The plan was to visit the small town of Viterbo today and enjoy an Etruscan lunch in a restaurant there. Most people on board were planning to visit Rome and there was a generally early start in prospect. The Captain had advised us that he'd been asked to arrive in Civitavecchia rather earlier than planned and so we'd be alongside around 4.30am this morning.

I looked out as I drew the curtains open and thought it strange. We didn't appear to be in port and yet, around 4am we'd both been woken by the sound of the ship manoeuvring.

Surprising then, to find we seemed to be still underway.

The answer soon became clear as we heard the Captain making an announcement. At around 4am he had arrived at the entrance to the port as planned and with the assistance of two tugs, had made an attempt to bring the ship alongside. The sea conditions were not favourable however, and after several more attempts, he had reluctantly made the decision to cancel the port.

So we had a rather more leisurely breakfast than we'd expected, sitting inside the restaurant rather than on the outside deck. Whilst there, a new programme was drawn up for the day and rather different plans made.

It's always disappointing to miss a port, but it's one of the uncontrollable factors of a cruise. Spending the day on a lovely ship like this one is never a problem for us though, for we can always find a quiet place to sit, maybe chat with friends and enjoy one of the activities on the programme. Perhaps today, we might give the “Axe Archery” a miss though?!

We began the day in the library, before going on to listen to a presentation by one of the speakers on board about Prehistoric Art. This was of particular relevance following our visit to the temple a couple of days ago and I learned a lot.

After a spot of lunch we came back to our suite where we've been listening to the thunder rolling around outside. The weather is certainly lively here today.

The decision to cancel the port this morning was the hardest of all for the Captain, since he was due to go home on holiday today. We chatted to him at lunchtime and said how sorry we were that he wasn't with his family as planned. The hardest of all, he said with a tear in his eye, was to hear his daughter cry when he called to tell her the news this morning.

Others are in a similar position, including our housekeeper Sajith, who has been counting the days to going home to see his six year old son. Unfortunately a couple of days ago, his replacement missed his flight and alternative arrangements had to be made. We know how very much the crew look forward to going home because we often chat to them about being away from their family and love to hear about them. But it's on a day like this, when something unforeseen happens, that we really get to understand the challenge. After all, we only missed a day out and lunch.