Is Titanic Cruise Memorial or Voyeurism?

Are cruise passengers signed up to take a 100th anniversary "Titanic Memorial Cruise" in 2012 exhibiting bad taste?

That's the question being asked by a man claiming to be a relative of a passenger who died in the infamous tragedy in which 1,500 or so people lost their lives, reports the Daily Mail.

The cruise on the 1,350-passenger Balmoral is scheduled to follow the same route as the ill-fated Titanic.

The relative's ire was apparently raised by postings on message boards on the Cruise Critic website, where some passengers booked on the cruise discussed what sort of formal attire they would wear on the sailing.

Forum member dd714 lashed out at all the hoopla, writing, "I like the idea of a costume party, yeah yeah. Now tell me – who will be dressing up as my wife's great grandfather?"

"More specifically, who will be taking a memorial plunge in the 30 degree Atlantic ocean at the place where he met his death 98 years ago to experience what was described by survivors as 'a thousand knives going into the body?'" the irate member writes.

Several readers left comments assuring dd714 they booked the cruise to pay their respects.

The cruise aboard the Fred Olsen Cruise Lines ship is the brainchild of a British travel agency, and also being sold in the U.S.

Embarking from Southampton, U.K. on April 8, the cruise includes a memorial and wreath-laying ceremony on April 15, at the site in the Atlantic where the Titanic hit an iceberg near midnight and sunk a few hours later.

Experts are also scheduled to be onboard the 12-day cruise to lecture about Titanic history.



Fred Olsen Cruise Lines photo