Inside Travel Talk
Explore Your World! The Inside Travel Talk Podcast is filled with destination information and travel, cruise and vacation tips and tricks. Its the Christmas catalogue of Travel! We are here to help you get out there and Explore Your World.
Inside Travel Talk
Explore The Best Caribbean Islands, Guided Tours Through Europe & Alaska Cruises
Can Maui really outshine Paris as the ultimate romantic getaway for U.S. travelers? Join us as we dive into this surprising revelation and explore the allure of Maui’s enchanting beaches that have captivated hearts. Meanwhile, we uncover why Athens is clamping down on Airbnbs and what it means for travelers worldwide. Plus, discover the latest in travel innovation with United Airlines’ introduction of free in-flight Wi-Fi, setting a new standard for connectivity at 30,000 feet.
Journey with us to the Caribbean, where we map out your perfect island escape. From the vibrant all-inclusive resorts of Jamaica and the Dominican Republic to the passport-free paradise of the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, we've got you covered. For those seeking seclusion, our top picks include the serene shores of Grand Cayman and St. Lucia. Whether you’re after a bustling resort or a tranquil retreat, we’ll guide you through the best options to tailor your dream vacation to your preferences.
As we close the episode, excitement is in the air with the buzz around Italy’s espresso sleeper trains, offering scenic travel through the breathtaking Italian Alps. We also delve into the latest on European travel protocols, highlighting the upcoming shift to biometric entry systems and how Global Entry can ease your travel experience. Wrapping up with a touch of inspiration, we encourage you to embrace every travel opportunity with an adventurous spirit. Thank you for tuning into Inside Travel Talk with your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, and get ready for more travel insights next weekend!
The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com contains travel deals, promotions and offers that may be time-sensitive. All offers and information were accurate when the show aired. Travel deals and offers change constantly and are capacity-controlled and subject to change without notice.
Show Voice: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 inside travel talk. com. And now here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:I am starting to wonder if this amazing weather is going to go away. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Mark Faldmo will join me here in just a second and, if you're brand new to the show, the entire purpose of this radio show is to help you plan and book your next vacation of this radio show is to help you plan and book your next vacation. This is a fun show. You're going to hear some really amazing travel offers in the next hour. You can get the podcast of this show at InsideTravelTalk. com or wherever you get your podcasts, and if you're in the Salt Lake City area.
Patrick Wiscombe:We're also on the air each and every Saturday and Sunday mornings at 11 o'clock Mountain Time and we are presented by BluePlanetVacations. com Coming up. On today's edition of the show, we are talking about the best Caribbean islands to visit. Winter's coming up it's kind of hard to believe on a day like today. We're going to talk about Alaska cruises and we're also going to be talking about European vacations, but before we get there, we do need to start with the quick hit travel news headlines. I saw this article Mark that Greece is cracking down on Airbnbs and short-term rentals in Athens.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, the government announced last month that they're going to put a ban on short-term rentals in three of the districts in Athens. They're going to test this out for a year and see how it goes. Greece is facing a housing crisis. In Athens particularly. They're banning it on these short-term rentals and Airbnb. This is similar to what we've talked about in Hawaii, particularly Maui, which has banned short-term rentals and Airbnbs in what would be considered apartments.
Patrick Wiscombe:United Airlines has signed a deal with Starlink for free in-flight Wi-Fi. That's great news.
Mark Faldmo:United will join Delta and JetBlue, which currently offer free Wi-Fi. That's great news. United will join Delta and JetBlue, which currently offer free Wi-Fi. It's good that airlines are starting to recognize this and actually provide it for free. Now there still are a few airlines American Southwest and Alaska do have Wi-Fi, but at an additional cost. I can't tell you how nice it's been on Delta, whenever I fly, to have that free Wi-Fi. I typically don't work or look at work-related things on planes. I kind of use that as my time to watch a movie and relax and decompress, but it is nice to have that when it's needed.
Patrick Wiscombe:One of the favorite things that you and I have ever done together is the Brightline trains when you and I were in Palm Beach. The high-speed Brightline West trains will feature sleek seats and what they're calling a party car. What other details do we have on that this?
Mark Faldmo:is a high-speed rail that is currently being constructed between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Oh, it is under construction.
Patrick Wiscombe:I didn't know that.
Mark Faldmo:Between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Oh, it is under construction. I didn't know that. It's an all-electric 218-mile train service. Now they've unveiled some of their amenities and options that they're going to offer. They're going to have a party car which is going to have food and soft drinks, lounge seating. They're also going to have a two-class cabin seating. They're also going to have a two-class cabin. They're going to have their smart category, which is two seats, an aisle and two seats, or their premium, which is like first class, which will have one seat, an aisle and two seats.
Patrick Wiscombe:When we went from Fort Lauderdale to Palm Beach, Brightline was one of the greatest things that we have ever done. I cannot wait for Brightline to show up between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. I'm going to do it, just so we can go ride the train, just to do it.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, ride the train. I don't know that I'll join the party car, but maybe for the Diet Coke, yes. Always in this opening segment of the show we have the destination of the week, and you received a text a little bit earlier this week that Philip wants to go to a Caribbean island and he is asking what are the best options the first consideration should be is do you want an all-inclusive resort or not?
Mark Faldmo:some islands have lots of all-inclusive options and some have very few or none at all. And I think the second consideration is how hard is the island to get to? Depending on where you're from here in the West, some of those Eastern Caribbean islands are harder to get to. They might be three stops to get there. So now I've broken this list down into three different categories. I've broken this list down into three different categories. The first category is the easiest to get to with all-inclusive options. So my picks for that would be Jamaica or Dominican Republic. Dominican Republic you usually have to take an overnight flight to like Atlanta, somewhere on the East Coast and then arrive there early in the afternoon. Jamaica there are a few flights for us here on the West Coast where you can get there in one day just leave early in the morning and get there later in the evening.
Patrick Wiscombe:But you do need to have a passport to go to Jamaica or the Dominican Republic, correct?
Mark Faldmo:Yes, you do need a passport to get those. Most of the Caribbean islands you do. And that actually brings us to the second category which is often a question we get is I want to go somewhere warm with a beach, but I don't have a passport. Where can I go? So the Caribbean islands you can get to that don't require a passport are St Thomas and St Croix, which are US Virgin Islands, our territories of the US.
Mark Faldmo:Another one I'd probably throw in there is St John. We talked about St John, I think, last week when we talked about cruise shore excursions with Trunk Bay, that one you'd actually fly into St Thomas and then take a ferry or a helicopter over to the hotels that are on St John and you could actually throw on another island with no passport, which is Puerto Rico. We've talked about Puerto Rico in the past, although if you want that you know kind of Caribbean island experience, probably St Croix is the best option and it's a little harder to get to as well, and then the harder to get to islands. These islands are a little bit more relaxed, less touristy. I would throw in Grand Cayman on that and we've talked lots about Grand Cayman.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, grand Cayman yeah, you know, if you're there not on a cruise day, you know, because sometimes when the cruise ships come in it can get pretty crowded, you know. But Grand Cayman, without cruise ships, is a wonderful place to visit. St Lucia is on there. St Lucia is probably one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. There are two volcanic peaks there. They're known as the Pitons. A lot of people probably have seen these pictures of their conical, really steep, pointy kind of triangle volcanoes. This again is probably one of the most beautiful islands to visit. There's a beach called Sugar Beach, which is right in between the two volcanoes. Then Barbados. I love Barbados.
Patrick Wiscombe:How many times have you been to Barbados?
Mark Faldmo:I've been to Barbados four times. On a cruise is the only way I've done it, but I would love to go back there and visit Barbados. It has one of the best beaches that I've ever seen there, although a lot of Caribbean islands have really great beaches.
Patrick Wiscombe:It's hard to complain when you're in the Caribbean. It is.
Mark Faldmo:A few others that I would throw in that really weren't on my list is Grenada. I love Grenada, which is a part of the British Overseas Territories. It's a capital of St George, kind of reminds me of an Italian coastal town. You just have to decide what are your goals of your vacation. Do you want an all-inclusive? Do you want more secluded and relaxed? How easy is it to get to? Are kind of the considerations on that and the passport and the passport, and if you need a passport, yes, that's a good point you just truly can't go wrong with the Caribbean.
Patrick Wiscombe:It's honestly one of the best vacations Nicki and I've ever been on. You and I have not been to the Caribbean with our wives, but you just can't go wrong. But I will say this if you go in summer, get ready to sweat. I will say this it's pretty toasty during the summer. If you are interested in planning a vacation to go to the Caribbean, call Mark in his office Monday through Friday. A vacation to go to the Caribbean? Call Mark in his office Monday through Friday. His office number is 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. When we come back, we've got the hot travel deal of the week and this time we are going to Europe. You will not want to miss some of these offers that we have that is coming up next. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your Saturday morning. Thank you for inviting us into your ears. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show alongside Mark Faldmo. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back, mark Faldmo. My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Show Voice:Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back. Taking you to destinations around the world. The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show is presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700.
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Show Voice:Now back to the Inside 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 InsideTravelTalk. com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Alongside my good friend, mark Faldmo. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Alongside my good friend, mark Faldmo. My name is Patrick Wiscombe, if you are just brand new to the show, this radio show is all about having fun and all about travel, getting out and exploring the world, and all we do is talk about vacations, the hottest travel deals of the week that is coming up in this segment, and we are headed to Europe, and if you've always wanted to head to that part of the world, this is the segment that you will want to listen to right now. But you can also podcast the show a little bit later by going to insidetraveltalk. com. By going to InsideTravelTalk. com.
Patrick Wiscombe:Europe is one of my favorite destinations Paris, specifically. That's still on my to-do list, especially after the Olympics, but I'm going to wait for things to kind of clear out before Nikki and I go. Speaking of Paris, I saw this news story that a US destination just dethroned Paris as the most romantic in the world. Now I have a hard time believing that. What are the details?
Mark Faldmo:Paris, is known as the city of love, but Maui in Hawaii has dethroned Paris as the most romantic spot for US travelers to vacation, to I don't know Maui's pretty good. This was an article in Travel and Leisure where 2,000 Americans they weren't in connection to any traveling or anything like that, it was just a random survey and 34% of respondents said that Maui was the most romantic destination. Paris did come in second.
Patrick Wiscombe:Nikki and I were in Maui in March and I will say that Maui was spectacular. I know that I just said I can't imagine a more romantic place. Maui's pretty good.
Mark Faldmo:I really enjoy Maui and it is pretty romantic. Well, I think all of the South Pacific is romantic, all the Pacific Islands, I should say Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, all pretty romantic.
Patrick Wiscombe:One of my favorite things to do over in Hawaii, while we're talking about Maui, was just to go walk on the beach. There is something for me personally so therapeutic me personally so therapeutic. There's something about the roar of the ocean and just that constant water motion that just soothes my soul. It really is spectacular.
Mark Faldmo:It is, yeah, nothing like being on a good beach.
Patrick Wiscombe:Disney World is offering savings on 2025 resort bookings. It's not very often when Disney World starts discounting their properties.
Mark Faldmo:Walt Disney World Resorts has announced save up to 25% at select resorts. So the savings range from 10% to 25% and they also depend on the date, and this is for the first half of 2025. The date and this is for the first half of 2025. If you're looking to go to Disney world in Florida in the first few months of this year, it's a great chance to go, especially with the family, for sure, especially if you have young kids.
Patrick Wiscombe:I don't know there's some pretty old adults that like going there too. So, yes, yeah, just go. We'll just say, we'll just say, just book it, just go, just book it. Yeah. One of my favorite things that I mentioned in this in segment one is traveling by train. Italy's new sleeper trains travel from Rome which I'm already a fan of at that point to mountain and sea destinations.
Mark Faldmo:These are called espresso trains and they are purely for tourists. They're not really part of the Italian rail system. They are tourist trains. They operate in the summertime and then they also operate in the wintertime to get people to the ski resorts in the Italian Alps.
Patrick Wiscombe:That sounds even more delightful.
Mark Faldmo:They have refurbished trains dating back from the 1960s through the 1990s. So they've taken all of these older trains and refurbished them, added them to these tourist routes, which, again, the Italian Alps are amazing. Taking a train to or through the Italian Alps is on my bucket list. I've done the outskirts of them by bus, but I'd love to take a train through them. So I think these espresso trains are a great way to go. Do it in the summertime go from Rome up to either coastal resorts in the northern part of Italy or to the Italian Alps. These routes are mainly overnight routes, but they do also offer some daytime routes on this. So the main part of these is their overnight sleeper trains. So they've taken these old, vintage sleeper trains and renovated them for this purpose.
Patrick Wiscombe:We were talking about the Caribbean in segment number one of the show and I saw this story that St Martin is launching a digital entry form for visitors.
Mark Faldmo:This actually started on Tuesday of this week, October 8th, similar to the electronic entry system, so we've talked about other destinations. You'll have to pre-fill out this form and get approval to fly into the country of St Martin, and Mark can walk you through that. St Martin is an interesting island. It wasn't on the list we talked about last segment but it's interesting because half of the island is Dutch and half of the island is French.
Patrick Wiscombe:Always in segment number two of the show is the hot travel deal of the week. Janice was texting you a little bit earlier that she wants to go to Europe this next spring meaning 2025, and wants to see several countries, and she's asking it's kind of a big question what's the best way to do this?
Mark Faldmo:There's a few different ways that you can do this. There's group tours, which are bus tours. You can just put it together and get yourself between the countries. You can also do some private tours, where things are a little bit more private. You're still on your own. I think the best way to see Europe, especially if it's your first time there, is to do one of these group or escorted hosted.
Patrick Wiscombe:You've said that for a while now.
Mark Faldmo:There are two companies that I like. One is Globus and the other is Cosmos. They're actually operated by the same company. Globus is usually a little bit more expensive, but that's because they stay in hotels that are centrally located. They usually have a little bit more included, and then Cosmos usually stays on the outskirts of town, still well located, but not right central, and they don't include quite as much.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let's talk about the Globus deal first.
Mark Faldmo:I've got three different departures on Globus that we're going to talk about. That will help you see Europe. But the Globus deal right now is save up to $1,000 per reservation on select 2025 group tours and that $1,000 off per reservation needs to be booked by November 8th. I like these multiple country tours because they give you a good sampling of the countries. So the first one it's called the European Sampler and I chose a May 7th date and it is nine days, four countries.
Patrick Wiscombe:It sounds like we're going to a restaurant. Let's go to the Sampler, please. The.
Mark Faldmo:Sampler. This May 7th date is a small group tour, so that's up to 18 guests. They also do have regular group tours, but that small group tour on May 7th starts at $3689 per person. But I really like this tour. It starts in Amsterdam, has two nights in Amsterdam and then you go down to Heidelberg in Germany. That day also includes a few-hour cruise through Castle Country on the Rhine River river. Then from there you go down through the black forest to Lucerne, Switzerland, with two nights in Lucerne, Switzerland. I think of all of the cities in Europe, Lucerne is probably my favorite destination. I've been there several times. I would go back to Lucerne in a heartbeat.
Patrick Wiscombe:How many days is this one.
Mark Faldmo:The whole tour is nine days, so from Lucerne you spend the night in southern France, in the Burgundy area, and then up two nights in Paris is where you end. That's a pretty good sample right there.
Mark Faldmo:And then they also have an option you can extend it and end in Paris. You can go from Paris to London and spend two nights in London at the end, which is an option that's good, too, countries, and I like this one because it includes Italy. So this one, you start in Rome, have two nights in Rome, one night in Florence, one night in Venice, and then you do go through the Italian alps that we were just talking about yeah with two nights in Rome, or two nights in Lucerne and Switzerland, and then you take a train from Switzerland to Paris with two nights in Paris.
Mark Faldmo:And that tour is $3599 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:These tours are amazing. This is incredible.
Mark Faldmo:The one thing that I like about these tours is you're with a local guide the whole time. You get insights. You just won't get doing it on your own. Or you can buy all the tourist books, but you won't get the insights you get doing a group tour like this with a local guide. What's the last tour?
Mark Faldmo:This is Poland, east Germany and World War II history. So, depending on what you want to see, I think this is a great tour to do and it's also a great price. It's 13 days, two countries. It starts at $3149 per person and all of these tours we talked about include that $1,000 off per reservation. This tour starts two nights in Warsaw, Poland. You go down to Krakow, Poland, with a stop in Auschwitz, and then from there you go up another night in Warkla, Poland, and then a night in Dresden. Two nights in Berlin, one night in Weimar in Germany, one night in Nuremberg and then two nights in Munich. In between Munich and Nuremberg you go to Dachau, another concentration camp. Globus and Cosmos have several great options for tours like this. These were three that I thought were just good multiple country destinations.
Patrick Wiscombe:We're going to take a break here. If you want to go to Europe and you want to go on one of these tours, call Mark in his office. His phone number, Monday through Friday, is 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. Man, I just want to go now. In fact, uh, you and I are in the the studio right now and I'm I'm actually looking at the back of my phone because I've got the uh, the credit card here. Actually looking at the back of my phone because I've got the credit card here.
Patrick Wiscombe:I've got something for you. Give me that credit card number. Here it is it's 5-1. You really whet my appetite on that one. When we come back, it is the infamous Just Cruising segment. We've got the cruise news of the week. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show continues alongside Mark Faldmo, my friend, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your Saturday and Sunday mornings. We will be right back.
Show Voice:You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by BluePlanetVacations. 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 InsideTravelTalk. com.
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Patrick Wiscombe:The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by blueplanetvacations. com contains travel deals, promotions and offers that may be time sensitive. All offers and information were accurate when the show aired. Travel deals and offers change constantly and are capacity controlled and subject to change without notice.
Show Voice:This is the Inside 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 now here are your hosts Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:All aboard. All aboard for the infamous Just Cruising segment right here on the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. If you are listening to us on the air right now here in Salt Lake City, 860 KKAT, and you need to re-listen to a segment of the show, or if you just enjoy the show and want to listen to it again, may I invite you to go to InsideTravelTalk. com to get the podcast. We are on all of the major podcast platforms Coming up in this segment of the show. We've got the infamous Cruise Deal of the Week and we've got the infamous cruise deal of the week and we've also got the cruise news of the week. In fact, Mark, let's just go ahead and start there. I saw this news story that to Juneau, Alaska, the free ship Saturday was voted down. What are the details on that?
Mark Faldmo:A group in Juneau put something on their ballot which was ship free Saturday and also on the 4th of July, to ban ships from visiting Juneau Saturdays and on the 4th of July.
Patrick Wiscombe:You know, this whole time I was like, oh sweet, why would you vote down a free cruise? Like free ship Saturday, jump on a boat. Oh wow, talk about the story not matching what was in my head.
Mark Faldmo:As of right now, 60% of participating voters voted against ship-free Saturdays.
Patrick Wiscombe:What's? The tram right off the pier or the dock in Juneau?
Mark Faldmo:Mount Roberts, yeah, mount Roberts tram in Juneau.
Patrick Wiscombe:That is fantastic. I don't recommend going up to the top if it's foggy or raining, because you just look at the top side of clouds. On a clear day, that is a spectacular view from the top.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, it is.
Patrick Wiscombe:This is still on Patrick and Nikki's to-do list Alma Waterways, which you have been on several times. They are creating a new itinerary. Let's tell listeners what that's about and where they're going.
Mark Faldmo:They've created a new itinerary called the Swiss Alps and Rhine Castles.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's even more delightful.
Mark Faldmo:Yep. So this is a cruise along the Rhine. It's a seven-night cruise, travels between Amsterdam and Basel, Switzerland, and some of the highlights are Strasberg in France, Heidelberg, Rudersheim and Cologne in Germany. It has some other stops along the way, but those are the main highlight. I think this will be a great option and they actually also have a pre-cruise. A great option, and they actually also have a pre-cruise. Oh, we're just talking about similar places. This episode, a pre-cruise option in Luzern, Switzerland.
Patrick Wiscombe:This just gets getting better yeah.
Mark Faldmo:In our previous segment, where we talked about the bus tours, group tours being a great way to see Europe. River cruises are also a great way to see Europe. In fact, on river cruises you get to some places that you don't get to on the bus tours. Another great option to see Europe Ama would always be my pick for river cruise in Europe.
Patrick Wiscombe:Beth, our contact at Star Clippers. They just announced a new free deal in the Caribbean man, we are Caribbean heavy this week. We are, yeah, Caribbean and Europe we are.
Mark Faldmo:Caribbean heavy this week. We are, yeah, Caribbean and Europe. It seems like Star Clippers, on select cruises, is offering a free two-night stay either before or after the cruise in St Martin.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh my word, this just keeps getting better.
Mark Faldmo:When we're talking early about the Caribbean islands, at least for us in the western part of the US, St Martin is a harder port to get to, and that's where the Caribbean sailings for Star Clipper leave from is St Martin.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, I didn't know that. I thought they were someplace else.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, no, so you have to fly into St Martin and get on the ship, so this is a great offering to either go before or after. I'd recommend before in case there's any flight issues. Star Clipper has several advantages. One is it's small the Star Flyer that does this has 166 passengers. Another benefit is explore remote islands and secluded harbors with that.
Patrick Wiscombe:Something that you and I did back in April was the Margaritaville at Sea. That's the name of the company we went on. Which ship were we on?
Mark Faldmo:The Paradise. Yeah, okay, paradise, that's the name of the ship.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, so Margaritaville at Sea is offering longer cruises on the Paradise boat which is what we were just talking about from a hundred bucks a person. You and I were there. We did it for two days, but now they're starting to offer three and four nights, which I think is a great move by the company.
Mark Faldmo:Margaritaville at sea. They took over a company that was called Paradise Cruise Lines and they were basically a gambling ship. They would leave, go out Freeport Bahamas two nights and come back, but their main source of revenue was gambling and now that Margaritaville at sea is operating this cruise line, they're trying to make it more like a regular cruise line. Paradise that leaves out of Palm Beach Florida now has new itineraries, a three-night itinerary with Saturdays at sea, so it just goes to Freeport Bahamas and then has a day at sea. They're offering two new four-night itineraries One is Key West and Freeport and the other one is Nassau and Freeport, so two ports in the Bahamas.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let's get to the cruise deal of the week, the infamous cruise deal of the week, and we are talking Alaska. What offers do we have for listeners this week?
Mark Faldmo:So there's some great cruise options out there for 2025. First, we should talk about the three types of Alaska cruises. There are round-trip cruises, and those either go round-trip Seattle or round-trip Vancouver. And then there's one-way cruises that go between Vancouver and either Whittier or Seward, which is near. Those are both near Anchorage. And then there's cruise tours and they combine an Alaska, an inland Alaska experience.
Patrick Wiscombe:On the one-way cruise options, so, Nikki and I, last year we did the round-trip cruise from Seattle on NCL Great, great experience.
Mark Faldmo:We've talked about Alaska quite a bit in some of the past shows. It's one of my top cruise destinations. I've probably been on somewhere between 20 and 25 Alaska cruises and I love it. Now, moving on to some of the prices, there are some great prices out there. I looked in earlier in the season, so these are late April and May cruises that I looked at, which is generally where the best prices are. Now, the one thing you'll trade off on these dates is it'll be a little bit cooler, but you'll generally have better weather in May. You know, going through Alaska, you're in a temperate rainforest and May is one of the drier months to go.
Patrick Wiscombe:You really surprised me when you said that Alaska is a rainforest.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe:And I can confirm.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe:It does rain.
Mark Faldmo:You go to Ketchikan. One of the landmarks in Ketchikan is the rain thermometer that tells how much rain they've had so far that year.
Patrick Wiscombe:Uh-huh, yep, let's start with the round-trip cruise Seattle. How many days is that and what is the price per person inside cabin and a balcony?
Mark Faldmo:I chose this cruise round trip Seattle. It's a little bit unique it's a nine day cruise. You know where most of the round trip cruises are seven days.
Mark Faldmo:So this one is early season. It's April 23rd, so this is probably one of the first sailings of the season. The inside cabins on that start at $1181 per person Still amazing. But the reason why I chose this is because the balcony rate Balcony rate was $1599 per person and again, all of these cruise fares now include all of the taxes and fees. So this isn't a price plus taxes and fees. Taxes and fees are included in this price For a balcony. That's amazing For a balcony. Yeah, this cruise again round trip Seattle. It visits Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, icy Strait the glacier that you visit is glacier bay and then Victoria in Canada and then back to Seattle when you go to glacier bay it is so quiet.
Patrick Wiscombe:I thought there was a gun range at glacier bay. It was the ice hitting the water and it sounded like gunshots going off.
Mark Faldmo:It was incredible when that compact ice falls off the glacier and hits that warmer water, it explodes. It's pretty interesting how that worked.
Patrick Wiscombe:What about the one-way? The northbound one-way cruise on NCL? How much is that?
Mark Faldmo:So the northbound on NCL. This is a cruise between Vancouver and Whittier and it's a May 5th departure and I chose this one because of the inside price. The inside price starts at $699 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's a hundred bucks a day. That is so good.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, that's so good to see that. This one visits Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait and the glacier is Hubbard Glacier. Now, one of the things I like about one-way cruises is generally they visit two glacier fields. So, like Glacier Bay and College Fjord, this particular one has a better price. It only visits one glacier, which is Hubbard Glacier, but it does add an extra port of Icy Strait, which is not typical.
Mark Faldmo:And then the third type of cruise, which is a cruise tour. That's where you take either a northbound or southbound cruise and it combines with a cruise tour in the interior of Alaska. So this cruise tour is nine days, May 11th, on Holland America and cruise portion is a northbound. So Vancouver it goes, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord. So those are the two glacier fields. The cruise port ends in Whittier and then from there you go to Denali National Park, spend a night in Denali or near Denali National Park and then two nights in Fairbanks, Alaska, before you come home. If you want to see the interior of Alaska, a cruise tour is a great way to do that. I particularly like doing it where you have a northbound cruise and then the land tour, because you kind of work your way into Alaska and you end with Denali. You end with that interior of Alaska and the last cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe:I thought this was kind of funny the alaska repo cruise, yeah what do you have?
Mark Faldmo:a boat come in and you know take the NCL ship. Take the NCL yeah so no, so this repo crew short for reposition cruise. So they typically do these at the beginning or end of the season. They're just to get their ships positioned correctly because, since they need an international port, they need to. Depending on where the ship's coming from, they need to reposition it to a different port. This is a May 13th date. It's a four-day cruise between Vancouver and Seattle and it just goes Vancouver to Ketchikan, stay at sea back to Seattle.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, you just man. Even that sounds great.
Mark Faldmo:I've done this cruise before and I love it. It's shorter, but you do get that Alaska experience. The reason why I chose this is because the balcony cabins start $439 for a person.
Patrick Wiscombe:Wow.
Mark Faldmo:I'm not even going to mention the inside cabin, because the inside cabin is only $20 less than the balcony.
Patrick Wiscombe:So just do the balcony yeah, do that. We got to take a break here To book Alaska cruise. Now I know you've been listening to the show for a year. We put on the air for over a year. I promise you will not be disappointed with Alaska. If you want the sure thing that everyone in the family is going to enjoy Alaska is it? You can just agree on that period. Call Mark in his office, get these booked. These are phenomenal offers. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717 to book your Alaska cruise. He's open Monday through Friday. You will not be disappointed, in fact. 888-17 to book your Alaska cruise. He's open Monday through Friday. You will not be disappointed, in fact, once you go, we're inviting you on the show. You just have an open invitation. Tell us how it went. 888-718-7717.
Patrick Wiscombe:When we come back it's the last segment of the show. Already We've got Mark's travel tips. We've got some additional travel news that we need to share with you. Mark is going to talk about four things that he would pay for on a cruise. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show continues Alongside Mark Faldmo. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. We will be right back.
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Show Voice:This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by blueplanetvacations. com America's best travel advisors. Call the show right now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And now your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Final segment of this week's Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show segment of this week's Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe and if you are just catching the last segment of the show, all we do is talk about travel, and if you need to re-listen to any of the show that's already been on the air, may I ask you to go to InsideTravelTalk. com. Insidetraveltalk. com and you can find us on all of the major podcast platforms, but InsideTravelTalk. com will direct you to all of the platforms so you don't have to go search for it. Coming up in this final segment of the show, mark came up with this idea about four things that he would pay for on a cruise, and we're going to talk about that here in this segment, but before we do, let's finish up with the travel news of the week.
Mark Faldmo:If you love passport stamps? Well, Europe has got some bad news for you. What's the bad news? Europe is implementing, on November 10th of this year, a new automated entry and exit system. So they are no longer going to stamp your passport when you come in and out of the European Union, so they're just going to use biometric data fingerprints, facial recognition and cross-reference that with your passport. They say it will save travelers time, because standing in line to get your passport stamped does take time. So they say this will save time because you'll basically be able to walk through with this biometric data. And then it also helps the European Union identify overstayers, which is a problem in a lot of countries, People that come in and overstay a tourist visa or a tourist entry. I should say so an overstayer.
Patrick Wiscombe:An overstayer, yeah, I have good news on this front, mark. You remember when you and I were flying to Florida in April, fort Lauderdale and yours truly was filling out the global entry application. Well, guess what's coming up this month? In about 10 days, I finally have my global entry application. Well, guess what's coming up this month? In about 10 days, I finally have my global entry interview, Niki and I yeah, it's about time.
Mark Faldmo:That'll be great when you get that. Yep.
Patrick Wiscombe:So let's talk about the things to know about global entry.
Mark Faldmo:There are some tips and tricks for global entry and this is an article I found. That's from the points guy, who has lots of good travel information, and these are his tricks. A lot of credit cards will give you a free credit for global entry, so they will pay for all or part of your global entry as part of the perk of the credit card.
Mark Faldmo:That's a good perk. So I have that, you know the Delta Reserve card. I think you have the Delta Reserve card, I do as well. So after you've been a member for a year, they will either provide your TSA pre-check fee or your global entry fee. The other thing is, as you just talked about, your global entry fee, interview appointment, which is probably one of the most frustrating parts of the program. Oh, yeah, can take I mean, you did that in May and you're just getting your appointments now in October. A few tips for that If you have an international trip, you can do your interview upon arrival back to the U?
Mark Faldmo:S. So if you're coming through customs, you can ask for your global entry interview and they'll do it right there. Other things is is you can sign up for an email which will tell you hey, if you chose, for instance, salt Lake as your interview site, they will let you know when spots have opened up for that to get it done earlier. But again, that is probably one of the most frustrating parts of global entry is the time it takes to get your interview. And then another tip for your interview make sure you bring your passport with you. The interview should take about 10 to 15 minutes, although mine have lasted less than five. When I've done it, and then after your interview, your global entry will be active right then, but you'll receive your card in about 10 days.
Patrick Wiscombe:Good to know I would have forgotten the passport, so thank you for telling me that.
Mark Faldmo:Global entry is easy to use Nowadays. At most airports it's just a facial recognition. You basically walk past a kiosk. It scans your face and then lets you through, which makes it nice. There are some older kiosks where you actually have to scan your passport and then it prints you a ticket, but most are now just scanned your face and lets you walk through.
Patrick Wiscombe:If you have an iPhone and you're familiar with Face ID, that's pretty much what it is. Yeah, it takes about that long too. Maybe slightly longer but not much.
Mark Faldmo:Another perk for global entry is it also does give you TSA pre-check.
Patrick Wiscombe:So yes, I forgot about that.
Mark Faldmo:That's a great perk with global entry. A lot of people do ask should I get TSA pre-check or global entry? And my thing is if you take one or two international trips a year, I would get global entry yes. Or two international trips a year, I would get global entry? Yes, Because then you get the pre-check for all your domestic trips. Plus, you get that expedited screening through with your global entry.
Patrick Wiscombe:Google Wallet is adding the ability to store passports. This idea I love.
Mark Faldmo:That's a great thing to store your passport on your phone. They've added the Real ID compliant driver's licenses. Now, for the states that have that, you can add those to your Google Wallet. It just makes another place so that if you misplace your physical passport, it makes it easier to get your passport renewed and you have it in a secure place on your phone.
Patrick Wiscombe:What's with this Delta Digital ID?
Mark Faldmo:have it in a secure place on your phone. What's with this Delta digital ID? To be eligible for the digital ID, you have to be a SkyMiles member and you have to be enrolled in pre-check or global entry in this case. And so digital ID and they're testing at a few airports. I've actually been able to do this at JFK airport and I've been able to do it at Los Angeles airport. It's a separate line that you go through, so there's a TSA pre-check line and then there's a regular line, there's a clear line and then there's a digital ID line which is basically kind of like how we talked about global entry. You basically just walk through. It just scans your face, matches it all up with everything and lets you through, and then it's kind of like a fast pass to the TSA pre-check, let's you skip to the front of that line.
Patrick Wiscombe:If you're the kind of person that just hates lines and I don't know really anybody that just says, oh, I love lines, this is a time saver If time is more important than money do what we're talking about. You saw an article and I know that you're going to agree with the things that are in this article, but four things that you, mark Faldmo, would pay for on a cruise. What?
Mark Faldmo:are those four things? The first thing is a pre-cruise stay to stay a night or two before your cruise leaves in that port destination. I always recommend this in case your flight is canceled, delayed. It just gives you some peace of mind before you go, and it's always nice to see the destination that you're cruising out of. Let's take Europe, for instance. Your cruise leaves from Rome. If you fly in, you don't get to see Rome. The next thing that this article mentioned was onboard spa treatments. I'm not as much of a spa person, but I know you spent a lot of time in the spa. You paid for a room that gave you access to the spa and some of its services.
Patrick Wiscombe:In 24 hours. I spent eight hours in there. I was in there a lot. That thermal spa was spectacular.
Mark Faldmo:The next thing is specialty dining. Cruises do come with their meals in the dining room, can always get meals in the buffet. I like the specialty dining because it offers you a little bit more personalized service, a little bit less crowded, a little bit less rushed. So I do like the specialty dining. The food is great all over the ship, but there are some things you know, like in the steakhouse they have aged steaks. A little bit more upgraded menus in the specialty dining.
Mark Faldmo:And the next thing shore excursions. Some people think the shore excursions are too expensive and so they'll just get off the ship and walk around, which in some ports is okay. But I'd recommend choosing one or two ports, if not all of the ports, and choose an excursion that really excites you. I would add one more thing to this list. I'd add a fifth thing, which is upgrade to a balcony cabin. Yes, there are a lot of people that say I don't spend a lot of time in my cabin, so an inside cabin is fine. And there are some people that love inside cabins because they can sleep better. You know no outside light, for different reasons, but I always think it's worth it to upgrade to a balcony. I have a hard time now cruising in anything lower than a balcony. I love to just sit on the balcony and for those people that do say they wouldn't spend a lot of time in their cabin anyway, if you get a balcony you spend more time in it and I think you enjoy your cruise better.
Patrick Wiscombe:I cannot believe how fast this last hour went. If you're interested in going on a cruise and we've talked about the Alaska cruises in the last segment call Mark in his office. We also talked about going to Europe. We talked about cruising on clipper ships. It is an amazing, amazing time to go cruising and the deals that we offer this week really are spectacular. Call Mark in his office. He's there Monday through Friday 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717.
Patrick Wiscombe:You can listen to the show again tomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11 am, right here on 860 KKAT. And if you want or need to listen to the show again, you can download and subscribe to the podcast version of this show on InsideTravelTalk. com. We're on all of the major podcast platforms and while you're at it, may I ask you to subscribe and leave us a five-star review please. It really does help us get traction with the podcast platform. So, thank you. Now it's your turn. Get out, explore the world while you can, because you never know what curveballs life is going to throw at you, and you know what I'm talking about is going to throw at you, and you know what I'm talking about. Live your life deliberately, live your life intentionally and just remember today is a good day for a good day, have a great week.
Show Voice:We'll talk to you next Saturday and Sunday morning. 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.