co. Coming up in this segment of the show, we have the cruise deals, plural in this case, of the week. But let's start with the most important cruise news from this past week. Let's start with the HX stuff. HX, which is an expedition cruising company, is introducing their 2028 and 2029 seasons. With early booking discounts, I think HX does an extraordinary job with their expedition cruises.

Mark Faldmo 19:38

They do. Expedition cruises generally are ones that go to unique places. Typically, we think of expedition cruises going to the Arctic regions, HX is one, and a few others. We kind of laugh when they say they've introduced their 2028 and 2029 seasons. But to get on these expedition cruises, which are generally smaller ships, you have to book early.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:00

Yeah.

Mark Faldmo 20:01

I even saw one company that's put out a 2030 season.

Patrick Wiscombe 20:04

Oh my heavens.

Mark Faldmo 20:05

Right now, for this launch of the 2028 and 2029 seasons, they're offering a 5% discount off of cruise cabins or 10% off of suites, which can really help. Expedition cruises are generally a little bit more expensive. They're well worth the cost, but saving an extra 5% or 10% is worth it. Alaska, they've added some new Alaska sailings, an eight-day voyage that gets more immersed into the local communities. They've introduced a Greenland cruise that's just eight days because now that there are flights from JFK right to Greenland. Oh, there are. Yeah, United started them. So is the the first service to Greenland. Rather than flying to Iceland or Halifax and taking longer cruises, you can do a shorter Greenland cruise. They've added a new 19-day expedition cruise in Antarctica. HX is a Scandinavian country, but they've added parts of Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea that they've not traveled to. And so they've added a lot in this 2028 and 2029 season. But first I want to start with the Greenland cruise. Now that the US has a stake in Greenland. This cruise actually visits kind of the southern part of Greenland. In eight days, it has five stops. Plus, there's some scenic cruising there. So it starts in Nuke, which is where the air service is too. We've often talked about repositioning cruises being a way to get a good deal on a cruise. They have a repositioning cruise that really caught my eye, particularly for the price of this. It's called Pacific Passage, and it starts in Valparaiso in Chile, then goes to Lima, Peru, and then has three stops in Costa Rica before ending in Punta Arenas in Costa Rica. So that's where the cruise would end. One thing that caught my eye on this is 13 days, and it starts at just under $4,000 per person. For an expedition cruise, that's the first time. One other thing caught my eye, and so I wanted to mention it because we talked about Alaska. They put out an 18 day cruise that just really cost. My eye. It's a northbound cruise. This cruise goes from Vancouver and eventually ends in Nome, Alaska. And so that's way up there almost to the Arctic Circle. Vancouver does the Inside Passage, Misty Fjord, Drangell, Alaska, Sidka, Icy Bay, which is one of their glacier stops. Last week we talked about the uncruise that does the Aleutian Islands. This one also does a version of the Aleutian Islands on this 18-day cruise. So it goes to Dutch Harbor and then ends in Nome. And then you fly back to Vancouver. And that flight is probably a charter flight and it is included as part of the cruise fair. Awesome. So if you're looking for a really in-depth, longer Alaska cruise, you know, Patrick, you've always said seven days is not enough in Alaska. It is not enough. This hits all of Alaska, plus some places that most people probably don't vacation to.

Patrick Wiscombe 23:30

That's just raw wilderness. And it's awesome. It is absolutely spectacular. I sound like a rock licker right now. I love the outdoors.

Mark Faldmo 23:42

All three of those itineraries that we mentioned have very unique destinations. Let's go out and hug a tree. Yes.

Patrick Wiscombe 23:52

Explora Journeys is getting into the river cruise market. That was a genuine surprise this week.

Mark Faldmo 24:00

And I think about four weeks ago

River Cruising News From Explora

Mark Faldmo 24:01

we talked about this. There were rumors that Explora was going to do this, and now it's officially been announced. So they're going to open sales sometime in 2027. Explora still kind of tight-lipped on it. They're not saying how many ships they're going to build, but they did sign contract with the River Cruise ship shipyard to start building ships. And so when Celebrity went into the river cruise market, it's great to cross-sell celebrity into river. Explora and MSC are now going to be able to do the same thing with their customer bases and get that experience that you'd expect on Explora in a river cruise.

Patrick Wiscombe 24:41

10 million guests passed through the port of Miami. When you think of how small that area is and 10 million people go going

Miami Records And Private Island Upgrades

Patrick Wiscombe 24:50

in and out, oh my. No wonder they have to keep expanding the port.

Mark Faldmo 24:55

That's record number of passengers, but that number was reported on September 14th. So there's still a few months to go in the year. So so far, passenger traffic is up 17% this year. Which last year in 2025, it was eight and a half percent. And so that's two years in a row with let's see what is that 25. 25% growth in passenger. So cruising is becoming more popular between Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Port Canaveral. That's probably 60% of all the world's cruise traffic between just those three ports in Florida.

Patrick Wiscombe 25:38

Speaking of shipping berths, NCL opened up a second shipping berth at Great Stirrup Key, which is great news because basically a year and a half ago you had to tender in. I don't know really when that ended, but fairly recently they opened up the pier, and now there's going to be two berths. And Great Stirrup Key is amazing.

Mark Faldmo 26:00

They have the ability to have two ships on that island, where previously they only were able to put one ship on the island. That makes it a little bit easier for the Norwegian planning people to be able to get more people to that private island, which is such an amazing island. And one of these days, we're gonna have to do a segment that just talks about all the cruise lines, private islands. They're getting so good these days. If you want a quiet beach day, you can have it. If you want to have adventures, you can have it. There's just so much you can do on these private islands.

Patrick Wiscombe 26:31

Always in the just cruising segment of the show, we've got the cruise deal of the week, but in this particular case, we've got the cruise deals of the week, and we've got two 16-day

Two Panama Canal Cruise Bargains

Patrick Wiscombe 26:40

cruises, one from Carnival, the other from Princess. Where are we going though?

Mark Faldmo 26:43

Yeah, so we're going to Panama Canal. I decided to do that this week because I've probably had four phone calls on Panama Canal cruises. A lot of people see Panama Canal Cruise. It's on most people's bucket list. It's so fascinating to see how the canal works. But a lot of people seem to gravitate towards the round trip to Panama Canal cruises because they're shorter and they don't cost quite as much. But I did want to add in these full canal transits. I think that's the only way I would do it. On the round trip cruises, you only get the Atlantic locks. You don't get the full canal experience. You do get to go through locks, but it's locks right in a row. The most beautiful part of a canal you miss if you don't do a full transit. So I found Panama Canal cruises, one on Carnival. It was a 16-day, and this is their repositioning their ship from the Caribbean up to Start Alaska, at least from Mobile, Alabama, ends in Seattle. And this has a great price. It doesn't have as many ports as some of the other cruises, but it has a great price. So 16-day cruise starts at $949 per person.

Patrick Wiscombe 27:56

Holy cow, that's cheap.

Mark Faldmo 27:57

And you do get to experience the whole Panama Canal. Its ports are Cartagena in Colombia, Punta Arenas in Costa Rica, Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, and then ending in Seattle. For $949? For $949. So if you want that full canal experience, that's a great price. Wow. Now I'll move to one. I would probably prefer this one a little bit more, just because it has more ports in the same amount of time. So less days at sea. 16-day Panama Canal cruise on Princess. This one goes from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles. It visits Aruba, then goes through the canal, has a stop in the Panama Canal area. So you can take the train that goes across Panama. There's some things you can do there because it actually spends the day in Panama before going through the canal the next day. Punta Reinas, again in Costa Rica, Chiapas, which is in Honduras, I believe. Huatuco in southern Mexico. That's where you can eat the mole-covered grasshoppers. No thanks. Yeah. And then Porta Vallarta and ending in Los Angeles. Yeah. Wow. Okay. How much is that one? So that one starts at $15.19 per person. Oh man, that's even so amazing. Yeah. So for 16 days, you know, that's still less than $100 per person per day. I would prefer the princess one just because of the stops that it has. Yeah. Um, it has more stops and less days at sea. You came prepared today.

Patrick Wiscombe 29:35

Wow. So 16-day Panama, $949 on Carnival, 16-day princess for $1,519, both. My word, less than $100 per person per day. In the case of Carnival, that's significantly less. Wow. Take advantage of those offers. Call Mark in the office. Get the conversation started. There is no obligation. 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.

Wrap Up And How To Reach Us

Patrick Wiscombe 30:08

And he will also post all of this information on Blue Planet Vacations.com. New episodes of this show are released every single weekday on my website, thevacationerd.co, thevacation nerd.co, and weekly on Mark's site, inside travel talk.com. The shows are available on all podcast platforms. Just do a search for Inside Travel Talk or TheVacation Nerd on your favorite podcast platform, and we'll come right up. And you can catch this show each and every Saturday and Sunday on a radio station near you, 11 o'clock local time. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We are done. Now it's your turn to get out and see the world. Life is short, so book a trip. Quit talking about doing stuff and just get out and do it. And Mark is going to help you get there. That's where he comes in. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop and listen. We truly appreciate you joining us for the show. We don't have a podcast. We don't have a radio show. We don't have business without you. You, our listeners, make all of this possible. So thank you. So for Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe, the Vacation Nerd. Make it a fantastic week, and we will talk to you again next weekend.

Todd Carlson 31:33

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.