Day 2 - First Full Day At Sea - Lectures & Conversation

"Bill Miller delighted with his vibrant style as he took the stage with a much brighter look at the Grand Ocean Liners of yesteryear, the 'Floating Palaces'.” 

Up relatively early Wednesday morning, I took advantage of the cozy spa facilities on Azamara Journey.  As a complimentary service one can use the octagonal steam room adjacent to the showers. Very modern, recessed halogen lights that create illuminated columns in the mist.  A morning steam is not only relaxing, but opens the pores so your skin can breath... or at least that’s what the brochure says! The showers are significantly larger in the Spa than in the cabins, plus the high end shampoos and body wash are very nice. 













At 9:25am there was an announcement made that John Langley’s talk on Halifax was going to start in five minutes time. John is President of the World Cunard Historical Society, and a lifetime Halifax resident.  I swore he had said his lecture was moved from 10am to 10:30am.  


I made a mad dash to grab a croissant and then headed towards the Cabaret where John was already underway with his fascinating history of this vital Nova Scotia seaport. His presentation was accompanied by a wonderful slide presentation. Turns out that Bill and I, embarrassingly became “one of those people” that simply did not read directions about a one hour clock advance that had occurred last night. This was in spite of the fact that an adorable purser had informed us, in no uncertain terms, that the time would not change until Wednesday night!!  We both should know much better by now!

John’s presentation created an excitement and almost urgency about seeing Halifax, but then turned from a general history to much more of a deep connection between the city and TITANIC. And it became a particularly dark side of that history.  New York was chosen as the best port to bring the survivors, which holds some sense of optimism and life out of the tragedy. 

Mackay - Bennett
Museum of the Atlantic Collection

However, Halifax is where so many of the bodies were brought by cable ships that were best suited for the job. These ships were part of the massive efforts to lay the early transatlantic cables that allowed faster communication between the continents, an incredible new technology.  

Undertaker William Snow preparing a body on MINIA.
Museum of the Atlantic Collection

John showed many photographs of the preparations on board these ships to bring the bodies back and talked of how the first 200 on some ships were buried at sea, mostly out of a lack of deck space. Gruesome images were projected of canvas body bags, reserved for mostly steerage passengers and crew with wood caskets for the first class victims. Even in death there was such a separation.  Further description of how the Cable boats thought they were hitting small chunks of ice as they arrived at the scene, only to discover they were bodies. Smaller rowboats were deployed from the Mackay-Bennett, for example, filled to capacity, their cargo tossed onto the large vessel, then back for more. Seemingly endless trips. 

Body Bag #41, Halifax Museum of the Atlantic. 

Then “illegal” photographs of the horse drawn hearses carting the bodies away in Halifax, partially hidden behind canvas barriers to keep gawking crowds from seeing the activity. Then and now photos of locations where bodies were stored and embalmed - a curling rink that was used as a temporary morgue because of the ice on the floors.  


Further images show Fairview Cemetery where the largest number of victims are interred. Truly a somber introduction to where we are going and harsh reminder of why we are on this voyage. A deep sadness filled my heart. 

Later, Bill Miller delighted with his vibrant style as he took the stage with a much brighter look at the Grand Ocean Liners of yesteryear, the “Floating Palaces”.  As many times as I have watched and adored Bill Miller in action, I never tire of his glamourous take on the elegance that was Ocean Liner travel. I love watching the crowds, many now new life long fans listening with rapt attention, laughing at his ingenious punch lines as he sails his audience back to another time.   


I helped man the “book shop” table and nearly most of his books were sold out before Bill ever uttered a word.  I was particularly pleased that a healthy supply of my DVD documentary of Bill “MR OCEAN LINER” also quickly sold out! 


Later at afternoon tea with John Langley, his lovely wife Judy, and some other guests we  found ourselves engrossed in further discussions of Maritime history, Titanic lore, Marconi communications and codes and speculation about ways that history has repeated. 


After dinner a Captain’s reception, typical on most sailing these days, introduced the top brass on Azamara Journey. All along, all day have been the Cameramen from CNN, German television, the reporter and photographer from New York Post. In between I have been capturing my own video digest of the events. Lastly, a  moving Chopin concert by a wonderful pianist who was also a friend of Bill Miller.  I was then introduced to a couple from Montana that brought along their bagpipes and who wanted to play some music at Fairview Cemetery in the morning.  I told them I would be happy to go along and record this little memorial. We made plans to meet by the Grand Staircase at 9:30am the next day.  Hopefully there will be no more time changes!


The night rounded off in the Lookout where a corner of this forward bar, with floor to ceiling windows on the front of the ship, was taken over by a small group enjoying a range of music from Journey to Abba.  Even there, with green and red laser lights flashing around the room, glinting off the sloped glass while FERNANDO played in the background, the conversation again turned to why so many of us, for various reasons, are all on this ship together heading towards the final resting spot of TITANIC.  

For many it is an unexplained life long connection. One couple flew all the way from Sydney, Australia to be here.  We also talked about how many have had conversations with others back home who have commented that it is “sick” or “ strange” to want to be at the site of TITANIC on the 100th Anniversary. We all voiced the same response that this is, by no means, a joy trip.  Although there are those who have chosen to express their love and fascination for all things TITANIC in their period dress or expression, no one is “celebrating”. There is a very serious deep respect for the horror of what occurred 100 years ago. This voyage is, indeed, a memorial, a chance to pay respects to the memory of these lives and this history. And in the process we are also making new friends that share a common bond.