Inside Travel Talk
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Inside Travel Talk
Bags, Boats, and Beach Bargains: Saving on Hawaii, Europe and Cruises
Southwest Airlines' bold move to eliminate free checked bags has created immediate ripples through the travel industry, with the airline already seeing significant booking declines. While Southwest projects $1.5 billion in annual bag fee revenue, they're forecasting $1.8 billion in lost business initially—a fascinating gamble on customer behavior that we unpack in detail. This decision reveals a profound shift in how airlines view passenger priorities, with Southwest's data suggesting travelers consistently choose the lowest displayed fare regardless of baggage policies.
For cruise enthusiasts, Norwegian Cruise Line just took delivery of their innovative new ship, Norwegian Aqua, while simultaneously floating out their next vessel, Norwegian Luna. The Aqua promises to redefine the cruise experience with expanded "more at sea" concepts and exciting culinary options including a dedicated Thai specialty restaurant. Meanwhile, MSC World America is generating buzz with thrilling features like the "Cliffhanger" over-water swing experience and a comprehensive Lego family zone complete with parades and interactive challenges.
If you've dreamed of river cruising through Europe, now might be the perfect time to plan ahead with Avalon Waterways offering savings up to $6,000 on select 2026 sailings. Their panoramic suites with beds facing floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors create an unparalleled immersive experience as you glide past historic castles and charming villages. The surging popularity of river cruising is evident with Viking reporting they're already 88% booked for 2025, booking rates running 26% higher than last year.
Hawaii deals have finally dropped below the $1,000 threshold, with packages starting at $999 including airfare and five nights' accommodation—the first time prices have hit this sweet spot in months. For those seeking something truly unique, private yacht charters in the Caribbean can be surprisingly affordable when split among friends, with fully crewed sailing vessels available from companies like The Moorings at roughly $800 per person for a multi-day adventure.
Ready to explore these opportunities or have questions about your next adventure? Call us at 888-718-7717 or visit blueplanetvacations.com to speak with our experienced travel advisors who can create your perfect custom itinerary.
It is time for the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Hi there Coming up. On today's show, we will be talking about Southwest's new bag policy. We have updated information about their bag policy. Spirit Airlines says that they want to become a premium carrier. We'll see how that goes. Norwegian Cruise Line takes delivery of their brand new ship, aqua Nikki and I will be on that ship and we're also going to tell you how to save $6,000 on a Europe river cruise. 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: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 patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Good morning. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Hello there, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Mark Faldmo will be in the studio here in just a minute. He's off printing some things in the other room. The entire purpose of this radio show and podcast is to help you plan and book your next vacation or give you ideas of where you would want to, or at least consider to, go on your next vacation, and this show is presented by blueplanetvacations. com, and thank you so much for taking the time to stop and listen. Whether you are listening to us live on the radio on Saturday and Sunday or you're listening to us at a later date via the podcast, you can stream and subscribe to the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. And Mark is making his entrance into the studio it's good to see you. I haven't seen you all week is making his entrance into the studio.
Mark Faldmo:It's good to see you. I haven't seen you all week. Yeah, it's good to be here. I've been away this past weekend at a family's cabin up in Driggs, idaho, family's doing skiing at Targhee and just relaxing in the cabin. It's a nice weekend.
Patrick Wiscombe:Nothing better than having it snow outside and you're inside the cabin. That setting is just awesome.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, and it did snow the whole time we were there, so it was nice. It's just awesome. Yeah, and it did snow the whole time we were there, so it was nice Coming up on this show.
Patrick Wiscombe:we're going to talk about Southwest's bag policy. We talked about it last week how they said no more carry-on bags.
Ad Voice:Well, we have an update.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, check bags, but we do have an update on that policy. In fact, mark, let's just start there. What new information do we have about Southwest's new bag policy?
Mark Faldmo:And just to quickly review for any flight booked after May 28th, you will no longer get two free checked bags, unless you're a Rapid Rewards A-list member or traveling in Business Select. Then you get the two free checked bags. If you have the Southwest Rapid Rewards credit card, you do get one free checked bag. So that's the changes. But there's been some pretty big backlash to this. Southwest has actually already seen bookings decline because of this, and I saw an interesting article just one little piece that I pull out of it. Southwest officials estimate that bag fees will bring in about $1.5 billion a year.
Mark Faldmo:Wow but they also expect it to cost the airline about $1.8 billion in lost business. So, a net negative. A net negative, they say, over time in the next few years, as people get used to that, they expect the fee to outweigh the loss in business. Yeah, but they are already starting to see the loss in business.
Patrick Wiscombe:Massive upheaval right now, but really what they're saying is let that die down. People are going to come back anyway.
Mark Faldmo:Another thing that the CEO of Southwest Airlines, out defending this, said that that was a mainstay, but the analytics support that people don't care about the free bags.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh interesting.
Mark Faldmo:Why is that support that people don't care about the free bags? Oh interesting, why is that? Southwest has allowed their fares to be out on the online travel sites and the meta search sites and their numbers show that people chose the lowest fare, regardless of bag policy. Basically, what they're saying is if Southwest was a hundred dollars, butine A was $90, people are always choosing Airline A, even though they might've had to pay $35 for their checked bags, which does make that more expensive Airline A more expensive, but they were choosing what they saw on the screen and not taking into account the cost of baggage anyway. So that's one reason why Southwest decided to change this, because their internal analytics show that people that that perk of two free bags was not affecting people's decision to fly with Southwest.
Patrick Wiscombe:Here's something that I want to do with you. I think we should do it with Heather, of course. Nikki, I say we jump on JSX Airline and the first question to whoever's listening is who is, or what is, jsx Airline? To me, this is very exciting.
Mark Faldmo:JSX Airline has been around for a while. They're based in Southern California and what they are it's called a public charter service. They call it Hop-On Jet Service. They fly the Embraer Regional Jets. They're configured hop-on jet service. They fly the Embraer regional jets. They're configured basically in all first class.
Patrick Wiscombe:One person on the left side, one chair on the right.
Mark Faldmo:On the right? Yeah, so one one. And they fly several places for our audience in Salt Lake. They fly from Salt Lake to Burbank, California, Denver, Las Vegas, Colorado, and Scottsdale, Arizona, and they don't use the main airport terminals here. They fly out of what's called a fixed-based operator, so basically out of the general aviation side of the airport.
Patrick Wiscombe:Not airport number two in West Jordan, but this would be east of the Salt Lake International Airport. Is that the general aviation?
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, the general aviation side, okay got it, where a lot of the private jets fly in and out of Okay. Last week, when we talked about the TikTok trend about saying you can show up 20 minutes before your flight and still make it, that actually is the case for JSX Airlines.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, so if you want the challenge, go on something that actually works.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, although I still wouldn't do that in this case. No, I wouldn't either. Their flights, because their prices are not all that much higher than regular flights to any of the places that they fly from Salt Lake are about $200 one way. Yeah, a little bit more than $200 one way, which is slightly higher, but that's probably about what you'd pay for the Comfort Plus seats, let's say, on Delta, but you're flying in first class in a more, I guess, luxurious setting.
Patrick Wiscombe:Spirit Airlines says that they're gonna rebrand to become a premium carrier. I don't think at this point they really have a choice, because they're sinking anyway.
Mark Faldmo:Spirit has always been kind of the brunt of jokes People saying you're going to need to take a pocket full of quarters in case you need to use the restroom because they're charging for everything. You need to pay for the seatbelt latches and everything. There's been jokes like that because they really did seem to kind of nickel and dime you. Last fall they went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They just recently emerged oh, I didn't know that From bankruptcy a few weeks ago and they're really focusing more on these bundles Similar to what the airlines are doing. They're going to have still their very cheapest seats, but they're also going to have bundles Similar to what the airlines are doing. They're going to have still their very cheapest seats, but they're also going to have bundles where you can get a seat, where you can get a bag, premium seats, first-class seats, and so they are starting to bundle the fares more like the mainline airlines are.
Patrick Wiscombe:We received a. Was this a text or a? Did someone call the office?
Mark Faldmo:Was this a text or did someone call the office? This was a phone call to our podcast radio line.
Patrick Wiscombe:So if you have travel-related questions, text or call the studio at 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. She called and said that she wants to know more about Croatia. No one loves Croatia more than Mark.
Mark Faldmo:That area of the world I just find so fascinating. When we grew up, that was a war zone, yeah, and now it's one of the most beautiful places in the world to visit. When is the best time to visit? It's like a lot of Europe. I think the best time to visit is May and September. The peak season is the summer months of June, July and August. I think the best city to visit is Dubrovnik, especially for those that are Game of Thrones fans.
Patrick Wiscombe:Cersei Jon Snow.
Mark Faldmo:That's where a good part of that was filmed. There's actually Game of Thrones tours. It's about a three-hour walking of the city and they take you to all the points of where the show was filmed at.
Patrick Wiscombe:What else do you like doing there?
Mark Faldmo:Dubrovnik is a walled city on the ocean and so you can get up and walk around the whole city on the city walls, which is pretty cool and it's a small. That inner city of Dubrovnik is small. There's a harbor and then the walled city. You have to walk in through the city gates and it really puts you back kind of in medieval Europe. Did you say you can walk?
Patrick Wiscombe:on the walls.
Mark Faldmo:On top of the walls.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, oh, that'd be fascinating.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, so there's a whole trail that goes around the whole city and it's small. I think that whole track is probably two miles or less if you walk all the way around it, so it's not too far.
Patrick Wiscombe:So when you say it's a small city, you're not kidding.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, but Croatia in general has mountains, so you can have ocean island life. You can have mountains, streams, lakes, waterfalls, and then you can have the history and culture in Croatia.
Patrick Wiscombe:What do you think are the best ways to see Croatia, then, other than hiking the?
Mark Faldmo:wall, yeah. So there are kind of three ways that you can see Croatia that I would recommend One is a land tour. So you know, we've talked, often talked, about Globus, which does have a seven night, eight day tour in Croatia. You can do it by river cruise which sees the Eastern part of the country. Done that before. I've talked about the Budapest to Bucharest, Romania. It does have several stops there in Croatia. The other is on ocean and that's how I've done it. Most is oh, so you did the cruise then. Yeah, so a cruise.
Mark Faldmo:So either stops in Dubrovnik, split or both, which I've been to both places in Croatia or I think the best way and I have not done this but I really want to do this it's called the Katerina Line and they do Dalmatian coast cruises. That whole coastline of Croatia is islands. They take small yachts with anywhere from 10 to 30 people on them and you just hit all of these places along the Dalmatian coast. Oh, wow, they have several different small ships that you go on. They have classic cruises and deluxe cruises, but if you take one of their classic cruises you can do these seven-day cruises. They start at €1,350 Euro per person, so €1,350. So that's roughly $1,500 a person for these small cruises that just cruise the small islands and interesting ports in Croatia, and they have eight or nine vessels, several different itineraries.
Mark Faldmo:There is no bigger advocate for Croatia than Mark Faldmo. How many times have you been there? Probably eight times. Oh, between ocean cruises and river cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe:Go to Croatia. I haven't been there. I know that Nikki and I will get there. Did Heather go? Heather has been Okay. All right, call Mark in his office. Nicole, if you are interested in going to Croatia or have additional questions, certainly you're going to have more. Call Mark in his office, get it booked, ask the questions 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717 to get the conversation started, no obligation. When we come back, it is the hot travel deal of the week. We've got some additional travel news headlines and we're talking Hawaii. Save it up to $200. That is next with the Inside Travel Talk podcast. The radio show continues alongside my good friend Mark Faldmo. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We'll be right back.
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. Thanks for listening. We'll be right back.
Ad Voice:This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El Dorado Spa Resorts. Escape to Cancun's Riviera Maya with authentic all-inclusive luxury at an El Dorado Spa Resort. To book your romantic beach getaway, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com.
Show Voice: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 check out the podcast at Insideidetraveltalk. com. Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe:Broadcasting from the Wiscombe-Faldmo Radio Studios in Salt Lake City, Utah. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Coming up in this segment of the show, we have the hot travel deal of the week. We are talking about Hawaii and we're going to tell you how to save up to $200. And then we've also got some additional travel news headlines. But Mark was telling me a funny story during the break that I wish he would have brought up on the air. But I guess we're on the air now. Can I put you on the spot here for a second? Yeah, that's fine. Okay, so if you missed the first segment of the show, we were talking about vacationing in Croatia. Nicole had that question and something kind of unfortunate happened to your tour guide, but then it also got you too.
Mark Faldmo:It was one of the walking tours that's there inside the walled portion. Tour guide was standing there talking, looked up One of the many seagulls got her. Oh, a her, I thought it was a guy, no, it was a her. And Mark has a pretty easy gag reflex, so everyone can guess from there. So so the seagull pooped? Yes, gratuitously and Mark lost it.
Patrick Wiscombe:You know what?
Mark Faldmo:but other than that, Croatia is wonderful. Heather is a big shopper for Christmas things, for nativities and the wooden carved Chris Kringles Christmas, whatever he is, Chris Kringles, yeah, Chris Kringles, Chris Kringles. And they have a great Christmas shop in Croatia there.
Patrick Wiscombe:I'm sorry that happened to you, but that is funny. Yes, let's get to the travel news for this segment and then we'll get to Hawaii. Consumer Price Index shows good news for consumers A 4% drop in airfares.
Mark Faldmo:Between January and February, there was a 4% drop in airfares. Between January and February, there was a 4% drop in airfares according to the Consumer Price Index, which is the first drop since last July. Year over year, in January fares had been about 7.1% higher, and so now there's lower fuel cost, there's less demand, and so airfares are starting to drop, which is good news for consumers, not necessarily good news for airlines, but we'll see where that gets us.
Patrick Wiscombe:Construction has started on Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort in Roatan, Honduras, also one of your favorite destinations.
Mark Faldmo:I think we talked about Roatan, honduras, also one of your favorite destinations. I think we talked about Roatan last week. I've only been there on a cruise, but I'm very excited for this Margaritaville Island Reserve Resort.
Patrick Wiscombe:Hawaii tourism. I love Hawaii Anytime I can get to. Hawaii. I will go to Hawaii. Hawaii tourism is stable, but it's also not growing, at least according to this article.
Mark Faldmo:Aside from Maui, which is still struggling, Hawaii is kind of seeing a shift in their markets, where the US market is strong, growing a little bit, but other markets that they rely on, particularly the Japanese market, is not recovering well. Japan's economy is a lot slower than a lot of places in the world, and so it's really affecting Hawaii tourism. Looking at the overall hotel rates, they've actually dropped a few percentages the last few months. Maui in particular is facing probably its lowest occupancy rate ever.
Patrick Wiscombe:So they must have thought the entire island caught on fire. That's just a little tiny corner. Maui is where the wildfires are.
Mark Faldmo:It was a dramatic event, oh yeah, but it was still a smaller portion. Unfortunately, it was Lahaina, which I think was the best place in. Maui yeah, but people just still aren't going to Maui.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's unfortunate.
Mark Faldmo:I think airfares and hotel rates are going to have to come down even further to Maui to kind of stabilize at least the tourism numbers.
Patrick Wiscombe:Right near Lahaina. What's the name of that place that you like to go when you're on Maui? Kaanapali, yeah, Kaanapali, you love it there.
Mark Faldmo:I do yeah. So when you go to Maui, that's your preferred spot?
Ad Voice:Well, there's two spots. I like the Grand.
Mark Faldmo:Wailea on the other side of the island. I think that's probably my favorite, but Kaanapali would be number two. There's more hotels in the Kaanapali area. There's actually more more hotels in the Kaanapali area. There's an actually more affordable hotels in the Kaanapali area as well.
Patrick Wiscombe:That will lead into our hot travel deal of the week always the second segment of the show, and what are the details? To get over to Hawaii and where exactly are we going?
Mark Faldmo:So it's here. Discount based on the overall cost. It basically equates to about a four or five percent discount in the hotel cost when everything's said and done. But I'm going to go through and give prices for all the four main islands. These are for the end of May. This is a May 17th departure oh date for five nights from Salt Lake City. We'll first start in Oahu, so Waikiki Beach area packages start at $999 for Pershton.
Mark Faldmo:Wow, and that includes the flights, that includes the flights and that includes also all of the estimated resort fees and everything. So taxes, resort fees, all of that $999 for a five-night stay and airfare from Salt Lake City. I think probably the best deal on Oahu Waikiki is the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort, which is a four and a half star resort Nice resort, very nice Nice resort for $1489. Or the Moana Surf Rider, which is a Weston $1,489. Or the Moana Surf Rider, which is a Westin, also a very nice five-star resort $1,499 per person. Okay, the Westin is on the beach and on one side of it there's only beach, no other hotels, and then the other side of it is the I believe it's the Outrigger Waikiki.
Patrick Wiscombe:Man, that's a nice resort too.
Mark Faldmo:On the other side of it.
Patrick Wiscombe:I wish I was going this year instead of last year. Yeah, holy cow, it's a whole lot less expensive.
Mark Faldmo:And then we'll move on to the Big Island, which also has rates starting at $999 per person. Staying at the Royal Kona three and a half star, starting at $999 per person. Royal Kona is one of my favorite hotels. It is a three and a half star hotel but I love the location of it and they recently just renovated the rooms about two years ago. They have their restaurant is just right out on the point, so there's kind of ocean all around. You know three sides of the restaurant and it's a wonderful location. And then probably one of my favorite hotels in all of Hawaii is the Hilton Waikoloa Village Four and a half star hotel starts at $1189 per person. When I was younger we stayed there and I was just fascinated by it. They have three different towers and you either take a tram to get to the towers or they have a boat transfer.
Ad Voice:That takes you, I would do all of the towers.
Mark Faldmo:So it's a unique hotel. And then we'll go to kawaii, which has rates starting at $1029 per person, five nights airfare from salt lake city, and this is at at the Hilton Garden Inn Wailua Bay, which is a hotel that is beachfront, and so you know it's a good three and a half star hotel. And then I think my pick on the island it's the Royal Sinesta, starting at $1329 per person. The Royal Sinesta used to be a Marriott hotel. It's right by the cruise port when you were there on the cruise. It's right there. It's on a golf course. It has a little beach that's protected by the marina area. It's a great hotel there on Kauai.
Patrick Wiscombe:Kauai was nice. It was lush and green. I didn't know that there could be so much difference between all of the islands.
Mark Faldmo:And.
Patrick Wiscombe:Kauai was amazing.
Mark Faldmo:Any promotion for Maui Most expensive of the islands and Kauai was amazing. Yep Any promotion for Maui Most expensive of the islands but still a pretty good rate. So Royal Kahana by Outrigger three-star hotel starts at $1139. My pick on that would be the Outrigger Kaanapali Beach Hotel. That starts at $1459 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:That is a beautiful part of the island.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, yeah, and both of those hotels. The Royal Kahana is a little bit further west than the Outrigger Kanapali Beach Resort.
Patrick Wiscombe:I follow what is it? Millie, Hawaii or something on Instagram and every day, or almost every day, they have a picture coming out of Kanapali beach area that I'm just like why do I live here? I love Salt Lake, I love living here, but it is just different living there and it is spectacular, just visually, just to be part of the island. If you have not been to Hawaii, go to Hawaii. It is a vacation that you will never forget and it will be something that you will talk about for the rest of your life. I've been to Hawaii. How many times have you been there to Hawaii?
Mark Faldmo:I can't count, probably 25, 30. And there may be more.
Patrick Wiscombe:I've only been there I think it's three or four times. It is it's just different, it's special. It is paradise. Call Mark during the break, just get the conversation started, no obligation, and of course, you're going to have questions about where you would like to stay and he'll customize a vacation for you. Call him into the office 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. When we come back, it is time for the cruise news of the week, the infamous just cruising segment. We'll be talking about Norwegian's Aqua, we'll be talking about MSC World America and we'll be talking about how to save up to $6,000 on a Europe river cruise. That when we come back. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We'll be right back.
Show Voice: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.
Ad Voice:This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by Star Clippers. For over 30 years, star Clippers has offered unique, authentic tall ship sailing experiences featuring creative itineraries throughout the Mediterranean Caribbean and Central America and Central America. To book your unique Star Clipper sailing adventure, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com.
Patrick Wiscombe:Thank you so much for listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. My name is Patrick Wiscombe, coming up. In the next 28 minutes we will be talking about apartments by Marriott Bonvoy Resort. Ncl has taken delivery of their brand new cruise ship called Aqua Nikki and I will be on that ship about a month from now. The six must-see attractions when you sail on MSC's World America and we will tell you how to save up to $6,000 on a Europe river cruise. 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 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, the infamous Just Cruising segment on the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show, and coming up in this segment of the show, we'll be talking about the apartments by Marriott Bonvoy Resort NCL. Taking delivery of their brand new ship, the Aqua Nikki, and I will be on that cruise. What is it Mark In about? I guess it's about a month from now yeah, about a month from now, and we'll tell you how to save up to $6,000 on a Europe River cruise. But let's first get to the cruise news headlines. Let's start with Norwegian Cruise Line taking delivery of the brand new Norwegian Aqua Dude. That is a nice looking ship.
Mark Faldmo:It is, yeah, and last week was kind of a milestone for these ships. Norwegian took delivery of the Norwegian Aqua and they also floated out the Norwegian Luna. The next ship oh, I didn't know that floated out the Norwegian Luna. The next ship oh, I didn't know that. And so the Norwegian Aqua left the shipyard area. The Norwegian Luna was floated for the first time and it moved into the spot where the Norwegian Aqua was so it could get all of its internal stuff completed.
Patrick Wiscombe:So when does the Luna come out? Does that come out later this year, 2025?, or that feels like it's next year. Actually, Spring of 2026 is when the Luna Luna come out. Does that come out later this year?
Mark Faldmo:2025? Or that feels like it's next year. Actually, spring of 2026 is when the Luna will come out. Norwegian has always pushed the boundaries of what they can do with shipbuilding. It's kind of between Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, one ups another. I think this ship is going to be amazing, really push the boundaries of their more at sea concept. The one thing I'm very interested in on the Norwegian Aqua Norwegian is known for their dining and their specialty dining. They actually have a Thai specialty restaurant on board. Thai food is one of my favorite foods, and so I'm looking forward to seeing how they do at sea with Norwegian.
Patrick Wiscombe:I'll have to check out that new restaurant for you. Let me know how it is.
Mark Faldmo:With your Morrissey, you do get specialty restaurants. Oh, I didn't know that.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let's go in today and get your reservations made after the show. I would be just fine with that, which, by the way, one of the things that we want to do as a radio show, mark and I want to get on every single cruise ship when it's new, we're going to film it, we're going to record it so everyone can see it. Mark will be on the media cruise for the MSC World America, so he's jumping on and then, as he's getting off three days later, I am jumping on, so we'll have full review of these ships coming up a little bit later next month. We are not a political show at all, but there was a story about one of the senators from Alaska. They are pushing to let cruise ships bypass Canada. So is he saying that forget the international port, let's just forget Canada here?
Mark Faldmo:That is what he's saying. That's always been a challenge for cruising to Alaska is getting that international stop in Victoria was one of our favorite stops.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, my goodness.
Mark Faldmo:But on Alaska, because of how it works, most cruise ships get there about 8 pm and leave at midnight, so it's more a technical stop. So you don't even get to see that.
Patrick Wiscombe:And that's disappointing because Victoria, I think, is probably I won't say the showstopper port, but if you could see it during the day, it is a showstopping place. It is beautiful and spectacular yeah.
Mark Faldmo:What he is asking for I kind of wish would just go away. It's called the Passenger Services Act, which does require that foreign port. Otherwise the ship has to meet certain conditions, like be crewed by all Americans and be built in America. So I kind of wish that would go away anyway. It was suspended coming out of COVID, because Canada had such strict laws. So they suspended it so that cruise ships could start back up and not have that.
Patrick Wiscombe:So it can be done.
Mark Faldmo:It's whether they want to Whether they want to, and the reason why the Alaska senator is doing this because Canada implemented a tariff on trucks going from the US to Alaska driving through Canada, so kind of this trade war thing that's been going back and forth. So that's his proposal to bypass that. Personally, I wish it would go away anyway, regardless of trade war or not.
Patrick Wiscombe:Heather, your wife is excited to go on MSC's World America. You are too, yes, but I think she's more excited for seeing Orlando Bloom. And apparently Orlando Bloom has six must-see attractions on MSC's New World America. I'm curious what they are.
Mark Faldmo:I'm curious, as if these are really Orlando Bloom's things. I think this was just written and they were paid to use his name. There we go. Msc World America does have some pretty interesting things on board. One is cliffhanger, it's over water swing at sea. So I've seen that on their commercial, where you're swinging out over the water. That looks like a pretty fun thing to do. Are you going to do?
Patrick Wiscombe:that I think I am, I am, I think, if they'll allow me to take my phone or the DJI, the Osmo Pocket 3, and I'll just hold it, clutch it tight, I think I'm going to do it. The Osmo.
Mark Faldmo:Pocket 3, and I'll just hold it and clutch it tight. I think I'm going to do it. Do it yeah. So that looks fun, you know. That kind of reminds me I always love doing the big shot on top of the stratosphere in Las Vegas. Yeah, when you get up there and you can't see anything below you.
Patrick Wiscombe:That is terrifying. I didn't know you'd done that A couple of times. Yes, that I gave myself a muscle strain because I was holding on so tight. I was like, ah, and the helicopter was. I leveled a little ways away. I was like, okay, wow, we're up here. I'm sorry I completely digress.
Mark Faldmo:Well, I got us into that it's your fault. The next thing is an area on the world of America called the Harbor. It's an area designed for kids and family to engage in outdoor activities, so it's kind of like a boardwalk. They have kind of food station areas. Is that the back of the ship? The back of the ship? Okay, it has the aqua park. Okay 11 story dry slide ropes course.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, isn't that the Venom, the Venom slide Venom.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, oh boy. So that's a pretty interesting area. I love how these bigger ships and Royal Caribbean started this, having these neighborhoods or districts. So MSC is calling them districts, where Royal Caribbean they're neighborhoods and they just have different themed areas. And you know, I'm really excited to see how that works on this ship. Everything I've seen just look amazing. The next thing which we've talked about before is the Dirty Dancing in Concert 90-minute performance at 90 minutes featuring the music from Dirty. And then also I'm kind of excited for this one the new Lego experience. So world America has a whole Lego family zone.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, they're going to have us.
Mark Faldmo:I hadn't heard of this one, yeah, a Lego parade at sea and then just different Lego related things. I I was always a Lego fan growing up, but I remember a kid moved into our neighborhood and we went up there and he had a room full of Legos. I was so jealous A room, room full of Legos. They have a Lego game show, family challenge. That will be there in that area, where I guess it's who can build what the fastest.
Patrick Wiscombe:So I'm going to be no help.
Mark Faldmo:Nikki will probably do great. Those are some of the interesting things coming on MSC World America.
Patrick Wiscombe:My friend. His name is Mike Kidd and he just got off. I was texting with him a week ago and he was on MSC Seascape and I told him I was going on MSC World America and he was like I am so jealous, I think the ship is sold out, mark.
Mark Faldmo:It is. You're on the very first paid passenger sailing of the ship.
Patrick Wiscombe:So I'm kind of surprised that we got a room. What did we book this like three weeks ago? Three weeks, Yep. Anyway, are there any deals for MSC World America? Maybe not the inaugural sailing, but what deals are there for the ship?
Mark Faldmo:Right now for MSC in general they have 35% off and kids sail free. There's some pretty good rates still on World America for being a new ship November 29th, this is an Eastern Caribbean cruise. I think it's the same one you're doing, so it's Miami, san Juan, puerto. Yeah, um, so it's miami, san juan, porta plata and private island, ocean k, but November 29th, inside cabin starts at 704 for a per person wow, and a balcony cabin starts at $1024 per person for msc world america for world america.
Mark Faldmo:So you know, for a brand new ship within its first year, that's right after Thanksgiving. That's probably, if you're ever looking for a good cruise rate, no matter where you go in the world, that's probably going to be the best date to sail. On price-wise, looking earlier in November, those prices jump about $150 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let's talk about the cruise deal of the week. Those just happen to be news stories. What we were talking about before. This is the actual cruise deal of the week. Avalon Waterways has a promotion where you can save up to $6,000 on a Europe river cruise. So if you've ever wanted to do it, listen up.
Mark Faldmo:Avalon Waterways has this great promotion. It's for select 2026 river cruises. So for next year, and they kind of have a tier that 6,000 is the highest and it goes down. You know they have a 4,000, a 3,000 and a 1,500 price range that they do, but for 2026, there are two sailings that I found. One is a 22 day. It's the Rhine Danube and Maine river, so it's three rivers and that's for November of 2026, but it is save a $6,000 total per cabin, so that's 3000 per person. Wow, that date for that long cruise starts at about $9,000 per person and that seems like a lot, but for a river cruise that is a pretty good deal. How many days is that? 22 days.
Patrick Wiscombe:When people hear $9,000, they go what? It's actually a good price for river cruising.
Mark Faldmo:And then another one that has saved $6,000 is the Rhine and Rhone River, and so this is, you know, south of France plus the Rhine River, and this one starts at about 5,000 per person for 15 days. That's still good too, that is yeah. And then a shorter cruise even than that. Now, this one isn't the full 6,000. I think this one is 1,500 off per cabin, but it's the Romantic Rhine, so just the Rhine River starts at 2,500 per person, and that's for an eight-day four-country tour.
Patrick Wiscombe:What countries are we going to on that one, that one?
Mark Faldmo:is Switzerland, france, germany and Netherlands.
Patrick Wiscombe:And you really like Avalon Waterways. They're the ship that actually has the beds that face the balcony, so you're actually looking out instead of having to go out on the balcony.
Mark Faldmo:Correct. It's where almost the whole room feels like your balcony, because they just have floor to ceiling sliding doors that you can open up all the way, so your whole room turns into the balcony on Avalon Waterways.
Patrick Wiscombe:Go see the world. Get out, see the world. Call Mark, he can help you do it and he'll give you great personalized service. Call him during the break. Get the conversation started, no obligation 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And he'll also post all of this on blueplanetvacations. com. When we come back, we will talk about Viking and tell you how much of their inventory is already sold out, and it seems like we talk about this about I don't know once every. I don't know once every. I don't know three weeks. Europe's etias. They're delayed again. I'm so tired of this story. Hopefully they can just get it online. We'll talk about that next and we'll wrap up the show. Give you mark's travel tips. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We 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.
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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:We are absolutely thankful for you taking the time to stop and listen each and every Saturday and Sunday to the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show. Hello, there, I'm Patrick Wiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo, coming up in this final segment of the show. We've got Mark's travel tips and we've got some additional cruise news and travel headlines. In fact, let's just start there, mark. I know that last segment was the infamous just cruising segment, where it is only about the cruise news and cruise deals, but I forgot about this story that Viking has sold how much of their 2025 inventory.
Mark Faldmo:They're 88% full for 2025. Jeez Viking has both river cruises and ocean cruises. So the ocean side they've sold 87% and on the river side they've sold 89%.
Patrick Wiscombe:What is going on with river cruising? It just feels like it's gone from kind of a I won't say a cottage industry to all of a sudden it's almost mainstream.
Mark Faldmo:It was. River cruising was getting really popular in the late 2010s, so you know, between 2015 and 2020. And I think COVID kind of changed the way people travel, looking for these unique, more immersive experiences, and river cruising does that. Viking is 26% higher than they were same point in time last year in booking, so people are booking further out and looking at the rivers. That's remarkable for Viking. They own a 52% market share in river cruises, so they're by far the largest. I think a river cruise is probably the best way to see Europe. I've always liked the escorted bus tours because I love the commentary you get, yeah, but sometimes I wish a little bit more flexibility in the itinerary. A river cruise gives you all of that itinerary with a lot of the flexibility, and you don't have to pack and unpack. So I love river cruises for seeing Europe.
Patrick Wiscombe:Because we're talking about Europe, let me go to this Europe ETIAS Mark. We have been talking about this story for I don't know how long, but I'm getting tired of it, but the ETIAS system is delayed yet again. So let's just define what ETIAS stands for and then tell what's going on.
Mark Faldmo:It's European Travel Information and Authorization System.
Patrick Wiscombe:Which means what?
Mark Faldmo:So before you go to Europe at some point, whenever this goes into effect, you'll have to get a pre-authorization to enter Europe. So go on their website, fill it out, get authorization which is connected to your passport, so that you can enter Europe.
Patrick Wiscombe:If people are like what Isn't a passport enough? No, the answer is no, not anymore.
Mark Faldmo:Not anymore. Yeah Well, it's supposed to have been in effect right now. It's been pushed back. This is now the fourth delay in it. The last delay was until October of this year, but now it's going to be the fourth quarter of 2026. So more than a year away. So we'll be talking about this again. I'm sure Now the UK was able to get theirs in, which did go into effect on January 8th of this year. So if you are traveling to the UK, you do need to fill out their ETI system for the UK, but Europe in general. You don't need to do that right now until they figure out how to get this going. Until they figure out how to get this going.
Patrick Wiscombe:Hold on, you brought up something just there. There's the Europe version of this and then there's the UK version of this. Did I get that right, correct, and you can help people with this?
Mark Faldmo:right? Yes, we can direct you to the right place. As soon as this goes into effect, we'll have a link on the Blue Planet website.
Patrick Wiscombe:Apartments by Marriott Bonvoy Resort. This is interesting. That means I won't say they're getting out of the hotel business, but I will say that they're trying to get into residence now, which I think is interesting.
Mark Faldmo:They're almost like the planned communities in Florida.
Patrick Wiscombe:Which, by the way, those are spectacular too.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, they are, and so this is kind of like a vacation home, but with all of the resort amenities. Their first version of these just opened up in central Florida, which is close to Orlando. This resort, it's 270 villas ranging from four to nine bedrooms, big houses, then ranging from four to nine bedrooms, big houses, then Big houses, but then it has all of the amenities of a resort. A four-night stay about $500 per night for one of the four-bedroom units.
Patrick Wiscombe:All right, that's comparable to a very nice Airbnb.
Mark Faldmo:Other places they found them for as low as $330 a night. If you look at the Marriott in Orlando right there by Disney World, you probably won't be able to get just a one bedroom studio that's there for less than $500 a night. So these are pretty good rates, especially if you need that larger four to nine bedroom units.
Patrick Wiscombe:So, mark and I want to respond to your travel-related texts, and we got a text. Who is this from? Was this Rachel? I think it was Rachel.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe:You can text your travel-related questions and we will answer them on the air 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700 is the phone number and the text line she is asking. She wants to charter. I hope we can answer this. Charter a private boat to go around the Caribbean to the Caribbean islands. Is that an option and, if so, what is the process? First of all, I like how you're thinking, rachel.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, and this is definitely something I can help out with. I have a company that I've worked with on this it's called the Moorings, and they actually have a few different options.
Patrick Wiscombe:What did you say? The Moorings, the Moorings.
Mark Faldmo:The Moorings.
Patrick Wiscombe:I thought you said the morons. I'm like what? Okay, Moorings.
Mark Faldmo:The Moorings, okay, what? Okay, moorings, the Moorings, okay, the Moorings. Moorings, yeah, and they actually do. These yachts all around the world. They have them in the Caribbean, central America, mexico, mediterranean, tahiti, thailand, and the seashells is where they can offer these services. They have two options. They have sailing boats and they have motorized boats, and you can take those captain or fully crewed, and so if it's just captained, that means you're in charge of your food and cooking your food. If it's fully crewed, that means they have a cook on board to prepare all of the meals for you.
Patrick Wiscombe:If you have a whole crew, it's going to be more. It is yeah so all right, that's decision number one.
Mark Faldmo:I was just looking in the Caribbean at what they have to offer for one of their 10 cabin sailing boats, fully crewed for six nights, was about $16,000. That's 10 cabins, so you could get up to 20 people on that, yeah that kind of makes it very, very affordable actually.
Mark Faldmo:If my math is right, that's about $800 a person. Yeah, do it, and they have boats as small as three cabins. Now you do have to take one of the cabins out because that's for the captain and the other crew member, which is usually the captain's spouse, which is the cook. That's a great way to see the Caribbean and you just go, you're on a little boat, pull up to the little islands. To answer Rachel's question, yes, there is a way, and a fairly affordable way, to charter a boat, either a sailing boat or a motorized boat, in the Caribbean.
Patrick Wiscombe:When she was talking about chartering, I had like an excursion, like a day-long excursion in my head. I love this option even more. In fact, I didn't even know this was an option. This is great. We should charter a boat and then just invite listeners to come with us. Yes, that would be great.
Mark Faldmo:Oh my word, I have a travel agent friend back East that actually does that in Croatia. They just charter a sailing boat, do a similar thing. They do a seven night thing, charter it in Croatia and do similar to what we talked about doing the Dalmatian Islands. But it's just an all private group. Oh see I love that idea.
Patrick Wiscombe:I think we just found the next chapter of what we're doing. Before we take off, let's hurry and recap the hot travel deal of the week, which was Hawaii. Save up to $200 per person.
Mark Faldmo:Hawaii. We found rates towards the end of May starting at $999 per person for five nights and round-trip airfare from Salt Lake City. That's kind of the first time that's dipped below that $1,000 mark in several months, so prices are coming down.
Patrick Wiscombe:And I do want to emphasize that does include the airfare. That's not just your hotel.
Mark Faldmo:That includes everything, yes, yeah, well, maybe not food, but it includes flight and hotel yeah, you can find all of those on blue planet vacations dot com as well, as if you sign up for the hot deal update, you'll get notifications. Like earlier this week we did send out that six thousand dollar off on avalon waterways through our email list, so those on that list got it a little bit before the listeners on this show this hour always goes by so fast.
Patrick Wiscombe:If you want to take advantage of any of the deals that we've talked about, call Mark in his office as soon as we get off the air 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. And, like he mentioned, you can go to blueplanetvacations. com. Go see the world, go explore the world. You can listen to this show again tomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11 am, right here on this radio station and around the country, and you can stream, download and subscribe to the podcast at insidetraveltalk. com. We are on all the major podcast platforms. Podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. We are on all the major podcast platforms and if you don't want to subscribe, you can just stream the show right at InsideTravelTalk. com. We've done our job.
Patrick Wiscombe:Get out and explore the world while you can, because you never know what curveball's life is going to throw at you. And hopefully nothing big and dramatic happened to you in the last seven days. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. Live your life deliberately, live your life intentionally, and thank you Truly. Thank you for listening. Mark and I will talk to you again next week. Have a great week.
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.
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