It started on a ship,
somewhere between Mumbai and Cape Town.
Twenty-four nights at sea gave me a front-row seat to how this job should never be done — and a clear picture of how I would do it.
In late 2019 I boarded Azamara Quest for a 24-night sailing from Mumbai to Cape Town. Somewhere on that crossing I watched a travel advisor work a ship the wrong way — talking down her own colleagues, chasing bookings instead of building trust. I remember thinking: this job deserves better than that. And then a second thought, quieter but louder: I could be the better.
I came home, got licensed, and built Ship Happens by Scott on one rule — the client's joy comes first, the booking is the byproduct. Six years later that rule produces roughly 480 journeys a year. Not because I run a factory, but because once someone experiences what a specialist can do for them, they come back. And they send their friends.
My specialty is cruises — every category, every ocean, every major line. And I specialize in something most advisors don't even know exists: interline rates. If you work for an airline, FedEx, UPS, or another eligible employer, you may be sitting on cruise discounts of 20–50% that no one has ever told you about. Finding those for people? Still one of my favorite phone calls to make.
"He wasn't only there for booking — he saw me through the entire trip until I returned home."
That trip taught me something I already knew but needed to see again: my job doesn't end at the booking confirmation. It ends when you're home safely, with a story worth telling.
The work behind the work.
Where I've actually been.
I grew up on the North Shore of Oahu, and I've spent my life closing the distance between me and the rest of the map. When I recommend a journey, there's a good chance I've made it myself.
- 35+ personal sailings
- Antarctica
- The Serengeti
- Hang Son Doong, Vietnam
- Petra & Wadi Rum
- The Taj Mahal
- Angkor Wat
- Jellyfish Lake, Palau
- Sydney Harbour Bridge climb
- Hot-air balloon over Luxor
- The Mekong River — twice, on two different vessels
- Machu Picchu & the Nazca Lines
- A month-long homestay in Japan (yes, I speak Japanese)
I believe travel is one of the few things money can buy that genuinely makes you richer.
Not the kind of rich that shows up in a bank account. The kind that shows up in a conversation ten years from now when someone asks where you've been.