In 2012, a limited number of lucky tourists will have the chance to embark on a cruise replicating the famous voyage of the Titanic, sans iceberg.
Travel agency Miles Morgan Travel has chartered a Fred Olsen Cruise Lines ship to offer a cruise marking the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Tickets for the 12-night Titanic-themed cruise on board the ship Balmoral on April 8 are currently on sale, priced from £1,999 to £7,995, including return flights.
It will take the same route the Titanic took out of Southampton to New York in 1912 and will carry 1,309 passengers – the same number as the real Titanic. It’s believed to be the only cruise marking the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking.
“We have no idea how quickly it will sell but we think the people interested in going will be a combination of relatives, Titanic aficionados, and cruisers who want to do something different,” said Miles Morgan, owner of the agency, adding that he anticipates that half the bookings will come from the US.
The cruise will leave Southampton on April 8, 2012, and sail close to Cherbourg before docking at Cobh – formerly Queenstown – in Ireland, where the Titanic made its final port of call on April 11, 1912.
A once-in-a-lifetime chance to recreate the fateful cruise. Albeit an expensive one
It will continue on to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where passengers can visit the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, where 121 Titanic victims are buried, and the Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery and Hirsch Jewish Cemetery, which also have graves of those lost during the journey. The voyage ultimately ends in New York.
The cruise will include a memorial service on Sunday April 15, at the actual spot where the ship sank, to commemorate the 100th anniversary and pay tribute to the passengers and crew on board the ship that night.
There will also be talks, demonstrations and lectures on board plus the ship’s menu and all entertainment, music and dancing will be in keeping with the era and the original voyage.
The cruise will initially be advertised through Titanic web forums and related websites. Enquiries can be made through the company’s Titanic Memorial cruise website.
In the meantime, fans of the former White Star Line flagship might want to visit the world’s largest Titanic museum in…Branson, Missouri. Oh yes.
Set inside a half-scale mock-up and about 600 miles from the nearest sizable sea, this misplaced-but-remarkable museum offers visitors the chance to see the different cabin classes painstakingly recreated in every detail, walk the grand staircase, see the 18-foot Titanic model used in the James Cameron movie, explore galleries and exhibitions with rare historical artifacts and even try to send an SOS signal from the ship’s wireless room.
Check out the website for more details.
Scott Snowden
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