My nephew Shaun has been obsessed with the Titanic movie since it came out, I’ve lost count how many times he has seen the movie, so we knew when we brought him to Ireland we had to go to the Titanic Museum. As soon as we debarked the ship we took a $10 taxi ride over, it’s only a few minutes from the port. Some people decided to walk over instead of waiting for a cab as it was so close to the pier.
Located beside the Titanic Slipways, the Harland & Wolff Drawing Offices and Hamilton Graving Dock, the very place where Titanic was designed, built and launched, Titanic Belfast tells the story of Titanic from her conception, through her construction and launch, to her maiden voyage and subsequent place in history. From the historic slipways to the last remaining White Star Line vessel The SS Nomadic, it’s unmissable and unforgettable, just like the Titanic herself. We spent a few hours here doing a self-guided tour which extends over nine interactive galleries where we were able to discover the sights, sounds, smells and stories of the ship, as well as the people and city that made her. You take a journey through boomtown Belfast and the shipyard where the liners were built, to the launch, fit out and maiden voyage, before discovering more about the sinking, aftermath, the quest to find Titanic and her final resting place. All whilst exploring the hopes and dreams of those whose lives were impacted by the great ship and wondering at our collection of unique Titanic artefacts.
We had taken Shaun to the Titanic Experience in Orlando which was fun and the one thing we enjoyed about that is we were given a ticket of a passenger at the start of the tour, at the end you got to find out if you survived or died which was cool. That wasn’t available here which would have been a nice touch after the end of the self guided tour.
After we explored the museum we walked over to the SS Nomadic, RMS Titanic’s tender ship and the last remaining White Star Line vessel in the world. We got to walk the decks, explore the ship, and take a journey through over 100 years of authentic maritime and social history. It was so much fun to see how excited Shaun was but we all actually enjoyed the experience very much, it is a beautiful museum and very interesting stories from where it all began!
