In just a few days’ time ceremonies will be held to mark the anniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic’s 99 years ago; an exhibition of artefacts recovered from the wreck is in its final month at London’s O2 Centre, and even the Cannon Hall museum in Barnsley – a long way from the sea – gets in on the act next Friday with a one-off show of the sort of clothes passengers might have worn on board.
On May 31, the 100th anniversary of the doomed vessel’s launch at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in nearby Cultra will re-open its Titanic collection with a host of items never seen before by the public.
But all this is only a prelude to the centenary of the sinking. Belfast is planning a £100 million interactive visitor centre at the head of the slipway on which the ship was built, and there’s a growing number of commemorative cruises taking place.
Miles Morgan Travel has already sold out its charter of the Fred Olsen ship Balmoral, which will leave Southampton on April 8, 2011 and be over the wreck site in the Atlantic for a memorial service in the early hours of April 15. The 1,309 passengers will follow Titanic’s route to visit Queenstown (now Cobh) in southern Ireland, and will call at Halifax, Nova Scotia where many of the victims are buried, before reaching New York.
During the voyage they will be served food from Titanic’s menus and will listen to talks from maritime historians, former QE2 captain Ron Warwick, and Philip Littlejohn, grandson of survivor Alexander James Littlejohn.
There will be 350 American passengers on board, and there is 50-strong waitlist of people who have been unable to book.
They will be delighted to learn that Miles Morgan has now chartered the 694-passenger Azamara Journey for an eight-night round-trip cruise from New York, joining Balmoral at the site on April 15. Fares will be from $4,725 (£2,911) to $14,850 (£10,015).
Saga Pearl II will also be undertaking a 10-night Titanic memorial cruise, visiting a number of British venues associated with the ship, although not venturing across the Atlantic. The voyage departs Southampton on April 12, 2011 and visits Liverpool, Belfast, Cobh, Falmouth, Cherbourg and St Peter Port, Guernsey. Fares from £1,388.
About the Author: John Honeywell
John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.
Titanic history is fascinating, and these sound like a fantastic opportunities to relive a piece of history that continues to captivate people’s minds. I didn’t know much about Titanic history until recently when I read a book called The Band That Played On, about the 8 brave musicians who gave their lives by playing music to keep people calm while the ship was sinking. Here’s a link to the Amazon page, if you’re interested: http://dld.bz/SM8u. I’d be fascinated to know if any of these ships plan on having musicians on this anniversary cruise to commemorate these brave men?
Titanic history is fascinating, and these sound like a fantastic opportunities to relive a piece of history that continues to captivate people’s minds. I didn’t know much about Titanic history until recently when I read a book called The Band That Played On, about the 8 brave musicians who gave their lives by playing music to keep people calm while the ship was sinking. Here’s a link to the Amazon page, if you’re interested: http://dld.bz/SM8u. I’d be fascinated to know if any of these ships plan on having musicians on this anniversary cruise to commemorate these brave men?