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
Paradise Found: Exploring Fiji's Hidden Treasures & Panama Canal Cruises
Dreaming of a South Pacific paradise that won't break the bank? This week, we shatter the myth that Fiji is exclusively a honeymoon destination as Mark broadcasts live from the Fiji Tourism Exchange, offering insider knowledge from his fifth visit to these stunning islands.
Discover why Fiji deserves consideration for your next family vacation with three standout family-friendly resorts: the renowned Shangri-La, the beachfront Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort, and the adventure-packed Castaway Island. Each offers comprehensive children's programs, allowing parents to enjoy some alone time while kids create their own tropical memories. The cultural immersion opportunities set Fiji apart – visiting authentic villages, participating in traditional kava ceremonies with local chiefs, and experiencing genuine Fijian hospitality.
The surprising affordability of Fiji emerges as a major revelation, with round-trip flights from Los Angeles starting at just $799 on Fiji Airways and complete vacation packages (including flights and five nights accommodation) from $1,279 per person. We explore accommodation options for every budget, from the four-star Novotel Nandi to the stunning overwater "berets" at Fiji Marriott Momi Bay.
For travelers seeking less-crowded European adventures, we highlight four spectacular alternatives to tourist hotspots: Switzerland's Italian-speaking Ticino region, Romania's castle-filled Transylvania, southern Italy's charming Puglia, and Portugal's sunny, affordable coastline.
Cruise enthusiasts will appreciate our detailed breakdown of Panama Canal voyages, particularly highlighting Princess Cruises' exceptional 16-day repositioning journey from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale starting at just $1,229 per person. This voyage offers a perfect blend of iconic ports, the remarkable Panama Canal transit, and incredible value.
Whether you're planning your next tropical escape, European adventure, or bucket-list cruise, call Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 to turn these travel insights into your next unforgettable journey.
It is the weekend, which means it is time to talk travel. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show Coming up. On today's show, Mark and I will be talking about Fiji. He's still there right now. This show, this first segment, is all about Fiji. He will be returning today. Theme parks are making a travel destination comeback, future cruise credits and how they actually work, and a real cruise from Alaska to the Caribbean. Let's start the show. The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com contains travel deals, promotions and offers that may be time sensitive. All offers and information were accurate when the show aired. Travel deals and offers change constantly and are capacity controlled and subject to change without notice.
Show Voice:Travel deals and offers change constantly and are capacity controlled and subject to change without notice, helping you plan your next vacation. This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com. America's best travel advisors. Call us now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Coming to you live from Fiji. At least Mark is Hi there. I'm Patrick Wiscombe. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. If you are brand new to the show, the entire purpose of this radio and podcast is to help you plan and book your next vacation or just simply give you ideas of where you want to vacation next. This show is presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, and just at the very top of the show. Thank you for taking the time to stop and listen and, as I mentioned in the intro, we will be talking all about Fiji in this first segment. Mark is literally broadcasting from there. And my first question to you, sir and by the way, it's good to see you, how was your week?
Mark Faldmo:My week was good. I was here for meetings, so I was at what's called the Fiji Tourism Exchange. Those travel agents and other travel sellers that sell a lot of Fiji are invited down and we get to meet with and experience all of the hotels, suppliers, different tour operators, activities Fiji has to offer.
Patrick Wiscombe:So you have actual experience and you can talk to people, yes, about what they're booking.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah yeah, and I've learned some new information. This is my fifth time or so to Fiji, oh wow, but I did learn some new things. Fiji has a lot to offer. It's a great destination spot and it's relatively affordable as well.
Patrick Wiscombe:Well, that's coming up here in the first segment, all about Fiji. But let's first get to the travel news headlines PETA's campaign. What does PETA stand for? People, for the Ethical Treatment of Animals? Is that right? Yeah, peta is campaigning. Basically, they're campaigning to tell tour companies to drop the camel rides in Egypt. Personally, I've never been on the back of a camel. I can't say that it's at the top of my list, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to getting on the back of a camel in Egypt.
Mark Faldmo:Have you ever been on one? I have. I have been on a camel one time in Jordan, did you?
Patrick Wiscombe:really.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, what PETA's issue is? These animals are used purely just for rides and photos. They serve no other purpose than that. When they started looking into this and other people started looking into this, those camels are not treated very well. They're not fed, they're not maintained.
Patrick Wiscombe:Even for photo ops they don't treat them, maintained Even for photo ops.
Mark Faldmo:They don't treat them well, even for photo ops. Yeah, so close to 50 tour operators have moved away from offering camel rides in front of Giza just because of how those camels were treated. Now, in other areas, like I mentioned, Jordan, there's places in Morocco where the camels are actually used for legitimate transportation. Those camels are well-fed, maintained. I mentioned I was going to Petra and you either walk three miles down a gully to Petra, take a camel or a donkey, and it was used for legitimate transportation.
Patrick Wiscombe:Pleasant, not that. Being on the back of a camel is going to be a pleasant experience. I would imagine that it kind of smells too.
Mark Faldmo:It was better than walking. I always feel a bit unsteady on camels. The one time I rode an elephant in Thailand, the elephant knew how nervous I was. Oh no, it just took its ears and wrapped its ears around my legs to steady me and keep me on.
Patrick Wiscombe:Did that freak you out a little bit right at the very beginning?
Mark Faldmo:It did a little bit and then they said what the elephant was doing Securing the cargo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yes, real ID. That is the little star that is on driver's licenses. Real ID has been in the news quite a bit the last what? Basically? Two weeks or so. So far, so good. If you don't have a real ID, you Secretary Kristi Noem is saying that you can still travel. You'll just be pushed over to a secondary line. Have they given the guidelines of the secondary screening?
Mark Faldmo:It's a questionnaire and you may be subject to additional baggage screening and pat-downs. It has been all over the news and a lot of people have actually been canceling their trips because of this, thinking they couldn't travel, and so they're coming out saying you still can travel, you just have to go through a secondary screening process you've ever been in a secondary screening?
Patrick Wiscombe:I don't think I have no, but my father has.
Mark Faldmo:So he went through with a back brace. Oh there, we get put into a secondary line, and then they even had to take him into the back room to check out the back brace.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, Mark Faldo Sr getting a full cavity search.
Mark Faldmo:Yes.
Patrick Wiscombe:And your dad is the most polite man on the planet too, and I can just see him. I promise, I'm not a terrorist, I'm not doing anything wrong.
Mark Faldmo:I just hurt my back. Yeah, oh sure, my back.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, oh sure, sure, we hear that all the time. Let's get back to Fiji. That is quite a view behind you For anyone listening. We're doing the radio show and the podcast live from Fiji, or at least he is Just set the scene of what's in front of you right now to whet people's appetite in front of you right now to whet people's appetite.
Mark Faldmo:What to expect in Fiji. So we're a day ahead of you. It is Sunday at 6 am. For me right now, the sun is just coming up and, as you can see, as I mentioned last week, I'm in a garden view room, so it's just palm trees and grass, but it's still a great view. If I lean really really hard out my balcony, I can see the water?
Patrick Wiscombe:Who have you met with and what are some of the things you've been doing?
Mark Faldmo:This was just a convention, where I had 20 minute appointments with about 80 different suppliers over a couple of days, and then we went out on a couple of tours, which I'll explain in just a moment.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, so it was rapid fire beat all the suppliers in 20 minute increments, basically.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, yeah, pretty much meet all the suppliers. Oh, wow, almost every supplier on Fijian islands they met with. So this one, I kind of came with a different approach. I wanted to find out the best things for families to do. Fiji is not often thought of as a family destination, but there are lots of good things for families to do. Fiji is not often thought of as a family destination, no, but there are lots of good things for families to do.
Patrick Wiscombe:What about resorts? Family-friendly resorts as well, yep.
Mark Faldmo:I would go with three hotels that are really family-friendly. They offer any service, they offer kids programs. They really help the kids feel welcome. The first one is the Shangri-La Island. Really help the kids feel welcome.
Mark Faldmo:The first one is the Shangri-La Island. You say Shangri-La, shangri-la, yeah, fiji which is a nice property. But the next two are the two that I really think are great. One is the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort. We talk about Outrigger quite a bit yeah, we do In Hawaii. There are a lot of Outrigger properties, but they do a great job in Fiji, with the families located right on the beach. They're about 30, 40 minutes away from the airport, so that's a great family destination. And the next one is Castaway Island in Fiji. This island is a few miles from where the movie Castaway was filmed and you have to take a boat to get to it. It's a small island. Kids will love it. They've got the inflatable ocean amusement park thing. You know where there's water slides and you have kayaks and all sorts of fun things for the kids to do.
Patrick Wiscombe:You didn't go to the island, did you?
Mark Faldmo:I did not go to that island, no.
Patrick Wiscombe:I thought you were going to say inflatable volleyballs Named Wilson.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, named Wilson.
Patrick Wiscombe:What about activities for?
Mark Faldmo:kids. One reason why I think Fiji is a good destination for family and kids is the cultural aspect of it. There are a lot of activities where you go to an actual Fijian village. They still live in villages and tribes. You can go really experience the Fijian culture. All of them include a kava ceremony with the chief of the village, which kava is a drink made from the root of a tree. But other things that make Fiji good for family lots of really good snorkeling. One thing that we did on this was island hopping, where you go out to a small island snorkel swim. They serve lunch out on the island. You can also stop at a place called Cloud Nine. In the daytime it's just a floating bar that just floats out in the ocean and I'm on Cloud Nine.
Mark Faldmo:They serve pizzas and sandwiches. And if you're really looking for adventure, the Sigatoka River Safari, which is a jet boat that takes you up the Sigatoka River, and this also includes a stop and visit at one of the local Fijian villages.
Patrick Wiscombe:There's just something about being immersed in water and consuming food and beverage that is just so unique that, if you do it once, it's a memory that stays with you forever.
Mark Faldmo:It is, yeah, this whole segment. We talked about Fiji for families, but it's great for couples, great for adults as well. I love Fiji. It is far away, but it's relatively affordable.
Patrick Wiscombe:This is something that you and I talked about a long long time ago and I don't know if it's still active, but I remember was it Fiji Airways or was it a different airline that you could fly to Fiji for $799 round trip from LA. Is that still applicable or is that something that was a long time ago that?
Mark Faldmo:is still current with Fiji Airways. In fact I saw an email. I haven't checked this or what dates, so we'll stick with the $799 for now. But I did see that they did drop some dates down into the $689 range. Oh my word, because I didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night to research that, I didn't look at it, but these prices will go over. I'll just choose two hotels. One is the Novotel Nandi, which is a four-star hotel, and this is airfare five nights hotel in Fiji With the international dateline. You're actually gone for seven days. So the price of that, again at the Novotel, four-star $12.79 per person from.
Mark Faldmo:Los Angeles.
Patrick Wiscombe:Is that with airfare, or is that just the hotel?
Mark Faldmo:That's with airfare. So that's Airfare from Los Angeles Five Nights Hotel. You will need to add transfers onto that, which aren't too bad, but $1279 per person is a great starting point for that.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, it is. And then if we go up to the Outrigger Resort, which is one that we talked about, that's great for families that price goes up to $1789 per person. That's still amazing. I'll just throw in one other hotel, which is the Fiji Marriott Momi Bay. This is a hotel I've used a lot for groups, for corporate incentive groups. This is as low as I've ever seen it, and that starts at $18.59 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:And that still includes the airfare. That still includes the airfare. Okay, so we're not talking $1859 plus $800.
Mark Faldmo:It's just 1859, total, total yeah, one thing I like about the Fiji Momi Bay this price was in their standard kind of hotel rooms but they also have beach berets and over-the-water berets if you want to upgrade to that. They've actually made a man-made inlet to the ocean and they've built these over the water things in this kind of calm, tranquil bay.
Patrick Wiscombe:So what's the difference between an over the water bungalow and an over water beret, or is it basically the same thing? Different term the language.
Mark Faldmo:That's it. So yeah, bungalow is what they would call them in Tahiti and beret is what they would call them in Fiji.
Patrick Wiscombe:When you get back. We've got to discuss this. I've never been to Fiji. You've been there. Did you say? This is your fifth time? Fifth time? Yeah. One of the things that you mentioned right at the very beginning, as we were talking about Fiji, was that they offer nanny services, which I which I think is a brilliant idea. Hey, bring the whole family, and if you have young kids and the adults want to go off and do something, your kids are still covered. Yep, love that idea. What time is your flight this morning?
Mark Faldmo:Well, I actually don't leave till 9 pm tonight, so I've got all day here Finally a day without meetings, I can relax a little bit.
Patrick Wiscombe:Well, you're in the perfect environment, that's for sure. We will be booking something down to Fiji, me and Nikki. If you are interested in going to Fiji and taking advantage of these brand new offers to travel to Fiji, call Mark or someone in his office. He might be in the air 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And he will also post this on blueplanetvacations. com when we come back. We've got the hot travel deal of the week and we are talking about Europe. This is a caller question that we had during last week's show. He wants to go to Europe. We're going to give him some options. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast or radio show continues. Alongside my very tan friend Mark Voldemort. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back.
Show Voice:If you have travel questions, they have the answers. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by BluePlanetVacations. com. Call or text the show right now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. We'll be right back.
Ad Voice:This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El Dorado Spa Resorts. Escape to Cancun's Riviera Maya with authentic all-inclusive luxury at an El Dorado Spa Resort. To book your romantic beach getaway, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com.
Show Voice:You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by blueplanetvacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700,. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. Here's Patrick and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe:Broadcasting live from Fiji, or at least Mark is. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend, especially on a Saturday or Sunday. We hope to give you great information about travel and give you ideas of where you may want to consider vacationing next. If you were listening to the last segment, mark is broadcasting from Fiji. He gave our listeners some pretty great deals. What was the resort the Marriott Resort that you were talking about?
Mark Faldmo:So the Marriott Resort was the Marriott Momi Bay Resort, which started at $1859 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:And that includes the airfare, which is just amazing.
Mark Faldmo:So that's airfare from Los Angeles, Five Nights Hotel.
Patrick Wiscombe:And then we talked about the Novotel Nandi which started at $1279 per person for the airfare and the hotel. Yeah, take advantage of that offer. Call Mark or somebody in his office, because he's in Fiji right now 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. I just brought up where you are. 717-888-718-7717. I just brought up where you are, or at least the Marriott Resort Momi Bay in Fiji, those overwater bungalows. What was the other thing? Oh, berets, that is a beautiful setting Coming up in this segment of the show. We've got the hot travel deal of the week and we are talking about Europe, but let's get to the travel news headlines first. I saw this article that theme parks and I'm wondering if Universal Studios Orlando makes me wonder if they're really fueling this right now.
Mark Faldmo:This list is called the Global 100. Each year, this survey comes out, so this is the 2025 Global 100. And of the top 10 attractions, six were theme parks. Oh really. So what this looks at? It takes in a whole bunch of different data to come up with this, but it looks at verified user ratings, verified user reviews, booking statistics, web searches. So you know, it kind of combines everything it can to determine this list, and so the number one attraction in the world was the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, really Okay. Is that considered a? Well, it's not a theme park, it's just an attraction. Okay.
Mark Faldmo:It's an attraction, so yeah. So this list is the top 100 attractions. Okay, got it. But of the top 10, six of them are theme parks, oh, wow. And so theme parks do seem to be driving travel demand. So number one was the Louvre in Paris, number two, walt Disney World in Florida.
Mark Faldmo:Number three, the Palace Museum. Number four was Disneyland Park in California. Number five, la Sagrada Familia, which is the church in Barcelona. Amazing, they've been working on it for 50 years or 60 years. Hopefully someday it'll be finished. Number six was Shanghai Disney Resort. Number seven was Universal Orlando Resort. Number eight was the Vatican Museums in Rome, and then nine and 10 were both Universal Parks, universal Studios Japan and Universal Beijing Resort. So a lot of theme parks in that top 10 of the top 100 rankings of attractions for tourists.
Mark Faldmo:How many have you been to the top 10? Of the top 10, I've been to six of the top 10. Wow, okay, I haven't been to any of the foreign theme parks, right, so that kind of that's an impressive record. I've been to those places of the foreign theme parks Right, Japan.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's an impressive record.
Mark Faldmo:I've been to those places, just not the theme parks.
Patrick Wiscombe:Atlantis. Now this is in the Bahamas. We're talking about kind of that coral-colored hotel, kind of famous. I won't call it iconic, but it's pretty recognizable. Atlantis Paradise Island has announced some new attractions, some dining, some entertainment. What are those?
Mark Faldmo:This resort has to kind of continually reimagine itself. Yeah, they've just gone through 150 million transformation last year and now they're going to add eight new dining concepts which will bring the total number of eateries to 50. They're going to put in a new mini golf course. They're going to put in escape rooms, pickleball courts.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, I get that one, a new beach club. Beach clubs are so interesting right now.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, that's very interesting to me that they are so popular. People just want to go to that beach club and escape. You know where you have a good beach but plus some amenities right there next to well, not really next to that. You know, royal Caribbean has started their beach club, which is an island that's kind of right across from the cruise pier. It's always been a stretch of beach that I've wondered who owns that and what they're going to do with it. And Royal Caribbean just announced their Nassau Beach Club will be right there in that same area.
Patrick Wiscombe:I love ocean beaches. Now I had something kind of interesting happen to me when we were in Bimini Island I'm not sure that I told you this actually. So Bimini Island, there was an oceanfront beach and it was awesome. It was terrific. Soft sand, a lot of sand, and you really had to work out just to walk through the sand. It was deep. But right next to that, literally just behind me, was the Bimini Beach Club, which was just beach chairs, pool, huge pools Actually there was a few pools. I think that is a trend that's going to continue. To me, that's a really great upgrade. If you want the ocean, you have it, but if you don't want the ocean, something a little less sandy and with the beach amenities, I think it's a great, great idea.
Patrick Wiscombe:It is Always in this segment. Segment number two is the hot travel deal of the week and we got a question from Matt and he called the studio line and this is also the text line 801-649-3700, is also the text line 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700 and we want to answer your travel related questions, so please submit them there. 801-649-3700. Matt is asking I want to go to Europe, but to places in Europe that aren't so crowded.
Mark Faldmo:I have four suggestions and we'll just go by the regions, not necessarily how to get there. A lot of these places we've talked about Globus and their off the beaten path tours A lot of these you can do with Globus or just on your own, but the places you should look at that are less crowded but you still get that great European experience. One is Ticino in Switzerland. This is in Southern Switzerland. It's the Italian speaking area and kind of what they say is it's Italian hospitality but on Swiss time.
Patrick Wiscombe:You know, so I'm not sure I know what that means. Hospitality I get on.
Mark Faldmo:Swiss time. Italians are never on time, and so that's why it's saying, rather than Italy, sometimes trains are running behind, people are late for restaurant reservations. That's why it's saying, rather than Italy, sometimes trains are running behind, people are late for restaurant reservations, and so this is more, and the Swiss are very much not like that. And so Italian hospitality, on Swiss time, really good Northern Italian food there. You're also in the beautiful mountains a lot. What you think Switzerland is. That is one place. The next place and this is a place I have not been to but it is definitely on my bucket list is Transylvania, in Romania. I have been to Romania and I loved it. Going to Transylvania, I think, would just be fascinating. Dracula not included. Well, you can go to Dracula's castle. I'm there, and so that's one thing about Romania, this castle. I'm there, and so that's one thing about Romania, especially Transylvania. It has castles in abundance and medieval towns are everywhere.
Patrick Wiscombe:What else do you recommend?
Mark Faldmo:from it Puglia Italy which is the hill of the boot.
Mark Faldmo:Just a wonderful place to vacation. Italy is one of the top travel destinations and this is a less visited region where you still get that same Italian hospitality. I have been to Southern Italy and just a wonderful destination. What else do you have for Matt? The last destination is Portugal. Portugal is becoming more and more popular, but it is a great place to visit. It's affordable, it has beaches, it has lots of sunshine. So Portugal is a place, although becoming more popular, where you can still escape the crowds a little bit in Europe.
Patrick Wiscombe:In terms of promotions for any of these locations. What do we have for listeners this week?
Mark Faldmo:Right now we'll go with the Globus promotion that we talked about last week, because they do offer off the beaten path tours to these places and right now it's save up to 500 per couple off of the tour price. Six to seven night tour that's really good.
Patrick Wiscombe:That is exceptional. If you want to go to Europe, man, I hope that helps. And if you have follow-up questions, call mark in his office. 888-718-7717 is how you get a hold of the office. 888-718-7717 is how you get a hold of the office 888-718-7717. And you can also go to blueplanetvacations. com. You know you are really whetting my appetite for some new places that I haven't gone. Fiji I'm definitely talking to you about that one. We'll do that. When you get back, matt, call 888-718-7717 to get that one. We'll do that. When you get back, matt, call 888-718-7717 to get that booked. Or if you have follow-up questions about where you're going to be staying when we come back, it is time for the infamous Just Cruising segment. We've got the cruise news of the week and we've also got the cruise deal of the week. So if you want to go from Alaska to the Caribbean, listen up. That is next with the Inside Travel Talk podcast. The radio show continues alongside a very tan Mark Voldemort. I'm Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back.
Show Voice:They've literally traveled millions of miles to answer your travel-related questions. Yeah, they really have. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com. America's best travel advisors, Patrick and Mark, will be back after these messages.
Ad Voice: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:Okay, we're back on the air. Thank you for listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast or radio show Coming up. In the next 30 minutes, mark and I will be talking about Norwegians' upgrades on their private island called Great Stirrup Cay. I was there about three weeks ago, cruising from Alaska to the Caribbean, Panama Canal cruises, future cruise credits and what they really go toward. And a travel show would not be the same without the sound of music. Let's get back to the show. The Inside Travel Talk podcast or radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com contains travel deals, promotions and offers that may be time sensitive. All offers and information were accurate when the show aired. Travel deals and offers change constantly and are capacity controlled and subject to change without notice.
Show Voice:Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com America's best travel advisors. Hit us up right now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com.
Patrick Wiscombe:Here's Patrick and Mark all aboard for the infamous just cruising segment right here on the inside travel talk podcast or radio show, alongside Mark Faldmo, who is broadcasting live from Fiji this morning a very early morning, by the way. What time did you get up this morning? It's 6, what is it? 6.30 in Fiji right now. I got up at about 4.45 am to start preparing for this show.
Mark Faldmo:You've got to be so tired right now.
Patrick Wiscombe:He's so tired he's rendered speechless. Yes, coming up in this segment of the show, we have got to be talking about Norwegians upgrades on their private island, great stirrup key. Nicki and I were there about three weeks ago. Awesome, awesome, private island. How many times have you been there? I've been there probably 15 or so. Oh, okay, all right, so you know how nice it is there. Yeah, first time.
Mark Faldmo:I went there, it was just a beach and beach chairs and a little palapa where they served lunch. It is not that anymore.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let's get to the travel news headlines and then we'll get to the cruise deal of the week. Sound of Music fans, the hills are alive with the Sound of Music. Take note.
Mark Faldmo:This is an interesting cruise, one which I would love to go on. I actually didn't watch the Sound of Music until recently, and I really like it. This is a river cruise on Amadeus River Cruises. They're an Austrian river cruise company. On their July 24th they have a new itinerary which travels between Passau and Budapest, visits Salzburg, Vienna, Bratislava and Slovakia. Their stop in Salzburg. They're going to have a special tour guide. That tour guide's name is Elisabeth von Trapp. She is the granddaughter of George, and Maria will be the tour guide. Do a walking tour of Salzburg Sound of Music themed See that would be a lot of fun. So right now, Amadeus is offering a $500 per person discount for suites or $250 per person discount on other staterooms for travelers who book through the end of May. This is July 24th sailing. If you're a Sound of Music fan, this might be the perfect vacation for you to take.
Patrick Wiscombe:My stepdad loves Sound of Music. I can't tell you the number of times I walked into his office and he was watching the Sound of Music. That's really where my fondness for the movie came from and, by the way, I finally just decided to watch it, like you, because of him. No wonder it won so many Oscars.
Mark Faldmo:I have a funny Sound of Music story. So New Year's Eve I get to pick a movie and Heather gets to pick a movie. She picked Sound of Music and I picked Wolverine. That night I had a dream with Wolverine ripping his shirt off in the Swiss Alps singing the Hills Are Alive with music.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's pretty funny. The thing is is now with a huge Ackman in the Music man or whatever movie he was in. It's completely conceivable. Yes, Norwegian Cruise Lines. Nikki and I were on the Norwegian Aqua brand new ship about three weeks ago and they just announced that they're going to be making some upgrades to their private island called Great Stirrup Key, with a what was it? A pier, which, by the way, we did see under construction while we were there a pool.
Patrick Wiscombe:And I love this idea about the beach club oh, which, by the way, just quickly, I was mentioning in Bimini Island how they had a beach club. They had the oceanfront stuff that they had, the beach club. I didn't tell you why we ended up going there. So I went to go get in the ocean because I was starting to get hot. The second I got in the water I saw hundreds of jellyfish, but they were just kind of like the size of small mushrooms and I'm like you know what? I think I'll pass on getting in the water because I didn't want a chance getting stung by hundreds of jellyfish. So I'm like you know what? How about if I just go to the beach club? And that's why I'm such a fan of beach clubs. If something is going on in the water, yeah, anyway. So let's talk about the upgrades coming to Great Sturip Key.
Mark Faldmo:So the main one you talked about and we've talked about before is they are putting in a pier. As I've mentioned, I've been to the island several times. The first time I went you didn't even go by regular pier, you went by beach landing craft. So they had boats that would beach themselves and the front of the boat would slide down, would come down and you'd walk off the bow of the boat onto the island. It's like World War II, yeah, so it was beach landing craft for several years and then they did make it so they could use their tender vessels and have that little marina where the tenders come into. But now they are building a pier which will make it easier to get to the island.
Patrick Wiscombe:Which was kind of funny because as we were taking the tender to go to Great Stirrup, cay man, the ocean was rocking that day. I don't get motion sick, Nikki, does she just put her head down? I have a picture of her just with her hands in her head going oh boy, wow, it is really rolling. The point of the story is I think they need a pier.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, yeah, and they've missed the island several times because the seas were too rough. A pier will help that.
Patrick Wiscombe:Great Stirrup Cay is Norwegian's island and then, perfect day at Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean's island, and you can literally see their island in the distance. And it's not that far. Yeah, it's right next door.
Mark Faldmo:You could actually from island right next door. You could actually from island to island. You could swim. It's. It's about 100 yards, lifeguards don't let you do that and it's constantly patrolled. So you, yeah, you can't switch up islands. Norwegian was the first cruise line with a private island. They actually purchased that island in 1977 and then in the mid 90s is when it started becoming a regular stop on Norwegians' cruises. So they've kind of pioneered that. Royal Caribbean got way ahead of everyone with what they did to Perfect Day at Coco Cay and now the other cruise lines are kind of catching up With these additions. At Great Stirrup Cay they're adding a huge pool which is 28,000 square feet. Key they're adding a huge pool which is 28,000 square feet. They'll have two swim-up bars, a family splash pad pool, cabanas and more, and so they're also enhancing their adults-only beach club, which is relatively new to that island.
Patrick Wiscombe:You can tell that Great Stirrup Key has been around for a long time because the vegetation is so it's beautiful.
Ad Voice:You can tell that it's grown.
Patrick Wiscombe:You can tell that it's been decades, and it is a beautiful presentation from the time you get off the tender all the way in. It is a truly spectacular entrance, yeah.
Mark Faldmo:With these additions it's interesting With the pier they'll be able to have two ships there In 2026, they're expecting more than 1 million passengers, which is up from 400,000 in 2024. That's more than doubling in two years time, and so they need all of these new enhancements to accommodate that many guests. Ever since Royal Caribbean started enhancing their island, everyone else is doing the same.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yep, I have a question what is a future cruise credit? I actually texted you from the ship if a future cruise credit was worth it. So that's a question from Patrick, who happens to just be the co-host of the show.
Mark Faldmo:Future cruise credits are very much worth it. What happens when you get on board? They have a future cruise consultant. Every cruise line has them and if you put down a future cruise credit and this is just in general. Cruise lines operate these a little bit differently but you know, fairly similar If you put down a future cruise credit, you don't even have to have a ship in sailing, you can just buy a credit.
Mark Faldmo:Buy a $500 future cruise credit. They will give you an onboard credit. So I think, Patrick, what you asked me about was if you put down a future cruise credit, Norwegian was offering you $200 onboard credit to use on your current cruise. So that's like getting $200 free spending money on your current cruise and then you have a future cruise credit to use towards another cruise and that just goes into your account. As a travel agent, I really enjoy these. When a customer puts down a future cruise credit, I get notified that they've put down a future cruise credit and then they notify me every few months, say these customers have future cruise credits. So I help manage those future cruise credits for customers. It is a good way to really get some extra money on your current cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe:We didn't have a drink pack just because Patrick is off the Diet Coke. No, actually he's on the Diet Coke bandwagon and he didn't want to fall off the wagon. Yeah, but we could have used that for specialty dining. It was a little bit late, the cruise. I think we only had like a day left, maybe a day and a half left, and I'm like, oh man. My first thought well, let's go to the steakhouse. That was some spectacular steak. I was blown away at how good that was.
Mark Faldmo:It's very good. That steakhouse does a great job. I think the top steakhouse at a C.
Patrick Wiscombe:I didn't know that meat could be that tender. I won't say it's cotton candy that just dissolves in your mouth, but it was kind of in that range where it's like, well, this is effortless chewing here. It's like a vacation for my teeth. Before we go to break here, we've got to get to the cruise deal of the week. I know that you've received a number of calls for Panama Canal. Let's give our listeners the cruise deal, or, I guess in this case, cruise deals of the week.
Mark Faldmo:There are a couple of ways you can do Panama Canal. I think the best time and best price to do the Panama Canal is when cruise lines are moving their ships from the Caribbean to Alaska or vice versa, Alaska to the Caribbean. Princess, I think, has the best itineraries through the Panama Canal. So at the end of the Alaska season is the sailing I'll look at. But first, Princess is offering up to $400 instant savings, plus up to 40% off free room upgrades and $99 deposits. So that's on all sailings in general.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, so that's not even for Alaska to the Caribbean. This is just a promotion that's going on.
Mark Faldmo:It's a promotion that's just going on.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, that's a good one.
Mark Faldmo:So this Panama Canal cruise that I'll give does include that. As I mentioned, I think Princess does Panama Canal the best. They have more ports. Some cruise lines have a few ports with lots of days at sea. I think Princess has more ports than anybody, at least this year when I was looking. Now you can do this from Seattle as a ship comes out of Alaska, but I'm just taking the portion of it from Los Angeles. So this is Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale. It is a 16-day cruise. Inside cabins start at $1229 per person and balcony cabins start at $1989 per person For 16 days, and that's for 16 days.
Mark Faldmo:The ports on that Puerto Vallarta, Huatulco, which I love, Huatulco, yes you do. Chiapas, costa Rica, which you love also, which I love as well, and then it has a stop in Panama City, and then you go through the Panama Canal the next day.
Patrick Wiscombe:Is that a full day experience to go through the canal, or is it, you know, like half a day, three quarters of a day?
Mark Faldmo:It's a full day when you go through the canal. You'll go through early in the morning, so the canal crossing will start probably 5 am or so, and Panama Canal traffic only goes one way, so they go north to south in the morning, south to north in the evening, and so what happens is they'll go through the canal and then you'll stop in Gatun Lake, let some other ships come in, and then you'll go out in the evening, out into the Atlantic Ocean, and then it also stops in Aruba before a few days at sea, ending in Fort Lauderdale. Wow.
Patrick Wiscombe:So 16 days? What was the price on that? Again Starts at $1229 per person. So that's the inside cabin. Balcony cabin was how much.
Mark Faldmo:Starts at $1989 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:Now could you pick that up all the way from Alaska, meaning turn that into a? What a 21 days, I'm guessing.
Mark Faldmo:Or is it longer than that? There is an option that starts in Seattle so you could do a round trip Alaska cruise and then do the Pacific Coastal. That'd probably be more like 25 or 28 days, so you could do that.
Patrick Wiscombe:Sign me up. What was the departure date? I don't think you gave that.
Mark Faldmo:I didn't, yeah, so the departure date is October 28th of this year, so just after that Alaska season, again sailing through the Panama Canal, starting in Los Angeles and ending in Fort Lauderdale.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, man, take advantage of that. That's a great itinerary. Call Mark in his office, Get the conversation started during the break 888-718-7717. 888-718-77178, 718-7717. And he'll also post this on blueplanetvacations. com when we come back. Man, it's already time to wrap up the show. Mark's Travel Tips. We're going to be talking about TSA pre-check scams and airline customer service scams. We're going to help you out on how to avoid being scammed. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show, continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. We will be right back.
Show Voice:Explore your world. You're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. 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:They'll help you plan and book your next vacation. Yeah, really, you're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by bluelanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700.
Patrick Wiscombe:And now here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo coming to you live from Fiji at least Mark Faldmo is. You are listening to the inside travel talk podcast or radio show coming up in this final segment of the show, we've got Mark's travel tips and we're going to tell you how to avoid being scammed. Not that the TSA is going to scam you, but there are TSA pre-check scams out there, and we are also going to talk about airline customer service scams. There was an article. From who was this? The points guy? The points guy, yeah, he says that there are five common and very expensive travel scams, and so let's just talk about the TSA PreCheck scam first.
Mark Faldmo:This one is when you're applying for TSA PreCheck for the first time. One thing to know is there are fraudulent websites posing as official PreCheck application processing providers and they look legitimate. They do, and they steal your personal information. They steal your application fee. One thing to look for. Any government website will end in gov, so that's one key to look at. When you apply for TSA pre-check, the first time you need to show up in an enrollment center. They will not ask for payment until you show up at the enrollment center. So that is when you will actually pay for TSA PreCheck.
Patrick Wiscombe:TSAgov is what we're talking about specifically in this case.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, that little tip kind of goes on to our next story, the airline customer service scam. When you're flying, things don't always go right Flight cancellations, flight delays. A common thing for people to do is to just call the airline and try and fix their flight. When you do a search, make sure that it's the official airline website. There are a lot of sites out there that look very official Delta customer service the official airline website. There are a lot of sites out there that look very official Delta Customer Service. If you do a search for Delta Customer Service, you'll find one legitimate website and probably 20 or 30 fake websites. People will call those fake websites and they'll rebook them on a flight. They'll take their card and charge it and you won't be rebooked and you'll have lost your credit card fee. So use the app, download the official app. You can communicate that way through chat with customer service. If you do know the actual number to the airline, call it, but make sure that it is the legitimate airline number.
Patrick Wiscombe:I'm a big fan of Airbnb Nikki and I have stayed in a few just recently just because we've been on the road and rental home scams. This is also from the points, guy. What do we need to be aware of there?
Mark Faldmo:So we talked about this a little bit last week, where hosts call at the last minute and say your home is not available, I want to switch you to another home. Or they ask you to pay offline and not use the app Airbnb or whatnot. They ask you to go offline and pay for it. So there are lots of rental home scams. So the rule there is if it sounds fishy, it probably is fishy.
Patrick Wiscombe:I was not indicting Airbnb on that, that was just rental home scams. There's a few of them out there, not scams, but just sites, sites, yeah.
Mark Faldmo:So there are legitimate ones, and there are, within those organizations, a few homeowners that are not legitimate, but for the most part they are, and you just have to be careful about what you're getting into.
Patrick Wiscombe:What about cruise port scams? Did he mention anything about that?
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, you know there's a couple of cruise port scams out there. One is the free gift. You'll leave and someone will be offering you a free gift to come inside. That person is to get you inside and then you will be handed off to a professional salesperson that sees thousands of cruise passengers a week. Oh yeah, and if you try and leave that place with that free gift, they won't let you. You either have to give the free gift back or buy something. Oh boy, so that's one of the most common scams. The other one is a discount excursion scam if you don't have anything pre-booked.
Patrick Wiscombe:By the way, I was astonished at the number of people in San Juan old San Juan port that were selling tours Hop on this bus, pay 30 bucks or whatever it was to hop on. But I was surprised how many hustlers there were out there. That was interesting. Not that I'm saying Puerto Rico, you know, the old San Juan was full of a bunch of fraudsters. I just I've never been accosted like that before. Hey, you know, come with us and they'll. They'll put the pressure on you too. Yes, they will.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, the last cruise scam. Someone will come up and ask you to hold something for them. In a lot of ports in the Caribbean it's like a giant conch shell or something like that, and they do this to confuse you pick pocketers can get to you. Or they just say you used it as a photo opportunity and they'll hound you until you pay them money.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, I did see that one Conch shell, and so there are lots of scams to look out for. Go through trusted sources for shore excursions. Either use a cruise line I have a really good third-party shore excursion group that I use so those are the best ways to not get scammed in a cruise port.
Patrick Wiscombe:Those are some really, really helpful tips. How many cruises have you been on? I stopped counting at 150.
Mark Faldmo:That's so much. How many cruises have you been on? I stopped counting at 150. That's so much.
Patrick Wiscombe:And how many miles have you flown?
Mark Faldmo:I'm a 2 million miler on Delta, a million miler on American, so I'm probably close to 4 million. I don't have a track with other airlines but I'm probably close to that 4 million mile mark and you take off tonight at 9 o'clock Tahiti time, Fiji time.
Patrick Wiscombe:I'm probably close to that 4 million mile mark and you take off tonight at 9 o'clock Tahiti time, Fiji time. I'm sorry, Fiji time, Fiji time. Well, enjoy your time off. You've had a lot of meetings down there. Yes, had some rough sledding in Fiji. Call Mark in his office If you want to book any of the Crucial of the Week Panama, Alaska to the Caribbean, Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, the Fiji itineraries and the places that we mentioned in the first section of the show.
Patrick Wiscombe:Call Mark in his office, 888 718-7717, 888-718-7717. And, of course, you can go to blueplanetvacations. com to get all of the information. You can listen to us all over again tomorrow morning at 11 am on Sunday, right here on this radio station, and you can stream, download and subscribe to the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. You can just listen to the show and you can subscribe to the show because we're on all of the major podcast platforms. Well, now it's 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. Live your life deliberately. Live your life deliberately. Live your life intentionally. Live the life that you want to live. Thank you so much for listening. We don't have a business, we don't have a show without you. Thank you for being part of the show. We'll talk to you again next week. Have a great week.
Show Voice:That's it. That's the end of the show. 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.
Ad Voice:Have a great week up. A lot of people think I'm young and healthy, I'll be fine. But in today's uncertain world, are you sure If you're not check out Travelex Insurance Services, their travel insurance plans can help protect you and your vacation? A lot of travel insurance plans look similar, but let's talk about customer experience. Travelex is known for their award-winning customer service and high claims paid rate. Travelex partners with travel advisors throughout North America, so ask your travel advisor for Travelex or contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com for more information.