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
Undiscovered Destinations: Serbian Surprises, Polynesian Adventures & Panama's Hidden Gems
Embark on a journey with me, Mark Faldmo, as I reveal how travel can transform your view of the world by stepping off the beaten path. What if your next adventure took you to places you've never even considered, like the culturally rich Novi Sad in Serbia or the serene fjords of Montenegro? Discover how these less-traveled destinations can offer a profound experience far removed from the crowds of Paris and London. I’ll share my unique voyage aboard the Aranui, where the fusion of a cruise and cargo ship provided an eye-opening adventure through the Marquesas Islands, offering an authentic taste of French Polynesia’s untouched beauty.
But the adventure doesn't stop there. Venture with me to the enchanting islands of the South Pacific, where the cultural richness of traditional Polynesian life promises unforgettable memories. We’ll also explore Panama's vibrant blend of history and modern charm, from the iconic Panama Canal to indigenous villages, and I'll give you the inside scoop on the best places to stay. Feel the wind in the sails aboard the Star Clippers, where the atmosphere is more akin to a close-knit family gathering than a typical cruise, redefining the way we connect with fellow travelers and the world around us. Join me for an inspiring journey that challenges the norm and reveals the hidden gems waiting to be discovered.
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. On today's show we're going to talk about vacationing in Panama and tall ship sailing on the Star Clipper. Let's start the show.
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.
Show Voice:Travel deals and offers change constantly and are capacity controlled and subject to change without notice. Explore your world. It's the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. And now here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Mark Faldmo:Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. My name is Mark Faldmo. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and listen to the show this week. The entire purpose of this show is to help you plan and book your next vacation. Our tagline is Explore your World, and we hope to give you some ideas on where your next vacation could be. The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show is sponsored by BluePlanetVacations. com. This week the show is shortened from our normal length due to the holidays. If you're listening on the radio, you'll hear a replay of the first 30 minutes and the second half of the hour. Also, Patrick is unable to be here this week, but we're able to talk earlier this week and have a discussion on why we travel and some unique travel destinations. Let's listen to that segment.
Patrick Wiscombe:I know that we wanted to talk about how travel opens minds. This has been my experience. When you're home, you kind of have your own world of things. You know, you drive to work, you podcast, you kind of make the world kind of small that when you go out and travel you see just how amazing humans are and how travel opens minds. And I want to talk, to have you talk, about some of your travel experiences and how that's taken place for you.
Mark Faldmo:As long as I can remember, you know, I've been traveling. I'm third generation and in the business in the business. So you know, I've grown up, my grandparents started it, my parents and you know I've just always traveled. I've kind of taken some of those experiences for granted, but just as a child, being able to experience new customs, new cultures, you know, it really is something that I'm a proponent of you know, trying to help people.
Mark Faldmo:You know like the tagline of our podcast is explore your world. Help people to get out there and experience new cultures, which I think is very important to do.
Patrick Wiscombe:I don't think you realize this, that I'm going to hit you cold right now, that when you start talking about cruising in Eastern Europe, Serbia, I don't think you realize just how your face lights up. You really do get excited about that stuff.
Mark Faldmo:It is very unique and important experiences in my life.
Patrick Wiscombe:You've been talking about Eastern Europe and Serbia. I guess the former Yugoslavia man that dates us just a little bit. But Serbia, bosnia and Herzegovina, that was something special. So instead of going to Paris, going to London, that you actually went to Eastern Europe, that was pretty interesting for you.
Mark Faldmo:And that kind of plays into another kind of story that's in travel now is over tourism. You know there are a lot of places you know, like Venice for instance, that has been cruise ships of certain sizes. You know some places just are really experiencing over tourism. So how do we combat that?
Patrick Wiscombe:Now, when you say over tourism, you're literally talking about too many people going to the same place.
Mark Faldmo:Correct Too many people going to the same place. You know, as Americans, you know we think of Rome, Venice, Paris, London. If we think of going to Europe, that's probably where we go. But there are other places, for instance, Novistad in Serbia, one of the most fascinating European cities I've ever visited.
Patrick Wiscombe:What was?
Mark Faldmo:it. I mean just, it was a medieval city that had, you know, all of the same things that you find in other European cities. There was nobody there, it was just a unique experience that had the history. Now it has different history. You know, the Eastern European history is different, but just fascinating. You know, another one is Montenegro, which is in that same area, you know, taking a cruise up and it's called Europe Southern Fjord, and you cruise up this fjord, it's actually a sunken river bed and you end in this little town at the end. What boat were you on that?
Patrick Wiscombe:was Norwegian.
Mark Faldmo:Oh was it I was on NCL, but a lot of cruise lines go there. Think of some of these other unique out of the box places, so that you know you don't, I guess, overcrowd other places. And some of those places when there's lots of people there, like Venice, is almost not fun to visit. You know, I tell people, if you're going to go to visit to Venice, stay overnight. In the day it's crowded and at night it is a wonderful place.
Patrick Wiscombe:I think we talked about that last week or the week before A couple of weeks ago.
Mark Faldmo:There are lots of unique places that you don't think of.
Patrick Wiscombe:The first episodes when we were on the air or on the podcast that you were talking about the Aranui cruise ship. Aranui is the name of the cruise line, I think yes, and how it was half freighter or a third freighter, and then I forgot what the combination was. But basically it was a cruise ship and a freighter, because you're out in the middle of nowhere.
Mark Faldmo:So you know again, this is another fabulous experience in exploring another culture. So this leaves from Papeete in French Polynesia, Tahiti, and it's literally half cruise ship and half container ship. Fantastic, because you go to these islands, these small islands in the Marquesas Islands. You deliver freight Well, you don't do it, the boat's delivering freight. You go out and see the island, experience the culture. All the locals cook you a you know we would call it a luau here, you know. So you go out and have the roasted pig from the ground and just local traditional lunch. They put on traditional dances. Just amazing to immerse yourself in that culture that very few people get to go to. One of the islands that I went to has reminded me a lot of the island of Kauai in Hawaii, Green tropical, but there were only 300 people that lived on that island. Oh, and so that's the kind of difference and experience you get Untouched South Pacific islands.
Patrick Wiscombe:Was it a little unsettling, just a little bit, just to be that remote it was a little bit, you know, but also exciting at the same time because you are out there on these remote islands.
Mark Faldmo:I think the largest one we visited had a population of maybe 1,500, 2,000 people. That's not a lot of people. You just go all the locals that really aren't so-called shore excursions. All the locals show up in their king cab pickup trucks and you stick four of you in and they drive you around the island.
Patrick Wiscombe:It's just a train of that's the bus so yeah, so you know again very interesting I can see some old Dotsons, Nissans king cab yeah so, and you know that Polynesian culture is one that's near and dear to me and my family.
Mark Faldmo:I love going to the Pacific Islands and experiencing that.
Patrick Wiscombe:That is one thing that I've consistently heard from you and your dad. I wish listeners could see the softness in your eyes. You really do love that Polynesian people.
Mark Faldmo:Now let's talk about another unique destination. This week I received a call from a client that wants to go to Panama and he was wondering where to stay, and client that wants to go to Panama and he was wondering where to stay and what there was to do in Panama. You know, panama is a unique destination. We've talked a lot about on this show about Costa Rica. There are two fairly similar destinations, but Panama has some uniqueness, especially because of the Panama Canal. You know a lot of people think of visiting Panama by doing a Panama Canal cruise, but if you go there just as a vacation, it is a wonderful destination spot, and here are some of the things that you can do in Panama. One of my favorite things to do is visit the Canal Museum. This is a museum that talks about the building of the Panama Canal. It also has a viewing station where you can go watch the ships go through the locks. It's fascinating how they move the ships through the locks and this definitely should be on your list of things to do when visiting Panama. Another thing is Monkey Island. This is out in Lake Gatun, which is the lake in between the locks. You can go out on boat and visit islands that are just filled with monkeys. Pretty interesting thing to do. One of my favorite things is Old Panama City. There's the new city that has tall skyscrapers and you go into the old city which is kind of perched a little bit up on a hill. You can look across the bay to the new city. Just has a really colonial atmosphere, really good restaurants. Old Panama City is something definitely worth visiting. Probably one of the most unique things you can do in Panama is visit indigenous villages. You go by canoe to these villages, villages and they teach you all about the village life. The one thing in Panama is there still are several native indigenous tribes and to visit them, experience their culture, learn their way of life, is pretty fascinating. And then another unique thing is the Gamboa Aerial Tram We've talked about a similar experience in Costa Rica and this is a tram that goes up through the rainforest. You see the wildlife, the different levels of the canopy and learn about the rainforest, how it works and how to preserve that. Now we can transition to where to stay.
Mark Faldmo:In Panama there really are kind of two areas to stay. One is the city, which is in the city with the skyscrapers. The other is the beach area, and this is where you'll find a lot of the all-inclusive hotels in Panama, and actually my favorite places to stay are not in these two places. There's kind of a transition area as you're going from the city to the beach, and it's in an area called Bonita. My favorite place to stay there is the Dreams Playa Bonita, and also on that beach is the Westin Playa Bonita.
Mark Faldmo:I did a quick look for a five-night package from Salt Lake City this is departing fairly close in February 12, 12th staying at the Dreams Playa Bonita, which is a five-star the cost of airfare transfers hotel and the all-inclusive is $1939 per person. And then the other hotel on that list was the Westin Playa Bonita, which is a four-star. It's not all-inclusive, but you can upgrade to a meal package, and that one starts at $1659 per person. One other hotel that I'd like to point out is the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve.
Mark Faldmo:This is a hotel that is out on Gamboa Lake. This actually used to be the officer's club when the US military controlled the canal zone, and so they've converted this to a four-star resort like the Westin. It's not all-inclusive, but you can upgrade to a meal package, and that starts at $16.59 per person. Again, that was February 12th for five nights. Panama is just a wonderful kind of not-thought-of destination to visit. There's a lot of history there, a place I would highly recommend to add to your bucket list or future vacation plans. Well, that'll do it for the first segment of the show. We'll be back in just a minute to talk about star clippers and tall ships sailing around the world.
Show Voice: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 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700.
Ad Voice:Thanks for listening. We'll be right back. For over 30 years, star Clippers has offered unique, authentic tall-ship sailing experiences featuring creative itineraries throughout the Mediterranean Caribbean and Central America.
Show Voice:To book your unique Star Clipper sailing adventure, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com now back to the inside travel talk podcast and radio show presented by blue planet vacations dot 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 inside travel talk dot com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Mark Faldmo:Welcome back to segment two of the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. My name is Mark Faldmo. We're glad you're with us Now. A few weeks ago, Patrick had the opportunity to interview Beth Lindsley-Elwood from Star Clippers. Star Clippers is a passenger sailing ship one of the most unique experiences that I've had in cruising. Let's listen to the interview with Patrick and Beth.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let me introduce to our listeners Beth Lindsley-Elwood with Star Clippers. Thank you so much for coming on the show. How are you? I've been really excited to talk to you. I love that. Mark has brought this up to me a few times that when he sailed on Star Clippers he could not say enough good things about his experience.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:Nothing gladdened my heart more, Patrick, and I don't know if I shared this with you, but nothing gladdened my heart more, Patrick, and I don't know if I shared this with you, but nothing gladdened my heart more than when Mark sailed with us and I found out that he, through my boss, terry, that he was loving it so much and that he was posting while he was on board, he was posting on social media, et cetera. You know, I was just like yes.
Patrick Wiscombe:How did you get started with Star Clippers?
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:I signed with the company and never stepped on board the ship. They put me on board the ship eight weeks later and about the second or third day on board I stopped myself and I was thinking I've got to figure out why I love this so much. And I was thunderstruck when I realized that I was relaxed and I have never relaxed, even on personal vacations or whatever. So when people say, oh yeah, I'm relaxing, have a good time, they don't know it until they really get on board, understand what no lines, no crowds, very few decisions, all those stress points of a typical vacation literally just peel away. It's astounding.
Patrick Wiscombe:You met Nikki, my wife right.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:I did, you did Okay.
Patrick Wiscombe:I thought you did. We were literally just talking about this. It's our 30 wedding anniversary.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:Come on, Patrick.
Patrick Wiscombe:You should know that Hold on 32nd wedding anniversary. Okay, I said love, we have to go do this. And I showed her the website. She goes oh, that is different. And I said yeah, that's why we're going to go do it. I am going to book it for Mark.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:Okay.
Patrick Wiscombe:When would you book and when would you sail?
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:Well, putting it in perspective, we are open for sale through October of 2025, which includes the entire Mediterranean season, and if you don't jump on it now, you're not going to get the ship, the sale date and the cabin category and availability that you want, because as soon as our new brochure comes out, give us another week or two, maybe three max stuff will start flying off the shelf, but Royal will always sell first and her deluxe accommodations will always sell first, so there's stuff that's already moved on. Some of the best sale dates Is the Royal, the ship. The Royal Clipper is the flagship of the fleet. Okay, but back to your original question. I always say travel when you want to travel. I say go when you want to go and are able to go, because there's different parts of the season and don't try to outguess the weather. So I really do mean that. The seasonality, though, is such that more people are starting to book shoulder season tending to A for the crowds, and or B, perhaps not as hot.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:When we launch the new brochure in another one to three weeks, wherever that is, we're also going to open for sale through March of 26. Oh, wow. So not only do we have December 24 through March of 25 open. We're going to be opening December 25 through March of 26. And, as Beyonce would say, if you see it and you like it, put the ring on it. Okay, yep, that's the response that I wanted, but people get it when I say that and I really, really mean that, because two ships only have 83 staterooms and one ship has 114. And we have a lot of repeat guests that know that.
Patrick Wiscombe:What is your favorite thing about Star Clippers? Like the first thing that comes to mind.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:Family. I step on board. They know me, they are my family. I feel like I'm home. There's nothing odd or anything that I feel. You know, it's like I'm here, I'm home, this is where I want to be. My husband felt that way. He sailed the first time with me in October of 22. And that was the multi-coasted Sicily. Yeah, so it really connects with people.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:I went on board knowing very, very, very little. You know, I knew when to show up, but I just knew I had cruised before. I know how to get myself to the port, I know how to open a house account, I know cruising. What I didn't know was experience of sailing and just feeling. And again, that's why I had to stop myself second or third day in, because people are easy to get to know and to talk to. There are no lines, crowds, the stress points are gone.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:It is the coolest feeling to be out on deck, whether you're there with others and you're in your own little world, or you're out early in the morning, for example, where you're essentially alone and the sails are flapping, whether it's one sail, three sails, four sails, whatever, and the serenity that surrounds you between the sky and the sea and just being there is phenomenal. And I don't know how else to say it, Patrick, except that I did not know I needed sails. S-a-i-l-s. Everybody needs sails. Wow, it's very, very freeing and that's again, it's very part and parcel to the casual, relaxed atmosphere we have on board, which is exactly what people appreciate. We're not out there hawking anything. If you want a cocktail, if you want a mocktail. Just go to the Tropical Bar. There's nobody on deck that's going to come around. But we do announcements, maybe midday from the captain or if something really exciting is going on, the cruise director will get on. We're essentially announcement-free. Unbeknownst to me.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:Dinner, I knew, was from 7.30 to 10, and I was by myself and it was the very first night on board and I thought I'm just not going to be one of those people that shows up exactly at 7.30. I'll just come down a little. Before eight o'clock the entire dining room was already filled. It was astounding to me, and what I learned was the dining rooms hold the entire complement of the ship. People come in after having an amazing day, whether it's first day on board, or whether it's into the sailing, where you've been at the beach, or you've been on a shore excursion, or you've been out doing your own thing in port. There's no one rushing you. It's a great meal. We have Michelin trained chefs and people relax and they regale their day. And what I found out on that sailing 50% of our guests were repeat. So Med is our most popular and that's why all three ships are there for a very, very long season. It's certainly the most popular for us. And then we move the ships according to the weather.
Patrick Wiscombe:When you say Med, you mean Mediterranean, okay.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:People are lovely, it's like-minded people that are curious, people that want to see the world. It's people that don't want the crowds. They don't even know we're out there. So that's why we work extra hard in terms of introducing the brand, so that they know and understand that there's a different journey out there than what you see in all the ads, which is generally big ship. But so many cruisers move from, you know, when their first cruise experience was generally on a broad market brand through the years into a smaller ship experience, whether it's all inclusive, six star, six star plus or whether it's a premium brand like ourselves. But they come to learn and understand. You know what. I don't need all the bells and whistles. I don't need to be entertained 24-7. I want to do and have and whatever. So we're not inclusive on purpose and that means if you want a short excursion, purchase it on board. If you want a spa treatment or massage, you sign up for it on board. We keep pricing for beverages, so we don't even offer beverage packages. Not everybody drinks. Not everybody wants $75 a day to have to pay for all these things. I mean you don't drink 24-7. Most people don't.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:I spend quite a bit of time on introducing the smooth sailing concept, because I Insider Tips suggests refer to us as sailing or authentic sailing, or unique sailing adventures, something with sailing, not a typical cruise. If you and I say cruise, it goes completely the other direction. They're going to have a perception of what we should look like, what we should offer, what my cabin looks like. It just is in the wrong direction. So when you say sailing, what happens is then you get. This is all they can think of is that catamaran ride that they took in the Caribbean or that sailboat or boating experience that they had in Catalina Island or San Francisco Bay.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:So I do spend time both on the consumer and the advisor side speaking to the largesse of the ships, how they're built, how they actually move through the water and just simply the fact that we're small enough that we don't have to. We can hug coastlines, we can just drop anchor. We don't have to be in a big port, we don't have a casino on board, so we don't have to be in international waters. So I spend quite a bit of time comforting them and kind of just overcoming some of that fear of wow, introduce a ship that's either a football field long, end zone to end zone or a football field and a half long.
Beth Lindsley Ellwood:All of a sudden the perception starts to change and when you describe the movement because it's built like a sailboat, it's not a cruise ship with a shallow hull that sits on top of the water. A sailboat has a draft. So we're 18 and a half feet down in the water, held by the keel. So the movement is more like sitting in a rocking chair where you sit down and then we're cutting through and moving forward through the water, which means that again it's the soothing forward and backward word type of movement. It's not the side by side that they think about.
Patrick Wiscombe:I didn't even think about that. It comes up right away, so through the water rather than bobbing on top of the water.
Mark Faldmo:And thank you, Patrick, for that interview. Star Clippers has a really great special going on right now. If you're interested in doing one of the tall ships around the world Right now, everyone can enjoy a 10% discount off of their cruise and if you're new to Star Clippers, you'll get an additional 5% off. So that's a and if you're new to Star Clippers, you'll get an additional 5% off. So that's a total discount. If you're new to Star Clippers, of 15%, or if you've sailed on Star Clipper, you'll get 10% off. Star Clippers sells various destinations around the world. They sail in the Caribbean, central America, eastern and Western Mediterranean and then some specialty cruises through the Panama Canal different ocean voyages One of the most unique experiences you can have in cruising. Well, that'll do it for this week's show of Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Tune in next week and we'll get you some more travel deals and travel information.
Show Voice: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. That's 888-718-7717. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.
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