Titanic memorial cruise sets sail to sinking site

Relatives, enthusiasts and historians were on Sunday preparing to set sail on a memorial cruise to the site of the sinking of the Titanic.

Just over 13-hundred passengers from 28 countries will go on the 12-night trip to New York to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the disaster. All have a different reason for wanting to go aboard.

One of those with a personal connection to the Titanic is Philip Littlejohn, grandson of the Titanic's first class steward Alexander James Littlejohn. His grandfather had survived the sinking after he was ordered to row lifeboat 13. Littlejohn said that going on the same journey that his grandfather made meant a lot to him.

"One of the things that I am particularly looking forward to is actually sailing into New York and seeing the Statue of Liberty, because I would imagine that that was something when he was on Titanic he probably thought he would never see again until he was ordered in to row a boat," he said.

Littlejohn said that his grandfather never spoke of the disaster. Other passengers include history enthusiasts Mary Beth and Tom Crocker Dearing, who dressed up in period costume for the occasion. They are recently married and are celebrating their honeymoon onboard the Balmoral.

"We wanted to honor and respect the people who were on the Titanic before us, we thought it would just be great fun to dress like they dressed," said Mary Beth Dearing.

Onboard lectures and specially recreated food will also be provided in order to give the passengers a flavor of life on an ocean-going ship in 1912. There will be special memorial services held on the 14th and the 15th April to mark the moment the Titanic hit an iceberg and when it finally sank. The Balmoral is of a similar size to the Titanic, but in case anyone is concerned, it is certainly carrying enough lifeboats for all the passengers and crew

AP