It's never too late to board the Titanic.

The irrepressible story of the world's most famous ship is coming to the forefront once again in places ranging from Cobh (Queenstown), Ireland — where Titanic made its last port call — to the United States. All this leads up to one day — April 15, 2012, the 100th anniversary of the sinking of what was then the world's most elegant and largest ocean liner.

The countdown begins in earnest this year. Already Titanic enthusiasts can order commemorative polo shirts and medallions tied to the disaster's anniversary. And a Titanic Memorial Cruise in 2012 — which will pause over the wrecked ship for a memorial service timed to the 2:20 a.m. sinking nearly a century ago — has been a sellout for months.

On its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, the Titanic, under way on a crystal-clear night at nearly top speed, struck an iceberg shortly before midnight on April 14. Two hours and 40 minutes later, it sank in 13,000 feet of water. Some 700 of more than 2,200 people aboard were saved. The ship wasn't seen again until 73 years later, when an expedition led by oceanographers Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel discovered the wreck on Sept. 1, 1985.

Today, it seems that no one is ever far from the Titanic. In coming months the 1997 Broadway musical "Titanic" will enjoy a revival by theater groups in the United Kingdom, and the blockbuster 1997 movie directed by James Cameron is due for a new release, this time in 3-D.

More than 22 million people have seen traveling exhibitions of artifacts taken from the wreck site. One of the exhibits is on view until May 31 in London and another can be seen at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. One large permanent exhibit is in Branson, Mo., and another in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., where a Titanic tourist attraction, built as a scaled-down model of the ship, opened last year, displaying numerous artifacts and re-creating the famous first-class grand staircase. The shipwreck is a permanent fixture in many museums, including the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia; the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Va.; and the South Street Seaport Museum in Manhattan.

Beyond film director Cameron and oceanographer Ballard, much of the credit for keeping the Titanic story alive goes to the late author Walter Lord and history buff Edward S. Kamuda, of Springfield, Mass. Lord, who tracked down many of the survivors, wrote "A Night to Remember" in 1955, bringing the disaster back from the depths of history. From a small museum in Springfield, Mass., Kamuda runs the authoritative Titanic Historical Society, which he founded in 1963. Next year, the society plans to unveil a Titanic memorial in Springfield.

For $749 per couple, the Grand Hotel on Michigan's Mackinac Island plans a Titanic-themed weekend May 13-15 that includes lodging, meals and an interactive dinner-theater event featuring an 11-course dinner that re-creates the last dinner served to first-class passengers. There will be a screening of "Titanic," as well as seminars and an Edwardian-era fashion show.

But for Titanic enthusiasts, the real place to begin the journey is in Northern Ireland.

"Many cities and locations lay claim to a Titanic story, but only one place can take credit for her legendary design, build and craftsmanship — Belfast," boasts a statement from the Belfast City Council.

On March 31, the city will begin a two-month "Titanic 100 Festival" with a variety of activities and tours. Belfast remembers Titanic not so much as a terrible disaster but as a feat of human engineering and construction that occupied thousands of workers at the city's Harland and Wolff shipyard. The festival is scheduled to end with a ceremony on the Titanic slipways commemorating the ship's launching on May 31, 1911. To mark the event, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum plans to open a special Titanic exhibit on May 31. An oft-heard phrase in the city today is: "She was fine when she left here."

In Belfast, guide Susie Millar leads a Titanic tour through the city, stopping at sites that include the dry dock where Titanic was fitted out and at the home of Thomas Andrews, the ship's designer who perished in the wreck.

Millar's great-grandfather, Thomas Millar, worked at the Harland and Wolff shipyard and was a crewman on the Titanic who also perished. Her tour includes the city's new Titanic Quarter, a 185-acre redevelopment project. A technology center, it features hotels, offices and businesses adjacent to the shipyard where Titanic was built. The centerpiece will be the Titanic Signature Project, a multimedia building and museum designed by Eric Kuhne and Associates of London. It is scheduled to open in time for the anniversary of the sinking.

"This is as close as you can get to the Titanic without going to the bottom of the ocean," said Millar as she led me aboard the SS Nomadic, a tender docked in Belfast that was used to ferry passengers to the Titanic in Cherbourg, France.

Another museum dedicated to the Titanic, also slated to open for the anniversary, is the $25 million Sea City Museum under construction in Southampton, England, the port from which Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage on April 10, 1912. The museum will feature two permanent exhibits focusing on the Titanic story and the city's role as a major port. Four out of five crew members aboard the ship hailed from the city on England's south coast, and it's said that nowhere was the loss of life felt as hard as it was in Southampton's working-class neighborhoods.

One interesting observance being planned to commemorate the disaster is a tour to the rugged headlands of Cape Race, Newfoundland.

"Cape Race is the closest point of land to the Titanic wreck," said tour operator Dave Snow, who works with a Canadian group called Receiving Titanic. At a Marconi radio outpost on the coast, news of the disaster relayed from other ships was first received on land and sent on by telegraph to newspapers and others desperate for information.

"There is no other place on land more appropriate for remembering Titanic and personally connecting with the tragedy," said Snow.

He added that on that commemorative night in April 2012, those looking out to sea from Cape Race may very well sight an iceberg lurking in the ocean.

WHEN YOU GO

To track events leading to the 2012 anniversary of the Titanic sinking, here are some good starting places:

Belfast, Northern Ireland: www.gotobelfast.com

Belfast Titanic tour with guide Susie Millar: www.titanictours-belfast.co.uk

Cobh, Ireland, guided tour with Kevin Jordan, Jordan Executive Travel: www.jetravel.net

Grand Hotel Titanic package: www.grandhotel.com

National Museums of Northern Ireland: www.nmni.com/titanic

Receiving Titanic for events in Cape Race, Newfoundland: www.receivingtitanic.com

RMS Titanic, for information on exhibits of artifacts recovered from the wreck: www.rmstitanic.net

Search "Titanic" on Southampton, England's, official tourism site: www.visit-southampton.co.uk

Titanic Historical Society: www.titanic1.org

The Titanic Memorial Cruise is sold out, but wait-list requests are being taken as well as bookings for a shorter U.K. memorial cruise: www.titanicmemorialcruise.co.uk.

Titanic visitor attractions in Branson, Mo., and Pigeon Forge, Tenn.: www.titanicbranson.com and www. titanicpigeonforge.com

Where to stay:

The Merchant Hotel, Belfast, Northern Ireland: www.themerchanthotel.com

Castlemartyr Resort, Cork, Ireland: www.castlemartyrresort.ie

For general information: www.discoverireland.com and www.visitbritain.com

A model of the Titanic is on exhibit in Belfast aboard the SS Nomadic, the only White Star Line ship still afloat. Photo courtesy of Sharon Whitley Larsen.

 A mural on the side of a building in Belfast remembers the Titanic. Photo courtesy of Sharon Whitley Larsen.

A photo of Titanic Capt. E. J. Smith, who perished in the shipwreck, is displayed outside an exhibition at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Carl H. Larsen.

Carl H. Larsen is a San Diego-based freelance travel writer.