Welcome And How To Listen

Todd Carlson 0:17

Now, back to The Insight Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. Presented by BluePlanetVacations.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.

New Ships And New Adventures

Patrick Wiscombe 1:02

It is time for The Just Cruising segment right here on The world-famous Inside Travel Talk Podcast radio show. Broadcasting live from Salt Lake City each and every Saturday and Sunday on The very radio station that you are listening to. And of course on our podcast channels, we'll give you all The details here in just a second. But to all those boarding The show right now, let me just welcome everyone aboard. Ahoy Bates. Ahoy. Coming up in this segment of The show, we have The cruise deal of The week. Actually, we have multiple cruise deals this week. But before we get to The cruise deals of The week, let's start with The most important cruise news from this past week. And I think we should start with AMA Waterways, which is one of your favorite cruise companies. They actually have The beds in The rooms that actually face out. So instead of craning your neck in whatever direction, left or right, you just stare out The window.

Mark Faldmo 1:59

Yeah, I love AMA Waterways, and they're introducing their second ship in Vietnam and Cambodia. So now they'll have two ships. This is a smaller ship. It's a 60 cabin ship that accommodates up to 120 guests, and it's really designed about The experience in Indochina.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:18

I don't know what it is about Vietnam and Cambodia. It just fascinates me, probably just because of just how violent The history has been.

Mark Faldmo 2:25

I've sent several people on this itinerary and they absolutely love it. the history there is a unique and different history from a lot of parts of The world. I think that's what makes it unique. I'm actually kind of interested we did that top 10 list in The first segment. Yeah. It did include Japan, but there wasn't very many other Asia focused on there, which I thought this might show up on that list because I'm getting a lot of requests for it, and it's a great opportunity to see a unique destination.

Patrick Wiscombe 2:55

Linblod Expeditions is expanding their Antarctica presence with an acquisition.

Mark Faldmo 3:00

Who did they acquire? They acquired a company called White Desert. And I guess Linblod is The cruise company that does The National Geographic expeditions. And so, you know, they do The expedition ships for National Geographic. But White Desert, a lot of these expedition ships spend their time in The Arctic or Antarctic. So in this case, The White Desert is The Antarctic. So what White Desert specializes in is luxury camping experiences in Antarctica.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:32

There we go.

Mark Faldmo 3:33

So now on these Lynn Blodden National Geographic expeditions, they're gonna have camping in Antarctica experiences. One of The adventures that they have have a restored Douglas DC3. So The old propeller planes that flies people into these campsites in Antarctica. So just a really unique opportunity for something special.

Patrick Wiscombe 3:56

Those are The kind of experiences that I like. That's why I was laughing. White desert. I was like, oh my goodness, that's a little on The nose there. Yep. the uh first celebrity river cruise ship has completed its floato. Now, these ships are beautiful. Where did they do The float out and what are some of The details?

Mark Faldmo 4:15

the float out was in Rotterdam in The Netherlands. And this is kind of The first step of celebrities river cruise entrance. I'm going to a river cruise conference in March. I haven't seen anything about a celebrity ship actually being there. I hope they're there. Oh, yeah. I know, I know celebrity will be at The conference, but hopefully I will get to experience or at least see Celebrities River Cruise ship. In person. That would be fantastic. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm not sure because it doesn't launch till August of 2027. And remember, this is when we talked about that first set of dates. They sold out what they launched in under six minutes. the everything was gone. So very popular.

Puerto Vallarta’s Big Port Plans

Patrick Wiscombe 5:02

We were talking about Mexico, a lot of Mexico in The first segment. So this was welcome news that uh Puerto Vallarta, a cruise port, is now tabbed for a large expansion, which is needed. And it goes to show you that The cruise industry is really starting to come west, which is a welcome addition.

Mark Faldmo 5:22

They used to just have room for one ship there. In The last few years, they've expanded that to three ships. And I don't know where they're going to put The ships, but they're expanding it to up to six ships. Oh, okay.

Patrick Wiscombe 5:36

Big expansion.

Mark Faldmo 5:37

One thing that's exciting to me is they are going to try and attract cruise lines to make Porto Vallarta a home port for ships, which would really open up some interesting destinations. Ziwatanejo, Watuco, even further south and a little bit further into Central America. It opens up a lot of interesting possibilities for cruising if you can start and end your cruise in Porto Vallarta. Plus, that makes for a great pre- and post cruise.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:05

Any uh date for when it could be completed? Are we talking 27, 28, 30, something like that?

Mark Faldmo 6:12

Construction is slated to begin in 2027. They hope to have some of that done by 2028 or early in 2029. More and more cruise lines are putting ships on The west coast. And I think this really opens up some possibilities for some unique itineraries, even from San Diego, Los Angeles area. They're gonna have to start visiting some more ports, maybe in The Sea of Cortez and making Porto Villarta a major part of that with The dock space that Porta Villarta is going to have.

Patrick Wiscombe 6:44

Why do I see MSC doing this expanding to The west?

Mark Faldmo 6:48

I think it'll be one of The places they're gonna look at. I think they will. I know in some behind-The-scenes meetings that I've had, they've teased that, but nothing has been announced. With The rate MSC is growing, they're gonna have to find places to put those ships.

Viking Sale Options That Matter

Patrick Wiscombe 7:02

Yep. Let's get to The cruise deal or deals in this case of The week. Who's our cruise line and where are we going?

Mark Faldmo 7:09

Viking is The cruise line. This is for all three of their products ocean, river, and expedition. And I've chosen an itinerary that I would choose from each of those categories. They've enhanced their sale a little bit more. So this is their October sale, free airfare on many voyages, so kind of free or reduced airfare and $25 deposits. That's kind of The base sales that we've talked about. Yeah. But now on top of that, you can choose one of these two options. You can choose up to a thousand dollar shipboard credit, which you can purchase The shore excursions that are not included with The ship, because they in most cases they include short excursions, but there are some more unique things that cost. You can do The spa on a longer cruise. This may be something that you want to do. Or you can choose a free beverage package and included gratuities. That's probably The one I would choose. Yeah, me too. Beverages are included at mealtimes, but not at other times during The day. And so that's you know something to look at. Um, and then The included gratuities. I think that's what's worth it right there. Yep, absolutely. This is booked by October 31st, so got about three weeks or so to book that. And then I chose one itinerary that I'd like to highlight from each of

Mediterranean And Tulip Season Picks

Mark Faldmo 8:29

their segments. And we'll first start with a Mediterranean cruise. And this one is called Ancient Mediterranean Treasures. And The reason why I chose this one is it's Greece and Turkey. We talked about Greece a little bit earlier in The show, but it starts in Istanbul, goes to Troy, goes to Ephesus, which is one of my favorite cruise ports in The Mediterranean, goes to Rhodes in Greece, then goes to Crete in Greece, and ends in Athens with The offers. You can get pretty good price on that. That eight-day itinerary starts at $26.99 per person. That includes The six guided tours and two countries, plus The offers are included that we talked about.

Patrick Wiscombe 9:13

That was The ocean cruise. What about The river cruise, Mark?

Mark Faldmo 9:16

the river cruise that I chose is kind of a seasonal cruise and it's two-ups and windmills. And so this is to go to The Netherlands and Belgium mainly. It's round trip from Amsterdam, but you do get to go around, stops at Kinderdijk, which is one of The windmills there, goes to Antwerp, Belgium. You'll have opportunities to see Ghent and Bruges. One place that I really like is Middleburg, which is kind of medieval city there. I did get to do this cruise. I've done it twice and really enjoyed that itinerary. This is a 10-day cruise, so it's a little bit longer. It's a little bit more specialized, goes in The springtime, and that starts at $32.99 per person.

Patrick Wiscombe 10:01

For 10 days?

Mark Faldmo 10:02

For 10 days.

Patrick Wiscombe 10:03

Oh, that's actually really good.

Mark Faldmo 10:04

Yeah, which is really good on Viking. And plus, it it is some really unique destinations that you get to visit there.

The 81-Day Arctic To Antarctic Voyage

Mark Faldmo 10:12

And then I kind of debated whether or not to add an expedition on there. Oh no, let's throw it in there. But but I chose one just because of how unique it is. It's their Arctic to Antarctic explorer. So white desert to white desert. White desert to white desert. Yep. This is 81 days.

unknown 10:34

Whoa!

Mark Faldmo 10:36

It starts in Nuke in Greenland, then it sails north in Greenland, goes over way into northern Canada, and then it comes down, visits some more Greenland ports, comes down, it sails up The St. Lawrence River all The way to Toronto, Canada, and then back out down to Halifax, New York City, goes to Bahamas, then sails through The Panama Canal, goes down The west coast of South America, and ends in Ushuaia with a stop in Antarctica. Wow. So there's some really unique things out there. This is a very expensive but very unique itinerary. So if you want something unique, you can look at this one. One thing that this does include because it's a longer cruise, free business class airfare. So not just free airfare, it's free airfare in business class.

Patrick Wiscombe 11:28

Even better.

Mark Faldmo 11:29

Transfers, a $4,000 shore excursion credit, $2,000 shipboard credit, plus if you're a past guest, you get an additional $2,000. And then this one does not get that $25 deposit because it's so specialized. Yeah. But you you do get a reduced deposit of 10% off what The regular deposit would be. Plus, they're going to pay your visa service. So for any countries that you need a visa to visit, and it includes their Silver Spirits beverage package and free Wi-Fi. Longer but very unique cruise.

Patrick Wiscombe 12:04

That would be amazing from Viking. So we've got The ocean cruise, which is ancient Mediterranean treasures. We've got The river cruising, tulips and windmills, and of course, this is The big one: The Arctic to The Antarctic explorer on Viking. That is phenomenal.

Mark Faldmo 12:22

That's one thing why I love my job. There's so many unique places in The world to visit. And then you find things like this. All three of those are just great options.

How To Book And Final Push

Patrick Wiscombe 12:32

What a phenomenal opportunity to get out and see The world. Call Mark in The office. Get The conversation started. There's no obligation, but he can absolutely help. 888-718-7717-888-718-7717. And he's also going to post this on blue planetvacations.com. Well, that's it. We are done. Before we go, just want to let all of our listeners know that new episodes of this show are released every weekday on my website, TheVacationNerd.co, TheVacationNerd.co, and weekly on Mark's site, InsideTravelTalk.com. Both shows are available on all podcast platforms. Just do a search for inside travel talk or The vacation Nerd on whatever podcast platform. And you can also just stream it right off The website if you prefer to do that. We are done. We've done our job. Now it's your turn to get out and see The world. Life is short. Book a trip. Quit talking about doing stuff. Just get out and do it, and we'll help you get there. That's where Mark comes in. Thank you so much for taking your 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 a business without you. You, our listeners, make all of this possible. 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 on this very radio station. Thanks for listening.

Todd Carlson 14:14

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 BluePlanetVacations.com. Book your adventure right now. Call (888) 718-7717. That's (888) 718-7717. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.