You’ve watched the movie. You know the necklace. You probably have an opinion about that floating piece of wood. But how much do you know about the real Titanic?
These Titanic trivia questions cover the ship’s maiden voyage, life on board, the people behind the familiar names, and the James Cameron movie that had an entire generation emotionally attached to Jack and Rose. Some answers will come straight to you. Others might have you quietly reconsidering your history-buff status.
There’s plenty here to be curious about, but the Titanic disaster was a real tragedy. Behind the famous photographs and movie scenes were passengers and crew members with families, plans, and lives that mattered.
Grab someone who thinks they know everything, keep a tally, and see how you both do.
How to Play This Titanic Quiz
Give yourself one point for each correct answer, with 40 points available. For questions asking for two names, you need both to earn the point.
The answers are directly below each question, so cover them as you go or have someone read the questions aloud. No scrolling ahead and calling it “a strong instinct.”
If you make your own quizzes for family nights, you can also use these rounds separately or turn the questions into a multiple-choice quiz by adding a few believable alternatives.
Round One: Let’s See What You Remember
Start here before declaring yourself the resident Titanic expert.
1. Which company operated the Titanic?
Answer: White Star Line.
2. What does RMS stand for in the name of the ship?
Answer: Royal Mail Ship.
Titanic carried mail as well as passengers. You may also see the term Royal Mail Steamer in historical references.
3. Which city did Titanic leave from at the start of its maiden voyage?
Answer: Southampton, England.
4. What was Titanic’s destination?
Answer: New York City, in the United States.
5. On what date did Titanic begin its first voyage with passengers?
Answer: April 10, 1912.
Its first passenger voyage would also be its last voyage.
6. Which French port did Titanic visit after leaving Southampton?
Answer: Cherbourg.
7. What was Titanic’s final port of call before crossing the Atlantic?
Answer: Queenstown, Ireland, now called Cobh.
Southampton, Cherbourg, Queenstown, New York: that was the planned passenger route.
Sources: Royal Museums Greenwich and Titanic Belfast’s departure history.
Round Two: Life on a Very Big Ship
The Titanic rooms you remember from the movie are only part of the story. This round covers construction, classes, and a few details about life on board.
8. In which city was Titanic built?
Answer: Belfast, in what is now Northern Ireland.
9. Which shipbuilding company built Titanic?
Answer: Harland & Wolff.
Titanic’s construction took place at its Belfast shipyard.
10. What were Titanic’s two sister ships called?
Answer: Olympic and Britannic.
11. How many passenger classes were there?
Answer: Three: first class, second class, and third class.
First-class passengers, second-class passengers, and third-class passengers had different accommodations and access to different parts of the ship.
12. True or false: Titanic had a swimming pool.
Answer: True.
There was a pool for first-class passengers. The ship also offered a gymnasium and Turkish baths. Quite a bit more than a seat and a view.
13. Could passengers visit a barber shop on Titanic?
Answer: Yes.
An Atlantic crossing didn’t have to mean abandoning your grooming routine.
14. How many watertight compartments did Titanic have?
Answer: Sixteen.
They were designed to help the ship stay afloat after damage, but the flooding after the iceberg collision exceeded what the design could withstand.
Sources: Royal Museums Greenwich’s fact sheet, its Titanic overview, and the British inquiry’s description of the ship.
Round Three: The People Behind the Names
Some of these names appear in the Titanic movie, but their stories extend far beyond a film script.
15. Who was the captain of the Titanic on its maiden voyage?
Answer: Captain Edward John Smith.
You’ll often see Titanic’s captain referred to simply as Captain Smith or Captain Edward Smith.
16. Which ship designer traveled on Titanic’s maiden voyage?
Answer: Thomas Andrews.
He was a leading figure in the ship’s design at Harland & Wolff.
17. Who was Titanic’s First Officer?
Answer: William McMaster Murdoch.
First Officer and Chief Officer were separate positions. Henry Wilde was the Chief Officer.
18. Which survivor became widely known as the “Unsinkable Molly Brown”?
Answer: Margaret Brown.
“Molly” is the name many people recognize today, but Margaret was her actual first name.
19. Which wealthy American businessman named John Jacob was aboard Titanic?
Answer: John Jacob Astor IV.
He was one of the best-known first-class passengers.
20. Which ship rescued Titanic’s surviving passengers and crew from the lifeboats?
Answer: RMS Carpathia.
21. Who was the captain of Carpathia?
Answer: Arthur Henry Rostron.
His leadership and the heroic efforts of Carpathia’s crew are an essential part of the story.
Sources: Titanic officers’ timeline, Titanic Belfast on Thomas Andrews, its American passenger history, and the U.S. National Archives.
Round Four: The Night of the Sinking
This round focuses on the timeline and emergency response. The sinking of the Titanic is often reduced to a handful of familiar scenes, but the details matter.
22. On what date did Titanic strike the iceberg?
Answer: April 14, 1912.
23. On what date did Titanic sink?
Answer: April 15, 1912.
The collision happened before midnight; the sinking of the ship happened in the early hours of the following morning.
24. Roughly how long passed between the collision and Titanic sinking?
Answer: Two hours and 40 minutes.
The commonly recorded shipboard times are about 11:40 p.m. for the collision and 2:20 a.m. for the sinking.
25. How many lifeboats did Titanic carry, including its collapsible boats?
Answer: Twenty.
There were not enough lifeboat spaces for everyone aboard. Life jackets could help people float, but they could not protect them from prolonged exposure to the icy waters.
26. Which two wireless distress signals did Titanic use?
Answer: CQD and SOS.
Titanic’s distress call wasn’t limited to the three letters most of us recognize today.
27. Had Titanic received ice warnings before the collision?
Answer: Yes.
Warnings about ice were among the issues examined during the investigations into the disaster.
28. In which ocean did Titanic sink?
Answer: The North Atlantic Ocean.
Sources: Royal Museums Greenwich’s collection history, its Titanic facts, Titanic Belfast’s Morse code display, and the U.S. National Archives.
Round Five: Calling All Titanic Movie Fans
Your repeated viewings may finally come in useful. These questions are about the 1997 film, with one reminder about where fiction meets history.
29. Who directed the 1997 Titanic movie?
Answer: James Cameron.
30. Which two actors played the lead roles of Jack and Rose?
Answer: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
One point only if you named both. We’re being friendly, but we’re still keeping score.
31. What is the famous blue necklace in the movie called?
Answer: The Heart of the Ocean.
Possibly the most memorable accessory in ’90s cinema.
32. Were Jack and Rose a real couple aboard Titanic?
Answer: No.
Their romance is fictional, although the film includes real historical figures such as Captain Smith, Thomas Andrews, and Margaret Brown.
33. How many Academy Awards did Titanic win?
Answer: Eleven.
A very successful evening for a movie that left everyone emotionally exhausted.
34. At which year’s Academy Awards did Titanic win those Oscars?
Answer: 1998.
The movie came out in 1997. The awards followed the next year. A small distinction that makes a very good quiz question.
35. Which song from Titanic won the Oscar for Original Song?
Answer: “My Heart Will Go On.”
The award went to James Horner for the music and Will Jennings for the lyrics.
Sources: Paramount’s film page, Titanic Belfast’s fact-or-fiction guide, and the Academy’s 1998 awards record.
Round Six: A Few for the History Buffs
Five more questions. This is where documentary watching might give you an advantage.
36. In what year was the wreck of the Titanic discovered?
Answer: 1985.
37. Which two researchers led the expedition that discovered the wreck?
Answer: Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel.
The discovery was a joint American-French effort.
38. Was Titanic found sitting in one intact piece on the ocean floor?
Answer: No.
The wreck includes separate bow and stern sections, with debris spread across the seabed.
39. What was the name of the towed underwater imaging system used in the discovery?
Answer: Argo.
Finding the wreck required specialist technology and a carefully planned search.
40. Roughly how many years passed between the sinking and the wreck’s discovery?
Answer: Seventy-three years.
From 1912 to 1985. That is a long time for such a famous ship’s final resting place to remain undiscovered.
Source: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s account of the 1985 discovery.
So, How Did You Do?
0–10: Your Titanic era starts here. You’ve picked up a few facts, and there’s plenty more to explore. Everyone starts somewhere.
11–20: You know more than the movie quotes. A solid start, with a few gaps to keep things interesting.
21–30: The documentary watching is paying off. You’ve got a good mix of history and movie knowledge.
31–39: You’re the person people want on their quiz team. Those harder questions didn’t put you off.
40: Full marks. Nicely done. You may now be pleasantly unbearable about your score for the next ten minutes.
There’s Always More to the Titanic Story
The luxury, the engineering, the discoveries, and the film all draw people into Titanic’s history. But the passengers and crew are what make the story stay with us.
Whether you came for movie trivia or wanted to test your knowledge of the real ship, hopefully you’ve found something new to look into.
Which question caught you out? Share your score in the comments, and send this Titanic quiz to the friend who always says, “Oh, I already knew that.” Let’s see if they did.
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