It Started With One Cruise in 2013

I still remember the exact feeling. Not a specific port or excursion, but the moment the ship pulled away from the dock and my phone stopped buzzing with things that felt urgent an hour ago.

That was 2013, my first cruise, and I was hooked instantly. Not because of the buffet or the pool deck, though those didn't hurt. It was the disconnection. For however many days I was onboard, the ups and downs of regular life just... paused. It was a full reset button, and I didn't know how badly I needed one until I had it.

I didn't know it yet, but that trip planted the seed for everything I do now.

Customer Service Taught Me What Rest Actually Costs

Before Black Diamond Travels, most of my career was in customer service. Call centers, retail management, behind-the-scenes support for customer teams. If you've worked in that world, you know the kind of stress I mean. The kind that doesn't clock out with you.

Having a trip on the calendar, even a short one, became my survival tool. Just knowing a cruise or a getaway was coming made hard weeks easier to get through. I still tell people this today: having something to look forward to is one of the simplest stress relievers there is. You don't need a two-week international trip to reset. Sometimes you just need a few days and a plan.

That's the exact reason I now love working with busy professionals who are drowning in PTO they never use. My time in corporate America didn't just teach me about tight schedules and burnout; it taught me how to help people actually use the time off they've earned instead of losing it to guilt or overthinking.

The Difference Between a Vacation and a Trip

Somewhere along the way, I learned something that changed how I plan for my clients: being on vacation and being a traveler are not the same thing.

Vacation is about relaxing and indulging. Traveling is about seeking out something local, something real, something that changes you a little.

Cruises give me both. I get to unplug and indulge, and I also get to step off the ship into a new culture, even if just for a day. That's part of why I'm so excited to launch my hosted group trips in 2027. I want to give my clients that fuller, more immersive experience, not just a vacation, but a trip that means something.

Why I Show Up for the LGBTQ+ Community Specifically

I'm a gay man, and I know what it feels like to travel somewhere and quietly calculate how much of myself I need to shrink to feel safe. I know what it's like to step off a plane in a country where my existence is treated as even more of a problem than it can be here at home.

That's part of why Virgin Voyages means so much to me. Onboard, I don't have to negotiate with myself. I get to be fully who I am, encouraged even, not just tolerated. That feeling is rare, and once you've had it, you want to hand it to everyone you love.

That's the work. Helping LGBTQ+ travelers and allies find spaces where they don't have to hide, second-guess, or brace themselves. Travel should feel like freedom, not a risk assessment.

Proof This Actually Works: Our Margaritaville Group Cruise

This isn't theory. Earlier this year, I hosted a cruise out of Palm Beach on Margaritaville at Sea Paradise that doubled as a birthday celebration, a Juneteenth celebration, and a girls trip all in one. The group was mostly women who travel together often, and the energy onboard was exactly what I chase in this work. Laughter, celebration, connection, and zero apologies for taking up space and having a good time.

That trip is a preview of what's coming in 2027, when I host a group cruise on Virgin Voyages celebrating Pride Month, Juneteenth, and my own birthday alongside all the other June birthdays in our circle. Three reasons to celebrate on one ship. That's the kind of trip I want to keep building, ones where the celebration is the whole point.

This Is Why I Do This Work

At the end of the day, I became a travel advisor because I believe rest is not optional and identity is not something you should have to pack away in a suitcase. Whether you're a busy professional who hasn't used a vacation day in a year, or someone in the LGBTQ+ community looking for a place where you can just exist without flinching, you deserve a trip that gives you both. The reset and the real experience.

Come Share Your Why

I'd love to know what travel means to you. What's the trip that hooked you the way 2013 hooked me? Come share your story and connect with a community that gets it inside the Black Diamond Travel Lounge, my free online travel community where you'll get early access to deals, group trip announcements, and a space full of people who travel the same way you do.

Join the Black Diamond Travel Lounge today and tell us: why do you travel? https://resorts-cruises.com/community We are also giving out some prizes randomly in there at least once a quarter.