Memorials mark Titanic centennial

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NEW YORK, April 15 (UPI) -- Passengers on a cruise ship said they had an uneasy feeling when they looked out over the spot in the Atlantic where the Titanic sank 100 years ago.

The Balmoral and the Azmara Journey rendezvoused at the site of the wreck this weekend and held memorial services for the approximately 1,500 passengers and crew who perished in the frigid waters April 14, 2012.

"You still get a chill just looking at that water, imagining you have to go into it," Melinda Norris told the BBC aboard the Balmoral.

Along with the seagoing memorials, there were ceremonies on either side of the Atlantic to mark the solemn anniversary.

Thousands of people took part in a candlelight parade in Halifax Saturday night. The Canadian port was a base for rescue operations and the final resting place of 150 victims.

"I wanted to experience all this, not just read about the story of Titanic in a book," Lori-Anne Beckford of Newmarket told the Toronto Star. "My mother first told me the story when I was little, and I was always fascinated by it."

In Belfast, where the Titanic was built, the Titanic Memorial Garden was dedicated. The city said in a written statement the occasion was marked by musical performance by Joss Stone and Bryan Ferry and the debut of "Requiem for the Lost Soles of the Titanic" by Belfast composer Phillip Hammond.