泰坦尼克号沉没百年 纪念之旅启程

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.

在泰坦尼克号沉没100年后，“巴尔莫勒尔”号上周日从英国出发，重温泰坦尼克号当年的悲剧航程。当时1500名遇难者中一些人的后辈也搭乘了这艘游轮。

一些乘客穿上了当时的服装，有些女乘客戴上了皮毛帽子，有些男乘客身穿西装，头戴圆顶礼帽，在英国南部海岸的南安普敦登上了这艘MS巴尔莫勒尔号游轮。

游轮启航时，乘客们站在甲板上挥手。100年前，泰坦尼克号也是在南安普顿开始了它的处女航，驶向纽约。

人们曾认为泰坦尼克号“永不沉没”，但1912年4月15日，这艘游轮在纽芬兰附近冰冷的大西洋海域撞到冰山上沉没。

大约700人获救，但救生艇太少导致大批乘客遇难。

这起全球最著名的海难一直使人们非常着迷，因此当英国一家旅游公司组织了这次纪念之旅后，来自28个国家的乘客购买了船票，票价高达每张八千英镑。

“巴尔莫勒尔”号将完全仿照泰坦尼克号，途经法国瑟堡和爱尔兰科夫，之后到达泰坦尼克号的沉没地点。4月15日抵达遇难地点后，人们将在船上举办一场追悼会，纪念海难百年。

乘客简-艾伦的伯祖父在泰坦尼克号上遇难，当时他正度蜜月，简的伯祖母幸存了下来。简说，她不觉得这次纪念之旅“令人毛骨悚然或者非常可怕”。

她告诉记者：“我去过全球很多地方的一战和二战公墓，我觉得纪念这些十分重要。泰坦尼克号上的乘客去世时情况各异，但那晚发生的情景仍然令人难以置信。”

组织者称，有1309名乘客花钱预订了纪念之旅的船票。

尽管“巴尔莫勒尔”号是一艘现代游轮，但这次共含12个夜晚的纪念之旅会试图重现当时的场景，菜肴和音乐都与当时的时代吻合，专家还会发表关于泰坦尼克号的演讲。

在豪华游轮泰坦尼克号沉没百年之际，1997年的热映电影《泰坦尼克号》还推出了3D版本。这部电影由詹姆斯-卡梅隆执导。