Animals aboard the RMS Titanic "Titanic"s first port of call after Southampton. The animals travelled on their own tickets and even the canary that left at Cherbourg had to be paid for, to the tune of 25 US cents. Like any other ship of the time, "Titanic" had a substantial population of rats. One was seen running across the Third Class Dining Room on the evening of the sinking, to the shock and amazement of the diners. Some of the women who saw it burst into tears, while men tried unsuccessfully to capture the rat. Few of "Titanic"s animals survived the ship's sinking. Three of
History of the Port of Southampton and facilities for luggage and ships' stores. The Ocean Terminal was demolished in 1983. The Queen Elizabeth II passenger terminal was opened in 1966 to augment (and replace) it, which remains in regular use. That terminal in turn is augmented by the 2009 Ocean Terminal, across the dock from the old. The inter-war period was a busy time for the port, which was called the "Gateway to the Empire". In 1936, the Southampton docks handled 46 percent of the UK's ocean-going passenger traffic. The following facts and figures are from the 1938 "Handbook to Southampton Docks": Southampton also handled a