Titanic Belfast, is the experience exhibition located where the ship itself was built. This rather impressive architectural masterpiece is now an iconic landmark of Belfast, after the Harland and Wolff Cranes, Samson and Goliath.
Pricing:
This museum has received some controversial reviews regarding the pricing model. Some saying “It is too expensive to be a museum”, even after Titanic Belfast branding it as an “Experience exhibition” rather than a museum.
£18 per adult might seem a bit steep for the experience, but you do get what quite a lot if you have an interest of what they are offering. Included is full access to the exhibition and the SS Nomadic.
The experience:
Before you even get to the exhibition you are greeted if front of a green screen for a souvenir picture with some old suitcases which i think is just asking for your money. But you can always say “no thanks” and continue to walk through which is what i did.
You then go up the escalator or the elevator to the main entrance of the exhibition.
At the beginning you learn about how Belfast became so industrialised and how H&W was formed. This can take a bit of time if you want a full depth learning experience. You then go up another elevator to a higher platform (if you have a fear of heights then id recommend you don't look down or go near the edge. But don't worry it doesn’t last long.) you then get to choose if you want to go on a small ride that shows how they built the ship, which i’d recommend as it was very insightful.
It was amazing to see what the ship looked like on the inside and the different classes. Walking through this museum make you almost forget about what is to come, and you almost don’t want to believe it. This being the sinking of the Titanic. To find out more about the sinking, you will have to go a visit yourself because this is where my description ends.
Also included:
Included in your standard entry ticket, you get to board the SS Nomadic. This was a boat that was specially built to bring first and second class passengers from Cherbourg Harbour to the RMS Titanic and the RMS Olympic as these ships were too large to dock at the harbour. The SS Nomadic is the only vessel from the White Star Line still in existence today. There was another ship that was was Ironically called the SS Traffic the carried the Third class passengers. This ship was torpedoed and sunk by the Royal Navy during the second world war.
My final overview of this experience is that it was very enjoyable and you could easily spend a solid 3- 4 hours there, getting engrossed in the history of this fabulous ship. Returning to the original question, no i do not think this was a money grab as you get to learn so much while also having fun. And to be able to say that you have been on a ship that served the first class passengers of the Titanic is an amazing thing. I would recommend this to anyone traveling to Belfast.
Comments