The film Titanic was the highest-grossing movie of its time.  Millions of us around the world have seen this romance-disaster blockbuster and experienced, through surround-sound, the first and final ill-fated voyage of this luxury liner.

Billed as the safest and most luxurious liner in its days, the Titanic collided with an iceberg on April 14th, 1912 and sank, taking the lives of 1,513 passengers and crew.

Tracing the journey of the Titanic

A British travel company is capitilizing on this ill-fated voyage by re-creating a trip to mark the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking.  The Fred Olsen Cruise Line’s “Balmoral” will be chartered to replicate the Titanic’s journey.  It will:

• Leave from Southampton in April 2012
• Carry 1309 passengers, the same number carried by the Titanic
• Call at the historic Irish port of Cobh where the Titanic made its last port of call on April 11, 1912
• Arrive at the exact location of the collision on April 14

The Balmoral will then sail to Halifax in Canada where 121 of the victims were buried, before going on to New York.

Cobh and the yellow Titanic Bar

Although the cruise is a long three years away, the trip has been put on sale at fares ranging from GBP 1,999 to  GBP 4,093, including air travel back from New York to Britain.  There’s no guarantee that Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet will be on board.

“Memorial cruise” or “a cruise for thrill-seekers”,  I’m sure it will attract a lot of interest.  Given the state of the GBP, it might be a good idea to book this early -  for those who are interested!

To read more about historic Cobh, click here.

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It’s the time of year when would be travellers are planning and booking their holidays for the year and it’s not surprising to see an increase in travel ads, all beckoning you to drop down tools because you’d have so much more fun when you’re on holiday.  What’s surprising though is that some people have actually started booking their 2009 cruising holiday.  I did mention a while back that European river cruises have exploded in popularity and it appears that the ocean cruises are doing just as well.  European cruises are in great demand and the major cruise liners have already started to release their summer 2009 schedules.  The cruising community are prepared to book up to two years in advance in order to secure the cabin of their choice and within their price budget.  Of course booking early also rewards you with the early bird discounts, which can amount to a quite substantial sum of money, which is better off in your pocket for additional shopping budget.  I just spotted an ad by Trafalgar trying to entice customers to book for their 2009 river cruise with a promise of 25% discount if you book and pay by May 2007.

The major cruise liners like the P & O, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises are all gearing up for the increase in demand and basing a larger number of boats in Europe.  I must admit that I’m not a fan of ocean cruises, but there are some who absolutely love it.  I once met a lady who was in her mid-forties and she told me that she’d been on about 15 of these cruises.  I thought she would have visited some really exotic places, however she told me that she and a group of friends are happy to do the same Pacific cruise every year.  She, and her friends, love the relaxed mood on a cruise and you actually can choose to do nothing, apart from checking in for meals!

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Nick and Sandy provided instructions on how to fly to Carcassonne from London.  However, a more novel and stylish way to arrive could be on your own barge on the Canal du Midi.  You can charter a whole barge, but it doesn’t come cheap.  For a 6-passenger barge for 6 nights, the rate is about €20,000.

Canal cruising

However, if like most of us you don’t have that kind of spare change, the next option would be to join a cruise.  These barge cruises operate all over France, and Europe, and offer a more intimate and relaxing way of seeing the country. The barges generally carry from 6 to 12 people.

The Canal du Midi is a lovely and peaceful waterway that winds through the south-west of France.  Built in the 17th century, it is considered an engineering marvel and in 1999, it received recognition by UNESCO and was added to the list of World Heritage Sites.  The Canal du Midi starts from the shores of the Mediterranean and meanders inland through ancient villages and Roman fortifications towards the famed region of Bordeaux.  It is now used for pleasure boating between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean between Bordeaux and Sète.  Lined with shady trees and greenery, the tow paths are now used for cycling, jogging and leisurely walking.

The south-eastern part of the canal, between Toulouse and Marseillan and close to Sète, was called the Royal Languedoc Canal. The 200-km north-western portion, between Toulouse and Castets-en-Dorthe (near Bordeaux) was called the Garonne Lateral Canal, as it tracks the Garonne river. Originally called the Canal des Deux Mers (the canal of two seas), it was later renamed as the Canal du Midi.

I’ve checked out a couple of these cruises and they promise delicious regional specialities and lots of French wine. If you need a holiday to really wind-down, this looks like it.   Trips like this would certainly require good weather as there’s not much else you could do during a wet day.  Friends of ours have been on a couple of the French ones and raved about them.  Another thing to add to our To Do List!

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog

Yesterday morning the 90,000 Queen Victoria arrived in Sydney at 6:30 a.m., waking up all harbourside residents on a Saturday morning.  It blared its signal horn all the way to the Overseas Passenger Terminal and apparently this can be heard over 16 kilometres away.  This is Queen Vic’s maiden voyage to Sydney. 

This morning Queen Victoria’s older sister QE2 arrived, again waking up harbourside residents at 6.30 a.m.  This marks QE2′s 30th anniversary since her maiden visit to Sydney.

At 6:30 p.m., these two grand ladies of the ocean crossed each other at Fort Denison, sounding a Whistle Salute with their signal horns.   Sydney sailors, in their traditional fashion, turned out in force watching these two ships manoeuvring into position and then accompanied Queen Victoria on her journey out of the harbour.

Last year when Queen Mary 2 and QE2 rendezvoused in Sydney, the harbour was a scene of madness and traffic on the roads came to a gridlock as everyone was heading for the harbour to witness this eventful occasion.  It was no different this time around.

Sadly this is QE2′s last voyage and she will be leaving the Cunard fleet to take up residence in Dubai as a floating hotel.

Helen

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