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Inside Travel Talk
Beyond the Tourist Path: Authentic Experiences in River Cruising and Island Exploration
It is time to talk travel. Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show Coming up. On today's show we will be talking about Avalon Waterways, love, this river cruise company, Jamaica, and we're going to give you some great ideas how to book a great shore excursion. 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. And check out the podcast at InsideTravelTalk. com. And now here are your hosts, Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Welcome to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend as we get to talk about travel. And, if you are a longtime listener of the show, this show is only about travel and we want to help you plan and book your next vacation. Or, if you have no idea where to go, we want to give you some ideas of where you should consider to vacation next, and this show is presented by blueplanetvacations. com. And just a very sincere thank you for taking the time to stop and listen. Coming up on this show, we are talking about Avalon Waterways, a terrific river cruising company, Jamaica, and how to book a great shore excursion. And, mark, this is going to sound kind of funny, but, dude, I'm tired. We've just spent four back-to-back-to-back-to-back four cruises right in a row and it's good to be home, but I got to be honest, I kind of miss it already, and it's only been a day?
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, only been a day. You just got off the. What was it? The Norwegian Aqua? Yeah, so another brand new ship that you are on.
Patrick Wiscombe:Beautiful ship. I love the new ship smell but, mark, it was a genuinely I'll show you the video later but it is a genuinely beautiful ship. It had a great experience. Ncl, I've never had a bad experience. They do a great job. Yeah, food was good too. In case anyone wants to know, this week we're going to cut right to the destination highlight. I won't say it's a destination, it's multiple destinations, but it's using a terrific company called Avalon Waterways and we're bringing on TJ McAvoy. Had him on the show before and he's making a triumphant return. It's good to have you back on the show and it's good to see you too.
TJ McAvoy:Yeah, you too Great to see you, Patrick. I always appreciate your time and having me on this great show.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let's talk about Avalon Waterways. Let's just go Avalon Waterways 101. What is Avalon Waterways?
TJ McAvoy:So we're river cruising. We like to think of ourselves as relaxed luxury. It's got to be my favorite way to travel. Just think of a five-star floating hotel with everything you want food, excursions, you name it.
Patrick Wiscombe:You have several competitors in the river cruise market. What sets Avalon apart from your competitors?
TJ McAvoy:Cabins is where it all starts. So we have award-winning 200-square-foot panorama suites. We win awards from all these publications, like five years in a row, best River Cruise Cabins for Cruise Critic. We've gotten Best River Cruise Line and Cabins through USA Today's Reader's Choice Awards this year as well as previous years. So definitely the cabins. So the 200-square-foot suites are about 85% of our cabins. So with the larger cabins we have fewer people on our ships. So you're looking about 30 to 50 fewer people on the ships, which is a great for the onboard experience.
Mark Faldmo:Oh yeah.
TJ McAvoy:So that really, yeah, that really separates us. So we're going to average about 150 passengers. Our competitors are going to have around 190. But that's by design on our end. Best cabins. And then another staple is choices. So we offer choices. So excursions this is really a big staple of ours because we have all the connections through being also part of Globus, where we have all the connections with all the local suppliers and vendors. So we give you two to three choices pretty much every time, every port for the excursions, the excursions are included.
TJ McAvoy:Choices also goes to the dining, which we call Panorama Bistro. We do barbecue lunches on the Sky Deck, or you can yes, we just have various venues that way, but we're going to give you various choices on the cuisine as well. Venues that way, but we're going to give you various choices on the cuisine as well. We can satisfy any dietary restriction except for kosher. So any dietary restriction, we're always going to have vegetarian or vegan options with every meal. Also, I think what really separates us is the views. So we really pride ourselves. No matter where you're on the ship, you can see both sides of the ship, because you could be going down the Rhine and maybe you're in the dining area and the other side of the ship is where all the castles are. You could see 360 degree views, floor to ceiling windows throughout the ship. So I'd say those three things cabins, choices, views which also for people on the ship is a huge difference.
Patrick Wiscombe:Where does Avalon Waterways sail? I know you're in Europe, but where else?
TJ McAvoy:So we have 16 ships in Europe. We also have our own ship on the Mekong, so that's only 36 passengers. Our ships in Europe are either 128 passengers or 166. We're also on the Douro, also Europe. But then you did ask where else we sail. So we have a taste of Egypt, so we have a cruise there. Also the Galapagos Islands and the Amazon, all those destinations we're going to have Avalon.
Patrick Wiscombe:What do you recommend for first time river cruisers? What do you recommend?
TJ McAvoy:Just to kind of give you an idea, I started with Globus 22 years ago and I think we've had Avalon going on 20 years. So historically this is pretty much across the board for the last 20 years. First time cruisers either do the Rhine or the Danube, in either order. So those are typically going to be the first two that you do. I personally, I love them both, but my first cruise was the Danube, which was Budapest to Nuremberg, but then you could extend in Prague. So I would recommend a couple nights in Prague, at least on land, do the seven-night cruise and do extra time in Prague and then, if you're doing the Rhine, spend extra time in Amsterdam. So I'd say one of those two and then, whichever one you don't pick first, you do that second.
Patrick Wiscombe:Can you go back to back?
TJ McAvoy:Yeah, so actually majority of our cruises are really going to be seven-night cruises. But what we do if you have a 14-night cruise, we have one called the Magnificent Europe. It's a back-to-back of our Romantic Rhine cruise and our legendary Danube cruise, sold as one itinerary. So that's back-to-back. We also have in France. We have the Seine, which is northern France, and then the Rome, which is going down to southern France. Those are each seven night cruises. We build that as a 14 night cruise, as one cruise, and now we're on the Bordeaux, so you can do a back to back to back, so a 21 night cruise. We already built those in for you, so it's very, very seamless.
Patrick Wiscombe:Give us your top three to five cruises that you just go, just do it, do it. I recommend it to anybody.
TJ McAvoy:So I've done the Danube like four times. It's the first one by choice and then the fourth one by choice. The other two times they had me hosting. I had to go work on a cruise to host some people. It was so rough but amazing.
Ad Voice:So so.
TJ McAvoy:Danube was fantastic, and then the Rhine. So I really want to do the Rhine again, because I did our active and discovery river cruise on the Rhine. I would love to do the Rhine again, so those two Also. What is getting very popular is the lower Danube, so that's Budapest to Bucharest, and the reason that intrigues me so much is I become good friends with one of our cruise directors that's been with the Globus family for 40 years and he's been a cruise director on Avalon since we started 20 years ago and that's his favorite river to cruise the Lower Danube, Budapest to Bucharest or reverse. Also, I just spent time with a tour director that I was doing travel shows with and he's been on Avalon as well and he said that was his favorite cruise. So I would say the Rhine, the Danube and then the Lower Danube.
Mark Faldmo:That's my favorite river cruise as well. I've had the opportunity to do that. It's a fantastic itinerary to do that Budapest-Bucharest. My favorite part of that Lower Danube is sailing through. It's called the Iron Gates. There's a big head carved into the mountain, not like Mount Rushmore, but it's just a fantastic area of that part of the Danube.
Patrick Wiscombe:We've already talked about the cabins 200 square feet, beautiful cabins. What makes the cabins great?
TJ McAvoy:What's really fantastic about our cabins is we don't have a separate balcony. So separate balconies that close off to the room are really worthless, honestly, because you can't sit out there comfortably. So we bring all that living space back, so you truly do have 200 square feet of living space. I like to think of it as your cabins, your balcony, your balconies, your cabin. So when that wall of glass opens up, you have seven feet. So it truly is your balcony. I recently went on a river cruise. We buddied up with some of the Kiwis, some of the New Zealand folks, and we would meet up and have snacks and hang out before dinner, and it's plenty of room. So it really gives you so much more room. Another big staple on our build we actually angle the wall between the bed and the bathroom. The bathrooms are by far the biggest I've seen on big ship cruising and river cruising, because I've been on both numerous times. But the bathrooms, the beds facing out, you're always looking at the view, 100% the most.
Patrick Wiscombe:Hold on, the beds are facing, I guess, the window, the floor-to-ceiling window.
TJ McAvoy:Yes, absolutely. So. We're the only. Yeah, oh yeah, just picture this. So you're cruising down the Rhine, you're in your balcony and you're also in your cabin. You're laying down, you're watching all the castles and beautiful scenery go by. It's fantastic.
Mark Faldmo:By far. It's the best cabin layout of any cruise that I've been on. I love, as TJ just mentioned, being able to lay in the bed and look out at the scenery as you cruise past it. That sounds delightful.
TJ McAvoy:It's truly unforgettable. I mean, as you go through life, there's certain things that are like pictures in your head that you'll never forget, and many of those, I mean there's so many of those times cruising on Avalon, just laying there and watching the beautiful scenery go by.
Patrick Wiscombe:Do you ever have a hard time getting up going? It's so beautiful I don't even want to get up.
TJ McAvoy:Exactly Well. The great thing about river cruising, though, is the ships are small, so I mean you could be up and get a snack within a few feet. But yes, that is true, I've gotten a little bit lazy and stay in my room a little bit too long a few times just enjoying that scenery.
Patrick Wiscombe:There is a perception out in the industry that river cruising is for the old folks or the older folks. What about river cruising for multi-generational families? So you know, grandpas, parents, kids Is there enough to do for kids on these types of cruises?
TJ McAvoy:Younger kids probably not going to have a great time. So older teenagers and multi-generational I see that quite often. So I've done two of our what we call them is our active and discovery cruises. So we have our classic cruises and then our active and discovery are more focused on activist excursions or very immersive off the beaten path type excursions. So you either have like hiking, biking, canoeing, or you have painting classes, cooking classes, vineyard tours. You actually can visit a local farmer where you enjoy a meal on their property, so very immersive. And then so we're focusing more on those and we're on all the rivers with our active and discovery. So we're getting a lot of multi-gen older teenagers, parents, grandparents we're seeing a lot of that on our active and discovery.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let's talk about Christmas cruises.
TJ McAvoy:Our Christmas time cruises are. They sell out right away. So if you're looking to get on a Christmas time cruise, book those well in advance. So I've been with the company since we started Avalon. In the first few seasons that was one of the last things to sell, but after that people were getting. You know, it's getting more and more popular. So now, basically, our Christmas cruises are selling out very, very quickly. The Christmas markets, it's amazing. It's a great time to travel too, because you get to see all the beauty of the festive season and it's great for multi-generational families. We're already have everything open for 26 as well. They're so popular. I just spoke with our president of Avalon Waterways, pam Hoffey. I did an event with her and we basically are going to move every ship that is done for the season over to the Christmas markets to create more Christmastime cruises.
Ad Voice:Oh huge.
TJ McAvoy:Yeah, exactly so what's going to happen? As we get closer to the Christmas markets, we're going to open more and more sailings and that could sometimes be risky, but it's never risky on the Christmas markets because we know they're going to sell out, so great for families, if you're looking, and people get more time off during that time. So no better way to travel during the holiday season than a Christmastime cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe:As we start to wrap up.
TJ McAvoy:What trends are you seeing in river cruising right now? It's been amazing over the last few years. I mean the awareness Now when I started I actually used to book all of our charters in our groups department and so I've been involved in Avalon from the beginning and the awareness now. So everywhere I go now people know about river cruising. People want to do river cruising, they want to experience river cruising. 10 years ago there wasn't much awareness around it, but now everybody knows that, everybody wants to do it, seeing a lot of first-time cruisers and what I see a lot is they go on Avalon and they fall in love with their first cruise and then they just go from one river to another.
TJ McAvoy:So I'm just saying, once you go on your first Avalon cruise, there's probably four to five more in your future. And then, like we were mentioning, the active and discovery, that's been great for a multi-generational and it's great for families because it's more active and immersive. But then we also have the must-see sites. So just the standard sightseeing city tours that all the cruise lines do. Just the popularity is amazing. So the river cruise lines, we all do a great job and we're all selling really well. So I would say, the most popular type of travel right now, in my estimation.
Patrick Wiscombe:TJ McEvoy with Avalon Waterways. Thank you so much for coming on, Mark. How many times have you been on Avalon Waterways? I've been on Avalon.
Mark Faldmo:Waterways twice, and it is fantastic, especially the rooms as we talked about in there. Yeah, that's probably my favorite part of it the way that room is laid out. They have by far the largest bathrooms, and then your bed faces out to the river, so you just lay in bed and watch the scenery go by on your scenic cruise days, if you want.
Patrick Wiscombe:When he was talking about the Christmas markets. And they're already selling out. They're bringing all their ships over. You've been on a Christmas market cruise. Just paint briefly what listeners will experience.
Mark Faldmo:Very festive cities pulling over into these small villages. They all have their little Christmas markets or Chris Kendall markets, set up with booths and kiosks and food, hot chocolate, warm cider. It's just a great experience to do the Christmas markets cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe:What an interesting way to see the world, just from a river. Yes, because we were able to talk to TJ McAvoy. He came up with an offer for our listeners, exclusively on Avalon Waterways. What is that deal and how much?
Mark Faldmo:Now this deal is for their longer cruises in 2026. So that's 14 days or longer cruises, up to $6,000 off per cabin, so 3000 per person. But this is booked in pretty quick. You have about 10 days to book this. So if you just go to the blueplanetvacations. com website, there is a page that'll show a couple of the highlighted. There's about 30 different departures that have this on and I have three of them highlighted on the Blue Planet Vacations, but you can call any of our agents to walk you through and find the other cruises.
Patrick Wiscombe:Take advantage of it, because this is only for our listeners. You'll only get this on this show, no one else. Call Mark or his agents, or and his agents, 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. And, as Mark already mentioned, blueplanetvacations. com is where you can see that as well. Coming up in the next segment, it is always the hot travel deal of the week and this week we are going to answer one of our listeners' questions, Jessica, she wants to go to Jamaica. She wants to know when is the best time to go and what to do. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show continues alongside Faldmo. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be back in just a few minutes.
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 advisors. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. Thanks for listening. 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.
Show Voice:To book your romantic beach getaway, contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com 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. Here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Welcome back to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Hello there, I'm Patrick Wiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo, coming up in this segment of the show. We are taking listener questions. This one will be from Jessica, who is considering a trip to Jamaica and she wants to know what to do there. And if you want to become part of the show and ask your travel-related question, you can text the show right now. Just do it. Well, except if you're driving 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700 to answer your travel-related question. And Mark, I have. This is a text from Patrick to Mark. I'm kidding, but I do have a question. So Nikki and I just got home. We've been on the road for basically the last four weeks, four cruises back to back, to back to back. The question I have for you, and it was absolutely spectacular Do you ever get tired when traveling?
Mark Faldmo:I don't get tired when traveling. I love to travel. Sometimes it can wear on me. It was a physical. Do you get physically tired traveling?
Patrick Wiscombe:I love to travel. Sometimes it can wear on me. Okay, it was a physical. Do you get physically tired traveling?
Mark Faldmo:Yes, physically tired, you know. A lot of times I'm traveling and it's for meetings or stuff where I'm on a pretty strict schedule, but it does wear on me, but I never get tired of traveling. Oh no, I agree, I can get tired from traveling, but not tired of traveling.
Patrick Wiscombe:We got home late last night it was about 2 am and I was just excited to come in and talk about everything that we'd done on vacation. But I'm finding that, as the adrenaline is starting to wear off, I'm starting to go. All right, Patrick, bring the energy. Bring the energy for the radio show, because Patrick is pooped right now. Anyway, let's get to the hot travel deal of the week, always in this segment, and this is the text from Jessica. She says she is considering a trip to Jamaica and wants to know what there is to do there, and she texted 801-649-3700. What should Jessica do when going to Jamaica?
Mark Faldmo:There's lots of things to do in Jamaica and one thing that I really like to do is climb Duns River Falls. There are a lot of people that say, oh, it's too touristy. I wouldn't do that, but I really enjoy Duns River Falls. It is so beautiful and you do hike up this waterfall. It's a great experience. The next thing is Seven Mile Beach. There are several hotels there and this is over in the Negril area. But one thing there is Rick's Café. Rick's café, best place on the island to watch the sunset, and they also have cliff divers and you know some interesting things there. But it's a great atmosphere, kind of great Jamaican laid-back atmosphere.
Patrick Wiscombe:Again, the best sunsets so is Dunn's rivers fall also in Negril now Dunn River Falls is in the Ocho Rios area.
Mark Faldmo:Oh, ocho Rios Okay, to go back to the beginning, most people to vacation there would fly into Montego Bay. So Ocho Rios is about an hour from Montego Bay, negril is about an hour from Montego Bay and those are kind of the three places you would stay Montego Bay, Ocho Rios or Negril or somewhere in between. One of those Bob Marley tours Go to the Village of Nine Mile where Bob Marley grew up.
Patrick Wiscombe:He really is a tourist attraction to himself, isn't he? Yes, he is man. He is celebrated in Jamaica like nothing I've ever seen before.
Mark Faldmo:He is and it's a great history great part of Jamaica. Another thing you can do is the Rose Hall Great House, which has an interesting story behind us. It's a plantation house. You can go there in the evening and have haunted tours. The house is supposedly haunted, but it is a fun activity to do. My all-time favorite thing in Jamaica is bamboo rafting. We've talked about this before. It's just so relaxing. You sit on a bamboo raft, go down with a friendly guide that explains things to you. Probably one of the funest things to do is Mystic Mountain, which is the bobsled roller coaster. It goes down the mountain. Jamaican bobsled team. That's an important cultural part of Jamaica.
Patrick Wiscombe:You have done that right? I think you have. I have done that. Yeah, I think you have. I have done that. Yeah, I don't know why I laugh Bobsledding in Jamaica. That just blows my mind.
Mark Faldmo:It's a fun thing to do James Bond tours also. I do James Bond tours there. That's where almost all of the James Bond books were written. It was in Jamaica. There you can go to Goldeneye, which is the home that Ian Fleming built where he wrote most of those. And then, as you know, everything comes back to food for me. Go to Scotchie's, which is a jerk chicken. Get their platter. That includes jerk chicken, smoked sausage festival and ting Ting is like Fresca. That's a famous drink there, okay.
Patrick Wiscombe:So where is Scotchie'sotchies? Because my son, Brandon is going to be there in I think it's July of this year. Where is Scotchies?
Mark Faldmo:he's looking for some awesome jerk chicken, so that's the best place for jerk chicken.
Patrick Wiscombe:There's a Scotchies in Montego Bay and the Scotchies in Ocho Rios anything in Falmouth, Jamaica, because I think that's where the cruise ship is going in that you recommend. That that's fairly close to Ocho Rios, oh, okay and also from there.
Mark Faldmo:Um, that's where the cruise ship is going in that you recommend. That's fairly close to.
Patrick Wiscombe:Ocho.
Ad Voice:Rios, oh, okay.
Mark Faldmo:And also from there. That's actually where the bamboo rafting is, is very close to there. That I like to do, okay, and then also you can do the Bob Marley tours from there, the two things in that area.
Patrick Wiscombe:Go to Jamaica Such a great place, Jessica. We will continue answering your question. We're just up against a break right now. To get your question on the radio or the podcast, call us 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And, as I mentioned, Jessica, we will answer your question. I'll give you prices of how to get to Jamaica. That is next when the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show continues. We've got the infamous Just Cruising segment coming up. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. We will be right back.
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:Inside Travel Talk is brought to you by Amar Waterways. From castles and capitals to vistas and villages. Visit some of Europe's most remarkable sites and cities To set out on your own river cruise journey. Contact Blue Planet Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, we're back. Thank you for listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show Coming up. In the next 28 minutes, mark and I will be talking about Jamaica. We'll be finishing up Jessica's questions about what to do in Jamaica booking shore excursions, very unique cruise itineraries and the best reasons to use a travel advisor. 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 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:All aboard for the infamous Just Cruising segment right here on the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show. Hello there, hope you're having a terrific weekend. My name is Patrick Wiscombe, alongside Mark Faldmo. It is time At the bottom of the hour. Every single week, it's the infamous Just Cruising segment where we give you unique cruise itineraries and we've definitely got a doozy this week. And we've also got the doozy this week and we've also got the cruise deal of the week. So, mark, let's finish Jessica's questions about things that she should do when she is in Jamaica and let's recap what we've already talked about.
Mark Faldmo:We talked about my favorite things to do in Jamaica Dunn-Trover Falls, rick's Cafe and Seven Mile Beach, bob Marley tours, bamboo rafting, James Bond tours. And then you have to go to Scotchie's get some Jamaican jerk chicken. It's just a great experience to get that authentic Jamaican jerk chicken.
Patrick Wiscombe:Let's talk about the deal to go to Jamaica. Let's start there.
Mark Faldmo:This one is pretty close in for Caribbean vacations, save up to $200 off, but it does have to be booked by April 30th next Wednesday, so it's booked pretty quick here. Jessica did mention she wanted to go in the fall time, so I looked at end of September. This was the 18th of September. For five nights. This includes round-trip airfare from Salt Lake City and five nights hotel. One thing that's nice is we used to have to take an overnight flight from Salt Lake City, but now American Airlines and United Airlines both have flights where you can get to Jamaica on the same day. This is on American Airlines Now. That flight does leave at 5.30 AM, so you have to be there pretty early, but you don't have to take an overnight flight.
Mark Faldmo:I chose two hotels in Jamaica. I would recommend a four or five star hotel. I won't go any lower quality than that. The first hotel called the Iberostar Waves Rose Hall Beach, which is right near Montego Bay. Round-trip airfare from Salt Lake City, five nights hotel and transfers between the airport and hotel starts at $1,299 per person. How many days?
Patrick Wiscombe:Six days five nights so $1,299.
Mark Faldmo:And the second hotel I'd recommend. It's called the Hideaway at Royalton Blue Waters. This is a five-star hotel and it's right in between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios. About 45 minutes from the airport is where this one is located, and the price on that one is $1,459 per person. And these are some really good prices for Jamaica. Yeah, they are. Jamaica is one of my favorite Caribbean islands to visit. When I visited it by cruise, I did not like Jamaica, but when I actually visited it by land, I love Jamaica and I want to go back as much as I can.
Patrick Wiscombe:Jessica, call Mark in his office when you're ready to book or if you have additional questions. The office phone number is 888-718-7717, 888-718-7717. Let's get to Seth's question. By the way, if you have travel related questions, call or text the studio 801-649-3700, 801-649-3700 to ask or text your travel related question. Seth, I thought this was pretty funny. He is challenging you to find the most unique cruise itinerary. I know this is short notice. What?
Mark Faldmo:did you find? So I found three itineraries. These are all on Holland America. This cruise is round trip Fort Lauderdale and it's an Amazon River cruise. So it goes down, it does kind of a Southern Caribbean cruise, then goes down and cruises up the Amazon River to Manaus and then does a little bit more Southern Caribbean before returning to Fort Lauderdale.
Patrick Wiscombe:How many days is?
Mark Faldmo:that it's a 30-day cruise, very interesting. Oh yeah, that one is November 21st of this year and it starts at $4,599 per person.
Patrick Wiscombe:I want to go sail the Amazon. I think that would be amazing.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, I think that would be amazing as well.
Patrick Wiscombe:What else did you find? I was kind of surprised you found three yeah.
Mark Faldmo:So well, and this is one that I like. This one a little bit closer to home. It's a 12-day Mexican Riviera cruise and Sea of Cortez cruise. It's round-trip San Diego, so it goes down, it does your Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, but then it sails up into the Sea of Cortez. It's La Paz, Laredo, Guaymas, probably my favorite port, just because I like saying it Topolobombo, Topolobombo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Topolobombo.
Mark Faldmo:That's actually right near where the stories of Zorro were based on. That's where that person was born, in Topolobombo. That one is February of next year. Inside Cabin starts at $16.69 per person and the Balcony Cabin starts at $16.69 per person and a balcony cabin starts at $22.69.
Patrick Wiscombe:What ship is this on the Holland America? Which one?
Mark Faldmo:Zoeterdam.
Patrick Wiscombe:Okay, zuitterdam, yeah, okay, I got to ask what's the third one then.
Mark Faldmo:So the third one. This is 130 day round trip Fort Lauderdale. I'm not going to go over the whole itinerary, I'm just kind of the regions it visits, but it starts Fort Lauderdale. I'm not going to go over the whole itinerary, just kind of the regions it visits, but it starts in Fort Lauderdale, cruises down the east coast of South America, visits Ushuaia, Antarctica. Yeah, we're going south then way south yeah.
Mark Faldmo:Okay. Then through the Strait of Magellan up to Santiago, Chile, and then sails across the Pacific, hits Easter Island, hits Tahiti, hits Auckland, hits Sydney, and then cruises up the north coast of Australia to Singapore and then visits Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tokyo, a few other ports in Japan, and then sails across to Kodiak, Alaska, does a full Alaska cruise, does a full Mexican Riviera cruise, sails through the Panama Canal and ends back in Fort Lauderdale. 130 days, 130 days, Wow. But you can take that and do certain segments of that. You don't have to do the whole 130 days, but it is quite the itinerary.
Patrick Wiscombe:That is absolutely spectacular. I would do that in a second.
Mark Faldmo:Yes, you're right.
Patrick Wiscombe:Those are some crazy places to visit. Which ship is that on Mark? So that's on the Holland America Voland Dam. That is absolutely spectacular. Sign me up because I can do the radio show from the deck of the Zoider Dam. Is that what you said?
Mark Faldmo:Yes, the Voland dam.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, the Voland Dam I'm sorry yeah.
Patrick Wiscombe:Seth, I think challenge accepted and I think Mark absolutely slayed it. If you have a travel-related question, text us. We want you to be part of the show. We want to answer your questions. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. That is the studio in the text line. If you want to book the vacation, I'm going to give you a separate number here 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. And of course, you can always go to blueplanetvacations. com. When we come back we'll wrap up the show. We've got Mark's travel tips and we are going to talk about the benefits of using a travel agent or a travel advisor. That is next when the inside travel talk podcast or radio show continues. Alongside my good friend Mark Faldmo, my name is Patrick Wiscombe. Thank you so much for allowing us to be part of your weekend. 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.
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Show Voice:Vacations at 888-718-7717 or blueplanetvacations. com. They'll help you plan and book your next vacation. Yeah, really, you're listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast and radio show presented by BluePlanetVacations. com, America's best travel advisors. Call or text the show now 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. 801-649-3700. And now here's Patrick Wiscombe and Mark Faldmo.
Patrick Wiscombe:Literally been on the road for the last 30 days. Mark, it's good to be home. I love traveling, but I think I need a break after 30 days on the road. Yep, you know, 30 days can be long. What is the longest trip that you and Heather or just you, you know, because this is your business what's the longest trip you've ever been on before I?
Mark Faldmo:think the longest I've been gone is 19 days, so not too terribly long. Well, I guess that's long, but 19 days is the longest I've been gone. That was the trip where we flew to Tahiti, stayed there a few days and then we took the Marquesas Islands cruise.
Patrick Wiscombe:Oh, the ship.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, when we got off that cruise, our flight was actually canceled, so we spent two extra days in Tahiti. I didn't complain, but it did make for a long trip.
Patrick Wiscombe:Was that the Aranui 5,? The ship that's half freighter, half cruise line? Yes, the Aranui 5.
Mark Faldmo:Just since you brought it up, I just want to say anyone that is interested in that in the container ship freighter ship cruising. There's a great blog on the Blue planet website about the Aranui 5. It is probably the most unique thing I've ever done and probably the most memorable thing I've ever done you have referenced that for the last year and a half.
Patrick Wiscombe:Now I can finally put it in context, because it was one of the first things that we ever discussed, and now it's like oh, now I get why he keeps coming back to that. It was an amazing experience.
Patrick Wiscombe:You are listening to the Inside Travel Talk podcast, a radio show. My name is Patrick Wiscombe. That is the voice of Mark Faldmo. We are finally broadcasting together in the studio here in Salt Lake City. It's good to be home Coming up. In this segment of the show we are talking about Mark's travel tips. We get a big response to this show, generally speaking anyway, but I've noticed a real trend that when we do your travel tips the last segment of the show it seems to really resonate with customers. I found an article of why you should use a travel agent. Now, this is going to sound a little bit self-serving. It is not. I subscribed to an email called the Points Guy and he accumulates credit card information, how to maximize your miles, et cetera. But he also has some really good travel tips, and one of the things that we wanted to talk about is why use a travel advisor? So let's start there.
Mark Faldmo:One of the things that he says is you should use a travel advisor for your vacations. He lists several reasons why I've included a lot of these that he talked about on the list, as well as some of my own. The first thing that I'm often asked is how do travel agents get paid? Does it cost me more to use a travel agent?
Patrick Wiscombe:I've even asked you that question, but let's go in depth on this. How do you get paid Travel?
Mark Faldmo:agents are generally paid by commissions from the suppliers, from the cruise lines, from the different things that we sell. People say does it cost me more? It doesn't. For a cruise, what you see on the cruise lines website is the same price that I would sell it for as a travel agent. With a few exceptions that we've talked about, I may have a better price than what's on the airline's website If I have a group or there's something special that's offered to the membership of agencies that I belong to, but generally the price is the same. I've heard even travel agents explain you're paying for it anyway. If you book it yourself, you're still paying the travel agent fee or the cruise line just gets to keep it.
Patrick Wiscombe:Well, I'm going to take it a step further. You have access to more rooms and you have access to better deals. Is that fair to say?
Mark Faldmo:Generally speaking, yes, so the group that I'm a part of. They go in and reserve group space and in most cases they get advanced notice. So these are reserved before the ships even go on sale to the general public. So they're the best price and I can sell into those groups which, depending on when you're looking, can be several hundred dollars lower than what the cruise line is selling it. For Cruise lines generally, as time goes on they generally increase their prices. So with these groups I get in even before they are on sale to the general public and have access to sell that space. There are some fees that travel agents do charge and I should explain those. First thing is on airline tickets. Airlines are the one thing that they do not pay a travel advisor, so most agencies will charge a ticketing fee just for their time.
Patrick Wiscombe:If you have multiple people, you've got to get all their information, all their documents. You've got to do everything and it can be time consuming.
Mark Faldmo:It definitely can be time consuming. And then also, a lot of travel agencies do charge a. They either called it a plan to go or a good faith deposit. If someone's calling for something pretty complicated, they'll charge this deposit, but it will be applied to the cost of your trip. In many cases Travel can be complex. A lot of people are intimidated by the complexity, so they'll go to a travel agent. They'll have the travel agent plan it out and then, once it's all been figured out, they won't use the travel agent. They will go just book it on their own once everything has been explained to them.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's pretty slimy, honestly.
Mark Faldmo:That is so, yeah, so a lot of travel agents do charge that plan to go or good faith deposit, which in most cases is applied to the cost of their trip. So it still doesn't cost you any more, even if that fee is charged in advance. Now, on some very complex trips we will charge a fee, but if it's a very complex trip, that fee is well worth it to get the trip that you want and need.
Patrick Wiscombe:What a lot of people don't know is how you got into the travel industry. How did you get started?
Mark Faldmo:I'm actually third generation in the travel industry. I grew up in the industry, everything from mowing the lawn at my grandparents' agency to sorting through brochures, to eventually delivering airline tickets back when there were paper airline tickets.
Patrick Wiscombe:You literally drove them to people's houses, to people's houses and to businesses.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, wow, that goes back a ways, then that does so, and that's one thing I found with many of my colleagues in the travel industry. Many of them have deep-rooted connections to the industry, almost more than a love of travel, because a lot of people have the love of travel. But really being a travel agent or being a good travel agent, is more than just that love of travel.
Patrick Wiscombe:You have to have a love of logistics too.
Mark Faldmo:Of logistics. And one thing I've been in the industry for a long time. I've interviewed a lot of potential travel agents. There are some people that say I just want to be a travel agent because I get to travel and I get to do it for cheap or free.
Patrick Wiscombe:Which is true, but that's a fraction of what you do.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, and we've hired some that have that. Most of them with that mindset don't work. You really have to have a love for destinations, a love for, like you said, logistics, kind of have pride in what you want to do. It's not all about travel. I've been lucky. I have been able to travel to some pretty interesting things. Yeah, my goal, which is the tagline of Blue Planet Vacations, of explore your world, I really want to help people get out there to make those connections to different cultures, different countries. That's my passion.
Patrick Wiscombe:That also comes through education. You have to stay up on things.
Mark Faldmo:Yeah, being a travel advisor, travel agent there's a lot of education. A good travel agent will put themselves through these different training programs. I was just talking to someone who's a potential agent for me the other day and when I said well, you're going to have to learn 20 or 30 different booking systems because every entity has its own booking system that you have to book through. That's kind of one thing that I've been frustrated with as a travel advisor is there's so much out there that could be consolidated. That's not really consolidated. Committing to be a travel agent you have to be a lifelong learner. Everything's changing, there's lots of systems and there are some agencies and some agents that really specialize in key destinations. So finding the right travel advisor for consumers is important and in our area here in Salt Lake, there are lots of great travel advisors. So I obviously would like everyone to book through Blue Planet Vacations through me, through my agents. But just book your vacations through a travel advisor.
Mark Faldmo:Advocates of experiences, not transactions, Because you can go online, do a transactional thing, buy a trip but travel advisors really advocate for experiences and, as we've talked about better value, while price is important, I think good travel advisor will really help you get a better experience in travel, and we're always working to get you the best price, but also get you the best price for the money paid. One thing that we've talked about on this show a lot is a lot of the experiential journeys. There's lots out there. There are a lot of ways you can do this, and putting it all together is what a good travel advisor will do.
Patrick Wiscombe:That's what you've done for me. You have recommended things that I hadn't even considered that we ended up doing, and I've told you numerous times throughout the last year and a half. But really, you know, I've known you for quite a while, but since we started doing the show, you've pointed us in directions that I've always said, man, I'm glad we did that.
Mark Faldmo:I guess if I could do kind of the five bullet points of a travel advisor. Yeah, One is personalized itineraries. Work really hard to make sure that your experiences are tailored towards your individual preferences and that you have a unique journey. The second thing is expert knowledge. A good travel advisor does have that extensive destination expertise and supplier expertise. Not all products are right for all people, so we can really help guide you in that.
Mark Faldmo:Time-saving travel advisors really help people save time. It probably was about a year ago. We talked about a neighbor of my father where he said he put in I think it was like about 20 or 25 hours of research on this trip. I remember this and my dad looked at it and said I could have put all of that together for you, had it back to you in about an hour Because it was Ireland, which is one of my father's favorite destinations that he really knows about, and the person eventually came through to basically everything my dad would have recommended, but he spent that 20 plus hours researching that.
Mark Faldmo:The last thing and I think it's one of the more important things is problem solvers. Travel advisors are great problem solvers, not only to help you find the trip that fits your needs but, as we all know, travel doesn't always go as expected. Having a travel advisor on your side can really help get you through those things. We can't always fix it, but a lot of times we have access to special numbers and special people at cruise lines and airlines and different things where we can help fix those things and get things right.
Patrick Wiscombe:Access to help solve the problem. Or I would even take it a step further, mark what to expect if something goes wrong and talk you through it.
Patrick Wiscombe:Yes, mark has helped me numerous times, as I've mentioned here, but it really I've mentioned it many times over the past year and a half. Take advantage of Mark's experience Book with him. He will stand by you as you travel. I've called him numerous times, not only as a friend, but just say hey, listen, such and such is happening to me right now how should I handle it? And he's always been there. If you want to take advantage of any of the offers that we've made during this week's show, call Mark in his office, 888-718-7717. 888-718-7717. We'll have everything posted on blueplanetvacations. com.
Patrick Wiscombe:You can listen to the Inside Travel talk podcast and radio show tomorrow morning. We're on every Saturday and Sunday morning at 11 am mountain time, right here on this radio station and around the country. Plus, you can stream, download and subscribe to the podcast at inside travel talk dot com. And if you're a podcast subscriber, we're on all of the major podcast platforms. Just do a search for Inside Travel Talk. That's it. We're done. 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. Live your life deliberately. Live your life, life intentionally, and thank you so much for listening. We really don't have a show. We don't have a business without you. Thank you for allowing us to be in your ears each and every Saturday and Sunday. Have a great week. We'll talk to you again next week that's it.
Show Voice: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.
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