As the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster approaches, a wave of Titanic-themed tourism is set to mark the event.

Cruise companies are offering ‘disaster cruises’ to the spot where the famed liner sank into the ocean after striking an iceberg in April 1912.

Fred Olsen Lines, which is using its luxury liner the MS Balmoral for the voyage, will travel the same route as the doomed ship.

The cruise will leave from Southampton on April 9, 2012, heading first to the Cork port of Cobh (then Queenstown), which was the Titanic’s last port of call. The ship then sails across the Atlantic, stopping for a wreath-laying ceremony at the site where 1,500 people lost their lives, before moving on to Nova Scotia and disembarking in New York.

The Titanic Memorial Cruise will offer passengers the same menus and entertainment programs that were available on the 1912 voyage. Prices range from around $5,300 to $10,600. Many of the cabins are already sold out.

Cobh is also expecting a significant surge in Titanic-related tourism in the next two years leading up to the centennial.