Sailing Day and Ports of Call

The RMS Titanic has captured the attention and imagination of the public from the day it was advertised that Harland and Wolff would begin building the great ship in March, 1909. 

Titanic, under construction 1909

The man who was commissioned to design the Titanic, Thomas Andrews, was also the ship designer for Titanic's sister ship, RMS Olympic which was being built side by side the Titanic. Andrews was tasked with overseeing Titanic's ornate decorations, well appointed decks, staterooms and common areas.  

Thomas Andrews, Titanic's designer

The Titanic was the biggest project he had ever undertaken and his employer, Harland and Wolff, wanted no stone left unturned to make sure everything was perfect on sailing day.  In fact, as insurance, they sent a nine-member team to travel on Titanic's maiden voyage to attend to any last minute requests or problems that occurred. 

The Titanic had an immense first class dining saloon, four elevators, a swimming pool, and staterooms that had state of the art furnishings, fireplaces, and amenities. The differences between the classes was very distinct on the Titanic.

Titanic's First class dining room

Passengers were separated by decks.  A passenger from steerage deck simply didn't get lost in first-class trying to find the third class dining room.

Titanic's Third class dining room

Safety-wise, the Titanic was built to be unsinkable. It was easy to see how that bill of goods was sold to the White Star Line because the Titanic was constructed with four watertight bulkheads that were intentionally not capped at the top to give the ship the ability to stay afloat if the hull ever had an accident. 

Titanic was advertised to be watertight and airtight

There were also 16 watertight compartments with automatic doors that could be closed by flipping switches on the bridge, which kept water contained in case the hull was ever breached. 

Building the hull and superstructure of Titanic was completed May 31, 1911 but it would take the next year for the interior work to be finished. 

While workers were readying Titanic, the Olympic was starting its sea trials in June 1911.  As repairs and problems were encountered with the Olympic, each was noted to make the same adjustments on Titanic.

Having arrived in Southampton, England from Belfast, Ireland on April 2, 1912, Titanic sat in Southampton's dock for six days.  

During that time in dock, there was still some interior cosmetic work being done on the ship and mechanical work with the heating system. Parts of the ship were unheated and other parts were stiflingly hot. 

A ship so massive really enthralled the public and Titanic's handlers knew it.  On April 5, 1912, all decked out with flags and pennants, Titanic was opened to spectators who were required to purchase a ticket to board the ship for a tour conducted by the ship's First Officer Murdoch.  Their ticket was only good for an hour, then they were escorted off the ship, lest they became a stowaway.   

A coal strike had been going on for some time and in the days Titanic sat in Southampton's dock, it was determined that there was not enough coal for Titanic to sail.  Coal was scavenged from other White Star Line ships.  When the coal strike ended on April 6, 1912, there wasn't enough time to transport the coal to Southampton's dock before Titanic was to set sail. 

On April 10, 1912, at 7:30am, Captain Smith came on board, greeted by the ship's officers who had spent the previous night on the ship. 

From 9:30am to 11:30am, the captain welcomed the second-class and third-class passengers as they started to board Titanic.

Titanic was nicknamed the 'Millionaire's Special, 'and Captain Edward Smith was known as the 'Millionaire's Captain.'  He was very popular with wealthy passengers and was known as a captain who could get things done.

The ship's first-class passenger list read like a "who's who" column in the newspaper. Among them were American businessman Benjamin Guggenheim, whose family was known for the Guggenheim Museums, Macy's department store co-owner Isidor Straus and his wife Ida, John Jacob Astor IV, member of New York's famous Astor family. All perished in the disaster.  

Whether it was second or third class accommodations, families looking to start a new life in the United States scrimped and saved their money so their whole family could sail together to America.  Although first-class was luxurious, second-class was still better than steerage. 

Titanic's second class accommodations showing two types of staterooms
a dining room and a parlour

Of course, people in first class didn't have such money woes about how to pay for their ticket. Their biggest worry was what belongings to pack and making sure their staff saw to their every need.  

One of Titanic's First class cabins, lavishly decorated

On April 10, 1912, starting at 11:30am, the first-class passengers arrived from London to board the ship.

Over 100,000 spectators were at Southampton's dock to wish Titanic a safe voyage.  

Spectators, not passengers, had to buy a ticket to board
Titanic to take a look 

 

At noon, on April 10th, 1912, the RMS Titanic was towed out by tugboats to set sail from Southampton, England on its maiden voyage to next port of Cherbourg, France.

However, the USMS New York was docked in the next slip. The undertow from tugging Titanic caused the USMS New York to be sucked toward the massive ship, snapping the six mooring ropes that held the New York in place.  This caused the Titanic to lose about an hour off their departure time and resumed sailing at 1pm.

The boat train from Paris, France arrived in Cherbourg around 4:00pm. There were 22 cross-channel passengers disembarking from Titanic and 274 passengers boarding Titanic at Cherbourg.  It took 90 minutes before the 274 passengers could be ferried out to get on the Titanic.

At 8:10pm on April 10, 1912, Titanic departed Cherbourg, France and set sail for Queenstown, Ireland, which was 307 miles from Cherbourg.

At 11:30am on April 11, 1912, Titanic dropped anchor in Queenstown about two miles offshore. Seven passengers were ferried to shore and 120 passengers boarded Titanic at Queenstown - 7 second-class and 113 third-class - with 1,385 bags of mail.

At 1:30pm, Titanic raised anchor and set sail for New York on her first and last Transatlantic crossing with 2223 passengers and crew on board. Passengers relaxed to enjoy cruise life for the next 137 hours. Titanic's course was set to sail non-stop to New York.  

Titanic was due to dock in New York in the United States, traveling 2,825 miles, to arrive on Wednesday, April 17, 1912 at the White Star Line's Pier #60.  

Then it was to sail out again on April 20, 1912 for Titanic's return route from New York to Plymouth, England, to Cherbourg, France and final destination Southampton, England.

Poster advertising ticket prices to board Titanic
leaving from New York City on April 20, 1912

It never made it.  

On April 14, 1912 at 11:40pm, the RMS Titanic, the largest ship in the White Star Line, hit an iceberg which tore a breach in her hull.

Less than two and one half hours later, on April 15, 1912 at 20 minutes past two in the morning, the Titanic sank into the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, 400 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada.  

Titanic currently lies 2.4 miles deep in the North Atlantic Ocean (about 12,000 feet), about 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.  The ship split in two. The stern and bow are about 1,970 feet apart.

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