Rich People Reenact the Titanic's Voyage, Ideally Without the Sinking
Who hasn't, at one point or another, wished that he or she could travel aboard the Titanic? I mean, the whole affair ended nastily with some 1,500 people killed, but what luxury before that. Now a lucky group of people, some of whom are descendants of Titanic passengers, have embarked on a cruise that will retrace the path of the doomed ocean liner.
Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but this whole idea feels a lot like tempting the fates. I'm sure passengers on the MS Balmoral feel completely secure. But then, so did the passengers on the Titanic. And while there will be a memorial service on board to commemorate lives lost when the Titanic sank, the organizers are making bank off of the tragedy: tickets for the cruise cost as much as 8,000 pounds ($13,000).
Some passengers (like the ones pictures) even opted for period costumes, fully committing to the theme of the cruise. They will have access to modern amenities, of course, but the Balmoral is going for an authentic "Titanic feel."
While the Balmoral is a modern ship, the 12-night memorial cruise will try to recreate the atmosphere of the time with dishes and music from the era, while experts will give lectures about the Titanic.
For Titanic nerds, this does sound like a remarkable experience. For anyone remotely superstitious, it just sounds terrifying. The Balmoral reaches its destination, the site of the sinking, on April 15 — yes, that's the 100th anniversary of the tragedy. It's likely this will all pass without incident, but worst case scenario, we can look forward to the motion picture adaptation in 80 years.
Not to mention the 3D conversion 15 years after that.
[Image via AP]