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
Wanderlust Whispers: River Cruise Comparisons & Hidden Gems
Ready to snag a $399 roundtrip flight to Hawaii this fall? That's not a typo – it's just one of the extraordinary travel deals we're unveiling in this episode. We're taking you on a journey through affordable paradise destinations while revealing how to maximize your travel budget without sacrificing experiences.
The tropical adventures start with our exploration of Tahiti and its islands. While many travelers dream of Bora Bora's overwater bungalows, we reveal why Moorea might be the smarter choice – offering similar beauty at more accessible prices just a 30-minute ferry ride from Papeete. From swimming with sharks and rays to enjoying private motu beach experiences, we share firsthand recommendations from multiple visits to these Polynesian gems.
Dreaming of secluded Hawaiian beaches? We unveil which resorts offer the quietest stretches of sand on Kauai and the Big Island. The Grand Hyatt Kauai sits perfectly positioned at the end of Poipu Beach, minimizing foot traffic for a more exclusive experience, while the Westin Hapuna Beach on the Big Island provides a similar oasis. Combined with our $399 airfare deal and additional package savings, Hawaii has never been more attainable.
For those considering European river cruises, we provide a comprehensive comparison between Viking, Avalon Waterways, and AmaWaterways. From cabin sizes (ranging from 135 to 210 square feet) to included amenities and current promotions saving you up to $2,000 per cabin, we break down what makes each line unique. Our discussion goes beyond marketing materials to share personal experiences from more than a dozen river cruises, helping you choose the perfect itinerary and cruise line for your travel style.
The episode wraps with practical travel wisdom you won't find in guidebooks – like why traveling with an apple could result in an $800 fine, why chocolate fudge in your carry-on might trigger extra security screening (hint: it resembles explosives on X-ray machines), and why your Costco "Gold Star" membership card isn't a valid replacement for Real ID at airports.
Ready to transform these travel insights into your next adventure? Connect with us at 888-718-7717 or visit BluePlanetVacations.com to start planning with experienced advisors who can navigate the complexities that AI travel planning simply can't handle.
Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Coming up. On today's show, we will be talking about round-trip airfares to Hawaii for $399. No, I'm not making that up. Saving up to $2,000 on a European river cruise, the world's southernmost hotel, vacations in Tahiti, private beaches in Hawaii, and how traveling with an Apple will get you an $800. Fine, 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 has changed 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.
Patrick Wiscombe:And now here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Falkner it is the weekend, which means it is finally time to talk travel. Hello, there, I'm Patrick Wiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo. You are listening to the best radio show and podcast for travel information Coming up. In this edition of the show, we are going to talk about airfares to and from Hawaii. This is Roundtrip Airfare for $399. And no, I'm not making that up. That's coming up here in just a few minutes.
Patrick Wiscombe:We're going to tell you how to save up to $2,000 on European river cruises, the world's southernmost hotel called the Cormorant If you're the adventuresome kind, you're going to want to stick around for this particular story Vacations in Tahiti, private beaches in Hawaii, and how traveling with an Apple and I don't mean an Apple device will get you an $800. Fine, the entire purpose of this show is to help you book and plan your next vacation or give you ideas of where you should consider vacationing next, and we are presented by blueplanetvacations. com. And just a sincere thank you for taking the time to stop and listen. Mark Faldmo, you are back from your travels. Where were you this past week?
Mark Faldmo:Las Vegas most recently. How was it? It was good, I was at a conference the whole time, so I spent four days in Caesar's Palace, didn't leave the hotel. It was nice, except for the $8 soda that I had to get. And food is so expensive in Las Vegas these days. That's amazing, do you?
Patrick Wiscombe:remember when food was just cheap, it was the loss leader to get you into the casinos, into the casino, yeah. So it really is that expensive now, and now the casinos get you to the food, really.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, I went to Starbucks and got a chocolate croissant and a bottle of soda and it cost $21. Holy cow, very expensive.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yes, wow, but always in the first segment of the show we've got the destination of the week and one of our listeners, Gina, wants to go to Tahiti. We'll get to that here in this segment, but let's start the show first with the travel news headlines. This feels like an adventure story to me. We saw the press release or the news story that was introducing the world's southernmost hotel called the Cormorant at 55 South. This has Patrick written all over it.
Mark Faldmo:This is actually a hotel that was built by Silver Sea Cruise Line, which is a small ship, luxury cruise line, but they do have two expedition ships, so this hotel is purpose built for their Antarctic expeditions. Oh, how fun is that. And all of the cruise lines go out of Ushuaia, Argentina. But Silversea wanted to do something different. So last year maybe the year before they moved where their Antarctic sailings depart from and they moved it to Porto Williams in Chile, which is about 30 miles away.
Mark Faldmo:But what they've done with this? They have a really interesting and unique way to see Antarctica. So you do all the cruising around there. But for those that don't want to do the Drake Passage, Silversea is the cruise line for you. They have an airstrip next to the hotel, and so the Antarctica proportion is they fly you to the research station on Antarctica. So you see Antarctica by flying there and you skip the two days of cruising the Drake Passage, which sometimes can be like a lake and sometimes can be like the raging ocean. That it is Not good, yeah. So that's why they've built this hotel, to build that component in for Antarctica. So instead of cruising there, you fly there, but then you do all the other cruising things you would do by the expedition cruise ship.
Patrick Wiscombe:Minus the violent waves of the Drake Passage, correct, okay. So while everyone is building beach clubs, talk about a completely different cruise experience. Yes, magic Kingdom's new nighttime parade. They've announced a date that it will start on July 20th parade.
Mark Faldmo:They've announced a date that it will start on July 20th. The brand new nighttime parade, which is inspired after the original Main Street Electrical Parade. They have some similar things, but with a lot more technology. That parade starts on July 20th.
Patrick Wiscombe:Always in the first segment of the show we've got the destination of the week. So this is actually from one of our listeners. Her name is Gina. She wants to go to Tahiti. But before I get to her question, let me give the studio in the text line so you can ask your travel related questions. 801 area code 649-3700. 801-649-3700. Gina is asking where should I stay and what is there to do? I know what your favorite things to do, or at least a couple of the places Papeete and Morea.
Mark Faldmo:That's exactly where I'm going. When people think of Tahiti or French Polynesia, they all want Bora Bora. Until they see the price. See the price. Bora Bora is amazing, but it can also be pretty pricey. So our alternate to Bora Bora is Morea. It's a lot easier to get to. It's a short 30 minute ferry ride from Papetee, Tahiti. They do have some high end, high priced hotels. They also have some pretty reasonably priced hotels If you're looking for that not the island of Tahiti, but one of the outer islands, if you want to go to Bora Bora and it seems too expensive, try Morea.
Mark Faldmo:I thought we would start and just go over some of my recommended hotels that are in Papetee, on that main island of Tahiti, and all of these hotels that we're going to talk about today. I've stayed at and I enjoyed all of them In Papua New Guinea. The two that I would recommend one is the Manava Suites. It's a four-star hotel. You actually look across the bay to Morea you can see it there because Morea is so close and the other is the Intercontinental. It's a five-star, again, a little bit more pricey, but it's a different experience. One thing that Heather and I did that I loved. We just ran out of car and drove all the way around the island. There's so many waterfalls on one side of the island that it's amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe:How long did it take for you to get around the island?
Mark Faldmo:Amazing, how long did it take for you to get around the island.
Patrick Wiscombe:You can do it in a full day.
Mark Faldmo:Oh it's that big Well with stops and there's some little offshoots where you can go explore different things. There's not as much to do on the main island. There's a really neat cultural museum, a couple of nice restaurants on the other side of the island. One thing that I really like in Papeete is they have their market, which is just a market like you find in Europe with everything there, kind of an open air market. It's well, it's in a building, but really interesting souvenirs Plus. I also sell the food and fish.
Patrick Wiscombe:What hotels do you recommend?
Mark Faldmo:on Morea so in Morea and it's probably my favorite island Morea is where I would go and stay and it's probably my favorite island Morea is where I would go and stay. I would do it even over Bora Bora, just because I think there's a little bit more to do in Morea. Now. All of these hotels have garden rooms, beach rooms and overwater bungalows. So you have three different choices. One is Manava Beach it's kind of the lead-in hotel, and then my favorite hotel there is the Sofitel Kiaava Beach it's kind of the lead-in hotel, and then my favorite hotel there is the Sofitel Kia Ora Beach. That's where I've stayed the most when I go there. I was lucky enough during COVID, when it wasn't busy, they put me in an overwater bungalow and it was amazing. And then just the next step up from there is the Hilton Morea Lagoon and that's when I use a lot for groups.
Patrick Wiscombe:What are some of the things that you like to do when you are in?
Mark Faldmo:Morea. They have like open air roadsters and so just a little two or four passenger roadsters that you drive around the island.
Patrick Wiscombe:Wait, are we talking Teslas Roadsters? No, oh.
Mark Faldmo:No, no, tesla Like a dune buggy. Oh, okay, there we go. So, yeah, to drive all the way around. Morea is 40 miles, so you could do it like five times in a day if you wanted, but it's fun to drive around. Go up to Belvedere Point, which is a nice overlook where you can look down both on Cook's Bay and Oponohu Bay. You can stop in both of those bays. Nice beaches, water activities. My favorite thing there is swim with the sharks and rays. So you go out and swim with the sharks and feed the sharks and rays, and then also a Motu beach experience. So Motu, they're the small islands that surround the French Polynesia, so you can go out just with a small group, usually 10 to 30 people, and just have this whole Motu island to yourself. They're usually out on the reefs. You just go spend the day on the island.
Patrick Wiscombe:Well, that sounds delightful. Gina, call Mark in his office, just get the conversation started. No obligation, of course. His office number is 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. And you can also find some of this information on blueplanetvacations. com. When we come back, it is time for the hot travel deal of the week, which is Hawaii, and we are talking about airfares to Hawaii from $399 starting this fall. And no, I'm not making that up, that is the real price. We'll talk about that next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast or radio show continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be back in about two minutes.
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: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. Call or text the show right now 801-649-3700,.
Show Voice:801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Your attention, please. Your attention, please. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show. That's not the attention, please part. I want you to listen to this part. I want you to listen to Round Trip Airfare from Hawaii for $399 out of Salt Lake City starting this fall. No, I'm not joking. So if you've wanted to go to Hawaii, we're going to give you the dates. We're going to give Mark's recommendations of things to do and where to stay. That's coming up here in just a few minutes, right here on the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show. Alongside Mark Faldmo, I am Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. Let's get back to the travel news headlines. You were at a conference in Las Vegas this past week and you were able to. I was going to say you were able to talk to Richard Branson. That's not true. You were in a conference where Richard Branson, who founded Virgin Airlines and Virgin Voyages, and he was talking to your group. Tell us what happened.
Mark Faldmo:One of the questions that he was asked was how did he get in travel and how did he get the idea for the airline so Virgin Atlantic Airways? He was in San Juan trying to get to the British Virgin Islands, so he was meeting his girlfriend there and the airline canceled his flight to the British Virgin Islands. They said you're going to have to spend the night and we'll come back in the morning and we'll see if we can get you there. We'll see. And so so Richard Branson said, told everyone in the terminal to hold on for just a minute, and this is when he was running, by this time, Virgin Records.
Patrick Wiscombe:I forgot about Virgin Records. I didn't know he was the owner of that, but I guess it would make sense, yeah he was.
Mark Faldmo:So he told everybody to stay and he went out and he found an airplane to charter. He said I hope my credit card was going to work. But he went back and he got a chalkboard and wrote Virgin Air $35 tickets to British Virgin Islands. Oh wow. And so after that experience he said well, that wasn't too hard. And so he called Boeing. He didn't know anyone at Boeing, he just called the main number and says I want to talk to whoever can help me rent or buy a used 747. And it went from there. Oh wow.
Mark Faldmo:I've never heard that Virgin Atlantic is a great airline. Virgin Voyages that we've talked about quite a bit on this show. I love Virgin Voyages. They're unique. When they started Virgin Voyages and he said this is what he does with all of his companies. He says he likes to cruise and he's not mocking any cruise lines when he does this. But he sat down with his team and they said we need to come up with 30 things we don't like about cruising and we need to change that. And so they had their list of 30 things and they built Virgin Voyages around those 30 things.
Patrick Wiscombe:I would imagine that one of those things was we need to change how ships look, because I think Virgin Voyages has some of the most unique, looking well beautiful, frankly ships that I've ever seen. They do.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, they do. It's a great product and they do things different, like their dining. They have five different restaurants and you just rotate through all the restaurants each night. On other cruise lines there are specialty restaurants you can't get in or there's an extra charge. They just rotate you through all the restaurants so you eat at every restaurant on your voyage. Does Virgin Voyages have a buffet Sort of? It's more like food trucks, so it's a food hall and it's all cooked to order. When you order it, you order at the play station and they'll bring it out to your table where you're at in the food hall.
Patrick Wiscombe:So they were the originator of ordering from I'll just call them iPads, and there's multiple restaurants but, to use your term, food trucks on a ship. So if you want something Asian and then you want something Mexican, you can go to the iPad and, hey, I want Asian and Mexican, and then they just bring it to your table. They started that.
Mark Faldmo:They started that and a few other Norwegian in particular has also now started that where they have kind of a food hall where you just order from a variety of different menus.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, Norwegian Aqua. I forgot the name of the food hall. The food was good and it arrived within just minutes of tapping the iPad. It was a really great experience. Yes, it is a great experience. We want you to be part of the show and while we were at break, we received a text from. Who was this? This is Amy, isn't it? She texted the show 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. She's asking about Hawaii. Her question is are there any private beaches in Hawaii, because I want a quiet beach. What are the options?
Mark Faldmo:All the beaches in Hawaii are public, so you can't block access to get to a beach. But in Hawaii there are some places, some islands, that are better than others. If you want a quieter beach, the first place I would say is the island of Kauai, because the hotels are fairly well spread out and, with a few exceptions, you could stay at any hotel and get a relatively quiet beach experience. Yeah, agreed. So the hotels on Kauai that I would recommend are the Outrigger Waipuli Beach, which has a really nice beach and there's not a lot around it, and so you can have a little bit quieter beach there. Same thing with a hotel called the Kiahana Plantation, and then probably my favorite hotel on the island, and this is actually my father's favorite hotel probably in all the world. He loves this hotel which is the Grand Hyatt.
Ad Voice:Hotel in.
Mark Faldmo:Kauai. Yeah, great choice it is. It's kind of right at the end of Poipu Beach. The hotels might be spread out but you still might get people that walk down the beach. But since this is at the end of Poipu Beach, you don't get a lot of that cross traffic, so you get kind of a little bit more secluded beach. Even though there is a parking lot with public access to the beach at the hotel, I've never found it to be too terribly crowded.
Patrick Wiscombe:So that's on Kauai. What do you recommend for, let's say, the Big Island?
Mark Faldmo:The Big Island is the next place I'd recommend. You know, on the other islands everything's a little bit too close and you get a lot of cross-mixing of people walking up and down the beach. So on the Big Island there are two hotels. One is the Westin Hapuna Beach. Hapuna Beach there is a public side of that and then there's kind of a little cove that the hotel is on. It does not get too crowded. And the Mauna Kea Resort is also on kind of its own little cove. Actually it's quite close to the Hapuna Beach as well, but those two hotels kind of have a little bit quieter beaches on the Big Island.
Patrick Wiscombe:Amy. There you go. If you have any follow-up questions, call Mark in his office, 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. Always in segment number two of the show, we've got the hot travel deal of the week and we've been talking about it since the top of the show Airfare to Hawaii. Round-trip airfare to Hawaii $399 starting this fall. Let's give listeners an opportunity to book this deal, and what promotions do we have for listeners?
Mark Faldmo:Yeah. So there's the good airfare plus a promotion on top of that. So first of all, salt Lake City to Hawaii, to Honolulu in particular. I've found several dates that have $399 airfare. Now that is in basic economy, but that's still a great price to fly to Hawaii. Add about another $75 to that for the main cabin if you want a seat assignment, but that's as low as I've seen Hawaii airfares in a while.
Mark Faldmo:There's a little bit less lift to Hawaii a little bit less demand for Hawaii, and so it's interesting because the airfares are coming down but the hotels are going up slightly, but great airfare to Hawaii. And then on top of that, if you add a hotel, so if you do an air and hotel package, there's a promotion to get an additional 200, up to an additional $250 off the package.
Patrick Wiscombe:Where are we staying on those?
Mark Faldmo:I'll just go over Now, since in that previous segment we talked about Kauai and the Big Island. Yeah, we'll go over those, so we'll start in Kauai and the Big Island. Yeah, we'll go over those, so we'll start in Kauai. This is a September 4th departure and this is actually very close to that $399 airfare. It's a little bit higher than that to Kauai, but the lead-in hotel is the Hilton Garden Inn Wailua Bay, which is also on a good stretch of beach. It's $1129 per person. And then one of the hotels that we talked about, the Outrigger Waipuli Beach, starts at $1299 per person for an airfare five nights hotel. I didn't get the price at the Grand Hyatt, but then we'll go just one other, the Outrigger Kauai Beach Resort, starts at $1359.
Mark Faldmo:And all of those are four-star hotels.
Patrick Wiscombe:Outrigger has some great properties.
Mark Faldmo:They do. I love Outrigger and they're very Hawaiian, so you really get kind of immersed into the culture when you're at those properties.
Patrick Wiscombe:I was surprised how green Kauai was. Truly, I cannot believe how much different each of the islands are. You wouldn't think they'd be that different, but they really are.
Mark Faldmo:But they really are?
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, they are, and so now we can move from Kauai the garden island because it's so green all over to the big island where, when you land at the airport, you'll think you landed in Wendover. That's not really a great endorsement. Well, I know what you're talking about, though.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah. So, it's all lava and grass.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, it's interesting. Yeah, it's interesting.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, it's interesting. So same date, September 4th, one of my favorite hotels, the Royal Kona, which is a three and a half star hotel, starts at $1149 per person. Great sunsets, great sunsets there.
Mark Faldmo:I like that Royal Kona just because of its location. I like that Royal Kona just because of its location. It's kind of right at the end of the main shopping street there in Kilauea Kona, right next to my favorite restaurant. It is an older hotel but they've recently renovated it. The rooms are great. And then the other hotel that I'll just mention here is the Hilton Grand Vacation Club Waikoloa Village. This is part of the Hilton Waikoloa Village complex. It's one of the towers but it's a four and a half star and it starts at $1219 per person for airfare and five nights Pretty good price. And with that $399 airfare and up to $250 off, you can get a pretty good rate to Hawaii.
Patrick Wiscombe:If you decide to go to the big island, hopefully you'll be lucky enough to still see the volcano shooting lava up to a thousand feet at Volcano National Park. It's still going on, mark, yeah, and that's still on my bucket list.
Mark Faldmo:Maybe I'll just make a trip this weekend to get over there. You know what?
Patrick Wiscombe:That's not a terrible idea. Yeah, I've always wanted to see a live volcano. Obviously from a distance. I don't want to be in the path, obviously. Yeah, but that just sounds awesome. Yeah, all right, we'll uh, we'll meet on the what uh? Terminal a?
Mark Faldmo:yeah, I guess we'll coordinate later go to hawaii for a day just to see the volcano. I would do that.
Patrick Wiscombe:Amy, I hope that answers your questions. You will probably have follow-up questions. Call Mark in his office, 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. And he will also post this on blueplanetvacations. com, coming up at the bottom of the hour. It is time for the infamous Just Cruising segment. We will be comparing cabins on river cruise ships for each major cruise line and we've got a promotion from Ama Waterways of saving up to $2,000 per cabin when we return at the bottom of the hour news break. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. My name is Patrick Wiscombe.
Show Voice:He is Mark Faldmo. We will be right back, 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. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700.
Ad Voice:801-649-3700. Thanks for listening. We'll be right back 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:Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show Coming up in the next 30 minutes. We will be talking about saving you up to $2,000 per cabin with Ama Waterways, getting fined $800 for having an Apple. We're also gonna tell you how to get free airfare if you cruise with Avalon Waterways and, for heaven's sakes, would you please quit using your Costco ID as your real ID. Let's get back to the show. The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com contains travel deals, promotions and offers that may be time sensitive. All offers and information were accurate when the show aired. Travel deals and offers change constantly and are capacity controlled and subject to change without notice.
Show Voice: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:Oh, the beautiful ship horn of Norwegian's brand new ship, aqua. Nikki and I were on it in April and it was an absolutely beautiful ship, honestly one of the most beautiful ships I've ever been on. This is the Inside Travel talk podcast and radio show and it is time always at the bottom of the hour, the infamous just cruising segment, where it's only about the cruise news and it's only about cruise deals. So if you are a cruise person, this is going to be your favorite part of the show each and every week at this time. But let's first get to the cruise news headlines. I saw this news story that was comparing cabins on river cruise ships for each of the major cruise lines. What were the conclusions of the article mark?
Mark Faldmo:there are several really good river cruise lines out there. This article mentioned seven river cruise lines that are out there, but I wanted to narrow down kind of on the three most that were are probably most familiar to people and the first one is Viking.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, man, they've been marketing hard lately.
Mark Faldmo:They have Yep, and so I guess I'll take a step back. All of the river cruise ships have to go through the locks on the rivers, so all of the river cruise ships can only be a maximum length and width, so they're all essentially the same size. They also have to fit under bridges, so they all have those length, width and height parameters. With that in mind, Viking is the first one we'll talk about. A typical Viking ship has between 190 and 230 passengers and their kind of lead-in balcony stateroom is 135 square feet. Now there is one lower category than this which doesn't have a balcony because it's actually below the water. So there's a window that's above the water, but for purpose of this story we'll just stick with kind of the apples to apples story. So their lead in 135 square feet.
Mark Faldmo:And then the next cruise line we'll talk about is Avalon Waterways, which is tied for my favorite with Ama Waterways, Avalon Waterways for the comparable ship. They have about 160 passengers on board their ships and a little bit larger room. So for room, similar location to Viking. Their cabin space is 172 square feet and we talked about with TJ a few weeks ago. The thing I like about Avalon is their beds face the water. Yeah, that's a big deal. They don't have any like real balcony space. Your whole wall just opens up, and so that's why it gives you that extra. What is that? 50 square feet inside the room because there's they're not taking space from your room for the balcony, but then your whole wall opens up to turn your whole cabin into a balcony.
Patrick Wiscombe:So basically, it's kind of the infinite veranda where half the wall comes down and you just hang out at the foot of your bed, basically, yes, I know that you like balconies, but honestly, the infinite veranda makes the room larger and you still get the fresh air. Yeah, and they also provide chairs. You mentioned Ama Waterways. How did they come in?
Mark Faldmo:Ama Waterways, again on ships about the same size. They have 150, 160 guests on board and their cabins start at 210 square feet, so larger than both of those Whoa. The interesting thing about Ama is they have both. They have a balcony and a French balcony in the cabin, so they have the bed and close to the bed they have a balcony with chairs where you can go out close the door. Where you can go out close the door, or the other half of the room is a French balcony where the door opens and you can sit in nice comfy chairs and look out the window. So they kind of have it divided.
Mark Faldmo:So half balcony and half French balcony, which is interesting, but they do give you bigger rooms for that.
Patrick Wiscombe:All right. So this naturally begs the question what questions should our listeners ask you when planning a river cruise?
Mark Faldmo:So when planning a river cruise. It is a different experience than an ocean cruise.
Mark Faldmo:Oh yeah, and so here are the six questions or things to consider. The first thing is what destinations and rivers does the cruise cover and what unique experiences do each offer? And so you really have to look at your objectives are for the cruise. For instance, the Rhine River is a scenic cruise where you see castles. You do get culture in there, but you're really immersed in castles on the Rhine River. The Danube is more history, and so you see more historical sites, while all of the river crews kind of cross mingle. This. That's kind of what each river is known for, and they do provide unique experiences. You know, like on the Danube, in Melk, going to the monastery in Melk is probably one of my favorite experiences in all the river cruising I've done.
Patrick Wiscombe:One of the questions that comes to my mind what type of accommodations are available and how do stateroom sizes and amenities vary from river cruise company to river cruise company?
Mark Faldmo:You might want the very best overall price on. The size of cabin Doesn't matter Right, which in some cases that's a great thing to do, because what you see on the river cruises are amazing.
Patrick Wiscombe:It's a completely different experience than ocean cruising, Completely different. Another question that I've asked of you what's included with the cruise price Meals, excursions, drinks, Wi-Fi, etc.
Mark Faldmo:There are several. There are probably nine or ten river cruise companies out there, but you do have to look at that price and really quantify what it includes. Generally, all the meals are included, but depending on the cruise line. I was looking at a cruise line for someone the other day. It was a European cruise line. They wanted to go on something like that, but the excursions were not included and they were additional. So on Viking, Ama and Avalon that we just talked about, excursions are included. Now, some of those cruise lines do offer extra experience or additional excursions that you can purchase, but the main excursions are included. Also, drinks is one. Are drinks included all the time? A lot of cruise lines are just included at mealtime and then if you go not at a mealtime, you then pay per drink. That's something to ask so you're not stuck with a bill that you weren't expecting at the end of the cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe:Another frequently asked question that you get is what is the typical daily itinerary and is there much free time to just explore on your own?
Mark Faldmo:That's a really good question and it's good for people to know how river cruises operate. Now I'm just going to speak from my experience on Viking, Avalon and Ama Waterways. Typically, what they do is day. They'll try and get a good number of what activities you want to go on, because you do get your choice of a few different activities and also different activity levels. You know. So, as we've talked about Patrick, the bikes on the boat.
Mark Faldmo:So some people want to go on the bus, some people want to take the bike tour. That's what they'll do the night before each day and then you'll go on your activities that day. Typically it'll be a morning activity back for lunch and then free time in the afternoon, or an optional additional cost activity in the afternoon and then back in time for dinner and then again before dinner you'll have that same pre-dinner cocktail hour where they'll go over the next day's activities. And on these tours they do give plenty of time for shopping, to explore the destination on your own. If you don't want to do the tours, you just let the guide know and you can go explore the whole day independently. Okay, the last river cruise I was on since I'd been to I just mentioned Milk, since I'd been there a couple of times, heather and I just went off and shopped and explored the little village, rather than take the prearranged tour by the cruise line.
Patrick Wiscombe:So there is the flexibility. Basically is what we're seeing. We've already kind of talked about shore excursions, if they're included or not or optional, but I do want to talk about what kinds of activities, and maybe some cultural experiences can listeners expect?
Mark Faldmo:They really do try and get you immersed in these little villages and some of my favorite things on river cruises they'll do kind of like local favorite things. One thing is we went to this hunting castle right on the Danube River. There's a small group of 20 of us and the owner actually still lived in it. He lived in the guest quarters and we went and walked through how the kitchen works and it set up like it was back in medieval times. We kind of went through all the houses of this hunting lodge and then had a local performance by a local quartet. So you do get special experiences like that that the average traveler is not going to get. And river cruises is where I've had the most of these experiences. They're just little special things either included or at an additional cost that you can get.
Patrick Wiscombe:What is the average group size? The demographic of river cruisers.
Mark Faldmo:River cruising. Typically, average age is older 55 to 65. Although since COVID that age has really come down. A lot of younger people are opting to do that, just because river cruises are so unique and you get to go to places that you normally wouldn't go. Your excursion groups are going to be between 20 and 30 passengers.
Mark Faldmo:So not big groups much smaller and you know a lot of those places, cause they're going to smaller villages. They do want to break you up so you're not overwhelming the villages, and so there are some places where you can only go in in groups of 10 or 12. And so they'll break you up into smaller groups, like that.
Patrick Wiscombe:That leads us to the cruise deal of the week, always in this segment of the show, and I talked about it at the top of the hour. I've talked about it at the bottom of the hour. Let's help our listeners save quite a bit of money. Let's do it. Let's start with Alma Waterways.
Mark Faldmo:Alma Waterways right now has a promotion of up to $2,000 off river cruises, that is, on select cruises. It says this fall, but there's a limited availability this fall, so next spring, so spring of 2026 and spring of 2026, up to $2,000 off and this is for any of their destinations. We've mainly talked to Europe here, but it's also good for Vietnam and Cambodia and also the Nile in Egypt.
Patrick Wiscombe:And how much can you save per cabin? That was the $2,000, right, that's up to $2,000. Wow, okay. What about Avalon Waterways? What's their promotion?
Mark Faldmo:And then Avalon Waterways is a free airfare, or you can opt to save up to $1,500 per person. So it's your choice, so it's your choice. So if you had frequent flyer miles to use over there, you could opt for the $1,500 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:What is your favorite river cruise and what itinerary would you recommend for a first time cruiser For a first time cruiser I would say the Danube River, the upper Danube River, is perfect.
Mark Faldmo:That's Budapest sells between Budapest and Germany. My favorite river cruise that I've done is the lower Danube sailing between Budapest and Romania. You're sailing through all the former communist countries and getting that perspective of what it was like to live behind the Iron Curtain Although some of the guides are younger these days so they don't know that experience. But if you're lucky enough to get an older guide, it's very interesting.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's always been fascinating to me, not from a good standpoint, but just what was it like? It's not that I don't want the younger guides. I want probably an older one on that one. Tell us what your daily life was like. What was their experience? I don't want that experience to be lost to history.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, yeah, and so that's why that itinerary was so fascinating to me Absolutely fascinating Sailing on a European river cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe:How many times have you done it, Mark?
Mark Faldmo:About 12 times I've been on a river cruise, jeez.
Patrick Wiscombe:If you are interested in river cruising, call Mark in his office at the break. Just get the conversation started 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And you can also go to blueplanetvacations. com. When we come back we've got Mark's travel tips and we're going to tell you how one person received an $800 fine for traveling with an apple. We're not joking. Fine for traveling with an apple we're not joking. That is next with the Inside Travel Talk podcast. The radio show continues. My name is Patrick Wiscombe, he is Mark Faldmo. 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.
Ad Voice:This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by Star Clippers. For over 30 years, Star Clippers has offered unique authentic tall ship sailing experiences featuring creative itineraries throughout the Mediterranean Caribbean and Central America. To book your unique Star Clipper sailing adventure, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com or blueplanetvacations. com.
Show Voice:Travel advisors, call the show right now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. And now your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark.
Patrick Wiscombe:Faldmo, each and every weekend, we get to spend our time with you, and a sincere thank you to just allowing us to be part of your weekend. Wherever you are listening to the show, whether it's in the gym, in the car, however, you consume radio and podcast content. Thank you coming up. In this final segment of the show, we have mark's travel tips.
Patrick Wiscombe:We've also got the this story about an $800 fine if you're traveling with an apple, and we're talking about the fruit and we're going to talk about don't do this as a baggage hack. And people, for heaven's sakes, please quit using your Costco card as a sufficient replacement for real ID if you're headed to the airport. I don't know why I find that so funny, but I guess if you have a Costco card and it's got your picture on it and it says your name, I can see why people are doing it, but that's not real ID. All right, mark, let's get back to the travel news headlines. As we wrap up this week's show, there was a plane passenger who was stopped by TSA and received an almost $800 fine for traveling with a piece of fruit and apple. And no, it's not the tech company.
Mark Faldmo:This story says TSA, but I think it's actually customs. Oh, okay.
Patrick Wiscombe:That would make more sense.
Mark Faldmo:That did it sense? That did it? So when you're coming back from any country to the US and going to any country, you're not allowed to bring fruit into that country, and so this traveler claimed she forgot it was there. But there's a place when you walk into the baggage claim area, there's usually a little bin to throw all your fruit into, and sometimes they call it.
Mark Faldmo:The amnesty area, the amnesty area, yep, and then past that there's a customs officer with a canine that smelled her apple and pulled her out and said it's an $800 fine and you could be banned from traveling. Oh boy, luckily they were nice and didn't actually pass on that fine. But just be aware there are certain things you can't travel with. Also something interesting kind of unrelated note if you're traveling with chocolate or fudge, pack that in your checked bags. The other day, coming back from Los Angeles, I had a thing of fudge and I only carried with carry-ons. But fudge to an x-ray machine looks a lot like C4. And so anytime you're traveling with something that dense they are going to need to check it. So it costs me an extra five minutes at the TSA security checkpoint for traveling with fudge in a carry-on.
Patrick Wiscombe:I'm sorry, but that makes me laugh. It looks an awful lot like that. That's what they said. They're like hey, yeah, we have to check. You know, can you imagine being on the other side of the screening going? We have a potential security issue. Mark Faldmo is carrying C4 fudge.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh my word. And see, you're the kind of person who prides himself on getting through customs quickly and easily. Basically look at the camera turns green, you go.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, I've also been stopped. Coming back from a previous meeting in Las Vegas, one of the pillow gifts was a thing of casino chips in a bag, and those are dense as well, and so they knew what it was. They rolled their eyes and says we still have to check it. So just be careful of some of those things if you want to get through quickly.
Patrick Wiscombe:The last travel news headline for this week is TSA is urging people to stop using their Costco card as a real ID replacement. I get it, but just stop it. Just go get a real ID.
Mark Faldmo:Well, I just pulled out my Costco card to see how people could mistake this and I see right off the bat why people say because it says Costco wholesale gold star member.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh my word, I didn't even think about it, yeah.
Mark Faldmo:So we've been saying your ID has to have the gold star on it, and so this came from. Let's see where was this Chicago that they're getting a significant number of passengers trying to get through security using their Costco card as their real ID because it has a gold star on it.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh my word, I didn't even think about that angle. Yeah Okay, all right, I stand corrected. I'm sorry I've been chast about that angle. Yeah Okay, all right, I stand corrected. I'm sorry I've been chastising people this entire hour. Yeah yeah, I get it.
Mark Faldmo:It's an artificial government ID so it won't work. But it does have all the requirements, at least outwardly, that you need for a real ID. But it won't work.
Patrick Wiscombe:Go get a real ID from your Department, your department of motor vehicles, dmv. Yes, by the way, I heard DMV department of motor vehicles, but I've also heard MVD motor vehicle department.
Mark Faldmo:I've heard it both ways yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, okay, all right. One last story before we take off for this week. I want to talk about the limits of artificial intelligence AI when planning travel. This just makes me laugh. I want to talk about the limits of artificial intelligence AI when planning travel. This just makes me laugh. I love AI, but there are some real limitations when it comes to travel.
Mark Faldmo:This last conference I was at, I said it shouldn't be called AI because it's not really intelligence. He said when you start typing in, like chat GPT, that computer starts analyzing every keystroke and everything and getting millions and millions of options to spit out what it thinks you need. It says it's amazing technology but has severe limits when it comes to travel planning. I'll just say this as a disclaimer I am a travel advisor. I wholly believe that the human touch, human connection, is the best way to plan a vacation. Agreed, yes, there are some things you can do online or on your own, but with a travel advisor that does it every day, day in and day out, has connections to all sorts of places, you won't run into these issues that AI travel planning does. So this was a New York Times travel columnist that put AI to the test for a trip to New York, found that chat GPT messed up walking times, recommended Broadway shows that didn't exist.
Mark Faldmo:When planning a more complex itinerary that involved flights, hotels it recommended a hotel and said just take a taxi at a time when there were no taxis around, when traditionally there's no taxis around, and said it left them in the snow walking to the hotel for 20 minutes because chat GPT just messed up on travel planning. So AI has some great tools, but again I would just say stick with a real person, call a travel advisor Hopefully it's me, but if it's not me, there's hundreds of great travel advisors around that you can use to plan your trip.
Patrick Wiscombe:So I face the same thing so professionally. During the week I do real estate investing and there is nothing in this includes travel. So I'm tying travel and real estate investing together here. Artificial intelligence awesome, but it does not replace the human touch. You nailed it If they have questions, they want to call somebody, they want to text somebody, they just need that human touch, like you said. Yes, mandatory when you travel, because sometimes you just don't know what to do.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, and AI doesn't know what to do either.
Patrick Wiscombe:And it's not your friend, but it doesn't yeah. I stand corrected on the Costco ID. I think I may have embarrassed myself on that one. The gold star, of course the gold star member.
Mark Faldmo:I didn't notice it until I pulled out my Costco card.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yeah, oh, that makes me laugh. Okay, take advantage of everything that we've talked about. The airfare round-trip airfare out of Salt Lake for $399. Hawaii, Tahiti. Call Mark in his office. Get the conversation started. Quit putting your vacation off because you never know when life is going to change on you. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717.
Patrick Wiscombe:And just a big thank you for listening. Remember, you can listen to the show again tomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11 o'clock and around the country, right here on this radio station, and you can stream, download and subscribe to the podcast right on insidetraveltalk. com. If you're not a podcaster, you can literally just press play and let it stream on your device, or you can subscribe to the podcast. We are on all of the major podcast platforms. All you have to do is hit subscribe. Okay, it's your turn. Get out and explore the world while you can, because you never know what Curveball's life is going to throw at you. You just never know. Live your life deliberately, live your life intentionally and thank you so much for listening Truly, thank you. We don't have a business. We don't have a show. Thank you so much for listening, truly. Thank you. We don't have a business, we don't have a show. We don't have anything without you. If you have travel related questions, call Mark 888-718-7717. Have a terrific week. We'll talk to you next Saturday and Sunday.
Show Voice:That's it. That's the end of the show. You've been listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by BluePlanetVacations. com. Book your adventure right now. Call 888-718-7717. That's 888-718-7717. Thanks for listening. Have a great week for listening.
Ad Voice:Have a great week. Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Travelex Insurance Services. Their travel insurance plans can help protect you and your vacation. Travelex is known for their award-winning customer service and high claims paid rate. Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com for more information.