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Inside Travel Talk
Cruising Beyond Boundaries: Exploring Alaska's Wilderness with UnCruise Adventures
Discover the extraordinary difference between traditional Alaska cruising and the immersive wilderness experience offered by UnCruise Adventures. In our conversation with Dan Blanchard, CEO of UnCruise, we explore how their small ships allow guests to wake up alongside glaciers, spending nearly 48 hours in Glacier Bay compared to the brief 3-6 hour visits typical of larger cruise lines.
Blanchard, whose passion for authentic experiences stems from sailing the Pacific with his family, created UnCruise to share his favorite wild places with travelers seeking deeper connection. "We're the only company that puts people ashore in Glacier Bay in the wilderness areas and actually lets them go hike up mountains and on top of glaciers," he explains. Their US-flagged vessels and American crews (many Alaskan locals) provide authentic insights you won't find elsewhere.
Switching gears, we dive into MSC Cruises' stunning new World America with Laura Okunowski, who breaks down their four experience levels - from the value-focused Bella to the premium Yacht Club "ship within a ship" experience. Mark, fresh off a three-day sailing, shares his enthusiasm for this spectacular vessel now offering incredible value with Eastern Caribbean cruises starting at just $742 per person.
We wrap up with essential cruise preparation tips that can dramatically improve your vacation experience. From online check-in strategies to the importance of researching ports before arrival, these insider recommendations will help you maximize enjoyment and minimize stress on your next cruise adventure.
Whether you're drawn to wilderness immersion or luxurious big-ship experiences, today's episode offers valuable insights for every type of cruise traveler. Ready to experience Alaska's magnificent silence or MSC's innovative new ship? Contact Blue Planet Vacations to start planning your perfect cruise getaway.
It is time for the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Coming up. On today's show, we will be talking about a very unique way to cruise to Alaska and when I say unique, that's no exaggeration An interview with MSC's Laura Okonowski, because Mark spent the last three days on MSC's brand spanking new World America, and we're going to give you some detailed cruise tips. 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.
Ad 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 Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:It is time for the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Mark and I are broadcasting from the great state of Florida. Nikki and I are just getting back from sailing on Holland America's Rotterdam and we are meeting Mark right here in Miami as he is just gotten off MSC's World America. You've been on the cruise ship for what? Three days already.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, for three days yeah just getting off and actually getting ready to head over to a baseball game later today. Oh see, that's the one thing that you and I did last year. We saw the Miami Marlins Still kind of weird to call them the Miami Marlins they're still Florida to me and the Nationals and you're going to go see the same two teams this year, but minus Patrick, minus Patrick but I will have Heather.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, minus me, that's a better pickup, that's an upgrade. Yes, we're doing the radio show from Miami, then I'm jumping on MSC's World America and then we are off for an entire week. One thing that we wanted to do this week, as we're broadcasting from Miami, is we had the very good fortune of talking with a gentleman by the name of Dan Blanchard, the CEO of UnCruise and there's a reason why they've named the company that If you want to experience Alaska in a completely different way, instead of going on the massive cruise ships, you're going to be very pleasantly surprised spending a couple days in Glacier Bay.
Dan Blanchard:On many of our routes we enter right over the line at midnight and you wake up at the glacier and then we play all day. We anchor out, we wake up at another glacier and play all day and then leave after dark and cross the line at midnight. So you're actually unlike the large ships which are generally in the bay for, you know, anywhere from three to six hours. You know we're in for 47 hours and 50 minutes, which is pretty cool.
Patrick Wiscombe:What's the favorite thing that you do in Glacier Bay?
Dan Blanchard:For me personally, I love to get out and hike. We're the only company overnight company of any kind that puts people ashore in Glacier Bay in the wilderness areas and actually lets them go hike up mountains, and we lead hikes on top of glaciers, up mountains. There's one of my favorite places called Gloomy Knob that I love to go to because we see a lot of brown bear and goats at that location, but a lot of people. You know, if you're not a hiker, you might want to go kayaking and if you're, you know, maybe not in the greatest of shape or just want to, you know, relax. You can hop in a skiff and get a skiff tour all throughout the bay. It's really a pretty dramatic experience, more like if you were on my sailboat with me than on a cruise ship.
Patrick Wiscombe:How did you get into doing UnCruise?
Dan Blanchard:Well, I was in the small ship industry as a captain for many years in my 20s and 30s and we started UnCruise Adventures after I left a company called Cruise West as their vice president of operations in 1996. And we started UnCruise Well, what back then was called American Safari, which became UnCruise Adventures. And you know, with the whole idea, I just taken three years off and sailed around the Pacific on my 40-foot sailboat with my eight and 10-year-old kid and my wife and we came back to my old job and we were just bored stiff, quite frankly. And how do you have an experience like that and then go back to doing port to port? So we really wanted to experience Alaska in the same way. We experienced our Pacific trip with guests rather than just a private boat. So that was the whole impetus behind UnCruise was to if you were coming on my sailboat, I would take you to all my favorite places and we would play, and so that really is the impetus behind the brand.
Patrick Wiscombe:What was the thinking? Hey, let's grab the wife, let's grab the kids, let's just take off.
Dan Blanchard:When I was young, probably in sixth grade, I read a book called Dove, which was about a 15-year-old who sailed around the world by himself for six years Robin Lee Graham and so I was convinced when I was in sixth grade that I would leave before I was 15 and beat his record. Well, I think I was 35 or something like that when we loved to go sailing, so it was a little off-timey, but we did get out there.
Patrick Wiscombe:Tell me about the route that you were on.
Dan Blanchard:We essentially circumnavigated the Pacific through Ayrson, but you know my favorite, Palmyra Atoll, about 800 miles south-southwest of Hawaii. I would rate the Lao group in Fiji as off the hook, the Solomon Islands. Off the hook, I mean, the Solomon Islands were like going to a culture that was, you know, a hundred years behind the times. At that time they had no phone service, no generators, you know, they were just living no cars in the outer islands. So it was really. It felt like you know I was sailing back in 1896, not 1996.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let's talk about UnCruise now. What kind of a project did you say you were doing?
Dan Blanchard:So we have eight vessels and every so many years the vessels have to kind of go through a rehab. In this case it means, you know, a lot of steel work, rebuilding cabins, putting all new windows in this kind of thing. So it's this boat's turn and she hasn't operated the last two years. We pulled her out of service during the pandemic and so we're bringing her back. Obviously, sales have returned up until recently have been really booming. For this coming season, the whole idea is we have higher demand than we did during the pandemic years, which kind of stretched out a bit for us and many travel companies.
Patrick Wiscombe:What's your favorite itinerary when doing UnCruise, and do you still captain the ships or do you just turn that over to?
Dan Blanchard:different captains. I haven't Occasionally. The captains are kind enough to give me the stick now and then and let me take the boat in or out of the dock, which I still love, but no, I don't captain on a regular. In in or out of the dock, which I still love, but no, I don't captain on a regular. In fact I don't captain at all. It's been probably 10 years at least In Alaska.
Dan Blanchard:You know our route that goes to the Aleutian Islands and Prince William Sound. Those are relatively new, are. I mean hardly any traffic whatsoever. Our Southeast routes, which are classic, you know those are anywhere from seven to 14 days and it, you know those are anywhere from seven to 14 days and it you know, the difference between us and like what you did on the bliss, is you're spending all of that time in Alaska. You're not spending a day and a half each direction getting to and from start burning three out of seven days, uh, just getting to and from Alaska. So that, you know, is the real advantage of a small us business like ours, with flagships.
Patrick Wiscombe:Why is everything flagged everywhere else instead of America? Aren't you flagged here?
Dan Blanchard:Yeah, we're US flagged, which means that our vessels are built in the United States, maintained in the United States and crewed by US citizens, and in Alaska that means a lot of Alaskans on board.
Dan Blanchard:So what you have with the larger ships is it's the cost of building in the United States is quite high. So the larger ships for many, many years now have been building foreign and therefore, you know, have foreign crews. So they visit the country for sure, and but there's great cost advantage to building overseas. So what they do is they have what are called flags of convenience. So you'll see that, and that generally means the flag states that don't have heavy taxes or fees, don't have requirements on how you have retirement and social security and medical for your staff. So you find a lot of flags, like a lot of cruise ships are flagged in the Bahamas or Panama, and that's to basically because there's almost no regulation on the way they manage crew. They still have regulations for safety that are quite high, but not necessarily the higher level requirements that any American would want if they were working on board a ship.
Patrick Wiscombe:UnCruise Take me on a seven-day journey. Do we take off from Washington, or we go from Alaska, or yes, one or all.
Dan Blanchard:So the vast majority of our trips leave from Alaska. So you know an example my home is in Juneau, it's where our office is at, and you fly into Juneau, we pick you up at the plane If you're staying a few extra days, we take you to our hotel and then we get you to the boat on departure day and the same thing on the return. And so you know, from the time you touch down to the time you depart, you're actually in the state of Alaska, and that's true at Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Seward, where we depart, Dutch Harbor, all these places. What you gain from that is efficiency of time. Obviously the trips are not port-centric like the large cruise ships. So our whole thing, the adventure part, is that we have all levels of adventure, from climbing a mountain, if you want to, with our hard-charging group, to beach, beach strolls, to snorkeling in Alaska, which was pretty novel, whoa whoa.
Dan Blanchard:Yeah. We don't get too many people that sign up for that one. So like an 80 passenger ship you might get 15 or 20% that would sign up for snorkeling in Alaska, but it is amazingly beautiful. I mean, it's not like the tropics at all.
Ad Voice:No.
Dan Blanchard:It doesn't mean that it amazingly beautiful. I mean it's not like the tropics at all. No, it doesn't mean that it isn't alive.
Patrick Wiscombe:You mentioned feeling alive. When I was in Alaska I felt alive. It was quiet, it was beautiful, it was mountains, it was rivers, ocean. When we pulled into, where was it? Skagway docking, right next to the mountain, just kind of freaked me out going. Wait, it's 30 feet that way and we've got a mountain. I don't know why. That just blew my mind.
Dan Blanchard:That's a very unique situation in Skagway, for sure.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah.
Dan Blanchard:And they've even had, you know, times when they couldn't pull ships in there because of unstable rock and this kind of thing. But yeah, they've got that all resolved. But anyway, the point being is that you're right To be in nature like that that's just uninterrupted by human touch. I mean, you can go hundreds and hundreds of miles without seeing any kind of civilization and you might see another boat. That's about it. And the further north you go, the more that increases. It's one thing to be in Southeast or my home's at. It's another thing altogether to be up in Prince William Sound or, even more so, in Western Alaska or out in the Aleutian chain, where we call it kind of the Wild West. Out there there's just nobody there.
Patrick Wiscombe:There's something about having the comforts of home. I'll just say a ship, in this case on cruise or a ship, but especially in your case. I didn't know that the world could be that quiet in Alaska.
Dan Blanchard:It was unbelievable.
Patrick Wiscombe:It was so peaceful that it was magical.
Dan Blanchard:Just imagine that if you were to amp that up and take a small boat ashore, take a short hike up to the top of a glacier, maybe walk on top of the glacier, and one of the things we do on every one of our events that happens and when I say events, whether it's kayaking, paddle boarding, strolling on the beach, taking a skiff tour or hike is each particular event has a period of three to five minutes where we just ask everybody to find a comfortable spot. You can stand, you can sit whatever. Find a comfortable spot, you can stand, you can sit whatever. But just, we're just going to be silent. And it is amazing when you take a silent place and become silent ourselves. And then, here you know, you can be on a glacier and all you hear is cracking of the glacier, which you never would never would hear if, if you were talking.
Patrick Wiscombe:When we were in Glacier Bay and I thought gunshots were going off it was. I turned to my wife, Nicki, and I said is there a gun range here? Not knowing that it was the ice hitting the water, or at least that's what I thought it was yeah Well, yeah, you get a big calving, you can get those gunshots, you know.
Dan Blanchard:Obviously, sometimes the icebergs themselves will even calve and it can be amazing. And occasionally, you know, even when you're standing on top of a glacier you'll get a loud one. But generally they're quieter. But they're all like mini earthquakes in a way.
Patrick Wiscombe:I sound like I'm just weirding out on you. If you can't tell, I'm a little bit excited about what you do, because I just didn't even know it existed until just recently. Let's get back to the seven-day and then let's transition to the 14-day. You start off in Alaska or Washington For time efficiency purposes. In Alaska, what's a typical seven-day?
Dan Blanchard:Well, a typical seven-day is you board the vessel, let's just say you board Saturday. We board vessels on Friday, saturday and Sunday primarily, although other days of the week are available depending on the trip. But you board the vessel at about 5. We go through our safety drill, then we have dinner and get underway, usually just before or just after dinner and then, depending on the time of year, sometimes you have daylight until almost midnight, like if you're in May or June. It's just a lot of light, right, even early July. But we get underway and our whole deal is to find really special places in the wilderness and we will stop by villages for cultural purposes, but for the most part we're out in Alaska herself, in untouched Alaska, and that's why we go to Glacier Bay and that's why we go to Misty Fjords National Monument or many of the national monuments and parks throughout Alaska, and the idea is that we immerse ourselves in nature and then the next morning, after cocktail hour and dinner's over and the evening presentation. Like the first night, the presentation is hey, this is our route for the next seven nights, eight days, and this is what our plan is. But with UnCruise we're not really on a schedule, so we call it the plan to deviate from. And so we have a plan or the whales, or sea lions or whatever we see, salmon sharks are prevalent in one area. We hear about it. We'll move the boat over there and change the plans. So there's no two trips that are ever the same. We're not running on a railroad track. It's also seasonal changes. So, for instance, there are certain parts of the season that are better for bears, there are certain parts of the season that are better for whales, and we try to take advantage of that. And if it's late season or very, very early season and Northern Lights is a thing you know we want to be in a position where we're going to have our best sightings in Northern Lights at midnight or two in the morning, and we don't want to be near a town, for instance. So it's really geared to, you know, moving with Mother nature.
Dan Blanchard:We all know that she doesn't work on our clock, so we have to adapt to her. But then it's, you know. We pull into a cove, let's say, early in the morning, we anchor up just before breakfast and sometimes we get skiff tours out for birders really early, because that's the best time for birds before breakfast. Then they come back. We have breakfast together and then the day starts, and sometimes the all-day kayak group leaves first and the all-day hikers, and then it's followed, you know, 15 minutes later by those going for beach strolls and snorkeling and all the stuff they do, and so that goes on kind of in two shifts, morning and afternoon. And then the good thing is, we all get back on the boat around six and we have a happy hour which is full of storytelling about what people saw, like, oh my God, I was going to my kayak and a whale came up 20 feet from me.
Patrick Wiscombe:So that really does happen.
Dan Blanchard:Oh yeah, it actually happens, and even more prevalent than whales coming up are really the opportunity to see bears. You know we're not, we try not to see bears from land. We want to see bears from the kayak or the skiffs. And as you're kayaking along, you're very quiet and so we maybe kayak 20, 30 feet from the shore and you go around a corner and there's a, there's a sow with a couple of cubs and you see it very up. You know very close and uh, but very safe as well where have you been?
Dan Blanchard:I was out of my sailboat too long, I guess yeah I guess you were we're actually gosh. We're going to be 30 years old next year wow, congratulations, congratulations. That must mean, I'm what 34?.
Patrick Wiscombe:You started sailing at one.
Dan Blanchard:Yeah, I started young, very young.
Patrick Wiscombe:What a privilege to talk to you. Truly one of the good guys. But on cruise adventures, I can't even imagine. Well, no, I can't because we'll be doing it soon.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, I think that is one of the most unique ways to travel to Alaska. What they do, their programs are amazing and you know especially where they overnight spend two full days in Glacier Bay. That's just as unique as it gets.
Patrick Wiscombe:Most large cruise ships. So when we were on NCL's Bliss and you've been in there dozens of times, you really are only there for about I don't know four hours, six hours. I think that's generous. I wanted to be there as about I don't know. Four hours, six hours, I think that's generous. I wanted to be there as long as I could. And UnCruise Adventures our thanks to Dan Blanchard, just a genuinely good guy and you can hear the passion in his voice. Check him out. UnCruise Adventures they're featured on blueplanetvacations. com. If you love nature and you want to experience Alaska completely differently, you're gonna get that experience perfectly. We'll take a break here when we come back. We've got the hot travel deal of the week. We're talking about MSC's World World America alternating between the Eastern and Western Caribbean. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast or radio show continues alongside my good friend Mark Faldmo my name is Patrick Wiscombe. We will be right back.
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Ad Voice:To book your romantic beach getaway, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Presented by blueplanetvacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show right now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at insidetraveltalk. com. Here's Patrick.
Patrick Wiscombe:Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo. Welcome back inside of the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Hello there, I hope you are having a terrific weekend. Coming up in this segment of the show, we will be talking about the hot travel deal of the week and we are going to combo the cruise deal of the week, or the infamous just cruising segment, with the hot travel deal of the week Because, coming up in the next segment, we have an interview with MSC's Laura Okonowski. We were just together on MSC's World America. I was able to see her. Mark's are for the last three days, but I was able to see her getting off the ship. We said hello, got together for a few minutes, then we will be getting on the ship. Just because we're a little short on time, let's get into the cruise deal of the week, which is, I'm going to assume, MSc's World America.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, it is. So. You know, most cruise lines have alternate eastern and western Caribbean, so seven days eastern, seven days western. You can do back-to-backs on other cruise lines, but MSC actually sells them as one 14-day itinerary. So right now I'm just going to give the price on a seven-day Eastern Caribbean cruise, but you also can combine this and make a 14-day cruise. These are October dates, looking particularly October 11th, and this is actually the itinerary that you're going to do, Patrick. You're beginning this itinerary today. Oh yeah, so it leaves from Miami, goes to Private Island, Ocean Key, San Juan, Puerto Rico and Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. The prices for a new cruise ship it just continues to amaze me what they charge compared to the other cruise lines when they launch a new ship. So October 11th, this itinerary and inside cabin starts at $742 per person. Wow, a balcony cabin starts at $1,072. That is all the taxes and fees, everything. That's the out-the-door price for the seven-day cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe:That is an extraordinary dollar amount on the low side, especially for a brand new ship. If you've ever wanted to go cruising, it is one of the best deals available period.
Mark Faldmo:I'll just move on to another deal that's even better. Now, this is not on the World America, this is on the MSC Seascape, which leaves from Galveston, so the Houston area of Texas. A seven-day Western Caribbean cruise Cozumel, costa Maya and Roatan One of your favorite ports, one of my favorite ports. This is January of next year, January of 2026. So, right when it's snowy and cold where we're at, an inside cabin starts at $444 per person. A balcony cabin starts at 444 dollars per person. A balcony cabin starts at 674 dollars per person what ship is that on?
Mark Faldmo:this is on the msc seascape okay.
Patrick Wiscombe:so my friend, my kid, was just on that ship, literally about two weeks ago, and he loves MSC, absolutely huge fan, loved Seascape.
Mark Faldmo:Even at this, the suites are about $1,200.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's it.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, so really good rates on this Galveston departure for next winter.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, so we're talking about MSC Yacht Club, right?
Mark Faldmo:Those aren't the Yacht Club. Those are the suites, one below Yacht Club.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, those suites are nice too. How much is the Yacht Club? Did you pull?
Mark Faldmo:that up, I did. The Yacht Club starts at $2889 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's good too. Yacht Club Wow.
Mark Faldmo:Yacht Club is a keyed access exclusive area of the ship and actually in our next segment, Laura is going to talk a little bit more about what Yacht Club is. We're going to talk a little bit more about what Yacht Club is.
Patrick Wiscombe:We're going to take an early break here. Those are phenomenal offers. Take advantage of that. Call Mark during the break. Just get the conversation started. No obligation 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. Mark will also post this on BluePlanetVacations. com. 888-7717. Mark will also post this on blueplanetvacations. com. When we come back, we'll continue the infamous Just Cruising segment with our friend Laura Okonowski with MSC Cruises. It's always good to catch up with her. That is next with the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show continues.
Ad Voice:Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be right back. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe. And check out the podcast at insidetraveltalk. com. We'll be right back.
Ad Voice:Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Anna. Waterways, from castles and capitals to vistas and villages visit some of Europe's most remarkable sites and cities To set out on your own river cruise journey. Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com.
Ad Voice:This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by blueplanetvacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show right now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. And now here are your hosts Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:We are broadcasting live from Miami, Florida and one of our favorite people on this entire planet is Laura Okonowski, with MSC Cruises, and she's getting off the MSC World America along with Mark and I am getting on. You and I are just switching positions. How was the inaugural sailing?
Laura Okonowski:Oh my goodness. Well, I am grinning from ear to ear.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yes, you are.
Laura Okonowski:I don't think I'm going to stop smiling for probably about a week and a half. So I snapped up a whole bunch of pictures on my phone, met so many wonderful people on this experience and it was just fantastic. It really is a gorgeous ship and such a highlight to finally be on World America. Do you agree, mark? Did you have an amazing time too?
Mark Faldmo:I do. It was a great experience and, as we've talked about in the past, my favorite part was MSC Ocean Reserve, the private island. I loved it.
Laura Okonowski:It looks like you had your sunblock on, which is good. Yes, I tend to burn, so I didn't get too much sun.
Patrick Wiscombe:We're broadcasting from near the terminal, MSC World America. The ship is in the distance. It is an enormous ship. It is a beautiful ship. We're all pumped up and we want to share this with listeners right now. So we wanted to talk about the experience levels, and they are the four. Let's go over Bella, Fantastica, Aria and I think it was Yacht Club. Is that correct, Laura?
Laura Okonowski:That's correct. Yes, Okay.
Laura Okonowski:Now, what's unique about MSC Cruises is we have categories that run alongside our accommodation types to further explain what that accommodation experience will be all about. So to break it all down for everybody, if you ever are being advised on a Bella experience, that experience will mean that you will be in an inside stateroom, an outside stateroom, potentially a balcony stateroom, but there isn't a lot of flexibility in your selection on a deck map. In describing this further, you know a Bella experience is typically a guarantee. Patrick, you may not know, of course Mark knows this, but a guarantee is, of course, your stateroom on board. But you may not get your assignment of your stateroom with a guarantee situation until maybe a week or two weeks before you're set to travel.
Laura Okonowski:So for some people they don't mind the spontaneity of not knowing right. It could be anywhere on the ship. You know they like that thrill. But for other seasoned cruisers, they really prefer to have part in the planning in saying specifically do they want port side? Do they want starboard side? What deck do they want to be on? Do they like to be on a higher deck? Do they want starboard side? What deck do they want to be on? Do they like to be on a higher deck? Do they want to be on a lower deck?
Laura Okonowski:So with the Bella experience, you do not have that choice and convenience and, in fact, if you need to make any changes to the booking reservation, there will be a change fee involved. So while it might be a great rate, you have to realize that you could be anywhere on the ship in a guarantee situation. You're guaranteed to travel Absolutely. We'll still guarantee to give you your three meals a day, plus, plus. Plus, you'll be privy to all the entertainment on board, all the fun things that take place. You'll have access to the gym and all the sports facilities. All the children's programs are included in this. You'll have options for drink packages and things like that, but there just is that guarantee that I like for people to realize.
Patrick Wiscombe:So that's the Bella experience. And then what is the service level above Bella?
Laura Okonowski:Now we ratchet up to Fantastica, and Fantastica, I think, is a better opportunity for first-time cruisers with MSC who want a little bit more choice, convenience and flexibility. So, number one you get the opportunity to choose your stateroom and the location. So, whatever you decide with Mark, and if you go with deck 10 and you are midship, you will get your exact stateroom number and that's where you will be located for your cruise. You also get some extra booking flexibility in this and you get one free cruise change. So let's say you have an unexpected wedding in the family that is going to be taking place.
Laura Okonowski:When you planned six months ago for your World America cruise, follow up mark and you say, oh my gosh, my sister's cousin's brother is getting married. I have to be at the wedding. We have to cancel our cruise. Mark will say no, no, no, we're not going to cancel it, we're going to just move you to a different date because experience, you're allowed one free cruise change. So again, more convenience. With this right you also get your chance to request your preferred dining seating If you want the earlier or the later. You also get some extra privileges, such as breakfast in your stateroom for free delivery. No delivery charges on that more choice, more flexibility and, I think personally, the better experience between Fantastica and Bella.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, let's talk about Aria Laura.
Laura Okonowski:Yeah. So the Aria experience. Of course you get to choose your stateroom location. You are allowed that one free cruise change if it's necessary and needed. But this Aria experience now gets into more comfort. We offer suites and balconies in these types of opportunities throughout the ship, which are the best locations, and with this comes more food and drink benefits as well. So you get a free time dining my choice dining in a dedicated restaurant where only ARIA guests will dine.
Laura Okonowski:Now the thermal suite area aboard MSC cruise ships just boasts of some wonderful chambers on board, such as the lavender room, the snow room. You have a hot sauna, a dry sauna. I mean it really is a wonderful respite to have access to this. And on other cruise lines you know, I personally have indulged and it can cost sometimes up to $250 per person for a seven-day cruise to have access to such amenities that are in the spa area. Now the thermal suites are for the adults only, so no kiddos are allowed there. So again, it is a real nice respite, a really great way to unwind at the end of the day. That's. My favorite tip actually is after dinner. Sometimes my husband and I will go to the show, sometimes not. We prefer to go to the thermal suite in the evening.
Patrick Wiscombe:What is your favorite thing in the spa? Do you like the hot, cold showers, the sauna, or do you just do it all?
Laura Okonowski:You guys might not know this about me, Patrick and Mark, but I'm originally from Canada so I don't mind cold every now and a while so I do love the exhilaration that I get from the snow room and just to be in there. You know, cold plunging is such a big thing. Nowadays People even have their own cold plunges in their backyard. But with me living in Arizona year round, to go in this room chamber and make a snowball and sit there for, you know, two, three minutes, I just, I really enjoy that.
Patrick Wiscombe:It's exhilarating when you walk in there. It really is Canada in here. Last experience after Aria is the Yacht Club.
Laura Okonowski:I think we've saved the best for last, of course, here Now. The Yacht Club is our pinnacle experience. It is a ship within a ship experience. So what I think is so great about this is you have the big ship amenities right. You have water slides, you have multiple venues for dining, you have multiple venues for entertainment. You have all these kids programs that are complimentary. You have multiple venues for entertainment. You have all these kids programs that are complimentary, all these spaces and places throughout the ship that you can still navigate to as being a Yacht Club guest.
Laura Okonowski:But the best part is you have your special place where you can retreat to alongside all the other Yacht Club guests, which on any given ship of ours, we'll have usually two to two to 300 suites, but on World America I did the math and there's close to 500. But you never feel like you're amongst all of those other people because everyone's milling around. You know the ship all at different hours doing their own thing. But Yacht Club does have its own club lounge where you can maybe sit to piano at night. Lounge where you can maybe sit to piano at night.
Laura Okonowski:Also, one of the best things is check-in, which is separate embarkation and disembarkation for Yacht Club guests. So the butler will come, greet you, meet you, assist you with your hand luggage, bring you on board the ship, and it's just a very seamless type of entry into the world of Yacht Club. The butler service is 24 hours and oftentimes people will say, but Laura, what am I going to have a butler do for me? Well, the butler can escort you to the shows in the evening. They can help with a short excursion decisions. They can maybe speak to the chef and ask for a certain menu item that you are craving.
Laura Okonowski:They really take care of your personalization. They customize things for you at Yacht Club. It really is just a wonderful experience to behold. Not only do we have a private restaurant there, but we have, at Yacht Club, our own pool. You have your own solarium sitting area, own sun deck, and the best part of all, too, is that Yacht Club fare for this experience. It comes with your Wi-Fi package already wrapped in, as well as all of your beverages wine, spirits, champagne, soda, energy drinks. You know I have a 12 year old son and he was ordering virgin pina coladas at the Yacht Club Lounge bar and he was living his best young life.
Patrick Wiscombe:I can just see him doing that.
Laura Okonowski:Yeah. So it was just a wonderful experience to behold and I really encourage your listeners to take a look at what MSC has to offer in the overall experiences. When you break things down with Mark and he does a side-by-side comparison, maybe versus brand XYZ on another cruise line, I have to tell you and Mark can attest nine out of 9.999 times MSC prices will always come out better. We are just a great value proposition right now Really want to encourage people to come out and visit World America here at the brand new terminal.
Patrick Wiscombe:I'm jumping on the ship after the broadcast, and where are you headed to, laura?
Laura Okonowski:Well, sadly I have to leave. It was hard to say goodbye this morning, but I have to leave and go back to Arizona, so I'll be boarding a flight here out of Miami International Airport in a little bit.
Patrick Wiscombe:I am very fortunate that I get to jump on the ship. Mark just got off. We're swapping spots. I'm so excited to go on this ship. If you are interested in booking an MSC cruise, regardless of the ship, call Mark in his office, 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And we'll also post the cruise specials on BluePlanetvacations. com when we come back. We've got Mark's travel tips. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We'll be right back.
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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. To book your unique Star Clipper sailing adventure, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com.
Ad Voice:This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by blueplanetVacations. com America's best travel advisors. Call the show right now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. And now your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Broadcasting live from Miami, Florida. Right now you are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe and, in case you are just joining the show, Nicki and I are down in Miami. We just got off Holland America's Rotterdam ship and we are actually meeting Mark in Miami as he is getting off the MSC World America and we are just trading spots. I am getting on the World America and Mark is going to baseball games tonight. Yep.
Mark Faldmo:In about two hours I'll be at the Marlins Nationals game tonight.
Patrick Wiscombe:That is literally the same two teams that we saw last year at about this time, about this time, yep, by the way, marlins Stadium what do they call that? Is that? What's the name of the field there? Lone Depot Park? Oh, that's right. Okay, if you've never been to Miami and you've always wanted to catch a baseball game, lone Depot Park is small, but it's a beautiful park, wouldn't you?
Mark Faldmo:agree, it is. Yep, I'm excited to get there. It's affordable for baseball yeah, and it's affordable for baseball, yeah, and I guess those tickets are on demand. So the tickets prices raise and lower based on the demand. I'm going to the Yankees Dodgers game in LA in a few weeks and for what I paid for those tickets in the upper deck nosebleed section, about three times what I paid to be on the about the 12th row at the Marlins game.
Patrick Wiscombe:Isn't that the cruise that you're getting on Royal Caribbean? I'm not joining you for that one.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, it's the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas. They're having a little preview cruise when that ship starts sailing to Mexico from Los Angeles.
Patrick Wiscombe:Coming up in this segment of the show. We've got two topics that we want to share with listeners. We received a call or a text from Jessica and let me just give out the text number. You can call or text this number and ask your travel-related question. The studio number is 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. That's how Jessica got ahold of us and she is asking I booked a flight, but the price right now seems a little high. If the price drops, can I get a lower price? And I think the answer is yes, but I think it's a very, very tight window.
Mark Faldmo:It is a very tight window within 24 hours.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, so it is really tight.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, once you go past 24 hours, the ticket is non-refundable, with a few exceptions. If you did buy a ticket that says it's refundable, then it's refundable. Right, most people don't do that, but you know, I've noticed, especially like Delta Airlines, when I go to buy a ticket that says do you want to buy the economy regular fare or the economy refundable fare?
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, and the refundable fare is usually at least $100. At least that I've seen $100 more.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, $100 more, or it's also refundable if you purchase travel protection. Yes, most travel protection is canceled for a covered reason. I did notice that delta, however, does have kind of a two-tiered system one is for covered reasons and one is cancel for any reason right but then that takes the ticket up to about the same cost as if you purchase the refundable fare, what I found most people do.
Mark Faldmo:If you travel a lot, people will purchase a ticket because they know they need to go and then, if the fare goes down, they'll just rebook the lower fare, and most airlines right now do not have any change fees. Yeah, I noticed that recently too. So that means you can just book the ticket at the lower price and then you'll have a credit for a future flight. Got it? That's what most people do. I've used that trick several times because I know I'm going to be traveling in the future. The one caveat with that is those tickets are only good for 12 months from the original date of purchase. So if you purchased it six months ago, you really only have six months to use that credit. It's not based on the date of travel, which some people think it's. For most airlines, it's the date of original purchase.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, okay, so you do have to watch that. Yes, that was a long winded answer, for if the price drops on an airline ticket, can you get a lower price? The answer is yes within 24 hours, or you have a refundable ticket. Did I summarize that pretty quick?
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, okay, all right, I would add to that, or you just use what you had for a future ticket and buy the lower price ticket.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yes.
Mark Faldmo:Okay, that's the fun thing about travel, and that's probably why you should use a travel advisor. There's so many different ways to do things, to sort through things like this.
Patrick Wiscombe:Call Mark in his office, 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. In the time that we have remaining in this segment, Mark, let's talk about the things that all travelers should do before getting on a cruise, and we have what about 10 things? Yeah, 10, or?
Mark Faldmo:so things that we can go through this list.
Patrick Wiscombe:All right. So let's do the 10 things to do before getting on your cruise, starting with number one.
Mark Faldmo:Number one is check in online. This really saves you time at the pier. In fact, some cruise lines require people to check in online this way. If you do that, they have all of your documents. They have your photo ID that's used to board the ship. They really have everything there and some cruise lines, if you do this, you basically say I'm here, they check you off a list, they give you your key card and you can go get on the ship. It really cuts down on the time spent checking in for the cruise. I've often said cruises are great. There's two really bad things about a cruise. One is departure day and one is the day you return, because it can be just lines and lines of people. Checking in online really helps cut down your time to get on board the ship.
Patrick Wiscombe:Things to do before getting on your cruise Number two.
Mark Faldmo:Number two is check your identification documents. This should be done before you even start booking the cruise, but also when you're about to get on the cruise. Make sure that you have your passport. I always recommend traveling with a passport on a cruise. In some cases, you can get on with your birth certificate and driver's license. Make sure your driver's license is not expired. Now, this doesn't relate to a cruise, but I've actually in my lifetime showed up twice to rent a car with an expired driver's license.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, I'm literally checking my license right now. In fact, I've got to remind my sister-in-law and her son to check that.
Mark Faldmo:Always a good thing.
Patrick Wiscombe:Reason number three things to do before getting on your cruise.
Mark Faldmo:The next thing is download the Cruise Lines app. Some people initially were reticent to do this, but I actually think if you go through the check-in process on the cruise line app, it goes a lot smoother. Yeah, it does, and the app just helps you through your vacation Some cruise lines. If you have other family and friends on the app, you can create friends group and you can just chat with them. That's how you can communicate while you're on board the ship. A lot of cruise lines let you do the dinner reservations. They give you your daily schedule. Everything is done through the app on some cruise lines. So the cruise lines app makes everything from checking in to boarding and while you're on the cruise easier. Number four is what? Number four is to print out your documents.
Mark Faldmo:Oh, yeah, yeah yeah, absolutely do that. Some people say, well, I've done it on the app. I have all of the information on the app. I always recommend printing out your documents as well. We were just talking about MSC's terminal. That can handle up to 35,000 people at one time. That's 35,000 people in a smaller space. Some internet providers have a hard time providing internet, so your phone's data may not work. In that circumstance, you should always print out your documents. I've always said this as a tip for airlines as well. I use the app all the time, but I always print out, or have them print out, a copy of my boarding pass. I've had my phone die times and I've just sometimes been in spotty data area where I can't get my boarding pass up on my phone, so it is always a good idea to have a printed version of everything.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, what's the next thing we need to do? Everyone needs to do before getting on a cruise Mark the next thing is to research your ports in advance.
Mark Faldmo:There's a lot of interesting ports out there, a lot of interesting things to do. Some people just show up and don't know anything about the ports, what to do, what they want to see. So just to make your experience better, ports are one of the great things about cruises. That's what I like you can be in a different port every day and get to see different people, different cultures, different activities. So just research your ports so that you know what there is to do in that port. What's another thing everyone needs to do before getting on their cruise? The next thing to do is to sign up for your tours in advance. There are several ways you can do tours I've mentioned. On the Blue Planet Vacations website, we do have a short excursion site where you can book through a third party and book tours depending on your itinerary. The cruise line also offers the tours and excursions, and you should book those in advance because when you wait to get on board, a lot of the best times and best things are already taken and sold out.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, they do sell out quickly and there are some companies, like the provider on my site, offer several private tours. So if you are interested in a private tour, there's only limited guides. So you should do those private tours well in advance to make sure if you want a private shore excursion, to book that in advance.
Patrick Wiscombe:You can see some of those excursion groups on blueplanetvacations. com, is it down?
Mark Faldmo:at the bottom. It is down at the bottom or in the crew search box on blueplanetvacations. com, there's a little thing that says look for shore excursions.
Patrick Wiscombe:We have two more things to do before getting on any cruise.
Mark Faldmo:Those are the next thing is sign up for onboard activities in advance. After you complete your onboard check-in, you can do specialty dinners. You can do spa treatments. Don't wait to plan those type of things while on board.
Patrick Wiscombe:Last thing to do before getting on your cruise is what Consider purchasing travel insurance.
Mark Faldmo:We always talk about this. I've seen so many financial investments in travel saved by purchasing travel insurance.
Patrick Wiscombe:These are big commitments. Multi-thousand dollar commitments can be.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, they can. It's so important, I think, to purchase travel insurance or travel protection to protect that investment.
Patrick Wiscombe:We could just record this segment and play it every what three months, and it will benefit somebody.
Patrick Wiscombe:Well, that's it. That's the end of the show, we're done. It's time for you to go see a baseball game here in a couple hours and it's time for Nikki and I to go jump on the MSC's World America, so excited to get on this brand new ship. You can listen to this show again tomorrow morning. We're on every Saturday and Sunday at 11 am here on this radio station and, of course, around the country, and you can also stream, download and subscribe to the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. We are on all of the major podcast platforms and if you just want to stream the show without subscribing, you can go to InsideTravelTalk. com and just hit the play button. Well, that's it, we're done. It's now your turn to get out and explore the world while you can, because you never know what curveball's life is going to throw at you, and you know exactly what I'm talking about. Live your life deliberately. Live your life intentionally. Thank you so much for listening. We will talk to you again next week.
Ad 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.
Ad Voice:Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex Insurance Services. Their travel insurance plans can help protect you and your vacation. Travelex is known for their award-winning customer service and high claims paid rate. Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com for more information.