Category Archives: Titanic

Titanic

Monday Titanic News: Cost of Taking Titanic Today;Robert Ballard Gets A Ship Named for Him

RMS Olympic First Class Lounge (1912)
Photo: Robert John Welch (1859-1936), official photographer for Harland & Wolff
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

 “People Are Stunned by How Expensive the Cheapest Room on the Titanic Was — ‘The Economy Is so Bad I Can’t Afford a Bed on a Boat That Sank.’” YourTango, 27 Jan. 2024, www.yourtango.com/money/people-stunned-how-expensive-cheapest-room-titanic-cost.

The most luxurious accommodations, a “first-class parlour suite” complete with its own veranda, like the room Kate Winslet’s Rose DeWitt Bukater, her shrew of a mother and her snake of a fiancé had in the movie, went for 512 British pounds, 6 shillings, and 7 pence.  That’s a cool $49,680 in today’s money — the sort of spot billionaires like the Kardashians and Bezoses of our day would tuck into for the Titanic’s roughly seven-day trip from Southampton, U.K. to New York City. Knocking off the private veranda but keeping all the other finery cuts your ticket roughly in half to $24,033 for you mere millionaires out there, and if you still want first-class fare but don’t mind not having any windows you can come all the way down to $2,573. A bargain!

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Image: Public Domain (NOAA)

 “SECNAV Celebrates the Naming of USNS Robert Ballard (T-AGS 67)(Press Release).” United States Navy, www.navy.mil/Press-Office/Press-Releases/display-pressreleases/Article/3658452/secnav-celebrates-the-naming-of-usns-robert-ballard-t-ags-67.

“…tenured professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography and National Geographic Explorer at Large, Ballard is widely known as a discoverer of the final resting place of the RMS Titanic. The name selection of T-AGS 67 follows the tradition of naming survey ships after explorers, oceanographers and distinguished marine surveyors.”

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 “Titanic in Colour: Channel 4 to Air Documentary Set to Colourise the Black and White World of the RMS Titanic.” NationalWorld, 26 Jan. 2024, www.nationalworld.com/culture/television/titanic-in-colour-channel-4-documentary-interview-with-survivors-when-did-the-titanic-sink-when-is-it-on-4493545.

But thanks to painstaking research and unique colourisation techniques, the world’s most famous sunken ship will be presented in full colour with “Titanic In Color.” The series, set to air on Channel 4 later this year, brings in living colour a brand new look on the cruise liner that was meant to become synonymous with sailing in style and glamour, rather than becoming a word to describe a colossal disaster or failure as it has been used for many years later.

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Titanic

Friday Titanic News

Public Domain via pxhere.com

One of the oddities of studying shipwrecks is what is not damaged. Consider champagne. A alcoholic beverage often served in festive events is a highly pressurized drink. One opens it making sure you have it pointed away from anyone (or breakable objects) and doing it slowly.  Of course there is a more daring way of doing it by  sword. This technique is not for the faint of heart since if you screw it up, well,  all that wonderful champagne gets wasted.  There are some videos on YouTube , but this one is pretty good.

Regarding  the Titanic, champagne bottles found and brought up were found fully intact (there was some damage to the cork) and not imploded . This has been found true in other shipwrecks.  So how come this did not happen since Titanic is 2 miles down? Well the folks at IFL Science have an answer. And it not just sturdy glass.

 “Why Did Champagne Bottles on the Doomed Titanic Not Implode?” IFLScience, 25 Jan. 2024, www.iflscience.com/why-did-champagne-bottles-on-the-titanic-not-implode-72621.

So how did the bottle escape this fate? People have suggested that part of the answer is the increased pressure inside the champagne bottle, caused by the carbon dioxide within it. The pressure inside a champagne bottle is higher than you’d imagine, going up to around 6 bar (90 psi), with 1 bar being around atmospheric pressure at sea level. Today’s champagne is kept in bottles that can withstand up to 20 bar (290 psi), while a metal fastener is often used to keep the cork in place.

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Titanic Belfast (side view)
Image:Prioryman (Wikipedia)

Both Ireland and the UK were hit pretty hard when storm Isha blew through with high winds and lots of rain. In Belfast, the Titanic Exhibition roof was damaged so it is now closed to the end of the month.

 “Titanic Belfast Closed Until the End of the Month Following Storm Damage.” BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, 25 Jan. 2024, www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/titanic-belfast-closed-until-the-end-of-the-month-following-storm-damage/a1458788722.html.

Titanic Belfast will remain closed to the public until the end of the month due to damage due to Storm Isha. Damage was caused to the roof of the museum building on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard during the storm, which wreaked havoc across Northern Ireland earlier this week. Repairs were impeded due to further inclement weather.

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I am not sure totally what to make of this story. It is about a guy who apparently is on a nine month world cruise and it is being heavily reported on social media. I guess all the interactions and places they are visiting warrants lots of comments. From what I gather, some think it could be a reality show! At any rate one of the cruise passengers was at lunch and commented that the ship was only 100 feet longer than Titanic. Well that caused stunned silence, utensils to drop, and a waiter to gasp. And then a passenger leaned over and said that Titanic is not mentioned aboard the ship. The TikToker was quite surprised at this unwritten rule and sort of flabbergasted it would be an issue. Now he did not post the video of this actually happening, so we have to take his word for it. Then again airlines do not show disaster movies-especially ones with airplanes-on long flights. Perhaps cruise lines might prefer you don’t mention it and probably avoid stocking such films on the onboard library. In that case the old clunker Raise The Titanic movie (excellent novel by Clive Cussler but a terrible adaptation) probably would be a better alternative.

“Passenger Discovers the One Word You Shouldn’t Say on a Cruise Is ‘Titanic.’” 10play.com, 26 Jan. 2024, 10play.com.au/theproject/articles/passenger-discovers-the-one-word-you-shouldnt-say-on-a-cruise-is-titanic/tpa240126jlrqp

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And that is a wrap for this Friday. Have a great weekend everyone.

 

Titanic

Thursday Titanic News: Rare Postal Slip Comes Up for Auction, Dogs on Titanic, and Why No Human Remains at Titanic Wreck

Rare Piece of Titanic History up for Auction at Alex Cooper Auctioneers.” Baltimore Fishbowl, 22 Jan. 2024, baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/rare-piece-of-titanic-history-up-for-auction-at-alex-cooper-auctioneers.

A rare piece of Titanic history will be up for bid later this month during a live auction on Jan. 27 by Towson’s Alex Cooper Auctioneers. The object available for auction is what’s called a “facing slip” from the mail room of the Titanic, the ocean liner that sank on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on the night of April 14-15, 1912. A facing slip was used by postal clerks for sorting mail. Each slip had a pre-printed destination, a handstamp that showed the ship’s postmark, name, and the name of the clerk who handled the mail.

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Video: “Dramatic Tales From the Sinking of the Titanic Retold in New Exhibition.” ABC News, 22 Jan. 2024, www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-22/dramatic-tales-from-the-sinking-of-the-titanic-in-new-exhibition/103377430.

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 “The Dogs of the Titanic.” Canine Chronicle, caninechronicle.com/current-articles/the-dogs-of-the-titanic.

Twelve dogs were confirmed as passengers on the Titanic, but other reports claim more. The original Titanic plans placed the dog kennels below on F Deck near the third class galley, and this is what is usually reported. However, many historians argue that the kennels were ultimately placed on the boat deck, in the area originally earmarked as the second class cloak room. Photographs of the area show open barred windows for ventilation, and this location on the boat deck, rather than below decks, would allow the dogs to be walked outside and make for easier clean-up.When the ship began to sink, somebody let all the dogs loose. The dogs added to the general chaos as they ran fore and aft on the listing deck of the sinking ship.

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 “‘My Husband and Son Died on the Titanic Submarine.’” Mail Online, 14 Jan. 2024, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12958097/My-husband-son-died-Titanic-submarine.html.

Christine Dawood still can’t quite believe that her husband of 20 years, Shahzada, and their precious son, Suleman, are no longer with her. It is now seven months since she last saw them climbing into the Titan submersible for, what she calls, ‘the big one’ in terms of this remarkable family’s many adventures. Last June, one hour and 45 minutes into the dive in the North Atlantic to view the wreck of the Titanic, off the coast of Newfoundland, the Titan lost communication with its support ship, the Polar Prince.

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COSI announces new Titanic artifact exhibit. WTTE, 10 January 2024. https://myfox28columbus.com/news/local/cosi-announces-new-titanic-artifact-exhibit-central-columbus-ohio-january-2024-kids-family-fun

Your favorite local science center has announced an upcoming exhibit that will bring the history of the world’s most famous ocean-liner to life. Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will be at COSI from March 9 until Sept. 2 this year. More than 350 real artifacts from the Titanic will be on display at this exhibit, as well as full-scale room recreations.

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Glassman, T. (2024, January 9). The first “Titanic” movie was shot in 1912 — and starred a woman who survived the sinking. The Messenger, 9 Jan 2024. https://themessenger.com/entertainment/first-titanic-movie-shot-1912-starred-woman-who-survived

One month after the Titanic sank, Saved From the Titanic premiered in theaters. Billed as the “startling story of the sea’s greatest tragedy,” the film debuted to packed audiences. Though no surviving copy of the movie remains, a review from Moving Picture News declared, “Miss Dorothy Gibson, a heroine of the shipwreck and one of the most talked-of survivors, tells in this motion picture masterpiece of the enthralling tragedy among the icebergs.”

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McAleavy, S. (2024, January). The Real Reason Why No Human Remains Have Been Found on Titanic Shipwreck. MSN. Retrieved January 19, 2024, from https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/the-real-reason-why-no-human-remains-have-ever-been-found-on-the-titanic-shipwreck/ar-AA1mywgz

Also, and more importantly, it’s the depth at which none of the remains of the 1,500 victims were found. As deep-sea explorer Robert Ballard explained, below 900 meters at this temperature is the carbonate compensation level. This means that once the bones are exposed after being ingested by fish and other marine scavengers, they begin to dissolve. In just a few years, they disappear completely. This is why, a century later, no remains of the Titanic castaways have been found.

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Titanic

Remembering History: Siege of Leningrad Broken (12 Jan 1943)

 

The fire of anti-aircraft guns deployed in the neighborhood of St. Isaac’s cathedral during the defense of Leningrad (now called St. Petersburg, its pre-Soviet name) in 1941.
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

After German troops invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, one of their top cities to take control of was Leningrad (former St. Petersburg, then Petrograd). As the second largest city in the Soviet Union (and its capital under the Tsar’s), it held significant importance. In August 1941, German troops surrounded the city so nothing could get in or out. This also cut off the Leningrad-Moscow railway. The residents built anti-tank fortifications and defended the city with the resources they had. Hitler decided to wait them out in a siege hoping to break down the will of the residents. Some limited supplies were able to get in but not enough for all its residents. Starvation, disease, and injuries mounted up. They did manage to evacuate about a million elderly and young people out of the city but that left 2 million to deal with the dire situation.

Food was rationed and any open space was used to plant food.  On 12 January 1943, Soviet troops punched a hole rupturing the German siege allowing supplies to come in one Lake Ledoga. A Soviet counteroffensive on 27 Jan 1944 brought the siege to a complete end after 872 days. The Russian army lost, captured or missing 1,017,881 and 2,418,185 wounded or sick. 642,000 civilians died during the siege and, 400,000 during evacuations.

Sources:

Soviet forces penetrate the siege of Leningrad. (2009, November 16). HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviet-forces-penetrate-the-siege-of-leningrad

Dean, M. (2020, October 21). Siege of Leningrad | World War 2 Facts. World War 2 Facts. http://www.worldwar2facts.org/siege-of-leningrad.html#siege-of-leningrad-losses

Check out books on Siege of Leningrad

 

 

 

 

Christmas, History, Titanic

Titanic News for 2 Jan 2024

Farewell 2023

Bow section of tanker SS Pendleton grounded near Pollock Rib lightship six miles off Chatham, Mass on the morning of Feb. 19, 1952.
Photo:Public Domain (U.S. Coast Guard)

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Happy New Year everyone. I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. Believe it or not, the Christmas season is still on and celebrated in many Christian churches. Christmas is traditionally celebrated for 12 days beginning on December 25 and usually concludes on or about January 6 with the arrival of the Three Wise Men (called Three Kings Day, Epiphany Day). However if that day falls on a Saturday or the following Monday, it is usually celebrated on Sunday.

However some believe that Christmas extends out from the Epiphany till the Presentation  of the Lord (February 2). Since this is also called Candlemas (you bring candles to church to be blessed),  Candlemas is celebrated in some countries with festivities akin to Christmas. In the U.S., the national conference of bishops has decided that Christmas formally ends on the Baptism of the Lord, which comes after Epiphany,  Most people begin taking down their Christmas decorations in the days leading up to the Epiphany. There used to be a special feast in some countries on the day when the last decorations come down. Taking down and packing up  decorations is both happy and sad in my home. Sad that Christmas is over but then happy it will come back!

Now for some news-

Image: OceanGate

“Remembering Those Lost on OceanGate’s Titan Submersible.” CBS News, 31 Dec. 2023, www.cbsnews.com/news/oceangate-titan-submersible-remembering-those-lost.

Most of the time, an obituary makes headlines because of how a person lived. But every now and then, it’s because of how they died. That certainly is the case for the five men on the OceanGate Titan submersible, which imploded this past June on its way down to the Titanic.  

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“Is the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge Worth It? A Local Weighs In.” The Smokies, 2 Jan. 2024, www.thesmokies.com/is-the-titanic-museum-in-pigeon-forge-worth-it.

But to limit the appreciation of the museum to those who wish for a “King-of-the-World” moment is to dismiss the history nerd that exists in so many of us. The displays, some of which are rotating, are diverting and informative. The rooms are exact replicas of Titanic’s quarters and are akin to touring Versailles, Napoleon III’s quarters in the Louvre or the tours at Biltmore. Because there are quicker ways to spend your money in Pigeon Forge in three hours, I would say yes, it’s worth checking out at least once.

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Christmas, Titanic

Titanic News for New Year’s Eve 2023

 “Look Inside ‘Titanic’ Mansion That Went Unseen for Over 100 Years.” Liverpool Echo, 30 Dec. 2023, www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/gallery/photos-inside-titanic-mansion-went-28318363.

These photos offer a look inside a historic mansion with links to the Titanic which went unseen by the public for 140 years. Beach Lawn House is a stunning Victorian Villa in Waterloo, that was built for Thomas Henry Ismay who founded the White Star Line. He paid £2,500 for the Grade-II listed house on December 17, 1860.

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 “New Titanic-inspired Cookbook Plays Out Against the Real — and Reel — Worlds of the Ship – Chicago Sun-Times.” Chicago Sun-Times, 26 Dec. 2023, chicago.suntimes.com/taste/2023/12/27/24012380/new-titanic-inspired-cookbook-recipes.

Hinke’s latest book, “Titanic: The Official Cookbook: 40 Timeless Recipes for Every Occasion” (Insight Editions, 144 pages), celebrates the culinary elegance and history of the ship as seen through the lens of James Cameron’s Oscar-winning film “Titanic,” which celebrated the 25th anniversary of its release in 2022.

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“Charles Joughin: How Whiskey Saved the Head Baker of the Titanic.” History Defined -, 24 Dec. 2023, www.historydefined.net/charles-joughin.

Although the extravagance of the voyage is well known, the pastries that Joughin was responsible for creating are not why he is remembered. Instead, Joughin is best known for his remarkable survival in the face of imminent death. Historians and scientists attribute his survival to one thing: the sheer amount of alcohol he consumed that night.

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A Massive Titanic Exhibition ‘Using Imagery and Audio’ Is Sailing Into Birmingham in 2024.” Secret Birmingham, 21 Dec. 2023, secretbirmingham.com/titanic-exhibition-birmingham.

[I guess this comes under the heading of advanced notice! This exhibition does not begin till July 2024, so I guess the promoter sent out notices to the local media. People will rush to the article thinking that this opens soon in Birmingham (UK) only to find they have many months to wait. I guess you can watch several Titanic movies and books while you wait for it to open.]

But a titanic ‘Titanic Exhibition’ will soon tell its tragic story like you’ve seen never before when it comes to Birmingham in 2024. Tracing the ocean liner’s journey from its construction at a shipyard in Belfast, through its fateful voyage, to its rediscovery at the bottom of the ocean. You’ll be able to see everything from interactive exhibits to footage of the wreckage, as well as props from the 1997 blockbuster film.

 Sailing into the NEC Birmingham from Saturday, July 27 to Sunday, August 25, 2024, the exhibition will use imagery, audio and real objects from the Titanic to convey life onboard the ship. Visitors will be able to see items and read stories about the first, second and third-class passengers, plus crew and engineers. There’s even a photographic collection from onboard passenger and survivor, Father Browne.

Wishing Everyone a Joyful and Prosperous New Year. 

Happy New Year (publicdomainpictures.net)
Photo: Larisa Koshkina

Titanic

Monday Titanic News

“TITANIC: The Artefact Exhibition Opens at Melbourne Museum.” Australian Arts Review, 18 Dec. 2023, artsreview.com.au/titanic-the-artefact-exhibition-opens-at-melbourne-museum.

Showcasing over 200 original objects recovered from the wreck site of the ill-fated luxury steamship, the highly anticipated global blockbuster TITANIC: The Artefact Exhibition has opened at Melbourne Museum. These stories include Australians like stewardess Evelyn Marsden, who defied social norms and helped row her lifeboat to safety – a skill she picked up in her youth on the Murray River – and engineer Arthur McRae, whose grandparents settled on the Mornington Peninsula where their legacy lives on in a suburb named in their honour.

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“Original Features From the Titanic’s Sister Ship – Also Found in Alnwick Hotel – Fetch Whopping Price at Auction.” Northumberland Gazette, 15 Dec. 2023, www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/people/original-features-from-the-titanics-sister-ship-also-found-in-alnwick-hotel-fetch-whopping-price-at-auction-4447466.

Three of its original lights went under the hammer at Anderson & Garland Auctioneers in Newcastle.They were sold after a battle between a bidder in the room and another on the telephone from Holland.

 

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Titanic

Titanic News:Conspiracy Theories, How Titanic Made Ships Safer, and more!

“Inside the Wildest Titanic Conspiracy Theories.” All That’s Interesting, 15 Dec. 2023, allthatsinteresting.com/titanic-conspiracy-theories.

The largest passenger liner of its time, the Titanic was once thought to be “unsinkable.” But just under three hours after the ship struck the iceberg, the ship had completely sunk, taking about 1,500 people down with it. Afterward, conspiracies about why and how the Titanic sank abounded, ranging from the simple and plausible to the extreme and outlandish.

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“Thornton Heath Man One of Last Survivors of ‘Indian Titanic.’” Your Local Guardian, 11 Dec. 2023, www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/23965602.thornton-heath-man-one-last-survivors-indian-titanic.

But almost no-one knows about a similar tragedy, now known as the ‘Indian Titanic’, which claimed the lives of 280 people making the journey from Mumbai to East Africa. On November 23, 1942, a ship named the SS Tilawa, carrying nearly 1,000 people and thousands of tonnes of cargo, was sunk by a Japanese Navy submarine in the Indian Ocean. One of only two known survivors of the tragedy still alive today is Arvind Bhai Jani, who was just three years old when he boarded the ship with his mother Vasantben and now lives in Thornton Heath.

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“5 Ways the Titanic Improved Disaster Prevention and Recovery.” Interesting Engineering, 10 Dec. 2023, interestingengineering.com/lists/titanic-disaster-prevention-and-recovery.

Although disaster prevention and recovery, as we know it today, did not exist in the early 20th century, the lessons learned from the Titanic tragedy contributed to the development of safety measures, regulations, and emergency response protocols in the maritime and shipping industry that are still saving lives today.

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“Four Things You May Not Have Known About Titanic Belfast.” Belfast Live, 9 Dec. 2023, www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/titanic-belfast-things-you-not-28240028.

Titanic Belfast has been widely acknowledged as Northern Ireland’s top tourist attractions and one of the most popular visitor sites in Europe, but there are certain facts about the building you may not have noticed. Most of us know that the stunning building’s angular shape recalls the shape of the famous ship’s prows, with its main “prow” angled down the middle of the Titanic and Olympic slipways towards the River Lagan. Another well-known fact is the building stands at 126 feet, the same height as Titanic’s hull. But there are a few more interesting facts about the building you may not know, or may not have spotted on trips to the attraction.

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Titanic

Titanic News: Impressions of Titanic Exhibitions

Titanic Memorial, Washington D.C.(1940)
Photo: Public Domain(U.S.Library of Congress, Harris & Ewing Collection)

Titanic exhibitions can be quite moving. Many people derive what they know about Titanic from that famous movie. And while good, it does not convey the true depth of the story. The exhibitions are not entertainment like a movie but evidence of the real tragic event that occurred in 1912 and the people that died as a result. When you see trivial tacky things like iceberg Titanic ice cubes or other things. you realize the makers of these things have no appreciation as to what really happened that night. So take the time, if a Titanic exhibition is nearby, to see it. You might find out a lot you did not know about Titanic and those who sailed on her.

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“We Learned the History & Personal Stories Aboard the Titanic at This Exhibit.” Secret DC, 5 Dec. 2023, secretdc.com/titanic-exhibit-review.

One of the most heartbreaking parts of the exhibit was seeing all the names of passengers who perished or who’s lives were affected by this tragedy. Seeing all of those names was emotionally moving.

Titanic. The Exhibition at National Harbor, MD
December 10, 2023 -January 7, 2024

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“Real Stories and Pieces of the Titanic on Display in Melbourne.” ABC Listen, 4 Dec. 2023, www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/melbourne-breakfast/titanic/103184228.

“It was the most luxurious way of travel at the time — two classes were travelling together, the rich of the world and immigration – then there is the tragedy itself.” She tells Sammy J that artefacts of the shipwreck, including a piece of the hull, can be seen for the first time at the upcoming TITANIC: The Artefact Exhibition in Melbourne.

(Note this is a radio interview, so you will need to click the link to listen).

Titanic

Monday Titanic News

 

Titanic movie poster
Via Wikimedia Commons

“Largo Man Trying to Collect One Million Copies of Titanic on VHS.” ABC Action News Tampa Bay (WFTS), 29 Nov. 2023, www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-pinellas/largo-man-trying-to-collect-one-million-copies-of-titanic-on-vhs.

Growing up, we probably all had that favorite movie that we could just watch over and over and over again. Well, there’s a man in Largo who has taken his love for his favorite movie to the extreme. Every time JD adds another VHS copy of Titanic to his collection, he feels like he’s the king of the world. “You know, Titanic is best on VHS,” said JD. “’September 1, 1998, take the voyage home,’ that’s what they were saying. That’s what I was playing on the VCR, I was watching this thing over and over and over again.”

There are many who acquire Titanic memorabilia because it is special and unique. But collecting 1 million copies on VHS of Cameron’s Titanic is not just extreme, but what would you do with it. It sort of like that scene in the original Willy Wonka movie. When they guy programs the computer to tell him where he can locate the Wonka bars with the gold certificate inside, it declines saying it would be cheating. When he offers to share the award with the computer, it responds “What would I do with a million bars of chocolate?”

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“Titanic Returns to Chicago in February 2024.” EIN News, 29 Nov. 2023, www.einnews.com/pr_news/671524148/titanic-returns-to-chicago-in-february-2024.

As the largest and most immersive touring Titanic exhibition, the experience is a narrative journey that brings to light the fates of the passengers and crew aboard the sinking ship, and will open on Friday, February 16, 2024 at Westfield Old Orchard (4963 Old Orchard Road) in Skokie, IL. People can join the waitlist through Fever here to gain access to tickets before they go on sale to the public December 6th. Tickets start at $29.00 for adults, with discounts for kids, seniors, military, and groups.

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How big is too big? That is the question here. This ship is essentially its own small metropolis that holds up to 10,000 people at a time. It has multiple entertainment venues, food options and so much that is boggles the mind. When you see pictures of it, the enormity of this ship really hits you. Royal Caribbean is proud of this new ship and you can be sure buckets of media will be watching its every move. Not to mention people commenting on social media about their experience.

“World’s Largest Cruise Ship That’s Five Times Bigger Than the Titanic Is About to Make Its First Voyage.” UNILAD, 28 Nov. 2023, www.unilad.com/news/travel/worlds-largest-cruise-ship-sets-sail-royal-caribbean-799666-20231128.

The Royal Caribbean ship has been hailed as the world’s largest and is officially five times bigger than The Titanic. The huge vessel is 65 meters long – around 1,200 feet – and weighs in at 250,800 tonnes. Boasting 20 decks, the ship has the largest water park at sea, as well as a section of the boat dedicated just for families. Constructed in Finland, the Icon of the Seas has finally been built and officially joined Royal Caribbean’s fleet yesterday (November 27) ahead of its pending departure. It’s said that the ginormous ship took two and a half years to create (including both design and construction) and will hold almost 10,000 people at a time.

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SS Portland circa 1898
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

“Those Who Perished 125 Years Ago in Sinking of ‘Maine’s Titanic’ Remembered at Service.” Press Herald, 26 Nov. 2023, www.pressherald.com/2023/11/25/those-who-perished-125-years-ago-in-sinking-of-maines-titanic-remembered-at-anniversary-service.

In Portland’s historical Abyssinian Meeting House, 198 names were read aloud Saturday remembering those who perished 125 years ago in New England’s worst maritime disaster. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 1898, at least 68 crew members and 130 passengers boarded the SS Portland in Boston and headed for Portland. They never reached their destination. By the next day, each was gone, swallowed by the sea off Cape Cod during a fierce blizzard.

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