The Titanic one is interesting, as there are conflicting accounts of what happened there (obviously no conclusive proof). The safe thing to do would have been to use an invented character if they were determined to include that incident. Personally, I don't think it adds much to the film, though overall Titanic is a good film, I think. Not as good as A Night to Remember, but an effective blunt instrument disaster film with plenty of lurid melodrama. It works well enough on that level, and Cameron deserves points for sheer ambition.