We’d been to Southern France, Monaco, and the Tuscan countryside and seen everything there was to see in a whistle-stop tour of Rome. That was just in the last three days! We were feeling better by now but a bit exhausted from the previous days’ activities.

A Sea Day was needed, and a Sea Day was what we got. This promised to be no ordinary sea day, however, as we would be sailing past an active volcano! By the end of the day, we’d also be art collectors.

The day started quietly, with a nice lie-in and a wander about the ship. We found out that the vessel was at 50% occupancy, which explained why everything was so lovely and quiet, and why we could get immediate service wherever we went. I’m sure Celebrity would have rather been running 100% capacity ships, but it really did add to the feeling of exclusivity, and I wish 50% occupancy was more common!

Around 11:30, there was a shipwide announcement about the active volcano we’d be sailing past, so I grabbed my camera and headed out on deck. The weather was gorgeous, with barely a cloud in the sky.

The volcanic island was really something special to see. On closer inspection, we noticed some boats in the area and found small communities on either side of the island. What it must be like to live on a live volcanic island!

There was an ever-present plume of vapor hovering above the summit – called out more clearly due to the lack of other clouds – but as we sailed by, an actual eruption occurred! A ‘poof’ of grey smoke and ash started billowing from a vent atop the mountain. I left wondering whether the islanders had felt it.

After we’d snapped many pictures (thanks for scrolling!), we headed back inside for lunch at the San Marco restaurant. I forget if I’ve written about this before, but it was the ‘default’ restaurant on board. All of the others had some theme and usually some additional cost or requirement to enter (Blu, for example, was only available to higher classes than ours), but San Marco was ‘common dining.’ Don’t think for a moment that this means sub-par food or service – far from it. The food was great every time we visited, whether for lunch or dinner, and the service was second to none.

Lunch was a slightly hurried affair – I left my camera behind when we left – because we wanted to make it to the art auction that was taking place in the lounge area. We’d picked up a pamphlet from the art gallery on board earlier in the cruise, and were promised free champagne for the simple act of being there. We wanted that free bubbly!

The lounge area had been taken over and turned into a makeshift art gallery, with both ‘wings’ of the lounge covered in paintings. The idea was that if there was anything we liked, we could put a sticker on it and signal our intention to bid on it. We didn’t quite realize that going into it, so we assumed we’d just enjoy the champagne and not get involved, but we’d taken up a spot off to the side of the main ‘auction ring’, and were approached by one of the gallery staff to ask about our interest in the paintings.

Long story short, we ended up buying three. By coming to the auction, we also received a hundred dollars of credit, on top of the champers. I had assumed we’d need to pony up the cash there and then for any art we purchased, but that wasn’t the case. There were some financing options available, and deals to be done for multiple purchases … long story short, we agreed to buy three paintings. This, however, was not a knee-jerk decision.

On our first cruise back in 2017, we had attended an art show for Thomas Kinkade. The artist has sadly passed away; Thomas Kinkade Studios continues producing work in his style. One painting really jumped out at me, for reasons I’ve never been able to fully articulate. It was of a street in Carmel, post-rain storm. The sun is breaking through the clouds, people are out walking their dogs, and the roads are still slick with moisture. It is, to all intents and purposes, an unremarkable scene of everyday life from some decades ago. For some reason, it really spoke to me.

I was surprised and delighted to find the same picture on the Constellation five years later, and I decided that I should buy it. AJ found two paintings that she really loved – and I loved them as soon as I saw them – so we went with a package deal and bought all three.

After our successful purchases (and my successful recovery of my camera!) we retired to the room for a while, then stepped back out to wander the ship some more and enjoy a snack from Cafe al Bacio. The real treat was to come later on in the evening.
Later in the afternoon the ship sailed the Messina strait; an interesting experience as we could see land clearly on both sides of the ship, after days being used to the open ocean.

One of the specialist restaurants was called ‘Le Petit Chef’, and we’d heard it was an immersive dining experience. Not fully knowing what to expect, we headed down to the restaurant and promptly had our minds blown.

Check it out.

The table was animated, with ‘Le Petit Chef’ and his family catching and hurling food onto our plates, along with audio that played throughout the restaurant. Once the visuals were over, the actual dish was whisked onto our table. Everything was delicious, but the joy and whimsy made it much more special. Truly one of the most memorable dining experiences I’ve ever had.

After that, it was time to head upstairs and enjoy an ‘ABBA’ night in the Reflections Lounge before another day off the boat!