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Artist Ken Marscahll speaking about his work with James Cameron including exploring the wreck of the Titanic.
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The Titanic 100th Anniversary Cruise was not merely a trip to the Titanic wreck site but rather a cruise that revolved around the great liner. Walking through the public areas, you would encounter six foot high banners each focusing on an individual who had been on Titanic. Along with a photo of the person, there was his or her story written in the first person. In your stateroom, reproductions of accounts of the disaster that were published in 1912 in the Daily Mirror would appear from time to time. The voices of the past were speaking to you. Each passenger received a bound journal in which they could record their experiences. Quite a few people had these signed by the people that they met on the cruise. The evening before the first formal night, male guests received a set of cufflinks and female guests received a compact marked with the logo of the cruise. For those who wanted even more Titanic cruise souvenirs, there were Titanic cruise ball caps, Teddy bears, lapel pins, coins and commemorative books on sale in the ship's gift shop. Above: At the end of the cruise, the Voices of Titanic banners were auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity. Some fetched several hundred dollars.
Each day except the port day featured a series of enrichment lectures about the Titanic given in the ship's Cabaret Lounge. While not every passenger attended every lecture, most seats were occupied at each talk.
The lead-off speaker was maritime historian Bill Miller, an author who has more than 80 books to his credit on ocean liners. (See our profile of Mr. Miller). When he was contacted by Miles Morgan Travel about lecturing on this cruise, Miller told them that "I am not a Titanic expert nor could I be a Titanic expert but I could give an overview of liners and a little bit about Titanic." Thus, Miller's role was to place the Titanic disaster in context. A surprising number of people on the cruise had accumulated a great amount of knowledge about Titanic but knew very little about ocean liners in general. This is analogous to trying to understand the significance of Babe Ruth without knowing about baseball. As a result, Miller's lectures, done with his typical flare, were very well-received. Maritime historian John Langley was called in to provide information on two other parts of the Titanic story that are not well-known. "Since the 1950s and Walter Lord's book 'A Night To Remember,' the Titanic world has focused on the sinking of the ship. I have always felt that the peripheral parts of the story just were ignored. Being from Halifax, I always felt that the Halifax role was underplayed and very seldom talked about. So I wanted to tell that story. Second, as a Cunard Line and Samuel Cunard historian, I wanted to tell the story of [the Carpathia], which is equally understated and under-told as the Halifax story. You can't tell the Titanic story without telling the story of Halifax or the Carpathia rescue. I just wanted to use this opportunity to expand people's horizons." |
Above: Author and maritime historian Bill Miller.
The enrichment series also included talks by people who are experts in various aspects of the sinking. For example, Gunter Babler and Brigette Saar gave a lecture about the iceberg that collided with Titanic. Joan Randall spoke about her mother and grandmother who were passengers on Titanic.
There were also lectures about Titanic today. Ms. Saar discussed her experiences diving to the Titanic wreck site. Artist Ken Marschsall spoke about working with James Cameron on his film "Titanic" and showed photographs from the underwater exploration of Titanic's interior which he worked on with Cameron. In addition to the speakers which Miles Morgan Travel had arranged to have onboard, there were quite a few experts on various Titanic topics who had come aboard in order to be at the Titanic site on the anniversary of the sinking. Some of them also gave lectures. Supplementing the live lectures was a dedicated Titanic channel on the in-cabin television. This channel showed numerous documentaries about the Titanic interspersed with movies that featured the Titanic including "A Night To Remember", "Raise The Titanic", and, of course, the aforementioned Cameron film. You could also watch video re-plays of the lectures given onboard. Of course, not every minute of the cruise was devoted to Titanic. Azamara Journey is a comfortable, up-market cruise ship and the passengers took advantage of what the ship has to offer. Thus, a cadre of guests regularly appeared for the trivia contests and other events hosted by the ship's activities staff. On the days when weather permitted, there were guests relaxing by the outdoor pool, albeit wrapped in steamer blankets. People had treatments in the spa and used the fitness equipment. In the evenings, there were shows by the ship's singers and dancers and by guest performers. Above: Brigette Saar discussing icebergs.
Left: Donald J. Soulsby speaking about communications between Titanic and Newfoundland. Below: There was also time to relax during the cruise. |
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Cruise ship article - - Titanic - - Titanic 100th Anniversary Cruise - Part III - Lectures and Activities