Titanic sets sail again after 100 years Cruise ship aims to recreate onboard experience — minus the disaster — of the ill-fated liner

Titanic sets sail again after 100 years

Cruise ship aims to recreate onboard experience — minus the disaster — of the ill-fated liner

London: A cruise carrying relatives of some of the more than 1,500 people who died aboard the Titanic nearly 100 years ago set sail from England on Sunday to retrace the ship’s voyage, including a visit to the location where it sank. The Titanic Memorial Cruise, carrying the same number of passengers as the Titanic did, departed from Southampton, England, from where the doomed vessel left on its maiden voyage. As passengers gathered to board, many self-professed “titanoraks” wore period costumes as first-class passengers, crew members and stewards. “I have been a fan of the Titanic since I was nine and this cruise is the closest you are going to get to it,” said 37-year-old Graham Free. Fellow cruiser Carmel Bradburn, 55, from Australia described herself as “fanatical” about the Titanic and hit back at accusations that retracing the doomed voyage is in poor taste. “I don’t think the cruise is morbid. Remembering those who died is not morbid,” she said. With 1,309 passengers aboard, the MS Balmoral will follow the same route as the Titanic. The organisers are trying to recreate the onboard experience — minus the disaster — from the food to a live band playing music from that era, in tribute to Titanic’s musicians who reportedly played their instruments until the ship sank. People from 28 countries have booked passage, including relatives of the people who died when the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912. The cost of tickets for the 12-night cruise varied from $4,445 (Rs2,90,000) to $9,520 (Rs4,90,000). Passengers will dine on meals based around dishes served in April 1912, with a formal dinner on April 13. There will be a special memorial service at 11.40pm on April 14 to mark the moment Titanic hit the iceberg, and later at the exact moment when the ship sank.