OT: Marketing genius or just ultimate bad taste?

[BumbleBeeDave]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/30/world/asia/australia-titanic/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2

I'm still trying to decide . . .

BBD

[rustychisel]

I don't care much one way or the other but Clive Palmer is the ultimate in bad taste.

[Jaq]

The bigger question is why?

I'm sure he's paid his people to do plenty of research before making the decision, and so one presumes that they determined there's a profit to be made... but is there?

I can't imagine wanting to sail on a replica death ship. I'd sooner (way sooner, in fact) ride in a helium-filled replica of the Hindenburg.

[Louis]

a helium-filled replica of the Hindenburg.

Where's the fun in that?

That's like doing a curvy decent while riding your brakes the whole time. Oh the humanity... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F54rqDh2mWA)


BTW, lest you think I'm making light of this, I am trying to make a point about how horrible this stuff can be.

I can't see myself having a grand ol' time on the T2.

[cat6]

Hayrick Island (68°42′S 67°32′WCoordinates: 68°42′S 67°32′W) is a small prominent rock mass, more than 150 metres (500 ft) high, between Lodge Rock and Twig Rock in the Terra Firma Islands, off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica.

[Kontact]

There's already lots of this kind of thing - there's hotel restaurant in England that was taken out of one of the Titanic's sister ships, and its popularity is more do to the Titanic than the other ship.

I think the Titanic represents that romantic age. The tragedy is not much different than the way Romeo and Juliet ends - which people also find romantic. So I really don't see this as tasteless or macabre.

Whether it is a good idea or not is a different matter, but it sounds like a cool alternative to the typical cruise ship. I hope they enforce the fancy dress rules. :)


And a new Hindenberg would also be marvelous.

[fuzzalow]

I consider it marketing genius. It is never a losing bet to pander to the baseness of the mob that defines the mass market. And cloak it in the patina of luxury and upper-crust as usurped from the original Titanic. Can't lose.

The transplanted Epcot crowd. Fanny packs on the promenade.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . more devious is if he also built a motorized artificial iceberg to chase the ship around.

BBD

[tuxbailey]

I vote for marketing genius.

imagine how many will try to imitate the DeCaprio-Winslet pose in the front of the ship.

[MattTuck]

I vote for marketing genius.

imagine how many will try to imitate the DeCaprio-Winslet pose in the front of the ship.


Good luck finding an insurance company willing to write a policy on this boondoggle.

[Kontact]

Good luck finding an insurance company willing to write a policy on this boondoggle.

Why? Do you think they're going to make even the safety engineering from 1910?

I bet they aren't going to employ a bunch of guys to shovel coal, either. I think the point is to build a ship that looks and feels like the Titanic, not the same down to the bad rivets. Or is there something else about this that should be uninsurable?

[Earl Gray]

Like Jaq, I'm not one for cruise ships. That said I can't imagine this one NOT selling out every cruise for decades to come. We're a species fascinated with tragedy, I don't think the fate of the original will deter most folks.

I vote marketing genius, even if it is in somewhat poor taste.

+1

If he does a good job with execution of the construction, he will win.

[tannhauser]

I'd be surprised if even one of the "fleet" gets built as each one will be so astronomically expensive.

[Louis]

I'd be surprised if even one of the "fleet" gets built as each one will be so astronomically expensive.

I think that's why he's going to build it in China. (if it happens)

[slowgoing]

Brilliant.

[MattTuck]

Why? Do you think they're going to make even the safety engineering from 1910?

I bet they aren't going to employ a bunch of guys to shovel coal, either. I think the point is to build a ship that looks and feels like the Titanic, not the same down to the bad rivets. Or is there something else about this that should be uninsurable?

Really, I was referring more to the drunk folks leaning over the front of the ship, or causing a panic by yelling ice berg or fire, or some other craziness. I can only imagine the potential for panic the first time they do a life boat drill.

I don't think the construction would be sub-standard... just a lot of risks (mostly human stupidity) above and beyond a regular cruise ship.

Also, insurance companies that write these kinds of one off policies would not refuse to write a policy... that was just exaggeration on my part. But they would charge a premium over other cruise ships.

[tannhauser]

I think that's why he's going to build it in China. (if it happens)

Chinese labor isn't the bargain it was even 5 years ago.

There are bound to be numerous cost overruns due to innumerable little details that need to be attended to to build such an intricate machine.

Plus the cost of labor will increase from the time the project starts to end, should that even happen.

Just like the original it's a dream; whether it can be accomplished is a big question.

[Jaq]

It just seems like such a niche market. For all the mythology surrounding her, the Titanic, by today's standards is a pip-squeak. She displaced about 45,000 tons; the smallest cruise ships these days displace about 80,000, the largest around 230,000. Whatever efficiencies are gained via an economy of scale evaporate by cutting the number of berths.

It can't begin to offer all the amenities that cruise-line fans have come to expect. As an Ocean Liner, it can't operate as efficiently as the QM2. But maybe that's the attraction: a cruise with less people, where you feel a little more special.

[Steve in SLO]

What will it be named, the 'Chitanic'?

[Elefantino]

It's marketing, all right.

But genius would have been to start building it four years ago. The "104th anniversary" does not have a marketing genius ring to it.

That said, cruise ships suck. Where can you ride? Around Lido deck? Please.

[BumbleBeeDave]

What will it be named, the 'Chitanic'?

POTD! :banana:

[Ginger]

Hmmm, if it's authentic, Just imagine being able to relive the original steerage experience.
Oh...so it probably *won't* be exactly like the original titanic...

[sg8357]

The bigger question is why?. I'd sooner (way sooner, in fact) ride in a helium-filled replica of the Hindenburg.

Here you go, the Zeppelin NT, carbon fiber framework etc.

[William]

Hmmm, if it's authentic, Just imagine being able to relive the original steerage experience.
Oh...so it probably *won't* be exactly like the original titanic...

~And~, now that we have a better understanding of Ice Bergs, we probably won't see this in the Captain's Log anytime soon...



Captain's Log:

April 15: Night.

Ice berg ahead......think I'll blast through that sucker.*





;):)

William

[PQJ]

Replica of Titanic. Built in China. "It is going to be designed so it won't sink."

My bet: first major cruiseship disaster of the new millenium.

[tiretrax]

Replica of Titanic. Built in China. "It is going to be designed so it won't sink."

My bet: first major cruiseship disaster of the new millenium.

No - it will only last a few years before needing replacement.

[MattTuck]

Replica of Titanic. Built in China. "It is going to be designed so it won't sink."

My bet: first major cruiseship disaster of the new millenium.


Unlike the first titanic, and other modern cruise ships, which are indeed designed to sink?

[MasterOMayhem]

cant wait for the titanic theme park and Log flume/Water Ride.

[Viper]

It will star:

Matt Damon as: The Captain Merrill Stubing
Kate Winslet as: The Coked-Up Julie McCoy
John Edwards as: The Horny Doctor Adam Bricker
Ben Affleck as: Yeoman-Purser Burl 'Gopher' Smith
Will Smith as: Bartender Issac Washington :beer:
Lindsey Lohan as: The Coked-Up grand daughter of Captain Merrill Stubbing (Julie McCoy got her hooked on the good stuff to, "Help with sea sickness."
Leonardo DiCaprio as: Guest Ted Knight
Charo as: Charo :banana:
Barbi Benton as: A Walking PFD should you need one or two to float :):)

http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2012/04/09/love-for-sail-new-cruise-ship-based-reality-series/

[torquer]

For all the mythology surrounding her, the Titanic, by today's standards is a pip-squeak. She displaced about 45,000 tons; the smallest cruise ships these days displace about 80,000, the largest around 230,000. Whatever efficiencies are gained via an economy of scale evaporate by cutting the number of berths.

It can't begin to offer all the amenities that cruise-line fans have come to expect. As an Ocean Liner, it can't operate as efficiently as the QM2. But maybe that's the attraction: a cruise with less people, where you feel a little more special.
+1!
Around the 100th aniversary date, NYTimes had some graphics comparing the Titanic with a contemporary cruise ship. Besides lack of multiple pools, theatres, climbing walls, etc. what was really notable was how tiny the cabins were back then. Super high-end cruise lines offer smaller ships (fewer passengers) but don't squeeze you into phone booths.

I enjoy cruises, but this holds no interest for me. I like DC-3s, too, but there are better ways of flying cross-country.

[jeduardo]

Seriously? Fortunately most of the fools who would even consider mimicking that awful movie probably won't have the funds necessary to secure a boarding pass on this waste of disposable income.
Genius (by definition) NO, Megalomaniacal behavior yes

I vote for marketing genius.

imagine how many will try to imitate the DeCaprio-Winslet pose in the front of the ship.