Titanic memorial cruise on MS Balmoral sets sail
Baku, April 9 (AZERTAC). 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 - not including crew - as the Titanic did, cast off from Southampton, where the doomed vessel left on its maiden voyage. The 12-night cruise will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the White Star liner.
Graham Free was dressed as an Edwardian gentleman and described his excitement for the cruise as he waited to board. "I have been a fan of the Titanic since I was nine years old and this cruise is the closest you are going to get to it," said the 37 year old. Fellow cruiser Carmel Bradburn, 55, who lives in Australia, described herself as "fanatical" about the Titanic and struck back at accusations that retracing the doomed voyage is in poor taste.
With 1,309 passengers aboard, the MS Balmoral will follow the same route as the Titanic - though the Balmoral had to leave two days earlier than the Titanic did because it is a small and slower vessel. The Balmoral is operated by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, whose parent company, Harland and Wolff, built the Titanic in Belfast. It has been chartered for the event by Miles Morgan Travel, which specializes in tailor-made holidays. The organizers are trying to recreate the onboard experience - minus the disaster - including the food and a live band playing music from that era, in a tribute to Titanic`s musicians who reportedly played their instruments until the ship sank.
People from 28 countries have booked passage, organizers said, including relatives of some of the more than 1,500 people who died when the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912, in international waters in the North Atlantic. Other passengers include relatives of the around 700 survivors, along with authors and historians. The tickets varied in cost from 2,799 pounds ($4,445) to 5,995 pounds ($9,520). Cruise organizers have set up a special memorial service on April 14 to start at 11:40 p.m. to mark the moment Titanic hit the iceberg, and later at the exact moment when the ship sank.
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