泰坦尼克號沉沒百年 紀念之旅啓程

Descendants of some of the 1,500 people killed when the Titanic sank a century ago were among the passengers on a cruise ship that set off from Britain on Sunday to retrace the route of the liner's ill-fated voyage.

Some donned period costume, including furs and feathered hats for women and suits and bowler hats for men, to board the MS Balmoral at Southampton on the southern English coast.

Passengers lined the decks and waved as the ship set sail almost 100 years after the Titanic set off on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York.

The Titanic was considered unsinkable but foundered in frigid Atlantic waters off Newfoundland on April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg.

Around 700 people were rescued but there were too few lifeboats to save the rest.

The world's most famous maritime disaster has fascinated people ever since, explaining why passengers from 28 countries were prepared to pay up to 8,000 pounds each to be a passenger on the memorial cruise organised by a British travel firm.

The Balmoral will follow in the wake of the Titanic, sailing near Cherbourg in France and then calling at Cobh in Ireland before arriving at the spot where the Titanic went down. There, on April 15, a memorial service will be held on board to mark the centenary of the disaster.

Passenger Jane Allen, whose great-uncle died on his honeymoon trip on the Titanic while her great-aunt survived, said she did not think it was "ghoulish or macabre" to go on the voyage.

"I've been to World War One and Two cemeteries in various places across the world and I think it is always important to remember. The people here in the Titanic died in very different circumstances but it was still quite unbelievable what happened that night," she told the reporters.

Organisers said 1,309 paying passengers booked on the memorial voyage.

While the Balmoral is a modern ship, the 12-night memorial cruise will try to recreate the atmosphere of the time with dishes and music from the era, while experts will give lectures about the Titanic.

A 3D version of James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster movie "Titanic" has just been released to coincide with the centenary of the sinking of the luxury liner.在泰坦尼克號沉沒100年後，“巴爾莫勒爾”號上週日從英國出發，重溫泰坦尼克號當年的悲劇航程。當時1500名遇難者中一些人的後輩也搭乘了這艘遊輪。

一些乘客穿上了當時的服裝，有些女乘客戴上了皮毛帽子，有些男乘客身穿西裝，頭戴圓頂禮帽，在英國南部海岸的南安普敦登上了這艘MS巴爾莫勒爾號遊輪。

遊輪啓航時，乘客們站在甲板上揮手。100年前，泰坦尼克號也是在南安普頓開始了它的處女航，駛向紐約。

人們曾認爲泰坦尼克號“永不沉沒”，但1912年4月15日，這艘遊輪在紐芬蘭附近冰冷的大西洋海域撞到冰山上沉沒。

大約700人獲救，但救生艇太少導致大批乘客遇難。

這起全球最著名的海難一直使人們非常着迷，因此當英國一家旅遊公司組織了這次紀念之旅後，來自28個國家的乘客購買了船票，票價高達每張八千英鎊。

“巴爾莫勒爾”號將完全仿照泰坦尼克號，途經法國瑟堡和愛爾蘭科夫，之後到達泰坦尼克號的沉沒地點。4月15日抵達遇難地點後，人們將在船上舉辦一場追悼會，紀念海難百年。

乘客簡-艾倫的伯祖父在泰坦尼克號上遇難，當時他正度蜜月，簡的伯祖母倖存了下來。簡說，她不覺得這次紀念之旅“令人毛骨悚然或者非常可怕”。

她告訴記者：“我去過全球很多地方的一戰和二戰公墓，我覺得紀念這些十分重要。泰坦尼克號上的乘客去世時情況各異，但那晚發生的情景仍然令人難以置信。”

組織者稱，有1309名乘客花錢預訂了紀念之旅的船票。

儘管“巴爾莫勒爾”號是一艘現代遊輪，但這次共含12個夜晚的紀念之旅會試圖重現當時的場景，菜餚和音樂都與當時的時代吻合，專家還會發表關於泰坦尼克號的演講。

在豪華遊輪泰坦尼克號沉沒百年之際，1997年的熱映電影《泰坦尼克號》還推出了3D版本。這部電影由詹姆斯-卡梅隆執導。