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
Seamless Journeys: Panama Canal Cruises, Hawaiian Wonders & 121-Day World Cruise Adventures
Imagine unlocking the secrets to seamless travel with our latest podcast episode. Discover what the Korean Air acquisition of Asiana Airlines means for your future adventures, particularly if you're dreaming of an Asian getaway with enhanced access from Salt Lake City. We also spotlight Frontier Airlines' Go Wild Pass for 2025, a tantalizing offer for frequent flyers itching for unlimited travel. Plus, get the scoop on the highly anticipated revamp of Waikiki's Rainbow Tower, setting the stage for a refreshed Hawaiian escape.
For those with a passion for natural wonders and travel transformations, we've got you covered. Get an inside look at the dramatic Kilauea eruption on Hawaii's Big Island—an experience best captured from above on a helicopter tour. While the Volcano National Park Visitor Center is temporarily closing for updates, the park's incredible landscape remains fully accessible. Plus, we discuss the new U.S. government rule clamping down on hotel junk fees, a move set to streamline and simplify your travel budgeting.
Join us as we navigate the globe aboard MSC Cruise Lines' extraordinary 121-day world cruise itinerary, spanning an impressive 25 countries. Whether you're curious about the nuances of Panama Canal cruises or eager to hear about the latest cruise ships debuting in 2025, we've got the insights you need. From upcoming adventures on the MSC Poesia repositioning cruise to Disney's enticing travel deals, this episode is packed with options to inspire your next journey.
It is time for the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Coming up. On today's show we're going to be talking about Panama Canal cruises, two Disney offers and our favorite trips and vacations. Let's start the show. 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:Helping you plan your next vacation. This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call us now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Serving up the world to our listeners. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Mark Faldmo will be here in just a minute and, as I mentioned just before we started this show, we're going to be talking about Panama Canal cruises, Disney offers and, of course, our favorite trips or vacations. We want to thank you for taking the time to stop and listen, and the entire purpose of this show, if you've never heard it before. We want to thank you for taking the time to stop and listen, and the entire purpose of this show, if you've never heard it before, is to help you plan and book your next vacation. And if you have no idea where to go, our job is pretty simple it is to give you ideas of where you want to vacation next, and Mark and I are presented by BluePlanetVacations. com and Mark. It is hard to believe as you enter the studio. I cannot believe that we are starting season three of the podcast. It's unbelievable to me.
Mark Faldmo:Yep, season three, we just keep going. Show gets better as we keep going.
Patrick Wiscombe:As we start the podcast, let's start with the travel news headlines. I saw a story that Korean Air has acquired, or is acquiring, a majority stake in Asiana Airlines. When did that happen?
Mark Faldmo:This happened in mid-December. Korean Air is taking over or purchasing Asiana Airlines, which is going to enhance their route network in Asia. A few weeks ago, we talked about Delta Airlines starting a new flight from Salt Lake City to Seoul, Korea, and Korean Air is a SkyTeam member. So this acquisition of Asiana is really going to help us here in Salt Lake when going to Asia and around about the way, even though these are two airlines based in South Korea. For us here in Salt Lake and for those listeners in Salt Lake, it's going to really open up more of Asia.
Patrick Wiscombe:I can get behind this idea, mark, maybe Frontier Airlines that's the pause in my voice. Frontier Airlines is selling an all-you-can-fly pass for 2025. I'm curious to know how much it is. But it is Frontier Airlines, which is why I kind of went. Maybe I can get behind this.
Mark Faldmo:This is the second year in a row that they're doing this. The pass's name is called the Go Wild Pass. It's $499, which is discounted from the typical price of $699. It will give you unlimited flights between May 1st 2025 and April 30th 2026. Okay, now here's the terms and conditions. So you can book it all the way up until one day prior to flight, but you don't get any included luggage, both carry on and checked luggage. You don't get an assigned seat, so that's all done. Basically, when you're boarding the flight, so, you're going to get the middle seat.
Mark Faldmo:You'll probably get the middle seat and it's an included pass, but I think by law they have to charge something for it. So the cost of each flight is one cent plus any government taxes and fees.
Patrick Wiscombe:When you and I travel together on business, I travel pretty light. You've seen that I just basically bring a backpack and it's got everything in there. Laptop, everything, clothes, etc. I can't even bring that, or they're going to charge me for it. You'd have to pay for it.
Mark Faldmo:They will charge you for it.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh boy.
Mark Faldmo:I know someone that worked in San Francisco and they bought this pass because they were commuting two times a week between Salt Lake and San Francisco and it was well worth it. That's a short flight, middle seats are hard, but for an hour and 20 minutes it's not that bad. Yeah, it's not terrible, and if you're responsible to get yourself to and from work in another city, you know commuting a lot. This makes a lot of sense.
Patrick Wiscombe:You have traveled almost 4 billion miles. Would you consider doing this?
Mark Faldmo:I would consider it. I'd have to go really evaluate it on what my travel plans are. If you're just going, let's say, salt Lake City to the West Coast right now on Delta, you're paying $350 round trip, so this will cost you basically the cost of two round trip flights. Okay, now you'll have to pay other things on top of that, but if I was going to someplace that frontier flew that wasn't too long, I would definitely consider getting this Let me just ask you a follow-up question On Frontier Airlines, this all-you-can-fly pass is it good for international?
Mark Faldmo:It is. This is good anywhere in Frontier's route network. So Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, wherever they fly, this is valid. I might have to take a look at this. It automatically renews next year at the $699 rate unless you cancel it.
Patrick Wiscombe:Well, I know what Patrick's doing after the show. Yeah, I got to figure out how much a carry-on would be Carry-on is worth. Yeah, while I was gone for the last two weeks, you sent me this article that Waikiki's or, as Siri says, Waikiki, the iconic Rainbow Tower, is getting a renovation. What kind of plans do they have to renovate the place?
Mark Faldmo:The Hilton Hawaiian Village. They have several towers that you can stay in. The Rainbow Tower is the iconic one that everyone sees on the TV shows. You know Hawaii Five-0, magnum PI. They're completely renovating guest rooms and hallways within the structure. I think you stayed there about a year ago and it probably felt like it didn't need renovation, but they're going to really upgrade that even more than what it was, the hotel rooms were huge. That's one thing. At the Hilton Hawaiian Village, with the exception of one of the towers, they all have pretty large guest rooms. And then you look at the Rainbow Tower. It has large rooms plus great views of Diamond Head if you're on the right side, or the Marina if you're on the other side of that tower.
Patrick Wiscombe:You put us on the Diamond Head side. We had a high floor, we were up. What 20 stories, Something like that.
Mark Faldmo:I don't remember how tall it was, but we were up there a ways. That's probably my favorite hotel in Waikiki, so I'll be excited to see these renovated rooms.
Patrick Wiscombe:Always in this segment is the destination of the week and the question Mark was asked most often during the past few weeks what was Mark's most memorable vacation and why?
Mark Faldmo:And I actually liked answering this question because travel is such a good way to make memories, both with friends and family and make memories with yourself. Travel is such a good way to connect with the world. But I think my most memorable trip was a trip to Norway. It was a family trip. It was with aunts and uncles and some cousins and it was kind of a family history trip. So we've talked about on this show a few times. That's where my heritage is from, is Norway and Iceland. We can go to the family farm where my last name, Faldmo, comes from.
Mark Faldmo:We flew into Stockholm, Sweden, saw the sights of Stockholm, Sweden. If you're an ABBA fan, there's a great ABBA museum there. And then we got on an overnight train with sleeper cars. The train ride was about 36 hours. We went from Stockholm up to Narvik, Norway, which is in the Arctic Circle. That's where the Nazis first invaded Norway in World War II and so there's a Narvik under Nazi occupation museum which is fascinating Also there.
Mark Faldmo:We took a tram ride up to the top of a mountain at like 2 am and it was light as day. This was in early June, so we were almost 24 hours of sunlight. We went down to the ocean, swam in the ocean in the middle of the night in the Arctic Circle, and then we got on a bus and drove down the Norwegian coast to Oslo. Wow, it's a road and ferry system. We'd bus for a while, then the bus would get on a ferry and take you across the fjord or something. But that drive that first day out of Narvik I could not believe the scenery. It was so beautiful, just tall mountains shooting up from sea level. That part of the world in the Arctic Circle is just so beautiful.
Mark Faldmo:As we were driving down kind of a fun thing, you know, travel, some things don't go as planned Our bus broke down kind of in the middle of nowhere, oh boy, and so they called a public bus to come get us. They took us to a restaurant while our bus was being fixed, and I don't like tomatoes, but the only place this little rest stop had to offer was tomato soup. It was the best tomato soup I've ever had. I kind of crave that tomato soup.
Mark Faldmo:So after we got our bus fixed, we went down to Mohsen, which is about halfway down Norway. After we got our bus fixed, we went down to Mohsen, which is about halfway down Norway, and that's where my family is from. We went to some cemeteries. Like I mentioned earlier, we saw the family farm, which is on a great big waterfall on the river that runs behind the farm, and then we ended up in Oslo, Norway, and saw the sights there. That was about a two-week long trip. The memories that were made there, and especially to connect with some family heritage, was an amazing trip. So that's probably my most memorable trip.
Patrick Wiscombe:If I have to volunteer something, my first thought was going to Alaska and the way you describe, going down the Norwegian fjords where you're in the water and then these just gigantic mountains just shoot out of the water into the sky. And I still remember I can't remember if it was Ketchikan or wherever it was the boat just pulls up to the pier right there in Ketchikan and you're in the water. You get off the boat and then you're right next to a mountain in a train. It was unbelievable.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, and those memories are what makes travel worth it, I think. Oh, agreed, you know travel, as I mentioned a little bit earlier, that's my passion. I love to connect that and I love to help people connect with our world around us and with family and friends as they travel.
Patrick Wiscombe:Well, I think we've done our job in this segment in this segment. So if you have been inspired to either go to Norway, go to Alaska, wherever it is that you enjoy going, Mark can help you with that. Just call him in his office if you would please 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. When we come back, we've got more travel news of the week in segment number two. We've always got the hot travel deal of the week, regardless of the destination, and are we going to Disney on this one?
Mark Faldmo:We are. Our deal is going to be Disney, both Disney world and Disney cruise line.
Patrick Wiscombe:And we're talking 50% off for kids. That's just a little bit of a teaser. That is next with the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show continues Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be right back.
Show Voice:If you have travel questions, they have the answers. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by BluePlanetVacations. com. Call or text the show right now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. We'll be right back.
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Show Voice:Www. blueplanetvacations. com. Text the show now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at insidetraveltalk. com.
Patrick Wiscombe:Here's Patrick and Mark, it is the weekend. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Mark Faldmo is on the other end of this connection and you are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. If you're new to the show, first of all, thanks for stopping. If you're a longtime listener, our job is to help you plan and book your next vacation and to give you ideas of where to travel in our great world. Mark and I love to travel and we want to pass that passion on to our listeners. And if you have any travel related questions, call Mark in his office, 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717.
Patrick Wiscombe:We live in Utah and that means that there are lots of families that like to go to Disney, whether that be in Orlando, which I was there not too long ago. I bring that up because in this segment we've got the hot travel deal of the week and we're going to be talking about Disney deals free dining plans, 50% off kids. But before we get there, let's get to the travel headlines. This one's been developing for just a little bit, but there's a new Hawaiian volcanic eruption going on. Is it in? Not Kona? Where is it? Oh, it's the Big Island.
Mark Faldmo:Y eah, it's on the Big Island . It's volcano. Okay, all right. And this started erupting again last week and I've had a couple customers ask is this going to affect my vacation plans to Hawaii? In general, some volcanoes, like the volcanoes in Iceland or some of the ones in Asia where they kind of blow their top and there's a big ash plume the volcanoes in Hawaii do not ha ve that. Flights aren't affected unless it directly affects the airport. This is just a good chance to actually see a live volcano. There are several ways you can do this. The best way is by helicopter. If you're going to the big island in the next few weeks, book a helicopter ride and see if you can get a glimpse of the erupting volcano.
Patrick Wiscombe:So Nikki and I were there about 10 months ago. I really wish that we were headed over there right now, because I would love to watch a lava event.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, yeah, I remember I was young, early teenage years, and took a helicopter ride. This is when there was a big flow going into the ocean, so we went out and saw the flow going into the ocean, Even though the helicopter was a safe distance away.
Mark Faldmo:We were in one of the open air helicopters and you could feel the heat from the lava from the distance we were at You're kidding so it was fascinating as a child to see that and I've always wanted to go back. I've been to Hawaii probably 20, 30 times since then and I've never seen lava. Every time I go I always seem to be in between events.
Patrick Wiscombe:I guess that's a good thing. Yes, yeah, one of the things that just genuinely amazes me is that when it first comes out that some of these lava flows are fast I don't know how fast in terms of miles per hour, but you always think of lava as kind of creeping. But when it first erupts it can run like a river quick.
Mark Faldmo:It can yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe:Related to the Big Island. The visitor center on the Big Island, Hawaii's Volcano National Park, is going to close for renovation. It's kind of old. It does need some renovation.
Mark Faldmo:I've thought for years that it needs renovation and they finally are getting around to doing that. The Visitor Center will close on February 17th and it could take up to two years to complete. They've moved some of the exhibits to some of the other areas, but the park will remain open 24 hours a day during construction so you can still go see that. You just won't be able to go into the visitor center. It gets 1.5 million visitors a year and where they had the visitor center just couldn't handle the number of visitors they get. And in 2018, there was another kind of science center, the Yager Museum, which was irreparably damaged in the 2018 eruption. So they closed that and they actually have taken that building down and all the exhibits out. Once this new visitor center opens in about two years, I'm looking forward to seeing what they've done. Those exhibits and movies they have are always fascinating to me. I love how the national parks do that and really get you a good flavor of where you're visiting.
Patrick Wiscombe:By the way, the Big Island, since we're talking about it right now, geographically it is one of the most amazing islands I have ever seen in my life. The trip from Hilo over to Kona, kind of a east to west trip or kind of a east to southwest kind of trajectory that is some of the most breathtaking and weird geography I've ever seen in my life. It feels like you're on the moon, not that, I know what the moon is like.
Mark Faldmo:The big island it's probably my favorite island in Hawaii. That's because it has all the different climate zones. It has everything but Arctic and tundra. It has every other climactic zone in the world on that island.
Patrick Wiscombe:It was wild to be part of that. I saw a story that the US government is finalizing the hotel junk fee rule. This one I want to hear about.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, so we've been talking about this one probably ever since we've started this podcast and radio show. It finally was voted on, which this means that hotels they're trying to eliminate a lot of the bait and switch tactics that hotels use and they want people to know the full price when they're booking a trip. A lot of hotels used to advertise here's the rate plus taxes, but then when you get there, you have to pay a resort fee, you have to pay a convenience fee, you have all of these fees on top of what you thought you were getting.
Mark Faldmo:And so this was voted on in mid-December and it will take effect 120 days after that vote. So we're looking at April-ish Looking at April-ish when that's going to take place. And one thing that I found interesting and I'd like to see where they came up with these numbers, but the FTC estimates the rule will save consumers up to 53 million hours annually in wasted time spent on trying to find what the total price is, and it will save them more than $11 billion over the next decade.
Mark Faldmo:So I guess that's over 10 years, but I've never liked you show up somewhere. Oh, but you have to pay this, you have to pay that.
Patrick Wiscombe:It adds up quick too. Yeah, I am pro-capitalism, but good grief, come on.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, this is definitely a good rule, and they're doing similar things with the airlines as well. So, as we've talked about, we'll continue to stay on these types of stories that help make travel easier.
Patrick Wiscombe:Always in segment two of the show, we've got the hot travel deal of the week, regardless of the destination, and this week we're talking Disney.
Mark Faldmo:We've got two different offers for Disney. The first one is at Walt Disney World. They are bringing back their free dining program, so this has to be booked between January 2nd and February 10th. It is valid for most arrivals May 27th to June 26th and July 7th to August 6th.
Patrick Wiscombe:So okay. So there's a booking period and then there's a travel period, Then there's a travel period. Okay.
Mark Faldmo:And you can get the free dining when you purchase a non-discounted minimum three-night resort stay and three-day park pass. One more thing I should mention on this is there are two different dining plans and that's based on which level of hotel you're staying at at Disney. So the moderate, less expensive ones you get the quick service dining plan, which is two quick service meals, one snack and a refillable drink mug, or the dining plan which is one quick service meal, one table service meal and then one snack and one refillable mug, depending on which level of hotel you stay at. The more expensive ones you do get a little bit more. For the dining plan you get a sit-down meal rather than the quick service meals.
Patrick Wiscombe:We just talked about Walt Disney World. Let's talk about the Disney Cruise Line now.
Mark Faldmo:Over the last few years Disney Cruise Line, Disney World, Disneyland have all done offers for Disney Plus subscribers. So this particular one, you have to be a Disney Plus subscriber, but it's 50% off kids on select savings if you book by February 16th.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let me just ask you a basic question what is Disney Plus?
Mark Faldmo:So Disney Plus is their TV platform.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, Disney Plus, Hello Disney Plus. Yep, for some reason I had amusement park, like there was some kind of ticket level. Yeah, I know what Disney Plus is.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, nope, so yeah. So it's the Disney Plus. Okay, and some people might say 50% off kids. A lot of cruise lines are offering free kids, but even this, if you're a Disney Plus subscriber, or if you just subscribe to get this and you have two kids sailing with you, that could save you $1,000 on the cruise. Oh yeah, it is a good deal, and these offers that have come through over the years for Disney Plus subscribers have been pretty good, and I think this is another good one. So if you want to go on a Disney cruise and you're a Disney Plus subscriber and you have kids, this is an offer for you.
Patrick Wiscombe:And you can take care of anyone who wants to go to Disney, right, I can. So, as we go to break here, call Mark if you're interested in this particular offer. I can. So, as we go to break here, call Mark if you're interested in this particular offer. His office number is 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. And you can also see this offer on blueplanetvacations. com. And if you have any questions, just call Mark One more time on the phone number 888 718-7717.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, when we come back, the second half of the show is on the way. The next segment is only about cruising. It's our infamous just cruising segment and we are going to be talking about a 121 day cruise that will visit 25 countries. Warm up the credit card because, mark, this sounds amazing to be on a cruise for 121 days. Wait, what four months? A little over four months. And it has a fantastic itinerary too. Okay, we'll talk about that next. And, of course, we've always got the cruise deal of the week that is not 121 days long. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much, really for allowing this to be part of your weekend. We will be right back part of your weekend.
Show Voice:We will be right back. They've literally traveled millions of miles to answer your travel related questions. Yeah, they really have. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com. America's best travel advisors, Patrick and Mark, will be back after these messages.
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Patrick Wiscombe:Welcome back and thanks for listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Coming up. In the remaining 30 minutes of the show, mark and I will be talking about Panama Canal cruises and new cruise ships coming out in 2025. I love new cruise ships. Let's get back to the show. 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:Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com America's best travel advisors. Hit us up right now, 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe:All aboard for segment number three of the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show. This segment is only about cruising. We just simply call it the infamous Just Cruising segment and coming up here in this segment we're going to talk about Panama Canal cruises, which is one of Mark's favorite things to do, and new cruise ships coming out in 2025. Is this going to include I was reading something while I was on vacation that Is this MSC's World America ship. Is that one of them? That'll be one of the ships on the list. Yeah, man, that ship looks awesome and I'm so glad that you and I have that connection with Laura at MSC Cruises. She's just a good person and she is very, very amazing at what she does in the cruise industry. Anyway, we'll get to that here in a second. We've got the travel news headlines and we've got the cruise deal of the week. That is not 121 days, in fact. Let's just start there. Let's start with the 121 day cruise that will visit 25 countries. What I don't know is have they started booking it?
Mark Faldmo:They have, yeah this is open for booking as of about 10 days ago and this is for a departure date in 2027. So it's still two years off. They need some lead time to sell these. Oh sure, and these unique things also sell out pretty quick. It's round trip either Rome or Barcelona. Also sell out pretty quick. It's round trip either Rome or Barcelona. So starting either January 5th or January 8th 2027. This is on MSC Cruise Lines.
Patrick Wiscombe:You say January 2027. So we're two years out, basically Two years out, yep.
Mark Faldmo:Okay and we'll go over the itinerary in just a minute on this. But one thing that I find interesting in this is the cruise fare includes 15 short excursions per person, complimentary dining and drink, beverage package and a 30% discount on laundry service. I've not seen that offered on other cruise lines before. Where they're offering some short excursions and beverage package, usually those are upgrades. So overall a pretty good deal. Now it is fairly expensive, but you know, one thing we like to try and do here is find some of the unique things out there. This still price-wise, it starts at about $19999.
Patrick Wiscombe:$19999?. I'm like sign me up.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, so it starts at just under $20,000 per person, but when you do that math out, that's like $120 a day. Yeah, over four months that's a pretty good deal where you're getting meals, drinks, entertainment, some short excursions. With the new cruise regulations, that does include all of the taxes and fees, which, on this, I bet those are a hefty amount. The best part of this is the itinerary. We don't have a lot of time, but this has two places that are highlights for me. Starts in Rome, as I said, or you can get on a little bit later in Barcelona.
Patrick Wiscombe:If you had a choice, which one would you start out of?
Mark Faldmo:I probably would get on in Rome.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, me too.
Mark Faldmo:So it sails western Mediterranean ports, goes down to Gibraltar, Casablanca, and then it sails down across to the east coast of South America. There are several ports, but the main ones Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, and then it comes back around up to Valparaiso in Chile. And then this next segment, which is the South Pacific I think is the most interesting to me has a stop in Easter Island, has a stop Bounty Bay Passage, which we've talked about this before. It's the Pitcairn Islands, yep, where the crew of the Mutiny on the Bounty fled to. It's one of the most remote islands in the world. I've not been there. I have a nephew that's been there, one of the most beautiful Pacific islands you'll ever see. And then from there it goes to Tahiti, goes down to the Cook Islands, sails around New Zealand, goes to Tasmania, Sydney, and then sails up to Fiji, then to Hawaii, over to Los Angeles, does a Mexican Riviera, goes through the Panama Canal, some Caribbean ports and then back over to the Mediterranean and then again in either Rome or Barcelona.
Patrick Wiscombe:Wow, that is a world cruise.
Mark Faldmo:That is, and it has some fascinating ports. You know it has three places that are on my bucket list that I have not done, one being Ushuaia, and then Easter Island and Pit Carnes on there.
Patrick Wiscombe:What ship is this on? Who's the cruise company and what ship Do we know yet?
Mark Faldmo:This is on MSC. It's on the MSC. Musica is the name of the ship. Oh, that's a nice ship. Yeah, okay.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, yeah, that's one of their newer modern ships? I think it is.
Mark Faldmo:If it's the one I'm thinking of, yeah, it's one of their ships that came out in the I want to say about 2018, but I'm not sure. It's not one of the big mega ships, but it is one of their newer ships. That sounds amazing and and they can book that through you right, yes, yep, I can definitely get that booked if you're interested in that, or any world cruise for that matter.
Patrick Wiscombe:There is a shore excursions group and they're rolling out a thousand new shore excursion options, if I'm reading that correctly.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, so shore excursion group is a company that I work with quite closely. If you go to blueplanetvacations. com, there is a link on almost every cruise page where you can look at shore excursions. They're a third-party shore excursion provider. They do a great job. They now have over 4,000 tours in 300 ports.
Mark Faldmo:Wow, they've added a little over 400 tours in Europe, almost 300 in Australia, new Zealand and Alaska, and then also a little over 200 new experiences in the Caribbean. This is a company that I highly recommend. Usually we say it's safer to do the shore excursions through the cruise line, but you pay a lot more so shore excursion group is an alternative and they do have money back guarantee.
Mark Faldmo:They do have a return to ship policy that provides transportation meals and up to a thousand dollars per guest if they don't get you back to the ship in time. So they do have insurance in place if something was to happen. I've used them for some big cruise groups and they've handled all of my group well. I have a family where they arranged a private, well-watching tour in Cabo coming up in April and they do a really good job.
Patrick Wiscombe:If you want to text the show, because we do take texts during the week you can call or text us 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700 to text your question. Diane is texting the show and she's asking about Panama Canal cruises. This is a client question from your client, but she texted you.
Mark Faldmo:So she had six different questions that she asked and you know, I thought I thought these they're all really good questions. There's so much information out there on the Panama Canal. I've been lucky enough. I've done the Panama Canal a few times.
Patrick Wiscombe:Diane's first question is when is the best time to go see the Panama Canal on a cruise?
Mark Faldmo:I think the best time is in the late spring or late fall. This is when they're repositioning ships to and from different locations. There are Panama Canal cruises that go fairly frequently, but you'll get a better deal on these repositioning cruises when they're just trying to get them from point A to point B to start a new season somewhere, and those usually happen when they're trying to position ships from the Caribbean to go to Alaska or, vice versa, ships from Alaska going to the Caribbean for the winter season.
Patrick Wiscombe:Another one of the questions that she had is what direction, meaning east or west, should I choose? Should I do the full transit or the partial transit? I guess you better explain what the difference is.
Mark Faldmo:There are cruises. You can go to Miami, you can go to Florida and take a Panama Canal cruise that only goes through the Atlantic locks. That's a good way to see how the locks work, experience the canal, but I'd recommend a full transit. So this is one that goes from the Pacific to the Atlantic or vice versa. So you'd start on the East coast and in the West coast or vice versa. On that, if you do the partial transit, you miss the Gatun Cut, you miss what is the Panama Canal. You will experience going through the locks, but you'll miss what is the Panama Canal. You will experience going through the locks, but you'll miss what is the Panama Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe:All right. So full transit is what you're saying here. Yeah, Full transit. Diane is also asking should I get a balcony if I'm going to do a Panama Canal?
Mark Faldmo:cruise.
Mark Faldmo:I would say yes, because when you're going through the canal, you can go experience it on the front of the ship, you can experience it on deck, but watching from your balcony you get just as good of views of all of that.
Mark Faldmo:And then when you're cruising actually through the canal, through the Gatun Cut, you get to see that. I think one of our other questions is what side of the ship should I be on? It really doesn't matter. But if you're one place where it may matter is when you're going we'll just take going from Pacific to Atlantic. You'd want to be on the right side of the ship because that's the side where Panama City is on. So, starboard side, starboard side, yep, if you're going the other direction, then you would want to be on the left or port side of the ship, but it really doesn't matter on that, the other direction. And then you would want to be on the left or port side of the ship, but it really doesn't matter on that. There's just a little bit more to see on that side of the ship how long does it take to get through the panama canal?
Patrick Wiscombe:it's a full day process. So, oh, it is. I think sometimes, when they say canal, you know, I always think of like these small watering ditches. Yeah, that's not what this is no.
Mark Faldmo:no, this is. It's a big ordeal to actually get through the canal. Early in the morning, all the ships are going from Pacific to Atlantic and then they meet up in Gatun Lake. Now, what's it called? It's Gatun Lake.
Patrick Wiscombe:Gatun, gatun. Okay, it's's it called, it's Gatun.
Mark Faldmo:Lake. Gatun. Gatun.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay.
Mark Faldmo:It's a man-made lake and that's kind of what drives the canal, because it's all gravity driven. All the water is filled by gravity and the locks, and so it all comes. It flows from the mountains of Panama into the lake and so they only do traffic in one direction now and then in the evening do traffic in one direction now and then in the evening it opens up to go the other direction.
Mark Faldmo:Oh, interesting, I've only done panama canal from Pacific side to Atlantic side, so in that we started through the canal. At about 5 am is when the process starts, going through the canal and then so it's kind of an am pm.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yes, yes, so west to east is am, and then of course the opposite in the evening or the afternoon.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, yeah, because there's the Gatun Cut where the ships go through, there's not room for two-way traffic. Well, there might be, but it's pretty narrow, so it's safer just to go all one direction.
Patrick Wiscombe:One of the last questions that Diane had was should she go through the new locks or the old locks?
Mark Faldmo:Well, I have not been through the new locks, I think I would prefer the old locks. Now, how that's decided is if the ship is above a certain size, you'll go through the new locks. The smaller ships that can fit through the old locks will always go through the old locks. If you're wanting to go through the old locks, always go through the old locks. If you're wanting to go through the old locks which I think that's where a lot of the scenery is at is in the old locks you'll want to go on a smaller ship through the Panama Canal.
Patrick Wiscombe:As promised always in this segment, the infamous Just Cruising segment, we've got the cruise deal of the week, and what do we have for listeners this week?
Mark Faldmo:We're going to continue on with Panama Canal theme and I've chosen two sailings. They're both this coming spring and they're both repositioning their ships. The first one is on MSC. It's an 18-day cruise. It goes from Miami to Seattle. Oh really, they're repositioning the cruise to Alaska. You know MSC is one of the new entrants in Alaska cruises, and so you know they're going to probably start offering these spring and fall Panama Canal cruises a little bit more regularly.
Patrick Wiscombe:Do we know which ships that they're taking to Seattle? Miami to Seattle?
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, they're taking the I can't pronounce this the Poesia Poesia. It's Italian, it's an Italian word. What?
Patrick Wiscombe:is it?
Mark Faldmo:The M-S-C Poesia oh poesia.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, okay.
Mark Faldmo:P-O-E-S-I-A. Okay, or Poesia, or something like that. Poesia, yeah, I guess if I'm going to be on radio and podcast, I hit you cold. So yeah, and so again. April 23rd it's 18 day cruise starts at $1758 per person for an inside cabin or $2368 per person for a balcony cabin, so that on the inside is less than $100 a day.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's phenomenal. MSC has, really they are coming into the American market hard right now and they are offering amazing cruises for massive discounts compared to some of the other cruise lines. Yeah, by the way, the MSC Posea if we're saying that right was built in 2008, was last refurbished in 2018.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, and about 2,500 passengers and that's the size that will go through the old blocks. Okay, all right On that. And that just quickly. The itinerary on that starts in Miami, goes to Cartagena, Colombia goes to Cologne and Panama does the Panama Canal, goes to Costa Rica, Cabo San Lucas, san Diego, Los Angeles and ends in Seattle.
Patrick Wiscombe:Dude, that's a good itinerary. It's less than $100 a day.
Mark Faldmo:It is Wow, Okay, and then the next one. We'll just do two Panama Canal cruises. This one is later in May it's May 17th and this one they're repositioning the ship that was doing the Mexican Riviera. They're repositioning it to New York to do Canada and New England.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, probably for the fall.
Mark Faldmo:For the fall. In the summer, yeah, yeah, so it'll do Canada, new England and possibly Bermuda in the summer and then do the fall colors tour. This one starts at $1688 per person and it's an 18-day cruise as well. It departs on May 17th and this one departs Los Angeles, Puerto Vallarta, Huatulco, Mexico, and then goes to Chiapas in Mexico, goes to Costa Rica, panama City, does the Panama Canal, goes to Aruba and then ends in New York City. So those are two great options for Panama Canal one April, one May.
Patrick Wiscombe:And you're going from coast to coast, I mean Los Angeles to New York. That's a good trip and it's 18 days, 18 days. What ship is 18 days, 18 days? What ship is the Princess? The 18 days?
Mark Faldmo:So the Princess one is on the Island Princess, which is also. It's about the same size as the MSC one, so that one would go through the older locks as well and you can book those obviously, yes, I can book those.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, call Mark in his office, 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. And you can also go to blueplanetvacations. com. Final segment of the show coming up. We've got Mark's travel tips, just a little bit more travel news headlines that we need to get to, and then we'll recap the deals briefly everything that we've mentioned in this episode of the show. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend, mark and I will be right back.
Show Voice:Explore your world. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. We'll be right back.
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Show Voice:They'll help you plan and book your next vacation. Yeah, really, you're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And now here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Mark Faldmo is running in from the other room. He had to print some stuff off for this final segment Coming up. In this final segment, this is we're going to be talking about Mark's travel tips and we're also going to recap all of the offers that we've made throughout this entire hour. Let's start with the travel news headlines and then we'll recap everything. Let's talk about the new cruise ships. I guess we should have included this in the just cruising segment. Let's talk about the cruise ships debuting in 2025. This is a subject that I always like, because I like new cruise ships a lot.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, new cruise ships are fascinating All the new bells and whistles. Unfortunately, we don't have time to go over all the bells and whistles of these ships, but we'll kind of give a brief thing. So the first new ship coming out is in April of 2025, and that's the MSC World America.
Patrick Wiscombe:Very Icon of the Seas-esque, very, very large ship.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, we did a segment on that, the things that it was offering, and I'm excited to see this ship. It'll have a guest capacity of just under 7,000 passengers and it will sail round trip Miami.
Patrick Wiscombe:I'm going to call Laura See if we can do a media preview for that one.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, the next ship coming out will also be in April of 2025, which is the Norwegian Aqua.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, that's a beautiful ship.
Mark Faldmo:That is, and this will be a sister ship to the Prima and it'll have about 3,500 guests. It is also set to sail round trip Miami. So in April, miami is getting two brand new cruise ships. What other cruise ships? And then we have Oceana Cruise Lines, which will put out the Allura in July 2025. It's a brand owned by Norwegian Cruise Line and that ship will have a capacity of about 1,200 guests. So it's a smaller ship. Another smaller ship that will come out in July of 2025 is the Viking Vesta, which has just under 1,000 guests. That one will mainly be sailing the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Royal Caribbean also has one of their large ships coming out in August of 2025, the Star of the Seas.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh wait, who's making that one?
Mark Faldmo:Royal Caribbean, oh okay, the Star of the Seas.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, I've seen a little bit of PR on that one already yeah, there's been some out on that and it has just over 5,500 guest capacity. Virgin Voyages, one of my favorite cruise lines, will put out the Brilliant Lady in September of 2025, with a guest capacity of just under 3,000, which will sail Bermuda from New York City and then in the winter season it will be Caribbean sailings. And then Princess Cruises, in September, will launch the Star Princess guest capacity of 4,300. And that will be in the Mediterranean, and Caribbean is where that ship will be sailing. The last ship is one that we've also talked about the Disney Destiny, which will come out in 2025. It has a guest capacity of 4,000 and it will be sailing from Fort Lauderdale, from Port Everglades. Disney is really working on expanding their fleet.
Patrick Wiscombe:This feels like a story we've been talking about all of 2024, that the UK is opening applications for electronic travel authorization. It's on it's off, it's on.
Mark Faldmo:Yep. So I wanted to put this in this show because we've announced already that it's on, it's off. It's on Yep. So I wanted to put this in this show because we've announced already that it's on and starting, but it does start January 8th, so four days from now. If you're traveling to the UK, you do need to go on to the UK government website and purchase an electronic travel authorization or an ETA to visit the UK.
Patrick Wiscombe:As we take off for the week, let's recap all of the deals that we've talked in each of the segments and I'll let you decide where you want to start.
Mark Faldmo:Let's start the travel deal of the week, which was Disney. We talked about the free Disney dining plan, which is a pretty good offer by Disney. You have to book it by I believe it was mid-February, like February 15th, and then it's for travel, most dates during the summer. There are some blackout dates May through the end of August on that with some blackout dates. And then we also talked about for those that were Disney Plus subscribers. If you're a Disney Plus subscriber you get 50% off kids on a Disney cruise, which could be hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars in savings, with those kids at 50% off on Disney Cruise Line.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, In segment three we had the infamous just cruising segment what do we have?
Mark Faldmo:And then we talked in length about Panama Canal cruises and we talked about two cruises, one on which was an 18-day cruise on MSC Starts at $17.58 per person, so less than $100 per person per day Sailing April 23rd from Miami to Seattle as they position that ship for Alaska cruises. And then we talked about another repositioning cruise on Princess, which left May 17th, and this one sailed Los Angeles to New York City through the Panama Canal. They're repositioning that cruise to do Canada, new England, and that one started at $16.88 per person, so again just under $100 per person per day, which is a good benchmark for cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe:Those were good deals as cruises go awesome. Yeah, that's going to do it, man. This show goes so fast each and every week and it's fun to talk travel. And if we have whet your appetite to go travel, if we've given you an idea of where to go or if you just know where you want to go, let Mark help you. He's traveled over 4 million miles, he's done over 150 cruises and I'm proud to call him my friend and he's a good man.
Patrick Wiscombe:You can see all of the vacation specials that we talked about on blueplanetvacations. com or you can just call him in his office, 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. You can listen to this show again tomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11 am, right here on 860-KKAT or whatever radio station you're listening to. And if you want or need to listen to the show again, you can download and subscribe to the podcast of the show at insidetraveltalk. com, and if you go to that website, you can just get the link to all of the major podcast platforms. Well, that's it. It's your turn to get out and explore the world while you can, because you just never know what curveballs life is going to throw at you. Live your life deliberately. Live your life intentionally. Thank you so much for listening. Have a great week, mark, and I will talk to you again next Saturday and Sunday.
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. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.