Inside Travel Talk

Travel Like an Insider: Hidden Tour Benefits & Exclusive Cruise Savings

• Mark Faldmo & Patrick Wiscombe • Season 2 • Episode 34

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Broadcasting from the breathtaking heights of Tower Butte in Page, Arizona, this episode takes listeners on an extraordinary journey through the American Southwest and beyond. Mark shares his firsthand experience on the Canyon Country Tour by Globus, revealing why guided tours can transform familiar landscapes into fresh discoveries through expert storytelling and exclusive access opportunities.

The helicopter ride to Tower Butte serves as the perfect backdrop for discussing the surprising benefits of domestic guided tours. As Mark explains, "When I told people I was taking a tour from Phoenix to Las Vegas, going to the Grand Canyon and Zion, they're like 'why would you take a tour to that?'" The answer lies in the rich context provided by knowledgeable guides who transform a scenic drive into a narrative journey through changing ecosystems and geological wonders.

We dive into exciting cruise developments with Princess Cruises' ambitious 2027 Alaska deployment featuring eight ships operating from five homeports. Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas makes its grand debut with surprisingly accessible pricing, while MSC Cruises continues its strategic expansion in the American market with incredible value propositions. Our exclusive offer includes 30% off all MSC cruises with kids sailing free – bringing seven-day Caribbean adventures to less than $100 per day per person.

Travel enthusiasts will appreciate our discussion of the world's best airports (with Salt Lake City ranking an impressive eighth globally), along with practical insights about booking windows and strategic travel planning. Whether you're drawn to geological wonders of the American Southwest or dreaming of your next ocean adventure, this episode delivers valuable insights to transform your travel aspirations into reality. Ready to experience these adventures yourself? Connect with our travel experts today to unlock exclusive savings on your next journey.

Patrick Wiscombe:

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 we will be talking about Mark's helicopter ride to Tower Butte in Page, Arizona, the Canyon Country Tour. We're also going to help you save up to $1,000 on Globus tours worldwide. And, good news 30% off all MSC cruises and kids sail free. 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:

This is the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show with Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo, Presented by BluePlanetVacations. com America's best travel advisors. Call the show right now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And now your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Hiya Top Tower Butte in Page, Arizona. He's actually doing the show from there right now, courtesy of Starlink. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show. Hello there, I am Patrick Wiscombe, and the entire purpose of this show is to help you plan and book your next vacation, or give you ideas of where you would want to consider going next time you're on vacation, and we are presented by BluePlanetVacations. com. The best travel deals in the world come from Blue Planet Vacations, and a sincere thank you for taking the time to stop and listen. This week we are talking about Mark's helicopter ride to Tower Butte in Page, Arizona. That is where Mark is. We are connected via Starlink and you have got a whale of a view. I wish you could show people what you are looking at right now, mark.

Mark Faldmo:

It's pretty beautiful, yeah, being in Page, Arizona, looking at the desert scenery. It's just amazing with Blake Powell in the background.

Patrick Wiscombe:

You have to have shade because it's so hot down there and I'm afraid at some point the radio equipment is going to just conk out because of the heat, so we better get to the show here. We're also going to help you save up to a thousand dollars on Globus tours worldwide, wherever they go. We're going to help you save up to a thousand bucks. And good news 30% off all MSC cruises and kids sail free. So that is on the rundown. But let's first get to the travel news headlines. High atop tower Butte in Arizona, let's talk about the best airports in the world, mark.

Mark Faldmo:

This is a survey from AirHelp. First I'll go over their methodology. So 60% of the score comes from on-time performance. The other 40% comes from customer feedback. They interviewed travelers from more than 58 countries, gathered over 20,000 unique airport ratings, and so they ranked the airport, staff, wait times, accessibility, cleanliness, the accessibility to food and shopping. The US only had one airport in the top 10, and that was Salt Lake City. There we go.

Mark Faldmo:

That was our airport, salt Lake City. Oh wow. So the number one airport in the world was Cape Town, south Africa, followed by Doha and Qatar, and then Riyadh and Saudi Arabia, then Panama City in Panama, and then number eight of that was Salt Lake City. All right, well done Salt Lake. A lot of people said, yeah, until you have to walk. So people always complain about that walk, but as far as airport facilities, on time arrival, salt Lake is one of the best airports in the world and if you compare it to other large international airports like Atlanta or JFK, the walk is not that bad. If you're complaining about the walk.

Patrick Wiscombe:

you're soft, You're soft. It's not that bad If you're complaining about the walk. You're soft, You're soft. Spirit Airlines is issuing a. I'll call it a warning about its future, because it is a little uncertain. What details do we have?

Mark Faldmo:

Spirit just put out a warning that its finances are in need help of some infusion and investors it was just a little small release. That's also kind of cautionary for travelers, nothing like showing up for the airport when the airline goes out of business or quits operating. So not that we're saying that's going to happen with spirit, but they are running low on finances they have been saying that for a while now.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Travel at your own risk. How far out is their schedule generally? Is it about six months out or do they go even closer?

Mark Faldmo:

in. They're about six months out on their schedules and they've made lots of changes, cutbacks and a few additions.

Patrick Wiscombe:

There is greater interest in US-based tours. What kind of tours are people booking right now?

Mark Faldmo:

Mark, that's what I'm on right now I'm on a Globus tour that goes between Phoenix and Las Vegas. I've noticed a lot of increase in these kind of closer to home tours but a lot of the operators like Globus have noticed 20% booking year over year but a 50% spike in the last quarter. Just an interest in these closer to home tours.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Okay, so you're on one of them and I know that we're going to get to it, but you're on the Canyon Country Tour with Globus right now. That's where you're doing the show from atop Tower Butte in Page, Arizona. That's that famous monument. It's a big rock in the middle of the desert. When you see it, it's one of those rocks that you see and go oh, that's really pretty.

Mark Faldmo:

It's a butte, you know, like you'd see in Monument Valley. So we're just top of one of those buttes.

Patrick Wiscombe:

There's some people who don't know what Globus is. They're a company that provides travel services tours around the country so why are you down there and what's the interest in this particular tour?

Mark Faldmo:

When I told people I was taking a tour from Phoenix to Las Vegas, going to the Grand Canyon and Zion, they're like why would you take a tour to that? It's so close, you can just do it by yourself. The reason why one is you get a lot of access to things you wouldn't normally do, and the other thing is knowledge or with a guide that has stories. I've driven between Northern Arizona and Phoenix several times but this is the first time where someone said we're starting here down in a saguaro cactus forest and we're moving up to the juniper forest and we'll soon be in the ponderosa pines up in the Grand Canyon, and they explained the whole, the different steps that we're on the geology. It was just fascinating to take that drive up from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon, with a stop in Sedona on the way.

Patrick Wiscombe:

You're on top of Tower Butte right now. Tell us how you got up there and then tell us the people that are walking around you right now.

Mark Faldmo:

This is a helicopter tour that is part of this Globus tour. It's an optional add-on, but it's about an hour-long helicopter tour normally, but we're up here for an extended amount of time because the helicopter company there's actually an event for Ferrari, I believe that they're ferrying people back and forth to come up for a lunch they're having up on this butte. So we're here for a while while they're doing that.

Patrick Wiscombe:

We just thought we'd do the radio while while they're doing that. We just thought we'd do the radio show while you're on top.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, and it's been a great tour. We were in the Grand Canyon for two nights previous to this and then we're two nights here in Page, then we're going to move on to Bryce Canyon Zion and then end in Las Vegas. A lot of these places are places I visited in the past, but just the knowledge and being here with a guide really makes it fascinating. And that's the thing I like about these escorted, hosted tours that Globus does and they do them all over the world. They're known for doing these in Europe, but I'm just going to give some of the names of these.

Mark Faldmo:

There's classic fall foliage, which is in the Northeast US and Canada. Lost canyons of the Southwest coastal California with Napa, and they have Alaska's Iditarod, where you go in March but you track the Iditarod trail there. They have America's national parks, which is Yellowstone Zion. It's basically all of the Utah, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming national parks. They have Pacific Coast Adventure, where you drive the Pacific Coast Highway, canyon Country Adventure, which is what I'm on now. They have a winter tour of Yellowstone, which you go to Jackson, spend a few nights and then you take snow coaches and then actually stay in the park Yellowstone Park in the winter.

Patrick Wiscombe:

So you don't take snowmobiles, they're just kind of a snowmobile bus.

Mark Faldmo:

Correct. Yeah yeah, it's a snow coach. Holds about eight to ten people and they snow coach you in. It's like a tracked vehicle that you go into the lodge.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Nikki and I on our honeymoon we went to Yellowstone but we took snowmobiles. We just went around the park, which was an absolute blast. Just do it.

Mark Faldmo:

And that's only a sampling of what they have. There are about 30 or 40 different tours that are in the US and Canada. So if you're looking for something close to home, a little bit easier, with lots of access and lots of knowledge from the guide, this is a great way to go.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Let's make this the travel deal of the week.

Mark Faldmo:

That's great.

Patrick Wiscombe:

So travel deal of the week is Mark's Canyon Country Tour, the tour that you're on right now and you're also with Globus. The promotion that we have for our listeners is to help them save up to $1,000 on tours. Now, this isn't just for the Canyon Country Tour, this is for tours worldwide.

Mark Faldmo:

Obviously, we're focused on the US tours in this segment, but if you want to go to Europe, we've talked about their escape tours, which are the off season in the winter time. Now it's just a great time to plan your vacation. This Canyon Country tour I'm on it's just been fantastic. We're halfway through. Spent a night in Phoenix at the Hilton Tapatio Cliffs, which is one of my favorite hotels in Phoenix. It's kind of on the northern edge of Phoenix, and then we drove up to the Grand Canyon, spent two nights there, with a stop in Sedona, which I've never been to Sedona, and I've actually never been to the south rim of the Grand Canyon either. So it was fascinating just to see the Grand Canyon. I've seen it many times flying over it. I've been to the Grand Canyon West, which is closer to Las Vegas, but that South Rim is quite amazing.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Where did you stay? At Grand Canyon? What lodge?

Mark Faldmo:

We stayed at the Yapavai Lodge, which is not one that's right on the rim, but you can walk about a quarter mile out to the rim and it is on the bus system that does go around the Grand Canyon. From here we go to Bryce Canyon and Zion and then down to Las Vegas, after paid to Arizona here.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Have you ever been to Zion Canyon?

Mark Faldmo:

Not since I was really young. I don't remember much of Zion.

Patrick Wiscombe:

You're in for a treat Before you even get to the canyon. It's incredible. Yes, anyway, I'm excited for you, I'm looking forward to it, and you can book any of the Globus World Tours right. I can yep.

Mark Faldmo:

All right, I have their whole catalog.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Take advantage of that. Save up to $1,000 on all tours. That's the travel deal of the week. Take advantage of it. Call Mark at the break. Just get the conversation started 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And you can also find this information on 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 worldwide. We'll be talking about. Princess Cruises has unveiled their 2027 Alaska season. Star of the Seas is out, by the way. That ship is unbelievable. Icon of the Seas, part two, with some refinement. Beautiful, beautiful ship. And we're going to talk about MSC's deal 30% off on all cruises and kids sail free. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast radio show continues. My name is Patrick Wiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo. We will be right back.

Show Voice:

Helping you get out and see the world. 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. Book your vacation now 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. The show will continue after this.

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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. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo. Ahoy, mateys, ahoy. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. My name is Patrick Wiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo as he broadcasts live from atop Tower Butte in beautiful Page, Arizona, took a helicopter ride to get to the top and he's got a whole bunch of what? Ferrari employees walking around you. You've got a nice blue canopy about you.

Mark Faldmo:

It's got to be hot up there right now it is. It's fairly hot, but it's nice views.

Patrick Wiscombe:

I wish people could see what we're looking at. He's just in the middle of this rock, in the middle of the desert, and he's got 360 degree views of is it, the Sonoran Desert? Is that right? Yes, yeah, amazing. Coming up in this segment of the show, we have got the cruise deal of the week. This is the segment of the show that we are famous for around the country and around the world. But let's first get to the cruise news headlines. Princess Cruises has unveiled their 2027 Alaska season. How many ships are they putting up there? Is it just one or two?

Mark Faldmo:

They're putting a total of eight ships.

Mark Faldmo:

So they'll have eight ships with 187 departures, 17 unique itineraries from five home ports, which will be Seattle, Vancouver, Whittier which is Anchorage area San Francisco and Los Angeles. Oh, wow, okay, I think this is probably the third show in a row, maybe the fourth show, where we've announced a cruise line launching itinerary. So, as we've said, the last couple of weeks, the best time to book. So if you're looking to go to Alaska in 2027, now is a great time to book and Princess, I think, is the best cruise line to sail to Alaska on. On occasion. Cruise lines and Princess have dabbled in putting a ship in San Francisco. I have not looked at it, but I'm interested to see what the Los Angeles sailing does On their voyage of the glaciers, which is their north and south bound. Every cruise visits Glacier Bay, which a lot of other cruise lines can't say that. So if you want to see Glacier Bay although I think on that itinerary the better port is College Fjord, which is another glacier area Glacier Bay is just amazing.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Royal Caribbean's Star of the Seas. Now they have so many names for their ships, but this is icon of the seas. This is the big, huge, gigantic ship. It is so mind-boggling large that it's kind of hard to comprehend when you see it.

Mark Faldmo:

It is.

Patrick Wiscombe:

This is version two of this ship. It's called Star of the Seas. Its first sailing happens on August 23rd, which is today, but the first inaugural sailing is a week from now, which is August 31st.

Mark Faldmo:

The first passenger sailing is August 31st, so the official launch will be next week, august 31st. I've been looking for where some good prices are. You know, as we've talked about before, some of these Royal Caribbean ships it's harder to find good prices on. But I did find some okay prices in October To go on the Star of the Seas. A Western Caribbean leaves from Port Canaveral goes to Perfect Day at Coco Cay, Cozumel, costa Maya and Roatan. An inside cabin starts at $1,469 per person and a balcony cabin starts at $1,759 per person.

Patrick Wiscombe:

That's incredible For a new ship on Royal. That's astonishingly cheap. Ship on Royal, that's astonishingly cheap. So Icon of the Seas will stay in Miami and then Star of the Seas will go out of Fort Lauderdale Port Canaveral, port Canaveral Excuse me, Orlando, yeah, okay.

Mark Faldmo:

So they'll have those two big ships there, based in Florida and both doing some pretty good itineraries. They have both eastern and western itineraries that are awesome. We've talked about Perfect Day at Coco Cay, which is just an amazing private island experience. But then Costa Maya and Roatan. I love Costa Maya and Roatan, I love Costa Maya. There's an excursion there that I love to do, where you take a bus inland about 45 minutes, then you take a speedboat up a river for about an hour and a half. You come to a Mayan ruin that's only accessible by boat. You can have a picnic lunch there, walk around these ruins and then you take the speedboat and bus back to the ship Just amazing.

Patrick Wiscombe:

MSC Seascape is set to debut new family entertainment on their Galveston stalings. So Seascape used to come out of Miami, if memory serves, and so they're moving it over to Texas.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, they're moving it to Texas and their goal and actually they have been awarded by a few things, as the best cruise ship for families, the MSC Seascape. They have almost an 8,000, Guinness World Record family quiz. MSC has a lot to do with Formula One and so they have the Formula One simulators. They have a tournament for the. This family-friendly just a great family experience for a cruise. And Galveston is easy to get to for most people. Don't you fly into Houston? I think you do. Yeah, you fly into Houston. I always recommend the night before, so fly in the day before the cruise into Houston, spend the night there and then take the 45 minutes or so transfer down to Galveston.

Patrick Wiscombe:

The two cruise ships this is my perception that MSC and Royal Caribbean and I realize that there's some recency bias on this, but it feels like they're really kind of starting to hit their stride right now.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, I think they are. And MSC, as we've talked about a few times, kind of really had a hard time breaking into the American cruise market and Americans they were primarily European several years ago and then about 15 years ago they decided to base some ships in the US and they've slowly grown. But now they have several ships. They're in New York, Miami, port Canaveral, Galveston. They have a ship in Alaska next year.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Is that their first time in Alaska starting next year? That?

Mark Faldmo:

is. That is their first time in Alaska. Now, going back to Galveston, this itinerary they have is seven days. It goes to Cozumel, costa Maya and Roatan. So similar to what we just talked about with Royal Caribbean. But the pricing on this I looked in February. This is a February 8th date $489 per person for an inside cabin or $709 per person for a balcony cabin.

Patrick Wiscombe:

That is so cheap. Think about $100 per day per person, basically, or less if you go inside.

Mark Faldmo:

If you go inside. Yeah, and this is a reason why I like working with MSC. They're still a privately held company. A lot of the other cruise lines that are publicly held have stockholders and that's why their pricing is a little bit more, because they have to report good earnings. Msc I've been with several of their upper management and they don't feel all of those pressures from investors. The family that owns it just wants to provide the best cruise experience they can provide, and they do it all for a very good price.

Patrick Wiscombe:

And MSC's offerings have come a long way in what the last five years Might have been less than that.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, in the last two or three years they've come a long way since they first put a ship here in the US. I think it was about 15 years ago.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Nikki and I were on MSC's World America. That is the icon of the seas-esque kind of that size ship. That was an amazing ship. That leads into the cruise deal of the week, which is MSC, and we're going to help you save 30% off on all cruises. This is an exclusive to our radio show and podcast. 30% off on all cruises and kids sail free. That is the promotion. Is this all cruises or is this just cruises from Galveston?

Mark Faldmo:

This is on all cruises, so this is their promotion for any ship worldwide. Now, those prices that we went over from Galveston do already include this. One thing on the kids sail free. They do have to pay the government taxes and fees, so they do pay, depending on the cruise, anywhere from $50 to $80.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Right, because there are port fees per person. Take advantage of the offers that we have made in the last half hour. Call Mark in his office, get the conversation started. 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. And Mark will also post all of this on blueplanetvacations. com. And I know that you're going to be on top of Tower Butte in Page, Arizona, when does the helicopter come back for you?

Mark Faldmo:

About 15 minutes we'll have to go back.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Oh, so you got to hurry and tear everything down then.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, we have to leave before the lunch starts for.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Ferrari. I'm sorry, I'm in the middle of the desert and I'm having lunch on top of Tower Butte. Yeah, you know, that's a story just right there. You can listen to this show again tomorrow morning, Sunday, at 11 am, right here on this very radio station that you're listening to right now, and you can stream, download and subscribe to the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. We are on all of the major podcast platforms. We've got links on InsideTravelTalk. com, but are on all of the major podcast platforms. We've got links on InsideTravelTalk. com, but if you just want to do a search, just do Inside Travel Talk and you'll see a globe with two hands. That's us.

Patrick Wiscombe:

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 life the way you want to live it. Thank you so much for listening. We don't have a business and we don't have a show without you. A sincere thank you for taking the time to listen, and we will 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.

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