It could well have been. Walter Lord's book "A Night to Remember" was the prime source material for the film of the same name, and remains one of the major works on that event, based as it was on interviews with survivors of the sinking. For that reason alone, there are bound to be similarities. Lord also acted as a consultant on Ca meron's film. Was that choice a tribute to the ANTR book, a tribute to the ANTR film, or because Lord was regarded as one of the major authorities on the events of 14/15 April 1912? Probably a mixture of the three.
I think the major charge against the Cameron version is that a large proportion of the audience went expecting to see a film about the Titanic. What they actually got was a film set aboard the Titanic, which is by no means the same thing.
ANTR is at least about the Titanic and her real-life crew and passengers (albeit that they're in all likelihood fictionalised for dramatic effect). Somehow, the fact that it's in black-and-white adRAB to the documentary feel. In the final part of the film, as it becomes increasingly clear that this is a doomed ship and most of those on board aren't going to see the dawn, it becomes quite chilling.
Which is why, personally, I prefer ANTR to Cameron's film.