9 October—Civitavecchia is the port down about 90 minutes away from Rome. Since we’ve both been there and will be there again in January we skipped the bus ride and stayed in town. It is anchored by a large, still active naval fort, a Ferris wheel and a cathedral dedicated to St Francis. The last was closed. We stopped at a grocery store just to see what it looked like. There were three other ships in town and it appeared that a larger number elected to pass on the bus r

6 October—Sea Day, our first on Virgin Voyages. The usual sea day activities, gym, lunch and some sunbathing, and a meal and snack or two or three. Dinner tonight was at the Test Kitchen. Five courses of small plates paired with small cocktails. 7 October—Catania Italy and a Viator scheduled walking food tour. All very good, with a mixed small paper bag of fried seafood, arancino (Not a misspelling in Sicily they end with an “O” for both the fired rice dish and the ricot

2 October—Sea Day we sailed the Dardanelle Straights connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Always interesting to be aboard a large ship sailing under a bridge. Smooth sees and a lazy day for us with dinner in the main dining room sharing a table with British and Australian couples. The Australian lady is a professional ballroom dancer. Her partner is learning. We managed to pack up our bags and have them outside by the midnight deadline. 3 October—Disembarkat