The RMS Titanic, Still in Our Hearts, 100 Years Later

Today April 15th, marks the centennial anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Dubbed 'The ship of dreams', the luxury cruise liner was like no other. Considered an engineering marvel a century ago, it was not only the largest ship to ever grace the seas, but also, featured unrivaled grandeur and amenities. Not surprisingly, its inaugural and only passenger list, included some of the world's most powerful and wealthiest people.

The tragic sinking of this ultimate symbol of luxury just four days into its journey is still etched in our minds. It is therefore no wonder that the 100th year anniversary of the Titanic's tragic encounter with an iceberg that ended with the deaths of 1,517 men, women and children was honored, with special events all across the world.

Amongst the most interesting was the Titanic Memorial Cruise. Organized by Fred Olsen cruise lines aboard their largest and newest ship MS Balmoral, it set sail from Titanic's original port of departure, Southampton, England on April 8th, 2012. The ship, that is re-tracing the doomed boat's journey made a brief stop early this morning at the exact spot and time of the tragedy, for a short service and a minute of silence to pay tribute to those who had perished.

While most of the 1,309 passengers are trying to re-live history aboard this pricey 12-day trip that cost between $4,429 USD and $12,655 USD per person, some like Jane Allen from Devon, who lost her great-uncle, were there to experience what their ancestors must have experienced, on that stormy night.

Besides the route, the MS Balmoral has also gone through extensive trouble to make the cruise as authentic to the 1912 high seas adventure as possible, by re-decorating the ship, encouraging passengers and crew members to dress up in period costumes and also, serving a menu that closely mimics that of the Titanic.

And if that is not enough, on the night of April 14, cruise chefs cooked the exact multi-course dinner enjoyed by Titanic's passengers before it hit the iceberg. Among the unique period dishes served were quail eggs in aspic with caviar, Calvados-glazed roast duckling, and Filets Mignon Lili.

Although the food itself was exciting, it was also a way to reflect how cheerful and carefree the passengers aboard the Titanic must have been before disaster struck, a few hours later.

As would be expected, the biggest offshore memorial took place in Southampton - Titanic's departing port and also home to about a third of the passengers that died in the disaster. On Tuesday April 10, more than 650 descendants tossed flowers and wreaths into the sea from the same dock the Titanic set sail from a hundred years earlier and also, observed a minute of silence at the ship's time of departure.

In Singapore, 2,228 Chinese Lanterns, (one for each passenger) were hung around the grounds of the country's ArtScience Museum to mark the event, while in Belfast, Ireland, the place where the giant ship was built, thousands of people paid their tribute, by visiting the newly opened $160 million USD interactive Titanic museum.

Hollywood played its role in commemorating the iconic ship's 100th anniversary by re-releasing James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster, Titanic in 3-D. It is must see for those who were too young when the original movie was released however, If you are curious to see if it is your kind of flick, check out the theatrical trailer and read the peer reviews at our sister site DOGOmovies.com.