My Story
I spent nearly thirty years in product management, at places like Yahoo, MySpace, and AOL, then eleven years at ADP. The job was essentially the same everywhere. Figure out exactly what someone needs, then find a way to make it happen.
Listening to understand what you need, not just what you say you want.
Travel is exactly the same, just with different stakeholders. These days that means talking with clients about their dream vacations, sitting down with a hotel GM to hear how the property held up through the heat wave in Paris, having lunch with the VP of Sales for Celebrity Cruise Lines onboard Celebrity Reflection to talk through their Galapagos itineraries on Celebrity Flora and their upcoming river cruise launch, and joining the Cruise Lines International Association and Virtuoso Cruise communities, now certified as a Virtuoso Voyages Cruise Host. Same instincts I had for thirty years, just now pointed at getting the real, current scoop on ships and hotels and expeditions, straight from the people running them. All so I can match you to the one that fits you the best, not just the one with the best marketing.
A few years ago I was standing in Antarctica, watching penguins run across a rocky beach, when I realized something in me had changed for good. I had spent half my life in an office. I was not going to spend the next half in one.
I wanted to spend the rest of my life out in the world.
More penguins for sure, but also more remote places, the kind that take more time to reach than any career ever allowed me. The names Penguins Preferred and Ships, Ports and Penguins trace straight back to that moment.
A few years later, I rediscovered an excitement I hadn't had since I used to talk about games on camera for a living. Getting to dream up a trip with someone and make it happen, gives me that exact same buzz.
If you're wondering whether it's too late to start over, I'm proof it isn't.
Not every trip has to change your life. But every single one has the potential to. Get in touch - I can’t wait to hear what you’re dreaming of.
My first cruise at age 10. Hooked ever since.
Getting to Know You
Before I book anything, I need to understand who you are. Recognizing your unique wants and needs shapes everything, right down to which car picks you up at the airport or which cabin actually fits you on the ship. Matching the traveler to the right trip, not just handing you a list of options.
The cruise is just the beginning. Here's how a trip actually comes together.
My Process
Designing Your Experience
This is where the pieces actually come together. Getting you to the cruise ship, tours and hotels before or after, excursions once onboard. All the logistics that can make or break a trip and determine how much you have to manage do when you’re traveling. We’ll discuss details and revise to exactly what you want to do - or not do.
Making It Memorable
Experiences from the unusual to the unbelievable - I’ve recently booked Sleeping with Horses in Iceland, a bespoke tour of wineries with winemakers and distributors through Burgundy, bear encounters in Alaska, hikes on remote islands in Croatia, robots in Japan and more. This is what people actually remember.