Cruise to mark 100th anniversary of Titanic sinking nearly sold out

Cruise to mark 100th anniversary of Titanic sinking nearly sold out

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

A controversial cruise to mark the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking is close to selling out -- 18 months in advance of sailing.

The UK's Travel Weekly reports only a few cabins are left to sell on travel agent Miles Morgan's Titanic Memorial Cruise, which is scheduled to take place in 2012 on a chartered Fred Olsen Lines ship.

The 1,230-passenger vessel, the Balmoral, will sail from Southampton, England on April 8, 2012 (almost exactly 100 years to the day after the Titanic set sail from the port town on its doomed maiden voyage), and will follow the ship's original route westward across the Atlantic to New York.

Travel Weekly says Americans account for the largest number of bookers, followed by residents of the UK and 24 other countries. Thirty passengers have ancestors who died on the original voyage, the news outlet says.

The sailing will include a memorial service on the morning of April 15, 2012 in the exact location where the Titanic went down. The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912.

Organizers of the voyage have drawn some criticism for what some say is the commercializing of a tragic event. Organizers have touted plans to sail with 1,309 paying passengers - the same number that sailed on the Titanic -- and serve food that matched the original voyage.

Some passengers also are planning to dress up in period costumes.

Morgan isn't the only one planning a Titanic memorial cruise to mark the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking. Bill Willard, a self-described Titanic enthusiast, has teamed up with upscale line Azamara Club Cruises to offer another anniversary voyage to the exact spot where the Titanic sank.

Dubbed Voyages! Titanic 2012, the nine-day Azamara trip will take place on the 700-passenger Azamara Journey sailing out of Boston. The ship will depart the city on April 10, 2012.