In 1912, a trip on board the Titanic was the ultimate in luxury travel
More than a century later, it still is
Deep-pocketed tourists will once again get the chance to glide along the Titanic's deck when London-based travel company Blue Marble Private begins dives to the wreck site in May 2018.
Interest in the 20th century's most famous maritime disaster has remained high since Robert Ballard and his team discovered the remains of RMS Titanic almost 32 years ago.
However, this could well be one of the last opportunities to visit.
A 2016 study claimed that a recently discovered "extremophile bacteria" could eat away what's left of the famous shipwreck inside 15 or 20 years.
$105,129 per person
Blue Marble Private's eight-day journey sets off from Newfoundland, Canada, and will transport visitors in a titanium-and-carbon-fiber submersible to the mighty vessel's final resting place, more than two miles below the surface of the Atlantic.The trips are in collaboration with OceanGate Expeditions. OceanGate Inc created the purpose-built submersible which will carry the crew and guests.
The first voyage is already fully booked, despite the experience costing $105,129 per person.
Blue
Marble Private declares in its press release that this is the
equivalent (after inflation) to a first class passage $4,350 on RMS
Titanic's inaugural -- and only -- voyage from Southampton, England, to
New York.
Which makes for a nice irony, but is almost twice as much as the $59,000 Deep Ocean Expeditions charged when it last brought tourists to the site in 2012.
Mission Specialists
A
fancy title: Clients are known as Mission Specialists and will learn to
assist the expedition team in the submersible and aboard the expedition
yacht.
Three potential days of diving, with dives lasting three hours.
The opportunity to spot weird and wonderful bioluminescent critters during the 90-minute descent.
Three hours exploring the
remains of the 269-meter-long ship, taking in the deck, the bow, the
bridge and the cavern where the grand staircase was once located.
There'll
also be the opportunity to "explore Titanic's massive debris field,
home to numerous artifacts strewn across the ocean floor, nearly
undisturbed for over a century," says Blue Marble Private founder
Elizabeth Ellis.
"During
the dive, your crew may conduct 3D and 2D sonar scans or search for one
of the ship's giant boilers, enormous propellers, and other landmarks of
this famous vessel."
Ellis says further missions are already planned for summer 2019.
Los Angeles-based luxury concierge firm Bluefish is also taking reservations for Titanic expeditions for 2018-19, but has yet to confirm itinerary and price.
That's all very well for deep-sea divers, but what if you're a hardcore Titanic enthusiast who's afraid of seawater?
Not a problem.
China is currently building a life-size replica of the doomed ship in landlocked Sichuan province, more than 1,200 kilometers from the sea.
The
multi-million dollar project will include reproductions of the original
Titanic's features, including a ballroom, theater and swimming pool,
and will be permanently docked in a reservoir in the Qijiang River.
More ambitious plans by an
Australian tycoon, Clive Palmer, for a full-size, seaworthy replica have
reportedly been delayed. It was originally scheduled for launch in
2016, but this was moved to 2018.
For shipwreck fans with a more modest budget, there's also Northern Ireland's Titanic Museum.
The vessel was built at Belfast's shipyards before hitting the water for the first time on its journey down to Southampton.
The Titanic Museum has welcomed nearly 3.5 million visitors since opening in 2012, and was named the World's Leading Tourist Attraction at the World Travel Awards in 2016.
source-CNN
