Inside Travel Talk

Solo Travel & Cruise Deals: Jamaica Savings + Panama Canal Cruise

• Mark Faldmo & Patrick Wiscombe • Season 3 • Episode 43

Share episode

Send us a text

Ready to turn daydreams into booked trips? We bring you a crisp, practical guide to traveling smarter—starting with big news in the skies and landing with real savings on land and sea. Delta’s fast, free Wi‑Fi expansion transforms long-haul flights from offline zones into connected time savers. Then we shift to solo travel with a game-changing offer: Cosmos waives single supplements on select 2026 European coach tours, removing one of the biggest cost hurdles for travelers going it alone. We spotlight standout multi-country routes that pack culture, cuisine, and convenience into one seamless plan.

The heart of the episode takes us to Jamaica with guest insights from the Jamaica Tourist Board. Think warm water, gentle sloping beaches, and more than 150 attractions that make it worth leaving the all-inclusive for a day—or three. From climbing Dunn’s River Falls to bamboo rafting with a local guide, we walk through experiences that reveal the island’s spirit. We also break down flight logistics, including widespread nonstop options to Montego Bay, Kingston, and the newly served Ian Fleming International near Ocho Rios. If the island calls your name, note the current offer: save up to $550 when you pay in full for qualifying dates.

Cruise fans get a forward look at Carnival’s 2027–2028 deployments, including a dedicated 14-day Hawaii program from Long Beach and expanded Mexican Riviera and Norfolk departures. Europe river lovers can geek out over a new paddle wheeler arriving on the Seine—a unique way to glide through France’s countryside with intimate capacity. Then we go deep on the Panama Canal with a clear playbook: when to sail for value, why full transits outshine partials, which side of the ship gets better views by direction, and how ship size determines whether you pass through the historic or new locks. We finish with two sharp full-transit repositioning deals for April 2026, including a Holland America itinerary averaging about $100 per day and a Norwegian balcony rate that undercuts similar sailings.

If you enjoyed the insights and want more timely deals and practical tips, follow the show, share it with a traveler who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Your next great trip starts here.

Mark Faldmo:

Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. On today's show, we're going to be talking about solo or single travelers, offers and deals, Jamaica and Panama Canal cruises. Let's start the show.

Patrick Wiscombe:

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 Blue Planet Vacations.com. Call or text the show now. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And check out the podcast at Inside TravelTalk.com. And now, here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Mark Faldmo:

Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. My name is Mark Faldmo. The entire purpose of this show is to help you plan and book your next vacation or give you ideas of where you want to vacation next. We're presented by Blue Planet Vacations, and thank you for taking the time to stop and listen to our show. This week we'll excuse Patrick as he is out. We have pre-recorded a few segments which we'll play, but right now, let's start with the travel news. First, Delta brings fast free Wi-Fi to the world. This is very good news. Delta is expanding their free Wi-Fi to their international and regional flights. This is gradually rolling out over the next few months, and that's an exciting development to be able to have Wi-Fi, especially on those long international flights. And next, this is kind of a travel deal, but also news Cosmos Vacations, uh, which is an escorted bus tour in Europe. They have several departures in 2026 where they've waived the single supplement. So that means if you're traveling as a single traveler, um, you no longer have to pay the 150 or 200% fare. You'll get to pay just the rate based on double occupancy. That's one of the things we've had a lot of requests for is single travelers for both cruises and traveling to Europe. So this is a good development. Uh, this one you do have to book by the end of the year. And just to highlight a few of the deals uh that Cosmos has, one of my favorites is it's called Seven Countries with Venice and Paris. This itinerary starts in London, goes to Belgium, then goes to Germany, goes to Innsbruck, Austria, goes to Venice, Switzerland, Dijon in France, and ends in Paris. That's a pretty amazing itinerary. And another itinerary that I really like that Globus has is called Europe's Highlights. And Europe's Highlights starts in Amsterdam, goes down to Germany, goes to Austria, Venice, Rome, goes to the Florence area, and then up into Switzerland, Lake Cuomo, Lucerne, Luzon in Switzerland, and ends in Paris. So these are some you know pretty good options for solo travelers in Europe, as well as anyone who wants to go to Europe. These are some pretty good highlights. And now earlier this week, Patrick and I uh were able to record a segment about Jamaica uh with Diane Holland from the Jamaica Tourist Board. Uh let's listen to that interview.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Let's do something really pleasant as I sit here with the Hawaiian breeze blowing through my hair. It is so glorious here. Let me introduce Diane Holland. She's with the Jamaica Tourism Board. It is so great to see you, Diane.

Diane Holland:

Thank you so much, Patrick.

Patrick Wiscombe:

What's your favorite thing about Jamaica?

Diane Holland:

It's people. And uh yes, we're beautiful, we have beautiful beaches, it's warm year-round, the scenery is lovely. However, it's the people that makes Jamaica what it is. And it's our blend of folks from all over the world that settled and never left after slavery. And when we needed people to work the plantations, and they came and did not leave. That's what makes Jamaica what it is. Just the unique blend of cultures that we have.

Patrick Wiscombe:

How many people live on Jamaica?

Diane Holland:

It's just a bit over three million. It's that big. We're about the size of Connecticut. We're about what that basically means by the way the bird flies. We're about 145 miles long, and at its widest wind, we're about 55 miles.

Patrick Wiscombe:

When is the best time to go to Jamaica?

Diane Holland:

Jamaica is warm year-round. We're in the tropics, so we do not have specific seasons. It's always warm. Of course, we get a little bit cooler. Well, we average 85 year round. We get a wee bit cooler, and cold in Jamaica is when it gets to around 75 degrees. It's cold. Everyone is grabbing for sweaters. And it's when most of North America is experiencing their winter. Then we do get a little bit of that cool breeze that flows down the Caribbean. We're located just south of Cuba, south of Florida. So we're in close proximity to the US.

Patrick Wiscombe:

What I'm hearing you say is there's not really a bad time to go.

Diane Holland:

Whenever you are ready, Jamaica is ready for you. What do you like doing when you go there when I go to Jamaica because I'm going back home? I love to relax. I was born and built up in Jamaica, so I'm going back home. So I go there. I personally go there to relax. But then there's just so much to do outside of the hotel that people going there may go into an all-inclusive setting and feel okay and be paying for all of this. I mean, as well as stay here. We have so many attractions, over 150 attractions. Get out and explore, get out and see what's outside of the hotels. If you've seen the hotels, you're only seeing about 10% of the island. So you need to get out and experience. One of our main attractions is the Duns River Falls. It's a natural waterfall that cascades about 600 feet and it's tiered like a wedding cake. You actually start at sea level and take your time and go up. You can go with a guide or by yourself. But it's beautiful, it's refreshing. That's one. There's also rafting on the river, which is actually a bamboo raft that is bamboo all spliced together and with two seats, and you have a raftsman that takes you down the river while he's taking you down, he's taking telling you everything about the flora and fauna. So it's not only relaxing, but you're learning a lot about the island, including the raftsman telling you about his life story as well.

Patrick Wiscombe:

How many people can be on a raft? Obviously, it's the you know whoever the guide is, plus is a bamboo raft built for two. And how long does the that kind of a tour last?

Diane Holland:

It varies. Um, you have anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours. There's one in the eastern part of the island in the Rio Grande. That is two and a half hours. So it takes a while. Beautiful, relaxing. When I go to Jamaica most of the time, not only to see family and to relax, but to take travel advisors to show them, to have them experience the destination as well. So we like to give them a good feel of the island and things they can do, their plans can do when they get to Jamaica. And so we take them out to see all the hotels and to experience some of the attractions as well, so they get a good feel of the island.

Patrick Wiscombe:

What else do you like to do when you go there?

Diane Holland:

Jamaica is so beautiful, the scenery. Um, it's so picturesque. The water that surrounds us, the Caribbean Sea. It's just so beautiful, the different variations of blue and turquoise, and our water is warm. So the Caribbean Sea is only a couple of degrees lower than the air temperature, and that's an attraction within itself because it's very warm. Our beaches, we don't have shelves. I don't know if you understand when I say shelf. Um, a lot of places you go, you're walking on the sand, and then it drops. The water gradually goes from the shore and gradually gets deeper and deeper, but for the most part, it's shallow to the shore. So that I love to do just enjoy the water. But I love to drive through the interior of the island. Well, to get to my hometown, which is my center of the island. I just turn my windows down and just let the breeze come in. You smell all the earth, all the smells of outdoor cooking, and just all those different smells coming together. It's very relaxing for me. I love the simple things of life.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Where should visitors stay?

Diane Holland:

Getting to Jamaica is fairly easy. From the eastern part of the United States, almost all the major cities have non-stop flights. They have non-stop flights all the way to Colorado. Actually, Denver, which is the farthest west where there is a non-stop flight. United flights from Denver to Jamaica non-stop. But farther west, it requires a connection. So connect whatever's easy and easier for whomever is going, whether they like an overnight flight or whatever they like, they can always find an itinerary that would get them to Jamaica. But just keep in mind cheap can be expensive. Because sometimes people are looking at the cheapest fares. Then when you look at it, the layovers, they don't realize that layovers are costing you as well. So look at the best itineraries with the shortest connections if you're coming from the Western USA. But there are non-stop flights from the major cities: Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, New York, all the eastern states and cities, then you would go into likely there are three international airports in Jamaica. There's the Norman Manley in Kingston, the Samster International in Montegue B, where most of our passengers going for tourism go into. But starting just this past weekend, February 24th, American Airlines started nonstop service into our newest international airport, the Ian Fleming International Airport, just outside of Olteros. I think it's two times weekly. Wait, did you see Ian Fleming? As in 007? James Bond. Yeah, James Bond. You know, all his novels were written while he was retired in Jamaica. They were all written in Jamaica, so yes. And actually the Ian Fleming International Airport is close to where he lived at Goldeneye. Okay, so so uh naturally. Yes. Yes, yes. And it's also a hotel is attached. The villa is for rent, and also there is uh there they there are rooms that are attached as well. Ian Fleming gained international status a little on 10 years ago. So it used to service private planes until this past weekend on Saturday when they had their first international flight. American started service there. But to answer your question about all-inclusive hotels, Jamaica does have a number of all-inclusive hotels. And you name it once for couples, once for families, ones that cater to more singles fund, but we also have other hotels as well. So anything, any taste or budget, we have it in Jamaica. Cottages, villas, they are there. There is something for every taste and budget where accommodation is concerned.

Mark Faldmo:

And that just makes me want to go to Jamaica. Uh, right now, our offers to Jamaica save up to $550 uh when you pay your vacation in full. Um, that is for uh travel the first part of next year, uh, so January through May. And you do have to book your vacation by the end of October in order to get that $550 off. And that'll do it for our first segment of Inside Travel Talk. We'll be right back in just a moment.

Show Voice:

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

Ad Voice:

Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Anna Waterways. From castles and capitals to vistas and villages, visit some of Europe's most remarkable sites and cities to set out on your own river cruise journey. Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or BluePlanetvacations.com.

Show Voice:

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. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.

Mark Faldmo:

Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk Podcast and Radio Show. We're excited to be here today. It's now time for the Just Cruising segment. This is a segment that is dedicated to all things cruising. In this segment, we're going to talk about Carnival Cruise Line's new deployments, a paddle wheeler on the rivers of Europe and the Panama Canal. We'll start out with the travel news where we're going to talk about Carnival Cruise Lines 27 and 28 updated deployments, where they've announced some additional details, which also includes an exciting dedicated Hawaii cruise program. So uh starting in October of 2027 through April of 2028, the Carnival Legend will reposition to Long Beach, uh, where it will do 14-day Hawaii cruises. It'll visit Honolulu, Kauai, Maui, Hilo, and Kona, plus its required international stop, which will be in Ensenada, Mexico. And the ship will also offer uh six and eight-day Mexican Riviera cruises, uh, where it'll visit ports like Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo San Lucas, La Paz, and Ensenada. Carnival announced that they're going to transfer a ship from Florida to Norfolk, Virginia in May of 2027. And this ship is the Carnival Freedom, and it will do six-day Bahamas cruises, which will go to Celebration Key, Nassau Bahamas, and Bimini as well. It will do six-day Bermuda cruises with two days in the islands of Bermuda. So that's the new cruises that Carnival has announced. And Patrick and I have often talked. We, you know, talk about these new deployments, which are pretty far out, you know, May of 2027, all the way through 2028. When the cruise lines announce these deployments, it is the best time to purchase the cruises. Uh, you'll get the most amenities, and generally you'll get the best price. So if you're looking for any of these, you know, particularly exciting is that series of uh 14-day Hawaii cruises. Our next story is interesting. Uh, it's about a company called Croissy, which is a river cruise company in Europe, and they are introducing a paddle wheeler on the Seine River in France. And this paddle wheel ship is a smaller ship, it's 81 guess. It doesn't look like the paddle wheelers on the Mississippi, um, but it does have a paddle wheel propulsion system. Uh, the ship still does have to go through canals and under bridges, so it has to meet certain height, width, and length requirements for that. But it would be an interesting uh way to see the countryside in France. And we had a caller ask a question, and Patrick and I were able to uh pre-record a segment on the Panama Canal. Uh so we'll listen to the answers to this caller's questions, and then I'll be back with some deals on the Panama Canal.

Patrick Wiscombe:

If you want to text the show, because we do take texts during the week, you can call or text us 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700 to text your question. Diane is texting the show and she is asking about Panama Canal cruises. This is a client question from your client, but she texted you. Yep.

Mark Faldmo:

So she had six different questions that she asked. And you know, I thought I thought these they're all really good questions. There's so much information out there on the Panama Canal. I've been lucky enough, I've done the Panama Canal a few times.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Diane's first question is when is the best time to go see the Panama Canal on a cruise?

Mark Faldmo:

I think the best time is in the late spring or late fall. This is when they're repositioning ships to and from different locations. There are Panama Canal cruises that go fairly frequently, but you'll get a better deal on these repositioning cruises when they're just trying to get them from point A to point B to start a new season somewhere. And those usually happen when they're trying to position ships from the Caribbean to go to Alaska, or vice versa, ships from Alaska going to the Caribbean for the winter season.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Another one of the questions that she had is what direction, meaning east or west, should I choose? Should I do the full transit or the partial transit? I guess you better explain what the difference is.

Mark Faldmo:

There are cruises. You can go to Miami, you can go to Florida and take a Panama Canal cruise that only goes through the Atlantic locks. That's a good way to see how the locks work. Experience the canal, but I'd recommend a full transit. So this is one that goes from the Pacific to the Atlantic, or vice versa. So you'd start on the East Coast, end in the West Coast, or vice versa on that. If you do the partial transit, you miss the co-toon cut. You miss what is the Panama Canal. You will experience going through the locks, but you'll miss what is the Panama Canal.

Patrick Wiscombe:

All right, so full transit is what you're saying here.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah, full transit.

Patrick Wiscombe:

Diane is also asking, should I get a balcony if I'm going to do a Panama Canal cruise?

Mark Faldmo:

I would say yes, because when you're going through the canal, you can go experience it on the front of the ship, you can experience it on deck. But watching from your balcony, you get just as good of views of all of that. And then when you're cruising actually through the canal, through the Gatun cut, you get to see that. I think one of our other questions is what side of the ship should I be on?

Patrick Wiscombe:

Yeah.

Mark Faldmo:

It really doesn't matter, but if you're one place where it may matter is when you're going, we'll just take going from Pacific to Atlantic. You'd want to be on the right side of the ship because that's the side where Panama City is on. So starboard side. Starboard side. Yep. If you're going the other direction, then you would want to be on the left or port side of the ship. But it it really doesn't matter on that. There's just a little bit more to see on that side of the ship. How long does it take to get through the Panama Canal? It's a full-day process.

Patrick Wiscombe:

So oh, it is. I think sometimes when they say canal, you know, I always think of like these small watering ditches. Yeah.

Mark Faldmo:

I that's not what this is. No, no. This is it's a big ordeal to actually get through the canal early in the morning. All the ships are going from Pacific to Atlantic, and then they meet up in Gatoon Lake. Now, what's it called? It's Gatun Lake. It's a man-made lake, and that's kind of what drives the canal because it's all gravity-driven. All the water is filled by gravity and the locks. And so it all comes, it flows from the mountains of Panama into the lake. And so they only do traffic in one direction now. And then in the evening it opens up to go the other direction. Oh, interesting. I've only done Panama Canal from Pacific side to Atlantic side. So in that, we started through the canal at about 5 a.m. is when the process starts going through the canal. And then so it's kind of an AMP. Yes.

Patrick Wiscombe:

So west to east is a.m. And then of course the opposite in the evening or the afternoon.

Mark Faldmo:

Yeah. Yeah, because there's the Gatun cut where the ships go through. There's not room for two-way traffic. Well, there might be, but it's pretty narrow. So it's safer just to go all one direction.

Patrick Wiscombe:

One of the uh last questions that Diane had was should she go through the new locks or the old locks? Well, I have not been through the new locks.

Mark Faldmo:

I think I would prefer the old locks. Now, how that's decided is if the ship is above a certain size, you'll go through the new locks. The smaller ships that can fit through the old locks will always go through the old locks. If you're wanting to go through the old locks, which I think that's where a lot of the scenery is at, is in the old locks, you'll want to go on a smaller ship through the Panama Canal. Okay, that's all really good information about the Panama Canal. And I've chose two Panama Canal cruise deals. These are full transits and they are uh repositioning cruises in April of 2026. The first one I chose because it has the best overall price. Um, it's on Holland, America, and it leaves on April 5th of 2026. And the ports, it leaves from Fort Lauderdale, goes to Cartagena, Colombia, then cruises through the Panama Canal, goes to Puntarenas, which is in Costa Rica, goes to Acajute, uh, which is in El Salvador, goes to Porto Quetzal in Guatemala, and then as it heads up to its final port in San Diego, it will visit Porta Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. This cruise has a pretty good price for a 15-day cruise. Starts at $15.54 per person. So that's right, about $100 a day. The next cruise is also a 15-day cruise. It's on Norwegian cruise line. It goes from Miami. Um, this one leaves April 25th of 26. It visits uh Cartagenian, Colombia, Cologne, uh, which is in Panama, then the next day it cruises through the Panama Canal, goes to uh Porto Caldera, uh, which is in Costa Rica, Porto Quetzal in Guatemala, and then cruises up, visits Porto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and Los Angeles. And the reason why I chose this cruise is for the balcony cabins. It has a great rate on balcony cabins, which starts at $28.99 for a 15-day cruise. That's about $300 or $400 lower than other balcony cabins I found during this time. And so if you're interested in any of these, you can give us a call at Blue Planet Vacations. And that will do it for the show today. Thanks for listening.

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 Whiskey and Mark Balbo, 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.

Ad Voice:

This segment of Inside Travel Talk is sponsored by El Dorado Spa Resorts. Escape to Cancun's Riviera Mayer 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.