The World Poker Tour (WPT) Voyage on Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady set sail from Miami, Florida on Sunday, and for a solid 36 hours, it was all about the poker action with both the $5,000 Main Event and $1,100 WPT Prime tournaments kicking off, not to mention a slew of side events and cash games.

On Tuesday, poker took a back seat for a bit as the luxurious cruise ship docked at George Town in the Cayman Islands. Whenever a cruise ship is at port, most onboard activities pause so that guests can go ashore to partake in excursions or whatever activities tickle their fancy.

While players like WPT champs Dan Sepiol and Tyler Patterson were busy at Matt Savage’s golf event, and others such as Matt Berkey and my colleague Connor Richards at Vince Van Patten’s pickleball tournament, I took the opportunity to hang out with some friends from the Midwest.

I met up with MSPT Hall of Famer Josh Reichard and his wife Ashely, as well as Minnesota’s Ben Valder and his wife Amber – who actually won their way aboard the WPT Voyage via an Andrew Neeme social media giveaway – and took a shuttle to 7-Mile Beach, which won “The Caribbean’s Best Beach” in 2015 from Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine.

Both Reichard and Valder are well-known in Midwest poker circles. The former spent several years working for the MSPT and is no stranger to the poker table having amassed more than $240,000 in tournament winnings according to the Hendon Mob. That includes a career-high $40,866 for finishing third in the 2015 Poker Night in America $1,650 Main Event.

As for Reichard, he has nearly $3.2 million in lifetime earnings including a career-best $339,646 for finishing second in last year’s WSOP Event #74: $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em. Reichard is tied for second place on the WSOP Circuit’s all-time ring list with 15, and he is also an MSPT Hall of Famer. When it comes to Midwest crushers, Reichard is near the top of most everybody’s list.

While actually only 6.3 miles long, the beach featured beautiful white sand and crystal-clear blue water. There were a lot of people taking advantage of the hot-but-not-so-stifling weather, but with plenty of beachfront property, it didn’t feel crowded.

By happenstance, while walking down the beach, I wandered by LearnWPT Team Member Adrian Naggy, who the day before helped lead a special ClubWPT training session alongside poker pro Brian Altman. He had just eaten at the seaside Coccoloba, a part Mexican street taco joint, and part beach hut. He spoke highly of the establishment, which was “mango-throwing distance from the water,” and recommended the fish tacos.

Naturally, we decided to check it out for ourselves and let me tell you Naggy wasn’t wrong. The food was fire, which was fitting given it was a part of the Seafire Resort & Spa, and the margaritas weren’t bad either.

By the time the check arrived – Reichard gave us a freeroll of him picking up the check by playing a game of Crocodile Roulette, but yours truly lost and blew a chance for the Valder’s and I to have a free meal – it was time to head back to the dock and catch the shuttle boat back to the main ship.

For Reichard, Valder, and myself, poker awaited in the form of the $1,100 WPT Prime Day 1b Turbo Flight. The WPT Voyage might not be all about poker, but there’s always poker to look forward to at the end of the day.