The majestic interior of the R.M.S. Titanic

April 11, 1912
As of this date, the Titanic had officially set off on her voyage, but she did have one more stop to make: Queenstown, Ireland. She arrived at the dock before noon to pick up Second Class and Third Class/Steerage passengers. However, even in steerage, the Titanic was the most elite, clean, and inviting ocean liner out there, making even the poorest people feel like they were royalty. Docked on the coast of Ireland, while the new passengers were boarding, reporters also came on the Titanic to get the last story before the ship left land behind---forever. Also climbing onto the Titanic were several Irish merchants, selling their finest items on the First Class Promenade Deck, attracting the attention of the richest passengers. The reporters and merchants would only be on board for a little while before they had to get off.

At 1:30pm the R.M.S. Titanic left the dock of Ireland and set out finally for the long stretch across the Atlantic Ocean towards America. This moment had varied meanings for each individual family on board. For some in First Class, it was just another ride across the sea, going home to America from a vacation in Europe, perhaps. Most of the steerage passengers were travelling to immigrate away from whichever country they came from... this could be Sweden, Ireland, Germany, Italy, etc. America was their dream home and it had taken a lot of planning and earning money to actually have tickets on this ship. So many dreams were about to be dashed.

April 11th was the first full day that the Southampton passengers were onboard, and some had already explored the giant labryinth extensively. Others sat back, relaxed, and asked the stewards for directions anytime they wanted to go up to the deck or to the dining areas. With the Titanic being as long as 4 city blocks, and being 10 decks tall, there would be many places to get lost in! So, I think it is now time for you to see the interior of the Titanic, as how the passengers were seeing it for the first time. The illustration to the right shows a cut-away peek into the many levels of the ship, from the top to the boiler rooms at the bottom. You may also be interested in taking a look at more of this Titanic artwork on the National Geographic website.

The 2 most intricate---certainly expensive!---and delightfully breath-taking focal points on the inside of the great ship were the tall, grand staircase and the massive glass dome overhead. It's only a shame that these spectacles can only be viewed in black and white photos, because I imagine that the rich colors added so much more to the overall sight.





Some of the rooms inside the Titanic almost seemed to whisk a person away into the highest quality of fine things available. Below are old photograghs of some of the Titanic's interior rooms.

The Gymnasium


Library / Reading Rooms


Passenger Lift


First Class Stateroom


Second Class Cabin


Third Class Cabin


From the First Class staterooms to the more confined steerage cabins, everything on the Titanic was outdone. To live in one of the finely detailed First Class rooms for almost a week, and have everything attended without lifting a finger, paying more than $150 was worth it---depending on how much they wanted, some ended up paying $4,350. The passengers in the lowest class only had to pay $40, and they probably thought they were living high because of the wonderful conditions they could sleep in---the linens were clean and there were no rats, like on most other ships.


As the R.M.S. Titanic makes her way across the Atlantic, no one is fretting about anything. The ship feels so quiet under your feet that you can barely detect that you're actually gliding through the water. The hugest waves nor the biggest gusts of wind can make the vessel sway in even the least bit. It feels just like you're walking on land. Everyone is completely enjoying being on the very first trip of the Titanic.
What could go wrong?


Thank you for joining me in today's post about the Titanic. We're getting closer to the actual sinking now! If you haven't done it yet, be sure to enter in the contest to win a vintage postcard Titanic necklace.