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Blue Marble Private’s $105K tour dives 2 miles to Titanic wreck site

March 24, 2017

Illustration by Andrea Gatti —Titanic Survey Expedition by Blue Marble Private and OceanGate Expeditions

 

Affluent consumers will soon be able to trace the transatlantic course of the ill-fated RMS Titanic on an exclusive survey expedition.

Built in Belfast, Ireland by the United Kingdom’s White Star Line, the Titanic was deemed “unsinkable,” being it was the largest passenger cruise liner built at the time. Despite its claim to fame, the Titanic sunk on its maiden voyage between Southampton, England and New York Harbor on April 15, 1912 after colliding with an iceberg in the North Atlantic, a fact now disputed by experts.

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London-based travel company Blue Marble Private is offering safe passage to the location where the Titanic rests on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

The eight-day yacht cruise will set sail from Canada in May 2018.

When the yacht reaches its destination, with the remains of the Titanic more than 120,000 feet below the surface, Blue Marble Private’s partner, OceanGate Expeditions, will conduct a number of excursions to the ocean’s floor.

Manned submersibles, similar to those shown in James Cameron’s 1997 Hollywood film “Titanic,” will take guests down to explore the Titanic’s wreckage such as passengers’ belongings and artifacts, the ship’s boilers, propellers and iconic bow.

OceanGate Expedition's Cyclops submersible will take guests down to Titanic's resting place

Weather-depending, guests will have as many as three days of diving with trips of up to three hours. The close-up view of what remains of the unsinkable ship will cost guests $105,129 per person.

Experts believe that due to extremophile bacteria feeding off the ship’s metal, the Titanic site may be consumed in full by 2030, making the OceanGate Expedition-led excursion a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

High-income travelers demand experiences that can be had by only by at most a few individuals.

While travel is one of the largest economic drivers in the world’s industries, it is the experiences for each individual that propels it forward. All travelers want to experience the unfamiliar and learn something new, but it is the affluent consumer that has the means to do this the most (see story).

As of press time, Blue Marble Private’s May 2018 trip is completely booked, but more are expected for summer 2019.