Titanic II set to sail in 2016 without TV or Internet access

[Pardus]

Article

Clive Palmer, and Australian billionaire who made his money mainly through mining operations, has announced he intends to enjoy the money he has earned over his life by spending it before he dies. His first big investment? Building a new cruise ship that will be a replica of the Titanic.

The announcement was made and a blueprint of the ship released on board the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York. It’s called the Titanic II and is set to be constructed in China at the CSC Jinling Shipyard over the next 3 years. Passengers are expected to be using it to cross the Atlantic beginning June 2016.

The ship is a replica of the original, but the design actually makes it 3-inches longer than the 1912 version at 883 feet. Anyone enjoying the luxuries of modern cruise ships will be disappointed, though. To keep things “real,” the Titanic II won’t be outfitted with access to the Internet or even a TV. Your entertainment looks likely to be whatever was on offer in the early 1900s. Who knows, they might even ask for your gadgets to be handed in before you are allowed to board.

Despite that, Palmer says he’s already had a lot of interest and over 40,000 people sign up for tickets. That’s good news as he needs 2,435 passengers to fill it and 900 crew members to keep the ship running during its 5 day trip across the Atlantic.

The worry is that after the excitement has died down there won’t be much interest on using the ship to travel. Some have even said it’s a bit tacky recreating the ship that 1,500 people died on when it hit an iceberg. There’s also the issue of cost, with Palmer quoting $750,000 to $1 million if you want to secure one of the cabins on board.

Looking on the bright side, even if the Titanic II does fail it will still be able to act as an almost perfect recreation of the original ship and could become a museum attraction once it stops sailing.

 

[eldorado99]

China eh? Probably wont be able to distinguish it from the original except they will alter the name slightly. Maybe the "Titonic II"?

 

[gorcorps]

he won't even be able to fill that boat once

 

[zinfamous]

I know this thread has been posted before, and a comment along the lines of "Titanic II, made in China....seems legit," has also been said.

 

[Printer Bandit]

james cameron is salivating at the possibility of a sequel.

 

[SKORPI0]

Titanic and "made" in China", there you go... fail before it is even built. :biggrin:

I wonder if they will use the same "Brittle" Steel and rivets that was used in the original, to be historically accurate.

 

[Lifted]

At $1 million per 5 day trip it better hit a fucking iceberg along the way and sink (and there better be enough life boats this time). That would be one hell of an adventure trip. I'd love to ride the back of the beast down into the water.

If no iceberg strike I'd be suing for my money back.

 

[ImpulsE69]

On the plus side, with the invention of global warming there are less iceburgs to watch out for.

 

[techs]

So along with no tv and internet I expect they won't have things like radar or sonar?

 

[JulesMaximus]

So along with no tv and internet I expect they won't have things like radar or sonar?

I heard they have this new fangled thing called a radiotelegraph plus they'll post a lookout to watch for icebergs for that authentic north atlantic crossing.

 

[manimal]

hope they serve absinthe

 

[silverpig]

So along with no tv and internet I expect they won't have things like radar or sonar?

The Titanic was 2.5D

Front, back, starboard, port, down.

 

[BladeVenom]

On the plus side, with the invention of global warming there are less iceburgs to watch out for.

"Made in China," It won't even need to hit an iceberg to break in half and sink.

 

[BUTCH1]

At $1 million per 5 day trip it better hit a fucking iceberg along the way and sink (and there better be enough life boats this time). That would be one hell of an adventure trip. I'd love to ride the back of the beast down into the water.

If no iceberg strike I'd be suing for my money back.

Well, not really, a ship the size of the Titanic will create a large downward vortex as it slips beneath the waves, you could be sucked under and drown very easily and then there's that pesky old hypothermia that will suck the heat out of you in minutes and you will fall asleep and drown but hey, dead men don't sue!!!..

 

[_Rick_]

The Titanic was a liner, not a cruiser. I don't think one layout will work well for the other task.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Honestly I'm surprised this has not happened sooner. I think it would be kind of neat. But WTF @ the pricing? Why make it so expensive?! Just treat it like any other cruise ship.

Given it will be built in china everything inside will start falling apart without a couple months. There's probably going to be lot of lead in places there should not be, like the kitchen food prep areas, and air ducts.

People will not go on this ship just to go on a cruise, they'll go on it because of the novelty of seeing what the Titanic was like. Once the novelty wears out, there wont be all that many people who will go. So the pricing will need to be competitive with other cruise liners. Sure, make the maiden voyage maybe like 5x the price of a normal cruise to see what happens, but after that they'll have to lower the prices or it will be sink or swim for that business. No pun intended.

They better also sell alcohol on the life boats and have working heat. That is the highlight of the cruise, and how it ends, so it needs to count!

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

Looking on the bright side, even if the Titanic II does fail it will still be able to act as an almost perfect recreation of the original ship and could become a museum attraction once it stops sailing.

Huh no, if it does fail, it will be at the bottom of the ocean, just like the original

 

[dmcowen674]

he won't even be able to fill that boat once

I wouldn't be so sure.

There are a lot of 1%ers very bored.

Look at the ones on here asking how to spend money burning in their pockets.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

hipsters would love that thing

 

[DAGTA]

Rebuilding a bad design that already failed once seems like a bad idea.

 

[Red Storm]

Who in their right mind would choose to cross the Atlantic by boat? What a waste of money.

 

[diesbudt]

Why do I feel some super natural force will ensure a similar outcome?

 

[techs]

Will they advertise it as "unsinkable"?

 

[Newbian]

Replace beer with internet and you will understand what will go wrong:

 

[mmntech]

Rebuilding a bad design that already failed once seems like a bad idea.

Not really. The RMS Olympic, the original ship, had a good 25 year run until the great depression killed it. Even was involved in collisions that breached the hull. Ironically Captain Smith was skipper during one of these events.

The design flaw was the water tight bulkheads not being quite high enough and not being capped. So it filled like an ice cube tray. However, the designers never anticipated it would sustain as much damage as it did. IIRC, it could stay afloat with three compartments filled, yet five were breached by the iceberg.

As for the lifeboats, Titanic actually had more than it was legally required to at the time. Unlike today, lifeboats were not intended for long term survival. The North Atlantic shipping routes were like a congested highway. It was just assumed another ship would always be close enough to rescue a disabled ship. The lifeboats were only meant to ferry passengers to the other ship.

The new ship will have to comply with modern maritime safety regulations. So it will have radar, GPS, proper water tight bulkheads, bow thrusters for improved manoeuvrability, diesel-electric engines, and proper lifeboats. The mock up shows a full complement of modern lifeboats on D-Deck. Aside from appearances, it will be a modern cruise ship. Just keep any drunk Italian captains off the bridge, and don't sell it to Carnival.

I do think it would be an interesting experience to sail on her, even if you're not a Titanic buff. I'd definitely do it. Get to live the golden age and glamour of luxury liners. I just hope they keep it upscale like Cunard does with their liners, to keep the mouth breathers away. Last thing I want is to be stuck on a ship with no TV with a bunch of obese, obnoxious tourist types.:\