Titanic II Will Sail Same Route as Original

The makers of the Titanic II aren't boasting about it being "unsinkable"—but they do promise it will have much better iceberg-detection technology than the original, along with plenty of lifeboats. Blue Star Line Cruises says the replica ship, which was delayed for years by a financial dispute, will make its maiden voyage in 2022, USA Today reports. The company says the ship's maiden voyage will be from Dubai to Southampton, followed by a journey across the Atlantic, retracing the route its doomed predecessor followed in 1912.

The replica, which will cost an estimated $500 million to build and is being made in China instead of Belfast, is going to have 2,400 passengers and 900 crew, almost exactly the same number as the original, and a very similar cabin layout. Blue Star Line says that after the maiden voyage, the ship will undertake world cruises for the rest of 2022. "The ship will follow the original journey, carrying passengers from Southampton to New York, but she will also circumnavigate the globe, inspiring and enchanting people while attracting unrivaled attention, intrigue, and mystery in every port she visits," Blue Star Line chairman Clive Palmer tells MSN. (Another Titanic replica is being built hundreds of miles from the ocean.)