Inside Travel Talk
Explore Your World! The Inside Travel Talk Podcast is filled with destination information and travel, cruise and vacation tips and tricks. Its the Christmas catalogue of Travel! We are here to help you get out there and Explore Your World.
Inside Travel Talk
From Miami to Tokyo: Japan Travel Ideas and Australia/New Zealand Cruises
The lure of cherry blossoms in full bloom across Japan's ancient temples. The majesty of New Zealand's Milford Sound as your ship glides through nature's cathedral. The small but significant victory of securing a proper window seat on your next flight. These travel experiences—both grand and granular—shape our journeys and memories.
Fresh from exploring MSC's stunning new World America during its inaugural sailing, Patrick broadcasts live from Miami Beach while Mark shares invaluable insights on experiencing Japan, where language barriers make guided tours or cruises particularly valuable for first-time visitors. Whether drawn to Tokyo's anime-filled Electric Town, Kyoto's living museum atmosphere, or Hiroshima's profound historical sites, travelers can explore these destinations through Globus Tours' small-group discoveries (currently offering savings up to $1,500) or via Norwegian Cruise Line's comprehensive 11-day itineraries.
For those dreaming of Southern Hemisphere adventures, we dive deep into Australia-New Zealand cruise options, highlighting an 11-day Norwegian Spirit journey featuring the breathtaking fjords of Milford Sound and a luxurious 22-day Oceania voyage extending from Auckland all the way to Singapore. Both offer distinct ways to experience the region's natural wonders during the optimal December-March window.
The conversation shifts to practical air travel wisdom—finding seats with actual windows (using specialized mapping tools), understanding airline upgrade opportunities (including little-known bidding systems offered by carriers like Air Canada and Singapore Airlines), and navigating airport etiquette with minimal friction. From downloading airline apps to respecting assigned seating, these seemingly small details can significantly enhance your travel experience.
Ready to transform travel dreams into reality? Connect with Blue Planet Vacations to access exclusive promotions while benefiting from expert guidance that only seasoned travel advisors can provide. Because the world is waiting, and life is too short for missed opportunities.
It is time for the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Coming up. On today's show we will be talking about Japan, common cruise ship mistakes made by novice cruise passengers, finding the best seat on an airplane, and plane boarding and seating etiquette. Let's start the show. The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacationsations. 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 Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Coming to you live from Miami Beach, Florida. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Mark Faldmo is back in Salt Lake running the show. I am just getting off MSC's World America. We just took the inaugural paid sailing and that, Mark, as you make your way back into the studio, is an absolutely beautiful ship.
Mark Faldmo:Yep, it is, I was on it the week before you were on, and it was quite amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe:It was one of the most beautiful ships I've ever been on and I realize that it's a brand new ship, but it really was spectacular. I couldn't believe how great it was. I'm doing the radio show down here in Miami Beach. I'm about six miles away from the Miami cruise port and doing the show from the hotel. It is so beautiful down here I forgot how great Florida is. It's only been a year since you and I've been down here, but I forgot how great this city is.
Mark Faldmo:I love South Florida.
Patrick Wiscombe:Nikki and I are going to take a couple of days off here. We'll be here Saturday, South Florida. Nikki and I are going to take a couple of days off here. We'll be here Saturday, Sunday, and then we will take off on Monday to board NCL's brand new Aqua, the inaugural sailing. I'm excited for this one Coming up. In this segment of the show, Mark and I will be talking about Japan. We received a text. No, this was actually a call, wasn't it? A call, yeah, From John who wants to go to Japan. Let's just start there.
Mark Faldmo:John is asking when is the best time to go to Japan and what should be on his itinerary the best time to go to Japan is springtime and fall time Springtime probably a little bit more because of the cherry blossoms and Japan has also been one of the most requested. The last few weeks I've had several requests and trips booked for Japan.
Patrick Wiscombe:In addition to asking what should be on his itinerary, he's also asking what should a first-time visitor to Japan do? Should they go on a tour or should they do it by cruise ship?
Mark Faldmo:I would do it by tour or cruise. You'll probably get a little bit more in-depth by a tour. I think there are three cities that you should visit in Japan. One is Tokyo, the other is Kyoto and Hiroshima. Two others that would be on there would be Okinawa and Osaka, but those first three are kind of the main cities that I would go to. In Tokyo they have a tour that's called street karting. You're actually driving around the streets of Japan on a go-kart. I want to go to a sumo wrestling match. Yeah, that would be kind of fun.
Mark Faldmo:Ride the bullet train in Japan, and actually some of the tours that we'll talk about in a minute do include the bullet train. Akihabara district, which is called Electric Town that's the anime area. It's all themed after the Japanese anime and then also do a cooking class. Those are some of the things to do in Tokyo. What about Kyoto? Kyoto is a very traditional city. It's kind of like a living museum, so that's what you'd go there for to see that traditional Japanese life. And then also near there is the bamboo forest, and that's also one of the best places to see the cherry blossoms in Kyoto.
Patrick Wiscombe:And what would you do in Hiroshima? There's the World War II history. That's also one of the best places to see the cherry blossoms in Kyoto. And what would you do in Hiroshima?
Mark Faldmo:There's the World War II history that's there. Go see the Peace Memorial, see what the effects of the atomic bomb were on the city. Just a very historical and interesting place to visit.
Patrick Wiscombe:We'll take an early break here. We have an interview coming up in the next segment, the Hot Travel Deal of the Week, with TJ McAvoy of Globus talking about touring options, and we'll also have the Hot Travel Deal of the Week where you can save up to $1,500. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show continues Alongside my good friend Mark Faldmo and, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be right back.
Show Voice: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 Star Clippers. Imagine yourself on the deck of a timelessly elegant clipper ship a warm breeze blowing softly, as the captain and his crew unfurl the sails above you. You begin to tingle from head to toe as you sail into the sunset to tomorrow's next hidden cove. For over 30 years, Star Clippers has offered unique, authentic tall ship sailing experiences, featuring creative itineraries throughout the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Central America. Itineraries are handcrafted based on wind patterns to enable these majestic ships to take advantage of the power of the wind. To book your unique Star Clipper sailing adventure, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com.
Show Voice:Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show right now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show live from Miami, Florida. This weekend just got off the beautiful and I do mean beautiful MSC World America it is the inaugural sailing and wanted to hang out here for a couple of days before Nikki and I jump on Norwegian's Aqua, which is literally on Monday. So this will be the fourth of four cruises starting on Monday. So this will be the fourth of four cruises starting on Monday, and it has been an absolute treat to be down here in the Bahamas in Florida for the last, pretty much the last month, Mark. It's been pretty great.
Patrick Wiscombe:Where are you this weekend? I'm just back home. This is the hot travel deal of the week. And, Mark, for the last few weeks well, really for the last year and a half since we've been doing the show we've talked about Europe extensively and we have found a terrific way to go see Europe. If you've never been, you're kind of nervous to go, you don't know what to do, you don't know how to get around. We have found a really good solution and that is Globus Travel.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, it's a great way to see Europe and other places around the world.
Patrick Wiscombe:So Mark took the time to go find somebody who really knows Europe, and we found that guy. His name is TJ McAvoy. It's good to have you here.
TJ McAvoy:Great to be on here, Patrick. Thank you so much for having me.
Patrick Wiscombe:We've been pushing Globus pretty hard on the radio show lately. How long has Globus Escorted Tours been around?
TJ McAvoy:We've been around 97 years. It all started with the Montegazza family running little tiny boats across Lake Lugano 97 years and we've grown that Family-owned company, which is amazing. So we got two families that own the company the Montegazza's and the Albeck's.
Patrick Wiscombe:What does Globus actually do?
TJ McAvoy:So Globus is the brand of touring. It's first-class touring, which would be first-class or four-star hotels. You're going to be in the heart of the destination, no matter where you're staying. All the must-see sites are included, VIP access. So it's basically first-class touring, basically everything you're going to want to see in that destination. We're in six continents, so we're everywhere.
Patrick Wiscombe:What are some of the most popular vacations that Globus hosts?
TJ McAvoy:I would say for 97 years. Our top land seller, which is Globus, is Italy. So within Italy, over time everybody that's been in Italy did the Rome, Florence and Venice, so now we've got tours all over the place, off the beaten path destinations. We have tours with just Sicily, also Cinco Terra area, which is one of the most beautiful areas in the world. So definitely Italy, and then Spain is right up there. Spain's our number two seller historically and especially of late. And what's really hot for us right now is Ireland, Scotland those are also selling really well as well as Greece. So I'd say I'd probably go. Italy, Spain, Ireland, Scotland and Greece right now are probably our most popular destinations.
Patrick Wiscombe:Which one is your favorite one and do you host any?
TJ McAvoy:Yes, I do so. As a matter of fact, I'm actually going on an Italy tour. I did go to Italy but I haven't been to Rome, Florence and Venice Of the ones I've done. So I've done Eastern Canada. I also did New Zealand, both islands I would say I loved the. New Zealand was amazing Queenstown. So far it's that. But I have a feeling once I get to Italy, which is crazy. I haven't been to Italy because I've been with the company 22 years, but I'm sure that will rank way up there, probably number one. But as of right now, I think my New Zealand vacation was probably my favorite so far.
Patrick Wiscombe:Hey, Mark, while I've got you here, what is your favorite Globus tour?
Mark Faldmo:One thing that I like that Globus offers is their panorama tours. When I graduated from high school, my father's always taken us on a tour, and so mine was a tour that visited several countries. So we did a tour England, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France oh wow, you know, that's. One thing that I like is you can do those country-specific tours as well as multiple country tours and get a really good overview of a specific region of the world.
Patrick Wiscombe:What's the Canyon Country Adventure?
TJ McAvoy:So our Canyon Country Adventure, so that's going to be a lot of the national parks, probably starting in Vegas and then hit up all the national parks around Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming. The great thing about all our national park itineraries on Globus you will stay in the park. So not only our competitors stay in the parks, you'll actually be in the park. So if we're at Yellowstone, you'll be in Yellowstone National Park.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, wow.
TJ McAvoy:Yes, we have several different national park itineraries. Some are longer than others, so you'll get more national parks, but pretty much any parks you want to see you can see through Globus up close and personal and the parks.
Patrick Wiscombe:This has nothing to do with Globus, but while we're talking about Yellowstone one of my favorite adventures and I think that's the right word I actually got on a pedal bike and did the entire Yellowstone loop. You talked about getting up and close with nature buffalo, black bears they were just in the distance. I'm like I got to go. I got to go. I got to pedal hard, I got to get out of here.
TJ McAvoy:That's awesome. I love that.
Patrick Wiscombe:You guys go to London and Paris. Do you go to Ireland?
TJ McAvoy:We do. And actually, now that I'm thinking about it, when you said my favorite destination, I did say New Zealand, which was fantastic, but I did Ireland, Scotland, wales, so, yeah, so you'd asked about Ireland. Yeah, we have a ton to Ireland. That's one of our hottest destinations right now. In fact, it was a panorama, like Mark was mentioning Three nights was Ireland that I went on, but now my next adventure I want to do is just Ireland, like a 14-night Celtic Highlights tour, but, yeah, phenomenal.
Patrick Wiscombe:Because we live in Utah and we have enormously large families here, at least some. What are the best options for family travel through Globus?
TJ McAvoy:We have what we call independence by Globus. So it's kind of like a hybrid between a independent itinerary and kind of guided. What it is. It's locally hosted, so we'll have a local host at the hotels. The transportation is typically going to be plane or train, like first-class train. You're not going to be part of a group, let's just say to be plane or train like first-class train. You're not going to be part of a group, let's just say you do London and Paris, like we talked about earlier. You would have basically breakfast every day, half-day city tour, high-speed train to Paris and you'd have a new local host there. It's like having a best friend in town is what the local host is.
TJ McAvoy:So definitely the Independence by Globus. So we got Europe and then we have some exotics. So if you're looking at exotics on our Independence by Globus, many of those are private tours. So if you have a family of six, that's who's going to be on your tour. For example, all of Asia is 100% private. Eastern Africa. So Kenya, Tanzania is 100% private. So a lot of our very exotic destinations are going to be private. Those are phenomenal for families. Obviously, if you have older teenagers Globus, there's some great options there. And then we do have another more budget itineraries, cosmos, where you do get free time, more free time because there's less inclusions, but I would really, you know, with younger children, definitely the Independence by Globus is always probably the best choice on the Escort or Guided Tours.
Patrick Wiscombe:So when it comes to Globus, I guess you can pretty much customize your own tour then.
TJ McAvoy:Exactly, yeah. So just to kind of give you an idea, like you're going to get all the must-see sites. It's going to be a half-day city tour. So let's say it's Rome, you're going to get the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, all those must-sees, and then the rest of the time you have free. But local host is like your best friend in town. You could ask him for advice, you could have him book other elements to the itinerary or you could just have free time and explore. Very customizable on the independents.
Patrick Wiscombe:See, I didn't know that. I thought these were just kind of canned tours. I didn't know you could customize. That's really good to know.
TJ McAvoy:I do want to mention one other thing that I was just thought of. So we have private touring by Globus, okay, so we introduced that a few years ago. So what you can do is take any tour that we already offer in Europe and book any amount of people, and then you just pay a supplement depending on how many people there are. So let's say, there's 20 in your family, an extended family you can get the whole bus and you can kind of customize it that way because you're the only ones on that motor coach. So private touring is also an option on our standard Globus Europe itineraries.
Mark Faldmo:Patrick and PJ. That's another thing. I think I've talked about this tour on the radio before. My family heritage is in Norway and we did a private tour with about 30 family members and started in Stockholm, Sweden, went up to Narvik in Norway and then bus bus down to Oslo, Norway, down the coast, and that was a private tour, very similar to what TJ said with Globus, and so that is a great option for those that want a tour with the guide, with all the assistance, all the knowledge that comes with that, but private, just for your group.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's a huge selling point. I thought it was. Here's a group of four, six, whatever the number is. I thought that, well, I guess it would include this too, so you could either have it private for a family or friends or whoever is going with you, but you can also join an existing group, so you'd be part of a group of, I'll say, somewhere between 20 and 40. Is that an option as well?
TJ McAvoy:Yeah. So I mean you could either, yeah, book it. Majority of our business comes with individuals, which is typically seven or fewer that join an existing tour, so that's kind of our bread and butter. But then if you want to say, take the entire coach, motor coach, you could turn that exact tour into a private and kind of how it works. So let's say it was $2,000 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:So, depending on the amount of people, you just pay an additional supplement on top of that, maybe three or $400, but yeah, you could just make it all for you or join an existing tour. Okay, so both options Correct. That's fantastic. Globus versus the competitors what differentiates Globus from the competitors?
TJ McAvoy:I'm going to go back to that 97 years A big stat I always like throwing out there when I'm doing shows and talking to people. We have 52% of the global share on touring worldwide, which is massive. So we have offices everywhere, though Our main headquarters Lugano, Switzerland. We have offices in Paris, London, Sydney, you name it. We're everywhere. So you got the boots on the ground, so to speak, where you're always well taken care of. Our mission is always to create happy guests. Also, we really pride ourselves on having more inclusions, so more of those excursions that you want to go to we're going to have more than our competitors. And we have our product managers that help create these itineraries. They do their research every year, make sure we have the most inclusions. But the thing that we do that's kind of a staple of ours, local favorites. So let's say, flamenco dancing in Spain or a chuckwagon cookout in Jackson, Wyoming, could be a lobster bacon bar harbor. So we're always going to pepper those into the itineraries.
Patrick Wiscombe:What is a travel style and what are the different travel styles?
TJ McAvoy:Anytime I'm talking about travel styles, there's the staples of Globus. That'll always be there. So any of these different styles I mentioned, you're always going to have one of the greatest tour directors in the industry. Driver, all logistics are handled, all the must-see sites. You're always going to have four-star hotels. So those staples will already be there.
TJ McAvoy:What we're really excited a new style that we just came out with we launched it in August of 24 is our small group discoveries. This could be a great option for families as well, where we have these tours that are a max of 18 passengers. We're averaging about 15. So 15 passengers for Europe and about 18 for US. We've created small group discoveries. We have 50 small group discoveries worldwide. So you're talking like 18 or fewer passengers on all these destinations. So that one's really hot because you know it's kind of a new style that we've gotten out that there's a high demand for. So then we have this Globus choice touring. So that means you'll have choices on your included excursions. So let's say, you may have an option to see all the must-see sites, do an escorted bike tour or do a vineyard tour. So you will have two to three options typically, and those are all included Undiscovered tours by Globus.
TJ McAvoy:So the reason we came out with these it's exactly how it sounds undiscovered, so off the beaten path, destinations. So like Italy, our most popular destination, that's where we start, our undiscovered. It's grown to many regions. For example, we have a Gourmet Tuscany itinerary. We're just in Tuscany and Montepetini. We have Cinque Terre, we have the Italian Lakes. We have all these different itineraries that are off the beaten path. So if you've been to Rome, Florence and Venice, you probably want to go back to Italy and kind of do something different. Our Undiscovered tours are fantastic for that, especially Italy, and kind of do something different. Our Undiscovered tours are fantastic for that, especially for Italy. Also, we have them in Britain. So really, those different styles.
Patrick Wiscombe:It's like you have the best of both worlds. You have the experience of a guide, but you get to go see everything and they can either turn you loose or you can include it as part of the package.
TJ McAvoy:Absolutely yeah. I mean, we just had a tour directors traveling with us doing shows. Let's say you've been, you're on a Globus tour with friends or family and maybe you've been to a certain destination, but you kind of just want to explore it on your own. We'll let you do that.
Patrick Wiscombe:So there is free time, yeah.
TJ McAvoy:So a couple of ways we build in free time. So the guest, which would be those that are listening right now, you could do that while we're on tour. So let's say you're in Rome tour. So let's say you're in Rome, we have a half day city tour, three to four hours. Let's say you've been around a few different times, you kind of want to go out on your own. You just talk to the driver. It'll be me back at this spot at 2 pm, right, because we're always going to. Even if you take the sightseeing, we're going to give you free time in those cities because you want that free time. Also, with vip access to all the all the sites and excursions. You never wait in line. That builds in free time, because you're not.
TJ McAvoy:You can go to the coliseum and be in line three to four hours easy yeah but instead you go right in and so with that you get all the must-see sites and done and then now you have three or four hours in that city to explore, and evenings too we like to keep. We'll usually throw in a couple dinners, have optional excursions where you purchase dinners, but that's another great time. Where you're going to want your free time is those evenings and you're going to be in the heart of the destination. So any of those museums or anything that you want to see in like the bustling part of cities, you'll have free time to do that.
Patrick Wiscombe:So you have the connections at a lot of these venues, the tourist destinations, and you basically skip a line.
TJ McAvoy:Yeah, we call them happy lines. And then those that don't travel with us, those are called the unhappy lines, because they're they're waiting in line arguing with their significant other or friend.
Patrick Wiscombe:It's so hot out here. Yeah, oh, my goodness, that's funny. You guys are living like animals. You need to go with Globus.
TJ McAvoy:Yes absolutely, we'll pamper you.
Patrick Wiscombe:I just thought it was funny how he said the happy lines versus the unhappy lines.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, and that is a great perk of Globus.
Patrick Wiscombe:It really is.
Mark Faldmo:A lot of their tours have the skip the lines and they really get you in to see the sites. I think Globus is the best way to see a destination that you've not been to or you want to explore in depth. You're there with local tour guides. You get great insight. I've always been on those tours and watch the other travelers with their faces in the guidebooks, trying to figure out what to do next, trying to figure out where to go, and I love when the local tour guide just says go here, do. This gives you all the background of the sites. It's a great experience.
Patrick Wiscombe:That leads into the hot travel deal of the week, always in this segment of the show, and, of course, it's all about Globus. And what is the hot travel deal this week?
Mark Faldmo:So Globus is currently offering up to $1,500 off select tours. These are for 2025. What's remaining? There's not a lot left, and then also in the 2026 tours. This is for all destinations. They're Europe tours, they're US tours, they're Asia tours. A few weeks ago, we were talking about Croatia. They have a really good Balkan itinerary if you're keen to go to Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro really good tours in every area of the world.
Patrick Wiscombe:If you want to look at the current deals, just go to blueplanetvacations. com. That's Mark's website. It's how we connect with customers, and our thanks to TJ McEvoy with Globus for doing that interview a little bit earlier this week. Thank you doing that interview a little bit earlier this week. Thank you Coming up in the next segment. It is time for the infamous Just Cruising segment. That is next with the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show continues alongside my good friend Mark Faldmo. He's a good dude. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thanks for listening. We will be right back.
Show Voice:You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by BluePlanetVacations. com America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700. That's 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. 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.
Patrick Wiscombe:All right, we're back. Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Coming up. In the next 28 minutes we'll be talking about a Japan tour and cruise, how to find the best seat on an airplane, and cruising to Australia and New Zealand. 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 that may be time-sensitive All offers and information were accurate when the show aired. Travel deals and offers change constantly and are capacity-controlled and subject to change without notice.
Show Voice:This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show right now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. And now here are your hosts Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:All aboard for the infamous Just Cruising segment here on the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. We hope you are having a terrific weekend. My name is Patrick Wiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo, owner of BluePlanetVacations. com. Coming up in this segment, always at the bottom of the hour, is the infamous Just Cruising segment. We'll be talking about cruising to Australia and New Zealand, and we'll also be talking about going to Japan, whether it's on a tour or a cruise. We'll also tell you how to find the best seat on an airplane. And you know, there's just something about being in Miami Beach that is just special. How many times have you been to Miami Beach? I don't know, I can't even count.
Mark Faldmo:So I've taken so many cruises out of Miami that it's probably 30 to 50, somewhere in between that range.
Patrick Wiscombe:This is special down here. It is so beautiful down here in Miami Beach. It is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods I think I've ever been in. Everything is just picturesque Blue skies, few clouds. It is just amazing. Out here In segment one we had to cut the segment short because of our interview with TJ McAvoy with Globus. Let's finish John's question. He wanted to go to Japan and he wanted to know the best time to go and what should be on his itinerary. Let's just start there for him.
Mark Faldmo:We briefly answered his question. The best time is spring or fall. I particularly would prefer spring for the cherry blossoms. And then we said probably the top three cities that should be included are Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima. We just got finished talking with TJ on the hosted and escorted tours that Globus offers, so I did choose a tour from Globus and I think this one is fantastic. Right now Globus has a save up to $1,500 off select Japan tours and the tour I chose it's an 11-day tour. It starts in Tokyo, Then you take the bullet train to Nagoya, Spends one night in Nagoya, two nights in Kyoto to Nagoya, spends one night in Nagoya, two nights in Kyoto and then, after two nights in Kyoto, you spend two nights in Okayama and then one night in Matsui and then two nights in Hiroshima.
Patrick Wiscombe:I'm glad you spent a little bit of time there. I think a real flashpoint, no pun intended in history of the world.
Mark Faldmo:It is yeah, yeah. And so the last part of that tour is by bus and the first part of the tour is by train. One thing that I didn't mention the reason why I recommend taking a tour or a cruise is because of the language barrier. It is nice to have someone with you that speaks the language. So on the tour you have a tour guide with you the whole time that can help you navigate the cultural differences and help you navigate the language differences. On a cruise it's somewhat similar You're taking tours out with an English-speaking guide that can help you navigate while you're in port. But back to this Globus tour. That price starts at $5,449 per person. The departure I looked at was a fall departure of this year and that was about $1,200 off the regular price.
Patrick Wiscombe:So that $5,400 price includes that discount Does include that.
Mark Faldmo:Okay, this was for one of the touring styles that TJ talked about. This was on a small group tour, so it's a maximum of 24 people per tour.
Patrick Wiscombe:So that's the land portion. Let's talk about the cruise portion then. Yeah, so cruise portion.
Mark Faldmo:I found a really good cruise on Norwegian. This actually starts in Seoul, Korea. It has one port in Seoul and then the rest of this 11-day cruise is in Japan. It does include Hiroshima, Kyoto, Nagoya and then ending in Tokyo. Plus there's a few other ports that it includes along the way. But the price on this this again was in the fall. This is a September 24th departure date. Inside cabin starts at $1,336 per person and a balcony cabin starts at $2,506 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:What NCL ship is this this?
Mark Faldmo:is on the Norwegian Spirit. Okay, it's one of their smaller ships but also one of my favorite ships. I love the back part of this ship because it has a terraced back where it's all around a pool. They have part of the buffet line up at the top. I love the Norwegian spirit.
Patrick Wiscombe:Always at this segment, the infamous just cruising segment we've got the cruise deal of the week and Zell. Was this a text? I think it was. It's just a text, yes, so Zell is texting that she wants to go to Australia and New Zealand and she's asking the best time to go and what itineraries do we have for her. What do you recommend?
Mark Faldmo:So I did find two itineraries that are good. First of all, the best time to go is our winter, their summer, so these cruises generally operate December through March. There are some that operate year round, but typically most people from the US want to go that January, February, march timeframe. The first cruise that I found this is an 11 day Australia New Zealand. This is on the Norwegian Spirit, the ship we just talked about in Japan, so it comes down in the winter time to do Australia New Zealand.
Mark Faldmo:This is a cruise between Sydney and Auckland, so in Australia it has Sydney and Melbourne and then it goes down to do the South Island of New Zealand cruise Milford Sound, Douth Sound, dusky Sound so all scenic cruising and then a few other ports along the South Island and then Wellington on the North Island, Taranga, and ending in Auckland. I think these Australia-New Zealand cruises are probably one of the best ways to see this area of the world. This one was a January 17th departure and the cruise starts at $18.95 per person for an inside cabin or $3618 for a balcony, kind of like Alaska where balconies are in a premium. Yeah, I've seen Milford Sound and some of the glaciers and fjords there on the South Island of New Zealand are one in a kind in the world. They're absolutely beautiful.
Patrick Wiscombe:And that's the 11-day Sydney to Auckland 11-day Sydney to Auckland. Okay, is there a longer cruise available?
Mark Faldmo:I did find one more cruise. This was on Oceana Cruise Line.
Patrick Wiscombe:Generally speaking, what's your thoughts on Oceana? So?
Mark Faldmo:Oceana. It's owned by Norwegian Cruise Line Holding. It's one of their higher-end luxury cruise lines, kind of smaller ships but very high end. They do a lot of unique itineraries, which this itinerary certainly is. Oceana what ship it's? The Riviera is the name of the ship. It leaves from Auckland. It does not do any of the South Island, but it sails from Auckland to Sydney and then sails along the northern shore of Australia. It hits Carnes, Darwin, and then it sails off and ends in Singapore and there are two stops in Singapore and then in between Darwin, Australia and Singapore, it has two stops in Indonesia. This one is a 22-day, very unique itinerary and, again, Oceana is a higher-end cruise line. Inside cabins start at $5,299 per person and a balcony starts at $6,970 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:Beautiful ship. I'm just looking it up right now because I'm not familiar with that one, and that's a nice ship.
Mark Faldmo:It is. Yeah, they do a great job on Oceana. They're kind of laid back. Luxury is their you know kind of country club casual luxury is kind of their style.
Patrick Wiscombe:Well, apparently that is my style. Yes, take advantage of that offer If you've always wanted to go to New Zealand, Sydney. It's a part of the world that is just amazing, absolutely spectacular. Call Mark at his office, just get the conversation started during the break 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And he will also post this on blueplanetvacations. com when we come back. Man, we're getting hammered with caller questions and text questions this week. James says that he does not fly much, but he does like to sit in a window seat. How do you find the best seat is basically his questions. We'll answer that question next. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show, alongside Mark Faldmo. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back.
Show Voice:Explore your world. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700. That's 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. We'll be right back. 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.
Show Voice:To book your romantic beach getaway. Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com. 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:Coming to you live from the beautiful city of Miami, Florida, mark, it is absolutely beautiful. Nikki and I have spent the entire week on MSC's World America and can I just say that ship is genuinely beautiful, not only is it gigantic, it's icon of the seas type size, but it is so tastefully well done and decorated. The soft goods, the ship. It is awesome. I can't even tell you. If you're thinking about going on a cruise, just consider getting on World America. It is amazing, you will not be disappointed.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, and I got off that the week before you got on it and I think when we uh, when you get back from your travels, we're going to have a good in-depth review of all the four cruises. You've taken three so far and you've got one more to go.
Patrick Wiscombe:Got one more, got the. Uh, the brand new, spanking new Norwegian Aqua is the next one.
Mark Faldmo:Genuinely excited to get on that one too, you've been doing a lot of cruising and one week left to go, it's almost been a month.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's what's crazy to me and we've just been doing the show on the road. Fortunately, with Starlink, you can do the show anywhere. I don't want to sound like an old guy, but all I have here is a wireless setup Wireless setup and we're doing the radio show from Miami. We're just doing it from a hotel lobby right now. This segment is all about Mark's travel tips, and we've also got a. Was this a text or an email from James? This was an email from James. Okay, I don't fly much, but I like to sit in the window seat. I recently took a flight and reserved a window seat, or so I thought, but it did not have a window. I've since looked on the airline's website and it does not say that there is not a window, so he thought he was getting a window. I've since looked on the airline's website and it does not say that there is not a window, so he thought he was getting a window. There was no window. His question is how do I avoid that in the future?
Mark Faldmo:This is one of the frustrating things for me when flying is I am also a window seat person and so many times I've booked that window seat that is a non-window seat. Oh, you've done this too, then. It's happened to me a few times.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, you were not happy then?
Mark Faldmo:No, I was not, because I like to lean into the window. There's a little bit more space and people get the aisles for the same reason, but then you're often run into by the carts going through the aisle or people walking up and down the aisle. So that's why I like the window seat to have that extra shoulder space. For this reason, on the blue planet vacations dot com website I have added a link to a tool that can help with this and this works for any seat on the airplane. It works for all airlines, all aircraft types. So if you go to blue planet vacations dot com, scroll down to the very bottom, to the bottom footer of the website. There's a link to travel resources. On that travel resources there's a button for find the best seat airline seat maps.
Mark Faldmo:When you go to that link you can either put in your airline and flight number and travel date and it will generally pull up your aircraft information, or you can just go to airlines, click on the airline and find the type of aircraft you're flying on. The reason why I like this site and every time I book I go to this because there are several different versions. Let's just take a 737. That non-window seat is not going to be in the same place on every airplane. Airlines also have several different configurations depending on how they do first class main cabin economy seats. There's all sorts of different ways, so even the 737-900 on Delta might be completely different from the exact same airplane on United or American.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, wow.
Mark Faldmo:So, I always go to this just to make sure that I'm choosing the right seat. So on here it'll bring up the seat map and it's color coded. So, for instance, red might say it's close to the exit, it has a restricted recline, it's near a restroom, so it'll be a red seat saying it's not preferred. Then they have orange, which is the same. It's a little bit better, but there still is a bad something that you may not like about that seat.
Mark Faldmo:And then it has yellow, which in the map I'm looking at right now, it says the seat has a partially missing window. On other versions again, depending on how the seats line up, it would be red for it is missing a window. On other versions, again, depending on how the seats line up, it would be red for it is missing a window. So it'll tell you for every seat on the airplane whether or not it's a good or bad seat and it'll tell you why it has color codes. For if it's a window seat but has a view of the wing, it'll tell you if the wing blocks the view. Most of the seats it just says it's a standard seat and so it's a really good way tool to find where to sit on an airplane.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, so blueplanetvacations. com, and at the bottom it is what.
Mark Faldmo:Travel resources, which will take you to the whole page with all of the travel resources that I've gathered. So state department passport services, all of that, but one of them is find the best seat on an airplane. And so if you do that, it'll take you to that site and you'll be able to look at the seat maps.
Patrick Wiscombe:Very, very helpful. This is not on the rundown, so it's kind of a big question, but I think it's a good question that most people might think how can you get an upgraded seat? So let's just say you're in Maine coach, not economy, you're just in Maine and my question is how can you get an upgraded seat, or is that even possible?
Mark Faldmo:There's a few ways to do that. There are a few airlines that, once you book and pay your ticket in full, actually have a bidding process. You can go in and it'll say if you want to upgrade to a first class seat, you can put in a bid to upgrade to first class. So not all airlines have this bidding process. A few that do are Air Canada, air New Zealand, Air Lingus, Hawaiian Airlines has this process. Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, virgin Atlantic all have some form where you can bid to upgrade to business or first class. A lot of the airlines like Delta, American, united, a lot of our domestic airlines, do not have this process. But what those airlines do have is if there are seats available. When you book, I know through the Delta Airlines app, when you click on your flight it'll say upgrade to first class for this amount of dollars or this amount of points points or dollars, and sometimes that doesn't happen until a few weeks prior.
Mark Faldmo:Sometimes it doesn't happen until when you check in, because the airlines are always looking for ways to maximize seats. If they can get someone to go through that upgrade process and go to first class, that means they have a chance to bring some of their standbys on and have or just sell those seats last minute so they can try and sell every seat on the airplane.
Patrick Wiscombe:So what you're saying is that there's a chance.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, there is a chance, those airlines that have the bidding process. I've never tried that before, but I have seen where they'll just let you outright buy an upgrade, and it's usually a discounted upgrade on the other airlines right away.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let's continue on with Mark's travel tips as we wrap up this week's show and I know that this is something that can be very controversial and that is general tips for flying. Let's talk specifically about boarding and seating etiquette.
Mark Faldmo:And these are tips and etiquette for various aspects of flying. The first one is boarding and seating etiquette. Number one thing is be prepared when you reach the security checkpoint and when you're ready to board.
Patrick Wiscombe:And those are two different points in the airport anyway.
Mark Faldmo:Correct. Yeah, there's nothing more frustrating for me getting ready to board and the person in front of you is fumbling on their phone trying to find the boarding pass. If you're in that boarding line, make sure you have your boarding pass ready. I've talked about it on other shows. I always have a paper boarding pass printed anyway, so in case my phone is not ready, I can just scan the paper boarding pass to board Along with that. Make sure you have your documents and ID ready. You'll need it in most cases to get through the security checkpoints and, depending on where your flight's going, you may have to have your passport ready to show before boarding the plane.
Patrick Wiscombe:Hold on when you travel domestically and you don't need a passport for domestic flights, obviously you will still need your driver's license. Do you just bring your passport anyway and use that as kind of like your driver's license?
Mark Faldmo:I always have my passport with me when traveling, but I usually use my driver's license, although now, with the TSA pre-check, it's all facial recognition anyway. So, if you're in that line, you generally don't have to show your ID.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, that's right.
Mark Faldmo:Domestically.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yes, okay so yeah. Okay, so when you talk about documents, you're talking about either a passport, your driver's license or your boarding pass, either on your phone or the paper document, correct?
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, okay, all right. So those are all the documents you could need when going through various checkpoints in the airport.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, very good, all right. What's the next tip for getting on an airplane? The next thing, and this is big is.
Mark Faldmo:Respect assigned seats. We've done several stories over the past few years about people just sitting in a seat and saying, no, it's mine. That's caused to people getting in fights on plane people getting banned from flying. Just respect the assigned seat. There's nothing wrong with asking others if they'll switch with you. Generally, if there's a parent flying with children, I will switch with them because you don't want the young kids sitting alone on that. Just be respectful when you're asking to switch seats. If you can switch seats, but also don't think that if you're in coach, don't assume that you can just switch for like a comfort cabin or a first-class cabin. There have been people so upset because someone won't switch with them for a comfort seat and send the other person who paid for the comfort seat back to economy.
Patrick Wiscombe:So that actually happened to me a year ago in Hawaii. Dickie and I were going over to Hawaii, some guy was literally standing in front of my seat and he goes, hey, can I trade with you? And I'm like no, he wasn't back in economy, but he was in the main cabin, but his family was up there, and so he was asking me to go back there.
Mark Faldmo:And I'm like uh no no, thank you.
Patrick Wiscombe:I you know I was very polite, very kind, and fortunately he didn't throw too big of a stink, but I won't say it was confrontational, but there was a little bit of friction.
Mark Faldmo:The next thing is be efficient during the boarding process and don't hog the overhead bin space. Some people put several things up in the overhead bin space. Follow what the airline says. After the boarding process you can always put things back up there. A lot of cases not all there is space left over afterward. Just be efficient. One thing I would say also is if you have a backpack on, don't board with the backpack on your back. Carry the backpack on. Yeah, I've seen people walking through the aisles turning and their backpack hits everybody sitting in the aisle seat there. So be conscious of that.
Patrick Wiscombe:What recommendations do you have for travelers?
Mark Faldmo:The number one thing for flying is download the airlines travel app. Yes, it makes getting to the airport boarding. If your flight is delayed or canceled, usually those apps will pop up. Here are your options and it's just a one-click accept the change or change it. You don't have to stand in line if that happens. The Airlines app is generally so easy to use and can save you a lot of time at the airport.
Patrick Wiscombe:It's how the airline communicates with travelers. That's their first, that's the first thing that they do. They alert everyone through the app, so it just makes sense to have it.
Mark Faldmo:The next thing is check in online or through the app. That'll save you a lot of time. A lot of airlines now have kind of a self-service baggage, so if you've checked in on the app, you just walk up to a kiosk scanner that prints out your bag tag to put on your bag and you can just go drop it off. It saves a lot of time if you check in online. The next thing and we've talked about this before and we kind of talked about it last week when we talked about the cruises have your boarding pass, both digitally and a printed boarding pass. It can just save some headaches there. And then the last thing is consider travel insurance. We're always talking about this. People probably roll their eyes. I've seen so many of people's travel investments saved by having the travel insurance.
Patrick Wiscombe:So helpful. This is coming from the guy that has traveled over 4 million miles and has done over 150 cruises. Mark knows what he's doing. If you want to take advantage of any of the promotions that we've had on the show, call Mark in his office. As soon as we get off the air here he'll be available 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And, of course, the travel resources that we were talking about in this segment are on blueplanetvacations. com.
Patrick Wiscombe:Mark, we're done Time for me to take a couple days off and then it's off to Bimini Islands on Norwegian's Aqua. So I guess I'll see you what next Saturday in person in the studio. Finally do it. First time in a month. Yep, first time in a month, you can listen to this show again tomorrow morning in person in the studio. Finally do it. First time in a month. Yep, first time in a month. Yep, you can listen to this show again tomorrow morning. We're on every Saturday and Sunday morning at 11 am right here on this radio station and around the country.
Patrick Wiscombe:Plus, you can stream, download and subscribe to the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. If you just want to go to the website and just stream it without subscribing, of course we want you to subscribe. You can just stream it on the website, inside travel talk dot com. We are on also all of the major podcast platforms. Okay, it's your turn to get out and explore the world, because you never know what curve balls life is going to throw at you. And, as we say each and every week as we close out the show, live your life deliberately, live your life intentionally. And thank you so much for listening. Really, we don't have a show or a business without you. Thank you so much. 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. Have a great week.