When the RMS Titanic sank on the night of April 14, 1912 after striking an iceberg, the world was frozen in shock. Some 1500 people lost their lives on that night, while only 700 passengers could be rescued.
At the time, the Titanic was the largest ship in the world and its sinking became one of the biggest catastrophes in maritime history, with a further dark chapter resulting from the recent capsizing of the cruise ship Costa Concordia off the coast of Italy.
The legendary route of the Titanic, on a voyage from Southampton to New York City remains to this day a matter of yearning for travellers 100 years later.
And the romantic image of the trans-Atlantic passage has been nourished by the film Titanic - especially the famous scene of Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet standing at the bow of the doomed vessel with their outspread arms.
Today, many travellers photograph themselves imitating this scene.
The trans-Atlantic liner par excellence was the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 operated by the British shipping company Cunard Line. More than 2.5 million passengers travelled on the QE2 in the 41 years after its 1967 launch. The ship made 805 Atlantic crossings and 26 world voyages. In 2004 the QE2 was replaced by the RMS Queen Mary 2 as the Cunard Line's flagship.
There are three routes for a trans-Atlantic voyage. In the summer, the captain generally chooses the northern route because it is the shortest and is free of icebergs. The Titanic also chose that route - actually travelling too early in the year - in order to try to garner the Blue Ribbon award as the fastest passenger ship between Europe and New York.
The northern route goes from Southampton past the southern coast of Ireland - the Titanic, on its fateful voyage, had made a stop in Cork, Ireland - then crosses the Atlantic before following the coastline of Newfoundland, Canada and then the north-eastern US coastline.
The two other routes lie a few hundred nautical miles further south. The journey is roughly 3000 nautical miles, taking seven days and nights.
"This is boring" is a prejudicial comment widely made regarding such a prospect. But in fact, no hotel in the world can offer the variety of activities that a cruise liner provides. You can learn how to waltz, or play bridge, try your hand at watercolour painting or knitting.
There are also courses you can take, such as "iPhone and iPad for beginners" - or, if you're more in the James Bond mode, learning "The Secret of the Correctly Stirred Martini".
But most passengers simply spend their days lazing about. They might do some reading in the library, browse in the shops or drink a cappuccino in the cafes - or maybe a martini in the Commodore Club. Others may be playing darts or singing karaoke. The sea, which can be rough at times, is barely noticed. The Queen Mary 2 is specially constructed for such crossings.
The atmosphere aboard the luxury liner turns more formal in the evening. People stylishly dress up on board the Queen Mary 2, and on four of the seven evenings, "formal" attire is required. For the men this means a tuxedo or at least a dark suit, and for the women an evening gown. On such evenings, the sound is of the rustling of silk and taffeta, while the jewels glitter.
One prejudiced view does hold true: there is always something to eat on board the ship. But somehow, one is always hungry. So you start out in the morning with the "full English breakfast" of eggs, ham, baked beans and sausages, choose from the a la carte menu at noon, and then sit down to a formal candlelight dinner in the evening.
As a result, in the morning one of the first thoughts of the day is "sports" - and so the masses head for the fitness club to try to burn off at least some of the excess calories on a running or rowing machine.
On any given voyage there can be between 30 and 50 nationalities. The overwhelming portion will be Americans, followed by Britons, Germans and Australians. But the Nigerian royal family has also been among the passengers on board.
With all the activities available, time seems to fly - and before you know it, there's the Statue of Liberty at the entrance to New York harbour. The pier for the ship is the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, because the vessel is too large for the old landing pier on Manhattan Island and would obstruct the shipping traffic on the Hudson River.
The pier of the White Star Line on Manhattan's west side, where the Titanic was to have docked in 1912, still exists to this day. It was there that on April 18, 1912, the Cunard Line vessel Carpathia brought those Titanic survivors it had managed to pluck from the sea four days earlier.
The white wooden building, currently being renovated, is shown on every harbour tour. It recalls the grand days of the Atlantic crossings, as well as one of the greatest maritime catastrophes.
Source: AAP
