~ DAY FOUR ~
Today is our final day aboard Monarch of the Seas and we are scheduled to be at sea for the entire day. Knowing this the night prior, we plan to sleep in and attend brunch. There are many activities planned on board the ship today to keep the guests amused, but for the most part, we plan to just relax and soak up the sun while laying out on a deck chair.
It is so peaceful laying out in the sun with nothing but ocean surrounding you. I find my own piece of serenity just by gazing out at the crisp, calm waters. The ocean sparkles as the sun reflects off of it. If only I could do this every day of the week. The trance I am in is soon disturbed as the pool deck entertainment kicks off. First up is a male belly-flop competition which a handful of men have signed themselves up for. I adjust my deck chair up one notch so I am able to peer over the edge to watch the battle. There really are some pathetic excuses for bellies that have entered to score their ten seconds of ship fame. One guy in particular, I feel sorry for. I have the greatest urge to walk up to him and feed him a cookie, or a burger, better yet, both, but I resist. His competition are several other guys who seem to have enjoyed the ships 24/7 buffet. Poor dude doesn’t stand a chance.
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Our cruise friend, Mike, enters himself into a Dodge-ball competition. His team has made the finals so we go to cheer him on. Mike is so caught up in winning the game that he doesn’t realise that his sandal has somehow slid over his foot and is now firmly wrapped around his ankle; almost like a shin guard. It is not until after they are 
declared the winners that he notices his sandal is not under his foot. He tries to pull the sandal down but fails miserably. He sits on the pool ledge while his dad tries with all his strength to remove the sandal. Strike two. Mike puts his leg into the pool with hopes that the water will help the sandal slide off. Strike three. At this point, Mike has gathered quite the crowd. A man walks up with his SLR camera and begins taking photos of Mike’s ankle while his daughter watches on in a fit of laughter. I try not to laugh but I can’t help it. We are left with only one more option. Off to the ship doctor we go! Now, I know this isn’t something common, but even the doctor had a hard time taking the situation seriously. The doctor looks down at Mike’s foot and bursts out laughing. He shakes his head and tells us this is the most ridiculous thing he’s ever seen. He disappears for a few seconds then comes back with a packet of KY jelly which he smothers all over Mike’s ankle. The doctor takes a turn trying to pull the sandal off, only when he tries, the chair Mike is sitting on just starts dragging across the floor. Fail.
Mike is faced with no choice; it’s either the leg or the sandal. The doctor knows this is a tough decision so he gives Mike a few seconds to think it through. His time is up. After some serious thought, Mike decides to sacrifice the sandal. The doctor grabs a pair of scissors and begins the pain-free process. Just like that, Mike is free. Hooray!
Tonight for dinner I am super excited to see that they have New York Strip Steak on the menu. This has become one of my favourite cuts of steak while in the USA so there was no hesitation when ordering it as my main meal. In fact, it was so amazingly delicious that I had a second. Dessert was an incredible double chocolate mousse brownie with a dollop of cream and a strawberry. My taste buds may have just had a mouth-gasm. In fact, I think they did.
Sadly tonight was our last dinner on board Monarch of the Seas. This also meant it was our last night with our amazing waitress, Ning, and our phenomenal assistant waiter, Jonathan. They had both been incredible over the last few nights when dealing with our dislike towards veggies, Jessica’s love of cups of hot water and our mad obsession with the sour doll bread rolls they served us before dinner. We made sure to give them both an extra tip on top of the recommended tip because their service really was tremendous. After dinner, we said our thanks and good byes and then had our photo taken with them both.
We head to The Sound of Music Theater for our final night of on board entertainment. Tonight’s show is called Signed, Sealed, Deliveredand is a dance and musical number performed to us by the Royal Caribbean Entertainers. The lights dim, the curtain draws and the show begins. The female lead vocalist gives an amazing rendition of Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You which brings down the house. It was absolutely incredible and she sang it perfectly, absolutely killing the big notes with what seemed to be such ease. As she sang she brought chills to my spine. What an amazing voice.
Everything ends early tonight on board the Monarch of the Seas. I feel absolutely buggered. The late nights, alcohol, sun and swimming has all caught up to me. I call it a night and head to bed at around midnight. When I wake up, we will be docked back at Port Canaveral, Florida and our cruise will have come to an end.
What an amazing four days this has been.
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The End
