You have to see these pictures
Calling all people who are not remotely superstitious: in 2018 you will be able to buy tickets to sail on a replica of the Titanic!
Australian billionaire Clive Palmer is responsible for commissioning this extraordinary feat of trippy time-warp engineering. He has built a fully functioning replica of the Titanic (Titanic II) with his company Blue Star Line.
As we all know (because of that film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) the original vessel tragically never reached its destination. The Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean on its maiden voyeage in 1912 and more than 1500 passengers and crew members lost their lives.
Titanic II’s maiden passenger voyage will not echo that of the original ‘unsinkable’ ‘ship of dreams’ (which we really do think is a good call). Instead of journeying from Southampton to New York as the original ship attempted to in 1912, the plan is that Titanic II will set sail for the first time from Jiangsu in eastern China and travel to Dubai in 2018.
Titanic II is identical to the original – save for modern safety and navigational features. ‘The new Titanic will of course have modern evacuation procedures, satellite controls, digital navigation and radar systems and all those things you'd expect on a 21st century ship,’ said James McDonald, the global marketing director of Palmer's company Blue Star Line.
As with the original vessel, first, second and third class tickets will be sold. The ship will be able to transport 2,400 passengers and 900 crew (slightly more than its namesake), housing them in 840 cabins across nine floors.
This brand new ship really is pretty remarkable – the painstaking attention to detail is evident throughout. No expense has been spared – the project has cost some £300 million to realise and looks set to immerse passengers in sea-going luxury (as it was envisioned some 100 years ago). The ship will even have a Turkish bath complex and an Edwardian-style gym. Cue undulating sound of awe.
The Gym (image credit: Blue Star Line)
The Turkish Bath (image credit: Blue Star Line)
Café Parisien (image credit: Blue Star Line)
First Class Cabin (image credit: Blue Star Line)
Third Class Cabin (image credit: Blue Star Line)
Smoking Room (image credit: Blue Star Line)
Pool (image credit: Blue Star Line)
Grand Staircase (image credit: Blue Star Line)
