I was taking a blogging break until Tuesday when, one week out of our next trip, I planned to preview India.  Although we didn’t realize this when we scheduled, Boris and I were set to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with an ocean cruise.  With a departure from Singapore, we were not too worried about icebergs.  It appears we should have been worried about fires.

In January the Costa Concordia ran aground killing 32 people.  Boris, Rocky, and I used to sail on Costa ships until they were sold to Carnival and the quality just went downhill.  It is a different way to cruise than most Americans are used to with its primarily European clientele.  There are lots of languages spoken on board.  We took our China/Japan trip on a Costa ship, but that is several more blog posts in and of itself.  A month after the Concordia disaster, Costa Allegra went adrift in the Indian ocean for three days in an area frequented by pirates.

Boris, Rocky, and I all cruised aboard the Concordia in the Mediterranean  during  Thanksgiving week one year.  Now I have picked another winner.  On April 12, we are scheduled to depart Singapore on the Azamara Quest for ports in Thailand and India.

Two days ago, there was a fire in the engine room on the Quest.  After being stranded 24 hours, power was restored and it limped into Malaysia today traveling about 6 miles an hour.  Essential function had been restored, but there was no air conditioning on board.  I have been watching the temperatures in our port cities; they range from the low to upper 90s.

I had been a little nervous traveling to India, but thought we would limit our health risks by staying on board the cruise ship.  Maybe I need to rethink that theory.  Ah, the best laid plans…

We are to receive an update tomorrow.  I’ll keep you all posted.  If not India, you may be reading blog posts about how to put together an international vacation at the last minute…