Titanic Memorial Cruise Proves Tragedy Still Fascinates 100 Years Later

Among the myriad Titanic centennial remembrances, the most elaborate perhaps are the Titanic Memorial Cruises.
Titanic Memorial Cruise Proves Tragedy Still Fascinates 100 Years Later
The Azamara, which left from New York, is one of the two Titanic Memorial Cruise ships. The second ship, the Balmoral, set sail from Southampton, England. (Courtesy of Titanic Memorial Cruise)
4/14/2012
Updated:
4/16/2012
<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/titanic-large-750.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-220561" title="titanic-large-750" src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/titanic-large-750-549x450.jpg" alt="" width="590" height="483"/></a>

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/TITANIC-FLOWERS-142633118-7501.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-220577" title="A man throws a rose into the sea where the Titanic set sail 100 years ago at Southampton dock in England, during a memorial ceremony on April 10. (Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images)" src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/TITANIC-FLOWERS-142633118-7501-638x450.jpg" alt="Man throws rose into sea from where Titanic set sail" width="590" height="416"/></a>
Man throws rose into sea from where Titanic set sail

“I could write a book on the interesting people I’ve come across [who booked a trip],” he said. When all was said and done, he had passenger bookings from at least 28 countries.

“When we started we had a couple of meetings with the [last] living survivor of the Titanic, Millvina Dean, and after the second meeting she passed away,” recalled Morgan. “You'd never have believed she was 97.” Dean, who was an infant at the time the ship sank, was in a lifeboat rowed by a grandfather of one of the lecturers on the memorial cruise.

Part of the cruise’s draw for Titanic buffs, or “Titanicophiles” as they are sometimes called, have been the opportunities to hear lectures by experts while on board, dress in period costume, and dine on the same food that Titanic passengers did.

But the high point of the memorial cruise will be when both ships converge on the spot where the Titanic sank 100 years later to hold a memorial ceremony and throw three wreaths into the water.

The memorial service will be conducted between 11:40 p.m. on April 14—when the Titanic struck the iceberg—and 2:20 a.m. on the 15th—when the ship sank below the surface of the water.

“For me, it’s about being able to stand above the wreck exactly 100 years after my great grandfather died, and to be able to throw a flower down for him,I have grown up with this knowledge that my great grandfather died in that ship. This trip will bring closure to many people and it’s going to be very, very poignant,” passenger Sharon Willing from Arizona, was quoted as saying on the Memorial Cruise website.

Morgan says that he was able to recreate the ship’s fateful voyage to a willing audience simply because it’s still a fascinating story even after a century.

“You had the richest people in the world at the time on the ship, and the people in steerage class; you had the fact that the whole ship was unsinkable; you have the conspiracy theories,” said Morgan. “It has every element of an interesting story.”

But he notes that of the passengers who booked passage on the ship, only one group is Titanic enthusiasts. A second group of passengers are descendents of people who were on the Titanic. The third group of passengers is the most surprising: fans of the film Titanic.

“A number of people who loved the film and danced to Celine Dion’s theme song for the movie at their wedding [are onboard],” said Morgan.

<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/azamara-large2-750.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-220567" title="Azamara Journey" src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/07/azamara-large2-750-616x450.jpg" alt="Azamara Journey" width="590" height="431"/></a>
Azamara Journey