Titanic: The Exhibition in London

AD – Tickets for this event were press invites but all thoughts are my own

I’ve always been utterly fascinated by the Titanic. I’ve watched the film dozens of times and seen every documentary going. It’s such a tragedy but it’s a mystical mystery that never fails to interest people and make you wonder more. The Titanic will never not be known. It’s been over a hundred years and it’s still one of the most heart-breaking and fascinating things to have happened.

I’d heard about the Titanic Exhibition for a few months and was eager to go. I was very fortunately offered 2 VIP press tickets for this event from the event organizers and I can’t wait to share the experience with you. But first, let’s talk about the logistics of the event, in case you’re interested in going:

How much does it cost?

Standard access tickets range from £19.90 to £24.90 depending on the day and the time of your slot. Off-peak times (such as earlier in the morning) tend to be a little less. VIP access tickets range from around £34 – £37, again, depending on time and day. You can also get senior, student or NHS tickets for £13.70 and children’s tickets are £11.90.

What’s the difference between VIP and Standard Access?

We were gifted VIP tickets for this experience and whilst it was nice to have the additional perks, you can fully enjoy this experience without it. VIP tickets get you fast track access into the exhibition, free use of the cloak room (particularly useful if you’ve been travelling around London all day and have lots of bags) a free souvenir photo, the exhibition booklet and free use of their audio guide.

With standard access there might be a small queue as you go in (but we were there are a busy time apparently {according to the security guard} and it wasn’t that bad) and you’ll have to pay to rent the audio guide for the exhibition. However the audio guide is pretty vital for the experience. You get your photo taken at the start of the experience but Standard tickets will have to pay extra for their photo

Where is it and how can I get to it?

It’s situated in Unit 1, Dock X at Canada Water in London. Canada Water is situated on the Jubilee Line and is around 5 stops from Stratford. Once you come out of the station, it’s approximately a 5 minute walk. There are a few cafe’s on the way to stop off beforehand for a coffee or lunch if you wanted to as there’s no cafe or places to buy food or drink in the exhibition

When it it on until?

The exhibition is only in London until Sunday 20th March, so if you want to go along, make sure you grab your tickets before it leaves!

Is it accessible?

Yes! It’s an accessible exhibition with a ramp on entrance and with the whole exhibition on one level. The exhibits are placed quite far apart, so there’s space for a wheelchair to maneuver in between and the toilets are large and again, all on one level. There were two wheelchair user there during our visit actually.

What happens at the exhibition?

So we attended the exhibition on Thursday 3rd February at their 2pm slot. I thought this slot would be quite quiet, as it’s the middle of the working day on a Thursday but it was fairly busy. However it wasn’t too busy that it wasn’t enjoyable.

We arrived at Canada Water at 1 and sat in a nearby cafe for a coffee for an hour before we arrived at the venue. The security guard checks your ticket and tells you where to go, with one line for VIP access and another for Standard.

Once there, you get your tickets scanned and told where to go by the helpful staff. You’re then sent around to get your audio guide – this is a small phone-like device with headphones which guides you all the way around the exhibit. There’s a pause button too, so if you want to listen to something again or have a quick break then you’re able to do so.

Before you actually get into the exhibit, there’s your photo opportunity. There’s a photographer here who will take your photo of you “boarding” the ship and there’s props and things scattered around for you to use and have fun with as well.

After this, you’re into the start of the exhibit and all photos and displays are clearly labelled with letters or numbers, so it’s easy to follow along with your audio guide. The exhibit starts at the start – the building of the Titanic – and works it’s way through the story we all know right up until the sinking.

It’s said that the exhibit should take around 80 minutes to get around but Carl and I found ourselves there for a good 2 hours. So leave plenty of time!

What did we think?

We were both really impressed with the exhibition. There was much more there than what I thought there was going to be. A lot of it is very informational; the audio guide teaching you about each photo and exhibit, where they came from, who the people were and what was happening.

I loved all the staged rooms and things to give you an idea of what the passengers would have seen and been doing. Like first class would probably have been sitting around having a drink or a smoke and gambling! You can play some free games here at darmowa kasa za rejestrację bez depozytu.

I learned a lot that I didn’t know before; for example, as the ship was sinking, there was another ship on the horizon nearby that didn’t help them, despite being close enough to see their distress signals. To this day, nobody knows who or what that ship was.

It’s important to note that not all the pieces in this exhibit are actually from the Titanic. There are a wide range of items which had be retrieved from bodies and from passengers who were saved from the tragedy which are absolutely incredible to see. But some items are replicas, to give you a sense of what it would have looked like.

* the items above are genuine Titanic items belonging to people on the ship

Other items had been taken from the sister ship to the Titanic, so would have looked the same as those on board the Titanic too. I don’t personally think the fact that not everything was an artifact from the Titanic, the wreckage or the bodies took anything away from the experience.

It’s important to remember that it’s a protected site and has been for some time. There has to be a limit of what was allowed to be taken; the ship and it’s passengers needs to be left to rest.

One of the stand out features was definitely the model of the ship. It was a stunning and intricate model with a ton of beautiful detail on it. I think Carl spent about 20 minutes looking at this – he loves models!

There were various replicas of rooms from the Titanic, from the stunning first class suites to the 3rd class cabins and even one of the beautiful hallways that you can walk down. Another great feature was the ice wall, which replicated the temperature of the water that the passengers would have had to ensure. You’re supposed to challenge yourself on how long you can keep your hand on it – I managed 13 seconds.

If you’re interested in the Titanic or just love history, then I’d highly recommend checking out the Titanic Exhibition before it leaves London. It was a great experience, as well as being informative and eye-opening, heartbreaking and humbling. All the things you would expect it to be.

Have you seen the Titanic Exhibition yet? Are you interested in the Titanic disaster?

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