Inside Travel Talk

Rails, Sails, and Travel Tales: From Pole to Pole Cruises to Hawaii

• Mark Faldmo & Patrick Wiscombe • Season 2 • Episode 33

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Patrick Wiscome:

Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Coming up. On today's show we will be talking about five-star hotels. Are they really worth it? We're going to help you save up to $550 on Hawaii and Mexico vacation packages. Msc repositioning cruises designed specifically to help our listeners save up to $1,300, plus a $200 onboard credit and the latest rage in cruising pole-to-pole cruises. Let's start the show. The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com contains travel deals, promotions and offers that may be time-sensitive. All offers and information were accurate when the show aired. Travel deals and offers change constantly and are capacity controlled and subject to change without notice.

Show Voice:

Explore your world. It's the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Presented by BluePlanetVacations. com. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700, and check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. And now here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscome:

It is the weekend, which means it is time to talk travel. Hello there, I am Patrick Wiscombe, co-host of this award-nominated podcast and radio show, and the entire purpose of this radio show is to help you plan and book your next vacation with us and give you ideas of where you may want to consider going on vacation next. And we are presented proudly presented by my good friends company, blueplanetvacations. com. And just a sincere thank you for taking the time to stop and listen. And this week we are talking about five-star hotels. Are they really worth it? I guess it depends on the hotel.

Patrick Wiscome:

We're going to tell our listeners how you can save up to $550 when you book a Hawaii or Mexico vacation. We'll give you the details here in this opening segment. We'll give you the details here in this opening segment. There's no secret that mark and I are fans of msc cruises and we have a repositioning cruise designed to help our listeners specifically save up to 1300. Plus, we're going to help you get a 200 onboard credit. And the latest craze in cruising, Mark Faldmo as you make your way into the studio pole-to-pole cruises. I like this idea.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, this is a pretty interesting itinerary. I'm excited to talk about it.

Patrick Wiscome:

But first, before we get to the hot travel deal of the week which is Hawaii and Mexico, and helping our listeners save up to $550, let's start with the travel news headlines and helping our listeners save up to $550. Let's start with the travel news headlines.

Mark Faldmo:

We love traveling by train Demand for rail travel is picking up steam. No pun intended. Yeah, this is quite a big jump year to year. So companies that put together rail packages have seen a 35% jump year over year for 2025 bookings. I've actually had more rail this year than ever, so really I have seen this demand as well. And then you know, looking into 2026, there's been a 51 percent increase in demand for rail bookings. Looking here, kind of just locally, in the US, Amtrak vacations reported a 15 percent increase in the Amtrak vacation bookings, so there is a huge demand.

Mark Faldmo:

This way of slow travel is a great way to see the world. Last week I told you about someone I was booking to Scandinavia and they opted to get from Stockholm to Oslo by train, which is six hours, and then Oslo to Bergen, which is seven hours, and they could have flown that, even with all the airport experience, in like three hours. They said, no, we just want to watch the world go by. We've talked about my experience on the Rocky Mountaineer from Denver to Moab, which was fantastic, and with this demand, there's a whole bunch of new rail products opening.

Patrick Wiscome:

What kind of rail products are now available?

Mark Faldmo:

Just this year, because of the demand, the Orient Express added their La Doce Vita, Orient Express.

Patrick Wiscome:

Oh, that's right, we talked about that last week's show.

Mark Faldmo:

This is a train in Italy between Venice, Portofino and Rome. It's a two-night luxury train. Another one that we've talked about in the past is the Britannic Explorer train, which is Southern England and Wales, and this one is also a luxury train like the Orient Express. And then there's a company out there called Golden Eagle.

Mark Faldmo:

They do trains all over the world but they've had such demand for Asia, they've introduced a new train called the Golden Eagle Silk Road Express and they have itineraries like from Ho Chi Minh City to Shanghai, which is 14 days, again on a luxury train. They have the Grand Silk Road, which is Beijing clear up into Mongolia, which is 22 days. They have Imperial China, which is Xi'an to Hong kong, which is 12 days. So they've added these new Asia routes which, as I look at these itineraries, I someday want to be able to go on those. I'd love to go on that 22 day grand silk road, oh yeah, because it goes in to countries that people wouldn't even think about. It goes into Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, it's clear from Beijing all the way over into that area.

Patrick Wiscome:

Oh yeah, I would do that in a second.

Mark Faldmo:

I didn't even know that that was available, so I'm glad you're bringing it up, yeah, so rail journeys, whether short or long, whether they're the sightseeing trains like the Rocky Mountaineer which overnight in hotels, whether they're the sleeper trains, I think that slower mode of travel just to sit back, relax and enjoy the world as it goes by is a great way to travel.

Patrick Wiscome:

I would have never thought of going to Tajikistan ever. That block of Islamic countries not necessarily on my to-do list, but if I can jump on a train and go, oh yeah and get off at stops and go absolutely I'm doing it.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, just the route this takes is quite interesting.

Patrick Wiscome:

I saw a story that airport technology is saving, or will save, travelers up to 30 minutes and could reduce stress. I know that you and I have TSA pre-check, we have global entry, but I tell you, the most chaotic part of going to the airport is just going through security. If you are not ready for it and if you don't have your stuff ready to go, that can be a very, very stressful situation for anybody.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, it is so. With this technology, airports are making that a lot easier. So this survey. I'm not sure who did this survey year, so this survey. I'm not sure who did this survey, but they asked 12,000 travelers about airport technology. 44% of US travelers said that the new airport technology has reduced their travel stress levels 78% rate. Fast track security is the best airport technology improvement, followed by the digital boarding pass.

Patrick Wiscome:

Oh, I didn't even think about that one. Yeah, you're right.

Mark Faldmo:

I saw a story the other day from the TSA that they are at some airports. They're rolling out a touchless security which is what we experience with the pre-check to where you just walk up and it takes a picture of you, compares your photo with your ID, that pops up on the screen and then you just go through security and they said this saves an extra 15 seconds per person. Oh well, that adds up quick, so that adds up. So it takes it all the way down to eight seconds once you step in front of the TSA person to get through, and before that it was almost 30 seconds. And they are starting to roll that out into the general security lines as well. This is where the real ID comes in the gold star. That's how the system is all connected together.

Patrick Wiscome:

I have a question for you Are five-star hotels worth it? I think they are, but you found something, or at least six reasons that they might not be worth the extra cost.

Mark Faldmo:

I get asked this question a lot the places like Hawaii, Mexico. I really only now recommend four stars and above Right. But then I've always prefaced that with you know, sometimes there's a really good three star, three and a half star that I really like. That I will recommend. It kind of works the same way four to five star In order to get the five stars. A lot of the main differences are the size of the hotel, the number of pools, the size of the spa In order to get up to that five star rating. You could have a four star hotel that has just as nice rooms but has one pool and doesn't have 15 pools like some of the five-star hotels.

Mark Faldmo:

Most of these I agree with One is quality over quantity, and we kind of just talked about that. You can get some four stars that are much less expensive that have the same quality. They may not just have the quantity of things. Reason number two and I think this one is big personally with the way I travel is is it a boutique? A lot of boutique hotels don't get that five star rating because they're small and they just can't offer all the services that a lot of the professional reviewers need to get that five star.

Mark Faldmo:

Personally, I would choose a four star or even a three star boutique hotel in most cases over most five-star resorts. I like the small boutique hotels. Personally I do too. Another thing, and we've also talked about this there's not a premium price tag, so the five-stars charge more, but then the four-stars don't offer as many amenities, so they can have lower room rates, and so, again, quality might be similar or the same to a five-star. And this is one I really agree with Five-star versus four-star in big cities. So let's look at San Francisco or New York. In those cities are you going to go to swim in the pool that they have? Probably not. A lot of those things they've added to get their five-star most people don't even use in big cities like New York or San Francisco. So again, you might want to save the money because you're not even going to use those amenities.

Patrick Wiscome:

Let's get to the hot travel deal of the week, and this week we are going to Hawaii and Mexico and we are going to help our listeners save up to $550 on Hawaii and Mexico vacation packages. What have you put together for listeners this week?

Mark Faldmo:

First of all, this save up to $550. In order to get this, you have to travel after January 1st of 2026 and pay in full at the time of reservation, and it's a tiered discount based on the total cost of the trip. The lower the cost, the lower the discount. And then there still is a tier of this. If you want to travel in 2025, it's not quite as big of a discount. It's $200 off. So if you want that larger discount, it's travel after January 1st of 2026. For this, I did look for November dates and so it's using that lower discount. Yeah, the 200. Because the fall dates are pricing out better than January dates right now. So this is using the smaller discount.

Mark Faldmo:

But I mainly wanted to point out, for the first time since the Maui fires, I found a vacation in Maui for under $1,000 per person Wow, including round trip airfare and five nights hotel from Salt Lake City. So where are we staying? Aston Kaanapali Shores Hotel. It's on the beach. It's a great location? Oh, yeah, it is. And that price starts at $979 per person, including airfare, including airfare from Salt Lake City. So Maui has been so expensive, but it's come down in price. Oh, it sure has. All the other hotels are, or all the other islands are, similar in price. Honolulu is below $1,000. Kauai and the Big Island are just above $1,000 a person. But all pretty good prices.

Patrick Wiscome:

So Hawaii basically just put it at $1,000 per person five nights hotel, and that includes the airfare Phenomenal, especially Maui. Let's go to Mexico. What about Puerto Vallarta?

Mark Faldmo:

Yep. So in Puerto Vallarta, staying at the four-star Villa del Palmer, which is an all-inclusive resort, that one starts at $929 per person, again for airfare, all-inclusive hotel for five nights and your transfers between the airport and the hotel. There's some really good prices out there with this promotion.

Patrick Wiscome:

So that's Western Mexico. What about Cancun? Eastern Mexico?

Mark Faldmo:

In Cancun the prices are a little bit more. The Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda again five nights hotel, roundtrip airfare and transfers between the airport and hotel starts at $1119 per person. Hawaii and Puerto Vallarta are the two best bets as far as price goes for travel the first two weeks of November of this year.

Patrick Wiscome:

Save up to $200 for the remaining 2025 season, meaning between now, august 16th, through the end of the year. And then what if people want to take advantage of that higher tiered saving that save up to $550 on Hawaii and Mexico, but they want to travel after the first year? Should they just call you to do that?

Mark Faldmo:

Just call me and we can get those prices. You know, now is a great time to start planning those warm weather getaways. Especially during winter Especially during winter.

Patrick Wiscome:

Yeah, it's just kind of hard to think about winter when it's when it's been so hot. Yes, so you have to remember that it is going to get cold at some point. Yeah, call mark in his office, get the conversation started, no obligation. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And, of course, you can get all of his contact information and this information on his website, blueplanetvacations. com. When we come back, it is time for the infamous Just Cruising segment. This is the segment of the show that has made us famous around the United States and around the world. We'll be talking about Viking already opening the 2027-2028 Ocean and Expedition Voyages, and we're going to talk about pole-to-pole cruises. I love this idea and we're going to help you save up to $1,300 off cruises and up to $200 in onboard credit on MSC ships. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast, the radio show, continues. Alongside Mark Faldmo, I am Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for listening. We will be right back.

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Taking you to destinations around the world. The Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show is presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. Thanks for listening. We'll be right back.

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Show Voice:

Now back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show right now 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at insidetraveltalk. com.

Patrick Wiscome:

Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo ahoy there, mateys, you are listening to the inside travel talk podcast, a radio show. Hello, there, I am Patrick Wiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo. It is time to talk cruising. This is the infamous Just Cruising segment, this segment of the show that has made us popular here in the United States and around the world, where we only talk about the cruise news and we talk about the cruise deals that we have for our listeners, and these are only available to our listeners. You ready to do this, mark? Let's go. Let's get to the Cruise News headlines. Royal Caribbean this sounds like something that Hulk Hogan rest in peace that he would have been part of Royal Caribbean is enforcing. It sounds like something from WWE enforcing the drink package rule you can only have one margarita, yep.

Mark Faldmo:

No, so this is actually something a little bit different on the rule. So what Royal Caribbean's policy is? Every adult of legal age, if one person buys the deluxe beverage package, then everyone has to buy the deluxe beverage package that is in that cabin. That is in that cabin, yes and so.

Patrick Wiscome:

I get it.

Mark Faldmo:

They used to give an exception if you had a medical exception, because there are a lot of times medically some people can't drink alcohol and they would just get the lower cost soda package Right. But now people like I guess stupid people do took advantage of that and posted online and said I just called and got a medical exception. Oh no, I don't have a medical exception, but they gave it to me, so now we don't have to do that and so Let me guess they were drunk.

Patrick Wiscome:

What they called?

Mark Faldmo:

Probably. Yeah, and posted something Royal Caribbean just saw too many posts about how to skip out on having to have everybody purchase that, and so they just said it's being taken advantage of. So we are changing our policy. So now we're holding everybody to that, whether you drink or not.

Patrick Wiscome:

Viking is opening bookings this is crazy to me For the 2027-2028 ocean and expedition voyages. That's a long time for now, but when you look at Viking, everything, or almost everything, is sold out, even for 2026.

Mark Faldmo:

It's getting tight for 2026. So best time to book a cruise is when they first launch the itinerary.

Patrick Wiscome:

So now's that time, or at least in.

Mark Faldmo:

Viking's case. Yeah, at least for Viking. A lot of times, if the price goes down, you can book it, but most of the time the prices are creeping up. Now is the best time In this deployment. Viking has introduced a new expedition cruise, and this one is in the Arctic Circle. Has introduced a new expedition cruise, and this one is in the Arctic Circle. This cruise expedition cruise, offers a rare opportunity to cross the 66 degree south latitude and actually go into the Arctic Circle. So that's something that's a little bit unique that Viking is releasing within this deployment.

Patrick Wiscome:

Sounds like I'd have to break out my Marino wool pants for this one. Yes, yeah, how fun Would you do that? I would. I would do that. Yes, that's awesome. Along the same lines, mark. Let's tell our listeners how to go pole to pole with Seaborn over 94 days. This would be so interesting. North pole, south pole A lot of fun.

Mark Faldmo:

This is North to South and it's on Seabourn which is a luxury yacht they're smaller ships. They hold, oh, about 200 people or so. I'd have to look up this ship exactly but they have introduced a 94-day pole-to-pole grand expedition. This starts in Greenland and ends in Ushuaia in Argentina. From Greenland it goes all the way up into the Northwest Passage Territory to Cambridge Bay in Northern Canada, and then it comes down, does a couple East Coast US, some Caribbean islands, and then down the East Coast of South America and then down into Antarctica, before going back up and ending in Buenos Aires.

Patrick Wiscome:

I forget how far south the South Pole is. I always kind of think that the world ends in Argentina. I forget that there's a whole other world below that.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, this ship does have a submarine on it, so they do take some shallow submarine dives in these different ecosystems.

Patrick Wiscome:

Oh yeah, and OceanGate is not the provider on that one.

Mark Faldmo:

Correct. Yeah, they have kayaks on board. By going on this, you did get a customized polar jacket as one of the perks to go on this, although you will be crossing the equator in some warm territories, but you also get stuff to keep you warm when you're in the colder areas.

Patrick Wiscome:

Talk about packing for all weather situations in the span of three months. Yes, you go from freezing cold to just melting hot. Back to cold.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, by is august 18th of 2027. For the 94 day, you can do a shortened version, 82 day sailing, which I think that one just doesn't do. The northwest passage part of that, however, that would be the part I would want to go for exactly that, that northwest passage part.

Patrick Wiscome:

So you're cutting your vacation short by 12 days 94 to 82. Yeah, Just go for the 94.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah.

Patrick Wiscome:

It is time for the cruise deal of the week. Part of the infamous just cruising segment. This is MSC's grand voyage sale and we are helping you, our listeners, to save up to $1,300 off cruises and up to a $200 onboard credit.

Mark Faldmo:

So they're all repositioning cruises when they're trying to move their ships into new areas. I've come up with three of these grand voyages that I think are fabulous and they're all at a great price. The first cruise is from Genoa, in Italy, to Miami. It has stops in Marseille, Barcelona, las Palmas, san Juan, Puerto Rico, St Thomas, Miami and, I'm sorry, this one actually ends in Port Canaveral. So 17 days departing, this year November 19th, so you'll be on the cruise ship over Thanksgiving. An inside cabin starts at $615 per person for 17 days.

Mark Faldmo:

That is Balcony cabin. Wow yeah, and a balcony cabin starts at $15 per person what ship is this on msc?

Patrick Wiscome:

this is on the Grandiosa so we have your built-in excuse right here on the show. I'm sorry, can't make it family. I'll be in Italy and I'll be crossing the ocean. Yeah, what was a balcony on that? Again, 10 1,015. For 17 days, wow, okay, all right, let's go on to the next one.

Mark Faldmo:

The next one is again the same date, November 19th, and this is Rotterdam in the Netherlands, cruising to Martinique in the Caribbean, because MSC does have a ship for a lot of their European guests that begins and ends in Martinique. This one sails Rotterdam to Southampton in England, le Havre in France, Ponte Delgada, Bridgetown, Barbados, Antigua, Rousseau, and then ends in Fort France in Martinique.

Mark Faldmo:

That's a lot of port days for a repositioning cruise, and this one is not quite as well-priced, but it's still a good price. So an inside cabin for 17 days starts at $814 and a balcony cabin starts at $1,294 per person.

Patrick Wiscome:

So MSC, what ship?

Mark Faldmo:

is that one that is on the MSC Virtuosa? Okay.

Patrick Wiscome:

And then the last one is this a how long is this last one? Yeah?

Mark Faldmo:

this is a longer cruise. This one is 21 days, and this is South America to Europe. So it starts in Santos, brazil, and ends in Venice, Italy.

Patrick Wiscome:

Okay, so we're going kind of south to northeast South to north.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, so this one. You'll cross the equator on ship, which is usually always a production. You get a certificate saying that you crossed the equator and its ports are. You stop in Mandela, which is a small island kind of off the coast of Morocco, and then it goes to Las Palmas, and then it goes to Tangier, which is an interesting stop, and then Barcelona, Rome, Messina in Sicily, Valletta, Malta one of my favorite stops Split in Croatia, and then Ends in Venice. Ooh, that's a good one too, this is March 15th of 2026.

Mark Faldmo:

The inside price starts at $1,603 per person and the balcony is $2,343 per person.

Patrick Wiscome:

Okay, this is MSC Cruises. What ship is this?

Mark Faldmo:

one on this is on the MSC Harmonia. On these sailings you'll get up to $1,300 off and the onboard credit of up to $200. And that onboard credit and the discount is based on which cabin category you choose. So it's lower for insides, higher for balconies and suites.

Patrick Wiscome:

That is phenomenal. Take advantage of those offers. Wow Cruise deals of the week From MSC Cruises save up to $1,300 off on these repositioning cruises. Call Mark for the details, just get the conversation started. Call him in his office, no obligation 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And he'll also post this on blueplanetvacations. com. You can listen to this award-nominated show again tomorrow morning at 11 am, right here on whatever radio station you're listening to this very moment, and you can stream, download and subscribe to the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. We are on all of the major podcast platforms. It is now your turn to get out and explore the world while you can, because you never know what curveballs life is going to throw at you. We say it every week live your life deliberately and live your life intentionally. Thank you so much for listening, really, thank you. We don't have a show, we don't have a business without you. Thank you for taking the time to listen. We'll talk to you again next week.

Show Voice:

That's it. That's the end of the show You've been listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, presented by BluePlanetVacations. com. Book your adventure right now. Call 888-718-7717. That's 888-718-7717. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.

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