Ferry nice trip to see the Titanic!
I recently had a few well deserved days off and was lucky enough to experience Stenas Super Fast VIII from Cairnryan to Belfast. All I can say is wow and how much ferries have changed since last I travelled on one.
The Super Fast VIII is 30285 gt and during the busy summer season she carries 1200 passengers and 65 crew. She can also carry 660 cars and has a maximum speed of 23 knots. The day we sailed on her was Monday 4th August 2014 and as we arrived at Cairnryan we were surprised to see over 122 buses waiting to drive on. They were all making their way back to Belfast after the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow!
Once onboard you have a choice of lounges to relax in, shops to buy goodies in, restaurants and bars, a cinema, kids play area and a Nordic Spa!! For an extra £20 you can even treat yourself to a suite onboard although not sure why you would as the crossing is only 2 hours and 20 minutes.
The cost for two adults and three children was £95 but this included transfers and entrance fees at the Titanic Museum in Belfast.
The Titanic museum is located in the Titanic Quarter and close by are the famous Harland & Wolf cranes known as Samson and Goliath. It is a stunning building and really stands out as an architectural masterpiece.
Laid out just in front of the museum are two slipways that are to represent the starting blocks of Titanic and Olympic.
Inside the museum is well laid out with audio sets for those non English speaking tourists and guides on hand for the rest. The museum is made up of photos, memorabilia and interactive elements.
There are also layouts of a First Class, Second Class and Steerage cabin. Several items have been loaned to the museum by family members such as a first class dining menu.
On one floor is an IMAX theatre which shows the original footage as Robert Ballard discovers the resting place of the most famous ship in the world. You can feel the tangible excitement in the room even though we all knew that they were going to find it.
The last part of the exhibition is a very wide open space with large pillars with plaques on them. On each of the plaques is a series of distress signals placed by Titanic as they realised they were going down. The last one just says, “Come quick, C Q ……..”, the transmission stops at 2.10am as she slipped to her resting place below the icy Atlantic Ocean.
I certainly enjoyed the museum but for anyone who does not have an interest in the history of the Titanic there may not be enough to hold their interest.
One thing is for sure is that Titanic shaped the way the cruise industry works today and for that we must be thankful.
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Some people are shopaholics, some are chocaholics and some like me are cruiseaholics! Okay you got me I am also a slight chocoholic as well. I guess my love affair for cruises began in the late 1970's when I used to watch "The Love Boat", which was an American TV…
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Best post eva, Molly. You a superstar guidin’ the damn world we all stuck in today!!! Just…awesome!
Anyway, funny you combined the two phenoms Superfast and Titanic as Stena Superfast VIII and VII were built for the Greek company Superfast Ferries (ma beloved). April 15, 1995, is the day that Superfast Ferries started to operate ferries, and is also the 83rd anniversary of the Titanic sinking!!! Unbelievable, right?!
Yours truly,
Imani, Melbourne, Australia