Titanic Belfast

Titanic Belfast is a visitor attraction on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard (builders of the Titanic) in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. It is the World’s largest museum dedicated to the Titanic and comes in at number 424 on the Lonely Planet Ultimate Travelist.

Over 9 floor levels, the museum tells the story of the Titanic’s build, launch, fit out, maiden voyage and finally the sinking on that fateful night.

The museum has many interactive features, holographs and mementos from the Titanic. One of my favourites was a 3D Attraction, that allows you to feel as if you are on the ship itself.

There are also re-creations of what the first, second and third class cabins looked like.

For me the most memorable part was the section about the sinking, with voices of the survivors and the radio messages from the time if striking the iceberg to the sinking of the ship. After exploring the ship’s glamorous build, interior and lifestyle, it was very sobering to read and listen to the accounts of the tragedy.

There were many touching tales – from the 1st class elderly lady passenger, who gave her place on the lifeboat and her mink coat to her maid and stayed on the ship with her husband, to the musicians who kept playing as the ship went down.

Finally there is also the story of the aftermath and the two inquiries that were held – the British and the American, and how a catalog of errors – not enough lifeboats, cancelled safety drills, ignored iceberg warnings and chaotic evacuations, led to the disaster.  Many of the safety features we see in sea travel originated as a result of these two inquiries.

Finally, on the last floor, there is the story of the discovery of the Titanic at the bottom of the Ocean.

SS Nomadic

The Ticket for Titanic Belfast also allows you to go on board the SS Nomadic nearby. This ship was the tender for the Titanic. It was used to “taxi” passengers from the harbour at Cherbourg to the Titanic. Out of the 70 ships built by the White Star Liner it is also the only ship in existence today.

Inside, it has some limited crew quarters, but most of the ship is given to large open passenger lounges.

What I found interesting was that even though that this was essentially a taxi, (so passengers were not expected to spend a long time on it) the difference between the classes is palpable. The Normadic was mostly for 1st and 2nd class passengers. If you were in first class, you has the plush cushions, a fancy bar, access to upper decks and the best views. If you were second class, you were limited to the lower decks and sparse furnishings.  

Things to know about visiting Titanic Belfast:

• This is a very popular attraction. So do pre-book tickets.
• Normal adult ticket costs £17.50.
• As we did a tour to giant’s causeway the day before, we bought a combined ticket from McCombes Coach Travel, which means the Titanic ticket ticket was essentially £5.00. Saving of £12.50.
• The museum is fully accessible, but there is lots of walking involved, so do be prepared.

I’m linking this to #wanderfulwednesday with Snow In Tromso

Also linking to #theweeklypostcard with Two Traveling Texans