Titanic's Luxury In First Class, A Floating Palace
When finnished, Titanic was the largest ship of that time and just as the Olympic, the most luxury. The Titanic offered every comfort you could think of and offered the finest and most luxurious First-Class accommodations to be found on any contemporary ocean liner. The Titanic was labeled 'unsinkable' because of her 16 compartments and her dubble hull.
Titanic's Smoking Room
The cheapest first-class tickets cost the equivalent of USD $3,000 today, while the equivalent of USD $50,000 today would get you a suite on the Titanic, and USD $100,000 today would see you nestled in the lap of luxury in a Deluxe Parlor Suite in first class. The 46,000-ton vessel was the largest passenger ship of the time, and of all this space on board, the first-class passengers got the most beautiful views.
A first-class passenger would find a dressing table, sofa, a fireplace, wardrobe, and marble-topped washstand and basin their cabin. Additionally, there was an electric call button above each bed, which could be used to request a steward’s assistance. As far as first-class passenger accommodation went, the Titanic was indeed as luxurious as the astronomical ticket prices and glossy brochures suggested.
The facilities on board the Titanic were just as mind blowing. Everything was decorated with oak wooden ingraved panels. The dramatic Grand Staircase, was the main access point linking first-class passengers to the public decks. The White Star Line’s promotional brochure paints a vivid and impressive picture of the Grand Staircase.
Titanic's Grand Staircase
Titanic's Grand Staircase with glass dome
Titanic's glass dome above the grand staircase
"The Grand Staircase, sixteen feet wide, extends over sixty feet and serves seven decks, five of which are also reached by the Three Electric Passenger Elevators ...instead of the usual heavily-carved balustrade, a light wrought-iron grille has been employed, a fashion found in a few of the most exclusive great houses of that period. The Entrance Hall and Grand Staircase are surmounted by a glass dome of great splendor, a fitting crown as it were to these, the largest and finest steamers in all the world."
Even this cavernous dining saloon was eclipsed by the glitzy A La Carte restaurant, a homage to conspicuous consumption which was decorated in the Louis XVI style, accompanied by delicately carved French walnut panelling and gilt-brass accents. In the words of Ms. Douglas, a first class passenger who survived the sinking:
“It was the last word in luxury. The tables were grey with pink roses and white daisies … the stringed orchestra playing music from Puccini and Tchaikovsky. The food was superb: caviar, lobster, quail from Egypt, plovers' eggs, and hothouse grapes and fresh peaches.”
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