Passenger facilities

The passenger facilities aboard Titanic aimed to meet the highest standards of luxury. The ship could accommodate 739 First Class passengers, 674 in Second Class and 1,026 in Third Class. Her crew numbered about 900 people; in all, she could carry about 3,339 people. Her interior design was a departure from that of other passenger liners, which had typically been decorated in the rather heavy style of a manor house or an English country house. Titanic was laid out in a much lighter style similar to that of contemporary high-class hotels – the Ritz Hotel was a reference point – with First Class cabins finished in the Empire style.[40] A variety of other decorative styles, ranging from the Renaissance to Victorian style, were used to decorate cabins and public rooms in First and Second Class areas of the ship. The aim was to convey an impression that the passengers were in a floating hotel rather than a ship; as one passenger recalled, on entering the ship's interior a passenger would "at once lose the feeling that we are on board ship, and seem instead to be entering the hall of some great house on shore."[41]

Passengers could use an on-board telephone system, a lending library and a large barber shop.[42] The First Class section had a swimming pool, a gymnasium, squash court, Turkish bath, electric bath and a Verandah Cafe.[41] First Class common rooms were adorned with ornate wood panelling, expensive furniture and other decorations while the Third Class general room had pine panelling and sturdy teak furniture.[43] The Café Parisien was located on a sunlit veranda fitted with trellis decorations and offered the best French haute cuisine for the First Class passengers