It Wasn't Just Another Cruise

More than 550 poker players joined Card Player Cruises for a trip to the Eastern Caribbean recently, and were rewarded with sunshine, lots of fun, and, of course, plenty of poker action. Although there were side games ranging from $1-$2 to $150-$300, the main focus of this cruise was the PartyPoker.com Million II tournament.

Slowly, the field was narrowed from the original 177 entrants to the final six, who were scheduled for "hair and makeup" prior to playing the final table in front of a packed audience in the main showroom on Holland America's MS Zaandam. Details of the PartyPoker.com Million II tournament were reported in the last issue, so I will focus on other aspects of the cruise in this column.

Registration for the tournament began before we left port. Meeting so many of the online players who were playing in their first live tournament was a treat, as there was a great deal of excitement in the air. Following a compulsory fire drill, Card Player Cruises' guests attended a welcome-aboard party, where they had the opportunity to meet each other and mingle with their fellow poker players. Mark Tenner took the stage and explained the tournament procedures, as well as the poker room rules, such as no abuse and no smoking. Partiers were treated to some incredible dancing from Mike Sexton and his sister Stephanie. Many of us were late for dinner, as we were having too much fun getting to know each other.

After dinner, the poker room opened and quickly filled up, with all 19 tables seeing action. The following morning, the PartyPoker.com Million II got off to an on-time start at 10 a.m. for half of the tournament field. We stopped play at about 4:30 p.m. so that everyone had the opportunity to get dressed for formal night and attend the captain's cocktail party. Poker players sure clean up well when they choose to do so, but I noticed that some took the option of going to the Lido for dinner instead of the dining room in order to avoid dressing up. The second day at sea, the other half of the field played the tournament, while others chose to play live action, sunbathe, or participate in the many shipboard activities. In the afternoon, a full table of novice players took part in my beginners lesson, then played in a $1-$2 hold'em game afterward.

We docked in St. Martin on the third day of the cruise. Many players took this opportunity to shop, visit the clothing-optional beaches, or try various excursions. One of the most popular excursions was the America's Cup Sailing Adventure. This was an actual competition on two of the sailboats that had participated in the America's Cup race several years ago. Picture Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, and many other poker players actually working as crew members during this race! That evening before dinner, Jan Fisher, Mike Sexton, and I presented a poker seminar for our guests.

St. Thomas was our next stop. Early in the morning, I took a group of snorkelers to Coki Beach, where we were treated to excellent visibility under water, lots of varieties of fish, and some beautiful coral reefs. Later that day, a sold-out crowd of 80 sailed on Card Player Cruises' privately chartered catamaran to Buck Island, where we swam with turtles, stingrays, and lots of beautiful fish. Bad news awaited us upon our return to the ship; there was a problem with the generator that had caused the ship to lose power. Luckily, we were in port at the time, but some of the side effects of this were no air conditioning, no elevators, and no running water for about six hours. We left port very late that evening, and due to having to travel with the engines at a reduced speed, the trip to the private island of Half Moon Cay was cancelled. Out of approximately 85 cruises I have taken, this was only the second time I experienced a cancelled port. Obviously, we were disappointed about missing this beautiful port. We scheduled a no-limit hold'em tournament for the day we were supposed to be at Half Moon Cay, and had 106 entrants.

Final-table play of the PartyPoker.com Million II tournament was very exciting. Congratulations to all who finished in the money, and to the eventual winner, Howard Lederer. You will be able to watch this tournament on the Travel Channel on June 11 (check your local TV listings for the time). In closing, I thank everyone who participated in this cruise for the great memories and the camaraderie.

Now, let's play poker!

Editor's note: Qualifying for the 2004 PartyPoker.com Million III tournament has begun. If you would like to have the opportunity to win the cruise for two plus entry into the tournament, go to PartyPoker.com, download the software, enter Bonus Code CPC1000 in the appropriate signup bonus code box, and start playing. For information about Card Player Cruises, see the website at www.cardplayercruises.com or call the office at (888) 999-4880.