Before boarding the Titanic in Southampton Ruth and her family traveled on a month long trip from Madras, India to London England on the liner City of Bernares. The liner left Madras on March 7, 1912. They traveled west on the Indian Ocean to The Red Sea, that part of the trip was "very calm" in Ruth's words. From there they traveled through the Suez Canal, where they saw camels and other interesting things. After getting through the Suez Canal, they stopped at Port Said. When they left Port Said, the weather became cooler and the water rougher. They traveled across the mediteranian Sea, between the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, to Marseille, France. Where everyone got off to go shopping. When they left Marseille, they traveled south through the Gulf of Lyon--which Ruth recalled as being very rough.
Then they traveled down the coast of Spain and through the Strait of Gibraltor, but did not see the rock, because it was nighttime. They then headed north through the Atlantic Ocean, in the Bay of Biscay they hit some more rough water. Finally they made it to the English Channel, pass Southampton and Cherbourg, through the Strait of Dover and docked in London on Good Friday, April 5, 1912.
I hope to have a map of the trip soon, so keep checking back!