Sadly we said good-bye to the beauty of CoCo Cay and boarded the tender to head back to the Monarch of the Seas.
It had been a fabulous day!
Snorkeling was incredible, the weather was perfect, the scenery was beyond description....we could not have asked for a better day.
But...the day wasn't over yet! It was formal night on the ship and I was so looking forward to getting all dressed up for dinner. We had really enjoyed our first dinner on the ship and meeting our tablemates, and we were looking forward to another enjoyable meal and good company.
The tender ride was very nice..the breeze felt good on our slightly sunburned skin! Here are a few pictures as we head back to the ship.
Once we got through security check, we headed to our stateroom to get freshened up and to drop off our backpack. It was only 5:00 and we had a late dinner seating at 8:30 so we had some time to kill before getting ready for dinner. While in our room, we decided that Green Cat was really a third wheel. This is where he stayed for the rest of the trip!
After ditching our gear and changing out of our swimsuits, we headed up to the pool deck to try to find a snack. There was a soft serve ice cream machine calling my name!
Jeff and I got our ice cream and made our way out to the deck to find a couple of chairs and a good view. It was nice to just sit, relax, and enjoy the sun and water!
Jeff's vacation feet this time!
Jeff's shirt says No Stress Express....our theme for the week!
The sun on the water was breathtaking.
After enjoying our ice cream and the view, we took a walk around the ship. We walked every day and we constantly found places we hadn't seen before! Our favorite place to walk was the promenade deck, deck 7. We walked that deck at least once each day.
Since it was formal night and we wanted to get all dressed up for the evening, we finally made our way to the room to get showered and ready for dinner. Our stateroom was on Deck 3 and there were two ways to get there from the deck 3 main area where the elevators and stairs were. I took to using what I called my secret passageway most of the time, but Jeff often took the main hallway. It became a game to see who would get to the room first, with both of us taking off at a run from the stairs. We're such kids!
Once I beat Jeff to the room as usual, we took turns showering. When I say the bathroom was tiny, I mean it! You could literally sit on the toilet and reach the sink to brush your teeth, or be in the shower and reach things you forgot on the counter!
Although we had used sunscreen liberally while on CoCo Cay, I don't think either one of us realized how strong the sun was or how sunburned we had become! The worst was the backs of our legs....while snorkeling that is the part of your body getting the most sun and we just didn't sunscreen enough! So.....we were a little
pink and a little sore, but it was well worth it!
Once we were all dressed, we wanted to head to dinner a little early to get our pictures taken. I knew we wouldn't purchase a lot of the pictures they take onboard (and they take a
TON!), but I wanted to get the formal pictures done. It's not often that Jeff and I get a nice picture of the two of us and I knew that if they suckered me into buying any of the pictures, it would be these ones. And.....I was right! I only purchased one, but here it is!
Can you see how pink and sunburned we are??
Once again, I apologize, but I can't remember exactly what we ate for dinner. I know that we tried a variety of fruit soups, and I think it was a pear soup this evening. Jeff loved that! I'm pretty sure I had a steak and Jeff had fish of some sort. I know that we had several different desserts, one being a delicious coconut cake. Our
Travel Agent had noted that we were celebrating Jeff's birthday (even though his birthday was May 10, the day after we got home) so his cake came out with a birthday candle! We were also celebrating our table friends' 25th anniversary so there was a lot of celebrating at our table!
While at dinner we all talked about what was on the agenda for the evening. Every night, our friend J ( one of the sisters from Atlanta and a seasoned cruiser) would pull the Cruise Compass (schedule of events for the day) out of her bra!
LOL! It was just too funny! Here we sit at a beautiful table, all dressed up and trying to act like we have some class and J pulls stuff out of her bra!
We got a kick out of her! We all decided that we would head to the Bolero bar after dinner to watch the Battle of the Sexes game then we would go to the main theater to see the production show for the evening. Having gone to bed early the night before, Jeff and I were excited to check out the ship's nightlife!
We also discussed our plans for our Nassau day the following day. Since J and K and Jeff and I were both planning to go to the zoo and botanical gardens we decided to meet up before we disembarked and we would share a cab. One of my favorite things about cruising was the people we met.
Our dinner began at 8:30 each night, so it was close to 10 before we finished. We headed straight to the Bolero and found the place PACKED!
We ended up sitting at the bar and enjoying a drink while watching the Battle of the Sexes game. The game was funny...your typical guys vs girls stuff. The cruise director's staff was energetic and really made the game fun for spectators as well as those participating.
After the girls proved their superiority, Jeff and I began to make our way to the Sound of Music Theater to see the production show of the evening. It was called Signed Sealed Delivered and was a musical medley of Jazz, Blues and Rock. I love music and dancing, so I really enjoyed the show. I thought the singers and dancers were talented and it was well done.
By the time the show ended, it was nearly midnight and time to turn in. After one last stroll around the promenade deck, it was off to our stateroom. This is what greeted us when we walked in...
It was going to be a fairly early morning as we were planning to meet J and K at 9:00 to head into Nassau. Jeff and I had a full day of touring planned and I was so looking forward to exploring a new place.
Up next.....welcome to Nassau!
yes I'm a little scardy girl.
LOL! 
Connie
But, lucky for me, he was happy right where he was! 
Security is very tight and any time you get back on the ship, bags are x-rayed and you go through a metal detector just like at the airport. They were confiscating any shells that anyone may have had that were NOT purchased in a shop. Interesting! No piece of the Bahamas for you, mon! 
Those pictures around CoCo Cay are just beautiful!!
