There have been an untold number of shipwrecks over the course of history. It is impossible to comprehend the extent of human tragedy that has occurred on the high seas. But one shipwreck that holds a place in our collective memory unlike any other: the Titanic.
There is something about the Titanic and its sinking on its maiden voyage that still grips people’s attention, even though it happened over a century ago. The movie Titanic premiered in 1997 and became the first movie to gross a billion dollars at the box office. Finding the actual resting place of the Titanic before the movie’s release did help spark interest. But what gets me is the unnecessary loss of life, and a lot of it was based on a class system that was very much in place in that era.
The story of the Titanic’s tragic ending is that they were sailing as fast as possible to set a record for the fastest crossing to the USA. There were reports of icebergs in the area, and a nearby ship had stopped and planned on waiting for morning before proceeding. Titanic pushed forward, and because the seas were so calm and dark, the iceberg that would be responsible for the sinking of this luxury liner was particularly invisible to the lookout crew. By the time they saw it, it was impossible to avoid. The iceberg tore a long series of punctures into the side of the ship, and because the bulkheads were not sealed at the top, the water continued to pour in, sealing the Titanic’s fate in a watery grave.
Evacuations from the ship were slow and largely disorganized. The focus was first on getting women and children of the first-class passengers off, but because of the reputation that the Titanic would never sink, there was not much urgency among the passengers to leave until it was too late. There were only half the number of lifeboats on the ship that were needed to effectively rescue everyone, meaning there would be no hope for anyone left on board for survival. The majority of survivors were from first class, and the majority of those who died were from third class.
It is this failure to prepare for disaster, the stubborn assertion that the Titanic was unsinkable, and the class system that caused so many to die, that keeps this tragedy in our minds.
We were on our “Taking My Wife Out of Walmart and Taking Her to Another Walmart” to see the world’s largest Walmart in Albany, New York. My wife works at Walmart, and learning that the largest Walmart was only a 6-hour drive meant I was going to travel there at our earliest convenience. As with all trips to a main destination, I planned to make more stops on the way there and back. I discovered that the Titanic: An Immersive Voyage was open, and I made sure we would see it before we headed back home.
Titanic: An Immersive Voyage was something we had been wanting to see for many months at this point. My daughter first told me it was coming to Toronto, and we planned to go then. Instead of going to see it in Toronto (a mere hour’s drive from home), I decided it was necessary to see it in Schenectady (a mere 5 hours from home and on the route back).
I checked the prices and considered the VIP package. I am glad we upgraded to the VIP for the VR experience of walking around the Titanic in a virtual world. It was cool. The upgrade price was very much worth the added expense.
But the regular ticket was not worth it at all.
Obviously, any artifacts directly related to the Titanic lay at the bottom of the sea. What few articles that were featured in the museum-like setting of Titanic Experience were from sister ships or keepsakes that survivors had packed during their escape from the sinking ship. There would be large pictures of a few of the luxury rooms, and a few more of the Titanic setting sail or being built. There were a lot of short readings of a paragraph or two describing various aspects of the ship.
What would have been nice is actual recreations of the ship’s rooms and settings, rather than two-dimensional pictures. There was a lot of potential that was missed. Had I not decided to upgrade, it would have been a serious waste of money. With the upgrade, it was still a waste of funds. Funds we could have used for a different attraction, or because of the price, for many other attractions.
Charlene and I learned nothing new about the Titanic, its survivors, or its victims. Our wallet sank faster than the infamous Titanic. Maybe $20 per ticket, but even that would be steep.
I do not recommend the Titanic: An Immersive Voyage. It is too expensive for what it offers.
