All Aboard the RMS Titanic

The Titanic Experience

Young love, carefreeness, adventure, sorrow, and heartbreak is everything one of my all-time favorite movies graced upon on in 1993, Titanic. Sadly, my Titanic this past weekend didn't include my own personal Jack Dawson instead I had a grim first person experience of what happened in the early morning of April 15, 1912. 

Group of the International students at the Cobh day trip.

For some background information the CIT International Society visited Cobh this weekend, which was the last docking of  the Titanic before its fateful collision with an unforgiving iceberg. Now, at some point during childhood you are taught of the Titanic, the tragedy and then eventually exposed to the movie. The movie is the closest thing we have to understanding what occurred during the final hours of the self proclaimed Unsinkable ship. It shows us the division of classes, the priority of boarding determined by age and sex, the heartbreak that must've coated the decks as families were broken up and most likely those left on the ship did not make it. Truthfully, it was a story that portrayed a tragedy but was also about a blossoming love story that many young girls, myself included, could only dream of experiencing...minus the premature death. I swear this whole movie review has a point, I'm not just rambling. The movie was able to mask some of the tragedy with a love story and in the end Rose escaped her abusive fiance, Cal. However, being at the Titanic Experience in Cobh there was no star-crossed love story to alleviate the sorrow that surrounded the sinking. 

"The Journey to America begins here."

Drawn to scale replica of the Titanic.

As you enter you the museum which is the same building the passengers back in 1912 entered through you are given a boarding pass with your passenger information on it. These are actual passengers that boarded the Titanic from Cobh, formerly Queenstown. I was Thomas McCormack, age 19, third class, traveling with 2 other adults. The tour lasted about 30 minutes and you were treated as a passenger boarding the ship. Now, I thought I was a well-versed student in the class of facts about the Titanic, however this tour informed me I was not...not even close. Cobh, although dubbed the last docking port of the Titanic, technically is not. The Titanic was actually anchored about 2 miles away from where the 123 passengers gathered and shuttled to it on tender boats. As the time period required the classes were divided... the third class members had to cram on tender as the first and second who were about 10 in total leisurely rode out in another one. The original pier still stands, although as probably guessed in pretty bad shape and not walkable.

My ticket to board the ticket as Thomas McCormack 

As you 'board' the ship the tour continues on to a third class bunk room which actually had electricity and running water although quite subpar in comparison to the first class suites. The second class boardrooms were larger than third class but still had no comparison to the first class. First class rooms were each individually decorated, ranging from single, larger rooms, to en suites with rooms for the passenger servants and a private porch. Each room we entered had port holes that contained few of the only photographs that existed of life on the Titanic. Most photos that we have are from passengers that disembarked in Cobh, not realizing how thankful they would be in 4 days time. The last room of the tour was dark and had a projector screen that simulated the sinking. It was the closest to a first experience we could have. We were situated in lifeboats and listened to voice overs of surviving passenger interviews while watching a reenactment of the chaos that swarmed the ship post iceberg collision. And no, "My Heart Will Go On," was not played once while there. :(

Model of a
third class room. 

First class suite. 

First class passenger
menu.

After the viewing of the sinking, in video form, we entered an exhibition room that had some interactive activities. You were able to play a game called "Guess the Smell," which included smells that would have been found all across the Titanic. These aromas ranged from, parlor smoke to the burning of coals. In accompany to the interactive stations the three room museum had historical facts listed about. You were able to learn about the Carpathia (ship that came to the rescue), families that were aboard, daily ship life, and there was a list of the passengers that boarded in Cobh. This is where you discovered if the ticket you were given at the beginning survived or not. I'm please to sat Thomas McCormack survived and lived, I hope a wonderful life, until 1975.

The Irish Alcatraz 

As a preface, I did opt out of the guided tour and explored Spike Island with a few friends so I do not have much inside knowledge regarding it. 

Spike Island, also known as the Irish Alcatraz, is an island viewable from Cobh but a ferry is needed to explore it. The island that started as a fort to protect Cobh from the threat of France invading turned into a prison to house criminals afterwards. Surprisingly, the island was inhibited by some 60 families who lived off of daily ferry loads of produce, milk, and other good from the mainland. The fort was in the start shape and strategically positioned to be able to ward off attacks from possible attacks. While exploring the island you are able to walk through underground bunkers, past prison cells, and actually see where the Titanic was docked. 

Titanic was docked off of the land in this picture.
Seen from Spike Island.

Through my knowledge Spike Island had some troubles within itself. These troubles were mostly brought on from the prison population. Uprisings were a common occurrence, during one of them the inmates climbed atop a roof where they stayed in contest for 12 hours before surrendering... all that work for nothing. All with this, the families that lived there during this time petitioned to be given safe haven elsewhere. I'm guessing living 1000ft from an unstable prison was not a great selling point, a realtors nightmare I suppose. Haha. I do not recall if they were ever actually granted it, but as of today the population of Spike Island is zero. One interesting fact about the families is that there was no school on the island since the attendance would've been below 12... it would've been 1. One lone pupil made the trek of boarding a ferry to Cobh and back every day to attend school. That's some real dedication. 

Entrance to prison/fort on Spike Island. 

Church located on the mainland of Cobh. 

I went to Cobh with the mindset of the Titanic correlating with love, hope, passion and left with a new real understanding of the tragedy behind the word Titanic. This experience wasn't sugar-coated with a Hollywood tagline of whirlwind love, no it truly showed the bare bones of the tragedy and gave me a new profound respect for it. Don't get me wrong the movie Titanic is still a 10/10 and I'm hoping for a Jack Dawson to show up in my life, but I've given a new definition of what Titanic means to me. I had the opportunity to experience and learn more about this historic event in greater detail than my third grade history book or reading about it on google ever could. I was there, I was able to walk and stand where these 123 people from Cobh stood thinking of their new lives that awaited them in America, not knowing what fate actually awaited them. It truly shows how unpredictable life and fragile life is. These people were boarding the Unsinkable ship with no worries in the world. The Titanic Experience fully immerses you into the what being a passenger on the Titanic was like during those last few hours. It's truly not something a movie and reading about can ever achieve. 

You can probably tell what event was my favorite at Cobh. Don't get me wrong, Spike Island was a wonderful place to see but the Titanic Experience, being a movie fan, was just amazing.