Hi, I'm Eric. Your Travel Person.
Long before I became a travel advisor, two words changed the direction of my life: adventure and travel.
More than two decades of military, supply, and logistics experience taught me how to plan ahead, keep track of the details, solve problems, and take care of people behind the scenes. Today, I bring that same mindset to helping people plan vacations through Poet's Year-Round Travel.
Whether you're planning your first cruise, bringing a group together, or simply have too much on your plate to spend hours figuring everything out yourself, my job is to help make the process easier and more personal.
“Taking the pressure off your shoulders and putting it onto mine.
It Started With Two Words: Adventure & Travel.
Believe it or not, my story with travel starts with me telling an Army recruiter, “I don't like guns.”
When I was in high school, an Army recruiter used to come to my school trying to convince me to join. I kept telling him the same thing: the Army wasn't for me because I didn't like guns.
Then one day, somehow, that same recruiter ended up sitting in my grandmother's house showing me a video about the Army. Out of everything he could have said, two words caught my attention: adventure and travel.
Those were the words that got me.
I joined the Army for adventure and travel. The place I ended up traveling to was Iraq.
And there's a little irony in the story.
The teenager who told his recruiter he didn't like guns became a supply specialist — which meant part of my job was being responsible for the accountability of the unit's weapons.
I had to inventory them, issue them, and make sure everything was accounted for. And yes, even with my lazy eye, I still qualified Marksman.
But the bigger lesson wasn't about weapons. It was about responsibility. In supply and logistics, details matter. You learn to look ahead, keep track of what's moving, make sure things are where they're supposed to be, and take care of the people depending on you.
Since 2001, those skills have followed me through the military and numerous logistics roles — long before I realized they would eventually become part of how I serve travelers.
For a long time, though, I was so busy working that I wasn't doing much traveling myself.
Growing up, I didn't have a long list of family vacations or destinations I had experienced. One of the trips I remember from childhood was going to Ocean City.
Then I became a father, and my perspective changed. I wanted my son to have opportunities to see more of the world than I had seen growing up. I wanted us to have experiences and memories outside of the everyday routine.
I wanted to see the world — and I wanted to take my son with me.
Eventually, I had to make a decision about what I wanted the next chapter to look like.
I was working for Costco in logistics when we were told the operation was moving roughly three hours south. The question was whether I was going with it.
For me, the answer was no. I had a son to think about, and moving three hours away wasn't the direction I wanted my life to take.
That meant I needed to start looking at what else was out there. After years of working for other people, I was also ready to start thinking about building something of my own.
While I was looking for my next move, an opportunity in travel came across my desk.
And something clicked.
I had spent more than two decades working in supply and logistics. I knew how to move people and things, manage details, think ahead, solve problems, and make sure the pieces were in place.
At the same time, I had always wanted to see more of the world — and now I wanted to experience it with my son.
Travel gave me a way to bring those two parts of my life together. That's where Poet's Year-Round Travel began.
What started with two words in high school eventually became a business built around the skills I've spent most of my life developing: planning ahead, handling the details, and taking care of people.
ADVENTURE • TRAVEL • SERVICEI Don't Just Sell Travel. I Experience It.
I believe the more I experience travel for myself, the better I can guide the people who trust me with theirs.
There's a difference between reading about a vacation and actually experiencing it.
I want to know what a ship feels like when you walk onboard. I want to see the neighborhoods, entertainment spaces, restaurants, pool decks, cabins, and the little details that don't always show up in a brochure.
I want to experience destinations beyond a list of excursions. I want to understand what it's like getting around, what catches your attention, and what might matter to someone visiting for the first time.
Because when a client asks me a question, I want my answer to come from more than a website.
The more I see, the more I learn. And the more I learn, the better I can help you decide what's right for your vacation.
Every ship, resort and destination teaches me something.
Sometimes it's something big — like understanding the personality of a ship and who I think would enjoy it. Sometimes it's something small — where things are located, how a space feels, or something a first-time traveler might never think to ask.
That's one of the parts of this business I enjoy most. I get to travel, learn the product for myself, and then bring that knowledge back to my clients.
Ships. Resorts. Destinations. Real experiences.
I'm not trying to tell you what I like. I'm trying to help figure out what you'll like.
My job isn't to push every traveler toward the same cruise line, ship, resort or destination. It's to listen to what matters to you, understand the kind of experience you're looking for, and use what I've learned to help narrow down the choices.
And when I don't know something, I want to find out. I'd rather dig into the details and understand the answer than simply hand you a phone number and tell you to call the cruise line yourself.
I Keep Learning Because Travel Keeps Changing.
Experiencing travel for myself is important. So is taking the time to learn the products, cruise lines and resorts I'm recommending to the people who trust me with their vacations.
The more I know, the better questions I can ask.
Travel isn't one-size-fits-all. Cruise lines have different personalities. Ships have different layouts and experiences. Resorts serve different types of travelers. Destinations, policies, promotions and products continue to change.
That's why I continue to complete supplier training and education across the travel industry. I want to understand the products I'm working with so I can do more than simply show you what's available.
The goal isn't to collect certificates. The goal is to keep learning so I can help you make a more informed decision about where your money and vacation time are going.
Training Across the Travel Industry.
A selection of the supplier training and specialist programs I've completed.
A certificate doesn't plan your vacation. The knowledge behind it helps me plan yours better.
Relationships Matter Behind the Scenes.
Part of being a travel advisor is knowing where to turn when a question, special request or unusual situation needs more than a quick online search.
Over time, I've built relationships within the travel industry and with the companies I work with. Those connections give me additional resources when I need product information, clarification or help working through something for a client.
It doesn't mean every problem has a magic solution. It means I'm willing to use the resources available to me, ask questions and keep working to understand what options we have.
You don't need to become the travel expert. That's part of what you're hiring me for.
You have your own job, family, schedule and responsibilities. You shouldn't have to spend hours learning every cruise line, comparing every ship, digging through policies or trying to figure out who to contact when you have a question.
My job is to keep learning, keep building relationships, and use that knowledge to help take some of that pressure off your shoulders.
You're Not Just Getting a Booking.
You're getting someone you can talk to, ask questions, and lean on when the details start becoming more than you want to deal with yourself.
I want to understand what you're actually looking for.
Sometimes you know exactly where you want to go. Sometimes all you know is that you need a vacation. Either way, I don't expect you to walk into the conversation already knowing every cruise line, ship, cabin category, resort or destination.
That's where I come in.
I'd rather have a real conversation, understand what's important to you, and then help narrow down the choices. If I recommend something, I want you to understand why I'm recommending it and how it fits what you told me.
You can actually talk to me.
Travel can get complicated quickly. Sometimes a five-minute conversation can accomplish more than twenty emails back and forth. I want my clients to feel comfortable picking up the phone when they have a question or when something just doesn't make sense.
I look beyond the price.
Price matters, but so does what you're actually getting. Cabin location, ship layout, travel days, hotels, transportation, timing and all the little pieces around the vacation can make a difference. My logistics background makes me naturally look at how those pieces fit together.
I try to work the problem.
If something comes up, my first instinct isn't to hand you a phone number and tell you to figure it out with the cruise line. I want to understand what's happening, look at the information available to me, and use the resources and relationships I have to see how I can help.
The relationship doesn't end at the deposit.
Questions don't stop once the reservation is made. There are payments, flights, hotels, excursions, documents, check-in and all the things that happen between booking the vacation and actually leaving home. I'm still your travel advisor through those parts too.
I take care of my people.
On one of my Virgin Voyages group cruises, I found myself thinking less like the travel advisor who booked the trip and more like the person making sure everybody was good.
I wanted the cabins close enough that the group felt connected. I wanted everyone to be able to go out, explore and enjoy themselves. And in the back of my mind, I was still paying attention to whether everybody was accounted for and made it back safely.
I liked that they trusted me enough to relax and enjoy their vacation.
That's the kind of relationship I want with the people who trust me with their travel.
Sometimes you just need somebody to take something off your plate.
You might be perfectly capable of planning the trip yourself. You may simply not have the time, energy or desire to deal with all of it.
That's okay. Give me the part you don't want to carry.
Think of Me as Your Travel Person.
You don't have to know exactly where you want to go or have every detail figured out.
Bring me the idea, the questions, or the trip that's been sitting in the back of your mind. We'll talk through it and figure out what makes sense for you.
Whether it's your first cruise, a group trip, Alaska, an adults-only getaway, or something completely different, my job is to help make the planning feel easier.
Start with the form. We'll take it from there.