The MS Balmoral, the Titanic Memorial Cruise, is retracing the route of the ill-fated Titanic, which hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank on its maiden voyage exactly 100 years ago.

It was April 15, 1912, when the worst peacetime maritime disaster took place, killing more than 1,500 passengers and crew on the unsinkable ship.

The 12-night cruise, carrying relatives of survivors and passengers who died in the disaster, held a memorial service Saturday night, corresponding with the time the Titanic hit the iceberg. Another service was be held in the early hours of April 15, which will correspond with the time when the ill-fated ship sank.

When we get to the wreck site there will be some sadness, but I think also some sense of release, Press Association quoted a passenger, Patricia Watts, as saying.

Watts, 81, is travelling with her husband in remembrance of her grandfather, who was a second-class steward on the Titanic.

I shall feel a sense of accomplishment that I have achieved what I set out to do. I think the service will be a very memorable occasion, slightly sad, but also for a lot of people it will be the event of the cruise, she said.

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