The more I read about this thing and what they're actually doing I get the impression that this "replica" is going to end up being a second hand carnival cruise ship painted black. From the major modifications they've already listed this thing would be pantamime to the guys that built the Leviathan sticking a balloon smokestack on a genset and calling it a replica of a steamer.

Can you even buy insurance for a ship called "Titanic"?

Now, I wonder if this fellow likes trains?

Steve Hunter

I thought April fist wasn't for another month???

In conjunction with the "Titanic II", we are working on "Iceberg II" which will be a full scale replica of the iceberg that sank the original Titanic with some improvements. Among the imrovements will be a propulsion system that will allow the iceberg to better maneuver into the path of the Titanic II. One challenge that we face is the issue of the welded hull on the Titanic II but we feel that we can develop the cutting edge technology to overcome this issue and produce the desired effects. We hope to have the iceberg completed and fully operational by 2016 in time for Titanic II's maiden voyage.

To the general public, it will be a "replica", but not to us. Clearly it will not be steam. Don't even ask about hand bombing coal and reciprocating. But certainly all of the passenger spaces could be Edwardian. However, clearly they could not use wood paneling like on the Titanic. Modern fire code prohibits that. They would have to use plastic and faux finishes.

Think about Cunard's current Queen Mary. It has a very classical, deco interior.

If it ain't the same, it ain't a replica.

If you google the plan and the guy involved, you'll find this isn't the first person to suggest it. Also, this guy is prone to promising all kinds of odd things that have never come to pass...

This was a AP release yesterday. As stated earlier, it will be a "sorta kinda cruise ship". Such a ship is a hole in the water into which one throws money.

To tell you all the truth I'm excited to see it. I'm excited to some day walk down the Grand Staircase, have a drink in the Smoking Room or the First Class Lounge, and to walk on the promenade. I think the "coolness" will wear off. Why would you want to cruise or go across the Atlantic on a ship with 1912 features when you could go on a state of the art ship like QM2? It would be cool to visit but I don't believe it will be a great success. People want to have private balconies, private bathrooms, and outdoor pools. I wish he could use his money on the United States instead, she is much more modern.

Hear, hear!! I agree, but not because she is more modern. It's because she is still afloat and available. She still won't offer the features that were mentioned before, but let's look at those features. They're all common place on cruise ships, not ocean liners. Ocean liners were diffferent animals. They were intended as transportation, but while built to be fast, they were luxurious.

Yes they are different but to the average person they are one in the same. If Titanic II is only used for trans-Atlantic runs there is no question she will fail. People don't have time to spend 5 days traveling when they can do it in 6 hours. While QM2 is an ocean liner she does many cruises. She has balconies and an outdoor pool which makes cruising that much better. Titanic II has none of that, I have also heard there won't be any internet access on board, which will turn some people off. They are also keeping the classes segregated. I don't find it to hot being in steerage for fun. Third class had its place with immigrants, not so much for pleasure.

Don't get me wrong I would love to see this succeed and have ocean liners come back. But I don't see that happening. People want to get places quickly even if it involves hassles/discomforts of air liners

Not so. A REPlica is REPresentative of the original. Meaning it would be a modern representation of the Titanic. A reproduction would be an exact copy, design flaws and all.

This has been discussed at length on rypn in reference to building new steam locomotives.

Being a life-long student of the Titanic and other ships, I think a "replica" Titanic is, in a word, vulgar. This ship's loss killed over a thousand people and now some rich guy wants to build another? If he wants a historic liner buy the SS United States as others have suggested and stop trying to dump more vulgarity on a bitter disaster coated in too much already.

Preservation of the SS United States has been discussed along with this topic here:
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=48913
As for the Titanic copy (which I really don't think will come to pass), if you could make an updated replica of the ship that has the same feel but with modern stuff in the right places that passengers can enjoy in a modern sense, it might do quite well. For a while, anyway.