A little over a century after the RMS Titanic sank four days into its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, intrepid travelers will have the chance to visit the submerged wreckage up close and in person. Using a custom-designed submersible made of titanium and carbon fiber, a London-based luxury travel company will take nine passengers and a crew of experts some 13,000 feet below the surface of the sea, where the group will glide over the most famous shipwreck in history.
“Far fewer people have visited the wreck of the Titanic in a manned submersible than the number who have been to space or summited Everest,” reads the itinerary from Blue Marble Private, an outfit specializing in bucket-list experiences for the billionaire set: fighter-jet flights to the edge of space, trips to the South Pole.
The dive is the cornerstone of an eight-day journey that commences with travelers, or “Mission Specialists,” who have paid $105,129 apiece for the opportunity, taking a helicopter ride to afternoon tea aboard a support yacht near St. John’s, Newfoundland. (The cost of the journey is equivalent to a first-class ticket on the Titanic, $4,350, after inflation.) Once there, voyagers will take part in orientation sessions, learning how to assist crew during the dive, operate the sonar, use the undersea navigation systems, and prepare the submersible for the dive.
The first trip is planned for May 2018, with additional dives slated for summer 2019.
