5 Hours With Dylan Efron (& My Mom) On A Boat In Grand Cayman

When he’s not banishing traitors from a Scottish castle or tearing it up on the Dancing With the Stars stage, Dylan Efron can most likely be found in the sun. “The more tan I am, the happier I am,” he tells me as we’re sailing on a 70-person catamaran in the Caribbean.

Now, you might be wondering how I managed to find myself on a boat with the Traitors winner. (I would be, too.) Well, I was invited to join Marriott Bonvoy members for an exclusive Grand Cayman vacation with Efron earlier this season. The trip — which was a part of Marriott’s 1-Point Drop platform that offers VIP-level experiences — included a three-night stay at The Ritz-Carlton (typically around $2,700 a night), complimentary breakfast buffets each morning, a kayaking adventure along the mangroves, and a catamaran excursion with snorkeling and a chef-made meal. Super casual.

When I spoke on the phone with Efron in November about the all-new Marriott Bonvoy Outdoors platform, he shared where he wanted to vacation next. “I just want to go somewhere tropical with a lot of sun,” he says. “Finding crystal-clear water and jumping into the ocean is the holy grail for me.”

Luckily for him (and my mom and me), that led us to the Grand Cayman. Below is a recap of everything you missed from our day at sea.

9:30 a.m.: Shuttling to our boat

I started getting ready in the morning around 8 a.m. because I wanted to get in a bite before we were scheduled to meet up with the rest of the group for our shuttle at 9:30 a.m. After enjoying our complimentary breakfast at The Ritz-Carlton’s Seven restaurant, which is lauded for its steak and seafood offerings, our group hopped on a couple of buses to where our catamaran was docked.

When we arrived, there were already members of The Ritz-Carlton culinary team working on the dishes that we would try later in the day and setting up snacks for us to enjoy while out on the water. This included plantain chips, hummus, pastries, fresh fruit, and juices that were all curated by Executive Sous Chef Sam Anderson. Despite having recently had breakfast, I wanted to dig in right away (it looked *so* good), but we had to wait for Efron to arrive before a safety drill and rundown of the day’s events first.

10:30 a.m.: Sailing to Stingray City

Once everyone was on board, we started making our way to Stingray City. On the way, we had some one-on-one time with Efron for pics and a quick chat. The last time I saw him IRL was on the beach in L.A. just before the finale of his Traitors season. As we met up on the boat, the first thing he said to me was, “Look how far we’ve come.”

It’s true — since then, Efron has won The Traitors, come in fourth place on DWTS, and walked many red carpets, and he is now about to compete on Netflix’s Squid Game: The VIP Challenge alongside other celebs like Tristan Thompson, Mel B, and Hannah Godwin.

As we were getting our photo taken, I asked Efron if he had plans to kiss any stingrays, since there’s a local myth that grants the smoocher seven years of good luck. He laughed and said, “Yes, I’m gonna need it.”

11:30 a.m.: Swimming with (and kissing!) the stingrays

In the water at Stingray City, some of the crew members introduced us to two stingrays, Margarita and Mango, as we swam around. If you wanted to, you could hold one of them or give them a lucky kiss. Efron managed to get three kisses in, aka at least 21 years of good luck.

It was a little scary at first jumping into the water with a group of stingrays swimming around, but once I realized how gentle they are, I calmed down and really had a great time snapping pics. (I even managed to get my own kiss in, just in case the myth is real.)

1 p.m.: Enjoying lobster & rum cake

After a quick stop at a second location to snorkel and see the coral reef, we were back on the boat and ready for lunch. This is when chef Anderson led everyone in a lobster demonstration, showing how he prepared and grilled the dish we would be enjoying.

Efron, being the same supportive king he was as a loyal Faithful on The Traitors, helped out with the preparation. Along the way, he shared that he goes fishing in Los Angeles and often cooks his own lobster at home. (Though, he also admitted his lobster is usually overcooked and only good in mac ‘n’ cheese.)

After watching the two cook on board, we enjoyed four delicious courses:

• Spiny lobster with sea urchin and smoke butter emulsion, samphire, and sea caviar.
• Young coconut and mango ceviche with finger lime and shiso.
• Wagyu tenderloin, pumpkin squash blossom, seasoned pepper sauce vierge (“virgin sauce” that includes olive oil, lemon juice, tomato, and chopped basil), and truffle jus.
• Traditional rum cake with mango chutney.

While I enjoyed the lobster and the ceviche had a nice kick to it, my favorite dishes were the wagyu that melted in my mouth and the buttery rum cake.

2 p.m.: Talking Traitors & what’s next with Dylan

While other guests enjoyed soaking up the sun on the top deck after eating, I found Efron by the snack table. Since our trip was right after the Traitors Season 4 finale, I *had* to ask him his thoughts on Rob Rausch’s win. After all, the two have a lot in common: They both took home the prize and are certified Internet boyfriends.

With their similarities, Efron said it was only time before they’d meet up and that he was impressed by Rausch’s gameplay since being a Traitor is “so stressful.” If Efron was ever asked back for an all-stars season after his iconic turn as a Faithful, he said he wouldn’t last very long because they’d either make him a Traitor or people would assume he was one. The next season of The Traitors is actually going to be for everyday people and not celebs, so he encouraged me to apply. (I didn’t, but I really thought about it.)

2:30 p.m.: Dinner at Saint June

We got back to the dock and boarded the hotel shuttle once again. Efron didn’t join us, because he was hopping on a flight to London later that day. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to share why he was traveling overseas, but told me he was attempting to get as much sun as possible before he headed to the United Kingdom, where it’s notoriously cloudy.

“My friends can tell my mood by how tan I am,” he says, and he definitely left Grand Cayman with a huge smile on his face and a sun-kissed complexion.

When we arrived at The Ritz-Carlton, we had some free time, so my mom and I sat by the pool with the best piña coladas I’ve ever had.

After getting ready, our group was treated to a delicious dinner at Saint June with new-to-the-menu dishes. Some of my favorite bites included the pan de queso (Colombian cheese rolls) with guava sauce, jerk barbecue chicken, and warm churros with chocolate and caramel sauce.

TL;DR: Those stingrays may actually be lucky.

As a former Florida girl, I’ve had my fair share of boat days, but my excursion with Efron might be one of the best. Marriott Bonvoy really took care of us with a fun-filled day of sun, swimming, and delicious food. I really felt like Tanya McQuoid from The White Lotus, and it was so nice catching up with Efron.

I posted some pics to my IG right after, and all my friends back home were commenting that it looked like a dream day. Out of everything we did, though, my favorite was just spending time with my mom in the Caribbean. It seems those stingrays kisses really worked, because I feel very fortunate to have gotten this opportunity.

For anyone who wants a similar vacay, you can always check out Marriott Bonvoy Outdoors to book your next sunny trip or be on the lookout for another celebrity 1-Point Drop experience. You can easily earn your first point by using Uber or ordering a coffee at Starbucks, and then you can also say you’ve vacay’d like Dylan Efron.